ANCIENT IMAGES/MODERN ICONS

The Divine Feminine & The Black Madonna

AUTHOR & INDEPENDENT SCHOLAR MARY SARACINO

presents an interactive, pictorial overview of the history of the Divine Feminine from cave art to Paleolithic and Neolithic goddesses to contemporary icons like the Black Madonna. Oct. 28, 2006 Nashville, TN

Uncover the myster y of the feminine face of God.

2006 Mary Saracino www.marysaracino.com Copying/distribution of this handout PDF is permitted if the document is duplicated in its entirety PEARLSONG PRESS P.O. Box 58065 Nashville, TN 37205 www.pearlsong.com 615-356-5188 info@pearlsong.com

OUTLINE & NOTES

Ancient Images/ Modern Icons The Divine Feminine & The Black Madonna
2006, Mary Saracino

THE DARK MOTHER OF AFRICA

She is the original divinity known to humankind She is African, dark, and female The Mother of us ALL She Who Generates ALL Life The Ultimate Creator/Destroyer of all Life She who loves ALL Her children equally Mother-centered; Earth-based Spiritual World-view Embraces the paradox of life/death; light/dark Womb seen as cradle of life and cradle of death (caves as early houses & burial sites). Values: justice with compassion, equality between the sexes (& between all peoples, a class-less social order); transformation

HUMAN EVOLUTION: GENETIC & ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE

The origins of humankind are rooted in East Africa (Ethiopia) Millennium Man 6 million years ago, possible human ancestor Homo Habilis (Handy Man) 2.5 to 1.8 million years ago First species scientists link to Modern Humans Homo Erectus (Erect Man) 1.8 million to 500,000 years ago Precursor to Modern Man (Homo sapiens sapiens) Used tools, controlled fire Evolved in East Africa First hominids to migrate beyond Africa, as early as a million years ago Homo Sapiens Neandertalesis (Neanderthal Man) 250,00030,000 BCE. A mystery in the story of human development Scientists debate whether they are a closely related sub-species of modern humans or represent a collateral line of late Homo erectus (i.e. related but not ancestral to modern humans) Geographically restricted to Eurasia: western Europe & Near East Neanderthals buried their dead curled in fetal position, painted red Homo sapiens sapiens (Modern Man) 150,000 BCEpresent The Symbol User; Lived in east and south Africa, in the Valley of the Rift Migrated to Middle East (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, etc.) c. 100,000 BCE Eventually migrated to all parts of the globe after 50,000 BCE
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DNA EVIDENCE OF AFRICAN MIGRATION

In the 1980s & 90s, L. Luca Cavilli-Sforza, along with international colleagues, tracked the DNA of select populations of the world DNA research confirmed: Homo sapiens sapiens emerged in sub-Saharan Africa around 100,000 years ago (overlapping and replacing Neanderthals) There were several Eves of Africa African migrations of Homo sapiens sapiens to all continents after 50,000 BCE. European genetic inheritance is 35% African, 65% Asian

AFRICAN MIGRATORY PATHWAYS

Homo sapiens sapiens migrated to other parts of Africa, then to the Middle East (c. 100,000 BCE) Migrated to all continents after 50,000 BCE. After 50,000 BCE migration expanded across the globe, into W. Asia (50,00040,000 BCE), Western and eastern Europe (35,000 BCE) East Asia & Siberia, eventually crossing the ice over the Bering Strait, reaching North &South America between 30,00015,000 years ago. From Asia humans migrated to Australia. From cave art, rock art, artifacts and megaliths archeologists can tell that these early humans venerated a female Divinity

PALEOLITHIC ERA: 40,00010,000 BCE

LOWER PALEOLITHIC ERA: 450,000100,000 BCE MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC ERA: 100,00040,000 BCE UPPER PALEOLITHIC ERA: 40,00010,000 BCE

THE WORLD DURING THE UPPER PALEOLITHIC ERA: 50,00010,000 BCE

Before 50,000 BCE glaciers covered much of Europe & Asia. Woolly mammoth, woolly rhinoceros & reindeer were the few animals that could survive in that climate. Glaciers melted between 50,000 & 30,000 BCE; didnt completely disappear until c. 10,000 BCE. 50,00030,000 BCE: grassy steppe; supported great herds of bison, horse & cattle. Some form of cave/cliff art began at least 50,000 years ago in central & southern Africa; spread to rest of Africa then to the near East Incised ochre rock dating back to 100,000 BCE (Middle Paleolithic Era) has been found in Africa Ubirr Cave, Australia c. 40,000 BCE 30,000 BCE evidence of human habitation in southern France (Chauvet cave art) 30,00015,000 BCE cave paintings created & Goddess statues sculpted 20,00015,000 BCE Grasslands yield to thick forests; herds move eastwards, hunters follow Some tribes remained, such as those in SW France, living in the caves of the fertile river valleys of the Dordogne, the Vzre and the Arige in France & other places in the Mediterranean. Many of the cave paintings/etchings & statues of the Goddesses date to this time period 18,50011,,000 BCE cave paintings of Alta Mira, N. Spain. 10,000 BCE humans began to settle in villages; beginning of Neolithic Era.
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NEOLITHIC ERA: 10,0002000 BCE BRONZE AGE: 2000500 BCE IRON AGE: 500 BCE1 BCE

Woman Giving Birth/The Old Woman, Arnhem Land, N. Central Australia, 40,000-20,000 BCE
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EARLY SIGNS & SYMBOLS OF AFRICAN MIGRATIONS

HAR KARKOM: ancient megaliths at modern-day Mt. Sinai Site excavated by archeologist Emmanuel Anati. Ruins date to 40,000 BCE. Considered the oldest known human sanctuary in the world. Created by Africans migrating into the Sinai c. 40,000 BCE. Har Karkom later named Mt. Sinai (the foundation place of Judaism, Christianity & Islam). Mt. Sinai means Mountain of the Moon Great Semitic Goddess Astarte worshipped in the form of a stone pillar at Mt. Sinai long before Moses given the stone tablets of the Hebrew Law Cliff Art at Har Karkom shows bonds with Africa (particularly between 50,00038,000 BCE) About 1,000 engraved rocks displaying over 40,000 rock engravings Some rock art sites include stone alignments/menhirs (standing stones) Har Karkom megaliths considered the first megalith grouping in the world Overturns the theory that megaliths were attributed to the Celts who settled in Portugal, Brittany, France & Great Britain c.10,000 BCE Megaliths at Malta date to after 3,800 BCE Stonehenge dates to 2,300 BCE Temples of Crete date to 2,000 BCE IMAGES: HAR KARKOM CLIFF ART & STANDING STONES Rock engraving; Ochre red, two worshipping figures Rock image. Mother & Child in ochre red Rock engraving. Called The Eye That Watches from the Rock; Seven lines arrayed from bottom of the eye & seven lines arrayed from top of the eye (radiant sun); eye of God/Goddess Small, private sanctuary with rounded stone The Thinker. Rock engraving

CAVE ART & ROCK ART SYMBOLS

Cave art found in more than 1 million sites across Africa Single sites may have as many as 1,000 images Significant cave art exists in at least 30 countries in Africa Emmanuel Anati calls rock & cave art the most ancient evidence of artistic creation in the world Evidence in rock art throughout the world affirms that African migrants took with them the color ochre red & the pubic V Use of the color red ochre in cave art is believed to be a sign of a venerated woman These signs (among others) attributed by historians and archeologists, notably Marija Gimbutas, to veneration of a Pre-Judeo/Christian goddess Other Feminine Divine symbol/signs: pubic V or triangle, double triangle (yoni); straight or wavy lines, petals & concentric circles in series More than 100 decorated Paleolithic caves have been discovered in N. Spain, SW France & elsewhere Ubirr Cave, Australia around 40,000 BCE Arnhem Land, N. Central Australia, 40,00020,000 BCE Chauvet Cave, southern France, 30,000 BCE Grotte Cosquer, France 27,00019,000 BCE Apollo 11, Southern Africa 25,50023,500 BCE (although incised ochre rock dating back to 100,000 BCE has also been found in Africa); among the earliest evidence of human art in the world Malta, Siberia (central & north Asia) 20,000 BCE Altamira, Spain 18,500 BCE
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Wadi Kubbaniya, Egypt 17,00015,000 BCE Lascaux, France 15,00010,000 BCE Sao Raimundo Nonatu, SE Brazil 15,000 BCE; & 8,0007,000 BCE Caves in Derbyshire county in central England, 13,000 BCE Eynan Ain Mallaha, west Asia 10,0008200 BCE Fells Cave (southern South America) 90008000 BCE

