gogess_2015_12_04_03_35_57_470

This Parabola was shown as U-shaped curve
with the word EVA at the beginning and

AVE at the end - signifying the beginning in
paradise with EVA and the return to
paradise with (AVE) Maria.

What are your comments on this?

The question of goddess Mother Mary is
certainly bound up with the question of Eve,

although this plays little role in the
iconography or in the use of Marian images

by many of us.

The name Eve is a Westernisation of the
Hebrew name Chavah which means "Mother
of all living". Clearly this term has a double

sense and could be interpreted either as
"Creatrix" or as "Universal Ancestress".

These two interpretations were probably not
as distinct to the ancient mind as they are to

that of the modern West. As we know
"ancestor worship" in the East and in tribal
traditions is in fact a particular form of the

worship of the Divine. A Frithjof Schuon
explains:

In reality...the Divinity Itself is conceived in
the Far East as a kind of ancestor and one's
human ancestors are like a prolongation of
that Divinity, or else they are seen as a bridge
between oneself and It. God is the Heaven or

Sun from which we are descended...

This, of course is in keeping with the doctrine
of the Cycle of the Ages (see our page on Kali
Yuga) which tells us that the earliest ages are
progressively nearer to the Divine state and

even allows traditional peoples to see the
Golden Age as a microcosmic reflection of

Paradise itself.

While Eve is the Divine Ancestress, like the
Japanese Sun Goddess Amaterasu, the name

"Adam" means "earth" (and also red - red
being the colour of Mars). Clearly this

designation dates from a semi-matriarchal
period, after the time when both Heaven and

Earth were feminine but before the lesser
element of earth was attributed to the

feminine and the higher element of Heaven to
the masculine. It dates from a time when the

Divine Sun was feminine and the lesser
element of earth attributed to the masculine.

In the later patriarchal re-writing, Eve
becomes simply the "first woman" and the
Fall is blamed upon her (while actually it is
simply part of the process of manifestation).
From being the Creatrix and Conqueror of

the Serpent (cf Creation Myths and the
Virgin Mary) she is said to have been
deceived by the serpent into disobedience to

the masculine god.

With the "deification" of the goddess Mother
Mary, the true image of the Creatrix and
Conqueror of the Serpent returns. Thus

Mary was hailed in the middle ages as the
New Eve and Queen of Heaven.

The goddesses

Eve

Considered the mother of us all, she is our
first link to the Divine Feminine in human
form. Reclaiming Eve is the first step toward

getting to know the Goddess within.

Goddesses of Self-Empowerment and
Strength

Hathor, Egyptian goddess of love, beauty and
pleasure, helps you to your inner light and
shows you how truly beautiful you are.

Lilith

Hebrew Goddess, said to be Adam‘s first

wife, was demonized in the Bible but is an
empowered woman in Kabbalah and

Feminine spiritually. She helps you discover
your dark and wild side.

Oya

Yoruban goddess of wind, hurricane and
wild weather, helps you welcome the winds of

change.

Nike

Greek goddess of Victory and herald of
success, helps you claim your victories in life.

Mary

mother of Jesus, is not considered a goddess
in the Catholic Faith yet has all the powers of

a divine female and is the primary

representation of the feminine divine for 2000
years, making her the Spiritual Mother for us

all. She helps you connect to your healing
power.

Sophia

goddess of wisdom in Gnostic Christianity,
is also referred to in Hebrew texts and the
books of Solomon. She helps you tap into,

and trust, your own intuition.

Kuan Yin

Chinese goddess of healing and compassion,
helps you find compassion for yourself, and

others.
Green Tara, Tibetan Buddhist goddess of
protection, helps you feel safe and shows you
how to stay calm and centered in a crisis.

White Buffalo Calf Woman

Native American spirit woman, is the
mystical feminine force who taught great
sacraments to her people. She helps you
connect with the true nature of the soul and
create a more peaceful life … and world.

goddesses of Love and Romance

Venus

quintessential Roman goddess of love and
beauty, shows you that self-love and

appreciation is the first step to embracing
your own divinity and empowering your
sense of self-worth.Oshun, Macumban

Goddess of sensuality, beauty and
womanhood. Helps you tap into your more
sensual side and express your sensual self.

