By Aset Moon
Image of the "Venus of Willendorf" |
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“The Earth Mother is a cosmogonic figure, the eternally fruitful source of everything. She is simply "the Mother". All things come to her, return to her and are her. The totality of the cosmos is her body. She gives birth to everything from her womb and she nourishes all from her breasts. There is no essential change or individuation. Each separate being is a manifestation of her, all things share in her life through an eternal cycle of birth and rebirth.”
– Encyclopedia Britannia.
Cast your mind back, if you can, to more than 20,000 years ago. The great glaciers that once covered much of Europe and Asia has retreated. "Homo Sapiens", our early human ancestors, had emerged and were following the herds of bison, horses and cattle across the emerging grasslands. In south west France, within the caves that bordered the fertile valleys of the Dordogne, the Vezere and the Ariege artwork appeared. Sacred images were painted on the walls and carved out of stone and ivory. Over 130 of these statues have been found, many sprinkled with red ochre, and most of the female form. These round motherly figures had large falling breasts and pregnant stomachs. The actual meanings of these images have been lost over the eons, however, we are still able to tap into what they may have once represented – into the collective unconsciousness of the human race. These nameless, faceless images of the female form played an important part in the spiritual development of our species. We do not know what these images were called - maybe they were simple "She”. Today we refer to them as representations of the “Great Mother Goddess” – for that is what they seem to represent – the Great Mother of all the ancient peoples. Earliest representations of the Great Mother Goddess date back at least the Upper Palaeolithic era (from 600,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE) and have been found all over Europe – from the Pyranees Mountains that divide Spain and southern France through to Siberia in the Soviet Union’s frozen wilderness. In the south of France, a faceless figure some 43cm (17 inches) tall once gazed out into the valley. Today we call Her the “Venus of Laussel” named after the valley in which She was discovered. She was chiselled out of the limestone rock by flint tools some time during the Palaeolithic era, between 22,000 BCE and 18,000 BCE. Who was She? We honestly do not really know for sure – we can only guess. She holds a crescent curved bison horn in her right hand that has 13 notches on it – one for each lunar month of the year. Was She the first time keeper? Her left hand points down past her swollen hips to Her stomach, possibly indicating to pregnancy. Was She some kind of fertility image? Or did She represent the great cycle of time and fertility of the land? "Venus of Laussel"
In "Myth of the Goddess" authors Anne Baring and Jules Cashford point out that the head of the “Venus of Laussel” is "tilted towards the crescent moon, drawing a curve of relationship from her fingers on the womb up through the incline of her head to the crescent horn in her hand, so creating a connection between the waxing phase of the moon and the fecundity of the human womb. In this way, the pattern of relationship between the earthly and the heavening orders is acknowledged."(1)
They further point out that Joseph Campbell also made a connection between the moon and the womb ...
"The phases of the Moon were the same for Old Stone Age man as they are for us, so were the proceessses of the womb. It may therefore be that the initial observation that gave birth in the mind of man to a mythology of one mystery informing earthly and celestial things was the recognition of an accord between these two "time factored" orders - the celestial order of the waxing moon and the earthly order of the womb."(2)
In the foothills of the Pyrenees at Lespugne, France, and carved out of mammoth ivory, another statue, this time 14cm tall, was found. She had nor hands nor feet, Her legs tapering off to a point which seemed to indicate that She was to be pressed into the earth. Her large breasts merged into Her round womb and buttocks, which seemed to resembled four great eggs surrounding Her. Beneath Her buttocks, 10 lines were etched, each line possibly indicating one lunar month of human gestation.(3) We assume – we make educated guesses – but we will never truly know the fact of what She really meant to our early ancestors. And this is probably why She appeals so much to us because She represents our own forgotten heritage. A further image of the Great Mother Goddess, this time found in Austria and dating back to between 30,000 BCE and 25,000 BCE is known as the “Venus of Willendorf” (image below). Probably one of the better known ancient images, Willendorf is a limestone statuette that is only 12cm (4 ¼ inches) in length, and can be cupped in a human hand. Her abundant breasts and hips seem to indicate fertility as well as indicating that the Great Mother Goddess was not only the provider for Her people but that She also represented life itself. (4) The "Venus of Willendorf" An interesting factor of the “Venus of Willendorf” is the seven circles around her head. Baring and Cashford mention that seven is one quarter of the Moon's full circle and the number of moving planets. Is this merely coincidence? The number seven considered to be a sacred number relating to wholeness by the time of the Bronze Age (around 3,500 BCE) which occured some 15,000 years after the Willendorf statue was created.
Today we are unsure of where and how the Great Mother Goddess became to be the central focus of the lives of our early ancestors. What we have discovered, largely through the ground breaking work of renown archaeologist Marija Gimbutas (as well as others like her) is the importance – that the Great Mother Goddess was not worshipped in only one community or tribe, but She evolved as the whole human species evolved. The Great Mother Goddess walked with Her people and amongst them. She was found in the rocks, the plants, and the animals they hunted. When they closed their eyes for the last time, She was there, ready to receive them back into Her ample bosom at the end of their lives. She was nameless and faceless because She represented all and everything. She was life itself, living within their dreams and their developing consciousness. To deny Her presence has only caused disassociation and much anguish – even if we cannot bring ourselves to admit it today. Today we are remembering Her names and they are being called again as praises to Her many guises are being honoured. The ancient chant of the Native Americans can be heard ... The Great Mother Goddess is as old as the Earth. She is the Earth. She is as old as time – she created the Universe.
