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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Buddhist goddess. Credit: neenawat555 / Adobe Stock

Tara – Goddess of Compassion and Savior of the Suffering

Tara is an important bodhisattva, i.e. someone on the path towards Buddhahood, in Buddhism , especially in Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhism). Tara is considered to be a female figure and there are various...
Fertility goddesses can be found in all cultures and times. Source: zolotareva_elina /Adobe Stock

Praying For Life – Top 10 Ancient Fertility Goddesses

Throughout the ancient history of the world, polytheism - commonly known as paganism or heathenism - was the defining aspect of all societies and civilizations. Our ancestors had complex and...
Oshun, African Goddess of Love

Oshun: African Goddess of Love and Sweet Waters

Across many ancient civilizations throughout the world, love was placed under the domain of a certain deity, usually, but not in all cases, a goddess. In the Classical world, for instance, there were...
A ceremony in the cult of Venezuelan goddess Maria Lionza. Self-harming rituals are practiced in this cult. Source: EJ George/YouTube Screenshot

Venezuelan Cult Still Practices Shocking Self-Harming Rituals

Every year thousands of Venezuelans hike into the mountains around Chivacoa and practice fire, blood, and smoke rituals as they pay homage to their indigenous goddess - Maria Lionza - who is still...
Goddess of Egypt, Bastet. Credit: MiaStendal / Adobe Stock

Egyptian Cat Goddess Bastet, Protector of the King

The wondrous world of Egyptian deities is filled with all manner of fantastic creatures, each one captivating in its unique depiction. This vast pantheon features hundreds upon hundreds of deities,...
The goddess Hathor

Hathor: Goddess of Joy and Motherhood Near the Nile

The shadow of Hathor is still present in many places related to the monumental history of ancient Egypt. She was one of the most important goddesses near the Nile and remains one of the best-known...
The Harvest Moon. Source: klagyivik / Adobe Stock.

Rare Harvest Moon Occurs on Friday 13th

This year, the Harvest Moon rises today, Friday the 13th September. But why was this particular moon so special to ancient cultures? The brilliant Harvest Moon will appear tonight and will reach its...
Lady with an elegant headdress

Ningal: The Mesopotamian Goddess Awakening Female Mysticism

In the city of Ur, where the first settlements in the marshes of southern Mesopotamia were built with reeds without any type of nails or woods, Ningal was born to Ninhursag and Enki. Her name means...
This naked lady statuette was found by a 7 year old boy at Tel Rehov in 2015. Source: © Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Bare Naked Lady Tablets Offer A Fresh Insight Into Ancient Canaanite Goddess Worship

Five clay tablets depicting full-breasted naked ancient Egyptian women and a carved scarab have been unearthed by archaeologists digging at Rehob, a 3,500-year-old city in modern-day Israel. Mazar...
Representational image of high priestess and poet Enheduanna.

Enheduanna: High Priestess of the Moon and the First Known Author

The ancient Sumerian poet Enheduanna has a unique claim to fame: she was the first author in the world known by name. While there were previous instances of poems and stories written down, Enheduanna...
Maat, goddess of truth and justice

Maat: Ancient Egyptian Goddess of Truth, Justice and Morality

Maat, also known as Ma’at or Mayet, was a female goddess in the ancient Egyptian religion who represented truth, justice, balance and morality. The daughter of the Egyptian sun deity Ra and wife of...
Detail of Tiamat.

Tiamat, Mesopotamian Mother Goddess: From Chaos to Creation

Tiamat is an ambiguous deity who played an important role in the creation myth of ancient Mesopotamia . She was their personification of the primordial sea, from which the first generation of gods...
The Burney Relief

The Famous Burney Relief: Who Was the Mysterious Mesopotamian Goddess?

The Burney Relief (known also as the Queen of the Night) is a terracotta plaque from ancient Mesopotamia . The relief is dominated by a nude female figure with wings and talons . She is usually...
Sumerian warriors

The Sumerian Seven: The Top-Ranking Gods in the Sumerian Pantheon

The Sumerian religion was polytheistic in nature, and the Sumerians worshipped a great number of deities. These deities were anthropomorphic beings, and were meant to represent the natural forces of...
Origins of Aphrodite

Aphrodite: The True Origins of the Greek Goddess of Love, Sex, and Beauty

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, sex, and beauty and there are many tales of how she could entice both gods and mortals to lust after her. In one of the most famous images of the goddess, we...
A Tale of Two Brigids: a Celtic Goddess and a Christian Saint

A Tale of Two Brigids: A Celtic Goddess and a Christian Saint

St Brigid is one of the patron saints of Ireland. But the virgin nun has roots that go back to the days when the land’s pagan deities received prayers instead. It seems the Celtic goddess Brigid...
Gothic queen in red dress doing magic

Ancient Women Shamans of Ireland: Healers, Priestesses and Diviners

All around the world many of the oldest ceremonial megalithic sites are associated with women shamans and oracular tradition and prophecy. A good example of this is Napta Playa which was linked to...
 Woman at Petra.

Were the Women of Petra More Important Than the Men?

The Nabataeans were a society who inhabited Arabia and the Southern Levant from the 3rd century BC to approximately 106 AD when the Nabataean kingdom was annexed by the Roman Empire. Known for their...
‘Diana and Actaeon’ (1602-1603) by Giuseppe Cesari.

Diana and Actaeon: When an Innocent Encounter Turned Deadly

Diana and Actaeon is a story found in Classical mythology. The myth centers on the hero and hunter Actaeon, who is transformed by the goddess Diana (Artemis to the Greeks) into a stag, after which he...
Minerva as Patroness of Learning and of the Arts.

Minerva Is Often Identified With The Greek Athena, But Her Origins Ran Deeper

Minerva was an important goddess in the pantheon of the ancient Romans. She was worshipped primarily as the goddess of wisdom. Nevertheless, she was also believed to be the goddess of trade, the arts...
Aphrodite Rock.

Aphrodite Rock: The Birthplace of a Goddess

Aphrodite Rock is a landmark located off the shore along the main road from Paphos to Limassol, on the island of Cyprus. As its name suggests, the rock is associated with Aphrodite, the Greek goddess...
‘Semiramis’ – a modern depiction of the Sumerian goddess Inanna. In charge of fertility, sex, and war, Inanna was one of the most violent goddessess of the ancient world.

Girls Gone Wild: World Mythology’s Most Sexualized, Crazed, and Furiously Violent Goddesses

Myths, legends, and religions tell of gods and goddesses exemplifying all that is good and right in the world. And there are just as many who represent our deepest archetypal sexual desires, taboos,...
Mayan Gods

How Many Maya Gods Were Worshipped? Hint: There Were Hundreds!

The Maya were a polytheistic people who believed in a multitude of gods and goddesses. The deities of the Maya pantheon governed every aspect of nature and human life and were quite complex...
 Women shaman of Ireland in trance - magic rotates the leaves.

Ancient Women Shaman of Ireland: Goddesses of Prophecy and Omens

The Celtic scholar Nora Chadwick notes that in Irish mythology the prophetess Fedelm tells Queen Medb that she has been in the land of Alba learning the art of the Filidect. Medb asks if she has...

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