Freya

Norse goddess of sexual prowess and war,
guides you on how to be a man magnate and

enjoy every minute of sizzling sexual energy
in your life.

Persephone

Greek goddess of springtime who was
abducted by the god of the underworld,
shows you how to liberate yourself from bad
relationships and set forth a new path in your

love life.

Gauri

Hindu goddess of love and marriage shows
you how to get yourself ready for a serious
relationship, and how to gently encourage

your true love toward the altar.

Radha_Rahda

Sacred lover of Hindu avatar Krishna, helps

you discover soulful, higher lover.

Isis

famous Egyptian mother goddess is hailed
for her healing, magic and resurrection
powers. She helps you rescue troubled
relationships and get them back on track.

goddesses of Family Life and Frienship

The Great goddess is the divine female
energy of all there is. She represents life its
self, death and regeneration and can help
transform your relationship with your own
mom by connecting with the power of your

female ancestry.

Pele

the Hawaiian fire goddess who dwells in the
volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii, shows
you how to channel and express anger and

heal hostility in a healthy way.

Kali

the Hindu goddess of life, destruction and
regeneration shows you hoe to own up to
your dark side and dance with the hungry

ghosts of your past.

St. Lucy/Lucina

the cherished Catholic saint who originated
as the Roman Goddess of a newborn's first

light, Lucina, can help you open your
spiritual eyes, see family in a new light and
bring light to the shadow side of family life.

The Muses

the nine Greek deities who joyfully presided
over the arts, are among the most familiar
mythical woman and Goddesses. They help
you Celebrate creativity and connections

with sisters, and friends.

Mary Magdalene

the spiritual heroine who is closely linked as
soul companion to Jesus, helps you survive

the loss of a loved one.

Vesta

the Roman Goddess of the Hearth, assists
you in creating a true home.

goddesses of Work and Finance

Aurora

Roman goddess of the dawn, assists you on
the path to your true calling and helps you

open your spiritual eyes.

Artemis

Greek goddess of the hunt, helps you pursue
your career goals with passion and focus.

Brigid

Celtic Irish goddess of inspiration, poetry,
birth and blacksmithing, helps you find your

inspiration and creative flow.

Lakshmi

Hindu goddess of fortune, gives you a hand,
or four, increasing your income, your

financial potential and your ability to plan
for your future.

Nemesis

Greek goddess of retribution, helps you
handle office politics and troublemakers
while helping you see ways you sabotage

yourself.

Durga

Hindu Mother goddess of protection and
war, helps you drawn your boundaries and

protect yourself from negative energies.

St. Térèse

beloved Catholic Saint known as The Little
Flower is a spiritual heroine for women of all
faiths. She helps you get even the most menial

jobs done by showing you the relevance,
power and sacredness in life‘s little chores.

goddesses of Play and Lightheartedness

Bast, Egyptian goddess of play, felines and
females, shows you how to be playful as a

pussycat.

Uzume

the Japanese shaman goddess responsible

for making people laugh shows you how to
bring lightness and sunshine into your life.

Iris

Roman goddess of the rainbow helps you
add color and zest to your life.

Butterfly Maiden

Native American spirit woman, takes you
from cocoon to butterfly and helps you

transform your life.

The Fairy Godmother

a goddess-like figure that many girls grow
up with, may be an icon of fairy tales and
movies, but she is also an inspiration for
keeping magic alive in our lives at any age.

Old Midsummer Eve

(St John's Eve)
Night of the fairy goddesses, Ainé and her

sister Finnen, Ireland

―Here,‖ observed Mr Alfred Nutt, ―we have
the antique ritual carried out on a spot
hallowed to one of the antique powers,

watched over and shared in by those powers
themselves. Nowhere save in Gaeldom could
be found such a pregnant illustration of the
identity of the fairy class with the venerable
powers to ensure whose goodwill rites and
sacrifices, originally fierce and bloody, now a
mere simulacrum of their pristine form, have

been performed for countless ages.‖
Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race (1911),

Ch. 3

And as to Aine, that some said was a
daughter of Manannan, but some said was

the Morrigu herself, there was a stone

belonging to her that was called Cathair
Aine. And if any one would sit on that stone
he would be in danger of losing his wits, and
any one that would sit on it three times would
lose them for ever. And people whose wits
were astray would make their way to it, and
mad dogs would come from all parts of the
country, and would flock around it, and then

they would go into the sea to Aine's place
there. But those that did cures by herbs said
she had power over the whole body; and she
used to give gifts of poetry and of music, and

she often gave her love to men, and they
called her the Leanan Sidhe, the Sweetheart

of the Sidhe.

