$25.00

KUAN-YIN

Chinese Goddess of Compassion whose name means "she who hears the weeping world". Kuan-Yin was willing to keep her human form even after reaching enlightenment because of her deep concern for human life. She never turned away from anyone's cries, no matter how often she was asked for mercy and wisdom. The lotus sceptre in her right hand contains the nectar of wisdom. The figure behind her is from Asia, 11th - early 12th century CE. Kuan-Yin is shown with the panda, an endangered species close to extinction unless the Goddess of Compassion intervenes.

ISIS

Ancient Egyptian Goddess of healing and magic. She lived with her brother/husband Osiris until he was killed by his brother Set. Isis found his body in Phoenicia in a tamarisk tree and returned it to Egypt for a proper burial. After Set's second attempt to dispose of the body, Isis brought Osiris back to life and later conceived a child with him, Horus. Isis created a snake that bit Ra, highest of the gods. He asked her to heal him but she claimed that she could not until he whispered his secret name to her; he did and, in curing him, she gained eternal power over him. She is holding a naos sistrum which, when rattled, enabled Isis to give out divine blessings, for the Goddess resides in the sound. She is wearing a sun disk between cow horns, which represent the moon and its cycles, thereby uniting the permanent and the transient. Relief from the Temple at Abydos, c. 13th century BCE.

$30.00

$89.00

KUAN-YIN: GODDESS OF COMPASSION

Kuan-Yin was the Chinese Goddess of compassion, also known as "She who hears the weeping world". After attaining enlightenment, she decided to remain in her human form until all earth's inhabitants gained enlightenment as well. Her followers exercised compassion toward all beings, never eating the flesh of any creature, and lived completely non-violent lives. She was often portrayed holding a willow branch accompanied by Lung, the celestial dragon. Lung is a beneficent creature, bringing rain for the crops in the spring. Some say that the reason the moon changes phases is because Lung slowly swallows the moon and then slowly releases it. It is a Buddhist belief that water sprinkled with a willow branch can bring purifying energy. Kuan-Yin is holding a Kuang, which is a ritual wine vessel, from China, Shang Dynasty (Anyang Period), c. 13th-11th century BCE. The statue of Kuan-Yin on the branch is from early 8th century China, T'ang Dynasty. The dragon design on her necklace is from a Chinese disk, E. Zhou Dynasty, 4th-3rd century BCE.

 LAKSHMI

Hindu Goddess from India who brings fame, prosperity, abundance and good fortune to her worshipers. She is associated with the lotus, which symbolizes fruitfulness, purity and attainment of higher spiritual levels (Padma-Lakshmi). She is often portrayed accompanied by elephants showering her with water (Gaja Lakshmi), referring to the belief that elephants are related to the clouds who are their cousins. It was said that the first elephants had wings and could fly among the clouds. When referred to as Sri-Lakshmi, her numerous capabilities, power, beauty, and glory are emphasized. The image of Padma-Lakshmi carved in the stone tablet is from the north gate of the Great Stupa at Sanchi, India, c. 100 CE. She wears 3 necklaces from Mohenjo-daro, c. 2600-1900 BCE; her earring is from Harappa, c. 2600-1900 BCE; she holds a terracotta stone jar from Chanhudaro, c. 2600-2000 BCE, Pakistan.

$67.00

$400.00

LILIT H

Originally the Sumero-Babylonian Goddess Belit-Ili, Lilith was Adam's first wife who refused to be submissive to him, according to ancient Hebrew myth. She stole power from Yahweh, grew wings and flew to the Red Sea where she remained. This myth reflects the attempts of the patriarchal nomadic invaders to subjugate the agricultural people of the Great Goddess religions. She sits in front of the Burney Plaque, an ancient representation of herself from Sumer, 2000 BCE.

IXCHEL

Mayan Goddess of the moon, healing , childbirth and weaving. The sun was her lover but became jealous of the morning star, who was his brother, accusing them of being lovers. He threw Ixchel out of the heavens and she took refuge with the vulture divinity. The sun followed her and lured her back home once more, only to become jealous again. Ixchel, tired of the sun's actions, left him and wandered through the heavens as she wished, becoming invisible if the sun came near her. The rabbit, according to Mayan legend, is a scribe who keeps the lunar calendar. The image in the moon is from a figurine from Jaina Island off the Yucatan, 800 CE.

$350.00

$75.00

HERA

Originally the chief divinity in pre-patriarchal Greece, she ruled the earth and all beings, was worshipped as a triple Goddess (youth, mother, crone), and was highly celebrated in the Heraea, which were games that pre-dated the Olympics. Since Hera's worship was so well established that she could not be overthrown, when the patriarchal tribes invaded Greece, their sky god Zeus became her philandering husband. The legendary rapes Zeus committed against many Goddesses are a reflection of the acts of the invading tribes against the Goddess worshipping women of Greece. It was believed that Hera scattered the "eyes" on the tail of the peacock, symbolizing the starry firmament. The image on top of the staff is from a Syrian relief found at the Sanctuary of Hera at Samos, pre-5th century BCE; relief on the throne from a Cycladic relief of Hera as the Great Goddess, 680-70 BCE, Thebes; statue of Hera from Tarentum, Italy, 460 BCE.