Professional Documents
Culture Documents
II
Bird Goddess - 5000 B.C. - This Goddess is depicted with bee eyes and antennae as well as the three parallel lines which identify her as a Bird Goddess. She symbolized fertility and regeneration in Neolithic Spain.
Eye Goddess - Found throughout Mesopotamia. In 3500 - 2,000 B.C.Syria, this Sumerian Madonna Goddess was known as Mari, Whose huge eyes searched men's souls.
Nile Goddess - This prehistoric fertility Goddess with a bird's head was fashioned from ancient Nile mud.
Goddess of Lespugne - Fertility Goddess carved in ivory from ancient France. (30,000 - 20,000 B.C.)
Goddess of Menton - Old Stone Age (30,000 - 20,000 B.C.)Goddess of Willendorf Great Goddess (30,000 - 20,000 B.C.) Paleolithic Fertile Mother. Old Stone Age.
ANCIENT EGYPT
Akussa- Egyptian Goddess of Sunset. Ament - Ancient Egyptian Hawk Goddess. Libyan/Egyptian Goddess of the West. She lived in a tree at the edge of the desert where She watched the gates of the underworld and welcomed the newly deceased. She appears with an ostrich feather on Her head. Anuket - The Clasper. Goddess personifying the Yonic source of the Nile Flood. Her symbol was the cowrie. Bringer of food, Creator of all good things, Filler of granaries, Patroness of the poor and needy. The Embracer (Anukis - Greek) Water Goddess. She wore a feather headdress. Au Set - Whom the Greeks called Isis - Oldest of the Old, from Whom all things arose, Eternal Savior of the race of men. She was the Egyptian throne, the pharaohs sat on her lap, protected by Her arms or wings. She was worshipped throughout the
10
11
Achamoth - Mother Goddess Who gave birth to the creator of the material universe, according to early Gnostic Christians. Aka - Ancient Turkish Mother Goddess. Al-Lat - Arabian Moon Goddess, Universal Source of Nourishment. Mother Earth and Her Fruits. Arabic Supreme Goddess. A triple Goddess with Al-Uzza and Menat. Oaths are sealed with the vow "By the salt, By the fire, and by Al-Lat who is the greatest of all." Al-Mah - Persian Moon Goddess. Nubile Woman. Al-Uzza - Powerful One. Arabic Goddess. Founder of Mohammeds tribe, the Koreshites, hereditary tenders of Her Sacred Stone in Mecca.The Mighty. Mohammed worshipped this Desert Goddess of the Morning Star. Acacias are Her sacred tree. Anath - Strength of Life. Worshipped by Canaanites, Amorites, Syrians, Egyptians, Hebrews, Phoenicians. Queen of Heaven and Mistress of all the gods.
12
Aruru - Sumero-Babylonian Great Goddess Who was the original Potter Who created human beings out of clay. Asherah - Semitic name of the Great Goddess. Sacred Grove, Divine Harlot, Lady of Heaven, Queen of the Gods, Lady Who Traverses the Sea. Sacred Cow. Symbol stylized multi branched tree. She Who gives birth to the gods, Goddess of the Tree of Life, Goddess of the Grove. She Who gives birth, Wet-nurse of the gods. Ugaritic Mother Goddess. She was the Force of Life, experienced as benevolent and enduring, found in flocks of cattle and groves of trees, evoked in childbirth and planting time. Sometimes appeared as a naked, curly-haired Goddess riding a sacred lion and holding lilies and serpents in up-raised hands. Ashnan - Sumerian Goddess of Grain. Atthar - Ancient Arabic Sun Goddess. Torch of the Gods. Belit-Ilani - Babylonian Mistress of the gods. Evening Star of Desire. Portrayed as a woman Who bears a suckling baby on Her left arm and Who blesses the child with Her right hand. Chaabou - Semitic Earth Mother. Deborah - Queen Bee Goddess of early Mycenae and Anatolia. Identified with the Tree of Life. Derceto - Babylonian Sea Goddess. The Whale of Der.Dike - Goddess of Justice.