IMAGES: CAVE ART Ubirr Cave, Australia, 40,000 BCE Woman Giving Birth/The Old Woman, Arnhem Land, N. Central Australia, 40,00020,000 BCE Woman Giving Birth, 35,00010,000 BCE, Shaib Samma,Yemen Pubic Figures, 10,000 BCE, Cava del Genovese, Egadi Islands, Sicily Animal-shaman dancing, 25,00012,000 BCE, Les Trois Freres, France Horse, 15,00012,000 BCE, Lascaux Cave, Dordogne, France Ceiling art 13,50011,000 BCE, Alta Mira, Spain Spirals, Public V, Circles, Red Ochre, Worshipping Figures Tassili cave art images, SE Algeria, c. 50004500 BCE (or older) Double Spirals, Corongiu Petrogylphs, Sardegna, 30002600 BCE Tomba delle Spirali, Montessu Sardegna, 30002600 BCE Pubic Vs & Spirals; ochre red, Pranu Muteddu, Sardegna 30002600 BCE OTHER KEY CAVE ART SITIES AROUND THE WORLD Malta, Siberia (C. & N. Asia), c. 20,000 BCE Altamira, Spain, c. 18,50011,000 BCE Wadi Kubbaniya, Egypt, c. 17,00015,000 BCE Boqueiro da Pedra Furada , NE Brazil, c. 17,000 BCE Derbyshire County, C. England, c. 13,000 BCE Eynan Ain Mallaha, W. Asia, 10,0008200 BCE Fells Cave (southern S. America); 90008000 BCE MENHIRS Sacred stones guarding springs, caves, burial sites Menhir derived from the Hebrew, Beth-el meaning Home of the Deity IMAGES: Menhirs 40003000 BCE, France & Spain, incised Goddess figures 3000 BCE Owl Goddess Grave Stele, Aveyron, France Pranu Mattedu, Sardegna 32002800 BCE; 18 menhirs aligned east to west along magnetic field Pranu Mattedu Tombs, 30002600 BCE; Two great stone slabs, like rock-cut tomb; vaginal-like pavilion entry chiseled of sandstone; esedra (forecourt) faade, three internal tombs Coddu Vecchiu, Tombe di Giganti, 2,300 BCE, Sardegna. Originally covered earth mound; collective tomb; used for 400 years; 200 men, women & children buried here; stone slab entrance, horizontal lintel, overhead arch; 13 central stele subdivided into two sections; 1650 ft long, 36 ft. high; a menhir guards the entrance; 150 tombs excavated in Sardegna DOLMENS Double menhirs with capstone Found along African Migration Pathways Served as a primitive tomb; evokes a portal/yonic gate; life/death, womb/tomb Tombs often aligned to astronomical points; sunset at summer Solstice, moonset when moon reaches northernmost position
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IMAGES: Dolmens Lardas, Luras, Sardegna, 6000 BCE Pentre Ifan, Dyfed Wales; aligned north/south, 3500 BCE St. Lythans, Mid Glamorgan, Wales; Neolithic burial chamber LOCAL LORE: field in which the St. Lythans stones stand is cursed and nothing will grow there; stones believed to grant any wish whispered to them on Halloween. Another legend says: The wedge-shaped capstone spins three times each Midsummers eve.

THE DARK MOTHER & AFRICAN MIGRATION

Veneration of Dark Mother (in her many guises) found across the globe. Female Deity statues traced back to Upper Paleolithic c. 30,000 BCE Oldest cave/cliff drawing in Brazil dates to 22,000 15,000 BCE Icons of the Dark Mother found along African migration routes Veneration of the Divine Female continued into Neolithic, Bronze & Iron Rock art/cave art Har Karkom Ages and into early centuries of the Christian Era (Common Epoch) Many Christian churches devoted to the Black Madonna built on or near ruins of Temples to Goddesses and/or sacred springs, wells, dolmens, menhirs, etc. Figurines of large women with ample breasts found in: Italy, Sicily & Sardegna Spanish & French Pyrenees Dordogne region, France Central & Eastern Europe (Austria, Germany, Czech & Slovak Republics, Bulgaria, Romania)
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Russia Japan Similarity of body type of prehistoric figurines re-affirms theory of African Migration Ancient skeletons of an old woman and a young man (Liguria, N. Italy) described by anthropologists as having Negroid features Prehistoric African skeletons in the Bardo museum in Africa similar to Sicilian skeletons in the Museo Paolo Orsi, Siracusa The only God-Image ever painted on rock, carved in stone, sculpted in clay from the Upper Paleolithic to the Middle Neolithic (a time span of 30,000 years) was the image of a female

MARIJA GIMBUTAS: Lithuanian American archeologist

Studied the Folklore & Archeology of Old Europe The Goddess as the symbol of Birth, Growth, Death, Regeneration Creatrix forming Herself & the World out of the Primordial Fluid Linked archeology & mythology in the 1970s & 1980s, creating the field of Archeo-mythology Documented that veneration of a woman divinity in Old Europe preceded, by eons, the worship of the male god of Judaism, Christianity & Islam Work confirms the centrality of a sacred woman in the folklore of the world. Prehistory of Old Europe was harmonious until Kurgan invasions c. 44004300 BCE (from Asian steppes) Kurgans subjugated peaceful Neolithic Goddess-Centered Cultures of Old Europe & the Mediterranean Identified & compared symbols found on artifacts Pendulant Breasts, Round Bellies, Wide Thighs & Buttocks, emphasis on the Pubic V Meanders (Water); Pubic V (Vulva/Vagina); Circles (Breasts); Spirals/Serpents (Regeneration)

THE GREAT MOTHER GODDESS ARCHETYPE

Erich Neumann: All the earliest religious works of art were figures of the solitary Great Goddessthe Paleolithic image of Mother, before there was any Father either on earth or in heaven. Carl Jung: The Mother Goddess as the supernatural source of the World is a concept innate in the human mind, prior to birthpartly because the primary, universal human experience of men & women is of gestation in a womans womb. Women & men, all of Nature imbued with Spirit No separation between humans & the Divine Cave as the female womb Mother as pregnant Earth Magical fertile female as the Mother of ALL Cave as the womb/tomb where life is birthed, then buried, then regenerated (dead painted ochre red to await rebirth) In the ancient caverns of the Paleolithic era thirty thousand years ago, the vulva was the first religious symbol, representing the doorway, our entry into life, our leave-taking at death. Our ancestors carved vulvas on cave walls, on rock, over doorways, and finally in temples. Vicki Noble, Shakti Woman: Feeling Our Fire, Healing Our World; The New Female Shamanism

PALEOLITHIC WORLDVIEW

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PALEOLITHIC MATRIARCHAL CULTURES

Matri (mother) Arche (beginning) Society formed around the mother-child bond & rippled out from there The mothers brother acted as male role model 30,00010,000 BCE Paleolithic cave is sacred sanctuary of the Goddess & the source of Her regenerative power Shelter, sanctuaries, burial sites Insides of caves painted vibrant reds, ochres & brown Goddess statues placed outside the cave, at entry to homes/sanctuaries (guardian spirits)

PALEOLITHIC GODDESSES

130+ Paleolithic statues discovered resting in rock & soil among the bones & tools of Paleolithic peoples or on ledges & rock terraces above caves Earliest of these images created c. 30,00026,000 BCE Paleolithic excavations have yielded approx. 1000 complete or partial images of the female form as sculptures, reliefs & engravings Many artifacts found in Old Europe: Aegean Sea, the Balkans & east central Europe, central Mediterranean Goddess as creative source of life Rendered abstractly in the shape of a triangle 100+ images of the vulva in Paleolithic France alone Other Common Paleolithic Images: giving birth offering nourishment from the breast receiving the dead back into the womb for rebirth Gimbutas noted the shape of the bulls head is anatomically the same as a womans uterus & fallopian tubes

COMMON PALEOLITHIC ABSTRACT GODDESS-RELATED IMAGES

Meanders Spirals & Serpents Concentric Circles, Flowers, Birds Moon with vulva; Brno, Moravia, c. 25,000 BCE; Found at male burial site; Painted red ochre

CHARACTERISTICS OF PALEOLITHIC STATUES

Always naked Usually small Large breasts & buttocks Taper to a point Non-descript faces No similar male figures found at any of these sites Visual links between Paleolithic & Neolithic figures suggests possibility of continuous, coherent spiritual concept

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IMAGES: Paleolithic Goddesses

Goddess of Wilendorff, Austria, c. 30,000 BCE Carved limestone; 4 1/3 inches tall Top of head: seven strata of notched circles, reminiscent of African cornrows Links to theory of African Migration Goddess of Savignano, Modena, Italy, 26,000 18,000 BCE Northern Italy; 22 cm high; serpentine stone Dolni Vestonice, Czechoslovakia, 25,000 20,000 BCE 4 inches tall; pendulous breasts, wide hips, pregnant belly; fired clay Goddess of Lespugue, Haute-Garonne, France; c, 25,000 BCE Carved of mammoth ivory; 5 inches high Large, pendulous breasts, with arms resting on them, merge into full and rounded womb Buttocks & thighs are disproportionately swollen, as though contributing to the act of birth Ten vertical lines etched from beneath buttocks to the back of knees Goddess of Wilendorff, Austria, c. 30,000 BCE
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give the impression of the waters of birth falling profusely from the womb Ten lines are suggestive of the ten lunar months of gestation in the womb Head of Goddess; Brassempouy, Landes, France, c. 22,000 BCE Carved from mammoth ivory 1 3/8 inches tall Fine, delicate features, a long neck framed by straight hair and a distinctive nose and eyebrows Design of a net precisely chiseled over the full length of her hair. (Suggestive of corn-rows or dreadlocks) Kostenky Settlement, Russia, 23,00021,000 BCE Limestone, 10.2 cm; incised head markings Goddess of Laussell; Dordogne, France, 22,00018,000 BCE Right hand holds bisons horn, crescent shaped, notched with 13 lines (waxing & waning of moon) Left hand points to swelling womb Head tilts towards crescent moon The figure (Laussel) must have represented some mythic personage so well known to the period that the reference of the elevated horn would have been as readily understood as, say, in India, a lotus in the hand of the goddess Shri Lakshmir, or in the West, a child at the breast of the Virgin. Joseph Campbell, The Way of the Animal Powers Malta Siberia, Lake Baikal, c. 16,00013,000 BCE Carved from mammoth-tusk ivory; 3 inches tall Naked woman, head covered with winding cuts and notches, depicting head-dress or hair-style At least 20 mammoth-ivory figures of goddesses dating 16,00013,000 BCE found at this site

