ISIS MOON TEMPLE
GODDESS WORSHIP THROUGH THE AGES PAGE 2
Egyptians were SYNCRETISTS being both polytheist and monotheist. Atum the creator was both male and female, and manifested in lesser gods, and goddesses including Isis and Hathor. In Egyptian mythology goddesses and gods were theriomorphic, depicted as part animal, and Isis was the goddess of love, fertility and motherhood (and the BLACK VIRGIN), daughter of goddess Nut (sky/heavens) and husband/brother Geb (earth), she resembled Athor/Hathor/Athyr (with the head of a cow), goddess of motherhood, love, gaiety, sky, fertility, women, marriage, Queen of Heaven portrayed with horns and the sun�s disc. As Maut/Maat, Mother Nature, truth and justice with the head of a vulture, Isis was identified with Hera and Demeter (earth, agriculture, fertility) in Greece, and was also worshipped in Rome with Mysteries. Her sister was Nephthys (death)and her daughter was Bubastis/Bast/Pahst, the cat/lion goddess of the moon and childbirth, associated with Greek Artemis. Hekat with a frog's head was a goddess of childbirth, as was Nefertum. Isis and husband/brother Osiris ruled after Ra. Nut (sky) mother of Isis, was daughter of Ra (sun) and sister of Tefnut (atmosphere/dew). Sati was Queen of the upper heaven (ether) = Greek Hera, and Neith (with the head of a cobra)was Queen of lower heaven (air) = Greek Athena. Sekhmet (Powerful) was goddess of heat and fire, with the head of a lioness; Selket - head of scorpion, Tauret (childbirth) - head of hippo.
The SPHINX personified the fruit bearing earth, a deity of wisdom and knowledge, her bare breasted, lion bodied figure was placed before every temple, sometimes with the face of the monarch: (unlike the malign Greek one, representing death). Her mother was the CHIMERA (she-goat) head of a lion, body of a goat and tail of a serpent. In the ZOROASTRIAN dualism religion (prophet Zoroastra/Zarathustra) of Persia (now Parsees/Parsis in India) the wives of Lord Wisdom, the Ahuranis were rain clouds and water, like Varma�s Varmanis of the Hindu RIG-VEDA book of knowledge. Anahita (Anath/Aphrodite/Artemis/Magna Mater) was the goddess of the moon, fertility and rain. The PERI in Persian myth were beautiful, harmless creatures between angels and devils - similar to JINNIYAH, female jinni/genie. Hindu goddesses representing SHAKTI, the merciful, loving partner of each male god, are Parvati (mountains/peace - also worshipped by SHAKTAS as Durga/Kali (death) whose followers were the Thugs - as Sara-Kali she was worshipped by gypsies in France as the Black Virgin or Virgin Mary), Lakshmi (fertility/light/wealth celebrated at Diwali), Sita (furrow - abundance) and Radha (Beloved One - sexuality and Tantric love) her priestess are still naked and the rituals secret. Durga is one of the names of Mahadevi, Great Goddess, and her temples are pyramids. Followers of Tantrism worship Parvati/Sakti and her husband Shiva/Siva, chanting Mantras like "Om". Mara represents death, and Maya is goddess of the cosmos. Yakshi is fertility, earth, love and beauty; Usas - dawn, cows; Sitala - smallpox; Sushumma - unbalanced mind; Sarasvati - Flowering One, rivers, fertility, shamanic healing, art, music and learning. The creator goddess Ganga, has no form being half light in the Milky Way and half water in the Ganges. The Roman goddess MENS (Bright Moment/Mind) is associated with Shakti and menstruation.
THEOSOPHY is a religion or philosophy based on intuitive insight into the nature of the divine - based on Hindu views of KARMA (Sanskrit - fate), reincarnation and the aim is NIRVANA (Sanskrit - extinguishing). Both the I CHING (Book of Changes) and the TAO-TE CHING (The Way and its Power) leading books of Taoism from China, contain elements of theosophy.In India Annapurna is the goddess of harvest. In Nepal Sagarmatha, Goddess of the Universe, is the name for Everest, Taleju is the patron goddess. In China Ch�ang O is the moon goddess and Nu-Wa (double serpent) is loving, giving, creating, destroying. Hs Wang Mu is the peach tree spirit. The Buddhist goddess Tara in TIBET (Star - White Tara, compassion, peaceful; Green Tara, wrathful; also red, yellow and blue) or Guanyin/Kuan-yin (compassion/mercy, originally Taoist became ZEN in JAPAN, childbirth, wisdom) in China. Cosmic union, Sacred Marriage, is represented by the circle in square MANDALA, shown in YAB-YUM statues of continuous sexual union - the sexual position of sitting upright with the women's legs around the man. Yum is yin/in and yoni. CHERUBIM were winged goddesses in the Near East sometimes in cosmic union. The Bardo goddesses in Tibet guide you to immortality. In China the sacred vessel TS'UNG is square outside (material activated by penetration of eternal into present) and circular inside (male active infinite), as are many Asian temples. Buddhist Tantra represents the third stage of Buddhism.
