Pictish Mithraism

Pictish Mithraism is the belief system in the meanings of the Symbols carved on Pictish Stones in geographically what is now North East Scotland. It evolved from Roman Mithraism - a form of Mithraic Mysteries practiced in the time of the Roman Empire.
Incised carvings appeared on theses Stones after the Roman withdrawal and End of Roman rule in Britain at the beginning of the 5th century CE and have been deciphered as representing Mithraic beliefs.
A significant difference between the Roman and Pictish versions of Mithraism is that the former used an enclosed space as a place of worship (a temple or Mithraeum such as Rudchester ) whilst Pictish Mithraism utilised the Symbol Stones and the view beyond as Open Air Mithraea. This results in some of the astronomical iconography seen in a Roman Mithraeum (such as the celestial stars on Mithras’ cape) not requiring to be carved on the Stone as the Zodiac, for example, can be seen in the sky.
Timeline
The original Persian version of Mithraism had a God called Mithra; an off shoot developed in the direction of Vedic Hinduism as Mitra; the Persian version was the root for the Roman version and from it Pictish Mithraism with the God called Mithras.
The coded markings on the Stones were categorised in The Early Christian Monuments of Scotland (1903) into 3 classes whose time periods align with Pictish Mithraism as follows:-
Class 1 have incised symbols on upright undressed stones with no Christian cross and appeared at the beginning of Pictish Mithraism in the 5th Century CE. Some of these stones are reused from, for example, earlier Stone Circles dating to the Iron Age and Bronze Age and, therefore, to other belief sets.
Class 2 have relief carving on upright dressed stones with a large Christian cross and so-called Pictish symbols. They are in the middle period of Pictish Mithraism and reflect the transition into Christianity between the 6th and 8th / 9th centuries.
Class 3 have no Pictish symbols signifying the move to total adoption of Christianity..
Mithraic Symbols on Pictish Stones
This selection of symbols shows the connection between the Pictish Stones and the Mysteries of Mithras.
V-Rod & Crescent
The so-called V-Rod & Crescent is the most numerous symbol.
The “V” shape often has finials clarifying that the V-Rod is not a rod but two arrows (left down, right up) - together these represent the soul travelling from the Celestial Sphere at birth and returning to the Celestial Sphere on death; in effect into mortality and later into immortality. The crescent portrays the firmament. This is consistent with one of the main tenets of Roman Mithraism - that of the travelling of the soul at birth and at death.
This is especially apt for the 20 cases where the symbol is positioned at the top of a Class 1 Stone.
Z-Rod & Double Discs
Mithras is shown in the Tauroctony with a figure on either side - often referred to as his companions. Relative to Mithras, Cautes is on his right and Cautopates on his left.
As with the V-Rod not being a rod but two arrows, the Z-Rod (usually appearing as the Z-Rod and Double Discs)
also is not a rod but two inter-connected arrows which represent the torches of Cautes and Cautopates. Cautes is the symbol of life, light and day; Cautopates is the symbol of death, darkness and night. One faces East towards the morning star Venus when it appears in the East before sunrise the other West towards the evening star - one’s torch is alight the other extinguishing signifying the beginning and end of the day; they further depict the Spring and Autumn equinoxes.
Mithras has been depicted as Kronos (personification of infinite time) or as the light conquering the darkness. As Sol Invictus, or more precisely in the Roman Mithraic context as Deus Sol Invictus (the invincible sun god), he is in balance with Sol (the Sun). The connecting part of the “Z” is firstly the day, secondly the months between the equinoxes, thirdly time itself - the start is connected to the finish.
The earth was considered to be at the centre of the universe with the Classical Planets (including the sun and moon) variously rotating around the earth in one direction and the Firmament (Celestial Sphere) rotating in the opposite direction. This is easy to represent in two dimensions as a dot and two concentric circles. The circles or discs are multi-depiction - the Earth in the middle, with the planets then the Celestial Sphere (shown as the cross-section of a dough-ring); the Sun (Sol) and Moon (Luna) and other paired items in harmony or tension; the Sun (Sol) and Mithras (Deus Sol Invictus - the unconquerable Sun God, the creator of the universe) in balance.
Mirror Case
A symbol commonly referred to as “Mirror Case is a depiction of the birth of Mithras from the rock and his supporting the universe by holding the zodiac. The rock birth of Mithras (detail in Birth from a Rock) - the Roman version - is also in the Persian “Mithra” version.
Several carvings have inscribed concentric circles which are similar to the circles in the Double Discs and represent the earth, planets and celestial sphere.
Comb
The number “7” features in Roman Mithraism in several aspects. There were (as known at the time) 7 planets. These seven planets - Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, the Moon and the Sun were associated with the seven steps in the ladder of initiation grades in the Roman Mithraic cult. The Plough has 7 stars. The soul travelled on birth and mortality then on death and into immortality via the 7 planets (being the 7-gated ladder).
The number “7” can be found in several places on the Pictish Stones, not least the Comb symbol which across the 40 comb objects discovered has several with 7 teeth. It alludes to the Mithraic belief that the soul takes 7 steps (via the planets) between the Cosmos and the Earth at one’s birth (into mortality) and the 7 steps back the way to immortality on one’s death.

Places of Worship
The Roman Mithraeum was indoors typically purpose built overground or underground, beneath another building, a room within a building with another purpose or a cave. Examples of these are at Carnuntum, Ostia Antica, Carrawburgh and Aquincum.
For Pictish-Mithraism the place of worship is outdoors. The Outdoor Mithraeum
comprises the Standing Stone with its symbols and the view to the sky, planets and celestial sphere. Planet or constellation representation of the type on Mithras’s cape at Marino, Italy is not required on the Stone.

The Horseshoe / Arch and Notched Rectangle designs are representations of the design of indoor Mithraea. Together they represent the shape of the temple - the arch is the end view of the Mithraeum and the Rectangle the “plan” with the Notches being the locations for the statues of Cautes and Cautopates. The addition of the Z-Rod in over half of these objects reinforces the presence of the statues of the torch bearers (Cautes & Cautopates) and could have been used to explain their importance in the mysteries of Mithras. Clear examples are at Aberlemno.

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