“Asherah’s themes are kindness, love, divination and foresight. Her symbols are lions, lilies, a tree or a pole. Asherah, a Canaanite Goddess of moral strength, offers to lend support and insight when we are faced with inequality or overwhelming odds. In art, She is often depicted simply as an upright post supporting the temple. This is a fitting representation, since Her name means ‘straight’.
Traditionally, Asherah is a mother figure often invoked at planting time, embodying a kind of benevolent, fertile energy that can reinforce just efforts and good intentions. Beyond this She is also an oracular Goddess, specifically for predicting the future.
In Israel, Ta’anit Ester commemorates Esther‘s strength and compassion in pleading with King Ahasuerus to save her people held captive in Persia. It is a time of prayer when one looks to the divine to instill similar positive attributes within us. For help in this quest, we turn to Asherah with this simple prayer:
‘Lady, make me an instrument of kindness and mercy
Let my words be gentle and true
My actions motivated by insight and fairness
Where there is prejudice
Let me share your vision
Where there is uncertainty
Let me share your vision
Where there is disharmony
Let me show love
Amen.’
Asherah was the great Canaanite Mother Goddess since about the 13th century BCE and is arguably the most important Goddess in the Canaanite pantheon. Like Anat, She is a was well-documented Goddess of the northwest Semitic pantheon. We have long known Asherah from the immense library of thirteenth-century cuneiform tablets found in Syria at the site of Ugarit. She is the Shekinah, consort and beloved of Yahweh; God-the-Mother. Her sacred pillars or poles once stood right beside Yahweh’s altar, embracing it. Moses and Aaron both carried one of these Asherah “poles” as a sacred staff of power. The Children of Israel were once dramatically healed simply by gazing at the staff with serpents suspended from it. This symbol, the snakes* and the staff, has become the modern universal symbol for doctors and healers.
According to the 13th century cuneiform tablets found in Syria at the site of Ugarit, She is the wife of El in Ugaritic mythology, known as Elat (the feminine form of El; compare Allat); a fertility Goddess and the wooden cult symbol that represented Her. As El’s first wife, She was said to have birthed 70 sons. All gods of the myths were born to Asherah and El, with the exception of Baʿal, whose parentage is uncertain. El had 2 wives but it was Asherah alone who nursed the newly born gods. Seeing as She had birthed so many children it is only normal that She was worshipped as the true fertility Goddess, force of life and nature. She manifests in domestic herds and flocks, in groves of trees and in the nurturing waters. Her powers and her presence were invoked not only during planting time but also during childbirth. She is the Goddess who is also called Athirau-Yammi: “She Who Walks on (or in) the Sea.” She was the chief Goddess of Tyre in the 15th century BCE, and bore the appellation Qudshu, “holiness.”
“She was often portrayed with a lion or ibex on either side as in the bottom register of the Canaanite ritual stand from Taanach, late 10th century BCE in the tree trunk on the right. A Tree of Life with 3 pairs of branches, an ibex and a lion on either side can be seen two registers above. Later, after patriarchal systems prevailed, Her name came to mean grove or trees. As a Goddess worshipped in Her own right in the ancient Hebrew religion, She was associated with all that was symbolized by the Tree of Life. In making the first Menorah, the ancient Hebrews were instructed to have three branches coming out of either side of a central stand with an almond shaped cup and a flower at the end of each one, resembling an almond tree. Among the trees considered to be the Tree of Life, the almond tree was highly regarded as it was the first to flower in spring, even before leafing out. The progression from Asherah, to the Tree of Life to the Menorah is revealed in the 4th century CE Roman gold glass base in the tree branches depicting a Menorah with a lion on either side. Asherah is wearing a necklace from Deir el-Balah, 14th-13th century BCE with an ibex-headed pendant from Ashod, 4th century BCE.” [1]
Food for Thought – “The Hebrew name used for God in Genesis is Elohim, a derivative of El. Many people find the passage in Genesis that says, “Let us make humankind in our own image” a little confusing. If there is only one true God, then who was he talking to? Some have said he was talking to the Holy Spirit, another aspect of Elohim, which is also seen as a male type or at least, as a non-gender. Others have asserted that he was talking to Eloah, the female aspect of Elohim. The world Elohim is actually plural, so that implies there is more than one “Being” involved in Elohim. Since there were only two kinds of people created, male and female, one could probably assume that man was made in the El’s image while woman was made in Eloah’s image. Thus, we were all, male and female, made in Elohim’s image, encompassing both the male and female aspect of God.” [2]
