Echoing Multiverse

Aditi, the Hindu Great Mother Goddess, in her form as Lajja Gauri.  From Wikipedia: "Aditi is a personification of the infinite.  She is the goddess of earth, sky, unconsciousness, the past, the future, fertility.   She is the mother of the celestial deities and is referred to as the mother of many gods.  A celestial mother of every existing form and being, the synthesis of all things..." Aditi birthed the 12 Adityas, each the sun for one month of the year.  I love that fact, because I was a teacher for two years in an area with a large Indian population.  Now I know why so many of the boys were named Aditya!  They are the sun, and their mother is the Great Goddess. Her Lajja Gauri form has a lotus head and is often portrayed in a birthing posture, but without outward signs of pregnancy.  According to some sources, Lajja means "modesty".  Other sources translate the word as "free", "limitless", or "unbound".  If anyone has more know...

Jeanette Rankin was the original nasty woman - the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress - before women had even secured the right to vote nationwide.  A Republican from Montana, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1916, and again in 1940.  As a lifelong pacificist, she was vilified for voting against WWI, and again for voting against WWII.  She is noted for saying, "You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake."  Also notable, "If I had my life to live over, I would do it all again, but this time I would be nastier." ❤️❤️❤️❤️.  Original drawing of Jeanette Rankin available as prints and on merch via shop link above or through Redbubble or Fine Art America . Original drawing of Jeanette Rankin available as prints and on merch via shop link above or through  Redbubble  or  Fine Art America . Sources:   Wikipedia Brainy Quotes U.S. House of Representatives

Grandmother Spider appears in Hopi, Navajo, and Cherokee mythology, among others. In various stories, she created people, sang them to life, led them out of the chaos of the underworld, stole a piece of the Sun and brought it to this side of the world, gave the world fire, taught the women to weave, and taught them to how to create pottery. She is not the largest or the strongest, but she is the wisest.  Grandmother Spider original painting, prints, and merch available via shop link above, or through Redbubble or Fine Art America . Grandmother Spider original painting, prints, and merch available via shop link above, or through  Redbubble  or  Fine Art America . Selected sources:  " Grandmother Spider Brings the Sun" Wikipedia First People - Grandmother Spider Steals the Sun Grandmother Spider Creates the World Grandmother Spider Weaves

Rosy fingered Eos brings the dawn, rising each morning from the great river Oceanos.   She is the Greek goddess of the dawn, a member of the Indo European family of dawn goddess that also includes Aurora, Ausrine, Auseklis, Ushas, Eostre (from whom Easter takes its name), and their grandmother Hausos. Rosy fingered Eos brings the dawn, available via shop link above or through Redbubble or Fine Art America . Eos is a Titan, predating the gods of Olympus.  Helios, the sun, is her brother, and Selene, the moon, is her sister.  She is cursed by Aphrodite to always be in love, and bears many children, including the stars and the winds.  The curse was punishment for sleeping with Ares, according to Pseudo-Apollodorus's writings in the 2nd century CE. Sources: Wikipedia Theoi

Ushas is the goddess of the dawn from the Rigveda, the oldest holy book of the Hindu religion, estimated by linguists to be written around 1500 BCE.  Forty of the hymns in the Rigveda are dedicated to Ushas.  According to Wikipedia , "She is portrayed as a beautifully adorned young woman riding in a golden chariot or a hundred chariots, drawn by golden red horses or cows, on her path across the sky, making way for the Vedic sun god Surya, who is referred either as her husband or her son.  Her sister is Ratri, or the night." She is a member of the same family of Indo European dawn goddesses as Eostre (from whom Easter takes its name), Ausrine, Eos, Auseklis, and Aurora.  As these dawn goddesses are associated with the morning star, Venus, I would surmise that one could also include Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite, and Venus in their extended family. According to Vedicfeed.com , "Goddess Usha is generally associated with light and wealth.  She reveals herself w...

Ausrine is a Lithuanian dawn goddess, described in the 16th century as "goddess of rays of the sun that descend and rise above the horizons".  She is associated with the morning star, Venus, and is a member of a group of Indo European dawn goddesses with similar names, including Eostre , Eos, Aurora, Ushas, Auseklis, Hausos, and Jesus.  I'm painting these goddesses this week, as Eostre's big day is this coming Sunday, the Anglo Saxon festival of Easter. Ausrine is known for her beautiful hair, the same as the Sun's, and sometimes draws the Sun's jealousy.  As the goddess of youth and beauty, Ausrine is sometimes suspected of drawing the Moon's attention away from the Sun, although she is, of course, innocent. Ausrine original painting, prints, and merch are available via the shop link above, or through Fine Art America or Redbubble . Sources:  Wikipedia Signs of the Morning Star Ausrine in the Baltic Tradition: Regional and Intercultural Features The Whit...

The flowers are beginning to bloom, the sun has returned, Sunday is Easter!  You've probably noticed that the date of Easter, unlike most Christian holidays, changes from year to year.  Did you know that this is because Easter date is set by the "solar pagan calendar".  The yearly celebration of bunnies and zombies occurs on the Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.  Why would a Christian holiday be celebrated based on a pagan calendar?  According to  The Field , "In 595 CE, Pope Gregory sent a mission of 40 monks led by a Benedictine called Augustine, prior of St Andrew’s monastery in Rome (and later the first Archbishop of Canterbury), to England with instructions to convert the pagan inhabitants to Christianity. Augustine was advised to allow the outward forms of the old, heathen festivals and beliefs to remain intact, but wherever possible to superimpose Christian ceremonies and philosophy on them." Imbolc became Candlemas.  Lu...