13
Ishtar - Babylonian Great Goddess, Star, Light of the World. Righteous judge, Lawgiver, Bestower of Strength, Lady of Victory, Forgiver of Sins. Mother of Harlots, Compassionate Prostitute. Framer of all decrees. Often depicted in breastoffering pose. Mother of the fruitful breast. Juniper sacred to Her.
Kadi - Babylonian Goddess of Der, a Serpent with a Woman's head and breasts.
Lilith - totem the owl. Divine Lady. In Jewish mythology, She was Adam's first wife (before Eve) Sumero-Babylonian Goddess. Her flower is the lily. Manat - Arabic Moon Goddess. Ruler of Fate, Luck and Fortune. She was venerated in a Sacred Stone at Kodaid in pre-Islamic times and was one of the Trinity of Fates worshipped at Mecca. Moon Mother of Mecca. aka Al-Lat, Al-Uzza. Lapis Niger (Black stone) sacred to Her.
14
Shekina - Jewish Cabalistic version of Shakti. The Soul of God. God required his Shekina for Wisdom and Creativity.
Tiamat - Serpent Goddess of the Watery Abyss. Sumerian Creatress. Sumero-Babylonian Goddess Mother, from Whose formless body the Universe was born at creation. Personification of The Deep. Mother Sea. Tirgata - Fish Goddess of Syria.
15
Aditi - Hindu Great Goddess, as the Woman Clothed with the Sun. Sun Goddess, Mother of all the Lights of Heaven. She gave birth to the twelve zodiacal spirits. Ananta - Indian Serpent Queen. aka Sarparajni. She enveloped all gods during their death, sleeping between incarnations. Banka-Mundi - Hunting Goddess of the Khoud. Merely uttering Her name made one fearless against jungle beasts. Bardaichila - Assamese Storm Goddess. Bentakumari - Assamese Water Goddess. First fish of the season was given to Her. Bhasundara - Tibetan Goddess of Prosperity Bhavani - Common name for Mother Goddess of India. Bestower of Existence. Evoked by women in labor, who burned perfume to honor Her. Bisal-Mariamna - Shakti of Sunlight in Mysore. Symbolized by a brass pot full of water called the Kunna-Kannadi or eye mirror. Into this pot are put pepper
16
17
18
19
20
CHINA
Chang-O - Moon Goddess. Keeper of the Ambrosia of Immortality. Hsi Wang Mu - Lady Queen of the West. Great Mother Who kept the Peaches of Immortality in a magic orchard in the West. Kuan Yin - Eponymous Great Mother of China, Lady Who brings children, represents the principle of Karuna, Boundless Compassion. Often appeared as a Fish Goddess. Mat Chinoi - Serpent Goddess, Mother of the Chinese. In her belly lived beautiful angels who received the souls of the dead. Shin-Mu - Mother of Perfect Intelligence, China's Holy Virgin.
21
Amaterasu - Supreme Shinto Sun Goddess from Whom the imperial family traced descent. Great Shining Heaven.
Benten - Goddess of Luck, Inspiration, Talent, Wealth and Romance. Queen of the Sea, a dragon woman Who swam in state through Her domain with a retinue of white snakes. Sometimes depicted as a beautiful woman mounted on a dragon. Fuji - Grandmother, Ancestress, Holy Mother Mountain. Uzume - Goddess of Merriment.
