The Venus figures

 Venus figure created about 25,000 years ago from the Kostenki - Borshevo region on the Don River, north of the Black Sea.

Kostenki / Kostienki is a very important Paleolithic site on the Don River in Russia. It was a settlement which contained venus figures, dwellings made of mammoth bones, and many flint tools and bone implements. Actually it is not a single site but really an area on the right bank of the Don River in the region of the villages of Kostenki and Borshevo, consisting of more than twenty site locations, all dating to the Paleolithic.

Photo by Heritage images

From Max Dashu who has written and researched in depth about the goddess figures:

When I got to visit the Grandmother of Willendorf, on my one and only visit to Vienna. They have her in a kind of shrine, lit up in the dark, suspended in a clear kiosk. Her name is on the entrance of the chamber.

However, I contest the "Venus" naming; see my article "They Are Not Venus Figurines" https://www.suppressedhistories.net/articles/notvenusfigurines.html By Max Dashu on FB

Goddess figures, most date from the Gravettian period, which succeeded the Aurignacian period, and begins approximately around 33,000 to 21,000 BP.

I like that Marija Gimbutus in her work as an anthropologist, found that early civilizations where goddess figures were found, said there were no defensive structures in these towns. She posited that the cultures didn't need them, as there were no warlike exchanges happening yet. She also thought that these civilizations were led by women, a matriarchal society.

See my earlier post about these cultures, as well as more images of goddess figures here where I talk about eco-feminism.

And this earlier post about "Why I'm an Environmentalist" demonstrates how our connection to the earth is more than just something to take for granted.

Today's quote:

Bullets cannot be recalled. They cannot be uninvented. But they can be taken out of the gun.

 -Martin Amis, novelist (1949-2023)

Goddess figures of antiquity

Before there were any male figures created, many societies had female figures in abundance.  No kidding. 

She's a guide for deciding which way to go forward

Hecate, the goddess of the crossroads from ancient times of Greek mythology...see this link for more information about her.

"Hecate, Greek goddess of the three paths, guardian of the household, protector of everything newly born, and the goddess of witchcraft -- once a widely revered and influential goddess,  the reputation of Hecate has been tarnished over the centuries. In current times, she is usually depicted as a "hag" or old witch stirring the cauldron.
"But nothing could be further from the image of Hecate's original glory.
"A beautiful and powerful goddess in her own right, the Greek goddess Hecate was the only one of the ancient Titans who Zeus allowed to retain their authority once the Olympians seized control. Zeus shared with Hecate, and only her, the awesome power of giving humanity anything she wished (or withholding it if she pleased).
"In other legends she is invisible, perhaps only glimpsed as a light, a "will-o-the-wisp".  Perhaps it was this luminous quality that marked Hecate as a "moon goddess", for she seemed quite at home on the earth. 

Brigid

 A first goddess figure for the next year.  When the studio opens next week, I'll work on some stain on her...just to bring out the details.

Brigid is the Irish goddess of poetry, smithcraft, midwifery and healing, and whistling!

Music and those who bring it to others...

Music is healing.
It touches a place inside us, not so much physical as emotional.
It is where we appreciate beauty.
That place where we suddenly can break out smiling, or crying.
Do we have to learn this? I think not.  I think we all have that spot of appreciation inherent in our beings.

Healing? Yes, because it brings us in touch with that something that is connecting us to beauty, to emotions that want to be expressed. As a counselor, and an elder, I know that healing often comes through expressing our emotions...in a safe way of course.  Not recommending road rage, nor that penicillin isn't a good idea.

Two musical women come to my mind today, women who I know and admire, and am a recipient of their talents and can call them my friends.

Marina Raye - who plays flutes, please listen to an example Here.

I'll just clip from her website about her...

Marina Raye is world-renowned as the "Feminine Voice of the Native Flute". What makes her original compositions so special is their deeply emotive quality which celebrates the essence of peace and harmony. Marina's music is used by many in the healing professions to invoke a state of tranquility and a sense of closeness to nature.

Marina was born in Africa where she spent her first ten years. She draws inspiration from her deep love for the Earth as she shares her vision of the awakening of peace in every heart. Trained as a classical musician, Marina has been called a sonic shaman because of her mastery of the native flute. Her instruments are hand-crafted by her husband, flutemaker Charlie Oakwind. Marina and Charlie live in western North Carolina, in a solar-powered home. They are committed to living gently on the Earth.

Marina and I share more links, having early enjoyed our cat stories together.  And then there's her having purchased some of my pottery, for which I'm so grateful...to think of her home having the pots I created being used by them.   And at my home, I'm doing my yoga or meditating  frequently to Marina's music!

I am fortunate, lucky, blessed (chose the adverb) to know and work often with Annelinde Metzner, a.k.a. Linda.  She is a composer, choir director, leader of Sahara Women's Peace Choir, started the Asheville's women's choir Womansong, teaches music in many forms, and is a very talented poet as well.

Here is a sample of her divine feminine music sung informally in rehearsal at a friends home by the Sahara Peace Choir, when I used to be a member. (I've got a red top on if I remember right.)

And Here's a medley of three songs to the Goddess composed by Annelinde Metzner (www.AnnelindesWorld.blogspot.com) from her songbook, "Lady of Ten Thousand Names." This medley was arranged for the 25th Anniversary Concert of Womansong of Asheville,

Linda has been our music director for the last 10 years, the same amount of time I've been a member of this congregation, The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Swannanoa Valley, in Black Mountain NC

I've been part of a great community where women not only lead, but express the divine feminine through performances, workshops, classes about goddesses, poetry, readings and sharing with everyone.

Participants in a class that studied goddesses all around the world

Winter solstice with choir singing

A couple of men composing music at a grand piano here at Sepia Saturday this week.

Today's Quote:

Stop running from the ferocity of your own Being...
Burn off all your own games to that in you which is
Pure Intensity...
When you meet the very Core of your Being
become completely loyal to the deepest passion in you
and allow no more waste of time - find that devotion
to Reality [Truth] within yourself...

Aisha Salem

 

More Bugs and Flowers !

Yesterday was Earth Day.  Did you see my Facebook posts? Well, one of them was from a few years ago, where I made a commitment to do something for Mother Earth, Gaia, daily.  Mmm, I may have let that ball slip through my fingers.

But now I've made a small figure of Goddess Gaia reclining on top of the mountains. Perhaps that will make up for a week of forgetfulness. She's in the kiln right now, so next week you'll get to see what she looks like.

And here's another of my bugs and flowers series...Blue Dragonfly on blue lotus blossoms.Clay is Little Loafers, glazes are Mayco Stroke and Coat, Designer Liner, and Matt Clear.

So I'll add another for your pleasure!

 

Another version of dragonfly on a luncheon plate (8") with some fish underwater! (more plates were posted last week Here) 

More goddesses are coming along.  But I've got some new clay also, so it will be fun trying it out, both to throw on the wheel and in sculpting! An alternative source for clay is now available in Asheville, Village Potters carries Laguna clays.  Highwater Clay has had the market cornered for too long, though they are still the pottery lovers "go-to" place.

Today's quote:


“What is needed to launch our societies along the humanistic path is some sort of evolutionary compass. Some way of guiding our efforts so that they are in tune with, aligned with, the general evolutionary processes of which we are a part… So rather than seek to dominate the planet, the quest becomes one of dynamic harmonization, of evolutionary consonance, in short, of syntony. The evolutionary compass, then, would be one that points our way toward syntonious pathways for future creation.” ~Alexander Laszlo