The Japanese Buddhist goddess of mercy is Kannon/Kwannon (constant love, radiance), which is a male god in India. In the Shinto religion of Japan, the supreme gods Kami are both males and females. Izanami is the primary goddess, her daughters are Amaterasu/Omikami (rising sun) and Tzukiyomi (moon). Aze is the pine tree. In Korea Shamanesses, Mudang, are common today. Their ancestor was Pali Kongju. Sinjang Halmoni is their goddess of war. In Indonesia Sago Woman created sago from her vagina. In New Guinea goddess of harvest is Hainuwele and in Polynesia she is Taranga. The Polynesian goddess of the moon is Hina. Papa/Papa-tua-kuku is the Maori earth goddess in New Zealand, who created the world with the sky god Rangi. Uarahiulu is the creator goddess of the Paressi in Brazil; Quilla is the moon goddess of the Incas of Peru and Pacha-Mama the Mother Goddess; to the Aztecs of Mexico she is Coyolxauhqui or Coatlicue (Serpent Skirt - earth/fire goddess with necklace of skulls) symbolising the duality of creation/destruction, her temple is a pyramid. Her child Feathered Serpent, represents rebirth. Other goddesses are Lazolteotl, Tlazolteotl of pleasure and guilty love, Xochiquetzal of flowers/marigolds, Chalchiuhtlicue of running water, newborns, marriage and innocent love (sister/wife of the oldest god, the rain god), and Chicomecoatl (Serpent)/Tonantzin (Revered Mother) of the harvest.
Native American Spider Woman is the goddess of creation to Native Americans and the Cherokee worship the Corn Mother, Selu, and the Corn Sisters, squash and beans. Many tribes all over the world had Corn Mothers. Toothed Vagina was another goddess! SHAMANESSES (healers) were common. Sistutl is the Canadian double headed serpent of the sea totem.
In West Africa Sande and Yassi societies of Shamanesses are the only ones with tribal masks and take turns with the men in tribal affairs. In Nigeria Oya is the Mother Goddess, Ala, the corn goddess and Oshun, the healing river.The Ashanti believe that divinities reside in objects like stones and images called fetishes. Many religions have names for the gods residing in specific trees and plants. In Norse/Scandinavian mythology the Norn were the three goddesses of fate - Urd, past; Verdandi, present and Skuld, future. Hela/Hel was death and Freya/Vanadis/Frigga/Freija/Var and her daughter Hnossa, represented married love and the hearth, nature and the passage of the dead. The Valkyries, including Svava, led by Brunhild, conducted warriors to Valhalla. Hariela was German goddess of war and Hulda German goddess of marriage,and Sroya was Slavic goddess of war. Celtic goddesses were BRIGIT/BRIGANTIA/BRIDE/ST BRIDGET (Bright One) of craft, poetry, fertility, healing, divination (Vesta), sometimes a triple goddess (poetry/healing/smithcraft); EPONA of horses and stables, associated with the white horses carved in chalk hills, and with Welsh moon goddess RHIANNON/REGINA/RIGANTONA, wife of the King of Dyfed who rode a white horse, and later became the Arthurian Nimue/Vivian, Lady of the Lake; ROSEMERTA of fertility; MORRIGAN/ANDRASTE of war/death. The Morrigan were one or three goddesses, virgin/mother/crone, Tres Matres, Fates, 3 seasons, new/full/waning moon, creator/protector/destroyer, earth/sky/underworld.
CAILLEACH was goddess of the earth and nature but so was DRUANTIA symbolised by the fir tree,and KERIDWEN was goddess of wisdom.
