Goddesses Of Abstract Qualities

Where abstract qualities are associated with goddesses, the goddess might appear as the embodiment of the quality, or she may be envisioned as bestowing it upon favored humans. 

Beauty, love, wisdom, and justice are commonly associated with goddesses, as is the control of fate or destiny. 

Some of these qualities are associated with an essen tialist ‘‘femininity, while others are more typically associated with ‘‘masculinity. 

In the realm of goddesses, expectations of the social roles typically occupied by women do not always hold true. 

Even within a culture, goddesses defy gender stereotypes, as with war goddesses found in imperial patriarchies like Rome (see Bellona). 

Beauty is the quality most commonly associated with goddesses. 

The beauty of some goddesses reflects their status as divinities of earth and represents the idea of natures loveliness. 

One such is the Tantric Bhuvanesvarı (see India), described as so beautiful that the god Shiva made himself a third eye, the better to enjoy her. 

At other times, beauty is connected with sovereignty. 

Queenly figures are flatteringly described as beautiful. 

Thus the Queen of Sheba, Bilqis (see Eastern Mediterranean) was described as possessing great beauty, although she was also said to have had the legs of a goat. 

Hera, Greek goddess of womens power, was renowned for her beauty, as was the Irish warrior queen Medb (see Celtic), who represented sovereignty over the land as well as womens sexuality. 

The Celtic goddess who appeared variously as Grainne, Iseult, and Gueneviere embodied the lands need for a vigorous king, with the ‘‘love triangle of their stories describing the replacement of an aging ruler with a younger one. 

Not surprisingly, beauty is often (although not invariably) connected with love. 

Such love could be generic, as with Greek Aphrodite or African Oshun, whose power infused the world of animals as well as humans. 

Other goddesses embody divine love, such as Indian Parvatı whose beauty was reserved for her consort Shiva. 

Finally, a goddesss desire could be directed only toward humans, as with Celtic Niamh, who sought lovers among human men, or the group of Indian spirits called Yaks˛ı who have sex with human men before eating them. 

More positively, Lakota Whope (see North America) formed the pattern of beauty after which human women were designed, so that they might attract vigorous mates. 

Love goddesses are not always benevolent. 

Many narratives emphasize betrayal and heartbreak (Celtic Bloduewedd and Deirdre, Hebrew Naamah, Greek Sirens). 

Although a beautiful goddess can be heartless, loyal lovers such as Indian Radha and Hebrew Sarah are found in mythology alongside destructive seducers like the Celtic Leanann Sidhe and Hebrew Lilith. 

Additionally, some myths warn of the difficulties that beauty can bring, as with Hindu Manasa (see India), whose beauty attracted the god Shiva, leading to her mutilation at his wifes hands. 

Unlike beauty, wisdom is not today necessarily connected with the archetypal femi nine. 

But in many cultures, goddesses were associated with this quality, which refers to a right ordering of society that aligns it with natural law. 

Thus Greek Athena and Metis, Roman Egeria and Providentia, and Hebrew Hokmah all connected the human world with nature through wise counsel. 

In some cases, as with Scandinavian Voluspa and Greek Python, wisdom was conveyed through oracular practices inspired by an all-seeing earth goddess. 

Roman Egeria pronounced the first laws of the city-state while in an oracular trance. 

In Ireland (see Celtic), goddesses of wisdom such as Boand gained knowledge through eating nuts that fall from a magical tree that con nects underworld, middle earth, and sky; thus their wisdom encompassed the universe. 

In most of these Irish narratives, the woman was specifically forbidden from seeking wisdom, but her decision to break that prohibition results in world-creating acts. 

Goddesses of justice, often pictured as mature or even elderly women, control the orderly structure of society. 

Thus Greek Themis, on whom oaths were sworn, repre sented the just underpinnings of civilization. 

Similarly, Hebrew Torah represented ‘‘the law that controlled and defined appropriate human behavior. 

The domain of Egyptian Maat (see Africa) extended beyond death, for she judged the souls right eousness. 

The Iroquois heroine Genetaska (see North America) brought justice and peace to her people. 

Some goddesses of justice were also goddesses of vengeance, demanding retribution for wrongdoing, as did Greek Erinyes and Nemesis. 

Goddesses also represent scholarship and learning. 

Because most societies have been oral rather than literate, such goddesses were associated with the transmission of wisdom through speech and stories (Scandinavian Saga and Edda, Indian Vac). 

The connection between memory, including historical memory, and the creation of art was emphasized in the Greek belief that Mnemosyne, goddess of memory, was mother to the Musae, goddesses of art. 

Goddesses like the Eastern Mediterranean Nisaba represented both the act of writing and the priestesses who employed it. 

Finally, one of the most common powers ascribed to goddesses is control over destiny. 

Individual fate goddesses are connected with midwifery. 

Such divinities as Baltic Laime˙, Egyptian Hathor, Slavic Dolya and Orisnitsi, and Finno-Ugric Madder-Akka appeared at a childs birth and predict its future life. 

Fate goddesses could be ancestral spirits (see Scandinavian Dıs) because heredity is one determinant of fate. 

Fate goddesses measured a persons life, like Hittite Wurusemu (see Eastern Mediterranean) or Greek Lachesis (see Moirae). 

Other fate goddesses, like the Roman Camenae and Carmenta who lived in springs, were associated with especially hal lowed places. 

~ Kiran Atma

You can learn more about Goddess Symbolism here.

Goddesses Of Reptiles, Birds, And Amphibians

Like animals, reptiles and birds appear frequently as images of feminine divinity. 

While these creatures might seem opposites, many early statues show them united, as we find in the unnamed bird-headed snake goddesses of central Europe, whose image may represent the cosmic reach of a goddess who ruled both earth and sky. 

The imagery survives into historical times as the Greek Gorgons, winged snake haired sisters of the goddess Medusa. 

Snake goddesses often represent rebirth or renewal, for as the snake sheds its skin, so the soul is reborn into another life. 

Egyptian Mafdet and Mertseger were con nected with both burial and the promise of an afterlife. 

In India, black-faced Kalı, ruler of death and transformation, is bedecked in writhing snakes. 

Other Indian goddesses associated with snakes include Manasa, who guards against snakebite and brings prosperity, and the snake-women called Naginıs, associated with water and the mon soon season. 