“There are more than 40 references to Asherah in the Old Testament. Asherah appears as a Goddess by the side of Baʿal, whose consort She evidently became, at least among the Canaanites of the south. We remember that, according to the Bible itself, in the ninth century BCE Asherah was officially worshipped in Israel; Her cult was matronized by Jezebel who, supposedly, imported it from her native Phoenician homeland. However, most biblical references to the name point obviously to some cult object of wood, which might be cut down and burned, possibly the Goddesses’ image (1 Kings 15:13, 2 King 21:7). Her prophets are mentioned (1 Kings 18:19), and the vessels used in Her service referred to (2 Kings 23:4). The existence of numerous symbols, in each of which the Goddess was believed to be immanent, led to the creation of numerous forms of Her person, which were described as Asherim. In reference to the Tree of Life of which She is associated with, an object called an Asherah was a sacred pole carved out of the terebinth tree and placed next to the altars of Yahweh, thus worshipping both the mother and the father at once. Her own specific places of worship were on hilltops, (called “High Places” in the Bible), and in forests and groves. Through Her association with trees, She was seen as the part of Elohim who brought fertility, new growth, successful crops and watched over nature. Along with life in nature, She was also seen as the Bread of Life for the Hebrew people. Hebrew women would make special loaves of Asherah bread, which would be blessed, then ritually eaten. Some scholars say this is the precursor of the communion wafer. These practices and the cult objects themselves were utterly detestible to faithful worshippers of Yahweh (1 Kings 15:13).” [3]
“After Abraham was called by Yahweh and recruited some followers, he had a difficult time cutting out Asherah and the other regional gods. However, as time progressed in the Old Testament, the temptation to worship other gods lessened, while the blatant worship of Asherah along side of Yahweh continued. It was difficult for the religious leaders in early Judaism to suppress Asherah because of a universally desire to recognize a nurturing, compassionate, Mother Goddess.
Hebrew women had a closer attachment to Her, seeing as how they did not play much of a role in their religion. Of course, there were some great women such as Esther, Deborah, and Rebecca, but women playing a part in early Judaism was definitely the exception instead of the rule. In archaeological sites that date back to Biblical times, small statues of Asherah are found in what would likely be bedrooms and kitchen areas. It is widely accepted that although the religious leaders frowned on the worship of Asherah, the common people, mainly women, would still have small figures of Asherah in their households. This should not come as a surprise, since women of that time had a considerably lower status than they do today, and since there were no priestesses for them to go to for support, they had to find their own faith. What could Yahweh know about childbirth without epidurals? How could they pray to him for relief of menstrual pain in a time before Ibuprofen? What did Yahweh know about being beaten by a husband or raped by a neighbor?
There were no Battered Women’s Shelters then, or anti depressants for post-partum depression. It would not make sense for them to pray to a male god for female issues. I’m sure that if there was ever a society that had only one Deity and it was a Goddess, the men might feel strange praying to a Goddess to cure him of impotence or premature ejaculation.
It would appear that Hebrew men slightly understood this dilemma that their wives and sisters faced and they were more lenient on Asherah worship than they were of Ba’al worship or other gods. An interesting, but little known fact about the Temple of Jerusalem is that an Asherah statue was housed there for two-thirds of the time that the Temple stood during Biblical times. Apparently, one of the wives of Solomon brought it with her when she married him, and he allowed it to remain in the Temple for quite some time; and he was viewed as the wisest man who ever lived! Also, when Elijah wanted to prove the power of God or Yahweh, he called out the 450 priests of Ba’al and the 400 priestesses of Asherah. Although he was there to disprove both Ba’al and Asherah, he focused on the priests of Ba’al and derided them during their prayers, eventually killing them all, but he does nothing to the priestesses of Asherah.” [4]
“Other traces in the Bible either angrily acknowledge Her worship as Goddess (II Kings 14.13, for instance, where another royal lady is involved), or else demote Her from Goddess to a sacred tree or pole set up near an altar (II Kings 13.6, 17.16; Deuteronomy 16.21 and more). The authors of the biblical text attack Asherah relentlessly. They praise Asa, king of Judah (911-870 BCE), for removing his mother Ma’acah from official duties after “she had an abominable image made for Asherah” (I Kings 15.13, II Chronicles 15.6). They condemn the long-reigning Manas’seh of Judah (698-642) for doing “what was evil in the sight of the Lord” in “making an Asherah” (II Kings 21.7).
