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Mithraism: The mystery of the bull
Close your eyes and imagine wandering through ancient, shadowy caves. This is where Mithraism comes alive – a mysterious religion born in Persia, later spreading throughout the Roman Empire. Followers worshipped Mithras, a god connected to the Sun, light, order, and the cycle of rebirth. Devotion unfolded in underground temples called Mithraea, many of which have been discovered in southern France and Spain. Even today, traces linger in local rituals and customs.
At the heart of Mithraism lies transformation, the death of the old and the arrival of new life. As a mystery religion, its teachings were secret, reserved only for initiates. That’s why so little is written down. Only men could join, and the cult thrived among soldiers, merchants, and officials. Mithraism had a complex initiation system with seven degrees, likely connected to the seven classical planets and seven chakras in our (heavenly) body.
Battling the bull
Wander the hills of southern France or step onto Spanish town squares, and you’ll still encounter bullfighting. The motif of “the battle with the bull” ties together many cultures. In Greek myth, Hercules conquers the fearsome Cretan bull, a tale of mastering nature’s forces and the rhythm of fertility. On Crete, acrobatic rituals called taurokathapsia featured daredevils somersaulting over bulls, a living symbol of the passage from life to death and back again. In Egypt, the bull-god Mnevis was worshipped as an incarnate form of the sun god, Ra, a symbol of vitality, masculinity, and the eternal rhythm of death and resurrection.
From these ancient traditions, Mithras emerges as a key figure in Mithraism. His name echoes those of Mitra in Hinduism, Mithra in the Middle East, and the sun god Ra in Egypt. Despite their differences, these deities all represent the union of Heaven and Earth, light and dark, life and death. In Mithraism, this cosmic connection finds its expression in a secret ritual.
Followers of Mithras didn’t believe in literal reincarnation, as in some Eastern religions. Instead, rebirth and spiritual renewal were central. Through initiation, followers experienced a symbolic spiritual rebirth, taking part in the mystery of Mithras’s death and resurrection. This was a powerful transformation, believed to open the path to a higher, immortal state. The ritual mirrored the renewal of nature and the universe, where the sacrifice of the bull (the tauroctony) symbolizes the ongoing cycle of life, death, and rebirth. While many historians connect the tauroctony to the spring equinox, the details suggest something different.
The tauroctony
On most stone reliefs, Mithras sits atop a bull, wearing an Eastern-style tunic and the familiar Phrygian cap. He holds the animal tightly, pulls its nose with one hand, and plunges a dagger into the bull’s neck with the other. Around them, other symbols crowd the scene: a dog and a snake rushing to the blood, a scorpion attacking the bull’s testicles, a raven, and sometimes a lion and a cup. From the bull’s tail springs an ear of grain, a symbol of fertility and new harvest. Curiously, Mithras usually turns his head away from the bull, less a violent sun god, more a mediator in a cosmic drama.
The animals and figures on the relief are references to constellations, forming a starry tableau that echoes the cosmic balance of Taurus (the bull). You’ll find Scorpio (Scorpion), Canis Major (Great Dog), Serpens (Snake), Leo (Lion), Corvus (Raven), and Crater (Cup). The ear of grain might even suggest Virgo (the Maiden), who appears nearby.
Even more striking is the relationship between the “white bull” and the Full Moon in Taurus – opposite the Sun in Scorpio – serving as a bringer of light in the dark evenings of late October. Rather than referring to the spring equinox, this scene points to the moment when the Sun sits in Scorpio, carrying all the typical astrological themes: sexuality, death, transformation, and renewal. The mythic hunter Orion, who stands to the left of Taurus in the sky, represents the mediating role of Mithras. The Sun, hidden in a corner of the relief, emphasizes that the battle isn’t just a sacrifice. It’s a metaphor for the cosmic cycles at the end of October and the beginning of November. The bull’s blood must now flow to make the earth fertile for the new harvest year.
Constellation Scorpio
Constellation Canis Major
Constellation Serpens
Constellation Corvus
Bleeding as baptism
In Mithras ceremonies, this symbolism went even deeper. During the taurobolium, the blood of a sacrificial bull would be sprinkled over initiates, a sacred cleansing and the mark of their symbolic rebirth, forging a profound connection with life, death, and renewal. If no bull was available, lamb’s blood might stand in, but bull’s blood was seen as purest and most potent, a source of fertility and cosmic renewal. This rite is seen as a forerunner to Christian baptism, where water symbolizes cleansing and new life. Even early Christian writings acknowledge that their baptismal practices were inspired by older pagan rituals, including those of Mithras. Astrologically, this “shed blood” marks Taurus’s light as a promise of spring during the dark winter months, a passage preparing nature for resurrection and restoring the rhythm of dying and being born again.
The torchbearers Cautes and Cautopates
On either side of Mithras, you’ll sometimes see two torchbearers: Cautes holds his torch high, and Cautopates points his torch downward. Together, they represent the eternal cycle of light: Cautes for the rising Sun, spring, and new beginnings; Cautopates for the fading light, autumn, and the end of the cycle. The duo symbolize the unbroken flow of rising and setting, birth and death, growth and decay. In Mithraism, this duality also has a moral side, seen in the tension between Mithras (the “good” god of order and light) and Arimanius, the “dark” force of chaos and destruction. They’re not arch-enemies, but opposites working together to sustain cosmic balance.
The mystery of light and darkness, growth and decay, teaches us to trust in the power of resilience and renewal!
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