Goddesses Of Animals

  

Both wild and domesticated animals appear as goddess images. 

In at least one case, we find a wild and a domesticated version of the same animal representing separate god desses: Egyptian Bast (domesticated cat) and Sekhmet (lioness). 

In all circumstances, however, the goddesss familiar animal was common in the area where she was wor shiped; goddesses are not represented by exotic or alien fauna. 

One of the most important animal images for the goddess is the cow. 

Domesticated in Egypt approximately 5,000 years ago from wild cattle (where cows were honored as images of the goddesses Hathor and Neith), the cows nourishing milk symbolically connects this animal to human mothers. 

In a few cases, the goddess is seen associated with a bull. 

Greek Europa was carried across the sky by a bull, Mesopotamian Innana owned the bull of heaven (see Eastern Mediterranean), Irish Medb kidnapped a mag ical bull (see Celtic). 

But most commonly, the milch cow serves as a symbol of the abundant and nurturing goddess. 

In Scandinavia, the cow was a primal being, Audhumbla, who freed the first beings from the primordial ice in which they were frozen. 

Among the Irish Celts, we find Boand, ‘‘she of the white cows, who brought fertility to the land through the waters of the river that bears her name (Boyne). 

Honoring the ‘‘sacred cow, embodiment of the Hindu goddess Prthvı, in India gives religious support for respecting the cows economic and nutritional importance. 

In the same culture, the goddess of wealth, Laks˛mı, appears as a beautiful cow, and cows are called by her name. 

In Egypt, Hathor was depicted with the horned head of a cow, which had huge wings rising from her shoulders; in this shape, she gave birth to the universe. 

Anahita (see Eastern Medi terranean) was embodied in herds of cows on whose brows moons were branded. 

Nearby, Ugaritic Anat took on the form of a cow to mate with her beloved brother, the god Baal. 

The cow was not only an earthly creature but was imagined as heavenly as well. 

When a greedy person milked Irelands Glas Ghaibhleann (see Celtic) into a sieve, the animal was so insulted that she levitated into the heavens where she walks the ‘‘White Cows Path, the Milky Way. 

The Greeks connected this broad band of stars with the cow goddess Hera, who sprayed the heavens with milk while feeding her son Heracles. 

In some Christian narratives, the starry road was formed from the milk of the virgin Mary (see Eastern Mediterranean). 

The Egyptians saw the sky as a great cows belly, with the sun rising between the horns of the solar cow Hathor. 

Another domesticated animal that provided meat and milk, as well as skin for leather, was the goat, whose usefulness became part of her symbolic importance. 

The hollow horn of Greek Amaltea became the cornucopia, symbol of abundance. 

The Scandinavian heavenly goat Hedrun provided endless intoxicating mead that fed heroes in the afterlife. 

Goats were offered as sacrifices to Hittite Wurusemu (see Eastern Mediterranean). 

Other goddesses to whom goats are sacrificed are Tibetan Tara (see India) and Ethiopian Atete (see Africa). 

Used less often for food than for transportation, the horse appears connected with goddesses prominently in the mythologies of most Indo-European cultures as well as that of other lands. 

Goddesses can appear in horse form, accompanied by or riding horses, or drawn by them in a chariot. 

Many are associated with celestial powers, including the sun and moon. 

Celtic Epona and A ine may have represented the sun that speeds across the sky in a chariot drawn by horses; the folkloric English figure Lady Godiva (see Celts) may descend from a horse goddess. 

The feminine solar horse appears in India as well, in the figures of Samjn a and the dawn maiden Usas, who drove a chariot pulled by red horses. 

Two divine horses pulled the chariot of Scandina vian Sol, while Hungarian Xatel-Ekwa rode three horses simultaneously. 

Occasion ally, a lunar goddess was associated with the horses that pull the moons silver chariot; Greek Selene rode in such a chariot. 

Persian Anahita (see Eastern Mediterra nean) rode in a chariot drawn by four white horses signifying her control over the weather. 

Although typically connected with light, horses can also be associated with goddesses of darkness. 

A nightmarish horse, Russian Mora (see Slavic), killed people as they slept. 

In Scandinavia, the goddess Nott drove black horses that pulled the dark ness across the sky at nightfall. 

As horses were often used in battle, it is not surprising to find goddesses of war associated with this animal. 

In Greece, horses were connected with the warrior women called Amazons, who bore horse-names like Hippolyta and Melanippe. 

In Scandina via, a similar group of horsewomen, the Valkyries, brought dead heroes from the battlefield to heaven. 

In Ireland, the war goddess Macha was identified with horses, for she could outrun them even when nine months pregnant. 

Horses can represent transformation, as with Sumerian Ereshkegal (see Eastern Mediterranean), whose horse rode the boundary between death and life, or Greek Medusa who gave birth to the winged horse Pegasus, symbol of transformative poetry. 

Medusa may be connected with an obscure form of the grain goddess Demeter, who was impregnated while wearing a horses head. 

In the Baltic, the death goddess Giltine˙ drove two black horses, while in Wales the goddess Rhiannon rode a white horse from the Otherworld and was later forced to carry people on her own back like a mare. 

In hunting societies, wild herd animals like deer and buffalo appear as divinities, sometimes pictured in whimsical fashion. 

In Scandinavia, the Skogsfruen (see Busch frauen) herded wild animals and, when not otherwise occupied, liked to knit socks. 

But the underlying image of the goddess of wild herds is as a cosmic game warden, controlling access to the beasts and thus to the meat they provide. 

In southeastern Europe, Dali was goddess of mountain sheep who appeared as a nubile woman with whom male hunters had intercourse, which empowered them to become great hunters. 

Yet, like other goddesses of the hunt, she put prohibitions on hunters and killed any who broke her commands. 

The connection of goddesses with hunting is common, despite similarly common prohibitions on human women hunting. 

Greek Artemis wanders through the forests accompanied by her Nymphs, tending to woodland creatures and helping animals safely bear their young. 

Other such goddesses are Celtic Arduinna and Artio, Irish Flidais (see Celtic), Finnish Mielikki, Eskimo Sedna, and Siberian Umaj (see Circumpolar). 

In North America, Wohpe, the white buffalo calf-woman of the North American Sioux, is not only a guide to correct behavior when hunting but a general power of order. 

Such woodland goddesses set the rules and expectations for hunters, who were rewarded with success if they treated the goddess with respect. 

Dogs often appear as goddess images, as do their wild counterparts, wolves. 

Often the dog appears as a companion of the goddess rather than an embodiment of her, as with Celtic Nehalennia, Greek Hecate, and Hawaiian Pele (see Pacific Islands). 

Eskimo Sedna (see Circumpolar) lived with a dog, described sometimes as her hus band. 

Scandinavian Frau Goˆde (see Holle in Scandinavia) always traveled with a dog, which she used to annoy people who did not sufficiently respect her. 

Babylonian Gula was always shown accompanied by dogs, and dogs were buried in her temple, suggesting that they were connected with her healing powers. 

In rare cases, as with Irish Uirne, the divine figures are themselves canine in form, but more typically we find the dog by the goddesss side. 

Wolf goddesses, by contrast, were embodied in wolf form rather than merely traveling in their company. 

The related Roman figures of Rhea Silvia, Lupa, and Acca Larentia show the goddess in both human and lupine form. 

Both as dog and as wolf, the goddess appears more protective than threatening, although as Brimwylf (see Scandinavian) she can appear monstrous to those who would threaten her child. 

Like canines, felines can appear as both wild and tame in goddess iconography. 

However, when the tame cat appears as the wild lion, she changes from an affectionate goddess (Egypts Hathor, with her cat ears; Scandinavias sensual Freya; Chinese Wu Lo, goddess of fertility) to a fierce one (Indias Durga, a warrior goddess; Babylonian Eriskegal, queen of death; Egypts raging Sekhmet). 

At times, a complex but generally kindly goddess such as Cybele (see Southeastern Europe) or Chinas Xiwang Mu appeared accompanied by lions or tigers, which suggest the goddesss fiercer powers. 

Among other wild animals that serve as goddess images or vehicles, the bear appears as both the goddess herself (Greek Callisto and Artemis, Celtic Artio) and as her mate (Tlingit Rhpisunt; see North America). 

The goddess appeared as a fox in Japan (Inari), where she could transform herself into a beautiful woman to seduce and kill men. 

Finally, occasional goddesses take on animal forms appropriate to a spe cific region, such as Egyptian Taweret (hippopotamus). 

~ Kiran Atma

You can learn more about Goddess Symbolism here.

Goddesses Of Time And Seasons

The concept of time appears as a goddess in several cultures. 

In Hindu India, Nidra is the sleep of time, whose passage is beyond human control, while Kalı represents the many eras of the worlds life, with the final era named after her. 

In North America, the Cherokee saw time as ruled by the sun goddess Unelanuhi, who divided night from day and thus invented all measurement. 

Among the pre-Roman Etruscans, time was the goddess Nortia, in whose honor nails were pounded each year into her temple. 

The later Roman Juno represented time as embodied in womens passage through lifes stages, with multiple Junos representing each woman as she aged. 

Some time goddesses are also foretellers of fate, as was Arabic Manat (see Eastern Mediterra nean), Finally, many goddesses are associated with the period before day was divided from night. 

These divinities appear in a primordial, often chaotic ‘‘time before time, and are often creatrixes who form the universe. 

Many goddesses, especially earth goddesses, are associated with specific seasons that paralleled the seasons of a womans life. 

Spring goddesses (Roman Flora, Greek Hebe, Slavic Kostrubonko, Scandinavian Rana Neida) are typically young and sex ually active or even promiscuous, unburdened by children. 

They are kind and gener ous, beautiful and tender. 

Often spring goddesses are associated with dawn, both representing the promise of new beginnings. 

Just as dawn goddesses (see Light/Day, above) could be dangerous as well as desirable, so figures connected with spring, like Slavic Rusalki, could present themselves as threatening. 

Spring was a time of hunger to subsistence farmers, who had devoured their stored crops and were awaiting new growth. 

Even for gathering-hunting cultures, spring could be difficult, so in the Arctic we find Asiaq (see Circumpolar), to whom shamans made sacrifices if ice did not break up in the rivers, allowing fishing. 

Thus maiden spring goddesses such as Greek Persephone were connected to death, an ever-present danger in hungry springtime. 

Summer goddesses, by contrast, are typically maternal, indicative of the earth in its agricultural abundance. 

Like Roman Ceres (from whom we derive the word ‘‘cereal), these goddesses are often associated with food plants, which flourish in summer weather (see also Vegetation, below). 

In North America, such goddesses could be embodied in the important food-crop, maize or corn; see Selu and Oniata. 

Such goddesses are typically depicted as mature and fertile, women in the prime of their reproductive years. 

But in desert lands, summer goddesses could appear as threat ening, as with Egyptian Sekhmet who represents the scorching sun, or Sri Lankan Pattinı (see India) who began as a gentle woman but became rage-filled and destruc tive later. 

It might be assumed that autumn goddesses would represent decline and death, but fall is a season for both harvest and the hunt. 

Thus goddesses connected with autumn could be paradoxically both fertile and deadly. 

Some, such as Irish Tailtu, were sacrificed in order to provide fertility to the land, while in other cases such as Slavic Baba Yaga, they threatened others with death by devouring. 

In Mesoamerican ritual, a mature woman assumed the identity of Toci and was sacrificed and flayed at her har vest festival. 

