ORIGIN Mesopotamian (Sumerian) [Iraq]. Goddess of fertility and war.
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 3500 BC to 1750 BC.
SYNONYMS Inninna; IS ˇ TAR [Akkadian]; Nin-mesar-ra (lady of a myriad offices)
CENTER(S) OF CULT Unug [Warka]; also Erbil and Nineveh.
ORIGIN Taoist (Chinese). Goddess of longevity.
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP from prehistoric times until present.
SYNONYMS Xi Wang Mu.
CENTER(S) OF CULT throughout Chinese culture.
Continue reading “HSI WANG MU (queen of the western heaven)”
by Danielle Dee
The Morrigan is a goddess of battle, strife, and fertility. Her name translates as either “Great Queen” or “Phantom Queen,” and both epithets are entirely appropriate for her. The Morrigan appears as both a single goddess and a trio of goddesses. The other deities who form the trio are Badb (“Crow”), and either Macha (also connotes “Crow”) or Nemain (“Frenzy”). The Morrigan frequently appears in the ornithological guise of a hooded crow. She is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann (“Tribe of the goddess Danu”) and she helped defeat the Firbolg at the First Battle of Mag Tuireadh and the Fomorians at the Second Battle of Mag Tuireadh.
Santería is an Afro-Caribbean religion that comes to us from Cuba and to this day it is practiced worldwide. Its original form, called Ifa, is an ancient Yoruba religion that comes from West-Africa and is declared by UNESCO as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Santeria itself developed in Cuba with the arrival of the African slaves. When they came they brought their deities, called Orisha¹, with them. The slave masters and the Christian missionaries made them convert to the Christian religion or else. They did so, but they didn’t leave their practices behind. In a clever and successful move, the slaves started making associations between their Orisha and the catholic saints, thus giving their practice the name of Santería. Thus St. Barbara, with her imagery of a sword, red and white tunic and association with thunder, became the disguise for the mighty Shango, male Orisha of thunder and fire, which colors are also red and white. And Our Lady of Charity, in turn, with her crown and beautiful clothes and the fishermen at her feet, became the disguise of Oshun, the female Orisha of rivers and love, who has a taste for good garments and is a beautiful Queen.
Although church carvings are a generally neglected aspect of our heritage, one of Rutland’s grotesques is comparatively well known. This is the enigmatic, although most certainly female, figure which for many years was used face-down as a doorstep to All Saints’ church, Braunston in Rutland (near Oakham – 141:833066), before being rediscovered about 1920. Since then she has stood in various places outside the church, and is currently at the west end by the base of the tower.
Witch's Well 