Happy Birthday, Estelanui!

[whiteling]

*dashes in just in time to wish Estelanui a happy birthday*

Happy Birthday, dear Francesca! :-)

I hope you are having an enjoyable day full of pleasant happenings. *hugs*

And look - those lovely ladies have come, bearing gifts for you:

Comments

[whiteling]

I'm very glad you liked the BD photo so much. :-)
Yes, this votive altar is especailly beautiful; it is placed in a huge room at the Landesmuseum and the three goddesses literally seem to bless the entire room. There are other Matrons altars too, which look more rural and simple. But they all exude a very powerful energy.

I didn't know of the Matrons cult either, before I lived in the Rhineland region. It's a very special thing of this area, I mean, in that high concentration of remaining altars. Cologne and Bonn have been the centres of Matrons worship. Under the Minster of Bonn the archaeologists found many votive altars and oblations, all dedicated to the Matrons.
Thanks for the Epona link. I loved the depiction with the two horses by her side very much.

The worship of Matres and Matrones seems different from the Madonna one, but the needs of the worshippers are not different at all.
You are so right. We will never know how the old rites and worship looked like, but the things worshippers prayed for haven't changed much.

I wish I were close to one of these places to feel the ancient energy of so many believer generations.
If you ever happen to come to my part of Germany, I will be more than happy to visit those sites with you. :-)
I managed to find a short video that gives a few glimpses of one of the cult sites I visited: Pesch, which must have been a rather big Matrons sanctuary, consisting of several stone buildings and a well. I think it is good that this place is a bit hidden, so only hikers and people who really want to visit the Matrons do find it. The video's commentary is in German, but the video gives a bit of an impression of the place.
http://www.myvideo.de/watch/2838454/Matronen_von_Pesch