
A goddess is a female
deity
A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...
. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example,
Shaktism
Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman.
Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, mani ...
(one of the three major
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all reality, is
Mahadevi
Mahadevi (, , IPA: / mɐɦɑd̪eʋiː/), also referred to as Adi Parashakti, and Mahamaya, is the supreme goddess in Hinduism. According to the goddess-centric sect Shaktism, all Hindu gods and goddesses are considered to be manifestations of t ...
(Supreme Goddess) and in some forms of Tantric
Shaivism
Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...
, the pair of
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
and
Shakti
Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...
are the ultimate principle (with the goddess representing the active, creative power of God). Meanwhile, in
Vajrayana Buddhism
''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition that emp ...
,
ultimate reality
Ultimate reality is "the supreme, final, and fundamental power in all reality". It refers to the most fundamental fact about reality, especially when it is seen as also being the most valuable fact. This may overlap with the concept of the Absolut ...
is often seen as being composed of two principles depicted as two deities in union (
yab yum, "father-mother") symbolising the non-duality of the two principles of perfect wisdom (female) and skillful compassion (male).
A single figure in a monotheistic faith that is female may be identified simply as
god
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
because of no need to differentiate by gender or with a diminutive. An experiment to determine the effect of psychedelics on subjects composed of leaders from diverse religious groups revealed a general experience that the divine the subjects encountered was feminine.
Polytheist religions, including
Polytheistic reconstructionists, honour multiple goddesses and gods, and usually view them as discrete, separate beings. These deities may be part of a pantheon, or different regions may have tutelary deities. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of
spinning
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles
* Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
,
weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...
, beauty, love, sexuality, motherhood,
domesticity
The Culture of Domesticity (often shortened to Cult of Domesticity) or Cult of True Womanhood is a term used by historians to describe what they consider to have been a prevailing value system among the upper and middle classes during the 19th c ...
, creativity, and
fertility
Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate ...
(exemplified by the ancient
mother goddess
A mother goddess is a major goddess characterized as a mother or progenitor, either as an embodiment of motherhood and fertility or fulfilling the cosmological role of a creator- and/or destroyer-figure, typically associated the Earth, sky, ...
cult). Many major goddesses are also associated with magic, war, strategy, hunting, farming, wisdom,
fate
Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predeterminism, predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual.
Fate
Although often used interchangeably, the words wiktionary ...
, earth, sky,
power
Power may refer to:
Common meanings
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power, a type of energy
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
Math ...
, laws, justice, and more. Some themes, such as
discord
Discord is an instant messaging and Voice over IP, VoIP social platform which allows communication through Voice over IP, voice calls, Videotelephony, video calls, text messaging, and digital media, media. Communication can be private or take ...
or disease, which are considered negative within their cultural contexts also are found associated with some goddesses. There are as many differently described and understood goddesses as there are male,
shapeshifting
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest existen ...
, devilish, or neuter gods.
Etymology
The noun ''
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...
'' is a secondary formation, combining the Germanic ''
god
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
'' with the Latinate ''
-ess
The suffix ''-ess'' (plural ''-esses'') appended to English words makes a female form of the word.
ESS or ess may refer to:
Education
* Ernestown Secondary School, in Odessa, Ontario
* European Standard School, in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Governme ...
'' suffix. It first appeared in
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
, from about 1350.
[Barnhart (1995:323).] The English word follows the linguistic precedent of a number of languages—including
Egyptian
''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
,
Classical Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archa ...
, and several
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic,
Amharic, Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew language, Hebrew, Maltese language, Maltese, Modern South Arabian language ...
—that add a feminine ending to the language's word for ''god''. Occasionally, one finds the root term being applied without the secondary ending.
Historical polytheism
Ancient Near East
Mesopotamia
Inanna
Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...
was the most worshipped goddess in ancient
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...
. She was later
syncretised
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus ...
with the
East Semitic
The East Semitic languages are one of three divisions of the Semitic languages. The East Semitic group is attested by three distinct languages, Akkadian, Eblaite and possibly Kishite, all of which have been long extinct. They were influenced ...
goddess
Ishtar
Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...
. Other Mesopotamian goddesses include
Ninhursag
Ninḫursaĝ ( ''Ninḫarsang''; ), sometimes transcribed Ninursag, Ninḫarsag, or Ninḫursaĝa, also known as Damgalnuna or Ninmah, was the ancient Sumerian mother goddess of the mountains, and one of the seven great deities of Sumer. She ...
,
Ninlil
Ninlil ( D NIN.LÍL; meaning uncertain) was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Enlil. She shared many of his functions, especially the responsibility for declaring destinies, and like him was regarded as a senior deity and head of th ...
,
Antu and
Gaga
In mathematics, algebraic geometry and analytic geometry are two closely related subjects. While algebraic geometry studies algebraic varieties, analytic geometry deals with complex manifolds and the more general analytic spaces defined locally b ...
.