NEOLITHIC ERA: 10,000-2,000 BCE

The period 60004000 BCE is the Magnus Annus of the Neolithic Great Goddesswomen had been at the top of traditional Neolithic society but with the shift from religious, magical authority to masculine military power, their influence collapsed William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light

A TIME OF TRANSITION: NEOLITHIC TO BRONZE AGE

Groups of people begin to settle in communities, villages & cities Growth of city-state cultures with complex social organization Religious functions removed from everyday life; creating specialized labor & hierarchical structures Surplus wealth gives rise to marauders, armies, warfare from about 4000 BCE to about the beginning of Christianity, the sacred women found themselves in the position of being harnessed into service by the new governmental hierarchies In many cases and for many centuries, they still practiced their rites in the name of the Goddess, but now male priests officiated and ruled over them. Vicki Noble, Shakti Woman: Feeling Our Fire, Healing Our World

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atal Hyk: Ancient Neolithic City 7,000-3500 BCE

Up to 15,000 inhabitants; Residents co-existed peacefully Matrilineal Culture; Goddess centered spirituality Egalitarian society Existed in essentially the same form until the sixth millennium BCE, when the Kurgans began to invade the city Priestesses facilitated rituals of initiation Music, dance & meditation in rooms adorned with breasts, bulls heads & bulls horns Goddess Shrine on wall c. 6000 BCE

IMAGES: Neolithic Goddess

Mother Goddess of atal Hyk, c. 6000 BCE; Enthroned Mother Goddess; giving birth flanked by lions Pot with meanders & breasts, 6000 BCE, Northeastern Hungary Bird Goddess, Sesklo, Thessaly, Greece, 6000 BCE Fish Goddesses; Yugoslavia, 5800 BCE Cernavoda Goddess, eastern Romania, 5000 BCE Enthroned Goddess with child & spiraling snakes; Sesklo, Thessaly, Greece, 5000 BCE Owl Mask Goddess & Wings with Labyrinth design; Vinca Culture, NW Bulgaria, 5000 4500 BCE Dea Madre, Sardegna; 46003200 BCE Lady of Pazardzik, Central Bulgaria; 4500 BCE Lady Bird Goddess, Vinca culture, Balkan peninsula; 4000 BCE

The Great Mother Goddess of atal Hyk.

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Lady of Sitagroni, Macedonia, 4500 BC Phallic head with snake on womb, Macedonia, 4500 BCE Clay Goddess with Reptile Head, Ur (Sumer/Iraq); 4000 3500 BCE Mother Goddess of Malta; 3000 BCE Bee Goddess incised on bone with bulls horns; Ukraine c 37003500 BCE Double Goddess, Cypress 23002100 BCE Bird Goddess; Indus Civilization; Ancient India, Harappa Culture; 33001700 BC Goddess and God, Tree of Life with serpent, Sumer (modern-day Iraq); 2500 BCE

BRONZE AGE: 2000-500 BCE

Great Goddess still worshipped Rise of Patriarchal Consciousness Increase in urban male priesthood; urban residents removed from natural world & old Earth-based religions Growing gap between producer/consumer; ruler/ruled; living/dead; sacred life/daily life

IMAGES: Bronze Age Goddesses

Great Goddess of Cyprus offering Her breasts; 6th century BCE Goddess with three breasts; 21001800 BCE, Iraq Female statue, early 2nd millennium BCE; Northern Afghanistan Goddess Sanctuary; Modeled after Catal Huyuk; bulls horns, Cyprus, c. 2000 BCE Syrian Terra Cotta Figurines; Early second millennium BCE Seated Goddess, Ugarit, northern Canaan (Palestine); 18001700 BCE Bird Goddess; Cyprus, c 1000 BCE Jomon figurines; Japan, 1000300 BCE Enthroned Mother Goddess with child; Boeotia, Greece, 700 BCE Hera; 680670 BCE, Thebes; Iron Age Great Goddess of Cyprus; 6th century, BCE Snake Goddess; Terra Cotta; 6th century BCE; Boeotia, Greece Double goddess & child; Mother/Daughter, Sisters, or Lovers; 1300 BCE, Mycenae Bee Goddess Rising; 1500 BCE, Minoan Seal Ring

Common Titles For The Divine She

Queen of Heaven Wise Counselor Law-Giver Orderer of Time Judge of the Dead Eternal Source of Wisdom & Ecstasy

I am she of ten thousand namesI am all that has been and is and shall be, and no mortal has ever revealed my robe. Inscription on the seat of Athena/Isis at Sais part of the initiation ritual of the Eleusinian mysteries (Greece)

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AN ABBREVIATED LISTING OF GLOBAL NAMES ATTRIBUTED TO THE DIVINE FEMININE

AEGEAN-GRECO: Nikti, Gaia, Themis and Dike, Demeter and Kore (Persephone), Hera, Aphrodite, Hestia, Artemis, Athena, The Three Fates, Medusa ANATOLIA (Turkey): Great Grandmother of Anatolia, Sun Goddess of Arinna, Hepat, Hanna, Kybele (Cybele), Lato (Mother of Artemis), Hecate, Anahita ARABIA: Magna Dea, Threefold Goddess of Arabia, enshrined in the sacred Black Stone, the Kaaba at Mecca; imprinted with yoni sign (vulva) AZTEC: Goddess fuses in one image the dual functions of the earth (both creates and destroys). In different manifestations she represents: Coatlicue Lady of the Skirt of Serpents, Goddess of the Serpent Petticoat; Cihuacoatl: The Serpent Woman; Tlazolteotl: Goddess of Filth [and Redemption]; Mexican Moon Goddess; Tonantzin: Our Mother later sanctified as the Virgin of Guadalupe, patron of Indian Mexico BABYLON: Ishtar (Ishara) CANAAN (Modern Palestine): Astarte(worshipped on Mount Sinai) also known as Anat, Asherah, Ashtart, Attoret, Atar SUMER: Inanna, Nammu, Ninhursag, Nidaba (Inventor of Clay Tablets and the Art of Writing); Nina (Nintu, Nanshe, Ninmah, Ninhursag, Ninlil, Ningal) MESOPOTAMIA: Tanit (Tiamat), Mami, Aruru CENTRAL AFRICA: Mawu, Ala, Jezanna, Songi, Mboze and Bunzi, Mbaba Mwana Waresa, Mella CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICA: Coatlicue, Chicomecoatl, Iamanja, Ix Chel, Mayuel, Teteu, CELTIC/IRISH: Cerridwen, Goddess of Intelligence and Knowledge in pre-Christian Ireland; Brigit, Patron Deity of Language, Cailleach (Kali); Cailleach Bheur, Rhiannon CHINA: Kuan Yin Goddess of Loving Kindness/Compassion, Tara (Buddhist Goddess); Nu Kwa, His Ho, Tien Hou, Tao, Gum Lin and Loy Yi Lung EGYPT: Isis, Au Set, Ua Zit, Nut, Hathor, Maat INDIA: Kali, Sarasvati (Inventor of the Original Alphabet); Devi (Durga, Parvati, Laksmi, Tara), Shakti, Anasuya, The Goddesses of Assam, Ranganda, Ushas JAPAN: Fuji, Izanami, Amaterasu Omikami, Ukemochi, Yakami NORDIC/SCANDINAVIAN: Frigga (Great Goddess of the North), Nerthus (Nordic Mother Goddess); Ilmater, Freyja, Nerthus and Urth (The Norns), Iduna, Mielikki, Skadi, Hella NORTH AMERICA: Spider Woman, Huring Wuhti, Changing Woman, White Shell Woman, Asintmah, Awehai, Somagalags, Queskapenek, Spider Grandmother, Sun Sister, Pohaha, Pasowee, the Buffalo Woman, Wild Pony AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, BORNEO, POLYNESIA: Pele, Mahuea and Hina, Kunapipi, Fire Woman, Star Girl, Lia, Arunta Sun Woman

ISIS: The Great Dark Mother of Neolithic North Africa

I am Nature, the universal Mother, mistress of all the elements, primordial child of time, sovereign of all things spiritual, queen of the dead, queen also of the immortals, the single manifestation of all gods and goddesses that are. Lucius Apuleius, The Golden Ass Note: Apulieus was an African poet/philosopher/rhetorician; 123170 BCE Veneration of Isis was most pervasively held belief in Mediterranean world in the millennium before Jesus Continued into the first 500 years of the common epoch, before the Roman Empire established & enforced Christianity Matristic tradition of Africa inherited from pre-patriarchal Egyptian Goddesses: Au Set, Ua Zit, Nekhebt
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 Isis venerated for 3000+ years, from pre-dynastic times until c. 500 CE Originally revered in Nubia (upper Egypt) Isis is black at her Sanctuary at Philae, a place known as the Interior of Heaven & the City of Isis Pilgrimage site for all classes & nationalities Queen of the Sea Queen of Heaven & Earth Veneration spread from Nubia to Afghanistan, the Black Sea, Portugal & Northern England Image of Isis nursing Horus popular during height of Roman Empire Prototype for Christian Madonna & Child Isis, Osiris, Horus African Trinity: Mother, Father, Son By 1st century CE, Rome home to one of largest Isis temples outside of Africa Images of Isis melded with other Dark Mother divinities Tanit (Carthage) Cybele (Anatolia) Inanna (Sumer) Astarte (Canaan)

Isis

Images Of Isis

Queen Nefertari (12921225 BCE) receiving Ankh of Life from Isis Winged Isis Isis with Ankh Isis with Horned Crown Golden Winged Isis Isis, Temple of Seti I Abydos, 1300 BCE Isis Suckling Horus, 380200 BCE Isis, Copper Statue, 20401700 BCE Isis at the Roman Forum Isis nursing Horus; Upper Right: Cybele, Boyuk Kale Bogazkoy, Anatolia; 1050850 BCE

CANAANITE GODDESSES

When the Hebrews took over Canaan (modern-day Palestine) before 1200 BCE they found a thriving culture (Sumerian) of Semitic peoples who venerated Asherah Mother of the Gods, her daughter, Astarte/ Ishtar (Ashtoreth in Hebrew) as well as Asherahs son Baal & her husband, El. The Canaanite father god, El, was assimilated into Hebrew god, Yahweh-Elohim, whose spouse later became Israel. Asherah is the oldest of Canaanite Goddesses. Appears in Sumerian inscriptions as early as 1750 BCE. Typically represented as the Tree of Life (her name meant grove); Other titles: Lady Who Traverses the Sea & the Mother of the Gods. Astarte (whose name means womb) was revered as The Queen of Heaven; Mentioned in the Bible nine times, where she is usually referred to as Astoreth, a title thats a combination of Astarte with boshet, the Hebrew word for shame; the bull & dove were sacred to Astarte.