22
Hina - Virgin Goddess, Creatress of the World. She was the Moon and the First Woman. All women embody Her spirit. Laka - Hawaiian Goddess of Hula. Maile and Plumaria are Her Flowers. Pele - Goddess of Fire and the Underworld. Mt.. Kiluaea. Tangoroa - Polynesian Dove Goddess
23
Chalchihtlicue- Aztec Goddess Who held dominion over all running water, including rain. Because of Her dismay and anger over the wickedness of humanity, She sent a flood, tears of the Goddess, to erase and cleanse the world of evil, but in Her kindness, She provided a bridge of many hues (the rainbow) for the righteous. She was often summoned for protection of the newborn and for strength of the marriage bond and perfect love. Usually, She is depicted wearing a jade necklace, turquoise earrings, and a crown of feathers, signifying Her association with vegetation, the water of life and growth. Her black and white apparel remind us of Her dual nature. Chicomecoatl - Mexican Goddess, Heart of the Earth and ancestress of all peoples. Her messengers were seven serpents. Chimalman - Aztec Virgin Goddess. Aspect of the Triple Goddess. Coatlicue - Lady of the Serpent Skirt, Mother of all Aztec deities, as well as the Sun, Moon and Stars. She produced Life and received the dead. She was associated with volcanic mountains.
24
25
Ariadne - Most Holy, High Fruitful Mother. Moon Goddess. Britomartis - Cretan Sweet Girl. Great Goddess of Minoan Crete. Lily was Her flower. Dictynna - Lawgiving Goddess of Mount Dicte. Her plant was Dittany. Europa - Full Moon, the Great Goddess as Mother of all Europe. White Moon Cow. Garlanded white bulls were sacrificed to this Lunar Cow Goddess in Crete and Mycenae from a very early date. Leukippe - White Mare- Horse Goddess. Minoan Snake Goddess - 1600 - 1500 B.C.E. Pasipha - She Who Shines for All. Cretan Moon Goddess. Rhea - Aegean Universal Mother, Great Goddess, Pre-Hellenic Great Mother Goddess. Also known as Britomartis, Great Goddess of Bronze Age Crete and the Aegean Islands. Great Mother. She had no consort
26
27
Ananke - Necessity. Neo-Platonic Pythagorean Goddess Who governed the world according to Karmic Law. Aspect of the Triple Goddess with Dike and Heimarmene.
Aphrodite - Greek Love Goddess who sailed the seas in a scallop shell. Queen of the Sea. Her Sacred metal is copper. Goddess of birth, life, love, death, time and fate, reconciling man to all of them through sensual and sexual mysticism. Patroness of arts and letters, craft and culture.The Dove was her totem. Myrtle was Her sacred
28
29
Demeter - Doorway of the Mysterious Feminine. 13th century B.C. Goddess of the Harvest, Her spirit was manifest in the final sheaf of the harvest. Mistress of Earth and Sea. Mother Goddess from 13th century B.C. Mycenae through the Middle Ages of Europe. Goddess of the Corn. Sacred Sow. Sulfur was sacred to Her. Every field of grain was Demeter's holy grain. The threshing floor, too was under Her protection. Both were Her temples where at any moment She might be present. Demeter of the corn-ripe yellow hair. Goddess of the Eleusinian Mysteries, celebrated at Harvest time, September, every 5 years, lasted 9 days. Most sacred of all Greek and Roman festivals. Poppy is Her flower. Eos - Birth Goddess, Rosy-fingered Dawn. Eurydice - Greek Mother of Fate, the Orphic name for Goddess of the Underworld. Snakes were Her sacred animals, and constant companions. Eurynome - Universal One, Pelasgian Creatress Who danced alone on the primordial ocean of Chaos until She brought the elements to order. Gaea - Mother Earth, Mother of the Gods, the Deep Breasted One, Oldest of Divinities. Galatea - Milk-giving Goddess. She Who made the Wheel of the Stars with Her Milk. Hebe - Maiden aspect of the Triple Goddess, Hebe.Hera.Hecate. She governed the Tree of Life with its Magic Apples of Immortality. Goddess of Youth. Hecate - Moon Goddess, Protectress of childbirth. Her totem was a Frog. Wise Crone of the Hebe.Hera.Hecate triple Goddess. She is worshipped where three roads meet. Goddess of Magic and Prophecy. Protectress of travelers. Monkshood (Wolfbane) Her plant. Goddess of the Dark of the Moon, the black nights when the Moon is hidden. Often depicted with a basket. Henna sacred to Her, and willow, Her tree.