Ancient Africa (Egypt)
* Goddesses of the
Ennead
The Ennead or Great Ennead was a group of nine deities in Egyptian mythology worshipped at Heliopolis: the sun god Atum; his children Shu and Tefnut; their children Geb and Nut; and their children Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. The Enn ...
of
Heliopolis:
Tefnut
Tefnut ( ; ) is a deity in Ancient Egyptian religion, the feminine counterpart of the air god Shu. Her mythological function is less clear than that of Shu, but Egyptologists have suggested she is connected with moisture, based on a passage in t ...
,
Nut
Nut often refers to:
* Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed
* Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts
* Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt
Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to:
A ...
,
Nephthys
Nephthys or Nebet-Het in ancient Egyptian () was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. A member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis in Egyptian mythology, she was a daughter of Nut and Geb. Nephthys was typically paired with her sister Isis ...
,
Isis
Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
* Goddesses of the
Ogdoad of
Hermopolis
Hermopolis (or ''Hermopolis Magna'') was a major city in antiquity, located near the boundary between Lower and Upper Egypt. Its Egyptian name ''Khemenu'' derives from the eight deities (the Ogdoad) said to reside in the city.
A provincial capi ...
:
Naunet
Nu ("Watery One") or Nun ("The Inert One") (Ancient Egyptian: ; Coptic: ), in ancient Egyptian religion, is the personification of the primordial watery abyss which existed at the time of creation and from which the creator sun god Ra a ...
,
Amaunet
Amunet () or Imnt (''The Hidden One'' in hieroglyphics; also spelled Amonet or Amaunet; ) is a primordial goddess in ancient Egyptian religion.Wilkinson (2003), pp. 136–137.Hart (1986), p. 2. Thebes was the center of her worship through the las ...
,
Kauket
Kek is the deification of the concept of primordial darkness in the ancient Egyptian Ogdoad cosmogony of Hermopolis.
The Ogdoad consisted of four pairs of deities, four male gods paired with their female counterparts. Kek's female counterpart ...
,
Hauhet; originally a cult of
Hathor
Hathor (, , , Meroitic language, Meroitic: ') was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god R ...
*
Satis
Station Area Traffic Improvement Scheme (SATIS) is a World Bank funded station area traffic improvement project. It is implemented by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Thane Municipal Corporation. This project is exec ...
and
Anuket
Anuket was the ancient Egyptian goddess of the cataracts of the Nile and Lower Nubia in general, worshipped especially at Elephantine near the First Cataract.
Etymology
In ancient Egyptian, she was known as Anuket, Anaka, or Anqet. Her name ...
of the triad of
Elephantine
Elephantine ( ; ; ; ''Elephantíne''; , ) is an island on the Nile, forming part of the city of Aswan in Upper Egypt. The archaeological site, archaeological digs on the island became a World Heritage Site in 1979, along with other examples of ...
Canaan
Goddesses of the
Canaanite religion
Canaanite religion or Syro-Canaanite religions refers to the myths, cults and ritual practices of people in the Levant during roughly the first three millennia BC. Canaanite religions were polytheistic and in some cases monolatristic. They we ...
:
Ba`alat Gebal
Baalat Gebal (, ''BʿLT GBL''; also romanized as Ba’alat Gebal or Baalat Gubal; literally "Lady of Byblos"), also known as Bēltu ša Gubla ( Akkadian: d NIN ''ša uruGub-la'') and Baaltis, was the tutelary goddess of the city of Byblos. Wh ...
,
Astarte
Astarte (; , ) is the Greek language, Hellenized form of the Religions of the ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart. ʿAṯtart was the Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic language ...
,
Anat
Anat (, ), Anatu, classically Anath (; ''ʿnt''; ''ʿĂnāṯ''; ; ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:ꜥntjt, ꜥntjt'') was a goddess associated with warfare and hunting, best known from the Ugaritic texts. Most researchers assume tha ...
.
Anatolia
*
Cybele
Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya, Kubeleya'' "Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian: ''Kuvava''; ''Kybélē'', ''Kybēbē'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forerunner in the earliest ...
: Her Hittite name was Kubaba, but her name changed to Cybele in
Phrygia
In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River.
Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...
n and
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
culture. Her effect can be also seen on
Artemis
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...
as the Lady of Ephesus.
*
Hebat: Mother Goddess of the Hittite pantheon and wife of the leader sky god,
Teshub
Teshub was the Hurrians, Hurrian weather god, as well as the head of the Hurrian pantheon. The etymology of his name is uncertain, though it is agreed it can be classified as linguistically Hurrian language, Hurrian. Both Phonetics, phonetic and L ...
. She was the origin of the
Hurrian
The Hurrians (; ; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri) were a people who inhabited the Ancient Near East during the Bronze Age. They spoke the Hurro-Urartian language, Hurrian language, and lived throughout northern Syria (region) ...
cult.
*
Arinniti
The Sun goddess of Arinna, also sometimes identified as Arinniti or as Wuru(n)šemu, is the chief Goddess of Hittite mythology. Her companion is the weather god Tarḫunna. She protected the Hittite kingdom and was called the "Queen of all lands ...
: Hittite Goddess of the sun. She became patron of the
Hittite Empire
The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...
and monarchy.
