The Cow as a Deity

[Harte]

They're kinda pretty too.

Harte

[jaylemurph]

Dung was used for millenia as a fuel here in the U.S.

Harte

Cow dung is also the frequent fuel for many discussions in this forum.

I lived on a farm most of my younger years. Cows are the sweetest, most loyal creatures on the whole. How do you know how smart they are? I even saw a cow whose calf died mourn on top of its grave for days. She wouldn't leave that spot.

That's funny. I spent far more time around cows than I would've like as a youth, and I never walked away from them thinking they were particularly sweet, smart or loyal. I always figured there was a reason we ate them and not smarter things like horses.

--Jaylemurpg

[Harte]

I wish everyone would stop hatin' on the cows.

Anyway, I'd eat a horse too. I got no qualms. Meat's meat, after all, and I'm carnivorous.

I draw the line at long pig, however.

Easy to say when you're not marooned somewhere, I guess.

Harte

Edited July 31, 2013 by Harte

[Crabby Kitten]

Cows and bulls have been worshipped in many cultures from ancient times.

There is the sacred bull cult going back to the paleolithic times.

The Minotaur is an echo of a previous older bull cult.

Why did they worship cattle?

Well the cows revered for the dairy produce seen as fertility symbols, and bulls with strength and their horns used for religious purposes like drinking horns.

[jakesteele]

Because Sacred Cows make the tastiest hamburgers!

[Myles]

Cows and bulls have been worshipped in many cultures from ancient times.

There is the sacred bull cult going back to the paleolithic times.

The Minotaur is an echo of a previous older bull cult.

Why did they worship cattle?

Well the cows revered for the dairy produce seen as fertility symbols, and bulls with strength and their horns used for religious purposes like drinking horns.

Yeah, but they were missing the best part. The steak!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[+DieChecker]

Yeah, but they were missing the best part. The steak!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOLY COW!!!!

[Myles]

I wonder what the thought will be if they bring these back from extintion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs

[Jeremiah65]

The Bovine has been revered for 10's of thousands of years. There are cave paintings in France of ancient cattle like critters dating back something like 40 or 50 thousand years.

As far as Mushrooms...psychedelics have been used in shamanistic ritual in practically every culture and civilization throughout history. Mushrooms, Mimosa, Acacia, etc.

I read a theory once...I think it was Stanislav Graf ...a psychiatrist that studied LSD and Hallucinogens...the theory was that it was the ingestion of these substances that powered the rise of thinking and reasoning...the thrust that caused people to start "doing" things no one had ever done before....like piling rocks together to make shelters and monuments. The theory also went on to speculate these "priests and shamans", because of their 'expanded" mind, became the leaders and chiefs of the clans and tribes...directing the development of a blossoming thing called "civilization"...

Interesting thought.

But no, I don't think the cow rose to be deified because they found shrooms in the poo.

[Swede]

The earlier aspects aside, a more recent and pragmatic factor:

http://www.nature.co...olution-1.13471

.

[NO-ID-EA]

In my opinion the cow was seen as so sacred a creature because of what grew in its scat, Magic Mushrooms. I know a lot of people of ancient times held the cow as basically a god, and thought high of it.

So what do you guys think, could it be as simple as I'm thinking or is there more to it?

Nice thought R4 .......why not , it could be an additional reason....... along with the fact that lots of Indians are Vegetarian , and would not kill any creature for food...... so the food that could be made from milk a cow could produce is going to be important for a less boring diet .

i dont think they know yet what was in " Soma Juice " which was important at rituals...... mushrooms could be an ingredient , and i think you will find in some of the Hymns/ prayers to Gods , which mention Soma , also mention the word Amarita which is somewhat relevant methinks .

Edited August 1, 2013 by NO-ID-EA

[ReaperS_ParadoX]

The Bovine has been revered for 10's of thousands of years. There are cave paintings in France of ancient cattle like critters dating back something like 40 or 50 thousand years.

As far as Mushrooms...psychedelics have been used in shamanistic ritual in practically every culture and civilization throughout history. Mushrooms, Mimosa, Acacia, etc.

I read a theory once...I think it was Stanislav Graf ...a psychiatrist that studied LSD and Hallucinogens...the theory was that it was the ingestion of these substances that powered the rise of thinking and reasoning...the thrust that caused people to start "doing" things no one had ever done before....like piling rocks together to make shelters and monuments. The theory also went on to speculate these "priests and shamans", because of their 'expanded" mind, became the leaders and chiefs of the clans and tribes...directing the development of a blossoming thing called "civilization"...

Interesting thought.

But no, I don't think the cow rose to be deified because they found shrooms in the poo.

Yeah Iv heard about that that, Mckenna referred to it as the Stoned Ape theory

Nice thought R4 .......why not , it could be an additional reason....... along with the fact that lots of Indians are Vegetarian , and would not kill any creature for food...... so the food that could be made from milk a cow could produce is going to be important for a less boring diet .

i dont think they know yet what was in " Soma Juice " which was important at rituals...... mushrooms could be an ingredient , and i think you will find in some of the Hymns/ prayers to Gods , which mention Soma , also mention the word Amarita which is somewhat relevant methinks .