30
Hestia - Goddess of the Hearth. One of the oldest matriarchal Goddesses. She represented the Heart of the Home. aka Vesta. Every banquet began and ended with an offering to Her. Each city had a public hearth sacred to Hestia where the fire was never allowed to go out.
Hygeia - Health. She and Her Sister Goddess Panacea sprang from the milk of the Goddess Rhea.
Iris - Goddess of the Rainbow. Source of the waters from on high, Mother of Love. Bridge between Heaven and Earth. Messenger of the gods. Gathered the souls of women. Iris is Her flower.
Kore - Holy Virgin, Inner Soul of Mother Earth. One of the earliest designations of the Female Spirit of the Universe.
31
Leda - Goddess Who gave birth to the World Egg. Swan is Her totem.
Leto - Greek Mother of the Moon and Sun (Artemis and Apollo).
Maia - Grandmother of Magic, Mother of Greeks Enlightened One, Hermes. White Goddess. Her tree the Hawthorne, also called the May tree. Nike - Pre-Hellenic Victory Goddess of Samothrace. Oenothea - Wine Goddess. Dispenser of Immortality, keeping gods and men alive with Her Magic Ambrosia. Pandia - All Goddess, one of three daughters of the Moon in Greece. A title of the female Trinity. Her two sisters were Erse and Nemea. Pandora - All Giver, title of Earth Goddess Rhea. She poured out blessings from Her honey-vase called a pithos. Pangaea - Universal Gaea, title of the Earth Mother at Her mountain shrine in Thrace. She was called Ida, Olympia, Panorma, Universal Mountain Mother. Penelope - She Whose Face is Veiled. Greek Goddess of Fate. The Weaver. Persephone - Queen of the Underworld. Destroyer Goddess. Crone of the Triple Goddess with Kore and Demeter. Narcissus Her flower. Pitys - Fir tree Goddess. Satyrs wore fir twigs in Her honor. Selene - Variant of Semele -Moon Goddess
32
33
Aine - Land Goddess of the Eoghanachta tribes in Munster. She is invoked at Midsummer when torches are taken through the fields to bless the growing corn with sacred fire. Airmed - Goddess of the Tuatha de Danaan, the most ancient deities of Ireland. She had great magical powers and herb craft was Her specialty. Ardwinna - Continental Celtic Goddess of the Wildwood. She demanded a fine for every animal killed in Her wood, which She was said to oversee mounted on a wild boar. Arianrhod - Mother Goddess of Celtic Aryans, Keeper of the endlessly circling Silver Wheel of the Stars, symbol of Time. Silver Wheel That Descends into the Sea. Welsh Sorceress Goddess of the Silver Wheel. Beautiful and pale of complexion, She was the most powerful of the mythic children of the Mother Goddess Don. Willow is Her tree. Arnamentia - Ancient British Goddess of Spring Waters.
