Shield Maidens Inspiring Valkyries

This week's inktober52 prompt was shield. The obvious feminist subject is the Viking shield maiden.

Original art, based on Viking age shield maiden figurine. Available on greeting cards and other merch through RedBubble, Fine Art America, or via shop link above.

The Valkyries of Viking mythology are thought to be based on female Viking warriors, also known as shield maidens. Archaeological evidence of such warriors has been found, including this figurine and, most notably, the Birka warrior, a woman buried with two shields, two horses, and an arsenal of weaponry. Additionally, there are written accounts of Viking women fighting alongside men in battle, as well as leading armies on their own.

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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 ...

Ardipithecus ramidus, Eve of Bipedalism

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Echoing Multiverse

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