Saint Helena

I generally blame much of the patriarchy in today's society on Abrahamic religion. I recently started reading Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It, by Janina Ramirez, and I was struck by the fact that it was largely women who first brought Christianity to the English speaking world, and who were the early adopters.

Even before that time, it is widely believed that it was Helena, the mother of Constantine, who convinced her son, the Roman Emperor, to convert to Christianity. Why, ladies?

Today's painting shows Helena, now known as Saint Helena, following her travels to the Holy Land where she built the Church of the Nativity, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Church of the Ascension. She's posing with the cross upon which Jesus was crucified, which she located and brought back with her as one of the most sacred relics of Christianity. She has the nails in her outstretched right hand.

Helena has been given a position of honor in Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the center of the Roman Catholic Church. Her statue resides in the niche in one of the four piers that support the dome of the basilica. On the plinth upon which she rests is a scallop shell, historically the symbol of Venus, Aphrodite, fertility, and the womb.

Saint Helena, original painting by Echoing Multiverse, available via Saatchi Art. Prints, stickers, and other merch available through RedBubble or Fine Art America.

How did the feminine scallop shell become such a prominent Christian symbol? Was Christianity once significantly less patriarchal than the version I grew up with, that had entirely written the Mother out of the trinity, replacing her with "The Holy Ghost"?

You were such a powerful woman, Helena, why were you so into this new religion? When and why were the powerful women removed?

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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...

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 .

Malakas and Maganda

Malakas and Maganda are a mythical couple from the Philippines. In the beginning, there was nothing but sea, sky, and a kite bird. The kite bird tired, so she stirred up the sea and sky into a furious battle. The sky threw down boulders, creating islands. The land breeze and the sea breeze had a child, bamboo. Bamboo struck the kite bird accidentally, so the kite attacked the bamboo, pecking until it split open, revealing the first woman and the first man. Maganda, meaning beautiful, and Malakas, meaning strong. Malakas and Maganda original painting, prints, and merch available via shop link above, or through RedBubble or Fine Art America . Sources: http://bakitwhy.com/articles/ancient-philippine-creation-myth-malakas-and-maganda https://pantheon.org/articles/m/malakas.html

Leftover Paint Unicorn

When a painting is finished, I often have a little bit of paint leftover on the palette. I hate to waste anything, so I'll usually have a leftover painting in progress that I add to, little by little. I recently finished a leftover unicorn and phoenix. Slightly abstract. I like their colors. Unicorn and phoenix original, prints, and merch available via shop link above or through Redbubble or Fine Art America .

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 ...

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...

Echoing Multiverse

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