This connection of snakes with water is also found in Australia, where the rainbow serpent Julunggul (see also Kunapipi) lived in deep pools, from which she stirred herself at times of creation and of initiation ceremonies. 

Snakes could appear maternal, for snakes protected stored grain from encroaching vermin and thus preserved the familys health. 

Lithuanian Aspelenie was such a protector, as was Greek Athena. 

Even in nonagricultural societies, we find snake pro tectors, such as Siberian Irt (see Circumpolar), who protected the fecundity of rivers. 

Snakes appear as images of reproductive sex in the image of Chinese Nu¨wa, entwined with her serpent mate, while Indian Kadru offers an image of reproductive abundance with her clutch of a thousand eggs. 

Conversely, snakes could be fearsome and threatening. 

Some terrifying snakes were connected with magic and shape-shifting, such as Greek Hecate, Roman Angitia, Celtic Morrıgan, and Aztec Coatlicue. 

Perhaps as an extension of this power, serpent goddesses ruled sexuality, as we find with Celtic Melusine and Ezili-Freda of the African disapora. 

The snake Kundalinı, in Hindu India, symbolizes sexual power that rises through the snakelike spinal column linking the groin and head. 

Finally, reptilian goddesses appear as cosmic creatrixes. 

In Africa, the snake Aido Hwedo was present at creation and provided the pattern for the sinuous shape of mountains and rivers. 

Some serpents provided the material for the world from their own body, as did Aztec Cipactonal and Babylonian Tiaˆmat. 

Polynesian Walu tahanga suffered dismemberment but, once made whole again, provided fresh water and food to humanity. 

The snake goddess can appear as a dragon, especially in Asia where these imagi nary hybrids were a common mythic motif. 

Typically, dragons were associated with the oceans power. 

Japanese Benten either took the form of a dragon or rode one on the ocean waves. 

In Egypt, the goddess Meretseger was a snake with human head, or a snake with three heads, a form that stressed her otherworldly aspects. 

Other rep tiles appear as goddess images in regions where they are common, as with African Nyakae, a crocodile. 

Birds also appear frequently as goddess images. 

Pedamma-Mariamma (see India) was one of several creatrixes who took bird form; she laid an egg that contained the universe and the gods. 

Polynesian Tuli flew across the primal ocean, creating island homes for people as she did. 

Finnish Luonotar was not herself a bird, but provided a place for the cosmic eggs to be laid by a duck in primeval times. 

Sometimes the bird is of a specific species: the owl accompanied and represented Greek Athena, while Irish E tain took the form of a swan (see Celtic). 

In such cases, the birds qualities were associated with the goddess (wisdom and loyalty, respec tively). 

Observation of bird behavior led to the connection of the Greek tragic heroine Aedon with the loud-crying nightingale; the Celtic war goddess Badb with the carrion-eating crow; the Saami spring goddess Barbmo-Akka (see Finno-Ugric) with migrating waterbirds; and the loyal Celtic heroine Fionnuala with the similarly loyal swan. 

Greek Aphrodite was associated with several kinds of birds, including the goose and the sparrow, which were imagined as sexually vigorous. 

Occasionally the bird was not the goddess but her mate. 

The goddess of sexuality in the African diaspora, Oshun, is associated with the peacock, the male of which preens its lavish tail to attract a mate. 

Eskimo Sedna (see Circumpolar) was mated to a sea bird, but grew tired of living on scraps of fish that he provided. 

In Greek mythology, the sky god Zeus turned himself into a bird in order to assault goddesses and Nymphs. 

Thus Hera was associated with the quail, for Zeus disguised himself as one in order to gain access to Heras lap, while Leda was associated with the swan, in which form Zeus raped her, as he did the goddess of vengeance, Nemesis. 

Frigg, the Scandinavian all-mother, lived in a sky palace to which she ascended on hawks wings. 

Birds provided a disguise for shape-shifted goddesses such as Russian Baba Yaga (see Slavic) and Irish Morrıgan (see Celtic). 

Nemain, a Celtic war goddess, flew over the battlefield like a crow to observe the slain, as did the Scandina vian Valkyries. 

Birdsong figures in goddess imagery both as a positive image of beauty (Thai Kinnarı, see Southeast Asia) and as a threatening one of loss of self (Greek Sirens). 

In addition to the earthbound serpent and the airy bird, we find goddesses in the form of amphibians, which live in water as juveniles and, after undergoing metamor phosis, breathe air as adults. 

The most common amphibian image of the goddess is the frog or toad, often used as an image of the birthing creatrix because its bent legged shape looks like a woman squatting in labor. 

This connection of frogs with birth was found in Egypt, where Hekt, a woman with a frogs head, was a midwife. 

Frogs and toads were also widely associated with weather. 

The Australian frog goddess Quork-Quork was the mother of rain, thunder, and lightning. 

Yang Sri, the toad goddess of Vietnam, controlled the weather, as did the Baltic weather witch Ragana. 

Scandinavian Holle hid in a deep well disguised as a frog. 

Finally, in a few instances, we find a connection between frogs and fire, notably in South America, where the frog goddess Nayobo made fire by vomiting, while another frog goddess of the region, Kibero, brought fire to humanity. 

~ Kiran Atma

You can learn more about Goddess Symbolism here.

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 Vegetation

 

In some areas, vegetation is connected with a male god. 

In Southeast Europe, for in stance, the mountain goddess Cybele took the tree god Attis for her lover. 

In spring rit uals in the eastern Mediterranean, women planted gardens of Adonis, dedicated to the young lover of Greek Aphrodite who was killed in his prime, as the seedlings of the Adonis gardens were to die after a brief period of growth. 

The connection of male divinity with vegetation has been described as the background for the image of the Christian savior Christ, meeting his death upon a dead tree. 

Most cultures have connected plants with goddesses. 

Such goddesses were typically associated with agriculture and represented the abundant food produced by the fertile fields. 

Such vegetation goddesses can be forms of the earth mother (see above), for goddesses embodied in the fertile soil and those found in plants that spring from that soil can be difficult to distinguish, if indeed such a distinction was made by the god desss followers. 

Goddesses of vegetation can be embodied in plants (African Abuk, who was a bean; Southeast Asian Hainuwele, who turned into a date-palm) or may tend them as gardeners (Hawaiian Hiiaka, African Mbokomu, South American Nugkui). 