Welsh BRANWEN (White Breasted One - her totem animal the white crow) was goddess of love, OLWEN was goddess of the sun and day, and the goddess of war was AERON. Anglo-Saxon EOSTRE was goddess of spring, hence Easter eggs. SUL was British goddess of wisdom. (BOADICEA/BOUDICA was Queen of the Iceni, leading tough, blue eyed women into battle, who terrified Roman soldiers. Women in Ancient Britain often fought beside the men.) In Ireland MEDHBA, the Intoxicator was a goddess and Queen of Connaught. BADB was goddess of war and BUAN of the hazel. THE NAG HAMMADI CODICES found near Qumran (like the Dead Sea scrolls), ancient centre of the Essenes, thought to have been written by Valentinus from Christian and Coptic texts, were a reflection of Platonism and Eastern dualism religion, Zoroastrianism. They have brought additional Gospels to the fore including that of Mary Magdalen - her true importance is said to have been excluded from the Bible by Peter (and the Roman Catholic Church) who denied Christ and detested women, especially educated ones, seeing them as the gateway to the Devil, even denying they had souls.
According to Gnostic tradition Mary Magdalen was associated with wisdom (Sophia) represented by the sun, moon and halo of stars, becoming Athena to the Greeks. The female gnosis of Sophia (mother of Zoe (thought to be EVE), one of the AEONS, gnostic creators of all things, daughters of Barbello) was deemed to be the Holy Spirit, represented on Earth by Mary Magdalen.
GNOSTICISM was the esoteric cult of divine knowledge, a synthesis of Christianity, Greek philosophy, Hinduism, Buddhism and Mystery cults of the Mediterranean - elements found in philosophies from early asceticism to modern existentialism. The essence was that the inner spirit of humanity must be liberated from a world that is basically deceptive, oppressive and evil. The red cloaked priestesses such as Mary Magdalen, of early Judaeo-Christianity, the HIERODULAI, became defamed as harlots, whores or scarlet women. She is often portrayed in a red cloak over a green dress of fertility. Jesus called her Apostle of the Apostles. As a head sister Mary was entitled to wear black, like the priests of Isis, and there are many statues of BLACK MADONNAS with black hands and faces in France, in churches on pagan sites dedicated to Isis and Athena, and some cults are also associated with LILITH. Wisdom (Sophia) is black having existed in the darkness of Chaos before creation. The BLACK VIRGIN or Earth Goddess, Erzulie (her avatar a water snake) is worshipped in Voodoo, a mixture of Roman Catholicism and West African tribal religions (their priestesses are called Mambo/Manbo. Ogu, a warrior, is St James the Great.) Black Virgins are found on every continent including the Indian AMARI DE and SARA-KALI, the Indian goddess worshipped by gypsies in France as the Black Virgin Mary. Mary the mother of Jesus, the token woman in the Roman and Orthodox church, was therefore only permitted to be portrayed wearing blue and white! Protestant religions ignored her completely.
Many of the learned women who led the groups that were formally described as heretical, promoted teaching based on the instruction from the ancient Judaeo-Christian Therapeutate (hence THERAPY) at Qumran, to which Jesus belonged. The Therapeutate formed the early basis for the Knights Templar, Hospitalers, St John, Rosicrutians, Red Cross� and were persecuted (with wise women, Jews, Cabalists, Cathars, hermetics, Masons who originally included women, Rosicrutions and alchemists who practiced sacred sex similar to Tantrism) as witches by the Catholic Inquisition and Puritan WITCHFINDERS, oddly united. Women known to take part in a religious service were denounced as whores and sorceresses by both extremes. The Marys fled into exile in France, after they had supported Jesus during the crucifixion and resurrection (the men were not present), arriving at Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, (Three Marys of the sea, Tres Matres) Mary Magdalen bearing the child of Jesus, his daughter Tamar. Said to have been the Gnostic wife of Jesus she later bore him a son, Jesus. To early Jews celibacy was an anathema and Magdalen is the only woman not descibed as 'mother of', or 'wife of', indicating a woman of substance, and entitled to annoint with precious oils. They were accompanied by their servant Sarah the Egyptian, the black goddess of gypsies.
