Sacred to all Virgin Goddesses, the Mother and Maid, the One and the Many.
The lily also represents the fertility of the Earth Goddess and later of the sky gods.
The lily in the West shares the symbolism of the lotus in the East.
A branch of lilies depicts virginity, also regeneration and immortality.
Alchemic: The white lily is the feminine principle
Christian: Purity; innocence; the Virgin Mary; its straight stalk is her godly mind, its pendant leaves her humility, its fragrance is divinity, its whiteness is purity; it is also a symbol of the Annunciation and of virgin saints, as chastity; it is the flower of Easter. Dante calls it the ‘lily of faith’. The lily among thorns depicts the Immaculate Conception as purity in the midst of sins of the world. In art a lily on one side and a sword on the other depict innocence and guilt.
Egyptian: Fruitfulness, but the lotus is more frequently used in Egyptian symbolism.
Graeco-Roman: Purity; it sprang from the milk of Hera and is an emblem of Hera/Juno and of Diana as chastity.
Hebrew: Trust in God; emblem of the tribe of Judah.
Islamic: Its symbolism can be taken by the hyacinth.
Minoan: Chief attribute of the goddess Britomartis.
Sumero-Semitic: Fruitfulness; fecundity.
[Source: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols by J.C. Cooper]
Soon there will be proof that our doctors have been giving death to all life, that so-called soldiers have been destroying the earth and instead of protecting her, and that the intellectual caged-birds have been devouring worms laced with truth and feeding the world shit instead.
“In allowing her boundaries to be penetrated from within by an emerging Other, the Goddess demonstrated her true creativity. She became the universal Mother. This crucial moment of birth was synonymous with creation, according to the ancient concept. This was the moment when the Goddess (not the emerging God) said, ‘Let there be light,’ because the eyes of her newborn first perceived the light of existence, as he himself might become the light of fire or the sun. In the classical world, the Goddess had names like Juno Lucina or Diana Lucifera, the Bringer of Light. From her the biblical Yahweh copied his Fiat lux.
“The god’s birth was celebrated each year at midwinter. The nocturnal festival was known as the Night of the Mother to pre-Christian Britons, which may explain why Christmas Eve (the time of the actual birth) carried even more significance in Old England than Christmas Day. In Alexandria, the god’s birth was hailed by joyful shouts: ‘The Virgin (Kore) has given birth! The light grows!’ The naked image of the divine birth-giving Virgin was decorated with gold stars and carried seven times around the temple.
“Just as, in pagan belief, creation was a birth, so every birth was a new creation. Each year the Aeon or year-god was reborn from the eternally virgin, eternally maternal Goddess. Thus, at the mystic point of creation itself, the graphic symbol of the Mother became three broken lines, while that of her son-spouse was three solid lines.
“Male and female triangles, one separated, came together again in a very ancient figure that later rounded off to the mathematical symbol of infinity in so-called Arabic numerals, which were actually Hindu in origin. The two tangential circles or teardrop shapes of this sign meant the same as two tangential triangles: the two sexes in contact (Fig. 5). The female triangle above now took on the aspect of a nourishing breast, while the male received her nourishment.
“This was also taken as a sexual sign, in unconscious but nevertheless real recognition of the connection between adult sexuality and bond between mother and infant. According to Tantric symbolism, the female triangle was placed above the male, who then assumed all forms of relationship with her: offspring, twin, spouse, and eventually sacrificial victim, as he became the eternally dying-and-reborn god, similar to Osiris, Attis, Dionysus, Adonis, Orpheus, Yama, and so on. Therefore Tantric yogis and their shaktis (priestesses) favored female-superior sexual positions, which Vedic and Confucian patriarchs condemned because of their association with the Old Religion that they wanted to erase. Though this style of lovemaking was instituted by Shiva as Universal God and the original ‘daughters of the sages’ (shaktis), patriarchal Brahman priests insisted that it was a perversion” (p17-18).
Glyph from Barbara Walker‘s The I Ching of the Goddess
The Punishment of the Arrogant Niobe by Diana and Apollo Pierre Charles Jombert (French; 1748–1825) ca. 1772 Oil paint on canvas, mounted on board The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
In Irish mythology, Brigid is the daughter of the Dagda and had two sisters also named Brigid and is part of the Tuatha de Danann, the supernatural Irish race. The three sisters made up the triple aspect of the one goddess: Brigid of the hearth, Brigid of the forge and Brigid of Inspiration. She is a goddess ofspring, fertility, family, the hearth, childbirth, fire, blacksmiths, scholars, physicians, prophets, healing, poetry, occult knowledge, and justice. She was said to be born at sunrise and is often depicted with solar rays coming out of her head, making her one of the Irish solar deities alongside Lugh. It is said that wherever she walks four leaf clovers and flowers will grow. She also created the tradition of “keening” when her son Ruadan died in battle, a song-like wail used by women at funerals. In some cases she is also the goddess of sacred wells, springs and healing waters.
History
Her name comes in different spellings like Brig, Brighid, Brigit, or Brigid but it means “Exalted one” or “Fiery arrows”. She is a goddess of Pre-christian Ireland but versions of her are found all over Europe; she has ties to Brigantia, a warrior goddess of the Brigantes tribe of Britain. She was a beloved goddess of the Celts and has survived through centuries including the Christianization of Ireland and the rest of Europe where most traces of Druidism and Paganism were forgotten. The people of Ireland loved her so much and refused to let her be demonized by the church -like the rest of the gods- that they converted her into a saint known as St. Brigid of Kildare. There are also three rivers named after her one in Ireland, Wales and England: Brigit, Braint and Brent.The river that runs through Wales is known to have healing properties.