Other autumn goddesses (South American Pachamama, Greek Demeter, Roman Pomona) were goddesses of abundance, appropriate to harvest sea son. 

These goddesses are typically shown as a woman past the prime of life but still vigorous. 

With the Irish Cailleach, this vigor included sexual appetite; this divine female could exhaust and even kill young men with her demands. 

Winter goddesses, typically envisioned as old women, are often threatening. 

This is hardly surprising, as winter in earlier times was a time of hardship and want. 

Winter goddesses are shown with the power to control the weather (see Weather, above). 

Thus they were to be propitiated, lest they grow angry and bring on dangerous storms. 

The Scandinavian winter goddess appeared as a pair, with friendly Holle shaking her feather beds to make snow and rewarding those pleasant to her with gold, while her twin Perchta roamed through the world looking for people to punish for minor infrac tions, bringing bitter cold with her. 

Some winter goddesses are paired with a spring deity. 

In Scotland, the Cailleach appeared with the girl Bride, who spent winter trying to escape the hags grasp. 

Finally, some winter divinities are witches (Roman Befana, Finno-Ugric Louhi) who kidnap good weather and growth, holding it hostage until spring. 

~ Kiran Atma

You can learn more about Goddess Symbolism here.

Goddesses Of Darkness And Night

Light has a physical source in the sun, which can readily be envisioned as a divinity. 

But darkness, the absence of light, has no similarly specific source. 

Darkness as a qual ity, then, is less often imagined embodied as a goddess, although India provides one in the form of kindly Ratri, sister to the dawn goddess Usas, representing restful night. 

The Greeks, too, had a goddess of night, Nyx, a primordial figure who gave birth to the early gods and represented a time before the creation of light. 

A similar figure, No¨tt, appears in Scandinavian myth. 

Many goddesses are described as having dark skin, usually to emphasize their con nection to the dark fertile soil rather than to indicate their connection to nighttime. 

This appears to be the case with the so-called Black Madonnas (see Mary, Eastern Mediterranean), found in an area predominantly occupied by light-skinned people. 

Some goddesses of death, such as Sumerian Erishkegal (see Eastern Mediterranean) are described as powers of darkness, apparently because they are associated with the physical inability to see light after death. 

Goddesses associated with darkness could be associated with magic, as with Greek Hecate who appeared at the dark of the moon accompanied by black dogs. 

Finally, darkness sometimes indicates a peoples natural complexion and has no special symbolic meaning. 

Racism is occasionally found in mythology, reflecting soci etal divisions and injustices. 

For example, the Indian goddess Parvati, originally dark skinned like many of her worshipers, underwent an initiatory experience in order to attain a presumably more beautiful light skin. 

The presumption that ‘‘dark indicates negative forces or even evil is unfounded in most mythologies. 

Even when a goddess is connected with death, that does not necessarily indicate that her powers are negative, as death is a natural part of life. 

~ Kiran Atma

You can learn more about Goddess Symbolism here.

Goddesses Of Light And Day

Goddesses of light are usually associated with the sun (see above), but occasionally we find divinities associated with light in general. 

An example of such a goddess is Roman Diana, often described as a moon goddess but originally a goddess of the sky, espe cially when lit by one of the celestial luminaries. 

Other light goddesses appeared as midwives (Roman Lucina, Babylonian Bau), for they represented the first light that a newborn sees. 

Even more generally, the Australian light goddess Yhi represented the moment of creation, at which all creatures came forth into light. 

Some light goddesses are connected with a specific time of day. 

Slavic Poldunica was bright noontime, while Greek Eos and Hindu Usas both represented dawn. 

Other dawn goddesses include Eastern Mediterranean Aja (see Ishtar), Chinese Zhunti (see Ma-tsu), Buddhist Marıcı (see India), Polynesian Atanua and Hina, Hungarian Xoli-Kalte (see Finno-Ugric, Xatel-Ekwa), and Roman Mater Matuta. 

At the other end of day, Greek Hesperides and Slavic Zorya represented the fading light of eve ning, often embodied in the first stars seen in the darkening sky (see Stars, above). 

The temperaments and symbols of these goddesses vary according to the kind of light they represent, with dawn goddesses appearing often as lusty maidens, full of energy, while deities of evening are more sedate but nonetheless seductive (see also Fire, below). 

~ Kiran Atma

You can learn more about Goddess Symbolism here.

Goddesses Of The Sky

 

The earths blue atmosphere rarely appears in mythology as divine, although the sky as an image of the upper world or heavens is found in many cultures, especially those that posit a multistory universe inhabited by different beings at different levels. 

Although often gendered as masculine, the heavens also appear in female form, as with the Roman goddess Diana, originally a goddess of the open sky who was later limited to the moon, and Maori Mahora-nui-a-rangi (see Pacific Islands), a heavenly creatrix. 

Such sky divinities can be connected with boundlessness (Indian Adıtı), because the sky seems to have no beginning nor ending. 

Occasionally such goddesses represented the entire cosmos, earth and sky together (Eastern Mediterranean Tanit). 

Because of the vastness of the sky, it was sometimes depicted as dual-sexed, as with African So (see Mawu), who was considered a goddess despite having a masculine aspect. 

Although sky goddesses often have little personality and seem remote from human affections, the Egyptian sky goddess Nut was the mother to whom the dead returned and, as such, was painted across the inside lid of coffins, stretching out her starry body. 

She was also a lusty goddess who had to be forcibly separated from her lover, the earth god. 

The need to separate earth and sky, who remain otherwise in unending inter course, is a common mythic tale, although most of the sky divinities are male, the earth female. 

The skys light, especially at dawn, was often pictured as a voluptuous and promis cuous goddess (Roman Aurora, Greek Eos, Indian Usas). 

The lustful goddess is more typically pictured as the morning and evening star. 

However, the goddess as a creator of light, and as light itself, is found in many cultures. 

Some earth goddesses and divine ancestors appear as women who originally lived in the sky but descended to the earths surface, often because of love for an earthly man. 

Thus African Nambi fled her sky home, bringing the food that humanity needed to survive down with her. 

Andriambavirano of Madagascar (see Africa, Andriana) similarly became enamored of a human male, but her original descent was motivated by boredom and curiosity about the earth. 

Finally, some figures are described as living in the sky but are not otherwise specifically associated with the heavens (see African Mbokomu and Nambi; Chinese Tai-hsu¨an Nu¨; Circumpolar Kadlu.) 

~ Kiran Atma

You can learn more about Goddess Symbolism here.

Goddess Worship In Ireland

 

How Prevalent Was Goddess Worship In Ireland?

Ireland has a long association with Goddess and water because to the fact that it is a nation entirely surrounded by the ocean. 

Goddess' nutritious milk flows swiftly in springs, wells, lakes, and rivers, and it is no accident that civilizations first encountered her and flourished close to these water-rich areas. 

To dwell near water meant to live close to the Giver of Life, where her secrets were accessible, as shown by Brigid's holy wells in Ireland, Sequana's Seine River in France, and Persephone's Lake Pergusa in Sicily. 

The healing waters that flow from the holy locations where Goddess has manifested in her many forms are still being collected by devotees. 

Examples include Artemis' epiphanies in Ephesus and the Mother Mary's apparitions at Lourdes and Knock. 

Both Chalice Well at Glastonbury and Sulis Minerva's spring in Bath, England, flow in a tint of crimson suggestive of the Mother's holy life-giving blood. 

Many English communities still choose to honor the hallowed waters with rituals known as "well dressings" that pay homage to their ancestors' pagan traditions. 

Goddess as water is personified in some of these holy locations. 

Goddess Worship At Castle Clonegal. 

There is no museum, relic, or ruin to be found in the Temple of Isis at the 17th-century castle in Clonegal, Ireland. 

In a maze-like maze of rooms under the castle, there is a functioning temple perched over a holy well. 

The international group The Fellowship of Isis calls Clonegal Castle home, and rituals and rites are still performed there. 

Under the direction of Lady Olivia Robertson, a 90-year-old founder of the group, they revere the Goddess in all of her manifestations. 

In the middle of the 1970s, Lady Olivia, Lawrence Durdin-Robertson, and Pamela Robertson, his wife, formed the temple and organization. 

In other regions of the globe, other leaders expanding the knowledge of goddess spirituality were also becoming more visible at this time. 

Even when it was unfashionable for a woman to be a rebel, Lady O, as some of the Fellowship of Isis members refer to her, has always been a liberal and open-minded thinker. 

She started researching esoteric sciences while still a popular author in the 1950s in order to use her innate psychic abilities. 

She had always seen ghosts and angels, but in 1976, she had a vision of the goddess Isis, which surprised and perplexed her. 

Despite the fact that her cousin Robert Graves (author of The White Goddess) was not well respected in the family or in what was considered "proper society" at the time, she was able to relate to their beliefs. 

Scota, also known as "the black one," was an Egyptian Priestess of Isis and the daughter of the Pharaoh Cincris. 

According to Lady Olivia and Lawrence, Scota was also a hereditary Daughter of Isis. 

Following Olivia's encounter with the Goddess Isis in the middle of the 1970s, Pamela, Lawrence, and Olivia made the decision to convert their family castle, Clonegal Castle, into the headquarters of the Fellowship of Isis. 

The Fellowship is prospering, with more than 20,000 members worldwide as of the time of this writing, despite the passing of Lawrence and Pamela. 

The Noble Order of Tara was established by the Fellowship of Isis, or FOI, in 1990. 

Its members were committed to promoting environmental causes. 

They have other environmentally conscious initiatives going on and have been crucial in stopping strip mining on Mount Leinster. 

The Druid Clan of Dana, named after the Irish Mother Goddess, was established in 1992 and is committed to the secrets of the Druids. 

They arranged the 1993 Druid Convention in London via their publication, Aisling, which participates in the Council of British Druid Orders. 

A second Goddess-oriented group, the Fellowship of Isis, was one of two that attended the Chicago-based World Parliament of Religions in 1993. 

The Fellowship reveres all Goddesses, so why does Lady Olivia seem to connect with Isis the most? Isis is the global Goddess, the Isis of Ten Thousand Names, in her own words. 

Demeter, Lakshmi, Kwan Yin, Dana, Ngame, and Mary are all mentioned by her. 

As most Neo-Pagans could concur, Mary of the Christian faith was Isis to Lady Olivia. 

After Osiris' resurrection, Christ was both Osiris and Horus. 

In Lady O's opinion, the Goddess Isis is physically and spiritually appearing at this moment of universal change and the birth of the Feminine Divine. 

As they return to the "old ways," millions of people all around the world claim to hear the Goddess calling. 

These followers of the Divine Feminine believe that unless we once again value women and the Divine Feminine, the ecological, spiritual, and technical destruction brought about by a patriarchal society would eventually result in disaster. 

Goddess spiritualists believe that Mother Nature's ultimate goal is to reestablish love and peace amongst all living things so that everyone may nurture and benefit from a healthy, bountiful way of existence. 

The main sanctuary, naïve, Chapel of Brigid, and shrines honoring the twelve signs of the Zodiac are among the 26 shrines that make up the castle temple. 

This is an illustration of what one would see when entering the shrines, but they do vary from time to time. 

Devotees enter in procession through elaborately carved doors at the sound of a gong, and the Egyptian deity Thoth, protector of the secrets, stands directly in front of them. 

A landing is reached by way of stone stairs. Goddess symbolism are seen everywhere. 

There is a plaque with a picture of Jesus that is surrounded by further art that shows the Divine Feminine. 