That's more than acceptable in my book, because they were bound to see these mushrooms growing in or around cow dung and I guarantee you one of them decided to eat one, and then booom they figured it out.

[Taun]

What about the majestic Moose?

[The_Spartan]

i feel that the OP asked a question why The bovine kind was worshiped as deities, but he veers off the topic to discuss on silly psychedelic mushrooms. huh???

Though the bovine kind has been worshipped as deities or even ascribed divine attributes all over the world, it is asia, particularly in the indian sub continent that bovine worship was really practised.

Edit to add : No. nome of the ancient texts tells anything on the ancient asians or indians going high on mushrooms grown on cow dung.

Silly!

It would be good if the OP reads the rules and stays on track rather than discuss psychedelic stuff.

Edited August 1, 2013 by The_Spartan

[+DieChecker]

Can anyone show that these mushrooms are any more likely to appear in cow dung then anywhere else? If not then the theory is really not worth talking about. From what I've read the mushrooms grow randomly around, unless someone is cultivating them.

[Harte]

Can anyone show that these mushrooms are any more likely to appear in cow dung then anywhere else? If not then the theory is really not worth talking about. From what I've read the mushrooms grow randomly around, unless someone is cultivating them.

In Mycology, this species is classified as coprophilic:

Psilocybe cubensis is a coprophilic fungus (a dung-loving species) that often colonizes the dung of large herbivores, most notably cows and other grazing mammals such as goats.

Source

Coprophilic fungi do not necessarily always grow in dung, though some always do:

Some species rely on a specific species for dung; for instance, Coprinus radiatus and Panaeolus campanulatus grow almost exclusively on horse feces, while others, such as Panaeolus sphinctrinus, can grow on any feces or even just particularly fertile soil.

Source: wiki article on coprophiles.

I have some small experience in these matters.

Harte

[ReaperS_ParadoX]

i feel that the OP asked a question why The bovine kind was worshiped as deities, but he veers off the topic to discuss on silly psychedelic mushrooms. huh???

Though the bovine kind has been worshipped as deities or even ascribed divine attributes all over the world, it is asia, particularly in the indian sub continent that bovine worship was really practised.

Edit to add : No. nome of the ancient texts tells anything on the ancient asians or indians going high on mushrooms grown on cow dung.

Silly!

It would be good if the OP reads the rules and stays on track rather than discuss psychedelic stuff.

The whole reason for the thread was why did the ancients worship cows, I stated that I believe that once they ate the mushroom that grew in the cows dung and realized its effects that the cow would become extremely important to these people. I don't understand how I got anywhere off topic, If so can you point out where??

[The_Spartan]

and where is it stated in any ancient text that the ancients did "eat" mushrooms that 'grew" on cow dung itself and decided it was good and worshipped the bovine kind?????

Is a mushroom growing on cow dung the only reason why ancient humans decided to worship the bovine kind????

seems the topic is entire;ly misleading.

It is some silly billy named Terence Mckenna who associates worship of cattle with mushrooms gowing on their dung.

NO.

Cattle are worshipped by ancient Hindus because they relied on it for food (milk, meat and not mushrooms), for toil, for leather, for fuel (cow dung patties and gobar gas).

Have you really studied about worship of cattle?

Do you know the mythology about Kamadhenu?

about Nandi?

About Lord Krishna being a cattle herder? Go-pala??

if not, research then.

Not for the mushroom thingy

[ReaperS_ParadoX]

I wasn't aware that they actually ate the cow, I mean that would be like eating your god, but ok. And I just was pointing out my views on this subject, also I never said they worshipped the cow strictly because of the mushrooms, I'm sorry if I offended you in some way

[Harte]

You offended cow-lovers everywhere when you implied that the cow is not, on its own (without mushrooms,) worthy of reverence.

Mooooo.

Harte

[ReaperS_ParadoX]

You offended cow-lovers everywhere when you implied that the cow is not, on its own (without mushrooms,) worthy of reverence.

Mooooo.

Harte

I guess so lol

[lightly]

http://www.religionf.../things/cow.htm

History of the "Sacred" Cow

In ancient India, oxen and bulls were sacrificed to the gods and their meat was eaten. But even then the slaughter of milk-producing cows was prohibited. Verses of the Rigveda refer to the cow as Devi (goddess), identified with Aditi (mother of the gods) herself.

Even when meat-eating was permitted, the ancient Vedic scriptures encouraged vegetarianism. One scripture says, "There is no sin in eating meat... but abstention brings great rewards."

... a little more interesting info in the link:

*** i hope it's accurate Spartan !

Edited August 9, 2013 by lightly

[The_Spartan]

Yes.

Meat from the Bull was eaten. but not of the cow's.

[Harte]

In South Georgia, every few days in the spring the goat farmers go out to the goat yard with a ball peen hammer and kill any newborn that looks like them.

I wonder if they eat those?

Harte

[hannah-s]

Cow/bull worship links to archaeo-astronomy and the Zodiac. Most of it dates to the Age of the Bull, around 4000-2000BC. When precession of the equinoxes shifted us to the Age of the Ram, stories such as the Golden Fleece, Moses and the ram in the bush, many Egyptian deities with ram's heads. In the Age of Pisces we get all the fish symbolism of Christianity.

I wonder what new iconic images will arise now we are in the Age of Aquarius?