The Cycle of Venus

Learning about goddesses has led me to learn a bit about astronomy. Many goddesses and a few gods throughout history have been associated with the morning star and the evening star. Different cultures discovered at different times that both of these stars are the same celestial object, known today as the planet Venus - the third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the moon. The internet contains diagrams of the cycle of Venus, but I couldn't find one that put all of the pieces together. So I drew one! Here, I use a symbol from reliefs of Inanna to represent Venus's current position in her cycle. She just transited behind the Sun (represented by the Norse goddess Sol), and has reappeared low on the horizon as the evening star, which she will embody for the rest of 2021 before vanishing for 8 days to reappear as the morning star for most of 2022 (source).

The Cycle of Venus, as viewed from Earth, not to scale

The disappearance and reappearance of the morning and evening stars in their 584 day cycle is posited to have inspired many myths, including Inanna's descent into the underworld and Ausrine's kidnap by fairies.

Ancient seal cylinder showing Inanna with Venus and a lion

Artistic rendition of cylinder seal - original painting, prints, and merch available via shop link above or through Redbubble or Fine Art America.

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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...

Having a Child Is Like Having Your Heart Walk Around Outside Your Body

I've been reading a lot about evolutionary psychology lately. It seems that what really made us human was the bond between mother and child. Our big brains force us into the world before we can even hold up our own heads. We essentially must continue gestating outside the womb. The learning and empathy that develops between mother and child in infancy forms the basis of everything we call love, and lays the foundation for our cooperative culture. Evolution, driven by the mothers. It's been a series of fascinating reads, and it's reminded me of the quote about how having a child is like forever having a piece of your heart walking around outside your body. Or, in the case of my painting, your whole heart. My heart and I, walking through the parking lot of the New York Renaissance Faire a couple of years ago. Having a Child Is Like Having Your Heart Walk Around Outside Your Body, original painting by Echoing Multiverse. Available via S...

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 ...

Medusa

Who was Medusa before the invading sea god supposedly defiled her? According to Marija Gimbutas, she dates at least as far back as 6000 BCE, based on a mask found at Sesklo. More recently, Medusa appears on the pediment of Artemis's Temple at Corfu, built around 580 BCE. On the pediment, Medusa is flanked by leopards. Large cats, like those associated with Artemis of Ephesus , the Great Mother Goddess of Anatolia, are sometimes considered to be guardians between worlds. Medusa's snakes are a symbol of rebirth. I've read that she may be a chthonic aspect of Artemis, much like Ereshkiga l was the underworld aspect of Inanna. Medusa original painting available through Saatchi Art . Prints, stickers, and other merch available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Art America . Pediment from Artemis's Temple at Corfu ( source ) Or perhaps Medusa was a Moon Goddess. Robert Graves in The Greek Myths writes, "The Gorgons' names--Sth...

Egeria, Law Giver of Rome

In his book, Lord of the Four Quarters, Myths of the Royal Father , John Perry writes, "There is evidence in many parts of the world..., the council or assembly of elders of a tribe, served as the governing body for a Divine Woman or Queen who personified the Great Mother and presided over a matrilineal society. The early king of such cultures ruled, not in his own right, but in his capacity as consort to the Divine Woman." In the case of early Rome, the Divine Woman was the Goddess Egeria ( source ). She counseled and guided the legendary second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius (Latin numen designates "the expressed will of a deity"), during his reign from 715 - 673 BCE ( source ). She gave Numa the laws and rituals of Rome. She was also an oracle, and is sometimes described as a nymph, possibly due to her association with water. Egeria's spring, once surrounded by a sacred grove, is located close to Porta Capena gate to Rome. Its waters were dedic...

Arabian Goddesses al Uzza, Allat, and Manat and the Satanic Verses

al Uzza, Al-Lat, and Manat are Arabian Goddesses, triple Goddesses of pre-Islamic Arabia. They are famously depicted in a relief from the city of Hatra, created during the 2nd century AD, in which they appear atop a lion. These Goddesses are also mentioned in the Quran... "Have you thought of al-Lāt and al-‘Uzzá and Manāt, the third, the other? (Quran 53:19–20) "These are the exalted gharāniq, whose intercession is hoped for. Gharaniq is sometimes translated as cranes, deities of the sky. It is generally claimed that these verses show the influence of Satan and do not reflect the true tenets of Islam 😆 I had fun with duct tape shapes and a palette knife. al Uzza, al Lat, and Manat original painting available through Saatchi Art . Prints, stickers, and other merch available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Art America . Besides being named in the Quran, all three Goddesses are attested to in the Book of Idols , written by Arab scholar Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi (73...

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