Tawaret

Tawaret is an ancient Egyptian Great Mother Goddess who oversees childbirth. She has the head of a hippo, tail of a crocodile, limbs of a lioness, and torso of a pregnant woman. Saturday was International Worker's Day aka Labor Day in much of the world. Labor Day, Labor Goddess, because being a mom is job and the U.S. needs paid maternity leave like the rest of the developed world. Also, universal healthcare. The average price of hospital births in Pennsylvania is $19,764. That makes Tawaret and I displeased.

Tawaret original painting and fine art prints available through Saatchi Art. Prints and other merch also available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Art America.

The Glencairn Museum writes, "Her very name emphasizes her power. Taweret (T3-wr.t) means “the great (female) one.” Greeks rendered her name as Thoeris. Further emphasizing her protective nature, Taweret usually carries or rests upon the s3 symbol, which reads, “protection.” In her role as an apotropaic figure, she can also brandish a knife that she would use to ward off evil or harmful forces." Her amulets date from the Old Kingdom, 2625-2130 BCE.

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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...

Sheela Na Gig and the Power of the Vagina

The Guardian published a piece on Sheela Na Gigs for International Women's Day on Monday. Here's a link. A few weeks ago, I painted two Sheelas. Found on churches throughout the British Isles and Europe, Sheela Na Gigs are "figurative carvings of naked women displaying an exaggerated vulva." There are over 100 documented examples just in Ireland. The carvings may be remnants of a pre-Christian mother goddess. They may also have been thought to ward off evil spirits. They're often found over doors or windows, and they're generally smiling. The two I have painted are from the Church of St. Mary and St. David at Kilpeck, Herefordshire, England and the Parish Church of Oaksey, Wiltshire. While I was researching the Sheelas I came across other related stories of, as the Guardian so deftly put it, "big vagina energy". The power of women (especially the nude form) to create life, protect it, or - conversely - take it away. My favorit...

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...

Coatlicue

Coatlicue is the Aztec mother of the gods, the sun, the moon, and the stars. Her name means snake skirt, because that is her awesome fashion statement. At one point, she lost her head...but it was okay because two snakes grew in its place. To match her serpentine skirt, she wears a skull pendant, surrounded by human hands and hearts. As a befitting a mother goddess, her breasts are no longer high and perky. She has nursed the universe, and so her breasts are relaxed, having done their work well. Coatlicue is available on prints, stickers, and other merch from RedBubble . Fun fact: The most famous statue of Coatlicue, on which my painting is based, resides in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City... but the the first time it was uncovered by archaeologists, in 1790, they reburied it because it was too terrifying. Source, World History Encyclopedia . Another fun fact: On a mythology subreddit I subscribe to today, a man as...

Bucranium = Uterus

A bucranium is a bull's head and horns. Bucrania have been found in shrines at Catalhoyuk, one the oldest cities ever to be excavated. Dorothy Cameron interpreted the bucrania at Catalhoyuk as a "symbol of life and regeneration--essentially a female symbol, representing the divine power of the female reproductive system." Bucranium = Uterus original painting, prints, and merch available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Art America . Layout of bucrania based on a drawing of a reconstruction of Shrine E VI at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in a 2007 article by Joan Relke (below). Source Marija Gimbutas writes, "the key to understanding Neolithic renditions of the bull's head and horns (bucranium in archaeological literature) comes through their resemblance to the female uterus and fallopian tubes." Besides the bucrania from Shine E VI, other images at Catalhoyuk show female torsos with bucranium in the position of the uterus an...

Tanit, Great Goddess of Carthage

Tanit was the Great Goddess of Carthage. She was the chief deity of the wealthy African port city, located on the Mediterranean coast of what is now Tunisia. Tanit was a heavenly goddess of war, a "virginal" (unmarried) mother goddess and nurse, and, less specifically, a symbol of fertility. She is considered to be an avatar of Astarte/Asherah/Ishtar/Inanna/Anat, and was adopted by the Romans as Juno Caelestis. She may also be personified by legendary Etruscan queen Tanaquilo. Additionally, like Astarte, Tanit is a Goddess of the sea and sailors. Tanit is sometimes portrayed with the head of a lion, wearing a garment made of feathers. This fits with an identity related to the Great Mother Goddesses of the ancient Mediterranenan. Astarte, Asherah , Ishtar, and Inanna are all associated with lion imagery. The Burney Relief famously shows Ishtar or another Great Mother avatar with wings and feet reminiscent of a bird of prey. Ana...

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