A cultures vegetation goddess reveals its mainstay foods, for which reason many goddesses are connected with grains rather than, for instance, leafy greens that do not store well and are available for only part of the year. 

In the eastern Mediterranean, Ninlil and her mother Ninshebargunu ruled barley and other nourishing seeds. 

In Rome, we find Ceres, from whose name we derive a term for grains. 

Similarly, Greek Demeter and Slavic Z˘ emyna are connected with wheat and rye and barley, called ‘‘corn in old texts that use the term ‘‘maize for the yellow grain from the Americas. 

In India and southeast Asia, goddesses were associated with the mainstay of the daily meal, rice, most famously embodied in the Hindu goddess of wealth, Laks˛mı, who appears in Bali and nearby islands as the primary goddess Dewi Shri. 

A similar goddess was Basmoti, whose name we still use for a type of rice; in central India, Astangi Devı brought humans not only rice but bamboo, with its edible shoots. 

In Japan, the rice goddess was the fox-woman Inari, a divinity who is still very popular today. 

In central and north America, the goddess of agricultural plenty was connected with maize or corn; Cherokee Selu and Pawnee Uti Hiata are among the ‘‘corn moth ers of the Americas. 

In South America, where the potato was a mainstay of life, the goddess of abundance was Pachamama. 

In the Pacific, the goddess Pani was associ ated with yams, an important food plant. 

Goddesses of vegetation could be divinities of birth as well, not only because farm ing reproduces plants but because sufficient food is necessary for women to become pregnant. 

In Babylonia, the birth goddess Bau derives her name from a term meaning ‘‘giver of vegetables (see Eastern Mediterranean). 

In Thailand, the primary goddess is Mae Phosop, deity of rice who appears as a pregnant woman when the grains swell to maturity and who gives birth to the new crops (see India). 

In Australia, Imberom bera walked around creating life by giving birth and forming plants (see Mutjingga). 

Not only were vegetation goddesses associated with birth; they were also connected with death. 

In the cycle of the crops, farmers saw their own lives: flourishing in youth, reaching productive adulthood, finally dying. 

This identification was reflected in myth. 

African Asase, who claimed the dead, was primarily a goddess of vegetation. 

Nambi, also from Africa, stole seeds to bring food plants to earth, but unwittingly opened the way for death to descend from the heavens. 

In Egypt, the tree-living death goddess Ament offered food to the newly dead, the tasting of which kept them from returning to life. 

Yet even in death, vegetation goddesses promise new life. 

Egyptian Hekt was embodied in grain, which seems to ‘‘die before it sprouts. 

Eating the fruit of Chinese Xiwang Mus magical peach tree transformed the deceased into an immortal. 

Flowers and fruit both serve as goddess images. 

Often the goddesses are depicted, respectively, as younger and older, with a nubile goddess envisioned as a deity of flow ers while a more mature goddess is the resulting fruit. 

Among important flower god desses we find Romes Flora, divinity of prostitutes and sexuality; Bloduewedd in Wales (see Celtic), a heroine made completely of flowers; Greek Persephone (Roman Proserpina), a maiden goddess raped while picking crocuses; and the Aztec Xochi quetzel, the deity embodied in the marigold. 

In India, the Apsaras were bedecked with flower garlands that, if offered to a human, indicated willingness to engage in intercourse. 

In Russia (see Slavic), a young woman embodying Berehinia wore a crown of red flowers to represent the goddess. 

As flowers are the genitalia of plants, they often symbolize the goddesss female organs. 

The fruit that results from pollination of flowers becomes the symbol of mature god desses. 

The most familiar is the apple associated withEve, ancestral mother of humanity (see Eastern Mediterranean). 

The peach offered by Chinese Xiwang Mu brought immortality to the eater. 

A pomegranate represented Hera, Greek goddess of womans power. 

The apple was connected with Lithuanian Saule˙ (see Baltic). 

Among goddesses of fruit we find several connected to intoxication, for sugary fruit naturally ferments into wine. 

Sumerian Nikasi was embodied in strong grapevines (see Eastern Mediterranean). 

African O ya was connected with palm wine; Greek Oeno, with wine from grapes. 

The tree provided an image of the goddess as provider of food, with fruit trees espe cially regarded as feminine. 

In Scandinavia, where fruit varieties were limited, Idunn was associated only with apples, while in Japan, Kono-Hana-Sakuya-Hime and Yaya-Zakura were goddesses of the cherry tree and Rafu-Sen of the plum. 

Greek Carya ruled the walnut, Irish Buan the hazelnut (see Celtic), Roman Rumina the fig. 

Even trees that do not bear edible fruit or nuts had goddess associations. 

Many trees were described as inhabited by feminine spirits like Greek Dryads, tree-living Nymphs who died when their tree died. 

Similarly, Scandinavians envisioned the for ests of northern Europe as inhabited by Askefruer, ash-tree women. 

The Greeks con nected goddesses with specific tree species, as with the multiple Heliaces (poplar) and Meliae (ash), as well as the singular Daphne (laurel) and Carya (walnut). 

Tree cults are attested in Greek religion, including one centered on Helen, who was ritually hung from a tree in ancient times. 

Such goddesses could appear as ancestral figures; among the Scandinavians, Embla was said to have been the primordial woman, born of an ash tree. 

Trees were the preeminent image of the Hebrew goddess Asherah, whose image was carved from a wooden plank. 

The Arabic goddess Uzza was also honored in groves of trees (see Eastern Mediterranean for both). 

~ Kiran Atma

You can learn more about Goddess Symbolism here.

Goddesses Of Fire

The mobile element of fire is more typically depicted as feminine than masculine, although a few fire gods appear in world mythology. 

These are often blacksmiths, such as the Celtic Goibniu, Greek Hephaestus, or Roman Vulcan. 

Such gods do not so much embody fire as use it in transformation of one material to another. 

But the role of smith is not always a male one in mythology. 

Smith goddesses also appear, most notably Celtic Brigit, connected to smithcraft, poetry, and healing, all of which show her trans formational power. 

In Japan, too, we find the smith goddess Ishikore-Dome, who crafted the first mirror and saved the world from darkness. 

In China, the smith Moye worked with her husband to craft an impossibly strong sword, in the process of which she sacrificed herself to the fire. 

Fire itself appears as a goddess in one of two forms: as the wild, tempestuous fire of volcanoes, and as the tamed and useful fire of the hearth. 