*
Leto
In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Leto (; ) is a childhood goddess, the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe (Titaness), Phoebe, the sister of Asteria, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis.Hesiod, ''Theogony' ...
: A mother Goddess figure in
Lykia
Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğla i ...
. She was also the main goddess of the capital city of Lykia League (
Letoon
Letoon or Letoum (, ) in the Fethiye district of Muğla Province, Turkey, was a sanctuary of Leto located south of the ancient city of Xanthos, to which it was closely associated, and along the Xanthos River. It was one of the most important re ...
)
Pre-Islamic Arabia
In pre-Islamic
Mecca
Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
the goddesses
Uzza,
Manāt
(, , ; also transliterated as ) was a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess worshipped in the Arabian Peninsula before the rise of Islam and the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the 6/7th century. She was among Mecca's three chief goddesses, alongside he ...
and
al-Lāt
Al-Lat (, ), also spelled Allat, Allatu, and Alilat, is a Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia, pre-Islamic Arabian List of pre-Islamic Arabian deities, goddess, at one time worshipped under various associations throughout the entire Arabian Peninsu ...
were known as "the daughters of god". Uzzā was worshipped by the
Nabataean
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Levant. Their settlements—most prominently the assumed capital city of Raqmu (present-day Petr ...
s, who equated her with the Graeco-Roman goddesses
Aphrodite
Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...
,
Urania
Urania ( ; ; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy and astrology. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, her attributes being the globe and compass.
T ...
,
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...
and Caelestis. Each of the three goddesses had a separate shrine near
Mecca
Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
. Uzzā, was called upon for protection by the pre-Islamic
Quraysh
The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...
. In 624 AD, during the
Battle of Uhud
The Battle of Uhud () was fought between the early Muslims and the Quraysh during the Muslim–Quraysh wars in a valley north of Mount Uhud near Medina on Saturday, 23 March 625 AD (7 Shawwal, 3 AH).
After the expulsion of Hijrah, Muslims from ...
, the war cry of the Qurayshites was, "O people of Uzzā, people of
Hubal
In Arabian mythology, Hubal () was a god worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia, notably by the Quraysh at the Kaaba in Mecca. The god's icon was a human figure believed to control acts of divination, which was performed by tossing arrows before the ...
!" (Tawil 1993).
According to
Ibn Ishaq
Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar al-Muttalibi (; – , known simply as Ibn Ishaq, was an 8th-century Muslim historian and hagiographer who collected oral traditions that formed the basis of an important biography of the Islamic proph ...
's controversial account of the
Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses are words of "satanic suggestion" which the Islamic prophet Muhammad is alleged to have mistaken for divine revelation. The first use of the expression in English is attributed to Sir William Muir in 1858.
The words praise the ...
(''q.v.''), these verses had previously endorsed them as intercessors for
Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, but were abrogated. Most Muslim scholars have regarded the story as historically implausible, while opinion is divided among western scholars such as
Leone Caetani
Leone Caetani (September 12, 1869 – December 25, 1935), Duke of Sermoneta (also known as Prince Caetani), was an Italian scholar, politician, and historian of the Middle East.
Caetani is considered a pioneer in the application of the histori ...
and John Burton, who argue against, and
William Muir
Sir William Muir (27 April 1819 – 11 July 1905) was a Scottish oriental studies, Orientalist, and colonial administrator, Principal of the University of Edinburgh and Lieutenant Governor of the North-Western Provinces of British Raj, Brit ...
and
William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt (14 March 1909 – 24 October 2006) was a Scottish historian and orientalist. An Anglican priest, Watt served as Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh from 1964 to 1979 and was also a prom ...
, who argue for its plausibility.
The Quran (
Q53:19-31) warns of the vanity of trusting to the intercession of female deities, in particular "the daughters of god".
Indo-European traditions
Pre-Christian and pre-Islamic goddesses in cultures that spoke Indo-European languages.
Indian
*
Ushas
Ushas (Vedic Sanskrit: , , nominative singular उषास्) is a Vedic goddess of dawn in Hinduism. She repeatedly appears in the Rigvedic hymns, states David Kinsley, where she is "consistently identified with dawn, revealing herself with ...
: is the main goddess of the
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...
and is the goddess of the
dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...
.
*
Prithivi
Prithvi (Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, ', also पृथिवी, ', "the Vast One", also rendered Pṛthvī Mātā), is the Sanskrit name for the earth, as well as the name of the goddess-personification of it in Hinduism. The goddess Prit ...
: the Earth, also appears as a goddess.
Rivers
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...
are also deified as goddesses.
*
Agneya
Agneyi (Sanskrit: आग्नेयी, IAST Āgneyī, 'Daughter of Agni') is mentioned in the '' Harivamsha'' and the ''Vishnu Purana'' as the wife of Ūru (a descendant of Angiras) and the mother of the kings Anga, Sumanas, Khyati, Kratu, and Si ...
: or Aagneya is the Hindu Goddess of Fire.
*
Varuni
Varuni () refers both to a intoxicating beverage and the goddess of liquor and intoxication in Hindu mythology. The drink Varuni is generally described as a fragrant wine made from date palm. The goddess Varuni, is associated not only with t ...