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Asherah

Most ancient of Canaanite Goddesses Tree of Life Lady Who Traverses the Sea Mother of the Gods Called Ashtoreth or Ashtaroth in Hebrew Old Testament Mentioned in the Bible 40 times Survived in popular Hebrew belief until at least 621 BCE Song of Songs in Hebrew Bible rooted in lore of the Sacred Marriage: Isis & Osiris; Anath/Asherah & El

IMAGES of Asherah Astarte

Asherah, date unknown Asherah with animals and palm fronds, date unknown

Asherahs Daughter Revered as The Queen of Heaven Mentioned in the Bible nine (9) times; called Astoreth By 5th-6th century BCE, Astarte more widely venerated than Asherah

IMAGES of Astarte

Astarte, 15th Century BCE, Ugarit, N. Canaan Astarte with Crescent Moon, 2nd century BCE, Babylon Astarte 1200 BCE, southern Syria

Asherah/Astarte

GODDESSES OF SUMER

Royal graves at Ur, in ancient Sumer (5,0002,500 BCE) contain relics that indicate the worship of a supreme fertility goddess. Ancient Sumer was South of Iraq, west of the Euphrates River. Festival celebrating marriage of the Sumerian king to a priestess who embodied the Goddess dates back to 2nd millennium BCE. Dumuzi, the Son/lover of Inanna, is sacrificed each winter by the goddess & resurrected each spring. Some form of springtime celebration of the dying and resurrected son (Cybele & Attis, Jesus & Mary), presided over by his mother, is one of the most persistent traditions in Goddess-worshipping cultures in Europe & the Near East. Survives in the modern Western world as Easter).

MESOPOTAMIAN CREATION STORY (C. 6,000 BCE)

The Hebrew biblical story of Eve being created out of Adams rib has its roots in an earlier Mesopotamian story. In the Mesopotamian version, the Mother Goddess, Ninhursag, healed the rib of the water god, Enki. In the process She created the Goddess Nin-Ti (Lady of the Rib; Lady Who Gives Life). Nin-Ti became the patron of childbirth, creating infants, in-utero, from the ribs of their mothers.

Inanna & Ishtar

Royal graves at Ur, Sumer, 5,0002,500 BCE Relics indicate worship of a Supreme Fertility Goddess
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Inanna revered as early as 3500 BCE Virgin Queen of Heaven & Earth Righteous Judge Forgiver of Sins Holy Shepherdess Opener of the Womb The Amazement of the Land

IMAGES of Inanna & Ishtar

Inanna with horses, date unknown Inanna/Ishtar (also associated with Lilith) 23002200 BCE Ishtar 200 BCE Ishtar, enthroned, crowned, Ur (Sumer) 1800 BCE Inanna & Ishtar; Tree of Life 700 BCE

EGYPTIAN GODDESSES

Hathor & Canaanite Astoreth/Astarte; Egypt, 1250 BCE Lion-headed Sekmet, Temple of Mut, Karnak, 930 BCE Nut, as Goddess/Tree of Life, , 633525 BCE Cybele image

CYBELE OF ANATOLIA

It is through her (Cybele) as well as through the Sumerian and Egyptian Goddesses, that the goddess can be traced from the Neolithic Era through the Iron Age and far into the Christian Era. Amazingly the myths/ stories surrounding these goddesses hardly changes throughout this immense time period. Baring & Cashford, The Myth of the Goddess Anatolia means: Land of the Mother atal Hyk, Neolithic city, c. 70003500 BCE atal Hyk, first explored in the mid-1960s Prime example of a Neolithic city where primary veneration of Mother Goddess occurred. Buildings uncovered in the excavation were mostly temples. Residents of atal Hyk possessed formulated religion & cosmology Centered on veneration of Great Goddess Only Goddess images appear on walls & reliefs of excavated buildings This Great Goddess later is known as Cybele Cybele called, The Goddess of the Mountain and the Lady of Ida (a mountain in western Anatolia); the lion is associated with her Seated on a throne, giving birth, flanked by lions Neolithic version of the Great Mother Goddess of atal Hyk

Death & Resurrection Story of Anatolia

Attis (Cybeles son) does something to offend Cybele & cause her suffering; in a fit of anguish, he grabs a knife & emasculates himself (under a pine tree) on Black Friday, calling out, Oh Great Mother, forgive me. Violets spring up from drops of his blood. Cybele carries the pine trees & her sons body to her cave. Attis is dead for THREE days then, on the third day Cybele brings him back to life. The followers of Cybele & Attis often chanted, As our Lord was saved, so are we all saved. Attis was called the Savior of Humanity & the Good Shepherd for at least 6,000 years. (Holy Child sacrificed for the salvation of humanity.)
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IMAGES: Cybele

Great Mother of Anatolia, atal Hyk; c. 5,750 BCE Cybele, 1,050850 BCE Cybele cradling dying son, Attis; 2nd to 1st century BCE; Cybele resurrects Attis after three days; Attis is revered as the Savior of the World; Dies on Black Friday Cybele, 200300 CE

GODDESSES OF GREECE Demeter

Demeter, with many breasts; The Mother of All; Marsala, Sicily Demeter, enthroned; Late 4th century, BCE, Asia Minor Demeter, with wheat; 3rd century BCE, Magna Graecia (southern Italy Demeter & Persephone; Early 5th century, BCE; Eleusis, Greece

Athena Serpent Goddess Artemis Aphrodite

Goddess of the Serpents; 2,0001,800 BCE; Crete

Aphrodite, Cyprus, 700 BCE Aphrodite with ritual cymbal, date unknown Aphrodite; Gela, Sicily, 500 BCE Aphrodite riding a swan, Cyprus, 3rd century BCE

Hecate

Goddess of the Crossroads Part of Triple Goddess: Maiden, Mother, Crone

GODDESSES AROUND THE WORLD Africa

African Goddess with scorpion hair Benin; Dahomey peoples of West Africa Mawu Lisa, self-fertilizing, bisexual serpent; associated with the rainbow Gigantic Minia, from whose body the whole world was made; Southern Algeria Primal Egg; vibrations set the world in motion; Found in variety of African cultures from the Dogon of Mali to the Lungu of Zambia Chinaweji, great Python; Southern Africa Yemaya, Great Goddess, Ocean Mother of west Africa Oya, the Water Goddess, brought to the North American hemisphere by west African slaves Sacred Trees: Trees seen as sacred & female Yoruban Shango culture, Nigeria, West Africa; Woman with double-headed ax Tara: Tibetan Goddess of Compassion Kuan Yin: Chinese Goddess of Compassion Kali, Hindu Goddess
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Far East India

 Durga: Hindu Goddess, Destroyer of Demons Avatar of Warrior Goddess Durga (India);Sacred dance dates to 1st century CE

NORTH AMERICA

Tlazolteotl; Aztec Earth & Moon Goddess; Creator/Destroyer Goddess Mexican Moon Goddess; Tlazolteotl giving birth to herself Mexican Winged Goddess; Pre-Columbian Colima Culture, c. 300 CE Pre-Columbian Goddesses: Costa Rica 500 BCE-500 CE 1541, appeared; asked, in Nahualt, the regions native tongue, for a church to be built Site once sacred to Tonantzin Cathedral of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Considered the Mother of all Mexicans

Virgine De Guadalupe

Atabei

Atabei, Mother Earth Taino culture, West Indies & Puerto Rico First-in-Existence Penebscot, Native Americans Greeted the Great Spirit & First Man, Children, I have come to abide with you and bring you love. Hopi Divine Mother: Ha Hai-I Whuti Storytellers most often men Oral tradition generally male-centered: Coyote, Trickster, Berdache (bisexual shamans), etc. Womens myths often found in handiwork, pottery & weaving Navajo rug recreates cosmology, linking the weaver to the yarn to the sheep, to the sun, to Spider Woman, who wove the web of cosmic order

First Woman

Pueblo Native Americans

SOUTH AMERICA Pachamma/Mamapacha

Most widely revered Goddess in the Andes; predates the Incas In Her most benign aspect, often conflated with the Virgin Mary; frequently referred to as Santa Tierra Her destructive aspect also worshiped as Dragon Goddess, who lived beneath mountains, causing earthquakes

BRITAIN Epona

Horse Goddess Warrior Guardian of the Dead Healer

Brigit

Triple Goddess of the Brigantes Occupied parts of British Isles, France & Spain
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Branwen