Imbolc
Also known as Brigid’s day, Candlemas or St. Brigid’s feast, Imbolc is one of the four fire festivals in Celtic paganism and celebrates the return of spring. Since Brigid is the goddess of spring and was said to go away during the winter, people would light a candle in honor of her return. Offerings of milk, bread, and corn cakes were set out and a seat at the dinner table was left open for her presence. Cows and sheep were seen as sacred to the goddess because they would provide milk for the town during the cold months and they would give birth around Imbolc. This festival celebrated the Maiden aspect of Brigid and young women would carry corn dollies dressed in white which represented the goddess. The women would also dress in white and attend a special feast for Imbolc where young suitors could mingle with the ladies. Imbolc is a time of fertility, cleansing and the light returning after a long winter.
Plants- blackberry, hawthorn, basil, mugwort, apple, heather, dandelion, snowdrop, willow, oak, shamrock, crocus, trillium, corn, lavender and sage. Personal one is cinnamon and chamomile.
Crystals- amethyst, bloodstone, carnelian, garnet, moonstone, clear quartz, and peridot.
Symbols- Brigid’s cross, candles, triquetra, faeries, four leaf clover, cauldron, chalice, corn dolly, anvil or hammer, poetry, forges, hearths, wells, rock formations.
Colours- green, red, white, gold and blue
Devotional Acts
offer her blackberries, baked goods, milk and honey or beer
dedicate a piece of your art to her like painting, knitting, singing, etc.
meditate with fire
savour the warmth of the sun or fire
incorporate the elements of water and fire into your craft
write her a poem
watch the sun rise
say hi to cows and sheep :)
hang a Brigid’s cross above your doorway for protection and blessings
study healing magick, reiki, herbalism and faeries
Diana Riding a Centaur - This is an automaton - a mechanical marvel created by Hans Jakob Bachmann of Augsburg from 1602-06. It is one of several automatons in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Click on the photo to see a video. Photo by Charles Reeza.
This week I read this paper entitled “Hathor and Isis in Byblos in the Second and First Millenia BCE” and it was interesting understand more the cult dynamic of different goddesses in a important place for the Ancient Egypt commerce.
Byblos was a city localizated close to the current city of Beirut (Lebanon). Some of egyptologists suggested that Byblos was a Egyptian colony in the Old Kingdom (2700-2200 BC). In fact, Byblos served as a port to which Egyptians came for building wood for coffins, boats, and architecture.
Some registers shows that the port city has an ancient and unknown “Mistress of Byblos”. The paper author brings the idea of the goddess Bat being this ancient goddess, because after a several years, the “Mistress of Byblos” was identified as Hathor (Hethert). And these two goddesses have in common the important symbolism of a cow.
In Byblos, Hethert was also conected with the navigation and boats and sometimes she was called “Hathor of Dendera who lives in Byblos”.
The cult of Isis (Aset) increasing in all the Egypt mainly in the New Kingdom and occurred a strong syncretism between her and Hethert. Many of the characteristics and roles of Hethert we also can see in Aset such as the cow iconography. Aset was increasing in cult, power and influence in Egypt as a in Byblos. Even the ancient symbol of the shipping attributed early to Hethert, Aset gained posteriorly.
The thing is, Hethert played an important role for egyptians and alike in Byblos begining in the last half of the third millennium BCE. Aset which appears lately in Byblos, played this important role in the second quarter of the first millennium BCE. Sometimes the “Mistress of Byblos” was called Aset, Aset-Hethert or Hethert-Aset.
*(pt/br)*
Esta semana li este artigo intitulado “Hathor e Ísis em Biblos no Segundo e Primeiro Milênio AC” e foi interessante entender mais a dinâmica do culto de diferentes deusas em um lugar importante para o comércio do Antigo Egito.
Byblos era uma cidade localizada perto da atual cidade Beirute (Líbano). Alguns egiptólogos sugeriram que Biblos era uma colônia egípcia no Reino Antigo (2700-2200 aC). Biblos servia como um porto ao qual os egípcios vinham para construir madeira para caixões, barcos e arquitetura em geral.
Alguns registros mostram que a cidade portuária possui uma antiga e desconhecida “Senhora de Biblos”. A autora do artigo traz a ideia de Bat sendo essa deusa ancestral, pois anos depois, a “Senhora de Biblos” foi identificada como Hathor (Hethert). Essas duas deusas têm em comum o importante simbolismo da vaca.
Em Byblos, Hethert também estava conectada com a navegação e os barcos e às vezes era chamada de “Hathor de Dendera que mora em Byblos”.
O culto a Ísis (Aset) aumentou em todo o Egito principalmente no Novo Império e ocorreu um forte sincretismo entre ela e Hethert. Muitas das características e funções de Hethert também podemos ver em Aset, como a iconografia da vaca. Aset estava crescendo em culto, poder e influência no Egito assim como em Biblos. Até mesmo o antigo símbolo da navegação atribuído a Hethert, Aset ganhou posteriormente.
O fato é que Hethert desempenhou um papel importante para os egípcios e semelhantes em Biblos, começando na última metade do terceiro milênio AC. Aset, que apareceu recentemente em Biblos, desempenhou esse importante papel no segundo quarto do primeiro milênio AC. Às vezes, a “Senhora de Biblos” era chamada de Aset, Aset-Hethert ou Hethert-Aset.
