Goddesses from Greek, Roman, Celtic, Native American, Egyptian, Middle Eastern, Scandinavian, and many other traditions are gathered here to enhance our understanding of the roles of the feminine deity. In learning about these archetypes, we come to recognize them in ourselves -to gain a clearer perception of our powers and weaknesses and to achieve a common thread, a link to the collective unconscious. Susan Seddon Boulet s magnificent paintings and Michael Babcock s insightful text offer a bri
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By Animal Deities
– September 5, 2011
SEKHMET, LION-HEADED GODDESS OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PANTHEON. BASED ON NEW KINGDOM TOMB PAINTINGS. Image via Wikipedia
Why do some goddesses and gods have animal heads? The deities you have probably most often seen depicted with animal heads on human bodies were the Egyptians gods and goddesses. The reason for this has been debated since the time of ancient Greece, and there is a lot of outdated theory floating around.
Modern Theory
Until recently the most widely accepted theory has been that the animal heads (falcon, dog, ram, etc) were representative of animals sacred to that goddess or god, and not the goddess or god themselves. That is a purely modern idea.
In the case of the Egyptian deities, and others such as the Indian deity, Ganesha, that is almost certainly wrong. In fact, the notion of human-like gods and goddesses arising first, and then having animals attributed to them is backwards.
Until recently the European bias toward monotheism, and the patriarchal rewriting of myths hid the truth. For example, we now know that the much older, very sophisticated Indus Valley civilization of India was overrun by invaders who adopted some deities but made up new stories to account for their origins.
The same thing happened in other ancient societies, such as Greece and Egypt, where maie gods were given the powers and attribute of much more ancient goddesses. It took archeologists decades of work to separate the facts from later revisions and to stop viewing ancient artifacts through monotheist dogma.
Once archeologists began to put their preconceived notions aside, and as thousands more ancient artifacts were unearthed, the ancient beliefs became more evident, and they nothing like the patriarchal, Western-biased notions.
Origins of Goddesses and Gods
According to archeologists, animal deities came first. Human spiritual beliefs evolve from hunter-gatherers believing that all things have some degree of consciousness (animism) to animals (our closest relatives, teachers, allies) as deities. Continued…
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By Animal Deities
– July 21, 2011
A collection of guided journeys and meditations to help the reader connect with and learn from power animals and spirit allies.• 50 unique power animal and spirit guide meditations • Illustrated by the award-winning artist of Medicine Cards, Angela Werneke• 7 additional journeys going to new levels added since first edition What can the hawk teach you about your life purpose? What does the salmon know of fertile dreams, goal setting, and self actualization? Calling upon the magical wisdom
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By Animal Deities
– July 7, 2011
Sandy asks…
Nontheistic religions?
A fellow of mine claims that all religions have an idea of God or Gods. My understanding is that there’s quite a number of nontheistic approaches to religion: the Karvaka School (in Hinduism), many Buddhist branches, Shinto.
My guess is that, with some reserve, one could also include some forms of the cult of ancestors (Etruscan and Early Roman, Confucianism, some West and African religions) and animism in that they manifest a belief in “spirits” or “ghosts” but not necessarily in a deity that created the world.
Do you know more examples of nontheistic religions?
Animal Deities answers:
That really depend on the definition of religion being used. Buddhists are nontheists, and some scholars claim that Buddhism is a philosophy, not a religion.
Shintoism is derived from animism. Many consider it polytheistic, based on an almost infinite number of kami(gods), but the problem is that Europeans almost always mistakenly translate spirits as gods.
Many of the “nontheistic religions” seem much more like philosophies than religions. They are spiritual belief systems, for sure. To me what makes them religions is their role in society and how established they are.
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By Animal Deities
– June 9, 2011
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Beliefs about animal deities change over time. animal deities are themselves a transitional belief between animism, where all spirits are equal and all things have spirit, to humanoid gods and goddesses.
Because spiritual belief systems grow out of and are based on the land where people live, and how they make their living, as lifestyle changes, so do beliefs. That is, when nomadic gathering-hunting peoples become animal herders or farmers, their spiritual beliefs change.
As society becomes stratified and hierarchical, with different occupations and classes, so does religion.
The animal-headed deities of ancient Egypt and Ganesh in India are examples of such transitional deities. Writers often refer to the animal component as just a symbolic attribute of the humanoid god or goddess, but that is missing the point. Many gods and goddesses derive from animal deities.
Often you can trace that from their “attribute” animals and from the specific talents and powers of each goddess or god. For example, Athena was an owl to begin with. Isis was Vulture, and Sekhmet was Lioness. Over time, the animal deity is turned into a human-looking deity to suit the beliefs of the people.
I read somewhere, though I cannot now locate the source, that Ganesh was originally the son of the elephant goddess. Makes sense, right? Most historians say that Ganesh worship is fairly recent, perhaps a few hundred years. They trace it from mentions of minor demons in elephant shape who gradually assumed importance.