And it was no safe thing to offend Aine, for
she was very revengeful. Oilioll Oluim, a king
of Ireland, killed her brother one time, and it
is what she did, she made a great yew-tree by

enchantment beside the river Maigh in
Luimnech, and she put a little man in it,

playing sweet music on a harp. And Oilioli's
son was passing the river with his

step-brother, and they saw the tree and heard
the sweet music from it. And first they

quarrelled as to which of them would have
the little harper, and then they quarrelled
about the tree, and they asked a judgment
from Ollioll, and he gave it for his own son.

And it was the bad feeling about that
judgment that led to the battle of Magh
Mucruimhe, and Oilioll and his seven sons
were killed there, and so Aine got her

revenge.

Lady Augusta Gregory, gods and Fighting
Men:

The Story of the Tuatha De Danaan and of
the Fianna of Ireland,

Part I Book IV: 'Aine', 1904

Aine

Some said she was the daughter of
Manannan, but some said she was the
Morrigu, she owned the Cathair Aine. But
she often gave her love to men, and she was
called Leanan Sidhe, the Sweetheart of the
Sidhe. Wisps of straw are burned in her
honor on St. John's Eve. She is associated
with meadow-sweet, and invoked against
sickness. According to legend, she was raped

by the king of Munster.
Mike Nichols, An Irish Myth Concordance,

MicroMuse Press, 1985

[Aine] was daughter of Eogabal, king of the
síd of Knockainy, the grass on which was

annually destroyed at Samhain by his people,
because it had been taken from them, its

rightful owners. Oilill Olomm and Ferchus
resolved to watch the síd on Samhain-eve.
They saw Eogabal and Aine emerge from it.
Ferchus killed Eogabal, and Oilill tried to
outrage Aine, who bit the flesh from his ear.

Hence his name of "Bare Ear."
JA MacCulloch, The Religion of the Ancient

Celts, Ch. V, 'The Tuatha Dé Danann', 1911
The Celtic peoples have many references to
fairies in their myths and legends. Fairies are
also known as ‗the little folk‘, but this can
also refer to leprechauns, goblins, menehune,

and other mythical creatures. Irish
mythology has many examples of these

mystical folk.

On Midsummer Eve, sacred rites were held
on two hills near Lough Gur ('the Enchanted

Lake') in County Limerick (near Grange
stone circle). One is called Knock Ainé

(Knockany, from Cnoc Ainé – ‗Ainé‘s hill‘),
Ainé or Ane being the name of the ancient
Irish goddess who dwells there. She is also

called Ainé Cli, Ainé Cliach, Ainé of the light,

Aine N'Chliar, and Ainé Cliar, the Bright.

Aine‘s name comes from the word an,
meaning ‗bright‘. She is one of the sídhe
(pronounced shee), or the ‗Good People‘,
patroness of Munster and Queen of the South
Munster fairies, and seems to have been a
moon goddess, like Diana. The peasantry
knew her as ‗the besthearted woman that

ever lived‘.

Aine‘s sister was Finnen or Fenne or Fennel,
named the same as the sacred herb which
wards off evil spirits, bestows strength,
courage, and prolongs life. (At least as far
back as the Middle Ages in Europe, fennel
was hung on doorways, and stuffed into
keyholes, on Midsummer Eve to guard
against evil spirits.)

On St John‘s Eve the local peasants would
gather to view the moon, and then light cliars

(torches) and process from the hill,
afterwards running through their fields and
among the cattle, to exorcise the land of evil

spirits and thus ensure good harvests and
prosperous herds and flocks. This being the
night where the sun‘s influence starts to dim

(following Litha, the Summer Solstice),
tonight was sometimes called Aine‘s funeral,

and she could appear as an old woman
tonight.