The former figures are typi cally depicted as voluptuous and demanding of lovers, who often perish at their em brace. 

The unpredictability of volcanic eruption and the potential destructiveness to human settlement, coupled with the astonishing fertility of volcanic soil after it has cooled and settled, led to depiction of volcano goddesses as both threatening and fecund. 

Around the ‘‘ring of fire in the Pacific, such volcano women can be found, from the Aleutian Chuginadak and Multnomah Loo-Wit (see North America) to Micronesian Latmikaik and Hawaiian Pele (see Pacific Islands). 

In Europe, a similar figure is Roman Aetna, whose mountain bears her name. 

The earths inner fires, which pour out from the surface as lava, gave rise to images of women with flames hidden in their genitals, as in Goga (see Pacific Islands). 

The connection of such natural fires with the domestic flame upon the hearth was articulated in some cases, as in Japanese Fuji, who was both the volcanic mountain and the familys cook fire. 

More commonly, the fire goddess of the household is seen as a distinct domestic presence, to whom simple rituals are offered daily while cooking and eating. 

The hearth, which is either the home of the goddess or her very body, was often hedged about with taboos. 

Spitting in the fire, dumping urine or other waste upon it, or otherwise showing disrespect was typically forbidden, with penalties enacted for transgressions. 

Across Indo-European territory, the hearth goddess was typically vir ginal (Greek Hestia, Roman Vesta, Celtic Brigit) and served by a college of similarly chaste priestesses. 

At other times, she was a nurturing maternal force (such as the Bal tic Gabija). 

Finally, in a few cases fire goddesses were connected with water, espe cially hot springs, as was Celtic Sul (see Sun, above). 

~ 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.

Weather Goddesses And Storm Goddesses

Just as the heavens are commonly described as part of the masculine sphere, opposed to the feminine earth, so weather (especially storms with thunder and lightning) is often connected with male divinities and their powers. 

Yet some cultures grant control of the weather to a powerful female divinity. 

Often she is depicted as an aged woman, sometimes a giant, such as the Celtic Cailleach who stirred up storms at sea and covered the land with her cloudy cloak. 

In Scotland and Ireland, this figure was con nected with high hills and mountains, around which clouds gathered and which even today bear her name. 

She was a figure more feared than beloved, associated with bad weather rather than sunny spells, although she can appear in double form, as with Brit ains fearsome Black Annis and her corollary, Gentle Annie. 

Among the Balts, the similar figure Ragana caused storms by waving a red wand. 

Both these figures were seen as old, but sexually active, indeed somewhat predatory They favored strong and virile young men, whom they exhausted or even killed with their energy and sexual appetites. 

The similar Hungarian witch, Szepasszony, was a frightening figure who kidnapped humans, often for sexual purposes. 

The Russian witch Baba Yaga controlled the weather, brewing up storms to hide her raids on human settlements where she stole children. 

Nearby, the dual Germanic goddesses Perchta and Holle not only controlled the weather but were also connected with sea sonal change, typically accompanied by a change in weather. 

The distinction between a seasonal goddess and a weather-controller can be difficult to distinguish, with divinities like Georgian Tamar (see Slavic) serving in both capacities. 

Storms include wind as well as rain, and goddesses whose special domain is the wind are not uncommon, although more typically associated with male divine figures (as is thunder). 

At times these winds are drying, as with Egyptian Sekhmet who repre sents the desiccating desert wind as well as the heat of the sun. 

African O ya controlled winds on the river named for her, while in the African diaspora, she continued to con trol wind, both gentle breezes and dangerous storms. 

Similarly, the Haida figure Dju (see North America) controlled both soft and harsh winds by the height to which she raised her dress. 

Sumerian Lilith (see Eastern Mediterranean) is another wind goddess, embodying a Cailleach-like sexual danger in a voluptuous form. 

Because goddesses are often associated with water (see below), they can be described as having special power over rain. 

An important example is Persian Anahita (see Eastern Mediterranean), who was seen as both earthly water and as rain that replenished streams and rivers. 

These rain goddesses can appear as fertility figures like African Mujaji, for farmers depend upon rain at appropriate times in order for crops to thrive and ripen. 

In northern climes, the goddess of precipitation was associated with snow rather than rain, as evidenced by Siberian Asiaq and Eskimo Kadlu (see Circumpolar for both). 

One weather-related phenomenon typically associated with goddesses is the rain bow, which was in many lands seen as an airborne woman like the Greek Iris and Ochumare of the African diaspora. 

In Australia, the rainbow was a female serpent flung across the sky (see Julunggul and Kunapipi). 

The same connection is found in the African diaspora, where Aida Wedo is both rainbow and serpent in Haiti. 

Other lands also saw a connection between rain and snakes or dragons, as Korean Aryong Jong, ‘‘queen of the dragon palace, suggests. 

Similarly, the clouds that give birth to rain are depicted as goddesses, such as Indian Abhramu and Greek Nephele. 

The connection of such goddesses to water seems primary, so they may be seen in bodies of water such as lakes and rivers, as well as in falling rain. 

They can, as well, be associated with the oceans, as the Taiwanese goddess Ma-tsu attests. 

She especially controlled the weather at sea, which impacted the fisherman who honored her (see China). 

In Latvia (see Baltic), Mjer-jema was honored as a weather goddess who con trolled the storms at sea and thus assured or spoiled good fishing. 

In Finland the god desses of air and weather ruled the healing arts (see Ismo). 

~ Kiran Atma

You can learn more about Goddess Symbolism here.

Goddess Worship In Italy

The spirit and inspiration of the Divine Female permeate the whole fabric of Italy, whether it is in a quiet city square or a bustling museum. Her obelisks in Rome's Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican symbolize the site of historic lyceums, or institutions for studying Goddess mysteries. Her statues are still present at Malta's megalithic temple complexes, which are located just south of Sicily. 

You may discover sculptures, objects, and fabrics showing her from Paleolithic to modern times by entering the Louvre in Paris or museums in Turin, London, Naples, or Ankara. Amazing cave paintings from Lascaux, France, from 15,000 BCE depict her. She may also be seen in palm-sized items that are touching, like the Venus of Willendorf (25,000 BCE), which was discovered in Austria. 

In Ostia Antica, there is a temple or sacellum called Bellona that is devoted to the Italic goddess Bellona, who may have been combined with Magna Mater.