: is the Hindu Goddess of Water. Bhumi, Janani, Buvana, and Prithvi are names of the Hindu Goddess of Earth.
Iranian
*
Anahita
Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as ('), the Avestan name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of "the Waters" ( Aban) and hence associat ...
: or
Anahit
Anahit () was the goddess of fertility and healing, wisdom and water in Armenian mythology. In early periods, she was the goddess of war. By the 5th century BCE, she was the main deity in Armenia along with Aramazd. The Armenian goddess Anahit ...
, or Nahid, or Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā, or Aban: the divinity of "the Waters" and hence associated with fertility, healing, beauty and wisdom.
*
Daena
Daēnā () is a Zoroastrian concept representing insight and revelation, hence "conscience" or "religion." Alternately, ''Daena'' is considered to be a divinity, counted among the ''yazata''s.
Nomenclature
Daena is a feminine noun which transla ...
: a divinity, counted among the
yazatas
Yazata () is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and is thus, in this more general ...
, representing insight and revelation, hence "conscience" or "religion".
*
Spenta Armaiti
In Zoroastrianism, Spenta Armaiti (, "Holy Devotion") is one of the Amesha Spentas, the seven divine manifestations of Wisdom and Ahura Mazda. While older sources present the Amesha Spentas more as abstract entities, in later sources Spenta Armai ...
: or
Sandaramet
Spandaramet () or Sandaramet (Սանդարամետ) was the Armenian name of the Zoroastrian ''yazata'' (angelic divinity) Spenta Armaiti, one of the six Amesha Spentas, and the guardian of the earth.
The name is attested in two forms in Armenian. ...
, one of the
Amesha Spentas
In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta (—literally "Immortal (which is) holy/bounteous/furthering") are a class of seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda, the highest divinity of the religion. Later Middle Persian variations of the term ...
, a female divinity associated with earth and Mother Nature. She is also associated with the female virtue of devotion (to family, husband, and child). In the Iranian calendar, her name is on the twelfth month and also the fifth day of the month.
* Ashi: a divinity of fertility and fortune in the Zoroastrian hierarchy of
yazatas
Yazata () is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and is thus, in this more general ...
.
Greco-Roman

* Eleusinian Mysteries: Baubo (goddess of mirth), Demeter (goddess of the harvest) and Persephone (goddess of spring, queen of the Underworld as the wife of Hades).
* Muses, Greek muses: Calliope (goddess of epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (love poetry), Euterpe (music, song, and lyric poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Polyhymnia (sacred poetry), Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (Muse), Thalia (comedy and pastoral poetry), and
Urania
Urania ( ; ; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy and astrology. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, her attributes being the globe and compass.
T ...
(astronomy).
*
Aphrodite
Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...
: Goddess of love and beauty.
*
Artemis
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...
: Virgin goddess of the wilderness and the hunt.
* Athena: Virgin goddess of strategy, warfare, and crafts.
* Eris (mythology), Eris: Goddess of chaos.
* Gaia (mythology), Gaia: Primordial goddess of the Earth. Most gods descend from her.
* Hecate: Goddess of sorcery and crossroads. Often considered a chthonic or lunar goddess. She is either portrayed as a single goddess or a triple goddess (maiden, mother, crone).
* Hera: Goddess of womanhood, marriage and childbirth, queen of Olympus as the wife of Zeus.
* Hestia: Virgin goddess of the hearth, domesticity and family.
* Iris (mythology), Iris: Goddess of rainbows.
*
Leto
In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Leto (; ) is a childhood goddess, the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe (Titaness), Phoebe, the sister of Asteria, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis.Hesiod, ''Theogony' ...
: Titan goddess of childhood.
* Nike (mythology), Nike: Goddess of victory. She is predominantly pictured with Zeus or Athena and sometimes Ares.
* Selene: Titan goddess of the Moon.
* Rhea (mythology), Rhea: Titan goddess of motherhood.
Celtic
Goddesses and Otherworldly Women in Celtic polytheism include:
* Celtic antiquity: Brigantia (goddess), Brigantia
* Gallo-Roman goddesses: Epona, Dea Matrona
* Irish mythology: Áine, Boann, Brigid, Cailleach, The Cailleach, Danu (Irish goddess), Danu, Ériu, Fand and The Morrígan (Nemain, Macha, and Badb) among others.
The Celts honoured goddesses of nature and natural forces, as well as those connected with skills and professions such as healing, warfare and poetry. The Celtic goddesses have diverse qualities such as abundance, creation and beauty, as well as harshness, slaughter and vengeance. They have been depicted as beautiful or hideous, old Cailleach, hags or young women, and at times may transform their appearance from one state to another, or into their associated creatures such as crows, cows, wolves or eels, to name but a few. In Irish mythology in particular, tutelary goddesses are often associated with sovereignty and various features of the land, notably mountains, rivers, forests and holy wells.
