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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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 Burney Relief

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Medusa

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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 .

Sheela Na Gig and the Power of the Vagina

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