CONNECTING WITH THE GREAT MOTHER GODDESS To our ancient ancestors, the Great Mother Goddess was all around them for She was the very earth that they walked upon, which provided them with all they could ever need. A simple way of connecting with the Great Mother Goddess is to get out into nature. There are many ways we can do this:
Organise a bush or forest walk either with friends or family or by even yourself, to experience nature in its original state. Find a quiet spot and simply observe your surroundings. Sit on the ground and feel the essence of the Great Mother Goddess entering through you.
Climb a local high point, could be a hill or a mountain, and survey what you see. If you are able to, watch a sunrise or a sunset from this high vantage point. Sunset from Mt Crawford, South Australia
Venture into your local public park or even a spot in your garden to spend some time in quiet meditation or contemplation of the Great Mother Goddess and what She meant to our ancestors.
INVOCATION TO THE GREAT MOTHER GODDESS
Images abound of the Goddess in Her many guises including those who are unnamed. But you do not need a specific image, statue of Her because She is the creator of all life. In a darkened room ponder for a moment of a time before all life was created. This is the soul before finding a way out of the darkness, your own self as a seed before birthing from your mother’s womb. The ancient stories tell us of a nothingless, the endless floating in the sea of non-existence.
Barbara Walker(5) gave her ancient sound as being “Maa”. Vibrate “Maa-aaa-aaa” softly and slowly to yourself ... and feel the Universe vibrate all around you. It is from these ancient representations of the Great Mother Goddess. The first "She", that the others came into being. Alone you may feel but you are not alone – call to Her: Stand before your altar in devotion stance (arms held upwards, feet shoulder width apart) Various statues of the Great Mother Goddess - Minoen Snake Goddess, Egyptian Goddess Aset (Isis), and ancient Egyptian Nile Goddess Close your eyes and rest back into a foetal position. Open your ears to the sounds that are around you. Can you hear her voice on the wind? She is the ruler of the tides and the keeper of time. She is the protector of Her people and the initiator into the most ancient of Mysteries. Feel Her embrace as She draws you closer to Her heart and welcomes you back home.
COMMUNICATING WITH THE GREAT MOTHER GODDESS The Great Mother Goddess communicates with us through symbols and images. One practice our ancestors undertook to acquire such messages was to build special sleep chambers were people would enter and spend the night, allowing the Great Mother Goddess to speak to them through their dreams.
"Dreaming of Malta" On the island of Malta an underground labyrinthine sanctuary known as the "Hypogeum" was built. Consisting of three levels chiselled into the limestone, going down some 30 feet beneath the surface. In the “Holy of Hollies” a statuette was found, today known as "The Sleeping Lady”. You may wish to recite the following before going to sleep in order to help you record the messages the Great Mother Goddess sends to you in your sleep.
"Great Mother of the Ancient Ways Today, we need to step into these sleep chambers and absorb the Great Mother Goddess back into our lives, for today we make things far too complicated that we often forget the simpleness of life itself. Take a moment every day to remember that the Great Mother Goddess is always watching over you - She is just waiting for you to acknowledge and call to Her.
References:
(1) "The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Age" by Anne Baring and Jules Cashford
(statuette from private collection)
"The Mother Goddess, wherever she is found, is an image that inspires and focuses a perception of the Universe as an organic, alive and sacred whole, in which humanity, the Earth and all life on Earth participate as 'her children'. Everything is woven together in one cosmic web, where all orders of manifest and unmanifest life are related because our share in the sanctity of the original source."
- "The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Age"
by Anne Baring and Jules Cashford“Ancient Mother, I hear you calling
Ancient Mother, I hear your song ..” “I stand at the beginning of time
Having risen from the abyss
All I see around me I have created
All that goes before me is mine
I am the nameless one
The forgotten one
But I was there before your named me
I am older than time itself
I am She.” (6)
“Ancient Mother
Creatrix of all life
Of all that is and ever was
And ever will be.
Help me to remember.”“Open my ears so that I can hear your voice in the wind.
Open my eyes so that I can see and appreciate all of your miracles.
Open my mind and touch my memory so that I recall the past.”
(private collection)
(arcylic on canvas painted by Aset Moon, December 2007)
Guide my footsteps upon this path
That draws me increasingly closer to you.
Walk beside me, Great Mother
Embrace me in your abundant breast
Assure me that I am never alone."
(2) ibid
(3) Ibid
(4) "Once and Future Goddess" by Elinor Gibon
(5) "Women's Encyclopeadia of Myths and Symbols" by Barbara Walker
(6) Inspired by http://www.spiralgoddess.com/AncientGoddessGrotto.html