One of Three Matriarchs of the Island Branwen owned a cauldron that could revive the dead overnight Female images opening their wombs Found on doors of Christian churches, Castles Oldest date to 1200 CE; most 13th-17th century CE Sacred yoni as portal Entryway of birth & death; life & regeneration Destruction began in 1600 CE Provisional laws ordered parish priests to destroy or hide Sheela Na Gigs

England & Ireland: Sheela-na-gig

THE BLACK MADONNA: TIES TO THE ANCIENT DARK MOTHER

Descendant of pre-Christian female deities Catholic sites of Black Madonna devotion often found near or on former Goddess sites Direct link to Isis, Artemis & Cybele Metaphor for people outside the culture Those considered other People oppressed economically, politically, socially, spiritually Earliest Madonnas of Christianity were dark skinned Black Madonnas lightened as Catholic Church became more aligned with political ruling powers Christianity became the dominant religion of the state after Constantine converted and became the Holy Roman Emperor in 324 CE

Black Madonnas of Europe, and other dark female divinities of the world, may be the most tangible evidence we have of the deep persistent memory of the African Dark Mother. Her continuing legacy is marked by passionate identification with the oppressed and with values of justice with compassion, equality and transformation. Lucia Chiavola Birnbaum, Dark Mother, p. 22

APPROXIMATE DATES OF THE MAJOR PATRIARCHICAL WORLD RELIGIONS

Hinduism (India): 2000 BCE Judaism (Near East): 15001350 BCE Zoroastriamism (Near East): 628527 BC Jainism (India): 599527 BCE Taoism (China): 580500 BCE Buddhism (India): 563483 BCE Confucianism (China): 551479 BCE Christianity (Near East): 133 CE Shintoism (Japan): 100 CE Islam (Near East): 570636 CE Sikhism (India): 14691538 CE Bahai (Near East) 18171892 CE

12

Notre Dame Des Neiges, 17th century CE, France

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THE LINK TO ARTEMIS, ISIS & CYBELE

(NOTE: information derived from The Cult of the Black Virgin, Ean Begg, Chapter 2, pp 4972) In the first three centuries of the Christian era it seemed increasingly probable that a generalized worship of the Great Goddess might establish itself as the dominant religion of the Roman Empire Despite the formalities of emperor-worship & official religion, a wave of popular devotion was sweeping The Great Goddess back into the pre-eminence she had once enjoyed. In Christianity the feminine principle was represented by Black Virgins, White Virgins & array of female saints As Christianity gradually asserted itself the great bronze & marble statues of the pre-Christian deities were destroyed Smaller, household images or votive offerings, hidden in the earth, in cleft rocks or hollow trees survived especially in remote country places At the time of the Crusades (1095 CE -1270 CE), crusaders returning from the east brought original preChristian statues & images based on them back to Europe as Madonnas Striking that the greatest incidences of Black Madonnas occurs in areas where the Phoenicians established trading post and/or settlements (brought with them their devotion to dark skinned Goddesses) Artemis, Isis and Cybele are considered the three primary pre-Christian links to the Christian Black Madonna. Each of the three Goddesses enjoyed popularity in pagan Europe & each has been represented as black

ARTEMIS

In pre-Hellenic Greece, Artemis universally worshiped as Virgin Goddess In patriarchal Greece, Artemis placed in the Olympian scheme & assigned Zeus and Demeter as parents Demeter was the Great Mother goddess of Greece before Zeus appeared on the scene. This links Artemis with Persephone, the Virgin Goddess of the Underworld. Other versions site Persephone as being the mother of Artemis. Artemis also said to be the daughter of Leto, who gave birth to Artemis without pain (which makes Artemis the patron of easy births). Artemis associated with acacia wood (sacred also to Astarte/Ishtar); the Hebrew Ark of the Lord was also made of acacia wood. Artemis & many Black Madonnas tend to make their homes in trees or are later found in trees. Artemis Orthia, like the Black Virgin of Bourg, was found in a hollow willow tree; From Scherpenheuvel in Belgium to Prats in the Pyrenees (via Chartres & Longpont) there are many examples of Black Virgins being linked to earlier tree cults. Artemis of Ephesus. Best known statue is made of alabaster & bronze with black face, hands & feet and multiple breasts. She wears a crown. Images of bulls, goats, deer & a bee appear on her dress. According to legend she started as a black meteoric stone discovered in the swamp by Amazons. (menhirs, betyhls, sacred stonesBethel (The house of God). Ephesus is also where the Virgin Mary is believed to have lived out the remainder of her life (Her house is said to have been transported there). In 431 CE the Catholic Church (Council of Ephesus) proclaimed the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God. The image of Artemis of Ephesus most likely brought by the Phoenicians in 600 BCE to France when they founded the settlement of Massilia (Marseilles), where Artemis was known as Lady of the City. Artemis sometimes linked with Hecate & Underworld ( the Black Madonna at Norte-Dame de Sous-Terre) In Roman times, Artemis linked with Diana & Hecate as the wood-goddess of the golden bough. During Christian times Diana/Artemis denigrated as the Goddess of Witches & Queen of the Night.

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CYBELE

Great Goddess of Anatolia; prototype traced back to the Neolithic matriarchal civilization of atal Hyk Cybele first worshipped as a black stone; Her name is etymologically linked with the words for crypt, cave, head & dome; The word Cybele is also distantly related to Ka-aba, the holy of holies in Mecca that contains the black stone venerated in Islam. Cybele is associated with subterranean oracles (sibyls) Cybele journeyed to Rome as a black stone in 205 BCE, sent there by King Attalus at the request of the Roman Senate. The Sibylline Books had been consulted & indicated that only Cybele could save Rome from Hannibal & his army. When Cybele arrived in Rome, she was carried by matrons to the Palatine site of what was to one day become a church honoring the Virgin of Ara Coeli. Cybele was placed in the Temple of Victory. On March 25th the Christian Lady Day her statue (head consisting of a black stone) was bathed in the River Almo. The Romans called Cybele Magna Mater the Great Mother. By the 3rd century CE, Cybele was the supreme deity of Lyon, France, the capital of the three Gauls, where veneration of the Black Virgin flourishes today. As late as 410 CE, Cybele was publicly honored in Gaul. In Lyon, The temple of Cybele (86 by 53 metres) was supplanted by the great basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere. The Gauls assimilated Cybele into their own divinities of water, fertility & victory. She was worshipped, along with Artemis & Isis, from the 4th century BCE at Ra, which became Les Saintes Maries de la Mer. Black Madonna sites associated with Cybele: Lyon, Aix-en-Provence & Madrid, Spain. A 2nd century BCE Roman relief of Cybele shows her enthroned, stately & matronly, holding a shield, as Our Lady of Perpetual Succor & Good Hope.

ISIS

Isis is considered the True Goddess of France & Our Lady of Light; Isis is the patron of Paris (the City of Light). St. Germain, the Bishop of Paris (494576 CE) was advised to build a church & an Abby to house vases and chalices from the treasures of Solomon. Site chosen was that of the old temple of Isis. A black statue of the goddess was venerated as the Virgin in the Church of St. Germain-des-Pres until 1514, when it was broken upon orders of Abbot Briconnet. The Benedictines of St. Germain are called wearers of the black, like priests of Isis. The seal of Abbot Hugh III (1138 CE) shows Isis holding a lotus (fleur de lys) in her right hand. Isis at Le Puy (Black Madonna at Le Puy). Santa Sabina, the mother house of the Dominican order was built in the 4th century CE over a Temple of Isis. A statue of Isis was also venerated as the Virgin until the 16th century CE in the cathedral of Metz (where ironically, St. Bernard preached in favor of the Crusades). The Black Virgin of Boulogne-sur-Mer suggests a link to Isis. In 633 CE, a ship sailed into the harbor, without oars or sails, containing nothing but a statue, three feet high, of the Black Virgin & a copy of the Gospels in Syriac. (Greek & Aramaic) In another legend (illustrated in a 15th century church window), the boat is drawn by swans. In 1044 CE another Black Virgin began to be venerated at the church of Our Lady of the Holy Blood in Boulogne.

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ANCIENT GODDESS IMAGES & THE BLACK MADONNA

(NOTE: The information in this section is derived from Mary Beth Mosers Masters Thesis: Honoring Darkness: Exploring the Power of Black Madonnas in Italy, 2002/2004) Symbols, medium, pose/stance, color and dress of the Black Madonnas all contribute to their meaning People who viewed/revered Black Madonnas over the centuries would have mostly been illiterate, so nonverbal images tell a story Recurring elements indicate ancient & primordial power: eyes, hands, colors, Goddess symbolism, ties to Africa, links to menstrual blood

Eyes
Often convey emotion: worry, joy, sadness, resignation, pride, wisdom, hope Sometimes stare, as if in a trance, sometimes closed Miracles: movement of the statues eyes or tears falling from eyes Eyes of Isis, Eyes of Saint Lucy (Vision/Insight/Psychic powers), Mal/occhio (Evil Eye) Often large and/or accentuated Hands of deities traditionally bestow blessings/grace; Their touch can heal Iconography of Egyptian deities often show elongated hands Paleolithic/Neolithic Goddess images: Upraised arms/large hands with palms forward, or hands on breasts or womb