Germanic
Surviving accounts of Continental Germanic mythology, Germanic mythology and Norse mythology contain numerous tales of female goddesses, Jötunn, giantesses, and divine female figures in their scriptures. The Germanic peoples had altars erected to the Matres and Matrones, "Mothers and Matrons" and held celebrations specific to these goddesses (such as the Anglo-Saxon Mōdraniht, "Mothers-night"). Various other female deities are attested among the Germanic peoples, such as Nerthus attested in an early account of the Germanic peoples, Ēostre attested among the Anglo-Saxon paganism, pagan Anglo-Saxons, and Sinthgunt attested among the pagan continental Germanic peoples. Examples of goddesses attested in Norse mythology include Frigg (wife of Odin, and the Anglo-Saxon version of whom is namesake of the modern English weekday Friday), Skaði (one time wife of Njörðr), Njerda (Scandinavian name of Nerthus), that also was married to Njörðr during Bronze Age, Freyja (wife of Óðr), Sif (wife of Thor), Gerðr (wife of Freyr), and personifications such as Jörð (earth), Sól (Sun), Sól (the sun), and Nótt (night). Female deities also play heavily into the Norse concept of death, where half of those slain in battle enter Freyja's field Fólkvangr, Hel (being), Hel's realm Hel (location), of the same name, and Rán who receives those who die at sea. Other female deities such as the valkyries, the norns, and the dísir are associated with a Germanic concept of destiny, fate (Old Norse ''Wyrd, Ørlög'', Old English ''Wyrd''), and celebrations were held in their honour, such as the Dísablót and Disting.
Pre-Columbian America
Aztec
* Chalchiuhtlicue: goddess of water (rivers, seas, storms, etc.)
* Chantico: goddess of the hearth, flames
* Coyolxauhqui: warrior goddess associated with the moon
* Duality Earth Goddesses: Cihuacoatl (childbirth and maternal death), Coatlicue (earth as the womb and grave), Tlazolteotl (filth and purification)
* Itzpapalotl: monstrous ruler of Tamoanchan (a paradise realm)
* Mictecacihuatl: queen of Mictlan (the underworld)
* Xochiquetzal: goddess of fertility, beauty, and female sexuality
Maya
*Ixchel: mother goddess
*Maya moon goddess
*Goddess I: eroticism, human procreation, and marriage
Inca
* Pachamama: the supreme Mother Earth
* Mama Killa: moon goddess
* Mama Ocllo: fertility goddess
* Mama Cocha: goddess of the sea and lakes
Native North America
Goddesses of various Native North American peoples include:
* Spider Grandmother: Creator goddess of the Southwestern United States
* Atahensic: Iroquois sky goddess
* Atira (goddess), Atira: Pawnee people, Pawnee earth and corn goddess
* Tia (goddess), Tia: Haida mythology, Haida goddess of peaceful death
* Sedna (mythology), Sedna: Inuit mythology, Inuit goddess of the sea and underworld
* Atabey (goddess), Atabey: Taino mother goddess
Folk religion and animism
African religions
In African and African diasporic religions, goddesses are often syncretised with Marian devotion, as in Ezili Dantor (Black Madonna of Częstochowa) and Erzulie Freda (Mater Dolorosa). There is also Buk, a Sudanese and Ethiopian goddess still worshipped in the southern regions. She represents the fertile aspect of women. She is related to the deity of a similar name, Abuk. Another Ethiopian goddess is Atete, the goddess of spring and fertility. Farmers traditionally leave some of their products at the end of each harvesting season as an offering while women sing traditional songs.
A rare example of henotheism focused on a single Goddess is found among the Nuba, Southern Nuba of Sudan. The Nuba conceive of the creator Goddess as the "Great Mother" who gave birth to earth and to mankind.
Chinese folk religion
* Mazu (goddess), Mazu is the goddess of the sea who protects fishermen and sailors, widely worshipped in the south-eastern coastal areas of China and neighbouring areas in Southeast Asia.
* The Goddess Weaver Zhinü, daughter of the Celestial Mother, wove the stars and their light, known as "the Silver River" (what Westerners call "The Milky Way Galaxy"), for heaven and earth. She was identified with the star Westerners know as Vega.
Shinto
Goddess Amaterasu is the chief among the Kami, Shinto gods (''kami''), while there are important female deities Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, Inari and Konohanasakuya-hime.
Indian religions
In the Indian religions (mainly Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism), there are many goddesses that are widely venerated. The earliest source for several of these goddesses is the Vedas.
[Kinsley, David (1988). ''Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions.'' University of California Press, .] However, goddesses can also be found in the art of the even more ancient Indus Valley civilisation.
Hinduism
Hinduism is a diverse complex of many belief systems which includes numerous gods and goddesses. The earliest Hindu source, the ''Rigveda'', contains many goddesses such as Prithvi (earth), Aditi (cosmic moral order), Vāc (sound), Nirṛti (goddess), Nirṛti (destruction) and Saraswati. The ''Devīsūktam'' is an important source for the goddess idea in Historical Vedic religion, Vedic religion. Important Hindu goddesses today include Lakshmi, Saraswati, Durga, Kali, Tripura Sundari, Tripurasundari, Parvati, and Radha.