Thomas Rolleston, in Myths and Legends of
the Celtic Race (1911), Ch. 3, writes:

―At the bidding of her son, Earl Gerald, she
[ie, Aine] planted all Knockainey with pease
in a single night. She was, and perhaps still is,

worshipped on Midsummer Eve by the
peasantry, who carried torches of hay and
straw, tied on poles and lighted, round her

hill at night. Afterwards they dispersed
themselves among their cultivated fields and
pastures, waving the torches over the crops

and the cattle to bring luck and increase for
the following year. On one night, as told by

Mr. D. Fitzgerald, [‗Popular Tales of
Ireland.‘ by D. Fitzgerald, in Revue Celtique,
vol iv.] who has collected the local traditions
about her, the ceremony was omitted owing
to the death of one of the neighbours. Yet the
peasantry at night saw the torches in greater
number than ever circling the hill, and Ainé
herself in front, directing and ordering the

procession.‖

When girls looked into a mirror, the hill
became crowded with the supernatural folk
of the goddess who before had been invisible.

Or, so it is said:

―On another St John‘s Night [probably Eve –
PW] a number of girls had stayed late on the
Hill watching the cliars (torches) and joining
in the games. Suddenly Ainé appeared among
them, thanked them for the honour they had
done he; but said she now wished them to go

home, as they wanted the hill to themselves.
She let them understand whom she meant by

they, for calling some of the girls she made
them look through a ring, when behold, the
hill appeared crowded with people before

invisible.‖ (Rolleston, ibid)

Ainé and her son

Ainé was the wife of Manannan, a sea-god,
and also of Echdae, the sky horse. She is said
to have mated with several humans, creating
a magical race of human/fairies. When seen

in Lough Gur, she had similarities to a
mermaid. Once, as she sat half immersed in
the lake and combing her hair, the Earl of
Desmond saw her beauty and fell in love with

her. They married and had a son, Geroid
Larla, Gerald, the fourth Earl of Desmond
who is said to have disappeared in 1398 –

‗Gerald the Poet‘, from his witty Gaelic
verses – who lives in a world beneath the
lough to this day, awaiting the time of his

return to the world of men. However, once in
every seven years, on clear moonlight nights,

he does come out, and the local people see
him, phantom-like, riding a phantom white

horse, and leading a fairy cavalcade.

A goddess is a female deity

A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures
goddesses are associated with Earth,

motherhood, love, and the household. In
other cultures, goddesses also rule over war,

death, and destruction as well as healing.

The primacy of a monotheistic or
near-monotheistic "Great Goddess" is
advocated by some modern matriarchists as a
female version of, preceding, or analogue to,
the Abrahamic God associated with the

historical rise of monotheism in the
Mediterranean Axis Age.

Some currents of Neopaganism, in particular

Wicca, have a ditheistic concept of a single
goddess and a single god, who in hieros

gamos represent a united whole. Polytheistic
reconstructionists focus on reconstructing
polytheistic religions, including the various
goddesses and figures associated with
indigenous cultures.

Etymology

The English term goddess consists of two
elements; the noun god and the feminine
suffix -ess. The suffix -ess was originally -esse
and was borrowed into Middle English from
Middle French -esse, deriving from Late
Latin -issa, deriving from Greek -issa (a
feminine noun suffix). -esse replaced Old
English -icge.[1] Robert Barnhart comments
that with the exception of goddess and abbess
and spinster, "feminine agent nouns are
disappearing under social pressure" in

American English.[1]

The Germanic words for god were originally
neuter—applying to both genders—but

during the process of the Christianization of
the Germanic peoples from their indigenous

Germanic paganism, the word became a
masculine syntactic form. Goddess is attested

in Middle English from 1350.[2]
A statue of the Egyptian war goddess Neith

wearing the Deshret crown of northern
(lower) Egypt, which bears the cobra of

Wadjet.
· Goddesses of the Ennead of Heliopolis:

Isis, Nut, Nephthys, Tefnut

· Goddesses of the Ogdoad of Hermopolis:
Naunet, Amaunet, Kauket, Hauhet;
originally a cult of Hathor

· Satis and Anuket of the triad of
Elephantine

Mesopotamia

Ishtar (Inanna) was the main goddess of
Babylonia and Assyria. Other Mesopotamian

goddesses include Ninhursag, Ninlil, Antu

Canaan
Main article: Baalat
Further information: The Hebrew Goddess
Goddesses of the Canaanite religion: Ba`alat
Gebal, Astarte, Anat.