34
35
36
37
Edda - Great Grandmother, Norse Mother Earth. Also the word for sacred poetry inspired by Her. Icelandic sagas or Eddas usually opened with an invocation to this Goddess, Who gave birth to the oldest third of the human race. Freya - Great Goddess of northern Europe. Leader of the primal matriarchs called Afliae, Powerful Ones or Dsir, Divine Grandmothers. Norse Goddess of Love and Beauty. Arainbow was Her jeweled necklace. She rode a chariot drawn by cats. Sometimes depicted as the Sow, mistress of the gods. She is the Chief Valkyrie in Her falcon cloak. Ruler of death, She chose from the dead spread across battlefields, taking them to Her palace Sessrumnir, meaning rich in seats. In time they might be born once more through the nurturance of the moist Earth, another aspect of Freya. She was also a helpful deity to women in labor. Hopeful lovers worshipped Her. Goddess of sexuality and making magic with love prayers. Amber is her gem. She traveled throughout the heavens either in a chariot with a retinue of cats or on the golden boar, Hildeswin. The runes of Her sword signify power, fertility, and birth. Yew is sacred to Her. Gunnld - Norse Earth Goddess Halja - Gothic name for Hel, Goddess of the Underworld Hel - Norse Queen of the Underworld. Goddess of the Dead. Wells were sacred to Her. Elder Her tree. Holly Her plant. Horsel - Teutonic Moon Goddess Idun - Norse Goddess. The Renewing One. In Her western garden grew the apples of Immortality. Saga - ancient Norse Goddess, Speaker, Sayer. Goddess of sacred poetry, charms, words of power. 38
39
Angeyja - Scandinavian Water Goddess. Atla - Scandinavian Water Goddess. Audumla - Scandinavian Cow of Creation. Avfruvva - Mermaid Goddess of Finland. Baduhenna - War-Maddened. Scandinavian War Goddess. Sol - Norwegian Sun Goddess.
40
Bereginy - Bginki in Polish (boo-GIN-kee) Traditionally "covens" of old women performed the rituals and sacrifices for these river bank nymphs. Bginki means "little Goddess". They were said to steal human babies and leave behind changelings called Odmience in Polish, Oborotni in Russian. These spirits were the original spirits of life and predate the sky deities. They are the forerunners of the Rusalki. Domawiczka (Doh-mah-VEETCH-kah) female Domovoi or wife of the Domovoi. May be the same as the Kikimora. There are very few reports on this spirit, but they usually involve her rewarding anyone who bathes or finds her baby. Kikimora(kee-kee-MOHR-ah) or Shishimora female house spirit who usually lives in the cellar or behind the stove. She comes out at night to spin and will look after the housework and the chickens if the home is well tended. If the household is a sloppy one she will wine, whistle and tickle the children at night. She is sometimes married to the domovik. To appease an angry Kikimora, you should wash all your pots and pans in a fern tea. She appears as an average woman with hair down (Slavic women always kept their heads covered) or sometimes with chicken feet. She would occasionally appear, spinning, to one about to die. Lesovikha - (Leh-soh-VEE-kah) Female Leszi. Sometimes an ugly woman with large breasts, sometimes a naked young girl - or a woman in white as tall as the trees. 41
Poludnica - Psezpolnica in Serbian (poh-wood-NEET-sah) Lady Midday, from "Poluden" - noon. She may appear as a 12-yr old girl, a beautiful woman or an old hag but is only seen at the hottest part of a summer's day. She is known to steal children or lead them astray in the fields and Russian mothers threaten their children with "Be good or the Poludnica will get you. She sometimes pulls the hair of farm workers or attacks women who have just given birth and wander out at noontime. She carries a scythe and will stop people in the field to either ask difficult questions or engage them in conversation. If the person fails to answer a question or tries to change the subject of the conversation, the Poludnica will strike them with illness or cut off their head (Poland). The Wends, German Slavs, called her pscipolnitsa and pictured her as carrying shears, a symbol of death. When not in the fields or streets, the Poludnica was said to float on the winds. Marija Gimbutas calls her "sunstroke" personified. It is thought that the Poludnica was the explanation for the dangers of working in the noon heat and remained a part of more recent legend because of her usefulness in scaring children away from valuable crops. Polunocnica - (Poh-woo-nok-NEET-sah) "lady midnight". A "demon" said to torment children in the middle of the night. May have originally been the third Zorya of midnight Poluvirica - (Poh-woo-vee-REET-sa) "female half-believer". This forest spirit probably had an earlier name but was later called poluvirica due to the belief that non-Christians returned after death as various home and forest spirits. She appears naked, with a long face, long hanging breasts and three braids of hair down her back. She is usually seen carrying a child. Rusalka (roo-SAHW-kah) Female water Spirit. These souls of unbabtized babies or drowned maidens became beautiful pale girls with long flowing hair. They wear white or are sometimes naked, usually with poppies in their hair. They lived in the waters during the winter, but moved to the forests and fields during Rusal'naia week (hence the name) where they could often be seen perched in trees. A danger to humans, the Rusalki may lead cattle astray, steal children, fall upon people from the treetops and tickle them to death or kidnap young lads to take as lovers. They love to come out in the moonlight to sing and dance the khorovod (circle dance). If they find someone bathing near where they dance, often, they will drown them. Tying ribbons to trees in which they were known to perch is one way to appease them. Linens and scarves, as well as eggs were also left as offerings. Before these nature spirits were associated with the souls of the "unclean" dead, it is believed they were the spirits who brought moisture to forest and field.