An association between Mary and the sea grew up, as well as with the HOLY GRAIL which they brought with them - the chalice also represented to the cultists the uterus, the wine the menstrual Star Fire/Gold of the Gods/Vehicle of Light of alchemy and Kundalini (hence vampirism), and MATRILINEAL inheritance. Both the Jews and the Catholics considered women a threat to patrilineal inheritance, however, many churches dedicated to �Notre Dame� were built in France in the Middle Ages (often on sites dedicated to pagan goddesses like Isis, Diana and Athena like St Sulpice in Paris). The Gothic arches with rose window at the apex depicted the much feared female sexuality. Matriarchs have always been influential in Jewish and Catholic families. (Matrilineal societies have existed in Assam, parts of Africa (a continent where female circumcision is practiced), North America, the South Pacific and Australia.) Some of the most distinguished Christian Mystics have been women, such as St Hildegard, St Catherine of Siena (patron saint of young girls) and St Theresa of Avila. In addition to the connection to the sea there was a connection to water - la Dompna del Aquae, Mistress of the Waters. To the Gnostics and Celts, venerated females were associated with lakes, wells, fountains and springs. Mary Magdalen was buried at Aix (Acqs - water) en Provence, and royal descendants in Grail lore became known as Fisher Kings, the Merovingians. In Arthurian legend the Lady of the Lake is translated into Britain and the gallant knights of the Age of Chivalry idealised women with courtly love and troubadors. (The Lady of the Lake, Vivian/Nimue was originally the Welsh goddess Rhiannon/Rigantona.) The masculine symbol of a unicorn submitting to a maiden featured in paintings, and more recently similar themes of romantic legend have been sensually painted by the PRE-RAPHAELITES.
Tarot cards also held significant emblems.(Pope Joan featured on Tarot cards, was an Englishwoman who ruled as Pope John VIII in the 6th c, and was unmasked when she gave birth.) Joseph of Arimathea, the founder of Christianity in Britain at Glastonbury, was said to be St James the Just, brother of Jesus, and in Arthurian legend brought the Holy Grail to Britain.
The term Merrie England is presumed to come from �Mary� (as with Robin Hood�s Merry Men) and Maid Marion herself is said to be a representation, as is the mermaid (she�s sometimes shown with a fish tail as Marina - see Siren), plus the word marry! Along with the cult of the Magdalen (Hebrew Magdala/migdal - tower) is the cult of Mary the Gypsy, sacred harlot and love cultess, identified with Aphrodite, born from the foam, her emblem the aphrodisiac scallop shell as depicted in Botticelli�s Birth of Venus. She was portrayed by Anglo-Saxons as the May Queen (with the Maypole fertility symbol) and her dancers as Morris Men, a celebration having pagan associations (Maia), as Christmas with the winter solstice (the Druids, from the Greek for oak, held mistletoe and oak sacred). The patron saint of hairdressers, perfumers, gardeners and prostitutes, Mary is often shown with a jar of ointment (spikenard was usually used for anointing), long, loose hair, a crown of thorns and a mirror. "The mermaid...is thus, an emblem of sexual ambiguity. Traditionally, women were regarded as lesser versions of men, with abbreviated sex organs, but the mermaid preceded even that image, being a female whose development was arrested at an early stage of evolution. She is erotic but passionless, a culturally charged gender model whose seductive capacity is valued over her reproductive capacity. In her double-tailed version she may call to mind the old Celtic sheila-na-gig, or the Indian Kali, aggressively squatting and displaying her yoni. In her far more familiar single-tailed version, though, she is closer to an Eve figure overlaid with the cult of the Virgin, a sealed vessel enclosing either sexual temptation or sexual virtue, or some paradoxical and potent mixture of the two."
In recent years considerable attention has been paid to earlier forms of goddess worship. Some scholars claim that prior to the rise of the main faiths, all worship was of the goddess; others say that both the male and female were venerated equally. These scholars argue that the rise of patriarchy in religion has made the worship of the goddess either frightening to the men in control or has led to a debased form of goddess worship, as in the Cult of the Virgin Mary. �Virgin� is translated from the Semitic word �almah� = YOUNG WOMAN (without sexual connotation). Pope Joan was one of a parade of women - saints, abbesses, cross-dressers, intellectuals - Abbess Tetta of Wimborne, Saint Cuthberga, her sister Cwenburga, Saint Uncumber (the bearded patron saint in England of women who want to get rid of their husbands). Hatsephut ruled as a female Pharoah. The cross-dressers include 17th c women going off to war adorned with silver dildos and the Portuguese Saint Wilgefortis who sprouted a moustache in order not to sleep with her husband. The later rules and regulations of the Roman Catholic Church produced its near-Islamic attitude to women, whilst it tolerated with ease the 10th c House of Theophylact, whose papal impregnations, murders, fornications and general skulduggery reduced the Papacy to a cross between a brothel and a charnel house.