The main temple area, which is to the left, would be surrounded by sculptures of goddesses. 

An iron gate leading to the historic castle well stands in front of you. 

A large Tibetan bell that is used to signal entry into the Temple is located to the left of the gate. 

The temple's interior, which is made of granite, measures 79 by 40 feet (24 by 12 meters). 

There is a sizable sanctuary there, as well as nine stone pillars arranged in a row. 

The sanctuary is surrounded by a short brick wall and two brick pillars that stand before the High Altar. 

The clergy offer invocations on a modest elevated stone dais before the High Altar. 

The High Altar of Isis serves as the main altar for all temple ceremonies. 

The Fellowship of Isis commissioned gifted woodworker David Robertson, son of Lawrence and nephew of Olivia, to carve Isis of 10,000 Names as its centerpiece. 

There are five primary chapels, each with characteristics of an element. 

The historic Druidic well, which is 17 feet (5 meters) deep and known for its therapeutic virtues, is located within the Chapel of Brigid. 

The Holy of Holies, also called the Chapel of Ishtar and devoted to the fifth element, Spirit, is reached via carved doors from Brigid's chapel. 

Daily rituals and meditation are conducted at the temple as Lady Olivia assists in healing and attunes with members all across the globe. 

The castle is situated next to a holy grove of trees in Ireland's stunning and verdant landscape. 

The Fellowship of Isis, whose goal is to restore the Goddess to the world by whatever ways the Divine Feminine sees suitable, is still hard at work. 

Rituals often include theatrical acts that impart knowledge of eternal secrets. 

From a small group of three, the FOI's vision and goal have expanded to become a means for thousands of people to recognize and adore Goddess. 

#How to reach Clonegal Castle. 

Southeast Ireland's little town of Clonegal is home to Clonegal Castle. 

Invitations are required for rituals. 

Drop-in visits are not seen as appropriate manners, thus detailed instructions to the castle won't be given here. 

Please contact Lady Olivia Robertson, Fellowship of Isis, Clonegal Castle, Enniscorthy, Ireland, if you would like further information on visiting Clonegal Castle. 

The FOI operates lyceums and institutes both domestically and abroad. 

On the Fellowship of Isis website, one may obtain details on the closest FOI chapter. 

The FOI sells books and rituals that Lady Olivia has written in print and on audiotape, along with correspondence courses, a newsletter, and other products. 

Goddess Worship At Kildare.

While it is exceedingly impossible to visit conservative, Christian Ireland without physically running across manifestations of the Goddess, travelers may experience at least four different facets of the Divine Feminine in Kildare. 

Goddess-seekers may locate a Sheila-na-Gig, a Brigid-related holy well, a Brigid-related fire sanctuary, and the Brigidine Sisters known as the Sisters of the Solas Bride (pronounced breed). 

Similar to Athena and the Roman Vestal Virgins, Celtic Brigid belongs to the category of Virgin Goddess (See Rome and Athens). 

She is revered as a triple goddess and is the protector of smiths, healers, and poets. 

As seen by her hallowed well and fire sanctuary in Kildare, Brigid is also a creative source of energy in her qualities of flowing water and blazing fire. 

Interestingly, steam is created when water and fire come together; this is undoubtedly another source of unending strength and energy. 

Her fire melts the smith's metal, and the water cools it to form the tools that will save humanity. 

She has observable ties to her Neolithic origins via her affiliation with the benevolent female snake known as "the queen." Later, she became a part of Celtic Christianity and was elevated to sainthood as Brigid the virgin nun. 

Because of this relationship, Brigid the Saint and Brigid the Goddess are revered as one by the Brigidine Sisters of Ireland, also known as Solas Bride. 

The flame of Brigid is maintained by current nuns who continue the old custom. 

Visitors may see the flame and take it home with them from their sacred location. 

This is accomplished by lighting a candle from the Solas Bride's eternal flame and then passing the symbolic flame from one candle to another, wick to wick. 

Miriam Robbins Dexter cites Geraldus Cambrensis in relation to the eternal flame of the Goddess and claims that the rivers Brigid in Ireland, Braint in Wales, and Brent in England were all given their names in honor of Brigid or Bride. 

The final nun remarked to Brigid on the twentieth night, "Brigid, I have cared for your fire... and so, the fire having been abandoned... 

it was discovered again, unextinguished." At the time of Brigid, twenty nuns were employed here to serve a master as a soldier, with she herself being the twentieth. 

Brigid is described as "the female sage" and "Brigit the goddess, whom poets worshiped because her protective care over them was very great and extremely renowned" in Archbishop Cormac Mac Cullenan's Cormac's Glossary, written in 908 CE. 

Brigid "originated at an era when the Celts worshipped goddesses rather than gods, and when knowledge – leechcraft, husbandry, inspiration — were women's rather than men's," according to Scottish academic J. A. Mac Cullock in 1911. 

According to the forbidden shrine in Kildare, Brigid had female clergy and it was believed that males were not allowed to participate in her devotion. 

Brigid became a nun and established a monastery in Kildare, a county renowned for its fertility and richness, according to Barbara Walker and Robert Graves. 

They contend that like other components of society that the Catholic Church failed to abolish, they integrate. 

They claim Brigit's bower was the center of an endless springtime where the village cows never ran dry and flowers and shamrocks sprung forth in her wake. 

Brigid was compared to Mary by authors and poets who thought she was more than just a saint and was really the Queen of Heaven. 

"Mother of my Sovereign," "Mary of the Goidels," "Queen of the South," "Prophetess of Christ," and "Mother of Jesus," according to Graves, are names given to Brigid. 

According to Marija Gimbutas, Brigid was connected to childbirth like Artemis and Diana and served as the "midwife to the Blessed Virgin and thus the foster mother of Christ." Others compared Brigid to Tanit, the Heavenly Goddess, and June Regina. 

According to Gimbutas, Brigid, the Greek Artemis Eileithyia, the Thracian Bendis, the Roman Diana, and the Baltic Fate Goddess were all prehistoric decedents of the life-giving Goddesses who survived Indo-Europeanization in the form of Nature, the giver of health, and in the guise of birds and animals. 

Brigid was associated with weaving, spinning, twisting, and stitching, much like her European sisters, and it is stated that this women's activity must be halted on Friday, the holy day of the Goddess. 

It's interesting that she was associated with Saint Patrick, who was allegedly a pagan before converting to Christianity. 

Additionally, she was frequently mistaken for Brigid's early Pagan lover, Dagda, or "father," and was supposed to be a Christianized version of him. 

Irish folklore holds that Saint Patrick is to blame for Ireland's lack of native snakes. 

The account of Saint Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland raises the possibility that the patriarchy subjugating Goddess spirituality is a metaphor for these linkages, as well as Brigid's connection to Neolithic snake imagery. 

According to Gimbutas, local traditions include constructing snake effigies on Brigid's holy day of Imbolc, when "serpents are reported to come from the highlands." According to Walker, the twenty Brigid priestesses who were present in Kildare reflected the 19-year cycle of the Celtic "Great Year" She goes on to talk about how the Greeks made references to Apollo going to the "temple of the moon goddess" (Brigid) every nineteen years in their stories. 

Around the Stonehenge circle, markers were placed to designate these Great Years. 

According to researcher Patricia Monaghan, Brigid is linguistically related to Bridestones, also known as sarsens, which are the large sandstones used to build Stonehenge. 

This suggests that Brigid was known in early Neolithic, pre-Celtic periods. 

In addition to the Thuggees of Kali and the "Assassins," who revered the Arabian Moon Goddess, Walker mentions another part of Brigid related to martial arts and her warriors known as brigands as an example of a goddess's follower becoming vilified. 

Brigid, also known as Brigantia in England, Bride in Scotland, and Brigandu in Celtic France, has many distinct names. 

Patricia Monaghan, a scholar, presents a somewhat different story of Brigid. 

In this mythological cycle, Brigid is the human offspring of a Druid who was subsequently canonized and baptized by Saint Patrick. 

It was said that the Christian Brigid had many of the same traits and abilities as the Goddess Brigid, and that the abbess had exceptional authority to choose bishops who had to be goldsmiths. 

Imbolc or Candlemas, Brigid's feast day on February 1st, was a celebration of the "lactation of the sheep, symbolic of new life and the approach of spring," according to Gimbutas. 

She claims that a milk libation was thrown into the Earth and connects the life-giving material to Brigid's flower, the dandelion, which when crushed generated milky juice, supplying sustenance for the young lambs. 

Anyone who has experienced the gloom of Ireland's winters understands how uplifting it is to start to glimpse the light again, the symbolic fire of Brigid. 

This festival also commemorates the return of the light as the world emerges from the winter's darkness. 

This was a joyful period of processions, singing, dancing, and ceremonial baking. 

Gimbutas asserts that "honoring the Bride, giving presents, crafting dolls, preparing special cakes, greeting the Saint in every home, and anticipating her presence as a blessing must have roots deeper than the final decades of paganism; much of it carries on Neolithic customs." 

Brigid's fire sanctuary in Kildare is described by Rufus and Lawson as a "low stone wall, rectangular and not round as in ancient times." 

The recreated shrine is neat, orderly, and quiet, speaking nothing of its past existence as a spiritual center for Irish women, both during the Goddess' lifetime and for centuries following. 

In the heart of Kildare, in the graveyard of the Cathedral Church of Saint Brigid, is where you'll find Brigid's Fire House. 

Before leaving the church, look inside for the Sheela on Bishop Wellesley's tomb from the 16th century. 

It is beautifully placed below the left-hand corner of the top slab and above a panel depicting the Crucifixion. 

The Sheela's legs are split, and her pubic hair is visible. 

The Tobar Bride, also known as Brigid's Well, is a mile or so from the fire sanctuary. 

With a statue of Saint Brigid dressed as a nun and a natural well of healing waters, the holy site suggests that it is equally dedicated to the Saint and the Goddess. 

The brick arch that crosses the holy stream-like well is decorated with Brigid's pagan emblem, the Cross of Brigid. 

Don't forget to bring a container so you may transport the restorative waters of Bride home. 

Votive gifts, such as rags or pieces of fabric fastened to trees (sometimes referred to as clootie trees), are often left at the location. 

In accordance with Gimbutas, who cited Wood-Martin, "The rag or ribbon, removed from the clothes, is thought to be the storehouse of the spiritual or physical maladies of the suppliant. 

Rags are riddances rather than just offerings or votive objects. 

(In another type of riddance ritual, the matriarch of the house would distribute to family members a strip of cloth called the brat Brighide, or Saint Brigit's mantle, which was hung on a tree or bush a few days before Saint Brigit's Eve to protect the family from illness or misfortune in the upcoming year.) 

The healing properties of Brigid's waters have been known since Neolithic times, which helps to explain why numerous wells under Mary-related churches and temples (such as those at Clonegal, Chartres, and Lourdes) may have retained their reputation for miracles. 

It was believed that a few of the goddesses' holy wells may increase a woman's fertility. 

Devotees would go to the wells on the first day of spring to undertake purification rituals, including washing their hands, faces, and feet, removing strips of cloth from their garments, walking around the stone, praying, chanting, kneeling, and sipping from the holy waters. 

They might then go to "a river stone which has footprints," where they would continue to pray, according to Gimbutas, who is quoting Wood-Martin once more. 

Footprints may be observed carved into the stone near the holy waters at Tobar Bride. 