42
43
One story has her married to Swarog who without her could not have created the world. Other sources give her a brother/lover named Lado which would make them divine twins such as Freya and Frey. There is also some mention of her two sons, Lel & Polel, and that of a daughter, Liuli or Lielia. She and her daughter are the Rozhanitsy - Goddesses of a child's fate Marzanna (mahr-ZAH-nah), Marena Death and winter personified. the Marzanna appeared as an old woman dressed in white. Annually, an effigy of her was made, escorted to the edge of the village and thrown out. In Poland ist was burned then "drowned". This was customary as both the fire of the sun, and the rainwaters were needed for the fertility of the crops. Matka or Mata Syra Zjemlja (MAHT-kah SIHR-ah ZHYEM-yah) "...Matushka Zemlia, Mother Earth, giving suck from bountiful breasts to countless children. When the peasants spoke of Matushka Zemlia, their eyes, usually dull and expressionless, were flooded with love, like the eyes of children who see their mother at a distance." - Shmarya Levin Moist Mother Earth, seems to have never been personified as other Earth Goddesses were (given human form), but worshipped in her natural form. She may, however, be the same Goddess as Mokosh. Along with the ancestral worship shown in the belief in household spirits, Earth worship was most adamantly clung to despite the Christianizing of the Slavic world. She had absolute sanctity and no one was allowed to strike her or begin farming until her birthgiving time at Maslenica. Memorial day and Assumption day (sorry - I have no dates as of yet) were her name days so no plowing or digging could be done then. Anyone spitting on the Earth had to beg her forgiveness. Property disputes were settled by calling her to witness the justice of the claims. Oaths and marriages were confirmed by swallowing a clump of earth or holding it on the head. Boundaries were measured while walking them with a clump of earth on the head. Villages were protected from cattle plague & epidemic by plowing a furrow around them to release Mother Earth's power. If no priest was present, sins were confessed to the earth and into the 20th century survived the custom of begging the Earth's forgiveness prior to death.
44
45
46
Akewa - Sun Goddess of the Toba of Argentina. Sister of all earthly women. Akka - Eponymous ancestral Goddess of Akkad. The Old Woman, the Grandmother or the Midwife. Water-drawer Who brought gods to birth out of the Primal Deep. Altan-Telgey - Mongolian Earth goddess. Golden Surface. Amashilamma - Sumerian Cow Goddess. Amma - Norse Grandmother Goddess Who gave birth to the race of Freemen. Anat (Anata) - Great Goddess of the Ugaritic pantheon had 4 separate aspects: Warrior, Mother, Virgin and Wanton. Mother of all nations, Virgin Mistress of the gods. Angerboda - The Hag of the Iron Wood. aka Hel. Apia-Fellus - Scythian Earth Goddess Ararat - Ancient Anatolian World Creator Goddess, embodied the famous Mt.. Ararat in modern Armenia. Armathr - Mother of Prosperity. Icelandic Goddess incarnate in a Sacred Stone. Arinna Hittite/Anatolian Great Goddess, Most Sacred Goddess of the Sun. 47
48
49
50
51
We all come from the Goddess And to Her we shall return, Like a drop of rain Flowing to the ocean.
May the Goddess bless all your steps! Blessed be! Marco Nektan