However, they may not be going back far enough. Folk deities, ancient deities beloved by the people, have a way of living on unofficially, undocumented, underground, so to speak, and resurfacing later in slightly different forms. There are many examples of that in the Americas, where indigenous deities were disguised by a veneer of Christianity by indigenous peoples and African slaves.
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By Animal Deities
– June 8, 2011
DETAIL OF THE FRIEZE OF THE WELLS IN THE TOMB OF PHARAOH HOREMHEB, SHOWING THE GODS OSIRIS, ANUBIS, and HORUS. Image via WikipediA
Lisa asks: Why Did the Egyptians only have animal-headed deities? Were they unimaginative? Take Anubis for example. “Let’s give him a jackal’s head cause that’ll be really scary and awesome.” What were they thinking?
Animal Deities answers:
First of all, ancient Egyptians did not only have animal-headed deities, as the picture on the right shows. Osiris was not an animal-headed deity, because he was/represented the crops that died (were harvested) and lived again (grew again the next year.
Egyptian deities derived from the surrounding environment and cultures of the Nile Valley and the Sudan. Many of the Egyptian religious practices resemble those of other parts of Northeast Africa more than those of Mesopotamia, Europe or the Middle East. These NE African religions also show a large number of animal deities. Quote from Encyclopedia Britannica:
Encyclopedia Britannica, 1984. Macropedia Article, Vol 6: “Egyptian Religion” , pg 506-508:
“A large number of gods go back to prehistoric times. The images of a cow and star goddess (Hathor), the falcon (Horus), and the human-shaped figures of the fertility god (Min) can be traced back to that period. Some rites, such as the “running of the Apil-bull,” the “hoeing of the ground,” and other fertility and hunting rites (e.g., the hippopotamus hunt) presumably date from early times.. Connections with the religions in southwest Asia cannot be traced with certainty.”
“It is doubtful whether Osiris can be regarded as equal to Tammuz or Adonis, or whether Hathor is related to the “Great Mother.”
There are closer relations with northeast African religions. The numerous animal cults (especially bovine cults and panther gods) and details of ritual dresses (animal tails, masks, grass aprons, etc) probably are of African origin. Continued…
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By Animal Deities
– April 20, 2011
A 20-METER TALL SPIRIT BEAR PUPPET DANCES WITH THE DANCERS DURING THE 2010 WINTER OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONIES Image via Wikipedia
Human spiritual belief systems evolve according to the location and circumstances of the people.
Humans with modern brains like ours have been around for 200,000 to 300,000 years. Up until about 10,000 years ago all humans were food gatherers (women) and hunters (men).
Around the world some small groups of gathering-hunting cultures still exist. They live in South American, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Australia.
Most have been changed by contact with invading peoples, but some gathering-hunting cultures still follow their original animist beliefs.
Gatherers
The oldest belief system known is animism. People who gather almost all their food in the wild—fruits, vegetables, nuts, bird eggs, etc.—and do a little bit of hunting to supplement that—begin as animists.
Their living depends on understanding nature, the animals, plants, and seasons. So they honor and interact with the spirits of animals, plants, nature, and the land.
In the classic so-called “hunter-gatherer” cultures, the gatherers, the women, provide typically 75 to 85 percent of the food, sometimes more. Meat is a supplement to the vegetables, fruits, nuts, and roots the women gather, not the main course. Continued…
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By Animal Deities
– March 5, 2011
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Evolution of Beliefs
Scientists say that animal deities eventually led to goddesses and then to gods. You can see some of that progression in the Egyptian goddesses and gods, who are often shown with the heads of animals—the animal that each one derived from.
As peoples lives changed, as gathering wild plants and hunting gradually changed to gardening and herding animals, and then eventually to farming, the beliefs of the peoples evolved as well. The belief in animal deities was usually just one stage in their religious development.
Animal Deities Today
Yet even today there are animists in many parts of the world, and there are still those who honor animal deities. Ganesha, for example, honored by more people in India than any other god or goddess. And Jaguar is still honored in the rainforests of South America.
This site explores the beliefs of many cultures around the world that so honored the spirits of certain animals that they came to revere them as deities.
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By Animal Deities
– March 5, 2011
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Hanuman is a Hindu deity or god who is a monkey. Like Ganesha, he probably dates from an older, animist system of beliefs in which Hanuman was the spirit of Monkey.
Newer religions often absorb important older deities, such as animal deities, and create new myths about them, in which the older deities become subservient to the new goddesses and/or gods.
What is the most common and most effective mantra for the god Hanuman…?
what is the most common and most effective mantra for the god Hanuman?
admin answers:
For hanuman, Its hanuman Chalisa
http://www.festivalsinindia.net/gods/hanuman/hanuman-chalisa.html
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By Animal Deities
– February 27, 2011
BRONZE FIGURE OF BASTET AS A SEATED CAT Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Ancient Egyptian deities seem to fascinate Americans more than any other ancient spiritual belief system or pantheon. Why is that, do you suppose?