The deep beauty and spirit of the Goddess continue to inspire and be suggested by tapestries like La Dame a la Licorne, The Lady and the Unicorn, which is housed at the Cluny Museum in France. The adventurous pilgrim traveling to holy places throughout Europe will encounter all of this. 

Goddess Worship In Pompeii.

The partly discovered city of Pompeii, which was left behind when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, offers a rare window into a history that has been frozen in time. Travelers may still read graffiti and ads on walls and floors in Pompeii, as well as enjoy mosaic tile flooring and look out for carriage wheel ruts on the stone pavement. 

One might imagine hearing and smelling the activity of long ago. In addition to stadiums, brothels, temples, and private residences, there are villas to discover. Even some of the impoverished people's bodies who perished in the volcanic explosion have been preserved for interested people to see. One of the most well-preserved buildings in this enormous metropolis is the Temple of Isis, which stands out as the ideal illustration of Isis worship as it developed outside of Egypt and into the Greco-Roman world. 

All around the Mediterranean area and Asia Minor, immigrants, sailors, warriors, merchants, and her priesthood of men and women sung Isis' praises. She mixed with the native deities in various other nations. In reality, the worship of Isis was once fiercely competitive with that of other mystery religions, including the cult of Mithras and young Christianity, due to her popularity across the known globe. 

If Western civilization might have evolved on a matriarchal foundation, Isis "may have been too tenacious a mistress to dethrone," claims R. E. Witt in Isis in the Ancient World. Some elements of Isis worship did alter as it spread outside of Egypt. 

Instead of the exotic and green-hued Osiris, Isis was now married to the Ptolemaic hybrid deity Serapis. Serapis was an Egyptian version of Osiris-Apis that was Hellenized, avoiding the animal head representations of Egypt that the Greeks and Romans misunderstood. 

They were unaware that the powers of the animals they mirrored were inherent in these deities. Harpocrates, Anubis, and Horus all traveled with Isis when she left Egypt. (In the Vatican Museum, there is an intriguing statue of a Hellenized Anubis that evokes images of Scooby Do.) 

Isis sometimes had her own temple or often shared a temple with a local goddess, although many other ancient Egyptian goddesses were becoming less popular in many nations. In certain cases, like with her sanctuary at Delos, her temple was not centrally positioned but rather was situated on the outside of the city in a zone designated for foreign deities. 

However, this was not the situation in Pompeii, a significant Roman city close to the port of Ostia, where grain from Egypt often came to feed Rome. Here, on great real land, was the Isis temple. Isis was immensely popular among the Roman aristocracy, and the city of Pompeii and many of its citizens' lives revolved around her temple. 

Processions were a ceremonial component of Isis worship in Pompeii that may have originated in Egyptian ritual. It is difficult to determine where the tradition originated since we know Mesopotamia also used ceremonial processions. 

The massive temple estates constructed in the Egyptian style, however, have vanished, even at Pompeii. Iseums, or temples to Isis on foreign country, were more humble but nevertheless followed many Egyptian customs. They were a subterranean crypt under the surface-level temple building. The crypt was used for rituals, ceremonies, and storage. 

The Nilometer was vital in Egyptian temples because it assessed the life giving water level of the Nile upon which life, fertility, and wealth relied. It was still in use in Pompeii but had been changed to become a more symbolic object. Evidence suggests that several iseums and mansions of the Isian priests, such the one belonged to Loreius Tiburtinus, were built with permanent water channels that may represent the Nile flood waters spilling. 

The usage of holy ritual pitchers and situlas, or sacred pails, may be seen in murals of processions and scenes on temple walls, even if adherents of the faith outside of Egypt progressively lost touch with the ancient meaning of Nile water. 

These probably held Nile water that was transported or utilized in rituals; this would be a more practical method to include the Nile's customary significance during Egyptian worship while distant from the real source. Even though Isis' temple was modest by the standards of a normal contemporary Christian church, it was prominently situated next to a theater, the Forum, and the temple of Asclepius and Neptune in the public square at Pompeii. The temple was located in the middle of the compound's holy quadrangle. There were a number of round columns at ground level in front of the temple. 

There were three additional round columns to the left and right before entering the pronaos, or front hall, which was a little under 98 square feet (30 sq. m) in size as one ascended the seven stairs to the temple proper. The inner chapel, or cella, which was located behind the pronaos, included two pedestals for sculptures of Isis and Serapis. 

The whole structure was covered with paintings that included images of Isis and Io, ritual practitioners, priests, floral trellises, the mummy of Osiris, Anubis, Isis wearing an ankh, Perseus rescuing Andromeda, Mars, and Venus. 

There were several altars and niches as well. The Purgatorium, where the Nile water was kept, was located on ground level only a few meters from the temple. There was a subterranean Megaron or tomb below this, perhaps used for initiations. The Isian priesthood's quarters and the initiates' gathering place were at the back of the temple. 

According to fresco paintings, men and women had equal status in the Isis priesthood. Priests were shown wielding the sistrum, or ancient rattle, and the caduceus, while the priestess was clutching a baton. Both priests and priestesses are shown carrying out religious obligations. 

A cake-carrying priestess with a snake on her head is engraved on a cup, while the priest is seen holding a censer. A other goblet depicts the priestess wielding a sistrum and situla while encircled by a snake. Hydeion, a long-spouted pitcher often used to transport water from the Nile, is being carried by the priest. Stories of other gods and goddesses did not get outside of Egypt as the worship of Isis increased. 

The story of Isis and Osiris persisted outside of Egypt, and via more widely celebrated Isian festivals, the general population was educated about Egyptian practices. One such open-to-the-public event was the Ploiaphesia, also known as the Isidis Navigium or Sailing of the Ship of Isis, which took place on March 5 every year. Although it started in Egypt, this holiday was also celebrated in cities like Pompeii. 

This signaled the start of the sailing season. Large segments of the society, including the Isis priests, took part in the ceremonial procession. Isis, the goddess of the sea, was called upon to provide the sailors and merchants safe passage over the oceans, trade with friendly nations, and return home with the supplies they needed for everyday living.

 The ceremonial ship, known as the Ship of Isis, was sent out to sea as an offering to the Goddess in Pompeii, as in other locations honoring this event, after being laden with gifts and prayers. 