There is much diversity in the theology of the various traditions of Hinduism. Some theologies (e.g. Advaita) see all gods and goddesses as emanations of a single formless impersonal source called Brahman. Other theologies are more personal regarding the ultimate deity.
Some traditions posit a dual deity in the form of Lakshmi-Vishnu, Radha-Krishna, Brahma-Saraswati, or
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
-Parvati. These are presented as a pair with a male god (Shaktiman, "possessor of power") and his consort, a female "power" (Shakti), and their relationship is interpreted in different ways depending on the tradition's theology.
In
Shaktism
Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman.
Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, mani ...
, the supreme deity is the Great Goddess (
Mahadevi
Mahadevi (, , IPA: / mɐɦɑd̪eʋiː/), also referred to as Adi Parashakti, and Mahamaya, is the supreme goddess in Hinduism. According to the goddess-centric sect Shaktism, all Hindu gods and goddesses are considered to be manifestations of t ...
), called by different names such as Shakti or Shakti, Adi Parashakti (Primordial Supreme Power). Shaktas consider the Goddess to be the ultimate source of all things and the mother of all gods and goddesses. She is considered to have ten main avatars called the ten mahavidyas in some traditions. Another important concept is the Shakta trinity, the tridevi, which sees Mahadevi as manifesting in three main goddesses: Saraswati, Mahasaraswati, Lakshmi, Mahalakshmi, and Mahakali.

In the great Shakta scripture known as the ''Devi Mahatmya'' (Glory of the Goddess), all the goddesses are aspects of one presiding female force—one in truth and many in expression, which also is the creative power of the cosmos. It expresses through philosophical tracts and metaphor, that the potentiality of masculine being is actuated by the feminine divine.
Local deities of different village regions in India were often identified with "mainstream" Hindu deities, a process that has been called ''Sanskritisation''. Others attribute it to the influence of monism or ''Advaita'', which discounts polytheist or monotheist categorisation. While the monist forces have led to a fusion between some of the goddesses (108 names are common for many goddesses), centrifugal forces have also resulted in new goddesses and rituals gaining ascendance among the laity in different parts of Hindu world. Thus, the immensely popular goddess Durga was a pre-Vedic goddess who was later fused with Parvati, a process that can be traced through texts such as Kalika Purana (10th century), Durgabhaktitarangini (Vidyapati 15th century), Chandimangal (16th century) etc.
Widely celebrated Hindu festival Navaratri is in the honour of the divine feminine Devi (Durga) and spans nine nights of prayer in the autumn, also referred as Sharada Navratri.
Buddhism
There are numerous female deities in the various Buddhist traditions.
[for a full overview and list of goddesses see: Shaw, Miranda (2006). ''Buddhist Goddesses of India,'' Princeton University Press.] Buddhist goddesses are widely depicted in Buddhist art.
Early Buddhist schools, Early Buddhism in India venerated various female goddesses. These were mostly considered to be Deva (Buddhism), devas or spirits (such as yakshinis). They include Prithvi, Prthivi (earth goddess), Hariti, Lakshmi and Maya (mother of the Buddha), Mayadevi (the mother of the Buddha). Some of these figures remain important in Theravada, Theravada Buddhism today, including Maya and Prthivi (known as Phra Mae Thorani in Southeast Asia).
Indian Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism revered several female deities, including Prajñāpāramitā Devi, Cundi (Buddhism), Cunda, Marici (Buddhism), Marici, Sitatapatra, Sitātapatra, Tara (Buddhism), Tārā, Usnisavijaya, Uṣṇīṣavijayā and Vasudhara, Vasudhārā.
[Shaw, Miranda (2006). ''Buddhist Goddesses of India,'' pp. 6-7. Princeton University Press.] In the Mahayana, female deities grew in importance, becoming powerful bodhisattva savior figures, liberators associated with powerful mantras (which are also termed ''Vidya (philosophy), vidyās'' when a mantra is seen as a feminine power) and dharanis.
In some cases, such as with Prajñāpāramitā Devi, these goddesses were even called "mother of Buddhas" (Sanskrit: buddhamatr) and bhagavati, indicating they were seen as fully awakened Buddhas themselves.
In the Mahayana traditions, some are considered to be bodhisattvas (beings advancing on the path to Buddhahood) or full Buddhahood, Buddhas, while others are just Deva (Buddhism), devas (worldly deities).
The most important Buddhist female deities in East Asian Buddhism are the bodhisattva Guanyin and the "mother of Buddhas" Cundi (Buddhism), Cundi. In Tibetan Buddhism, Tara (Buddhism), Tara is the most important female deity (often considered to be a full Buddha).
[Shaw, Miranda (2006). ''Buddhist Goddesses of India,'' p. 8. Princeton University Press.]
The tantric ''dakini'' Vajrayogini is an important tantric meditation deity (yidam) in Tibetan Vajrayana, and is also considered to be a female Buddha in her own right.
Tantric Buddhist goddesses were often considered to be fully awakened Buddhas and sometimes are depicted with unique tantric elements, such as skullcups and flaying knives. These tantric deities include Simhamukha, Mahāmāyā Tantra, Mahamaya, Vajrayogini, Chinnamunda and Kurukullā, Kurukulla.