Pre-Islamic Arabia

In pre-Islamic Mecca the goddesses Uzza,
al-Manāt and al-Lāt were known as "the
daughters of god". Uzzā was worshipped by
the Nabataeans, who equated her with the
Graeco-Roman goddesses Aphrodite, Urania,

Venus and Caelestis. Each of the three

goddesses had a separate shrine near Mecca.
Uzzā, was called upon for protection by the
pre-Islamic Quraysh. "In 624 at the battle

called "Uhud", the war cry of the
Qurayshites was, "O people of Uzzā, people

of Hubal!" (Tawil 1993).

According to Ibn Ishaq's controversial
account of the Satanic Verses (q.v.), these
verses had previously endorsed them as

intercessors for Muslims, but were
abrogated. Most Muslim scholars have
regarded the story as historically implausible,
while opinion is divided among western
scholars such as Leone Caetani and John
Burton, who argue against, and William
Muir and William Montgomery Watt, who

for its plausibility.

Indo-European traditions

See also: Proto-Indo-European religion
Pre-Christian and pre-Islamic goddesses in

cultures that spoke Indo-European
languages.

Indo-Iranian
Further information: Proto-Indo-Iranian

religion and Rigvedic deities
Ushas is the main goddess of the Rigveda.
Prithivi, the Earth, also appears as a goddess.

Rivers are also deified as goddesses.

Greco-Roman
Main articles: Religion in ancient Greece and

Religion in ancient Rome
· Eleusinian Mysteries: Persephone,

Demeter, Baubo

· Aphrodite: Goddess of love, lust and
beauty.

· Artemis: Goddess of the moon, fertility,
childbirth, and the hunt. She is the

protector of children and maidens and

she is also virgin goddess.

· Athena: Goddess of crafts, strategy,
wisdom and war. Athena is also virgin

goddess.

· Cybele

· Eris: Goddess of discord (chaos).

· Hera: Goddess of family and marriage.
She is the wife of Zeus and the queen of
the Olympians. Mother of Ares.

· Hecate: Goddess of sorcery, crossroads
and magic. Often considered an chthonic
or lunar goddess. She is either portrayed

as a single goddess or a triple goddess
(maiden, woman, crone).

· Iris: Messenger of the gods.

· Nike: Goddess of victory. She is
predominantly pictured with Zeus or

Athena.

· Potnia Theron

· Selene: The original moon goddess but

later gave her powers to Artemis. Her
twin brother Helios is the sun god.

Celtic
Main article: Celtic pantheon
Goddesses in Celtic polytheism:

· Celtic antiquity: Brigantia

· Gallo-Roman goddesses: Epona, Dea
Matrona

· Goddesses of Insular (Welsh, Irish)
mythology:

Mórrígan-Nemain-Macha-Badb, Brigid,
Ériu, Danu

· Yanet is the celtic goddess of sex, love and
harmony.

Germanic

The goddess Freyja is nuzzled by the boar
Hildisvíni while gesturing to Hyndla (1895)

by Lorenz Frølich.
Further information:

List_of_Germanic_deities_and_heroes#Godd
esses

Surviving accounts of Germanic mythology
and later Norse mythology contain numerous

tales and mentions of female goddesses,
female giantesses, and divine female figures.
The Germanic peoples had altars erected to

the "Mothers and Matrons" and held
celebrations specific to them (such as the
Anglo-Saxon "Mothers-night"), and various
other female deities are attested among the
Germanic peoples, such as Nerthus attested
in an early account of the Germanic peoples,

Ēostre attested among the pagan
Anglo-Saxons and Sinthgunt attested among

the pagan continental Germanic peoples.
Examples of goddesses attested in Norse
mythology include Frigg (wife of Odin, and

the Anglo-Saxon version of whom is
namesake of the modern English weekday
Friday), Skaði (one time wife of Njörðr),
Njerda (Scandinavian name of Nerthus, that
also was married to Njörðr during Bronze

Age, Freyja (wife of Óðr), Sif (wife of Thor),
Gerðr (wife of Freyr), and personifications
such as Jörð (earth), Sól (the sun), and Nótt
(night). Female deities also play heavily into
the Norse concept of death, where half of

those slain in battle enter Freyja's field
Fólkvangr, Hel receives the dead in her realm

of the same name, and Rán receives those
who die at sea. Other female deities such as
the valkyries, the norns, and the dísir are
associated with a Germanic concept of fate
(Old Norse Ørlög, Old English Wyrd), and
celebrations were held in their honor, such as

the Dísablót and Disting.