At the beginning of the third century CE, Isis worship peaked. Secret rituals, regular services, and several festivals open to everybody were all part of the cult's secrets. She was revered as a goddess of knowledge who had magical abilities and understanding of the secrets of life and death. As shown by the following inscription from Capua, Una quae es omnia, dea Isis, or "Thou who, being one, art all, Goddess Isis," she came to be seen as the one Goddess by many, broadening the more original Egyptian notion of a transcendent monotheism. 

The worship of Isis in Pompeii gradually and firmly gained hold of the aristocracy until it became the city's semi-official religion, while the cult of Isis developed among the slaves and families of freed men hired by the great mansions of the affluent. In homage to Isis, Roman emperors had sculptures made of themselves dressed in Egyptian garb. Daughters of regular people and prominent government figures dedicated their life to Isis as priestesses. Rich people honored her with shrines in their gardens. We know this because Pompeii was astonishingly well preserved for more than 1,700 years after Mount Vesuvius' explosion on August 24, 79 CE. 

Modern archaeologists excavating the ruins came upon an almost flawlessly preserved window into a historical event. Numerous Goddesses and Divine Feminine temples may be found throughout the enormous metropolis of Pompeii. The Temple of Venus, Temple of Fortuna, and Villa of Mysteries have all undergone excellent restorations. Numerous bright frescoes provide a sense of the creativity and vibrancy of those early times. The bordellos are also fascinating, however there are a lot of depressing small cubicles and phallus symbols that symbolize fertility to be found there. 

How to reach Pompeii. 

The contemporary and welcoming city of Pompei lies next to the ancient city of Pompeii, which is best accessed via a guided trip. However, if one is prepared for the bother of navigating the Italian railroad system, one may also take the public train. The Pompeii-Villa dei Misteri station on the Circumvesuviana is roughly a 30-minute journey from Naples. You are dropped off outside the site's western entrance. The Circumvesuviana to Pompei-Santuario station, which is located at the eastern entrance to the sites, is another option. Daily trains and tours regularly depart from Rome for Pompei; the sight deserves a full day. The facility has a great café where you may get lunch or a refreshing beverage, and the toilets are maintained spotless. Bring a hat, sunscreen, and a guidebook. 

Goddess Worship In Rome.

 It would be hard to choose just one place to worship the goddess throughout the whole city of Rome. How are you going to stop at one? You really can't. Readers will profit from the author's passion for all the locations that are going to be highlighted since so many places scream "Goddess." As tourists discover more than ten attractions in one, prepare to get a little something extra, or lagniappe, as they say in New Orleans! 

Get on board as the bus leaves for a tour of Rome's holy places to the goddess! Starting point: Palatine Hill. The Palatine Hill, next to the Colosseum, previously housed affluent houses in ancient Rome.

The English word "palace" is sprung from the word palatine. There is a lot of history on the Palatine Hill. Roman historians claim that the Emperor Caligula was stabbed here, for example. The Sibyls' decrees that Rome would not be victorious against Hannibal until the Cybele meteorite reached the city led to the construction of the Temple of Cybele, which was consecrated here in 191 BCE. 

The Roman populace delighted in the experience of wild and bizarre celebrations in honor of Cybele when she arrived at Palatine Hill and caused Hannibal to lose. In the years that followed, Rome's conservatives condemned the wild festivals honoring both Cybele and Attis. According to certain ancient authors, the Sibylline On the hill, there were prophetic books, but they were destroyed by fire. 

The renowned playwrights Terence and Plautus debuted several of their most well-known comedies on a wooden stage set up in front of the Temple of Cybele during the yearly theatrical games. Located south of the Farnese Gardens and immediately west of the House of "Livia," this shrine to the Great Mother still has its tufa platform standing. 

The hill is also graced with the foundation of temple stones dedicated to Victory and Victoria Virgo ("Maiden Victory"). The shrine formerly had magnificent flooring made of red and white breccia rosa, pink-grey Chian marble, and black slate, as well as tall, thin Corinthian columns.

A throne in the middle, reclining people holding tympana, and cats on each corner of the triangle made up the pediment's decoration. A headless goddess who had originally been flanked by lions was one among the discoveries at the site. Under the foundation of this temple complex, a tunnel led to the historic Street of Victory. Tertullian (160–225 CE) said that the Magna Mater sanctuary was also located in the center of the renowned Circus Maximus, just below the southern brow of Palatine Hill. An enormous statue of Diana on the spina of this circus, dressed in a mural crown, riding sidesaddle, and flanked by lions, is shown on ancient coins. 

The Palatine Hill is a maze-like complex of ruins honoring several gods and goddesses. The Basilica or Aula of Isis and a Venus Temple may also be found on Palatine Hill. Simply carry a map, since the location is not well-marked and the personnel is not very helpful. 

The Roman Forum is located across the street from Palatine Hill and has several partially preserved Goddess temples, including the Temples of Venus, Vesta, and the House of the Vestals. Vesta might be thought as as Rome's divine soul or the vital feminine flame. Since 575 BCE, votive gifts have been made to Vesta, Goddess of the Hearth. The once circular building is said to be a representation of a prehistoric Latin hut where princesses of prehistoric tribes maintained the tribe's fire. 

The embers of Her temple in Troy were said to have ignited the flames of the Roman Temple of Vesta in antiquity. For one hundred years, temple vestal priestesses were responsible for maintaining the flames of Rome. The Seven Holy of Holies of Rome were safeguarded and maintained by the vestal priestesses. 

The ashes of Orestes, a needle used by the Mother of Gods, the shields of Salii, the 12 Leaping Priests of Mars, the scepter of Priam, and the veil of Ilione were among these holy relics. The Palladium, a wooden statue of Pallas Athena that was thought to have fallen from heaven and been brought to Rome from Troy, was another. 

The Romans believed that the city would suffer if the fires weren't kept going or these artifacts weren't protected. Failure to do these chores may result in flogging, exile, or even death as a punishment. 

Although the word "virgin" goddess is often used to describe an unmarried female who is autonomous and unto herself rather than a chaste condition, virginity was a literal necessity for Vestal Virgins. "Nor will it be said that under (the emperor's) leadership any priestess violated her sacred fillets, and none shall be buried alive in the ground. 

It is thus that an unchaste (Vesta) perishes because that (Earth) which she violated, in that earth she is interred; and indeed Earth and Vesta are the same deity," wrote the ancient writer Ovid of the punishment for a Vestal Virgin who lost her virginity: " Roman society's value of chastity is explained by scholar Miriam Robbins Dexter. 

