Ushas

Ushas is the goddess of the dawn from the Rigveda, the oldest holy book of the Hindu religion, estimated by linguists to be written around 1500 BCE. Forty of the hymns in the Rigveda are dedicated to Ushas. According to Wikipedia, "She is portrayed as a beautifully adorned young woman riding in a golden chariot or a hundred chariots, drawn by golden red horses or cows, on her path across the sky, making way for the Vedic sun god Surya, who is referred either as her husband or her son. Her sister is Ratri, or the night."

She is a member of the same family of Indo European dawn goddesses as Eostre (from whom Easter takes its name), Ausrine, Eos, Auseklis, and Aurora. As these dawn goddesses are associated with the morning star, Venus, I would surmise that one could also include Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite, and Venus in their extended family.

According to Vedicfeed.com, "Goddess Usha is generally associated with light and wealth. She reveals herself with the daily coming of the light to the world. She passes forth light and is accompanied by the sun. She alone leads the Sun and discloses her excellence and fire to her world. She is honored by the worshippers for driving away oppressive darkness and chases away evil spirits. She sets all the things in motion and also sends off people from their duties after the completion of the day. She carries not just light to the sleeping mankind, but hope, happiness, riches, and all the good things. She has the magic of looking at everybody at the same time."

My painting of Ushas is available through the shop link above or via Redbubble 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...

Angrboda

In December of 2020, I took part in a Goddess painting challenge. One Goddess per day to Instagram. I am grateful to that challenge, for sending me down this rabbit hole of research into the divine feminine. On Instagram on December 8, 2020, I wrote: "Hel was today's prompt. In the Eddas , she is the daughter of Angrboda and Loki . She is alternately described as half blue, half black, or half skeletal. I went with blue. " Here, she is a baby, in a family portrait. Mother Angrboda with her darling children in the Ironwood forest of Jotunheim . Baby G oddess Hel, Jormungandr the baby serpent, and cute little Fenris wolf puppy. How would they have grown up if Odin hadn't separated them from their mother and flung them out to the farthest and most desolate corners of the nine worlds? Would they all still crave...

Ophanim

The Ophanim are listed by ancient Jewish scholar Maimonides as the highest of God's angels. In the Bible, the Ophanim are described as sets of nested wheels, covered in eyes, that move next to the Cherubim angels, beneath the throne of God. They never sleep, but along with the Seraphim and Cherubim, guard the throne. The Ophanim See All. Original painting, prints, and merch available via shop link above, or RedBubble or Fine Art America . Ezekiel, in the Bible, describes the Ophanim as sparkling like topaz, high and awesome, full of eyes all around. Sources: Wikipedia The Bible

Nuwa

Nuwa is the great mother goddess of Chinese mythology, credited with creating humanity. She molded the first people out of clay by hand. Then she got tired, dipped a rope in the mud, and swung it around her head to make more. Thus were made the nobles and the peasantry. She has the body of a serpent. Nuwa, original painting by Echoing Multiverse. Available via Saatchi Art .

Hannahanna

Hannahanna is an enigmatic goddess. She is the Great Mother Goddess worshipped by the Hittites of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), circa 1800–1180 B.C.E. (Source: Brooklyn Museum ). The word for grandmother in Turkey derives from her name. She may be a grandmother of Artemis of Ephesus and Demeter. All three share a bee connection. Hannahanna is known for saving the world by sending one of her bees to awaken a depressed Telepino, sulky god of agriculture. Another myth tells of how Hannahanna herself disappeared in a fit of anger, causing all the crops to die and parents to abandon their children until, her anger absorbed by the dark side of the Earth (the underworld), she returned. This, combined with the myth of waking the god of agriculture, presents a close parallel to the myths of Demeter and Persephone. Additionally, the priestesses of Persephone and Demeter were known as Melissai or “bees.” Persephone’s nickname among the ancient Greeks was Melit...

According to Wikipedia, " Demogorgon is a deity or demon associated with the underworld . Although often ascribed to Greek mythology , the name probably arises from an unknown copyist's misreading of a commentary by a fourth-century scholar, Lactantius Placidus . The concept itself can be traced back to the original misread term demiurge . An ancient Byzantine source cites the demogorgon is the antecedent of all the gods. Stranger Things stole the demogorgon from D&D, which stole it from mythology. Here, the demogorgons chill out, stop causing chaos for a moment, and dance with a polar bear while an octopus spins some sick beats. Polar Bear Dances with Demogorgons, original painting by Echoing Multiverse. Available via Saatchi Art .

Echoing Multiverse

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