Hinduism

God and gender in Hinduism

Devi and Shakti

Hinduism is a complex of various belief
systems that sees many gods and goddesses as

being representative of and/or emanative
from a single source, Brahman, understood

either as a formless, infinite, impersonal
monad in the Advaita tradition or as a dual

god in the form of Lakshmi-Vishnu,
Radha-Krishna, Shiva-Shakti in Dvaita
traditions. Shaktas, worshippers of the
Goddess, equate this god with Devi, the
mother goddess. Such aspects of one god as
male god (Shaktiman) and female energy

(Shakti), working as a pair are often
envisioned as male gods and their wives or

consorts and provide many analogues
between passive male ground and dynamic

female energy.

For example, Brahma pairs with Sarasvati.
Shiva likewise pairs with Parvati who later is

represented through a number of avatars

(incarnations): Sati and the warrior figures,
Durga and Kali. All goddesses in Hinduism
are sometimes grouped together as the great

goddess, Devi.

A further step was taken by the idea of the
Shaktis. Their ideology based mainly on

tantras sees Shakti as the principle of energy
through which all divinity functions, thus
showing the masculine to be dependent on
the feminine. Indeed, in the great shakta
scripture known as the Devi Mahatmya, all

the goddesses are shown to be aspects of one
presiding female force, one in truth and

many in expression, giving the world and the
cosmos the galvanic energy for motion. It is
expressed through both philosophical tracts

and metaphor that the potentiality of
masculine being is given actuation by the
feminine divine. Local deities of different
village regions in India were often identified
with "mainstream" Hindu deities, a process

that has been called "Sanskritization".
Others attribute it to the influence of monism

or Advaita which discounts polytheist or
monotheist categorization.

While the monist forces have led to a fusion
between some of the goddesses (108 names
are common for many goddesses), centrifugal
forces have also resulted in new goddesses
and rituals gaining ascendance among the
laity in different parts of Hindu world. Thus,
the immensely popular goddess Durga was a
pre-Vedic goddess who was later fused with
Parvati, a process that can be traced through
texts such as Kalika Purana (10th century),

Durgabhaktitarangini (Vidyapati 15th
century), Chandimangal (16th century) etc.

Abrahamic religions

Monotheist cultures, which recognise only
one central deity, generally characterize that

deity as male, implicitly grammatically by
using masculine gender, but also explicitly by

terms such as "Father" or "Lord". In all
monotheistic religions, however, there are
mystic undercurrents which emphasize the
feminine aspects of the godhead, e.g. the
Collyridians in the time of early Christianity,
who viewed Mary as a goddess, the medieval

visionary Julian of Norwich, the Judaic
Shekinah and the Gnostic Sophia traditions.

Judaism

According to Zohar, Lilith is the name of
Adam's first wife, who was created at the
same time as Adam. She left Adam and
refused to return to the Garden of Eden after

she mated with archangel Samael.[5] Her
story was greatly developed, during the
Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadic

midrashim, the Zohar and Jewish
mysticism.[6]

The Zohar tradition has influenced Jewish
folkore, which postulates God created Adam
to marry a woman named Lilith. Outside of
Jewish tradition, Lilith was associated with
the Mother Goddess, Inanna – later known
as both Ishtar and Asherah. In The Epic of

Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh was said to have
destroyed a tree that was in a sacred grove

dedicated to the goddess
Ishtar/Inanna/Asherah. Lilith ran into the
wilderness in despair. She then is depicted in
the Talmud and Kabbalah as first wife to
God's first creation of man, Adam. In time,
as stated in the Old Testament, the Hebrew
followers continued to worship "False Idols",
like Asherah, as being as powerful as God.

Jeremiah speaks of his (and God's)
displeasure at this behavior to the Hebrew
people about the worship of the goddess in
the Old Testament. Lilith is banished from

Adam and God's presence when she is
discovered to be a "demon" and Eve becomes
Adam's wife. Lilith then takes the form of the
serpent in her jealous rage at being displaced

as Adam's wife. Lilith as serpent then
proceeds to trick Eve into eating the fruit
from the tree of knowledge and in this way is

responsible for the downfall of all of
mankind. It is worthwhile to note here that in
religions pre-dating Judaism, the serpent was

known to be associated with wisdom and
re-birth (with the shedding of its skin).

