Madonna of the Earth The Madonna is a manifestation of the ancient Mother Goddess. Figures of Madonnas from the Neolithic era and later connect Mary to a very ancient line of Goddesses. The story of Mary and her son, who was killed and resurrected, mirrors the myths of Ishtar and Tammuz, Inanna and Dumuzi, Aphrodite and Adonis, Cybele and Attis, Isis and Osiris, and Demeter and Persephone. Mary's name comes from "mare", the Latin word for the sea. Many of the great Mother Goddesses were born from the sea and Mary's title, "Stella Maris", Star of the Sea, originally belonged to Isis. Figures of Madonnas in the myrrh tree in the background are, clockwise from upper left, La  Moraneta of Monserrat which arrived in Barcelona in the late 7th century; Mesopotamian Madonna from around 2000 BCE; Madonna from Rhodes, late 6th to early 5th century BCE; a blue faience amulet of Isis and Horus from Egypt, c. 945 BCE.

Oshun: Goddess of Love   Oshun, the Yoruba Goddess of Love and Life-Sustaining Rivers, is the  Goddess of all the arts, but especially dance. Beauty belongs to Oshun and represents the human ability to create beauty for its own sake, to create beyond need. It is also said that she is the knitter of civilization, since great cities have been founded, for the most part, along rivers in order to supply water to their populations. She is portrayed here in a pose typical of the Yoruba priestesses of Oshun who recline gracefully along the banks of the Niger River in West Africa. In the branches of the tree on the left is the fan of one of these priestesses from Osogbo, Nigeria.

Triple Goddess   Three was a sacred number for many of the early cultures, most especially for the Celts. The Goddess was often portrayed in Her three aspects as Maiden, Mother and Crone, mirroring the cycles of nature. Altars to the Matrae (Celtic form), Matres (in Gaul and Britain) or Matronae (in Germany under Roman rule) can be found throughout the  settled areas of Europe and are clearly associated with the fertility of the crops as well as the health of the children. The frieze of the Matrae in the lower right, which portrays Maiden, Mother and Crone holding loaves of bread and the fruits of the earth, is from the Roman era in Cirencester, early 1st - 2nd century CE. In the painting, the rabbit holds a frieze of the "Green One" from Wiltshire, England, 13th-14th century CE. The Maiden's torque (left) is from the tomb of Princess Vix, France, 6th century BCE. The Mother's torque (center) is from Snettisham, Norfolk, mid 1st century BCE. The Crone's torque (right) is from Waldalgesheim, Germany, 4th century BCE and her earring is after a bronze disk from Ireland, 1st- 2nd century CE.

Shekhinah Sh'khinah was the ancient Hebrew Goddess of wisdom and joy, the feminine part of Yahweh, and the light that dwelt within everything. She lived at the root of the Tree of Life. It was said that she resided within the acacia, the tree that produces gum arabic, the glue that holds the world together. Although she was more extensively written about during the Middle Ages in the Kabbalah, her foundations can be traced back to the early Goddess imagery of Asherah and Astarte in Canaan. Behind her is a Canaanite cult stand from Taanach, late 10th century BCE. The Paleolithic Goddess figure in her center is from Berekhat Ram, Golan Heights, c. 230,000 BCE. Her necklace is from Deir el-Balah, 14th-13th century BCE; her earring is from a falcon pendant from Tell el-Ajjul, mid 2nd millennium BCE.

Eve   Eve's title, "Mother of All Living", was a translation of "Jaganmata", Kali Ma's (Goddess of decay, death and rejuvenation) title in India. Originally it was believed that Eve created all beings out of clay, some  believing that she had the help of her serpent. The flying malachite kingfisher symbolizes the halcyon days of the Goddess before patriarchy. Bird-headed snake Goddess from pre-dynastic Egypt, 4000 BCE.

The ancient Age of the Great Mother was the infancy of humanity and the expression of the Divine Feminine. As the world’s religions developed, the Divine became referred to in the masculine, even though thought to be beyond gender or encompassing both genders. Women have suffered because of this masculine Divine image. Let us remember the goddesses, the goddesses who portray women as strong and inventive, offering counsel, having magical bodies, powerful words, and Divine wisdom.      Judith

Please see J. T. Contributors for more information about Sandra M. Stanton and her artist's statement.

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