Brigid the Goddess and those who honor her are warmly embraced by the nuns of the Church known as the Sisters of the Solas Bride. 

You are welcome to visit their refuge, but only with previous preparations. 

The Sisters welcome individuals and groups and have joyfully accommodated and shared ritual space with small groups of committed practitioners of Goddess Spirituality. 

Interested parties will be needed to make personal contact to organize a visit. 

How to get to Kildare? 

Kildare is conveniently accessible by rail, bus, and private vehicle and is situated 32 miles (51 km) southwest of Dublin. 

If you're driving, use the N7 Dublin-Limerick Road to the Kildare Cathedral, which is in the town's center. 

One mile south of Kildare is where the well is situated. 

Following the directions out of town toward the Japanese Gardens, there will be a sign directing drivers to the Tobar Bride down a tiny road to the right approximately 300 yards (270 m) before you arrive at the Gardens. 

Goddess Worship At Newgrange.

Another marker pointing left down the path will be located around 100 yards (90 m) farther; this sign will direct tourists to the well at Newgrange. 

The great megalithic tomb of Newgrange is ranked alongside the temple of Ggantija in Malta as one of the most impressive prehistoric monuments in Europe, according to any old guidebook, but mainstream scholars are still divided over how to interpret the significance of this magnificent Goddess site constructed more than 5,000 years ago. 

According to some experts, the imagery found on Western European megalithic art is connected to altered states of consciousness. 

The altered states may sometimes be brought on by using hallucinogens, and they can also be brought on via shaman trance dances. 

When they find the controversial archaeologist Marija Gimbutas' work compelling, many goddess proponents depart from conventional thinking. 

Even Marija was unable to pinpoint the precise events that took place at Newgrange, but Gimbutas' decades of research into Neolithic archaeology and the significance of artwork and artifacts in a cultural and religious context have given passage graves like Newgrange a fuller and richer meaning. 

Advocates contend that Newgrange was a holy location for the Goddess and that its artwork symbolizes concepts of birth, death, and rebirth, with the passage grave serving as both "womb and tomb," based on the graphic language she invented, folk literature, and a little amount of intuition. 

"The heart of the religion of the Goddess in the British Isles," according to author Peg Streep, is Newgrange. 

It is without a doubt a location for ritual, processions, and significant gatherings that are suggestive of the early Neolithic builders' religion! 

Many claim that Newgrange is the best example of a passage grave in Western Europe. 

Carbon-dating research suggests that it was constructed around 3200 BCE. 

Farmers who kept livestock were the people who constructed Newgrange. 

They used stone as opposed to metal to create this complex edifice, which required not only extraordinary labor but also knowledge of design and engineering. 

They also watched and analyzed astronomical movements. 

It measures 265 feet (81 meters) in circumference and 45 feet (14 meters) high. 

Only 12 of the 35 standing stones, or menhirs, that previously surrounded it are still standing. 

According to Streep, this circle may have served as a barrier between the mother's womb's holy area and the rest of the world. 

Although the mound is now covered in grass, many academics believe that white quartz once covered it. 

The quartz would have significance beyond just aesthetic value since it was a rare stone that had to be imported from a distance. 

Gimbutas compares the mound to the world's cosmic womb or egg, and the white coating was designed to resemble an egg's shell. 

For the construction of Newgrange, an estimated 180,000 tons (163,080,000 kg) of stone were needed. 

The entrance to the mound faces the dawn in the middle of winter. 

The 62-foot (19-meter) long tube leads to a central room from which three side chambers branch out. 

On the midwinter solstice, sunlight streams into the chamber via a roof box lintel at the entrance. 

During the solstice, the sun can be seen slowly filling the interior passageway until it reaches the back chamber and illuminates a carving of a triple spiral that some people think represents the Goddess. 

A symbolic (or literal?) rebirth and regeneration of the dead may result from this, as well as the effect of awakening her powers. 

Before moving back down the entrance passageway and leaving the mound in complete darkness once more, the light briefly fills the cavern. 

It has been speculated that this dramatic effect might have been performed using a polished mirror at other significant times throughout the year, but that is just conjecture. 

Gimbutas thought sacred symbols and patterns that recurred all over Neolithic Old Europe were used to invoke the Goddess. 

According to Streep's citation of Gimbutas, "ritual action" served as a means of "communicating with the divine" and an invocation of the Goddess' enshrined regenerative abilities. 

The art's iconography includes the ideas of life, death, and regeneration, which are all aspects of the Goddess. 

The imagery of the owl and snake—symbols of rebirth and rebirth—represented these ideas. 

These theories are further supported by the structure's orientation and commanding position close to the Boyne River's (named for the Goddess Boand) bend. 

Even if some of the pictures are more abstract, when they are studied across all of Europe, a language and a unified iconography start to take shape. 

The stone near Newgrange's main gate is vividly engraved with three snake coils, which stand for three sources of life. 

Similar to Neolithic Catal Hüyük, iconography starts to emerge in three-groupings. 

The brow ridge of the Owl Goddess, stone basins, engravings of triple snake spirals, coils, and cartouches, as well as side cells at Newgrange, are all discovered in triplicate. 

Gimbutas can identify the large snake coils that are inscribed on orthostats and are connected to V, M, chevrons, and zigzag bands. 

She postulated that the presence of arcs, wavy lines, bands of zigzags, and serpent shapes indicated a belief in the reproductive capacity of water as well as a relationship between the snake and the strength of stone. 

Triangles are depicted on the walls and curbstones of Newgrange. 

Sometimes they are by themselves, other times they are in rows and pairs linked at the tip or the base, or they are encompassed by arcs. 

These pictures are of the Goddess of Death and Regeneration, according to Gimbutas. 

Her interpretation of the "serpent ship" motif connected to the religion of the dead is particularly intriguing. 

At Newgrange, the union of zigzags or winding serpents (symbols of renewed life) with triangles or lozenges (both special signs of the Goddess of Regeneration) creates abstract images of "serpent ships," which can be taken literally to mean ceremonial ships connected to death rituals that carry the dead toward renewal. 

Gimbutas describes spheres and snake coils representing a full moon, opposed crescents alone or with a snake coil in the middle depicting a moon cycle, and wavy lines of winding serpents measuring time as additional indications of time and lunar movements in the stone carvings at Newgrange. 

She claims that up to thirty winding snake turns corresponded to a near approximation of the lunar month and that serpentine patterns with fourteen to seventeen turns signified the number of days the moon waxes. 

It is possible to speculate that Neolithic practitioners included both of these elements in their death ritual because the structure is linked to death and rebirth and contains imagery that is both reflective of sunlight and water. 

This brings discussions back to folk literature mixed with some whimsy. 

The study of Roman literature, figurines, and inscriptions has revealed what is known about ancient Ireland. 

What before is mostly unknown since Celtic literature did not become widely read until the second century CE. 

It is widely acknowledged that Brigid represented the elements of fire and water (or light), as well as connections with the serpent, whose history dates back to the Neolithic era. 

In light of the fact that the rituals performed at this particular mound are beginning to comprehend and revere her imagery and essence, perhaps we should take a moment to consider how she might be related to Newgrange. 

We should also keep in mind that according to folklore, the god Dagna, who is occasionally referred to as Brigid's consort, constructed Newgrange for himself and his sons. 

What if this is just a patriarchal interpretation of the story? It is entertaining to speculate if Dagna really did construct Newgrange as a spectacular expression of his love for his consort, much as Ramses did when he constructed the Taj Mahal or the little Temple of Hathor at Abu Simbel in honor of his great love Nefertari. 

According to a different piece of mythology, Bru na Boinne, the Gaelic name for the area near Newgrange, means "the house of the Goddess of the River Boann." 

It claims the River Boyne, also known as Boinn or Boand, is named after the Goddess Boand and is located close to Newgrange (she of the white cows). 

Boand, who is regarded as one of the main Earth Goddesses of prehistoric Ireland, is the embodiment of the abundance and vitality found in water, or the nourishing milk that flows from a revered cow. 

Boyne, its modern Celtic name, which translates to "illuminated cow," is transliterated as Buvinda. 

Additionally, the Celtic term denotes brightness, whiteness, and knowledge. 

The wise salmon, along with other fish connected to the Goddess, dwells in the River Boyne. 

Perhaps in Newgrange, in a manner similar to Eleusis, the priestesses and priests of the Goddess taught their people the lessons of life and death while performing ritual. 

According to legend, Boann and her partner Elemar were Newgrange's original residents until Elemar was replaced by Dagna, which leads us back to Brigid. 

Could Boann have been a younger version of Brigid? We already know that Brigid inspired the naming of rivers. 

Since Brigid is a Goddess of Healing, the River Boyne was also praised for its therapeutic properties. 

There are undoubtedly no concrete solutions, but many connections cause cultural diffusionists to pause and give a thoughtful "ah-ha." # How to get to Newgrange. 

About 6 miles (10 km) west of Drogheda, in the Boyne Valley, which is located to the south of the N51 Drogheda–Navan Road, is where you'll find Newgrange. 

From Drogheda, you may go to Newgrange by train or bus. 

On the nearby road to Slane, you can find the Knowth and Dowth mounds. 

Within the Bru na Boinne complex, there is also a prehistoric ritual pond made by humans called Monknewtown that might be worth a look. 

If you're traveling by car, think about taking a day trip from Dublin, which is 45 km (28 mi) south of the site. 

There is a visitor center on site, but it is advised to call ahead because there has been discussion about restricting access to Newgrange's interior. 

Much of the discussed imagery can be seen by simply walking around the grounds. 

The tremendous feeling of the sun entering the chamber is reenacted by guides using a flashlight to give tourists some idea of the event, but it is almost impossible to be within the mound on the solstice since individuals are wait-listed for years to enjoy the privilege. 

It could be a good idea for travelers to have a small container with them so they can gather water from the River Boyne. 

Worship Of Goddess Sheila-na-Gigs.

Stone carvings of female genitalia known as Sheila-na-Gigs, also known as Sheelas, are typically found on the walls and doorways of Celtic churches and monasteries in Western Europe and the British Isles, though they can also be found in Indonesia, South America, Australia, Oceania, and India. 

The real role of Sheelas is not clearly known, however most say they were icons or symbols of protection, much like the guardian gargoyles on Gothic cathedrals or the gorgon on Athena’s shield. 

This author concurs with that assertion and suggests that the sign could have stood for the idea that being within the building on which the Sheela is carved is equivalent to entering the holy vulva, a portal leading to the protection of the Mother Goddess' womb. 

The figures' stance of sitting, reclining, or standing with legs akimbo and completely exposed yonis has been suggested as a potential emblem of exhibitionism, however that hardly seems plausible given that they were discovered carved in hallowed locations. 

In addition to raising the intriguing hypothesis that Sheelas are connected to Celtic or pre-Celtic forms of Oriental and Mediterranean holy prostitutes, Rufus Camphausen has also indicated potential ties to Baubo and Ama-no-Uzume. 

He suggests the term nu-gag, which refers to "the pure and immaculate ones" and was used to describe the sacred temple prostitutes of Mesopotamia, as a potential linguistic indicator of the Sheila-na-Gigs' earliest forms. 

Sheelas are often found with the carved portion of the yoni worn by the contact of several hands, probably made in respect or prayer. 

It reminds people of fertility symbols, which some cultures think, if touched, may bring forth plenty and procreation. 

The Sheela, according to author Shahrukh Husain, is connected to the goddess Brigid of the Celts, and she may have represented the "split-off of the sexual aspect of a virginal goddess." 