Judaism is a Patriarchal religion, with
emphasis being placed on God as having
creating Adam is his own image. Eve is a
secondary addition to creation, having been
created from Adam's rib. God is referred to

as "He" and family lines through Abraham
are followed in a Patrilinear fashion. The

concept of a Goddess seems to be absent from
all but the original Creation myth which

some scholars say appears have roots in the
nearby Babylonian creation myth, Enuma

Elis.

The following female deities are mentioned in
prominent Hebrew texts:

· Agrat Bat Mahlat

· Anath

· Asherah

· Ashima

· Astarte

· Eisheth

· Lilith

Christianity

In Christianity, worship of any other deity
besides the Trinity was deemed heretical, but

veneration for Mary, the mother of Jesus
Christ, as an especially privileged saint—
though not as a deity— has continued since
the beginning of the Catholic faith.[citation needed]
Mary is venerated as the Mother of God,
Queen of Heaven, Mother of the Church,
Our Lady, Star of the Sea, and other lofty
titles. Marian devotion similar to this kind is

also found in Eastern Orthodoxy and
sometimes in Anglicanism, though not in the
majority of denominations of Protestantism.

Virgin Sophia design on a Harmony Society
doorway in Harmony, Pennsylvania, carved

by Frederick Reichert Rapp (1775–1834).

In some Christian traditions (like the
Orthodox tradition), Sophia is the

personification of either divine wisdom (or of
an archangel) which takes female form. She
is mentioned in the first chapter of the Book

of Proverbs.

In Mysticism, Gnosticism, as well as some
Hellenistic religions, there is a female spirit

or goddess named Sophia who is said to
embody wisdom and who is sometimes
described as a virgin. In Roman Catholic
mysticism, Hildegard of Bingen celebrated
Sophia as a cosmic figure both in her writing
and art. Within the Protestant tradition in
England, 17th Century Mystic, Universalist
and founder of the Philadelphian Society
Jane Leade wrote copious descriptions of her
visions and dialogues with the "Virgin
Sophia" who, she said, revealed to her the
spiritual workings of the universe. Leade was
hugely influenced by the theosophical
writings of 16th Century German Christian
mystic Jakob Böhme, who also speaks of the
Sophia in works such as The Way to Christ.[7]
Jakob Böhme was very influential to a
number of Christian mystics and religious
leaders, including George Rapp and the

Harmony Society.

Feminist theology and goddess movement

At least since first-wave feminism in the
United States, there has been interest in
analyzing religion to see if and how doctrines
and practices treat women unfairly, as in
Elizabeth Cady Stanton's The Woman's
Bible. Again in second-wave feminism in the
U.S., as well as in many European and other
countries, religion became the focus of some
feminist analysis in Judaism, Christianity,
and other religions, and some women turned
to ancient goddess religions as an alternative
to Abrahamic religions (Womanspirit Rising
1979; Weaving the Visions 1989). Today both
women and men continue to be involved in
the Goddess movement (Christ 1997). The
popularity of organizations such as the
Fellowship of Isis attest to the continuing

growth of the religion of the Goddess
throughout the world.

While much of the attempt at gender equity
in mainstream Christianity (Judaism never
recognized any gender for God) is aimed at
reinterpreting scripture and degenderizing

language used to name and describe the
divine (Ruether, 1984; Plaskow, 1991), there
are a growing number of people who identify

as Christians or Jews who are trying to
integrate goddess imagery into their religions
(Kien, 2000; Kidd 1996,"Goddess Christians

Yahoogroup").

Sacred feminine

Joseph Campbell in The Power of Myth, a
1988 interview with Bill Moyers,[8] links the
image of the Earth or Mother Goddess to
symbols of fertility and reproduction.[9] For
example, Campbell states that, "There have

been systems of religion where the mother is
the prime parent, the source... We talk of
Mother Earth. And in Egypt you have the
Mother Heavens, the Goddess Nut, who is
represented as the whole heavenly
sphere".[10] Campbell continues by stating

that the correlation between fertility and the
Goddess found its roots in agriculture:

Bill Moyers: But what happened along
the way to this reverence that in primitive

societies was directed to the Goddess
figure, the Great Goddess, the mother

earth- what happened to that?