Hands

Symbols
Stars: ancient symbol of divinity; Sumerian Goddess Inanna known as the Morning Star and the Evening Star Lilies: carried by some Black Madonnas originally associated with Hera (who had great temples in southern Italy at Capo Colonna & Paestum) Red Roses: symbolic of menstrual power in their blood red color, small shape, number of petals (vulva-like) Trees: Trees seen by ancient peoples as the body of the goddess/Tree of Life; Many earlier Black Madonnas carved from wood Birds: Gimbutas found the bird was a frequent symbol of the Goddess in ancient Europe Crowns: symbol of power, identifies the wearer as a Queen. Gimbutas notes that the title Queen is a remnant of the Goddesses ruling power, used to designate Goddesses who were not married to IndoEuropean deities but continued to have power in their own right Dark Skin: Links to humanitys first Mother: the Dark Mother of Africa. African features at times mark a more direct link. Enthroned Mother: links to iconography of African Isis as well as Cybele Color: dark color of skin and/or veil evokes the night sky/primordial darkness; Red evokes ochre red from Paleolithic cave art; Blue evokes primordial waters of the sea (many Black Madonna said to have arrived by boat); Silver evokes wisdom (Sophia & the Sybil oracles) Medium: Most painted on wood or carved from wood

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BLACK MADONNA

Estimated 450 images in 35 countries are dark or were once dark Darkness ranges from black to various shades of brown; sometimes reflects the ethnicity of location (e.g. Virgin de Guadalupe) Facial features & artistic elements of European Black Madonnas reflect African, Asian or European traits Images portrayed as statues, paintings & occasionally as frescoes Some have been lightened or whitened during restorations or cleanings Places of veneration to the Black Madonna located along paths of primordial African migration

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 A number of paintings & statues attributed to St. Luke, even if the image was created well after Luke the Apostle was no longer alive; St. Luke origin is a significant clue in searching out Black Madonnas or in determining if a whitened image was once dark Power: miracles and legends often attributed to Black Madonnas Saved a town from a plague, or from drought; appeared to a human & asked that a sanctuary to be built Main altars oftentimes dedicated to the Madonna and/or the Black Madonna They often arrive by boat; Jesus is a secondary element Saint Anne, the mother of the Catholic Churchs Virgin Mary, is sometimes portrayed as black (especially in France) In Italy, archeological ruins of many images of our ancient mother are often located underneath or near sanctuaries of Black Madonnas. In the common epoch, these were places of religious heresy, persecution of witches, and sites of popular uprisings of dark others for justice. Lucia Chiavola Birnbaum, Dark Mother, pp. xxxviii-xxxix

BLACK MADONNAS OF ITALY Sicily

(NOTE: Information from the following section derived from Mary Beth Mosers masters thesis: Honoring Darkness: Exploring the Power of Black Madonnas in Italy, 2002/2004, as well as from Mary Saracinos own on-site visits to these sacred places) Maria Santissima Mater Adonai, BRUCOLI, eastern Sicily (Fresco) Brucoli, by the sea outside of Siracusa, Sicily, on an ancient African migration path Became a Canaanite settlement in the millennium before the Common Epoch Madonna dellAdonai (Adonai is a Hebrew name for Lord/God) is black-skinned She is considered one of the first Madonnas in Christendom (originally not depicted with a child) Painted on the grotto wall, date unknown; enfolded in deep marine blue veil; wears a crown; Dark-skinned In 253 CE, a Christian church erected over the grotto; Church later abandoned End of the 17th C. CE, a cow herder came upon its ruins. News of this Black Madonna spread and place became a pilgrimage site Santa Maria del Tindari (before restoration), Santuario Maria Santissima del Tindari, Tindari di Patti, Sicily Highly venerated; Very black-skinned; Dressed in red; Holds a lily Santa Maria del Tindari (after restoration, in late 1990s) Main altar devoted to a large statue of a Black Madonna carrying a child Dressed in a manner that resembled Demeter (enthroned, crowned) A mosaic inside the new church that attests to the fact that the original church was built on an ancient temple to Demeter (Ceres). Nigra Sum Sed Formosa; Inscription at base of statue: I am black and I am beautiful (similar to a phrase from the Song of Songs) Maria S.S. di CUSTONACI, northern Sicily Legend: She arrived by boat, having saved shipwrecked sailors Center/main altar enshrines a painting of Black Madonna nursing her child Black Madonna has dark hair & dark skin; so does her child The painting is framed in silver (the metal of conductivity/ channeling)

The Black Madonna of Trindari

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 To the Madonnas right stands a marble statue of Demeter/Ceres, holding a cornucopia with wheat & pomegranates; wears a crown of wheat to signify abundance To the Madonnas left stands statue of Sophia, carrying a book in her left arm. A white dove (the Holy Spirit) emerges from her heart chakra, symbolizing wisdom. The dove was sacred to Persephone. Sophia also wears a bay/laurel wreath, another symbol of the Great Goddess Two small golden statues of women guard the ark of the covenant tabernacle on the altar Throughout the church stone carvings of pomegranates are evident In upper corner of ceiling (right side of the altar in a niche is a painting/fresco of an ochre red Madonna nursing a child)

Sardegna

Nostra Signora Valverde, Alghero, Sardegna Five Black Madonnas in this church Priest parades the Valverde Madonna through the streets at festival time; She is believed to have saved the community from the plague La Mare de Deu de Montserrat, Valverde, Alghero, Sardegna (replication of Madonna de Montserrat, Spain) Cathedrale di Santa Maria, Cagliari, Sardegna Dark-skinned Madonna in center altar, flanked by black spiral columns Baptismal font with dove (Sophia) and eyes of Isis Crypt under the altar contained carved wall tiles of Tree of Life, Double Yonis, Roses; Ceiling tile of Semitic man flanked by palm trees; corner sconces of Phoenician Grinning/Sardonic face Set of marble statues flanking main altar depict Lion (Christianity) overtaking a cow (the Goddess)

Roma

Santa Maria del Popolo (main church), Chiesa Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome Church of Saint Mary of the People Legend says that Pope Pascal II cut down an ancient oak tree that grew on the summit of Pincio Hill (a place where witches were said to have met); He had the church built in 1099 CE to rid the place of its demons (black crows) Santa Maria del Popolo (smaller room/area behind the main altar) Painting, almost identical to the one in the main church; Face & hands are black Santa Maria delle Neve, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome Dates between 5th and 9th century CE; Highly venerated in Romes major basilica dedicated to Our Lady Painting attributed to St. Luke; She wears a dark gown; bears a star over her forehead Miracle of the snowfall in August (to mark the site for her church); Also protected the people of Rome against the plague Madonna del Conforto, Chiesa Santa Maria Nova, Rome Painted on wood; Found in the Roman Forum (in the sacristy of the priest); not openly on display One of oldest Black Madonna images in Rome (now whitened) Madonna di Aracoeli, Basilica di Santa Maria di Aracoeli, Rome 6th century CE; dark gown covered with stars; Madonna not shown as a mother Extends hand outward in blessing; Expresses the power of a Virgin (woman unto herself ) Church sits on the site where Romans placed Cybele in 205 BCE
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Maria Mater Omnium, Chiesa di S. Agostino, Rome Chiesa di S. Agostino Dark-skinned Madonna with ochre-red designs on gown Framed in silver

Southern & Central Italy

Madonna di Montevergine, Santuario di Montevergine, Avellino, Campania, Italy One of most ancient sanctuaries in Italy Image is painted on pinewood; attributed to St. Luke; has Asian features No longer dark in visage, although her gown is black; shes enthroned & crowned Madonna di Romania, Cattedrale di Tropea, Tropea, Calabria, Italy Large expressive eyes; Star portrayed prominently on her shoulder Miracle-worker and protectress of the city of Tropea Madonna di Costantinopoli, Mola di Bari, Puglia, Italy Suckles the baby at her breast Local tradition: As a child, St. Bernard given three drops of milk from the Madonnas breast & restored to health Madonna di Costantinopoli (Bari), Cattedrale, Bari, Puglia Painting adorned with silver & gold Bird perches both on her hand and on the hand of the baby she holds La Sipontine; Madonna di Cattedrale di San Lorenzo, Manfredonia, Puglia Carved from a single piece of wood Displayed in side chapel Red dress; intent, staring eyes Throne & feet rest on the trunk of a tree from which She is carved Maria Santissima LIncoronata, Chiesa di Nostra Signora di Carmelo, Pescasseroli, Abruzzo, central/E. Italy Asian in appearance; faces are dark, rich brown Holds an egg; Gown opens like a womb to enclose the Christ Child (dressed in red) Prayers call her Madonnina Nera, Little Black Madonna LIncoronata (Foggia), Santuario Maria Santissima LIncoronata, Foggia, Puglia Carved wooden image (more than 1000 years old); Name means The Crowned One Apparition of this Virgin took place in the woods and was attended by animals In some reproductions she holds a white lily; Child is more recent addition Local tradition says she was crowned by angels on the night of the apparition, not by the church Implies autonomy, independent and powerful entity separate from the Church

