The-Seed of The-Man had pollinated the blossom on The World-Tree and now a fruit was forming.
The fruit was The-Son.
The-Son was conceived in the womb of The-Woman.
Finally The-Woman had within her the child she had longed for.
And there was much celebration.
Roman
Again the great millennial aeon dawns.
Once more the hallowed Maid appears, once more Kind Saturn reigns and from high heaven descends the firstborn child of promise.
Do but thou, Pure Goddess, by whose grace on infant eyes daylight first breaks, smile softly on this babe. The age of iron in his time shall cease and golden generations fill the world. E’en now thy brother, Lord of Light and Healing, Apollo, rules and ends the older day
Thy office, Pollio, thine, shall mark the year wherein this star begins his glorious course.
Under thy banner all the stains of ill that shame us yet, shall melt away and break the long, long night of universal dread. For the child’s birth-right is the life of gods,
Heroes and gods together he shall know, and rule a world his sire has blessed with peace.
For thee, fair Child, the lavish Earth shall spread thy earliest playthings, trailing ivy-wreaths and foxgloves red and cups of water-lilies, and wild acanthus leaves with sunshine stored.
The goats shall come uncalled, weighed down with milk, Nor lions’ roar affright the labouring kine. Thy very cradle, blossoming for joy, shall with soft buds caress thy baby face.
-VIRGIL’S FOURTH ECLOGUE
Hindu/Krishna
The entire creation with all in it is by the transcendental Original Personality of Your Lordship easily sheltered and kept within Your body at the time of devastation; how impossible and wonderful is it to think that within this human world, o God, it so happened that this form has entered my womb!’
-Srimad Bhagavata Purana 10.3.31.
Ancient China
The Chinese symbol for “good” is composed of the symbols “mother” and “son”
Christianity
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.” 700
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.” And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour. “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. “And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him. “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. “He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed. “He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.”701
Buddhism
It came time for the bodhisattva to fall from Tsuita Heaven and light rays came out of each and every hair follicle of the bodhisattva’s body. These rays were as numerous as the grains of sand in countless Buddha fields; and they were illuminations that are the source of all the wondrous virtues that belong to the mother of all the tathagatas, and contained within them the hosts of excellent virtues that belong to the mother of all the bodhisattvas. These rays illuminated the entire world system and then fell onto my body. They entered into my body from the tip of my head and then penetrated every pore of my body. Thus, O noble son, did those rays of light that had come from the bodhisattva, those rays of light with their many names, rays of light that give rise to the magical appearances associated with the mother of all the bodhisattvas, all entered my body. And, O noble son, when those light rays entered into my body, my body came to embrace the entire world, my womb became as expansive as the ether, but at the same time neither my body nor my womb exceeded normal human proportions. And then all of the magical manifestations of the palaces in which the bodhisattvas are to dwell while in their mother’s womb, all of these palaces in all the ten directions, could be seen within my body; they could all be seen right inside my body. Now, O noble son, as soon as there appeared in my body the wondrous assemblages of palaces in which the bodhisattvas are to abide while in the womb, then the bodhisattva Siddhartha himself entered into my womb, accompanied by bodhisattvas as numerous as the grains of sand in countless Buddha fields in the ten directions; these bodhisattvas shared with him in the same vow and the same religious practice, they shared the same roots of merit, the same manifestations and mastery of the same visionary states. They shared the same knowledge and occupied the same level in their training; they were adept in producing the same magical appearances and had cultivated the same vows; they had also mastered the same course of practice. They were all positioned inside a pavilion made from jewels that came from the crests of the kings of snakes. The bodhisattva Siddhartha was at the same time being worshipped by eighty-thousand snake kings, including the snake king Sagara; he was also being worshipped by the Indras of all the worlds. Such was the great display of the wonders appropriate to a bodhisattva, that as the bodhisattva Siddhartha displayed his descent from Tsuita Heaven, along with his retinue, and entered into my womb and entered into my womb, many other wonderful things occurred. Thus did Siddhartha enter into my womb, with the skill in means necessary to ripen all living beings, impelled by the many deluded beings, stirred on by the existence of so many false beliefs. There was an end to darkness everywhere in the universe and to the sufferings that were caused by every sort of misfortune; there was an end to rebirth in hellish realms. Thus did Siddhartha appear in response to the previous deeds that people had done to save all living beings, and in such a way as to ensure that all living beings would see his body right before them. ‘And of all those bodhisattvas and snake kings and rest of bodhisattva Siddhartha’s retinue walked about in my womb, with steps that covered the expanse of the vast three-thousandfold universe, steps as vast in extent as the world systems, themselves as numerous as the grains of sand in countless Buddha fields. And of all those countless bodhisattvas that formed the retinue of the bodhisattva Siddhartha scurried about in my womb in all the ten directions, seeking the feet of all the tathagatas everywhere in the entire universe; they scurried about without a stop, every second, eager to get a glimpse of the marvellous manner in which the bodhisattva was dwelling in my womb. And the four great kings, the kings of the gods….[as well as] the brahma kings, all approached the bodhisattva as he was in the womb, in order to behold him and worship him; to pay him reverence and hear him preach the law and listen to him discourse, and my womb accommodating all of that vast retinue, did not swell up. And my body did not look any different from any other human body.699
699 Phyllis Granoff from the Gandavyuhasutra pp. 346-347.
700 Luke 2:10-14
701 Luke1:39-55
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