The Bull is Charging

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve transitioned to editing The Slaying of the Bull, and it is moving along nicely. It should be done in a few weeks and hopefully will be up on Amazon by the end of the month. It will be Book 1 in the Gospels of Mani Saga, a four-part (or maybe 5) book series that will transverse space and time. At the heart of this saga will be one character, Isa Malik. The Slaying of the Bull will start Isa’s journey as he tries to steer humanity’s metaphysical journey and will also ground the psychokinetic power of Vril, which will be important in future books the series. Through the series, Isa will move from being the protagonist to the antagonist and perhaps back to the protagonist. It will have real history, mystery, magic, horror, and fantasy aspects. When all is said and done, it should (hopefully) be a tantalizing journey.

As you can see in the sample section of my site, I have the book covers (and sample chapters) ready to go. You may ask, what is the picture on the cover of the Slaying of Bull? This is Mithras, a Zoroastrian god in his epic struggle with the Bull of Darkness. Mithras is quite unknown now, but for a time, it was as crucial to the religious world as Christ. Its most substantial following was found during Roman times, and very much was a rival of early Christianity. The central symbol of this religion, much like the cross for Christians, is this slaying of the bull. When Mithras slit the bull’s throat, the blood from this wound became this physical existence. Over time, Mithraism morphed into the dualistic Christian religion of Manichaeism, something that was alive and well in the 13th century. Manichaeism was considered a threat to the Roman Catholic Church and therefore deemed a heretical religion. It was the largest group (known as the Cathars in France) of victims during the Christian Inquisition.

Mithras is what I like to call a unifier god, a deity that transcends multiple religions. Manichaeism and its prophet Mani were very much trying to find the unifying story behind all religions of the time. In this vein, they traveled much searching for the world’s divine secrets and, at the same time spreading their seeds of religious thought. Manichaeism’s founding was in modern-day Iran in the 3rd century, and its last real vestige fizzled out in 14th century China. That’s quite a swath of the world.

Manichaeism and, to a lesser extent Mithraism, are very much integral parts of the Slaying of the Bull. They are strange and foreign schools of thought and add depth to the mysticism found in the Gospel of Mani Saga. More importantly, the real Gospels of Mani have mostly been lost to history and serves as perfect vessels for the many secrets discovered on Isa Malik’s journey.

Cheers!