When the moment comes that the mark of the one becomes the mark of many, the elder one shall bring the fall of the rich and an era of love.

- Reverend Mother Lovernianus Viola Dhosce.

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"A Reverend Mother refers to a Bene Gesserit initiate (or other woman) who, by converting an awareness spectrum narcotic within their body, unlocks their genetic memory.

After completing many years of intellectual, physical, and emotional training within Bene Gesserit Schools, sisters deemed qualified by Proctors would be allowed to make the attempt to become Reverend Mothers. This potentially deadly ritual, known as the Spice Agony, involved the ingestion of the Water of Life. The Water of Life entered the sister's body as a poison; it was her task to consciously convert this poison into a substance benign to her. If the sister successfully completed this process, she unlocked the genetic memory of all her female ancestors, resulting in a sudden and immense accumulation of knowledge and abilities. Despite this, the new Reverend Mother did not have access to the memories of her male ancestors.

Within the Bene Gesserit, Reverend Mothers typically had three names: the first was a Latin male name, the second an English female name and the third an Arabic or exotic name."

- Dune WIKI