A tide bestowed on those venerable guardians of the Bene Gessent whose ability to use theit bodies as vessels m transforming the Water of Life, for purposes of illumination, earned them a place among the Elect Evidence gathered from the previously sealed Archives of the Bene Gessent Chapter House indicates that a Reverend Mother, by virtue of her standing, was one who had attained to an extraordinary plane of con sciousness and prophetic intuition In addition, a nch cache of manuscripts, journals, and diaries secreted in the Archives reveals a sacred history of the office of Reverend Moth- er extending back as far as Jehanne Butler These documents, particularly the appendix to the Ordmei Matnum trace the Water of Life Ceremony from its ancient Terran roots to the ritual which formed the catalyst en abhng a woman to become one of the Elect That the ceremony and the subsequent progression of transcendence was irrevocably changed by the Lady Jessica's participation in the Fremen Ceremony of the Seed is unquestionable Not only was Jessica brought into conjunction with her own heritage of Reverend Mothers, but she was also united with the long line of Fremen Reverend Mothers, all without the benefit of the usual years of discipline and training Unti! that time, the "poison" used at the Water of Life Ceremony vaned with cultural traditions, but its effect had been dependent upon the individual's own preparation for the harmonious Self Just as melange served only to enhance the trained "sight" of some Reverend Mothers, so did the "poison" of the traditional ceremony serve to focus the transcendence and union of the one with the All With the introduction of the Fremen Water of Life, the poison created by a drowning "maker," the strength of the catalyst changed Increased dependence on the Fremen poison and decreased dependence on the arduous training disciplines gradually weakened the ngor of the order Thus, the discovery of the Athanor Proctnces and the Exerci Ammae gives us a much clearer understanding of the true office of the Reverend Mothers', before the time that the Ordines Matnum appendix refers, to as.