Eurynome Dances the World Into Existence

"Eurynome, the Goddess of All Things, rose naked from Chaos, but found nothing substantial for her feet to rest upon, and therefore divided the sea from the sky, dancing lonely upon its waves. She danced towards the south, and the wind set in motion behind her seemed something new and apart with which to begin a work of creation. Wheeling about, she caught hold of this north wind, rubbed it between her hands, and behold! the great serpent Ophion." --Robert Graves, the Greek Myths

Eurynome original painting available through Saatchi Art. Prints, stickers, and other merch available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Art America.

Eurynome is the Pelasgian Creator Goddess. The Pelasgians were inhabitants of the Aegean region before the arrival of proto-Greek speakers around 1200 BCE. They are mentioned numerous times by ancient Greek writers, and archaeological evidences suggests the Pelasgians were farming in Athens and surrounding areas as early 6000 BCE. Genetic and linguistic studies suggest the Pelasgians may have migrated from Asia Minor and spoken a pre-Indo European language (source).

Eurynome danced order out of chaos, calling our world into being. Like Jahi, on whom Eve is likely based, Eurynome created a great serpent to be her first consort. She produced the world egg, out of which tumbled "all things that exist, her children: sun, moon, planets, stars, the earth with its mountains and rivers, its trees, its herbs, and living creatures."

Later, her serpent Ophion became arrogant, claiming creation as his own. "Forthwith she bruised his head with her heel, kicked out his teeth, and banished him to the dark caves below the earth." Robert Graves links Ophion to "the serpent demiurge of Hebrew and Egyptian myth". I've painted the demiurge, Yaldabaoth, from Gnostic Christian texts, which developed under the same mythical influences.

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Non Binary Mercury Symbol

The Mercury symbol is one of the symbols that has been proposed to represent nonbinary gender. Mars is traditionally the male symbol. Venus is female. Originally the Mercury symbol was a representation of Mercury's staff with its two entwined snakes. Mercury was a male god to the Romans, their version of Hermes, but snakes have represented the divine feminine since much further back than their co-opting by the Roman patriarchy. For example, the Egyptian Goddess Wadjet was depicted as a snake entwined around a papyrus stem as early as the Predynastic Era (prior to 3100 BCE). Someone crossed the staff sometime in the 11th century to look more Christian, which also makes the symbol look more feminine. Nonbinary, a mixture of masculine and feminine traits. Mercury, nonbinary symbol, original painting by Echoing Multiverse available via Saatchi Art . Stickers, buttons, and other merch available through RedBubble or Fine Art America . Solar System Symbols. Source: NASA Painte

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 way). In addit

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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 Saatchi Art . Prints, stickers,

Eostre

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