Chastity was regarded as unchangeable, though they did allow for parthenogenesis, or childbirth through a mother without male involvement. It was the duty of chaste Vestal Virgins to channel their divine energy for the benefit of Rome since they were a reservoir of untapped potential, similar to a charged battery. If a woman was neither virginal nor married, Dexter writes, "she constituted an independent challenge to the patriarchal, patrilinear system. 

In Rome, like in other male-dominated communities, any woman who asserted her own sexual identity was despised and dreaded. Two still-standing temples to the Feminine Divine, the Temples of Vesta and Fortuna, can be found off the beaten path as you move from the Forum toward the Tiber River. The Goddess of Destiny, Fortuna, who is sometimes confused with Isis, is worshipped in a temple that resembles a miniature Parthenon only a few yards from the circular Temple of Vesta. These two Goddess temples in Rome are among the best preserved. 

The circular temple, which was surrounded by Corinthian columns, was only preserved because it was transformed into a church in 1132 CE and given the name "Saint Stephen of the Carriages." The basilica where nuns used to distribute food to the needy is the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, which is located across the street. 

Since the eighth century, the church has been connected to the Greek community in Rome, and the name "Cosmedin" may be a reference to the city of "Constantinople." This building formerly served as a temple for the Roman goddess Ceres, who gave us the term "cereal." Goddess enthusiasts claim that the church, which is said to have a subterranean passageway going to the Temple of Vesta across the street, emanates a noticeable "Goddess energy" that makes it seem cozy, secure, and almost like stepping inside a real Sheila-na-Gig, or womb.

The clean and basic architectural lines of this basilica suggest a mysterious, "out-of-the-way" vibe, almost as if this site was a neglected step-child of the Church, because it lacks the gold plating and crowded façade that often clutter many Christian churches in Europe. 

Large chandeliers with candle holders hang from the ceiling, and the walls are practically bare but for a few faded flower paintings. The noises and hectic energies of the city are believed to vanish as one enters this church's calm, dark, silence, and one may feel the Goddess' presence. Sacred geometry-like symbols are visible in the church's floor design, and some people also perceive the four basic elements and the spirit. An depiction of what looks to be wheat, representing the goddess Ceres, may be seen behind the main altar. 

On April 19, the day of her festival, the Cerealia, she was worshipped in Rome. The Circus Maximus, which is close to Palatine Hill, also hosted celebrations for her. Rufus and Lawson claim that it seems like a portion of the old Ceres temple is still there in the church, but hidden from view. San Nicola in Carcere, which is situated right across from Tiber Island and not far from Santa Maria in Cosmedin, is definitely worth a visit if travelers have the time. On the site of the Juno Sospita temple lies this 11th-century church (the Savior). 

On the south side of the temple from the first century BCE, seven of the original columns still stand, together with a portion of the entablature above them. The ancient pedestal, where Juno Sospita was hailed as a warrior goddess, is in superb shape. 

The Temple of Juno Regina was the most well-known sanctuary devoted to Goddess in Rome, roughly located where Santa Sabina is now (as confirmed by two dedicatory inscriptions found nearby). The antique wooden statue was transferred to this location on Aventine Hill by the Roman ruler Furius Camillus after the fall of the last Etruscan fortress of Veii in 396 BCE. 

Two sculptures of Juno Regina made of cypress wood were were erected at the temple in 207 BCE. Juno Regina is often seen next to Jupiter on coins, wielding a long scepter and patera. She typically appears as a queen with a veil, a diadem, and a peacock at her side. 

The majority of her gifts were made by women, including a bronze figure and a golden bowl in 218 BCE (in 207 BCE). Her direct affiliation with Diana, the Goddess of the Moon and Hunt, which was undoubtedly inspired by her Etruscan origins, was peculiar to Juno Regina on the Aventine hill. 

Because of this, Diana was transformed into Juno's hostess and the goddess in charge of the asylum (a role that was alien to the Latin Diana but not to the Diana/Artemis of Asia Minor). Meanwhile, Juno herself becomes a rescuer and a protector via this relationship. 

The little Santa Sabina Church was built here in 422 CE, but the majority of magnificent basilica, with its lovely white Corinthian columns along the nave, is from the ninth century. In the 13th century, the church was taken over by the Dominicans. Without seeing Santa Maria Maggiore, the magnificent church honoring Mary as the "Mother of God," no journey to Rome is complete.

Legend has it that the Virgin Mary visited Pope Liberius and told him to erect a church exactly where he saw a spot of snow the following day. It was considered a wonder when he discovered snow at the top of the Esquiline Hill the next morning (August 5th), given that Rome was now going through one of their normal scorching summers. 

Each year, thousands of white petals are released from the church's roof to "snow" on the waiting crowd as a way of remembering this occasion. These were were rose petals, but they are now often dahlia petals. Pope Sixtus III (reigned from 431-440 CE) erected a new basilica there after the church council in Ephesus in 431, during which Mary was acknowledged as bearing God (theotokos). 

This basilica dates back to the fifth century and has a triple nave. The Virgin Mary is the subject of the majority of the mosaics in the apse, which were created by Jacopo Toritti circa 1295. His obsession with natural themes—birds nesting, flowers blooming, animals crawling, and an abundance of lush vegetation—is peculiar. A medallion showing the Coronation of Mary by Christ amid a canopy of golden stars sits in the middle of this cornucopia of natural beauty. 

The Temple of Juno Lucina was located on the minor Cispian Hill, just to the north of Santa Maria Maggiore on the Esquiline Hill. At once a holy forest, the precinct ultimately acquired a temple consecrated in 375 BCE. Two old lotus trees that were in the gardens before the temple, according to Pliny the Elder, were revered there. 

The Feast of the Matronalia was observed here on March 1st. On this day, all wives were expected to receive gifts from their husbands. Although Juno Lucina was strongly linked to a birth cult, nothing more is known about her. Some even believe that Hallmark invented Mother's Day! 

The Church of Santa Maria in Aracoli, which is located on a historic location that was formerly a temple to Juno Moneta and Cybele, has several goddess emblems. On the marble floor is a bull (associated with Osiris and Adonis) crowned with a star, and three bees are depicted in stained glass high up on the church's entrance wall. 

