Protect Kamala Harris - Support Gun Control

This morning, an armed man was arrested outside of the Vice Presidential residence.

Kamala Harris emerges from Mike Pence's head on inauguration day

On inauguration day, I painted Kamala Harris emerging victoriously from the head of Mike Pence. Titled, A New Dawn Emerging, I used the purple, white, and green of the women's suffrage movement. Her purple suit was amazing, by the way. This morning I made my painting available as stickers, prints, and merch from Fine Art America. 75% of my profits will be donated to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violencev, an organization working toward a reinstatement of the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004, in addition to other gun control measures. Also available from RedBubble - 75% of profits donated to CSGV.

Then...from her oath of office I learned that her middle name is Devi. I had been researching goddesses around the world, and had recently learned about the Indian goddess, Devi.

"She has a thousand names and faces — and countless tasks and talents. Even as a fierce warrior heroically slaying the most vicious demons, she retains her composure and radiant beauty. Westerners accustomed to a "Heavenly Father," and to seeing virginal, subdued images of the Madonna, might find Devi and her wildly vigorous feminine power quite startling.

"For many Hindus, however, Devi's greatest strength is that she embodies all aspects of womanhood. In the vast pantheon, she is in the top tier, as powerful as the male gods Vishnu and Shiva. Mother goddess of India and local protector for innumerable villages, she can be quiet and nurturing. But she is also a cosmic force, addressing the creation and destruction of worlds. On occasion she is voluptuous and alluring — a playful temptress, a passionate lover. Before exams, Hindu pupils pray to her, incarnated as Sarasvati, the goddess of music and learning. Devi blesses her devotees with fortune and success.

From: The Great Goddess Devi, Smithsonian Magazine, 1999.

Available as stickers, prints, and merch from Fine Art America. 75% of my profits will be donated to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. Also available from RedBubble - 75% of profits donated to CSGV.

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Asherah

An inscription from Khirbet El-Qôm (near Jerusalem) dated to the 700s BCE and translated by archaeologist Judith Hadley reads, "Uriyahu the Rich wrote it. Blessed be Uriyahu by Yahweh for from his enemies by his Asherah he has saved him by Oniyahu by his Asherah and by his A[she]rah.” ( Source ) Asherah was the Great Goddess of the Ancient Near East. From this inscription and other evidence, it is surmised that Yahweh, the God of the Jews, once had a wife - Asherah. Asherah was also sometimes known as Astarte and was associated with lions and the planet Venus, like her relative, Ishtar/Inanna. Asherah's symbol was the tree of life, and her worship involved sacred groves and asherah poles. Asherah original painting available through Saatchi Art . Stickers, prints, and other merch available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Art America. All of the Asherahs in my painting are based on figurines housed in the Isra...

Jowangsin

Jowangsin is a Korean Goddess of fire and the hearth. An offering to Jowangsin in the form of a bowl of fresh water would be placed on an altar above the hearth. Jowangsin had rules for the kitchen. Do not curse while in the hearth. Do not sit on the hearth. Do not place your feet on the hearth. Maintain the cleanliness of the kitchen. You may worship other deities in the kitchen. ( source ) Throw your muddy shoes inside or put them on the hearth, and you will experience her vengeance. She was believed to keep track of household activities and communicate with the heavens. Jowangsin helping with the cooking in a traditional Korean kitchen, circa 1950. Original painting, prints, and merch available in shop or via Fine Art America or Saatchi Art . Left: Women in a kitchen in Korea in 1950. Right: An example of a traditional kitchen in hanok (traditional Korean-style homes) during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). [National Archives of Korea, N...

Sophia and the Apocryphon of John

In 1945, thirteen leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by an Egyptian farmer near the town of Nag Hammadi, Egypt. These early Christian texts date from the 3rd century CE, and include writings attributed to John the Baptist. The writings of John became known as the Secret Book of John, or the Apocryphon of John. A translation by Frederik Wisse can be read online . In the Apocryphon, there is a female counterpart to the Father - the holy Mother, Barbelo. "She is the forethought of the All - her light shines like his light - the perfect power... The first power, the glory of Barbelo, the perfect glory in the aeons, the glory of the revelation... she became the womb of everything, for it is she who is prior to them all, the Mother-Father." I became aware of the Apocryphon of John after reading a graphic novel by Marisa Acocella, The Big She-Bang, The Herstory of the Universe According to God the Mother (highly recommended, by ...

Helena Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine of Tibetan Wisdom

Helena Blavatsky was born in what was then Russia in 1831. She traveled the world, researching ancient religions, searching for ancient wisdom of the great protoreligion. In 1875, she founded the Theosophical Society. The motto of the society is "There is no religion higher than truth." She wrote multiple books and was hugely influential in bringing ideas about eastern religion to the west. She detested the Catholic missionary system and its attempts to wipe out indigenous religions, and actively worked against it in India and Ceylon. Both Thomas Edison and Gandhi studied theosophy, along with many other intellectuals of the era. Helena Blavatsky original painting and fine art prints available through Saatchi Art . Stickers, prints and other merch available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Art America . In 1888, Blavatsky published the first edition of Secret Doctrine , containing her translation of the Book of Dzyan , an ancient book...

Al-Lat

Al-Lat was the Great Mother Goddess of pre-Islamic Arabia. She was worshipped at the Kaaba in Mecca until the city was conquered in 630 AD by Muhammed. ( source ) Yes...that Kaaba, where Allah is now worshipped. She was rewritten as a daughter of Allah and a djinn, but was also considered to be Allah's wife, consort, or feminine aspect. Or...is she the root from which Allah evolved? In the Quran, Allah is not referred to by gendered pronouns. Is Allah a Great Mother Goddess? insert shrug emoji here. Al-Lat original painting based on a bas relief from Palmyra. Original painting, prints, and merch available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Art America . J ohanna-Hypatia Cybeleia offers the following evidence. "Although the word ka‘bah itself means 'cube', it is very close to the word ku‘b meaning 'woman's breast' which is derived from the same three-letter root. This turns out to be an appropriate metaphor, as the Ka‘bah nu...

Saint Helena

I generally blame much of the patriarchy in today's society on Abrahamic religion. I recently started reading Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It, by Janina Ramirez, and I was struck by the fact that it was largely women who first brought Christianity to the English speaking world, and who were the early adopters. Even before that time, it is widely believed that it was Helena, the mother of Constantine, who convinced her son, the Roman Emperor, to convert to Christianity. Why, ladies? Today's painting shows Helena, now known as Saint Helena, following her travels to the Holy Land where she built the Church of the Nativity, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Church of the Ascension. She's posing with the cross upon which Jesus was crucified, which she located and brought back with her as one of the most sacred relics of Christianity. She has the nails in her outstretched right hand. Helena has been given a position of honor ...

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