Archaeologist Marija Gimbutas compared the spread-legged prehistoric Frog Goddess, the frog-headed Egyptian Goddess Haquit (Heket), and the ancient Greek goddess Hekate, known as "Baubo," or toad, to Sheelas. 

Gimbutas asserts that the names for toads in European languages include the connotations of "witch" or "prophetess," and that the toad "was incarnated with the powers of the Goddess of Death and Regeneration, whose duties were both to bring death and to restore life." 

At an archaeomythology symposium in Madouri, Greece, Professor Joan Cichon reports scientists Miriam Robbins Dexter and Starr Goode think the iconography of the Sheelas resemble the “Sovereignty Goddess” of the ancient Irish. 

Some modern ladies have been turning up their noses at traditional taboos and embracing the brazen iconography of the Sheela to indicate their empowerment, sexual liberty, and knowledge of their connection to the Goddess.

~Kiran Atma

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Goddess Worship In Greece.

How Prevalent Was Goddess Worship In Greece?

Although the Divine Feminine is the mountain itself, practitioners have also referred to caves as the Divine Feminine's holy vulva because of how comfortable they are there. 

Women used to go inside to give birth and to carry out ceremonies honoring menarche and delivery as significant life events. 

The cave served as a site of birth, death, and rebirth where women were engulfed inside the darkness of the Goddess' body, similar to Eileithyia on the island of Crete or Plouton at Eleusis. 

It is said that those who have sounded and drummed in these mountain tunnels have formed holy bonds. 

These holy caverns were the places where practitioners were carried ever closer toward contact with the Chthonic Mother. 

They were ritually embellished with art and crimson ochre colors that signify the life giving blood of Goddess. 

It's possible to see oneself being wrapped inside her deep crimson crevices—almost like an embryo within her live womb! 

The Acropolis Before Athena, the protector of the city, Goddess of Wisdom, and a representation of military success, called the Acropolis home, a high hill towering above the bustling Greek capital Athens, a holy place of Goddesses, her residence there was long considered to be. 

The Mycenaean or Minoan civilizations, both of which are known to have traded goods and ideas, are thought to have been the ancestors of Athena in the past. 

Because of her apparent relationship to Neolithic snake emblems of renewal, Nilsson connects her to the Snake Goddess of Minoan Crete. 

However, there is proof that she had roots in Mycenae, the ancient city that was previously inhabited by Indo-Europeans. 

However, the Athena of classical Greece is the one who is most recognized in popular culture. 

Athena, who was created from Zeus's head, is the ideal illustration of a Goddess absorbed by a patriarchal civilization. 

She symbolized the pinnacle of that transformation from a Goddess mostly focused on the body to a Goddess primarily focused on the intellect here on the Acropolis. 

Athena, according to Mircea Eliade, symbolizes "the sacrality of technological creativity and the myth of wisdom." 

Athena, who is perched atop the Acropolis, has a commanding view over the city that gave rise to Western philosophy and thinking, a culture that prized the triumph of the intellect over the forces and rhythms of nature, and a society that started to value men above women. 

As she and Poseidon competed for control of the city, Athena first became associated with Athens. 

Each god presented the populace with suggestions and counterproposals. 

The ladies chose Athena, while the males chose Poseidon. 

When the populace eventually accepted Athena's gift of the olive tree and decided to name the Goddess as their protector, Athena narrowly prevailed by one vote. 

One of the few instances of Athena behaving as a goddess of the soil or of plants was her donation of the olive tree. 

Unfortunately, this choice had a cost. 

Poseidon made the decision to completely submerge Attica, a region governed by Athens. 

The Attican males punished women in three ways in an effort to placate the god's anger. 

1. They would not be able to vote, to start. 
2. Second, their children wouldn't have the same names as their mothers. 
3. Finally, they wouldn't be referred to as Athenians ladies. 

In actuality, the patriarchy The Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, is the most magnificent structure in all of ancient Greece. 

Its splendor gave males a justification to oppress women, and female citizens lost their place in society. 

But there were benefits to picking Athena as well. 

She offered health, protection, and triumph in her three guises of Hygieia, Polias, and Nike, respectively. 

She also taught the ladies how to weave and spin, and they later prayed to Athena for help giving birth. 

She was also the goddess of the hero, giving strength, counsel, and help. 

Athena killing a giant.

She aided Agamemnon, the Spartans, Heracles, Odysseus, and Perseus when they encountered difficulty, as well as Achilles when he confronted Hector. 

She also gave caution and composure throughout a struggle. 

However, Athena represents a departure from the characteristics that have come to be identified with the Divine Feminine. 

She even disputes the contribution of her mother, Metis, Goddess of Wisdom, in her birth, demonstrating just how far detached she is from her sexuality and womanhood. 

In patriarchal Greek mythology, Athena refuses to acknowledge her mother, who was carrying her at the time she was eaten by Zeus and who was also pregnant with her. 

A few months later, Athena was born from the head of the powerful monarch of all the gods. 

Thus, Athena sprang from the patriarch's skull dressed for fight. 

However, Athena is more than just a fighter; she is also the Goddess of Wisdom, a quality she inherited from her mother. 

According to academic Miriam Robbins Dexter, Athena lacks the "strength inside" that results from a connection to the life force. 

Instead, Athena supports the patriarchal mentality that rules in a "power over" mode of society. 

Athena's celibacy reduced her autonomy, but in her state of virginity, she is a "storehouse" of energy that nurtures society and may transfer that power to man. 

Athena had the capacity to retain untapped power and, as previously said, transfer it to the heroes of Classical Greek mythology since she was a virgin goddess (a phrase that had nothing to do with chastity but rather with inner-stored power or energy). 

One may say that Athena served as a taming force for civilization. 

According to scholar Walter Burkert, Athena gave the Athenians a cultivated olive tree rather than a wild olive tree. 

She provided the bridle and chariot in response to Poseidon's gift of the horse so that humans may make use of the animal. 

Poseidon raises the waves, while Athena gives a ship to navigate the tumultuous waters. 

To make use of the flocks, Hermes multiplies them, and Athena teaches spinning and weaving. 

Mentoring her heroes, Athena shows up when they need her. 

Burkert quotes a tradition that says, "In alliance with Athena put your own hand to work," to explain Athena's ability to help, while Walter F. Otto refers to Athena as the "Goddess of Nearness," who makes the impossibly conceivable. 

She is a representation of brilliance and success, yet she is cut off from the cycles and knowledge of Earth. 

In her yearly festival known as the Panathenais Festival, which took place in the month of Hecatombion, Athena was revered at the Acropolis (July-August). 

During this time, women wove the peplos, an embroidered holy Athena gown decorated with war scenes. 

Winners of contests organized at the occasion would get oil from her holy olive trees. 

The 40-foot (12-m) figure of Athena that Pheidias created in the Parthenon's core was covered in a saffron robe, according to historical accounts. 

Although the statue's current location is unclear, we do know that it was designed to depict Athena with a helmet, shield, a serpent around her wrist, and an aegis on her breastplate. 

In her right hand, she is holding a part of herself in the form of Nike, the goddess of victory. 

Her sandals' rim featured an image from the Greek and Centaur War. 

The holy procession and the giving of the peolos to Athena were shown on the building's east frieze, while the procession's departure was shown on the west. 

Athena's birth was commemorated with a pediment that said, "She who was never nurtured in the gloom of the womb." There are four main structures that make up the Acropolis. 

The 40-foot (12-m) figure of Athena, who is revered as Parthenos, or the Virgin, is located in the Parthenon. 

It was referred to as the biggest cella, or holiest of holies, on the mainland of Greece. 

All of the marble used in its construction came from neighboring quarries, making it the biggest Doric temple. 

It was used in a variety of ways throughout time, including as a bank, a barracks for troops, and an ammunition storage facility. 

The olive tree that Athena is said to have presented to Athens is believed to have grown in the Erechthion, which formerly stood where a temple to Poseidon had stood. 

This modest, old structure is said to be the location of Athena's invitation to the Chthonic Furies to remain as comfort after their defeat in a legal proceeding. 

They were looking seeking retribution for Clytemnestra's death at the hands of her son Orestes there. 

It's interesting to note that this court case can be seen as a metaphor for the struggle for dominance between the usurping patriarchy of the Olympians and the archaic Chthonic forces of Goddess. 

Here at the Erechthion, it was Athena who decided the case in favor of Apollo and the Olympians over the Furies. 

The complete power of the Goddess is reduced as a result of Apollo's defense of Orestes during this trial and the male libido taking over the female's function as the generative force for reproduction. 

Agamemnon and Clytemnestra had sacrificed their daughter before the Trojan War began in order to set the scene. 

Clytemnestra murdered Agamemnon as vengeance. 

After that, Orestes murdered Clytemnestra as retaliation for taking his father's life. 

The female womb was nothing more than an incubator for the male seed, according to Apollo, who said that Agamemnon's murder was the worst of the two crimes since via his seed, Agamemnon, not Clytemnestra, was the actual father of their dead daughter. 

Apollo was given the benefit of the doubt when Athena said in The Eumenides, "I am always for the man. 

firmly on my father's sides and with all of my heart. 

In fact, since Poseidon was seen as the husband of Earth, or Gaia, some people view Athena's win against Poseidon for the city's patronage as another victory for the Olympians over the Chthonic forces. 

The Porch of the Maidens, which showcases female statues known as Karyatides, is the element that most readily associates with the Erechthion. 

Visitors now, however, only see replicas of them. 

According to some stories, this structure used to house snakes, which makes sense given Athena's associations with snakes dating back to the Neolithic era. 

The white marble temple of Athena Nike is the third structure atop the Acropolis, which was formerly filled with monuments and shrines. 

It is currently off-limits to tourists. 

The Propylaia, where worshipers passed through to enter the holy realm of the deities, is located near the site's entrance. 

According to Harrison Eiteljorg, the most revered Athena's statue on the Acropolis was directly east of the Propylaia, a hill that had been occupied since at least the Neolithic age. 

The ordinary people revered the goddess under this form as Athena Promachos, or Defender of the City, reserving the inner sanctums of the temple for priestly usage. 

Pausanias said that the sailors at the port of Piraeus, which is six miles or ten kilometers distant, were able to see this thirty-foot (9-m) tall bronze figure with silver detail because of how brilliantly it sparkled in the sunshine. 

Athena's altar, which was located east of the Erechtheum and was another significant structure on the Acropolis, was where ceremonial burned sacrifices were made to the Goddess. 

On the property, there is a lovely museum. 

There have been plans to replace the lost Athena statue with a copy, but nothing has come of those plans as of yet. 

How to reach the Acropolis. 

The center of Athens' historic district is where you'll find the Acropolis, also known as the High Place. 

Although the museum's hours are somewhat constrained, the location is open every day. 

The most significant location in the tourist-heavy capital of Greece is this one. 

From its high perch, it can be seen for miles in every direction. 

All of Athens' ancient monuments, including the Acropolis site and museum, Ancient Agora, Theatre of Dionysos Kerameikos, Olympieion, and Roman Agora, are accessible with a General Admission ticket. 

Attend a show in the outdoor theater at night for a wonderful pleasure. 

just outstanding The goddess proponents see the rebuilt palace of Knossos on the island of Crete as the last and maybe finest illustration of what is possible in a matrifocal society in which the presiding deity is female. 

Knossos offers a unique look at an advanced Neolithic Greek civilisation that was unaffected by invasion and Bronze Age disruption. 