Mahayana goddesses are often termed "devis" (Sanskrit: devi, "female deity", "goddess", Tibetan: lhamo) or even bhagavani (the female version of bhagavan, indicating Buddhahood).
Abrahamic religions
Judaism
According to Zohar, Lilith is the name of Adam's first wife, who was created at the same time as Adam. She left Adam and refused to return to the Garden of Eden after she mated with archangel Samael. Her story was greatly developed during the Middle Ages in the tradition of Aggadic midrashim, the Zohar and Jewish mysticism.
The Zohar tradition has influenced Jewish mythology, Jewish folklore, which postulates God created Adam to marry a woman named Lilith. Outside of Jewish tradition, Lilith was associated with the Mother Goddess,
Inanna
Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...
– later known as both
Ishtar
Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...
and Asherah. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh was said to have destroyed a tree that was in a sacred grove dedicated to the goddess Ishtar/Inanna/Asherah. Lilith ran into the wilderness in despair. She then is depicted in the Talmud and Kabbalah as first wife to God's first creation of man, Adam. In time, as stated in the Old Testament, the Hebrew followers continued to worship "False Idols", like Asherah, as being as powerful as God. Jeremiah speaks of his (and God's) displeasure at this behaviour to the Hebrew people about the worship of the goddess in the Old Testament. Lilith is banished from Adam and God's presence when she is discovered to be a "demon" and Eve becomes Adam's wife.
The following female deities are mentioned in prominent Hebrew texts:
* Agrat bat Mahlat
* Anath
* Asherah
* Ashima
*
Astarte
Astarte (; , ) is the Greek language, Hellenized form of the Religions of the ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart. ʿAṯtart was the Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic language ...
* Eisheth
More commonly, modern Judaism acknowledges ''Shekhinah'' as the feminine aspect of God. ''Shekhinah'' is considered to be the presence of God on Earth and/or the spirit of the Jewish people, forever trying to reunite with the other elements of God through ''tikkun olam''. She is also associated with the Lunar deity, moon, the earth, David, and Rachel.
Christianity

The veneration of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus, as an especially privileged saint has continued since the beginning of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith. Mary is venerated as the Mother of God, Queen of Heaven, Mother of the Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady, Star of the Sea, Star of the Sea, and other lofty titles.
Marian devotions, Marian devotion similar to this kind is also found in Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy and sometimes in Anglicanism, although not in the majority of denominations of Protestantism.
In some Christian traditions (like the Orthodox tradition), Sophia (wisdom), Sophia is the personification of either divine wisdom (or of an archangel) that takes female form. She is mentioned in the first chapter of the Book of Proverbs. Sophia is identified by some as the wisdom imparting Holy Spirit in Christianity, Holy Spirit of the Christian Trinity, whose names in Hebrew—Ruach and Shekhinah—are both feminine, and whose symbol of the dove was commonly associated in the Ancient Near East with the figure of the Mother Goddess.
In mysticism, Gnosticism, as well as some Hellenistic religions, there is a female spirit or goddess named Sophia who is said to embody wisdom and who is sometimes described as a Virginity, virgin. In Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic mysticism, Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Hildegard celebrated Sophia as a cosmic figure both in her writing and art. Within the Protestantism, Protestant tradition in England, the 17th-century mystic Universalism, universalist and founder of the Philadelphian Society Jane Leade wrote copious descriptions of her visions and dialogues with the "Virgin Sophia" who, she said, revealed to her the spiritual workings of the universe. Leade was hugely influenced by the theosophical writings of 16th-century Germany, German Christian mystic Jakob Böhme, who also speaks of Sophia in works such as ''The Way to Christ''.
Jakob Böhme was very influential to a number of Christian mysticism, Christian mystics and religious leaders, including George Rapp and the Harmony Society.
Latter Day Saint movement
The members of most denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement believe in, although they do not directly worship, a Heavenly Mother (Mormonism), Heavenly Mother who is the female counterpart of the God in Mormonism, Heavenly Father. Together they are referred to as Heavenly Parents. Adherents also believe that all humans, both women and men, have the potential to become gods through a process known as exaltation (Mormonism), exaltation.
Neopaganism
Most Modern Paganism, Modern Pagan traditions honour one or more goddesses. While some who follow Wicca believe in a Dualistic cosmology, duotheistic belief system, consisting of a single goddess and a single god, who in hieros gamos represent a united whole, others recognise only one or more goddesses.
Wicca

In Wicca "the Goddess" is the deity of prime importance, along with her consort the Horned God.
