This month's full moon altar honours one of the oldest representations of the Divine Feminine -- the Great Goddess of Willendorf. Estimated to be between 25,000 to 30,000 years old, she was unearthed by archeologists near Willendorf, Austria in the early 20th century. Similar goddess statues from that era have been found elsewhere all over Europe and Russia. My own reproduction was found in a Toronto spirituality store in the late 20th century, LOL.
To ancient peoples, the fertility of both Nature and women constituted inexplicable magic. It was a small step from there to view the Divine as the Mother of All. As such, the hugely pregnant Goddess has life-sustaining breasts, a prominent vulva for giving birth, and no recognizably human facial features. It is thought that her sacred headdress/mask represents the waves of the primordial waters as the origin of life.
Because this Goddess comes from the Stone Age, I surrounded her on the altar with even more ancient gemstone crystals. I'm not a big collector of crystals and rocks, but these three are special to me. I bought the chunk of amethyst in Ottawa about 35 years ago, the agate/crystal geode in Winnipeg about 30 years ago, and the black obsidian pillar from blogging buddy Lynn's gothic curio shop about 6 years ago.
I must also make special mention of the altar cloth, which I purchased at the Goddess Temple in Glastonbury, England when we were there 14 years ago. The colourful cloth inserts represent (my best guess) the 4 seasons, the 4 elements, the 4 directions. Or perhaps they are just nice pieces of cloth the makers had lying about on hand! There is a small mirror at the centre.
The back of the reversible altar cloth depicts bees in a summer sky with fluffy clouds, so that also appeals to me because bees are symbols of both the Divine Feminine and her priestesses. The little tag states the company name of the makers: Wyrd & Wonderful.
[Photos © Debra She Who Seeks, 2023]
31 comments:
Lovely altar this month. I think a lot of women identify with that particular goddess!
In 2015 I did a bike tour along the Danube - we drove to Vienna - and we passed the Wachau (wine region) in Willendorf... there I saw the site of the fertility goddess of Willendorf.
The original is shown in the Natural History Museum in Vienna.
Your altar cloth is beautiful... I am convinced that your interpretation is absolutely correct.
Many greetings to you. And thank you for a wonderful memory for me. Viola
Was your Great Goddess of Willendorf found during excavations as well? She's a beauty. I also love the gemstone crystals. There's a shop nearby that has some that are a few feet tall. I would so love to have one.
I love those round female carvings and you see them in lots of ancient civilizations. This goes to show we did think alike as a species on some things. I only just got my affirmations done this morning when they really should be done in the few days preceding the Full Moon.
Interesting deity with the full bodied figure.
I love the Devine Feminine and the altar, Debra. Thank you for sharing.
As I looked at the full moon 🌕 rising last night, I wondered what your altar would look like! I swear I could have posed for that sculpture just last week! 😳 However, the hair is all wrong! LOL
Thanks again for teaching us about these goddesses and altars!
Wonderful alter!!
bobbie
That's a great altar and a nice piece of amethyst.
Love,
Janie
This is a beautiful post. I love the information you shared and the cloths are magnificent. In my area there are NO shops what-so-ever to purchase metaphysical items. I miss that very much. PS yes too much vit B can give the opposite result, no energy. Have a great day today.
"My own reproduction..." The first thing that popped into my head was you were saying it was a reproduction of you! 😄
Seeing the seasons etc in that cloth is very imaginative! But very pretty anyway. Fertility is definitely magic but very mucky magic, and her boobs are how mine will look when I release them from their captivity later on.
A profound and beautiful altar, Debra. I love and respect the Great Goddess of Willendorf - she is an avatar of life and the great circle of being. The Divine Feminine indeed. The stones are beautiful. That amethyst is swoony! The altar cloth is lovely, both sides. How amazing that the back is covered with bees! This particular cloth was made for you.
Thank you for sharing this altar!
I've seen many altars of yours posted here. Is it a monthly refresh of the altars? It's an interesting hobby.
I was watching a documentary in the "Secrets of the Dead" programs about prehistoric women. It certainly points out the basis that the almost all male archaeology community has about women and their "place" in past culture.
The documentary discusses the many Venus figurines.
Oh wow.. so fascinating. I had never heard of her before.
Was she a goddess, or was she an early pornographic artwork?
"Wyrd & Wonderful" Love it!
Thanks for this interesting and fascinating post.
I like your altar and the cloth is beautiful. When you saw the back of it you probably thought it was made just for you :-)
what a magnificent piece of amethyst. and the alter cloth is beautiful. I love the idea of monthly alters. What a full moon that was!
This is amazing looking. :)
-Quinley
Awesome later dear Debra and amazing is your description wow
Loved absolutely learning how old and precious she is 🤗
Hello Debra, You have the knack of putting items together to create these altars, fitting together both appearance and meaning. In fact, the same skills that you use in your artwork. I admire all of your creativity.
--Jim
Hey I have a block of amethyst on my desk too !
I wonder what we did in the Mysteries. It is a secret. You could die if you told. I am proud of this goddess, and if they tortured me on a rack, I would say this is Demeter. I will never forget.
Anyway, I have an opinion about the gods, and they have an opinion about me. We may not like each other, but we go along.
I love the altar cloth.
Gorgeous altar for the month! I love your crystals, especially the amethyst. It's one of my favourites and also my birth stone.
You create the most wonderful altars, Debra! How did our world end up with the patriarchal, misogynistic power structure we have today around the world? I often wonder about this.
I like that the Ancient Goddess is represented as she is... and is not a Size 6.
She is an amazing Goddess, worthy of your Altar.
I love the cloth...the top side AND the bottom portion.
this is the goddess that I give something shiny to ..She's always been my goddess..Dexter always tried to kill her and drag he off ..
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