At its height, Knossos and neighboring towns on the island of Crete are said to have had a sophisticated and vibrant society, coexisting peacefully with the environment and one another, with gender equality, a plenty of food, material wealth, and a healthy interest in the arts. 

This seemingly miraculous era sometimes provides as a sign of what can be possible in a partnership-based society as opposed to a dominator-based one where genders are in harmony with the rhythms of the Goddess. 

A British archaeologist named Sir Arthur Evans purchased the land where the Palace of Knossos now stands in 1900. 

He discovered the ruins of a sizable complex, and over the course of the next 25 years, amid considerable debate, he reconstructed the palace using contemporary materials. 

His efforts prevented many significant structures from collapsing, and today's visitors may get a powerful idea of what life was like in Minoan Crete before it was completely devastated between 1450 and 1400 BCE. 

The question of whether the eruption on nearby Thera Island truly led to the collapse of Minoan civilization is still hotly contested. 

A reconsideration of the chronology of the Late Bronze Age and the accepted scholarship connected to the eastern Mediterranean may be necessary in light of challenging concerns raised by findings from excavations on Crete over the last several decades that have mostly gone unreported. 

Although the origins of the occupants of the people of Crete are not entirely understood, Evans dubbed the civilization he encountered the Minoan in honor of the legendary King Minos. 

Crete, a large island advantageously bordered by Asia, Africa, and Europe, is thought to have been settled by Anatolians circa 6000 BCE. 

The Cretan civilization flourished for many thousand years. 

They farmed, hunted, and kept cattle. 

Over time, their culture became more sophisticated, but their devotion to the Goddess and their closeness to nature, which included an understanding of the cycle of life and death, remained a steadfast feature. 

The goddess was revered as the Regeneratrix in caves during the Early Minoan period, when worshippers used female figurines, amulets, and talismans that often showed engraved pubic triads, emblems of the Earth Mother. 

Peak sanctuaries were built on mountains during the Middle Minoan era, which began about 2200 BCE, when worship eventually became collective. 

Archaeologists may learn from artifacts discovered in these locations that ancient devotees once tucked significant figures into rock fissures, as if to deposit them into the Mother herself. 

One old seal found at Knossos depicts the Great Goddess having an epiphany on a mountain top, flanked by lions climbing the hill on each side of her, and put before her worshipper with arms lifted to the eyes, suggesting this devotee's capacity to behold the majestic goddess in her splendor. 

As ritual and worship developed from the Early through Middle and into the Late Minoan eras, it grew more complex. 

The later period is characterized by libations, sacrifices, music, dancing, processions, and bull leaping. 

Some believe that the bull-jumping frescos from Knossos reflect the acceptance, comprehension, and communion of men and women with the laws of nature. 

Peg Streep thinks that by taking on the risk of bull leaping, dancers are metaphorically taking on the Goddess's power to decide between life and death. 

Bull-jumping is mentioned by other academics as a priests' and priestesses' initiation rite. 

The Minoans maintained a strong connection to the ground, traditional values, and their Minoan Goddess, whose original name is unknown, despite the growth and complexity of their worship. 

Gertrude Levy, whose description of religion as "unusually divorced from formal relationships, yet emotionally bound in its ceaseless quest to create communication with the elemental energies" is used by Streep, is cited in the quotation. 

The Minoan clergy were believed to summon the Goddess by blowing a triton or by performing holy dances that would induce trance. 

Priestesses may have worn holy attire that, when worn, indicates they represent the divinity in human form, according to experts who have studied artifacts of faience models of ritual clothes discovered in the Sanctuary of Knossos that are indicative of votive offerings. 

This resembles the Kumari's collar or the menat collar used by Hathor priestesses. 

It's fascinating to notice that the holy knot used to symbolize the Goddess on the island of Crete is very similar to the knots used to symbolize Inanna and Isis, perhaps representing the collective psyche of humanity. 

According to academic Walter Burkert, the Minoan people did not build temples to their gods; instead, cult rooms were discovered in palaces and homes. 

Additionally, worship persisted in the caves and peak sanctuaries atop the mountains that dot the landscape. 

The subterranean labyrinth-like layout of the Palace of Knossos, which was made up of several pillars, led Sir Arthur Evans to speculate that the Minoans may have been members of a "Pillar Cult." 

This was thought to be the famed Minotaur's subterranean lair, and some academics argue that it served as a metaphor for the holy union that took place at Knossos. 

The palace contained restrooms with flushing toilets and other features that suggested purifying rituals. 

The well-known Snake Goddesses, which date to 1600 BCE, were discovered in Knossos' Central Palace Sanctuary. 

The two most well-known Snake Goddesses are shown with naked breasts, small waists, flounced skirts, and an air of assured sensuality and fertile assurance. 

With the coiled serpents—symbols of life and death—held in both of their extended hands and arms, they each symbolize a picture of the Goddess as regeneratrix. 

While the second depiction of the Snake Goddess has additional snakes around her waist, the first includes a cat or lioness perched atop her headpiece. 

One Snake Goddess has a net-like pattern on her skirt, suggesting that she is a part of or has control over the web of life. 

It is said that her skirt's seven layers correspond to lunar occurrences. 

According to researchers Evans and Nilsson, the Snake Goddess may have served as a domestic or household guardian since there are still traditions in the area where some people leave out bowls of milk for snakes in return for their care and protection. 

The majority of what we know about Knossos and Minoan Crete comes from art and iconography that primarily draws from Neolithic sources. 

The Minoan script has never been fully understood. 

However, other intriguing connections are made through seals, frescoes, and ceramics, such as the fact that Crete is where the story of Demeter and Persephone originated. 

The pillar and tree, as well as cave stalactites and stalagmites, birds, snakes, poppies, seashells, doves, butterflies, and—perhaps most frequently—the labrys, or double ax—were all representations of the Minoan Goddess. 

The name "labyrinth" is derived from this Minoan sign rather than the maze connotation that is now widely accepted. 

The House of the Double Ax at Knossos, also known as the Goddess' sanctuary, was well-known. 

By pointing out that the butterfly symbolized characteristics of change and the labrys mirrored the "hourglass-shaped Goddess of Death and Regeneration," Marija Gimbutas draws a link between the butterfly, the ax, and the goddess. 

The double ax is believed to have been a ceremonial tool that males never used, maybe in ritual bull sacrifice. 

It's also crucial to realize that, in contrast to Indo-European cultures, where the bull symbolized masculine strength, here the bull's horns were thought to represent female regeneration powers, particularly in Catal Hüyük, Turkey, and some have even suggested that their shape is similar to that of female reproductive organs. 

The symbolism of the consecration horns that have been discovered in and around Knossos and Crete further demonstrates the significance of the bull horns. 

Sir Arthur Evans rebuilt these horns on the western wall of the Palace of Knossos after realizing their importance. 

They are wonderful subjects for pictures! The ceremonial chopping of holy trees, another representation of the Goddess, was also considered to be done with an ax. 

Another significant goddess emblem on the island of Crete was the bee. 

It is generally known that the Minoans kept bees, and that the honey they collected was employed in ceremonies, as well as to embalm and preserve remains. 

Priestesses of Demeter included bees or melissae as well as Artemis Ephesia, who, as was already noted, may have originated in Crete. 

Bee buzzing was said to correspond to the Goddess' voice. 

The majority of the discoveries made over decades of excavation at Knossos have remained unpublished, however in 1979, Peter Warren of Bristol University, who had spent more than thirty years working there, found child sacrifice bones. 

He conjectured that in a ritual to avert impending doom, their flesh was torn off the bones and fried with snails. 

To no avail, the volcanic explosion on the island of Santorini (Thera), which is situated north of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea, most likely marked the end of Minoan Crete. 

At this period, all of the other palaces on Crete vanished, perhaps wiped out by tidal surges brought on by the largest volcanic eruption ever recorded. 

While only Knossos managed to exist, this beautiful palace afterwards went into rapid decay and was never again erected or occupied. 

The Palace of Knossos has many of the ancient Minoan mysteries, despite the original frescoes. 

Visitors to the site may take in various recreated elements of the Knossos central palace, many of which are on display in the Athens museum and the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion in Crete, respectively. 

Beautifully painted columns and walls feature the vibrant colors of the Minoans, including hues of gold, black, red, blue, and green. 

Both the most well-known murals associated with Knossos, such as the "three sister priestesses," "bull jumping," and the "plumed prince," as well as walls depicting worshippers in procession, include copies of the genuine frescos from this period. 

While touring the site, visitors may see the Throne Room and other fascinating spaces, such as the Queen's Megaron, which is claimed to have been home to the first flushing toilet. 

Clay pipes still exist as evidence of the Minoans' drainage system knowledge. 

More than a thousand chambers were discovered in the multi-story building when Evans uncovered it. 

How to reach Knossos?

4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Heraklion, on the northern shore of Crete, is where you'll find Knossos. 

You may hire a private tour company with a guide on-site to explore Knossos. 

People traveling alone may use the public buses that routinely leave from Heraklion's Liberty Square and El Greco Park. 

It will be difficult to determine who is knowledgeable, and few may concentrate on the significance of the Goddess, so it is best to come prepared with a map and guidebook or to make plans to hire a guide who can be found at the entrance. 

The site is open everyday, however it is preferable to arrive early in the morning or late in the afternoon after the main influx of tourists have left. 

The shops on the roadway leading up to the site provide the greatest Snake Goddess statue shopping for visitors to Knossos. 

Get what you need right here. Don't wait until Athens because there won't be as many options. 

Delphi's Goddess Focus Oracle. 

Only a few hours' drive from Athens lies the Greek town of Delphi, which is nestled along the slope of the magnificent Mount Parnassus. 

Delphi, one of the most well-known oracle sites in antiquity, is a well-liked holy location today for both visitors and pilgrims. 

According to academic James Rietveld, who cited The Eumenides, Gaia, also known as the Earth, was the originator of prophecy. 

The legendary Oracle of Delphi was given to Gaia's daughter Themis long before it was acquired by the god Apollo. 

Themis was an earlier chthonic goddess who had long been strongly tied with the Earth and death. 

As a result, Delphi—whose landscape is covered with symbols of the Goddess—became regarded as the scene of conflict between the approaching Olympian gods and the previous order of chthonic goddesses. 

In issues of life, death, and battle, leaders all throughout the Mediterranean world consulted the Pythia, or oracle priestess of Delphi. 

She sat above the omphalos, considered to be the center of the universe, wearing white clothing and a gold headpiece. 

She was breathing fumes that rose from the deep pit under her stool, which had a living snake coiling around its base. 

According to ancient texts, the Pythia entered two separate trances, according to geologist Jelle Zeilinga De Boer and archaeologist John R. Hale doing study at Delphi: 

Typically, she would be in "a benign semi-consciousness" that would enable her to respond to inquiries in "a curiously changed voice," or, less often, she would be in a "frenzied delirium marked by uncontrolled motions of the limbs, loud groans, and inarticulate screams." 

The Pythia was commonly killed and replaced after the furious trance, according to Plutarch, who also said that after the benign trance, the Pythia was returned to a peaceful condition. 

Due to claims that the divination by the Pythia was illogical, hazy, or unreliable, the counsel or prophesy she gave has been the focus of considerable discussion and conjecture. 

The monks who assisted her in deciphering her prophesies are also thought to have had some effect on the responses. 

