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Cybele Harman, often called Mother Cybele, is a witch and member of the Harman Family. She is prominent within the Inner Circle, holding the position of Mother of All the Witches. Cybele later seceded from the Night World with the majority of her species and joined Circle Daybreak. Cybele became the leader of the witches after Grandma Harman's death, though it is not known if she took over the position of Crone as well. She first appears in Spellbinder and also has a role in Witchlight.
History[]
Little is known about Cybele's past, but she is presumably a wise and powerful witch, as she is a member of the Inner Circle and achieved the rank of Mother of the witches.
Spellbinder[]
Cybele travels to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the Samhain celebrations, along with Aradia Crowley, the Maiden, and the rest of the Inner Circle. On Samhain night, Cybele's relatives, Thea and Blaise Harman and Thea's friend Dani are summoned before the Inner Circle and charged with using forbidden magic. When Thea flees the Inner Circle to a stone circle in the desert, Cybele follows her along with the rest of the Inner Circle. She witnesses Thea, with the help of her human soulmate, Eric Ross, risking her life to send the vengeful spirit of Suzanne Blanchet back beyond the veil. When Thea and Eric are brought back to answer for themselves, Cybele seems very sympathetic towards them, but regretfully cannot simply ignore the laws of the Night World. She agrees to allow Thea and Eric to drink from the Cup of Lethe and thus forget about the Night World, believing that Night World law would then be satisfied and they can live in peace.
Witchlight[]
It is revealed that by the events of this novel, Cybele has joined Circle Daybreak and is assisting Grandma Harman in the search for Iliana Dominick, the third Wild Power who has been identified as a lost Harman. After the Crone is assassinated by rogue shapeshifters, Cybele succeeds her as the witches' leader. It is not known if Cybele is now considered Crone of the witches and co-leader of Circle Daybreak as well. She attends the Winter Solstice meeting between the witches and the Drache family, for the betrothal of Iliana and Galen Drache to secure an alliance between the witches and shapeshifters.
When Iliana does not arrive, she regretfully begins to state that as it past midnight, the alliance has fallen through. Fortunately, Iliana arrives just in time, much to Cybele's relief. When Iliana does an impromptu blood-tie ceremony between herself and Raksha Keller, declares them blood sisters and insists that this form the basis of the alliance instead of a marriage pact (due to Keller and Galen being soulmates), Cybele has no objections and the alliance is made official. Afterwards, Keller discusses the dragon, Azhdeha, with Cybele and Aradia. The Mother asks Keller to tell her exactly what Azhdeha said and Keller tells her about the "witch who isn't a witch" who he claimed had awoken him. Cybele seems understandably concerned by this, but merely says "Time will tell", in regards to this person's identity and current location.
Personality[]
Cybele is shown to be a wise and calm witch and a natural leader. She can be somewhat stern, but is always fair and reasonable, and very caring towards people, trying to find peaceful solutions. She is devoted to the safety and well-being of the witches, and by extension, the other races, even humans, whom she is quite tolerant of. Cybele remains strong in spite of the shock of losing the Crone, immediately taking her place as the witches' leader to maintain order.
Physical Appearance[]
Cybele is described as being a short, plump, middle-aged woman, often compared to a "dumpling" in shape, with a round face. She is apparently a bit short-sighted, as she doesn't initially notice when Keller and her team arrive at the Winter Solstice meeting. Despite her "soft" appearance, Cybele has a "firmness" about her, which Keller in particular notices and admires. Thea also mentions her having a "firm" voice.
Trivia[]
- The family tree states that Cybele is the sister of Ursula Harman, though this is not mentioned in the books.
- Cybele may be named after the goddess Cybele, a fertility and nature goddess worshipped in Asia Minor, who's cult of worship also spread to Ancient Greece and Rome. Cybele was often identified as the Great Earth Mother, making Cybele both a traditional witch name and a very fitting name for the Mother of the Witches.