Joseph Campbell: Well that was
associated primarily with agriculture and
the agricultural societies. It has to do with
the earth. The human woman gives birth

just as the earth gives birth to the
plants...so woman magic and earth magic
are the same. They are related. And the

personification of the energy that gives
birth to forms and nourishes forms is

properly female. It is in the agricultural
world of ancient Mesopotamia, the
Egyptian Nile, and in the earlier

planting-culture systems that the Goddess
is the dominant mythic form.[11]

Campbell also argues that the image of the
Virgin Mary was derived from the image of
Isis and her child Horus: "The antique model
for the Madonna, actually, is Isis with Horus

at her breast".[12]

Wicca

Further information: Goddess
(Wicca) and Triple Goddess

In Wicca "the Goddess" is a deity of prime
importance, along with her consort the

Horned God. Within many forms of Wicca
the Goddess has come to be considered as a

universal deity, more in line with her
description in the Charge of the Goddess, a

key Wiccan text. In this guise she is the
"Queen of Heaven", similar to Isis; she also

encompasses and conceives all life, much like
Gaia. Much like Isis and certain late Classical
conceptions of Selene,[13] she is held to be the

summation of all other goddesses, who
represent her different names and aspects
across the different cultures. The Goddess is
often portrayed with strong lunar symbolism,
drawing on various cultures and deities such

as Diana, Hecate and Isis, and is often
depicted as the Maiden, Mother and Crone

triad popularised by Robert Graves (see
Triple Goddess below). Many depictions of
her also draw strongly on Celtic goddesses.

Some Wiccans believe there are many
goddesses, and in some forms of Wicca,
notably Dianic Wicca, the Goddess alone is
worshipped, and the God plays very little

part in their worship and ritual.

The lunar triple goddess symbol.

Goddesses or demi-goddesses appear in sets

of three in a number of ancient European
pagan mythologies; these include the Greek

Erinyes (Furies) and Moirae (Fates); the
Norse Norns; Brighid and her two sisters,
also called Brighid, from Irish or Keltoi

mythology.

Robert Graves popularised the triad of
"Maiden" (or "Virgin"), "Mother" and
"Crone", and while this idea did not rest on
sound scholarship, his poetic inspiration has
gained a tenacious hold. Considerable
variation in the precise conceptions of these

figures exists, as typically occurs in
Neopaganism and indeed in pagan religions
in general. Some choose to interpret them as
three stages in a woman's life, separated by
menarche and menopause. Others find this
too biologically based and rigid, and prefer a
freer interpretation, with the Maiden as birth

(independent, self-centred, seeking), the
Mother as giving birth (interrelated,

compassionate nurturing, creating), and the
Crone as death and renewal (holistic, remote,
unknowable) — and all three erotic and wise.

Metaphorical use

The term "goddess" has also been adapted to
poetic and secular use as a complimentary
description of a non-mythological woman.[14]
The OED notes 1579 as the date of the
earliest attestation of such figurative use, in
Lauretta the diuine Petrarches Goddesse.

· Shakespeare had several of his male
characters address female characters as
goddesses, including Demetrius to Helena

in A Midsummer Night's Dream ("O
Helen, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine!"),

Berowne to Rosaline in Love's Labour's
Lost ("A woman I forswore; but I will
prove, Thou being a goddess, I forswore
not thee"), and Bertram to Diana in All's

Well That Ends Well. Pisanio also
compares Imogen to a goddess to describe

her composure under duress in
Cymbeline.

Notes

1. ^ a b Barnhart (1995:253).
2. ^ Barnhart (1995:323).

3. ^ Mbiti, J.S., Introduction to African
Religion, Oxford, 1975, p. 53.

4. ^ Jung Chang, Wild Swans: Three
Daughters of China, New York:

Touchstone, 2003, reprint, GlobalFlair,
1991, p. 429, accessed 2 Nov 2009
5. ^ Samael & Lilith

6. ^ Tree of souls: the mythology of
Judaism, By Howard Schwartz, page 218
7. ^ Böhme, Jacob; William Law, trans.