Despite this, statues near the sanctuary's entry include inscriptions of gratitude for wars waged and victories, presumably on the Pythia's guidance. 

Despite the claims made by ancient authors like Strabo and Plutarch (who served as an Apollonia priest at Delphi) that gaseous emissions caused the trance states, according to De Boer and Hale, modern academics did not think the prophesies were related to gaseous emissions. 

De Boer and Hale, however, think that the Pythia's trance states were indicative of exposure to the hydrocarbon gas ethylene after a geo-logical investigation of the site in 1996 and with the help of toxicologist Henry Spiller. 

Down from the sanctuary lies the Castalian Spring, thought to have been used by the Pythia to ritually wash before giving pronouncements, however other accounts indicate it is the spot travelers cleaned themselves before their session with the oracle. 

600 feet (180 m) down from the spring and across the street lies the spherical Temple of Pronaia Athena. 

According to legend, Athena helped to restore the power of the Goddess that the Olympians had stolen by guarding this holy place. 

A beautiful museum is on-site as well as additional temples and monuments located on terraces around the slope of the archaeological site. 

Goddess Worship At Eleusis.

The mystai, or initiates of the elusive Eleusian Mysteries, who took an oath of secrecy never to reveal the secrets of their religion, made the Sanctuary of Demeter at Eleusis famous. 

They chose to remain silent, leaving modern researchers and practitioners with little more than flimsy proof for the majority of what happened within their ancient esoteric mysteries. 

But some of the most significant analogies for the Goddess as Earth Mother, the cyclical vegetation cycles she symbolizes, as well as the life cycle reflected inside a single individual, are found in the myths and mysteries of Demeter and Persephone. 

Pilgrims from all over the Mediterranean region came to Eleusis to participate in the mysteries that were taught there and celebrated, believing that doing so would open their eyes to the wonder of what life and death really entail. 

Following the clergy, including a virgin priestess who carried the basket, or cista mystica, containing holy objects, or hiera, that would be used in the Greater Mysteries of Demeter once they reached their destination, hundreds, possibly thousands, of devotees traveled the 14 miles (22.4 km) from Athens to Eleusis and the Sanctuary of Demeter. 

The narrative of Demeter and Persephone may be summarized as follows:

Persephone is collecting flowers with Athena and Artemis when all of a sudden, up from a fissure in the ground appears Hades, Lord of the Underworld on his chariot. 

For awhile Hades had his eye on the Virgin Goddess and decided he coveted her for himself, scooped Persephone up and carried her away with him. 

Demeter, Persephone’s mother, explored the globe for her daughter for nine days in her guise as the crone. 

She was then hired by a king, much as Isis had been in Byblos. 

She immerses the king's son in flames every night in an effort to give him the gift of immortality. 

Unaware of Demeter's kind intentions, the queen happened to see this rite one night and immediately erupted in rage as any responsible mother would. 

Then Demeter made her identity known to the royal pair and their people and asked that a temple be built at Eleusis for her. 

They agreed. 

Demeter still grieves over the loss of her daughter Persephone. 

She is so depressed that the earth becomes barren, the vegetation stops growing, and the population is on the verge of famine. 

In time Zeus urges that Hades restore Persephone to Demeter — because whose else would be left on Earth to serve the immortals? Hades grudgingly concedes, but trickster that he is, he tempts Persephone to ingest a pomegranate seed before she leaves the Netherworld, an act that compels her to return to him for one third of every year. 

When Persephone is in Tartarus, or the underworld regions, Demeter yearly mourns, hence the crops do not grow. 

When Persephone comes to the surface Demeter is happy and the seedlings shoot out and mul￾tiply, feeding the people and everyone lives happily for another year. 

In a different telling of the tale, the Goddess Baubo dances in a lewd manner, exposing her yoni to the bereaved Demeter. 

Demeter laughs at Baubo's ridiculous antics, and her holy light is made visible. 

The crops grew quickly as the earth once again saw light, and daily life continued as normal. 

Demeter was reminded of the strength of fertility and creation connected to the cycles of birth, life, death, and rebirth by the sight of Baubo's yoni. 

The return of Persephone from the Underworld into her mother's waiting arms was also a metaphor for these ideas. 

Persephone, the Virgin Goddess of possibility is connected with the seedling which will shoot forth new life. 

As the cycle of life (and vegetation) progresses, they will grow, die, and be reborn, so the myths provide wisdom and comprehension of the cycles of life. 

When Demeter and Persephone (or Kore) are considered as two components of a single entity, the three phases of a woman's existence—maiden, mother, and crone—can be understood as illustrative of the life cycle inside a single individual. 

According to scholars, these secrets may have been present at numerous Eleusian Mysteries in the form of plays, festivals, and enactments. 

The Middle Eastern and African locations linked with Inanna and Dumuzzi, Isis and Osiris, Aphrodite and Adonis, and, while being a contentious idea, Mary and Jesus all refer to the same motif of the dying and rising monarch. 

According to religious expert James Rietveld, the cult of Demeter's religion has always been highly regarded. 

Everett Ferguson, cited by the author, explains that the rites at Eleusis were originally private to one family but later became available to all residents of the town before being adopted by all of Attica. 

The religion of Eleusis eventually expanded as it became accessible to people deemed "Barbarians," notably the residents of the Roman Empire, and it eventually became a worldwide religious system, available to anyone regardless of race or place of birth. 

Women, slaves, and foreigners were allowed to the Eleusinian Mysteries, according to Walter Burkert, whereas Simon Price, another eminent researcher, claims that there is just one requirement for admission: "the applicant for initiation should be pure and not of incomprehensible speech." 

An initiate only needed to overcome the obstacle of the travel expense of the undertaking once that requirement was met. 

Traveling to Eleusis was costly, as was finding a sacrifice goat, not to mention the initiation price. 

But where there is a will, there is a way. 

On the 16th of Boedromion (the month of September), initiates, or mystes, cleaned themselves in the sea with their piglet, which would later be sacrificed as a sacrifice to Demeter. 

This was one notably public ceremony of the Greater Mysteries of Demeter. 

Some academics contend that the purification of the initiates was genuinely sanctified by the pig's blood. 

This ocean plunge is compared by Rietveld to "Christian baptism," in which the society saw these external behaviors as signs of an inside change. 

Author Jennifer Reif describes the feasts and festivities of Demeter and Persephone that corresponded to the life cycles of the grain and the agricultural season in her book "Mysteries of Demeter, Rebirth of the Pagan Way." 

Depending on the geography of the area, Mother and Maiden, Demeter and Persephone were celebrated during the Chloaia Spring Festival anytime between February and March. 

The harvest celebration was Thargelia, while the threshing festival was Kalamaia. 

Reif sees the initial phase of the Skira Festival as Persephone's entry into the underworld, and the festival's final phase as the storing of the grain underground. 

The Stenia Festival was a recreation of Baubo's sensual humor convincing Demeter to let go of her dark side and revert to the fruitful mother she once was at the Proerosia Festival, which dealt with preplowing ceremonies. 

According to Reif's interpretation of the Arkichronia Festival, gifts from the immortals are mixed with the seed before any planting is done to create fertility talismans. 

The last three festivals are Nestia, when Persephone departs Hades, Kalligenia, when Persephone (as Kore) ascends to Earth where the planting may begin, and finally Haloa, as mother and daughter pleasure in the beginning of the growth time. 

According to writers Rufus and Lawson, the initiated Eleusian clergy, termed “epoptai,” together with initiates, assembled in the telesterion to witness the mysteries. 

When they had finished their duty, they said: "I fasted; I drank the draught; I took from the chest; having done my task, I deposited in the basket; and from the basket into the chest." 

This is known as the "formula of the Eleusian Mysteries," according to Clement of Alexandria (Exhortations to the Greeks, II.18). 

Some people think that a vision of Persephone's homecoming may have come true or perhaps been seen as a "Great Light." 

One papyrus fragment from the reign of Emperor Hardian (117–138 CE), in reference to the mysteries of Eleusis, reads: "I have seen the fire... 

I have seen the Kore." Others claim that a corn ear that represented a complex array of meanings was offered to the crowd. 

Some people still think that sexual rites may have played some role in the mysteries. 

Without a doubt, the hierophant displayed the heira, or holy objects. 

Suggestions for these items are offered by scholar Walter Burkert: mortar and pestle, assorted cakes, balls of salt, a serpent, pomegranates, fig branches, fennel stalks, ivy leaves, poppies, marjoram, a lamp, a sword, a woman’s comb and symbols of Ge Themis. 

These holy items would be consistent with the mysteries' purported purpose of instructing initiates on the meaning of life and death because the pomegranate, stalks, and leaves served as symbols of rebirth while the poppies and serpent served as symbols of death. 

Plutarch equates initiating into philosophy to seeing a brilliant light inside the inner sanctuary, and according to Professor Marvin Meyer, this may have been one of the mysteries. 

The debate over whether Persephone was truly raped is another significant and fascinating component connected to this tale. 

Reif disagrees with this patriarchal method of Persephone's dominance. 

Even the pomegranate served as a tool for subduing the Goddess. 

She thinks Persephone might have entered the Underworld, a terrifying place, with some apprehension but no fear of being raped. 

(And keep in mind that she has Hekate to help her and guide her.) She argues that the mysteries had a focus on materialism and persisted during the patriarchal Greek era, and she points out that the majority of initiates were female. 

The ancient order of the Goddess existed before the era of patriarchy, when female goddesses were ruled by the Olympians. 

Readers should bear this in mind while they read about Demeter. 

Reif is steadfast in her view that, “women would not adopt this concept of a relationship based on violence as the basis of their theology.” Other academics are starting to question the veracity of this rape version of the myth more frequently. 

According to author Clarissa Pinkola Estes, "Women were directed to the Underworld at the period of the matriarchies by profound feminine energies," and according to Charleen Spretnak, there is evidence that the original myth did not include rape until the advent of patriarchy in society. 

Today, visitors can see the Callichoros, the Eschara, a pit where sacrifices were made, and other parts of the Sacred Way. 

The Ploutonium, a sacred cave thought to be where Persephone entered and left the Underworld in order to live with Hades/Pluto, and the well where it is thought that women danced and prayed. 

The omphalos, the sacred navel that spans the chasm between heaven and earth, was located inside the cave, just as it was at Delphi. 

Here, the players encountered a young boy who had been chosen by lot to serve as the "boy of the hearth" in place of Demophoon, the king's son, who had been purified into pure spirit by his concerned mother before being granted immortality by Demeter. 

What's left of the Telesterion, where the initiations took place, is visible beyond. 

Originally, this building's dimensions were 177 feet (54 meters) by 170 feet (52 meters), and it had 22 columns supporting the roof and tiers of stone stairs for seats all the way around the walls. 

During ritual occasions, the peaked roof of the Telesterion would open up to form a chimney, permitting massive displays of fire and smoke to erupt from the enigmatic structure. 

An intriguing side fact about the Priestess of Demeter is she was the only mar￾ried woman authorized to watch the Olympics. 

While married women were prohibited from attending the games under threat of death, maidens may watch the Olympics to perhaps scout possible partners. 

Given that an old shrine and temple to Demeter was situated right in the midst of the stadium's seating area, Professor Thomas Scanlon hypothesizes that the priestess of Demeter may have had access to it. 

How to go to Eleusis?

The landscape of Eleusis reflects the contours typically recognized as ideal holy sites that embody the Feminine, like many places selected in ancient times as sacred domains of Goddess. 

