Anahita, the Lioness Lady, Queen of Beasts...was associated with Mithraism, with fertility, and is a direct link to Hindu Durga. If cats are your specialty, then this is your Lady!

[British Museum, 500 BCE]

Midnight blue/bronze colored Ganges clay.

Asherah, often represented as a tree, was the ruling queen of the Semitic pantheon. Her "Tree of Knowledge" bore fruit not only to feed the body, but also to nourish the spirit. As the Holy Communion Goddess, she gives sacred purpose to your baking and cooking. Worship of this Hebrew fertility goddess ensured that matrilineal descent patterns would be protected from patriarchy. After harvest, women molded bread loaves shaped just like this figure, which were then blessed. This was the origin of the communion ritual we still celebrate today. Asherah's name means "holy place." Invite her simple form into your kitchen and your heart.

[Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, c.1400 BCE]

Black fired Ganges Clay.

Dreaming Goddess of Malta is Goddess of the Shamanic Journey. Following the influence of dream imagery is one of the most ancient techniques of spiritual growth. Native American "vision quests" and Tibetan "dream yoga" are but two traditional examples of a practice whose modern champions include Karl Jung and Joseph Campbell. On the Mediterranean island of Malta, underground temple chambers shaped like the body of the goddess facilitated this practice. Invite this inspirer and fulfiller of dreams to your altar or bedside.

[National Museum, Valetta, Malta; c. 3200 BCE]

The Mother Goddess archetype, throne-seated and giving birth to all creation, dates to at least 6500 BCE. The Greeks venerated her as Gaia, "the Deep-Breasted One, Oldest of the Old," and dedicated the Erechtheion, a temple adjoining the Parthenon at Athens, to this regal image. Gaia creates all things terrestrial, so we have added our holy planet Earth (removable) for her to cradle to her bosom in the New Millenium. Her sphinx-like human-headed lions symbolize Gaia's role as Alpha and Omega.

[Greek, 7th cent. BCE]

Green bronze color Gypsumstone.

Labrys Goddess of Crete, Dictynna, dances into our universe. Dressed in nets, She is neither naked nor clad, and lines of force surround Her. Double axes, or labryses, exclaim her active Feminine Energy. Worshippers, in the original palace fresco, throw their arms up in amazement at her appearance.

The labrys is also a symbol of the female community of Lesbos who worshipped only the Goddess in nature and in each other.

The original "She who must be obeyed," Dictynna lived on top of Mount Dicta. Her powerful name lives on in our words "dictate" and "edict."

[From Knossos mural, 2000 BCE]

Handpainted Resin.

Cold cast bronze statue

Levite priests who assembled the Bible called Lilith a demon, most likely due to her assertive behavior at a time when male dominance was relatively new. A sensual goddess, she gathered men into the temple for sexual rituals, but refused to assume the missionary position. Lilith was considered powerful by Babylonians, Hebrews, and Muslims alike. Today's energetic female musicians are re-invoking her at the "Lilith Fair."

[Colville collection, c.2300 BCE]

Unfinished Ganges Clay statue.

The First Feminist, dating to 2300 BCE or earlier.

[Colville collection, c. 2300 BCE]

Unfinished Ganges Clay statue.

[Archeological Museum of Crete, 2000-1800 BCE]

Hand painted Resin.

Vesta turns Housework, or any Chore, into Worship. Vesta, Roman Goddess of Household Harmony (whose Greek name Hestia means "hearth"), is accompanied by the donkey-god Pales, a symbol of creative labor and fertility throughout the ancient world. The serpent represents Vesta's generative function, while her scepter and headdress signify her rank. Harmony will reign in your hearth and home as you meditate on this image.

[Berlin Staatliche Museum, 2nd cent. CE]

Brown/gray Gypsumstone statue.