Tuscany & Northern Italy

Maria Santissima del Soccorso, Madonna della Consolazione, Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy In a sanctuary in a small Tuscan hill town; Title means: Holiest Mary of Succor (dispenses miraculous help) Image almost entirely covered with precious metal; Circular face opening covered with embroidered cloth (exposed only on her feast day) Reproduction of the original painting on display in the church shows a dark faced Madonna, with face uncovered
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Maria Santissima del Sangue, Re, Piemonte, Italy Originally called Madonna del Latte (Madonna of the Milk) until the miracle in which she bled Wears ochre-colored gown from which emerges a round, white half-moon shaped breast & nipple Right hand raised, holding a branch with three red roses Face is blend of Asian and African features, tinted slightly darker than her breast or hand Banner painted across lap translates: In the lap of the mother sits the wisdom of the father Beata Vergine delle Grazie (altar), Udine, Friuli, northeastern Italy Strikingly red columns frame this Black Madonna Painted image of her is crowned; one breast suckles the child Revered for over 500 years; Considered miraculous Protected the city form the plague (cessation of cholera, as well as other interventions) Black Mary Being Crowned by Jesus, Title Unknown, Chiesa Contignana, Tuscany Painting displayed in a 3000 year old church; Image dates from 13th14th century CE Mary pictured at Jesus side; Equal stature and age presents image of partnership; Jesus crowns her Madonna di Loreto (unadorned), Santuario della Santa Casa Loreto, Marche, Italy One of most revered and well-known Black Madonnas of Italy; Major pilgrimage site of Europe Venerated inside the Holy House (believed to be childhood dwelling place of Mary bought from Nazareth) Often swaddled in an elaborate gown with bands of black crescents decorated with gold; Triangular shape of garb Madonna di Loreto (adorned) Madonna del Voto, Cattedrale di Siena, Tuscany, Italy Cattedrale di Siena, Tuscany Painting originally flanked by the four patron saints of Siena Stood on the high altar of the Cathedral after the removal of the Madonna of Large Eyes

THE BLACK MADONNAS OF FRANCE

(NOTE: information in this section derived from Ian Beggs book, The Cult of the Black Virgin as well as from Lucia Chiavola Birnbaums book, Dark Mother) Almost all French Black Madonnas found near dolmens & menhirs Southern France on Paleolithic African migration pathway Marseilles, major port of entry to migrating Africans, and later, Canaanites Artifacts of Black Astarte found near the Black Madonna of Marseille Ruins of temple to Cybele found near Black Madonna of Lyon Black Madonna at Bourges-en-Bresse; Many Black Madonnas in this region as well as heresies regarding Mary Magdalene Black Madonna at Saintes Maries de la Mer called Sara-Kali by the gypsies, Santa Sara by the Church Some believe Sara to be the child of Mary Magdalene & Jesus Dark Madonna of Le Puy Egyptian lineage; Temple to Isis found under the Cathedral First apparition said to have occurred c. 46 CE; Patron of Easy Births Ritual sponging of the Black Madonna with wine links Her to Artemis (and Bacchic tradition of ancient Greece)

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Notre Dame de Marsat, Puy-de-Dome, France wood, 12 C, walnut, painted gesso & gilt 12th century CE Black Madonna, Notre-Dame de Belloch, France, Pyrenees, 11th century CE In village church, N-D de Belloch formerly in Church of Belloch Made of wood, wears only a tunic and veil, Asian-looking, huge hands, child has large right hand Notre Dame de Rocamadour Lean, tall dark mother, resembling Isis; attributed to St. Luke 12th C, possibly. 9th C, blackened polychrome walnut wood Feast Day: May 1st Notre Dame de Chatres Enthroned on pillar Original statue 13th century CE Replacement carved from pear wood, 1510 CE Notre Dame Sous Terre, Crypt, Notre Dame de Chatres In nave, early 16th C replacing 13th C gilt statue, pear tree wood Replaced in 1856 by present natural wood statue in the crypt Original statue made of ebony, destroyed during the French Revolution Our Lady of Meymac (Egyptienne), Correze, Limousine, France, 12th century CE Negra sum: I am black, but comely African-looking; Wears an Asian turban Notre Dame des Neiges, Out Lady of the Snows, France, 17th century CE Saved the city of Aurillac from barbarian invasions Original statue destroyed by the Huguenots; Present statue dates to 1581 or 17th Century Wood gilded and painted; Resembles the Virgin of Le Puy Notre Dame de Marceille 11th-12th Century CE Limoux, France Found in a field by oxen Notre Dame de Fourviere, Lyon Original statue destroyed in 1562 by the Huguenots Medals depict her with lions (link to Cybele) Notre Dame de Vassiviere Peasant features Original statue destroyed in French Revolution Replacement carved 1805 CE Notre Dame du Port, Clermont-Ferrand Venerated throughout Middle Ages Pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela Original dated from 11th century CE
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Belgium
Notre Dame de Montaigu, Hal 1280 CE, St. Elizabeth of Hungary gives statue as gift to her daughter, Sophia Statue credited with saving city of Hal from a siege in 1580 Madonna caught 32 cannon balls in her skirt

Spain

Our Lady of Pillar, Saragossa 40 CE Our Lady appeared to St. James the Apostle in Saragossa Gave him a small statue of herself & a column of jasper wood Asked him to build a chapel there The Black Virgin, Montserrat, Spain La Virgen de Montserrat or La Morenet; found among the rocks shortly after 888 CE Attributed to St. Luke, carved in wood; statue hidden to save it from the Moors; it was found by shepherds who were guided by angels; Present statue dates to the 12th century. Her sanctuary rests on a former temple to Venus; Montserrat is said to bless marriages and help with fertility

Poland

Our Lady of Czestochowa, Poland (Chestahova) Lime-wood, painting attributed to St. Luke; restored 1433 Czestochowa Basilica in the Jasna Gora monastery Symbol beloved by the anti-Communist groups in post WWII occupied Poland Much beloved by the late Pope John Paul II

Switzerland

Our Lady of Einsiedeln, Switzerland, 1466 CE Statue carved from wood Monks dress this Black Madonna, process into the church singing Salve Regina Evokes earlier pre-Christian ritual of Priestesses dressing/bathing & feeding Persephone & Demeter statues In Abbey Church of the Benedictines, also known as Our Lady of the Hermits, Die Schwarze Madonna, Madonna in the Dark Wood, Our Dear Lady of Einsiedeln (hermits)

Germany

Madonna, Munster, near Dieburg, Mary holding Jesus; Tree of Life

NORTH AMERICA
Virgin of Guadalupe In Cathedral of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, painting almost life-size, 1500 CE Black Madonna in Bogata Columbia (replica of Montserrat in Spain) In a mountain sanctuary; El Cerro de Monserrate, 10,000 ft. altitude. Church built in the 1600s; side chapel inside contains altar to the Black Madonna

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MODERN DAY IMAGES

Ethiopian Black Mother, by Joachim Persoon, 2004 Indigenous Virgin de Guadalupe, by Diego Rivera Blessings Round the Tree of Life, by Mara Friedman, 1996 Sakta Tantra Devi; East Indian woman with red triangle on forehead My Nurse and I, by Freda Kahlo, 1937 God Giving Birth, by Monica Sjoo, 1968

CONTEMPORARY ZIMBABWE SCULPTURES

Chapungu: Custom & Legend, A Culture in Stone/Sculpture Exhibit, Denver Botanic Gardens 2004 Shona people of Zimbabwe Sculptors say their ancestors spirits come in dreams and visions to reveal themselves in images that dwell within the stone. Keeping the History, Springstone, 1999 Agnes Nyanhongo Imbued with great knowledge she relates the important events of our people through many centuries. She keeps us proud of our culture and our history. The Birth, Opal Stone, 1992 Colleen Madamombe A rural birth, which contrasts the trauma of the child & the pain of the mother, with the calm & experience of the Ambuya the grandmother, who acts as midwife.

FINAL SLIDE
Peace, late 1950searly 1960s Beniamino Benvenuto Bufano (Italian-born American artist)

Ancient Images/ Modern Icons The Divine Feminine & The Black Madonna Bibliography
2006, Mary Saracino

Alesha,Matomah The First Book of the Black Goddess Baring, Anne and Jules Cashford, The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image (London: Arkana, 1991) Begg, Ean, The Cult of the Black Virgin, London: Arkana, 1985; revised edition, Penguin Books: London: 1996. Birnbaum, Lucia Chiavola, Ed., She is Everywhere: an Anthology of Writing in Womanist/Feminist Spirituality (iUniverse, May 2005) Birnbaum, Lucia Chiavola. Dark Mother: African Origins and Godmothers (iUniverse, 2001)
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Keeping the History, Speingstone, 1999; Agnes Nyanhongo

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Birnbaum, Lucia Chiavola. Black Madonnas: feminism, religion & politics in Italy. Blair, Nancy, Amulets of the Goddess: Oracle of Ancient Women, Wingbow Press, October 1993 Buckley, Thomas and Alma Gottlieb, eds., Blood Magic: The Anthropology of Menstruation (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988) Campbell, Joseph. The Way of the Animal Powers. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983 Campbell, Joseph. The Mythic Image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981 Davis, Juanita. See White Madonna, See White Lie! Postivie Black Voices (May 1991): 8. Diner, Helen, Mothers and Amazons Diop, Cheikh Anta, Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology (Presence Africaine, Paris, 1981, Brooklyn, NY: Lawrence Hill Books, 1991) Downing, Christine, ed. The Long Journey Home: Re-visioning the Myth of Demeter and Persephone for Our Time (Boston: Shambhala, 1994) Eisler, Riane, The Chalice and the Blade Ests, Clarissa Pinkola, Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype. New York: Ballantine Books, 1995. Gadon, Elinor, The Once and Future Goddess: A Symbol for Our Time, (San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, 1989) Galland, China, Longing for Darkness George, Demetra, Mysteries of the Dark Moon: the healing power of the Dark Goddess (Harper SanFrancisco, 1992) Gimbutas, Marija. The Civilization of the Goddess, (HarperSanFrancisco, 1989) Gimbutas, Maria. The Language of the Goddess (Harper SanFrancisco, 1991) Gimbutas, Maria. Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe: Myths and Cult Images 65003500 BC. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1982. Gleason, Judith Gleason, Oya: In Praise of the Goddess. 1987, Shambhala Publications, Boston. Goodrich, Norma Lorre, Priestesses (Harper SanFrancisco, 1989). Grahn, Judy, Blood, Bread and Roses: How Menstruation Created the World (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993). Graves, Robert, The White Goddess Gustafson, Fred. The Black Madonna. Boston: Sigo Press, 1990 Husain, Shahrukh, The Goddess: Power, Sexuality, and the Feminine Divine. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2003 Javakar, Pupul, The Earth Mother: Legends, Ritual Arts and Goddesses of India. (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990). Kelly, Mary B., Goddess Embroideries of Eastern Europe (Winona, MN: Northland Press of Winona, 1989). Larringotn, Carolyne, (ed): The Feminist Companion to Mythology. 1992, Pandora, London.