Bees were connected to Cybele, Persephone, Demeter, and Artemis, and the number three was considered sacred. Demeter's priestesses were also referred to as melissae, or bees. During the Roman ruler Furius Camillus's battle with Aurunci in 345 BCE, he made a promise to erect the Temple of Juno Moneta in her honor. It was finally completed the following year on June 1st. In 273 BCE, a mint was erected within the temple, hence the epithet "Moneta." 

The future Roman Emperor Octavian, also known as Augustus, is said to have seen an appearance of a "beautiful lady" here who requested that he construct a shrine for her, according to Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson. And the rest is history, as he did. Later on, Augustus had unparalleled success and power. Even though the vision occurred prior to the birth of Jesus, the Church later asserted that the woman he saw was the Virgin Mary. 

A chapel dedicated to the Christ child is located within the church. On the altar, there are cards and letters from devoted people pleading for their requests to be granted. Goddess worshipers who enter the church believe that the Christ is Horus, the son of Isis, or a young Attis, the son of Cybele, who once had a temple here. In the late 13th century, the entire church façade was rebuilt, and in 1348, the grand steps in front of the basilica were constructed as a gesture of thanks for averting a terrible plague. 

There are 22 antique columns on each side of the nave, some of which were carved from Aswan granite. The renowned graded ramp going up to the Piazza del Campidoglio, located at the top of the old Capitoline Hill and previously dominated by a large temple devoted to Jupiter, is located just to the south of the stairs leading to the Church of Santa Maria in Aracoli. 

Two black granite crouching lions that stand up at the foot of this ramp from the sixteenth century are of great importance. The two lions were brought to Rome by the emperor Domitian (81-96 CE) to be used as decorations for the Temple of Isis on the Field of Mars. 

They were originally from Egypt and may date to the 4th or 3rd century BCE. Both the ordinary people and the aristocracy in Rome maintained a fervent devotion to the Egyptian goddess Isis. She was so admired that there was some debate as to whether the Isian faith or Christianity would become the dominant religion for a while. 

Several factors contributed to Isis' appeal. Her success was mostly due to her accessibility, but her Egyptian riddles also promised immortality beyond death. Instead of being seen as a hostile and distant masculine deity, her attributes as a strong mother and wife who had experienced adversity in her life alongside those of her devotees led her followers to think that she would empathize with them and hear their pleas. Emperor Domitian, who constructed Isis temples and shrines in and around Rome, was a significant Isis admirer. In about the location of the present-day Piazza del Collegio Romano, Domitian constructed an Iseum of Isis because he was preoccupied with his own afterlife disposition. 

Three obelisks from the Iseum Campestre, which was once as significant as Saint Peter's Basilica, may be seen at Piazza della Rotunda in front of the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Piazza della Minerva on top of an elephant. In the Piazza della Minerva, an obelisk on an elephant dates back to the year 6 BCE. Interestingly, a Christian cross is perched atop every obelisk, including the one in Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican. Since there is no official explanation for the placement of these crosses, some have speculated that it represents Christianity's ambition to symbolically dominate paganism. 

There is still an Iseum Campestre of Isis and a Temple of Minerva beneath the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva and Saint Ignazio churches. Ironically, this Mary-focused church still uses the name of the goddess who was once worshipped there. 

Domitian reconstructed the Temple of Isis after the fire of 80 CE, and it is said that Alexander Severus magnificently decorated it with sculptures. The Temple of Isis once stood where the Jesuit Saint Ignazio currently stands (222-235 CE). Four Corinthian columns supported a facade of stairs leading up to the main entrance, which was topped by a deep lunate pediment with a statue of Isis Sothis perched on a dog that was running to the right. 

A standing figure of Isis may be seen within the inner shrine. The Serapeum, or Temple of Serapis, her spouse, stood near by and was situated immediately beyond a wide gateway split into bays by three columns. 

The Serapeum was a distinct structure that was rectangular in design and had grand entrances along the square where the Temple of Minerva had stood. The Serapis temple's hallowed area was referred as as the libertines' hangout. A huge marble foot may be seen near the intersection of Via S. Stefano del Cacco to the right of the church if one makes a small detour along Via del Pie' di Marmo. It is believed that this sandaled foot belonged to the adjacent Iseum or Serapeum and may have even belonged to Serapis.

The Isis religion was well-established in Rome by the reign of Caligula, despite efforts to suppress it by earlier rulers including Augustus, Agrippa, and Tiberius. Although it is difficult to confirm, Tiberius is said to have taken a picture of Isis and thrown it into the Tiber River. Isis rose to become a worldwide deity revered by those who cherished their Mistress of Magic and Wisdom and were seen as their rescuer. 

Te Isis, te salus ad tuos, which translates to "Thou Isis, thou art salvation to thy followers," was written on a graffito from an Isian shrine in Rome. A sensation of Isis' scarlet chord of life linking them to the web of life and her devotion, past and present, close and distant, is reported by modern Isis devotees who travel the same winding stone alleys that ancient devotees did centuries before. 

The Vatican Museum should not be missed because of all the rumors and gossip regarding what could be kept in the vaults. Goddess artifacts are so numerous and diverse that they are almost as delicious as going to the Louvre in Paris. 

The tourist will find hundreds of sculptures of Asian, Greek, and Roman goddesses as well as paintings in the Borgia Apartments dedicated to the Goddess Isis. Particularly lovely is the Egyptian exhibit, which has one-of-a-kind statues not present in other museums. Sekhmet sculptures in a seated position may be seen in outdoor gardens and carelessly positioned in front of gift stores. 

How to Get to the Goddess Sites in Rome. 

It's simple to get about Rome. Non-tourists may use the subway, which makes stops at important landmarks and popular tourist attractions, many of which were previously mentioned. For instance, the Coliseum station makes it simple to reach Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. 

With the right footwear and a decent map, pilgrims may easily navigate the city on foot. Keep an eye out for pickpockets. It is advised that travelers allot a whole day to the Forum, Palatine Hill, as well as the close-by Temples of Vesta, Fortuna, and the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, all of which are accessible on foot. A whole day is also easily need to see the Vatican Museum. The historic city of Ostia Antica, Tivoli Gardens, and the Villa of Hadrian are a few quick and advised day trips outside of Rome if time permits. All three have links to goddesses.

~Kiran Atma

You may also want to discover and learn more about Female Divinities of the Roman empire here.