Helen asks…
Were the Egyptians satanists?
Okay I’m not trying to offend anyone or make any false accusations here and even if they are i don’t care but i noticed things that puzzle me.
As you all know the serpent is satan in the bible but in egyptian art the serpent is considered a god.
Another thing is drinking blood is banned in the bible since blood is dirty and can harm the body and the body is considered a temple but one of the egyptian gods Sekhmet was known to drink blood.
there’s also the eye of horus which is the ancient symbol of protection for them but somehow it’s bad (not sure how can’t remember) and the pyramids which are the triangles (somehow bad too can’t remeber)
Animal Deities answers:
There were multiple snake goddesses who were considered protectresses (Buto and Renenutet, to name two), but Apep (or Apophis), who was represented as a snake with legs, was considered the embodiment of evil and was ritually cursed in Egyptian rituals. He was the chaos that Ra, the sun god, fought in the underworld and defeated at dawn each day.
It’s also irresponsible to project your own cultural values onto a completely different culture, especially when you know absolutely nothing about that culture.
Bast, Egyptian Goddess
Bast, or Bastet, an ancient Egyptian goddess was associated with music, dancing, protection against diseases and evil spirits, and the protection of pregnant women. The center of her worship was in the Egyptian city, Bubastits, located in the eastern Nile delta region. Her temple was in the center of the town and its tower could be see from anywhere in the city. Bast was usually shown as a woman with a cat head holding a sistrum, an ancient Egyptian instrument, in her right hand, symbolic of her association with music, and a shield in her left hand bearing the face of a cat or lioness. Ocasionally, Bast was fused with sekhmet and the sun god Ra in a deity called Sekhmet-Bast-Ra.This deity was clearly associated with the power of the sun.It was represented by a female body with a male head and 2 vulture heads sprouting from her neck.She had wings and on her arms she had the claws of a lion.
Generally, were very important in Egypt. The Greek historian, Herodotus said that when there was a fire people were more focused on saving the cats rather than on putting out the fire. When a cat died people shaved their eyebrows as a sign that they were sad or upset. Because Bast was a cat-headed goddess this made her very important. Bast became known as “The Little Cat” because another goddess, Sekhmet, the goddess of destruction and war, also had a cat head, but was a lion instead of a regular house cat like bast. Both bast and sekhmet were linked with the god Ptah of Memphis. Bast is sometimes considered the mother of Ptah’s son, Nepthy’s, the god of perfumes, but Sekhmet is more often considered this person. Bast was associated with beneficial warming power of the sun while Sekhmet was associated with the suns fiery, destructive power. More people favored the warming power over the destructive power.
Bast held festivals at Bubastits every year. The festivals held in April and may were among the most popular in Egypt, celebrated with feasting, wine drinking, singing and dancing. It took place on barges along the Nile River. It’s been reported that more than 700,000 people attended the festival annually.During the time of the festival the pharoh refrained everyone from hunting lions and out of respect for the goddess.
That is all I can find! Can you give me some more information?
Animal Deities answers:
Egyptian religion has over 700 gods and goddesses with a variety of beliefs depending on the time period of Egyptian history which is being studied. Even the Egyptian recognized the difficulty of following the multitude of gods and goddesses as early as the Old Kingdom. They attempted to simplify the religion by organize their gods in family groups of eight or nine.
Evidence is very limited on Predynastic Egypt (before 3100 B.C.). What we do know would suggest that early Egyptian developed local cults of worship often centered around animals. Each community would worship it’s own deity or set of deities.
After the unification of Egypt, (3100 B.C.) their religion was polytheistic with one exception during the reign of Akhenaten. During this time the Pharaoh Akhenaten changed the religion of Egypt to be monotheistic, worshiping only Aten, his patron god. His changes lasted only during his reign and were changed back to earlier practices after his death. The Egyptian gods can be divided into two main categories; household gods and local, state or national gods.
Household gods were often worshiped at shrines located in peoples living quarters. These gods often lacked cult followers, priests or temples at which they were worshiped. None the less these gods were of key importance to the general population, in that the state and national gods often seemed distant. Two of the most well known household gods were Bes and Tauert.
Local and state gods were the main deity or deities in certain locations in Egypt. For example, the crocodile god was worshiped mostly in the Fayoum and at Kom Ombo. From the group of local and state gods, some would gain national recognition and would be worshiped throughout Egypt. For example Re, the sun god, began to become national recognized as early as early as the second dynasty. To add to the mix, gods were sometimes combined with others to make a new deity to be worshiped. For example Re was combined with the state god Amun to become Amen-Re during the New Kingdom Era.
The national gods were often promoted by the reigning pharaohs preferences. For the common people , worship of the local or household gods was most common. People may also chose to worship gods which could help them in their occupation. For example a scribe often close Thoth as their primary deity. Thoth was the patron god of scribes and writing.
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By Animal Deities
– February 27, 2011