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Moser, Mary Beth, M.A., Blood Relics: Menstrual Roots of Miraculous Black Madonnas in Italy, Metaformia: A Journal of Menstruations and Culture, http://www.metaformia.org/article_05.cfm Moser, Mary Beth, M.A., Honoring Darkness: Exploring the Power of the Black Madonnas of Italy (Vashon Island, WA: Dea Madre Publishing, 2002). Mujeres de Arcilla/Clay Women, Museos Banco Central De Costa Rica, 2005, Fundacion Museos Banco Central de Costa Rica (ISBN #: 996894767-9), www.museosdelbancocentral.org Noble, Vicki, Shakti Woman: feeling our fire, healing our world Pagels, Elaine, The Gnostic Gospels (Dorest, Great Britian, Prism Press, 1972). Patai, Raphael, The Hebrew Goddess (Wayne State University Press, 1967, 1978). Redmond, Layne, When the Drummers were Women: A spiritual history of rhythm Sjoo Monica and Barbara Mor, The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth (Harper SanFrancisco, 1987, 1988). Stone, Merlin. When God was a Woman (New York, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978) Stone, Merlin. Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood: A treasury of Goddess and Heroine Lore From Around the World (Boston: Beacon Press, 1979). Van Sertima, Ivan. They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America (New York, Random House, 1976). Walker, Barbara, The Womans Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects, San Francisco: Harper Sanfrancisco, 1988). Witt, R.E., Isis in the Ancient World: Aspects of Greek and Roman Life (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1971; Baltimore, Md., Johns Hopkins University Press, paperback, 1997).

WEB RESOURCES
Serpentina Series, Judy Grahn and Deborah Grenn-Scott, www.serpentina.org Eahr Joans Regenesis: A CD-ROM encyclopedia of womens myths and symbols. California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) web site (graduate program in Womens Spirituality): www.ciis.edu Lucia Chiavola Birnbaums web site: www.darkmother.net Awakened Woman: The Journal of Womens Spirituality web site: www.awakenedwoman.com/ Sandy Miranda, Women, Spirit, and Peace web site: www.sandymiranda.com/ Suppressed Histories Archives: Global Womens Studies web site: www.suppressedhistories.net/ Deborah Rose, The Black Madonna: Primordial Ancestress, http://www.ofspirit.com/deborahrose.htm. Sheila Hennessy, ceramic artist, creates images/icons of the sacred female; web site: www.healingicons.com Metaformia: A Journal of Menstruation and Culture, online journal edited by Judy Grahn and Deborah Grenn, www. metaformia.org Black Madonna/Dea Madre, Mary Beth Mosers web site; http://blackmadonna.home.comcast.net/ Lydia RuyleArt, Goddesses, Icons & Herstories of the Divine Feminine, http://www.lydiaruyle.com/
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Allyson Arts, http://home.mindspring.com/~rrick1/ Center for Sacred Art, http://centerforsacredart.org/ China GallandImages of Divinity, http://www.imagesofdivinity.org BelladonnaGallery, Library, Publishing, and Performing Arts Center, http://www.belladonna.ws/ New College of CaliforniaWomens Spirituality Program, http://www.newcollege.edu/womenspirituality/ California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS)Womens Spirituality Program, http://www.ciis.edu/academics/wse. html School of the Seasons, http://www.schooloftheseasons.com/ Kathy Jones, Priestess of Avalon; http://www.kathyjones.co.uk/

ABOUT MARY SARACINO

Mary Saracino lives in Denver, Colorado. She is a novelist, memoir writer, poet, and independent scholar of the Sacred Feminine. Marys first novel, No Matter What, was a 1994 Minnesota Book Award Fiction finalist. Her second novel, Finding Grace, won the Colorado Authors League 1999 Top Hand Award in the Adult Fiction/Mainstream Literary category. Her memoir, Voices of the Soft-bellied Warrior, was published in 2001 by Spinsters Ink. Her writing has been published in a variety of literary and cultural journals, both online and in-print, as well as in the anthologies She is Everywhere, The Milk of Almonds, Dont Tell Mama, and Hey Paesan! Her newest novel, The Singing of Swans, tells the story of a womans transformative journey to reclaim her life through reconnection with the Divine Feminine. For more information, see Marys website at http://www.marysaracino.com or the Pearlsong Press website at http://www.pearlsong.com.

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The Singing of Swans

Mary Saracino
When you ask the right questions the answers can change your life forever
The Singing of Swans takes protagonist Madalene Ross on a multi-century journey back and forth through time to reclaim her soul and her very contemporary American life. Along the way she encounters healers who fly through rooftops, herbalists who paint flaming images of Black Madonnas, an ancient priestess who helps rescue a Goddess statue from the clutches of an evil 70 BCE governor of Sicily, and an environmentally compromised lake in need of restoration. Elements of magical realism dovetail with historical storytelling as this compelling tale of redemption unfolds.

Fiction/Literary | Original Trade Paperback | 348 pages | $20.95 | October 2006 ISBN-10: 1-59719-006-3 | ISBN-13: 978-1-59719-006-0 | LCCN: 2006903956
Women who fly through the night skies, priestessess who receive initiations, and girls who do vision quests in ancient sacred cavesall this wonderful pagan lore Mary Saracino juxtaposes against an all-too-modern heroines chaotic awakening to the deeper purpose of her life. This well-researched page-turner is packed with herbal knowledge, her-story lessons, and a genuine understanding of ancient and contemporary womens spirituality. Rich and powerfulI hope it will become a movie! Vicki Noble The Singing of Swans is more than a novel. It combines an immense amount of learning, a great novelists ability to weave the present, the past, the far past, and the future into a spell-binding storyand to transmute all this into an offer of life to all of us trapped in contemporary deadening culturesThis novel may give you the courage to quit your dead-end job, book a flight to Italy, and, like Madalene, exhilarated by the possibilities, howl at the brilliant blue Sicilian sky. Lucia Chiavola Birnbaum Dark mother: african origins and godmothers Shakti Woman: Feeling Our Fire, Healing Our World & The Double Goddess: Women Sharing Power co-creator of Motherpeace The Roman poet Ovid sang of the beautiful Sicilian lake where Persephone descended to the otherworlda lake now dying from overdevelopment. No sirens song could be more commanding than this novel centered on that magical lake. Generations of women of the streghe traditioncall them pagans, call them witchesjoin their voices in this tightly wrought magical chorus. Patricia Monaghan The Goddess Path & The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog

Pearlsong Press

1-866-4-A-PEARL www.pearlsong.com

The Singing of Swans is a remarkable narrative callingeven compellingus to connect with our own ancestral roots, to seek our own inner wisdom, and to reclaim our own inner voices! Margaret Starbird The Woman with the Alabaster Jar & Mary Magdalene: Bride in Exile
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About Pearlsong Press P

P.O. Box 58065 | Nashville, TN 37205 | 615-356-5188 | 1-866-4-A-PEARL www.pearlsong.com | contact@pearlsong.com News & updates about Pearlsong Press books & authors are posted on The Pearlsong Letter blog @ www.pearlsongpress.com

earlsong Press is an independent publishing company dedicated to providing books and resources that entertain while expanding perspectives on the self and the world. The company was founded by Peggy Elam, Ph.D., a psychologist and former journalist. Pearls are formed when a piece of sand or grit or other abrasive, annoying, or even dangerous substance enters
an oyster and triggers its protective response. The substance is coated with shimmering opalescent nacre (mother of pearl), the coats eventually building up to produce a beautiful gem. The self-healing response of the oyster thus transforms suffering into a thing of beauty. The pearl-creating process reflects our companys desire to move outside a pathological or disease based model of mental health and mental illness into a more integrative and transcendent perspective on life, health, and wellbeing. A move out of suffering into joy. And that, we think, is something to sing about.

Pearlsong Press endorses Health At Every Size, an approach to health and well-being that celebrates natural
diversity in body size and encourages people to stop focusing on weight (or any external measurement) in favor of listening to and respecting natural appetites for food, drink, sleep, rest, movement, and recreation. While not every book we publish specifically promotes Health At Every Size (by, for instance, featuring fat heroines or educating readers on size acceptance), none of our books or other resources will contradict this holistic and body-positive perspective.

We encourage you to enjoy, enlarge, enlighten and enliven yourself with other Pearlsong Press books,
including: Beyond Measure: A Memoir About Short Stature & Inner Growth by Ellen Frankel Unconventional Means: The Dream Down Under by Anne Richardson Williams Taking Up Space: How Eating Well & Exercising Regularly Changed My Life by Pattie Thomas, Ph.D.with Carl Wilkerson, M.B.A. (foreword by Paul Campos, author of The Obesity Myth) Romance novels and short stories featuring Big Beautiful Heroines by Pat Ballard, the Queen of Rubenesque Romances: Abigails Revenge Dangerous Curves Ahead Wanted: One Groom Nobodys Perfect His Brothers Child A Worthy Heir

Find these books and more at www.pearlsong.com or your favorite online or offline bookstore. Enjoy!
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