The relationship between astrology, astronomy, and the mysteries of Mithras has long occupied classical scholars. Since the pioneering work of Roger Beck, the tauroctony—the iconic image of Mithras slaying the bull—has frequently been interpreted through an astrological lens, with the zodiacal constellations from Taurus to Scorpio occupying a central place in discussions of Mithraic cosmology. Yet while considerable attention has been devoted to the symbolism embedded within Mithraic imagery, comparatively little research has examined whether Mithraic ritual architecture itself was designed to engage directly with the heavens.
This talk will present new evidence from purpose-built Roman Mithraic temples, including the London Mithraeum, demonstrating that a significant proportion were constructed so that initiates facing the tauroctony were simultaneously oriented toward the setting of Taurus. This architectural alignment therefore appears to have created a deliberate relationship between ritual action, sacred image, and celestial phenomenon.
This discovery introduces a previously underappreciated dimension of temporality into Mithraic studies. Rather than functioning as static symbolic spaces, mithraea may have been designed to become fully activated when the setting of Taurus corresponded with the ritual orientation of participants. Such evidence raises the possibility that initiation ceremonies and other cult activities were timed according to stellar movements, a practice attested in other contemporary mystery traditions.
The talk will also explore the broader implications of these alignments. If ritual efficacy was understood to depend upon the synchronization of architecture, celestial phenomena, and embodied practice, then the mithraeum itself must have functioned as a technology of initiation. In this sense, architectural alignment was not merely symbolic but potentially operative, creating the conditions through which initiates experienced a direct relationship with the cosmos. This talk therefore offers a new perspective on Mithraic ritual, highlighting the role of both the symbolic and actual sky in shaping sacred space and religious experience.
📆 When: 20th February 3pm UK Time
📍 Where: Online (live and recording)
🎓 Tutor: Fabio Silva
💰 Cost: £35 – Click to buy
If you buy the seminar after the 20th of February, you will get automatic access to the recording
Fabio Silva
Fabio Silva is the Director of The Skyscape Academy, runs Stone x Sky – a consultancy focused on archaeoastronomical research, education and outreach, and is a Visiting Research Fellow in Archaeology at Bournemouth University. Fabio has spent the last 15 years, teaching and doing research on archaeoastronomy in several universities in the United Kingdom. His “outstanding contributions” to the fields of cultural astronomy and archaeoastronomy have led to him receiving the Carlos Jaschek Award from the European Society for Astronomy in Culture in 2016. Currently, his research largely focuses on how prehistoric societies have perceived their environment (skyscape and landscape) and used that to time and adjust social and productive, but especially, magico-religious behaviours.
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