Although it still enjoys a close proximity to water and mountains, the once-lush and fertile Eleusis is now situated in the unappealing industrial region of Elefsina in Attica. 

However, given the significance of the location, it is necessary to ignore some recent developments that occasionally cause the air to become polluted and unpleasant. 

Public bus # 853 or #862 service is available from Eleftherios Square in Athens, which is roughly an hour's drive away, to get you there. 

After getting off the bus, go roughly three blocks in the direction of the water while observing the clearly defined signage. 

On-site there is a museum. 

THE "OTHER" ELEUSIS' RAPE. 

Religion expert Marguerite Rigoglioso makes a very convincing case for Lake Pergusa in Sicily as the exact location for the abduction of the Maiden Goddess Persephone by Hades, Lord of the Underworld, cited in Classical Greek myths, in her tantalizing book in progress, The "Other" Eleusis Mysticism & Misogyny in the Navel of Sicily. 

She also provides evidence from archaeology, history, linguistics, and anthropology that the cult honoring the mother-daughter goddesses Demeter and Persephone was formerly practiced at the ancient city of Enna near Lake Pergusa. 

In contrast to the myth in which Persephone is raped by Hades, Rigoglioso suggests that Persephone's fall was one of initiation into the Female Blood Mysteries of menarche. 

He provides compelling and thought-provoking evidence for this claim. 

Finally, the author contends that Enna eclipsed even Eleusis in importance as a center of healing and a destination for women's mysteries. 

Needless to say, enough has been presented to substanti￾ate Lake Pergusa and the adjacent environs as an important and newly emerging sacred site, but why list Lake Pergusa under Gaia alert? Today Lake Pergusa looks more like a swamp than the sacred lake described as an Eden by historian Enrico Sinicropi as recently as 1958. 

About the same time Sinicropi was enjoying the splendors of the region, construction began on a four mile autodrome or race track around the perimeter of the lake. 

Over the years, the lake has gotten filled with silt, vegetative debris, and toxic runoff from the autodrome. 

Lake Pergusa keeps drying up every year. 

The lake was only three feet deep when last measured, down from its former 21-foot (6.4-meter) depth (0.9 m). 

Its circumference has dropped from 5 miles (8 km) in diameter to 3 miles (4.8 km) as the lake vanishes. 

Activists in the region have continuously experienced pushback from local politicians and “under world figures” more concerned with loss of money should the racetrack be removed than than the environmental effect of the racing track on the lake and neighboring animals. 

As Nature is the Goddess, even the Feminine embodied, Rigoglioso com￾pares this abuse, neglect and exploitation of Lake Pergusa, the womb of the Mother, to the rape of Persephone as the Divine Feminine. 

Local environmentalists need a boost of morale, cash, and worldwide pressure to keep up their efforts. 

If you desire to assist in any manner, go to www.lakepergusa.org to discover contact information with activists who speak English or Italian who would welcome your support. 

Temple of Hera.

Located on a Greek island two miles off the Turkish mainland, the Temple of Hera on Samos, has been a holy shrine of Goddess since Neolithic times. 

The Heraeum is home to eight layers of prehistoric remains dating back to 2500 BCE, making it, along with Argos, one of the most significant Hera temples in the Mediterranean region. 

Over the centuries, there have been several temples dedicated to the Goddess that have burned down or been destroyed by floods, but in the first century CE, the historian Strabo recounts the scene that travelers would have seen as they approached the island. 

Travelers would have been astonished by the Temple of Poseidon on a peninsula of Mount Mycale. 

The Heraeum, the shrine, and the Temple of Hera would be visible to the left. 

The temple precinct's small chapels were said to be filled with artwork, some of which were open to the sky where many statues were kept, and the shrine was said to have been a repository of numerous votive tablets. 

Some of the most noteworthy sculptures inside the holy complex were those of Athena, Heracles and Zeus. 

Hera's Temple was situated next to the Imbrasus River, where according to tradition Hera bathed yearly to restore her virginity and therefore restore the endless cycle of life. 

In this respect, she is very much like Aphrodite who was yearly washed at her temple on the island of Cypress. 

It was thought that their emergence or rebirth from the waters, their virginity restored, was associated with the advent of spring and all its blossoming potential. 

The daughter of Thea and Cronos, Hera, is said to have been born beneath a sacred willow tree connected to her cult on the Imbrasus riverbank. 

In this location, she was also believed to have wed the patriarchal Olympian Zeus, though legend has it that their marriage was never happy. 

Hera is a very old goddess, having existed in Greece long before the Olympians did. 

Patricia Monaghan speculates that since Hera roughly translates to "Our Lady," she may have actually gone by a different name. 

She was a woman of independence and dignity before the Greeks turned her into a petulant and envious figure. 

Hera's changing personae throughout the classical period represent a change in religion and society from the veneration of the old chthonic Goddess to a Goddess with a new image that was more in line with patriarchal values. 

Goddesses were subject to male deities, frequently yielding their powers to them, even being created from male gods. 

Monaghan states that Hera, the Goddess of women and sexuality, went through three periods of life: maiden, mother, and crone. 

Each of them may be regarded as youth, prime, and old age, likewise portraying mortal females. 

It is not surprising that female devotees of Hera participated in competitive games, similar to how female devotees of Artemis and Hekate did, given the temple's close proximity to Turkey. 

Monaghan claims women worshipped Hera by enjoying these games held every four years, (perhaps yearly) which precedes the Olympics widely understood to have taken place in Greece purely among men. 

The Heraea games were held, and the women who competed were the epitome of empowerment, independence, and strength. 

According to a bronze figurine of a girl running from 560 BCE, they were wearing a short garment with a "off the shoulder chiton" that showed their right breast and shoulder. 

Professor Thomas Scanlon explains that rather than being a garment worn by Amazon warrior women, this garment was an adaptation of a hot weather garment worn by men at the time. 

According to Monaghan, the three age groups that took part in the Heraea corresponded to the three stages of a woman's life. 

One of the games believed to have been played in Argos was the 160 yard sprint. 

Monaghan reports there were three victors who earned an olive branch crown and a portion in the cow which was slaughtered during the event. 

The cow was sacrificed in honor of Hera who was venerated by the people as their “cow-eyed sky queen.” 

Competitors who prevailed also received the right to erect a statue of themselves in Hera's temple. 

Scanlon reports that participants in a slightly different version of the games ranged in age from six to 18 years. 

According to Scanlon, who cites the ancient author Pausanias, one competition, a footrace for maidens, had a course that was one-sixth the size of the men's track to account for the shorter stride of the female gender. 

The winners' portraits were hung in niches inside Hera's Temple, and they also received an olive wreath crown and a portion of an ox that had been killed. 

According to Monaghan, Hera personified the following three Goddesses over the three various eras of her existence. 

She was Hebe or Parthenia as the virgin maid, which had nothing to do with propriety. 

She was also known as Antheia, the "flowering one." She went by the names Nymphenomene or Teleia during her prime. 

The first one denoted "looking for a partner," and the second, "the ideal partner." She was Theira in her final crone years, beyond motherhood, wise beyond her years, and guardian of the sacred bloods within her womb. 

In the afore mentioned ceremony of regaining her virginity on the riverside, Hebe or Parthenia was her emerging essence when clerics washed her statue in ritual at the river. 

Probably twice more throughout the year, as the season faded, her statue would be taken by her clergy down to the waters and it was assumed Hera would emerge in the corresponding mature or death/crone aspect of Teleia or Theira to match with the cycle of year presently being celebrated. 

Prior to the invasion of Greece by the patriarchal tribes, Hera was said to have no partner, and Monaghan characterizes Hera's adoration as being intense. 

She employs parthenogenesis, having produced and borne her son Hephaestos of herself. 

Zeus, the patriarch of Olympia, and Hera eventually underwent a sort of marriage that started an iffy alliance between Goddess and God. 

Monaghan accurately depicts her as “making a legendary nuisance of herself to the father emblem of the patriarchy.” 

Hera’s temple precinct on Samos was demolished and rebuilt multiple times, but at its pinnacle, the holy structure was described as a forest of columns that held huge sculptures, shrines and temples to other goddesses. 

The astounding length of the Sacred Way, which led to the Heraeum's entrance, was 15,750 feet (4,800 meters). 

It was a profound temple, so much so that it served as the model for Ephesus' Artemis Temple, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. 

Only a single column and a few shorter pillar stumps from Hera's once-massive temple remain today, in no way denoting the great Ancient Mother she once was. 

To the east of the Great Temple are foundation remnants of a 5th century CE chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary thus blending once again, as occurs so many times over, the essence of Goddess in pre-Christian times with that of her Christian descendent. 

How to go to the Hera Temple?

Samos is part of a group of islands in the northeast Aegean that are closest to Turkey. 

As evidenced by the somewhat irregular plane and boat schedules to the island, little tourism is practiced there. 

Excursion boats, steamers, and hydrofoils occasionally, if not daily, depart from neighboring islands. 

There are options for flights from Athens, as well as daily boat departures, but the boat trip takes 13 hours. 

If arriving by aircraft, take an airline shuttle or cab from the airport into Samostown where a taxi may be booked to reach the major city of Pythagorian. 

Bikes or cabs are possibilities to reach Hera’s temple from town. 

One daily public bus travels the trip or walking may take a little more than an hour. 

Try to view the museum in Samostown with its items devoted to Hera, as well as the Eupalinus Tunnel, an engineering wonder from ancient days that transported water into town. 

This 105-meter (383-foot) underground tunnel is a "must see." Goddess Attention. 

Delos – Sacred Archaeological Isle of Goddess.# As one journeys across the blue-green sea from Mykonos toward Delos, the gentle rocking of the boat and the island ahead getting ever closer creates a trance￾like trip leading tourists from the ordinary world into the holy. 

In ancient times Delos was described in Homer’s The Odyssey as a well-known religious site. 

Inhabited now solely by French archaeologists and island caretakers working on the island, Delos with all its temples, mosaics, buildings, and great museum is a treasure trove of religious monuments devoted to a myriad of goddesses. 

This isle is one place supposed to be where the pregnant Leto, paramour of Zeus, sought sanctuary from the envious Hera. 

The other was at Ephesus. 

Leto is claimed to have given birth to her twins, Apollo and Artemis, here under a palm tree. 

Throughout its history, the island has undergone two purifications to rid it of the impure. 

The dying and pregnant women were forbidden from entering the island, and the deceased were exhumed and reburied elsewhere. 

Many cultures, such as the Egyptians, Syrians, Phoenicians, Palestinians, Jews, Greeks, and Romans, all settled nearby the harbor over time. 

It seems sense that there would be temples to Athena, Artemis, Atargatis, Aphrodite, Hera, Demeter, Leto, and Tanit at a location where so many different cultures coexist. 

One of the better repaired temples contains two Doric style columns and is dedicated to the Egyptian Goddess, Isis. 

It is placed atop a high site and her headless statue is inside her shrine, which is near to an unrestored temple of ▲ The headless statue of Isis, who was the wife of the God Serapis, still remains at her temple on Delos Island in the Aegean Sea. 

The Artemision, the temple of Artemis, which was originally one of the main places of devotion on the island, is another structure that has undergone repair. 

According to scholar Walter Burkert, "the Horn Altar of Artemis on Delos, which was fashioned from goat horns and regarded as one of the wonders of the world," was a significant site of sacrifice. 

Both temples provide stunning views of the island and the Mediterranean Sea beyond.

~Kiran Atma

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