Within many forms of Wicca the Goddess has come to be considered as a universal deity, more in line with her description in the Charge of the Goddess, a key Wiccan text. In this guise she is the "Queen of Heaven", similar to
Isis
Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
. She also encompasses and conceives (creates) all life, much like Gaia (mythology), Gaia. Similarly to Isis and certain late Classical conceptions of Selene, she is the summation of all other goddesses, who represent her different names and aspects across the different cultures. The Goddess is often portrayed with strong lunar symbolism, drawing on various cultures and deities such as Diana (mythology), Diana, Hecate, and
Isis
Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
, and is often depicted as the Maiden, Mother, and Crone triad popularised by Robert Graves (see #Triple Goddess, Triple Goddess below). Many depictions of her also draw strongly on Celtic mythology, Celtic goddesses. Some Wiccans, or Witches, believe there are many goddesses, and in some forms of Wicca, notably Dianic Wicca, the Goddess alone is worshipped, and the Horned God, God plays very little (or no) part in their worship and ritual. The first history of Wiccans or Witches (nature based religion) appear on cave paintings that show early humans worshipping a feminine nature deity for luck and harvest (BCE). Later Celtics form a more formal form of Witches (Wiccans) with the triquetra (maiden mother crone), pentagram etc. They have evolved into the strong, nature based, animal rights loving and women rights religion of today.
Goddesses or demi-goddesses appear in sets of three in a number of ancient European pagan mythologies; these include the Greek ''Erinyes'' (Furies) and ''Moirai'' (Fates); the Norse ''Norns''; Brighid and her two sisters, also called Brighid, from Irish or Celtic mythology.
Robert Graves popularised the triad of "Maiden" (or "Virgin"), "Mother" and "Crone", and while this idea did not rest on sound scholarship, his poetic inspiration has gained a tenacious hold. Considerable variation in the precise conceptions of these figures exists, as typically occurs in Neopaganism and indeed in pagan religions in general. Some choose to interpret them as three stages in a woman's life, separated by menarche and menopause. Others find this too biologically based and rigid, and prefer a freer interpretation, with the Maiden as birth (independent, self-centred, seeking), the Mother as giving birth (interrelated, compassionate nurturing, creating), and the Crone as death and renewal (holistic, remote, unknowable) — and all three erotic and wise.
Feminism
Goddess movement
At least since first-wave feminism in the United States, there has been interest in analysing religion to see if and how doctrines and practices treat women unfairly, as in Elizabeth Cady Stanton's ''The Woman's Bible''. Again in second-wave feminism in the U.S., as well as in many European and other countries, religion became the focus of some feminist analysis in Judaism, Christianity, and other religions, and some women turned to ancient goddess religions as an alternative to Abrahamic religions (''Womanspirit Rising'' 1979; ''Weaving the Visions'' 1989). Today both women and men continue to be involved in the Goddess movement (Christ 1997). The popularity of organisations such as the Fellowship of Isis attest to the continuing growth of the religion of the Goddess throughout the world.
While much of the attempt at gender equity in mainstream Christianity (Judaism never recognised any gender for God) is aimed at reinterpreting scripture and degenderising language used to name and describe the divine (Ruether, 1984; Plaskow, 1991), there are a growing number of people who identify as Christians or Jews who are trying to integrate goddess imagery into their religions (Kien, 2000; Kidd 1996,"Goddess Christians Yahoo Group").
Sacred feminine
The term "sacred feminine" was first coined in the 1970s, in New Age popularisations of the Hindu
Shakti
Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...
. Hinduism also worships multitude of goddesses that have their important role and thus in all came to interest for the New Age, feminist, and lesbian feminist movements.
Metaphorical use
The term "goddess" has also been adapted to poetic and secular use as a complimentary description of a non-mythological woman.
[OED: "Applied to a woman. one's goddess: the woman whom one 'worships' or devotedly admires."] The OED notes 1579 as the date of the earliest attestation of such figurative use, in ''Laura de Noves, Lauretta the diuine Petrarches Goddesse''.
William Shakespeare, Shakespeare had several of his male characters address female characters as goddesses, including Demetrius to Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Helena in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' ("O Helen, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine!"), Berowne to Rosaline in ''Love's Labour's Lost'' ("A woman I forswore; but I will prove, Thou being a goddess, I forswore not thee"), and Bertram to Diana in ''All's Well That Ends Well''. Pisanio also compares Imogen to a goddess to describe her composure under duress in ''Cymbeline''.
See also
* Anima (Jung)
* Gavari
* Gender of God
* Goddess movement
* Heavenly Mother
* List of goddesses
* Matriarchy
* Mother goddess
* Ochre
* Oshun
* Sophia (wisdom), Sophia
* ''The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory''
* ''The White Goddess''
* Tree deity
* Venus figurines
References
Further reading
*Beavis, Mary Ann and Helen Hye-Sook Hwang (eds)
''Goddesses in Myth, History and Culture'' Mago Books, 2018.
* Dexter, Miriam Robbins, and Victor Mair (2010). ''Sacred Display: Divine and Magical Female Figures of Eurasia''. Cambria Press.
* Barnhart, Robert K (1995). ''The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology: the Origins of American English Words''. HarperCollins.
* Gorshunova . Olga V.(2008), ''Svjashennye derevja Khodzhi Barora…'', ('' Sacred Trees of Khodzhi Baror: Phytolatry and the Cult of Female Deity in Central Asia'') in Etnoragraficheskoe Obozrenie, n° 1, pp. 71–82. . .
*
{{Authority control
Deities
Goddesses,
Gender and religion
Jungian archetypes
Pantheism