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, National Folk Museum of Korea] (source)

Comments

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 .

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 ...

The Furies....of Politics

The Erinyes, or Furies, of Greek mythology were born from blood splatters when Kronos cut off the genitals of Ouranos and tossed them across the Earth into the ocean. They are the goddesses of vengeance for bad behavior. You might think you get away with a crime, but then the Erinyes show up with their brass studded scourges and rage. Here Mr. Unfettered Capitalism Fossil Fuel Earth Killer Military Industrial Complex is visited by three modern furies, Greta Thunberg, AOC, and Bernie. How can Bernie be a goddess? Didn't you know that Gloria Steinem named him an honorary woman ? True story. The Furies original painting, prints, and merch available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Arts America . This would be an excellent greeting card, right? Or socks...RedBubble has socks.

Chang e, Moon Goddess

Chang e or Chang o, the Chinese moon goddess. The details of her story vary, but generally she is married to an archer who shoots 9 of the 10 suns to prevent the Earth from scorching drought. He is awarded elixir of immortality by the Great Queen Mother Goddess of the West. To keep the elixir from burglars, Chang e drinks it. The elixir causes her to float up to the moon, where she is separated from her husband, but at least has a jade rabbit and busy woodcutter for company. China's lunar landers are named after her. Chang E, Moon Goddess original painting by Echoing Multiverse available via Saatchi Art . Stickers, prints, and other merch available through RedBubble or Fine Art America . In older stories, she also births the 12 moons. In some versions of the story with the archer, Chang e is reunited with him during the 8th moon of each year. The Mid-Autumn Festival celebrates this reunion, and is one of the largest holidays in China. According...

Demon Cats

You've probably seen the happy, waving, beckoning Maneki Neko, but have you heard of her cousins, the Bakeneko? Bakeneko are demon cats. If a cat lives longer than 13 years in Japan and has not been treated like a god, it is likely to turn into a demon cat. It may kill its owner and shapeshift to take their place. If you have an old cat, beware. Every October in Kagurazaka, Tokyo, there is a bakeneko parade. I visited, through the magic of YouTube. Original painting, prints, and merch available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Art America .

The Story of Hesiod and Pandora

Pandora is the first woman of Greek mythology. The Greek equivalent of Eve. Eve has an apple, while Pandora has a box. Both the apple and the box release misery onto the world of men. Both Eve and Pandora are punished. Like Eve, Pandora and all of her daughters are sentenced to "experience difficult childbirth. Having demonstrated the untrustworthiness of her gender, she--and all women yet unborn--were to be dominated by their fathers and then by their husbands." (Quote source: Shlain ). I recently began reading Cassandra Speaks by Elizabeth Lesser, a book published in 2020, with the subtitle "When Women are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes". Part I of the book discusses origin stories. Chapter 1 focuses on Eve, Chapter 2 focuses on Pandora. The quote at the beginning of Pandora's chapter is from Polly Young-Eisendrath who writes, "Both Eve and Pandora bring death into the world. This is a curious reversal...

Echoing Multiverse

Search This Blog