And they trumpet the achievements of Josiah (639-609), including the destruction of offerings made to Asherah at the temple in Jerusalem, the abolition of “the Asherah from the house of the Lord,” and demolition of a shrine there in which women “did weaving for Asherah” (II Kings 23). These passages reflect both the popularity of Asherah’s worship and efforts to stamp out Her cult during in the Iron Age. But it was only in the succeeding Persian period, after the fall of Judah in 586 BCE and the exile in Babylon, that Asherah virtually disappeared.
Ultimately, the campaign to eliminate the Goddess has failed. “Asherah was buried long ago by the Establishment,” declares respected biblical scholar William H. Dever. “Now, archaeology has excavated her.” Dever is quite certain that he knows who the Asherah of ancient Israel and of the biblical texts is–She is the wife or consort of Yahweh, the one god of Israel. Many of his colleagues would agree.” [5]
ASSOCIATIONS:
Pantheon: Canaanite
Element: Fire
Sphere of Influence: Sex and love
Preferred Colors: Green, red
Animals Associated With: Lions, serpents
Best Day to Work With: Friday
Strongest Around: Ostara
Associated Planet: Venus [6]
*A word about snakes: The Serpent, though a frightening symbol because of its ability to bring death, stood also for ancient wisdom and immortality. (Note that it hung out in the Tree of Knowledge and preached a doctrine of immortality, “ye shall NOT surely die.”) Many early societies revered the snake and used it to symbolize different ideas. In much the same way, today we revere the Lion or other ferocious big-cats even though they’re dangerous. An early American symbol used the snake as a statement of power, a warning, saying, “Don’t tread on me!”
Sources:
Amenahem, Bathia.The Mother Goddess: As She Appears in Cultures Around the World, “Judaism“.
Archeology, The Lost Goddess of Israel.
A-Muse-ing Grace Gallery, “Athirat“.
The Esoteric Seminary, “The Hebrew Goddess“.
The Goddess in World Mythology, “Asherah“.
Order of the White Moon, “Asherah by Medussa“.
PaganNews.com, “Asherah“.
Suggested Links:
Monaghan, Patricia. Goddesses in World Culture, “Asherah: Hidden Goddess of the Bible“. (p. 39 – 54).
Dear RavynStar,
I have just discovered your blog and I really enjoy reading it and learning from it. There are however one or two instances when I feel the need to comment:
“How could they pray to him for relief of menstrual pain in a time before Ibuprofen? What did Yahweh know about being beaten by a husband or raped by a neighbor? There were no Battered Women’s Shelters then… “
Reading the New Testament, about the strong independent and also financially autonomous Jewish women, who supported a Jewish Rabbi, by the name of Jesus in the first century, most people would not conclude that there is much evidence of wife beating. Among his followers some extraordinary, strong, independent-minded Jewish women (Luke 8:1-3), supporting Jesus to fight Roman oppression and a corrupt religious leadership and priesthood.
They do not seem to be needing Battered Women’s Shelters. Neither does The Shulamit, the heroin of the Song of Songs, who is proud to be “black and beautiful” and not afraid to express her sexual desire in the Hebrew Bible. Hers is the first word (1; 2) and hers is the last word also (8; 14). Most modern interpretations even see the Shulamit as the embodiment of the Goddess, rather than a battered woman.
I would also recommend the book by Janice Ristock – No More Secrets: Violence in Lesbian Relationships. before the generalization of ‘Yahweh knowing about being beaten by husbands’.
Incidentally – the above Jewish Rabbi also healed the woman with menstrual problems. (Matthew 9; 20-22)
Hi Andre! Thanks for stopping by, taking the time to read and commenting. The points you made are very interesting and I believe worth researching further as I freely admit that I am by no means an expert on this subject.
What I do conclude however, based on biblical law found in and throughout the Bible, (http://www.nobeliefs.com/DarkBible/darkbible7.htm) women were by no means treated as equals, but as unclean and pieces of property in which physical abuse was legal and acceptable forms of punishment. So, girls are trained from a young age to become a “good” and subservient wife, living only to please her husband or risk being punished – not my idea of a good life and rather psychologically damaging in my opinion.
I also found an article entitled “Wifebeating in Jewish Tradition” by Naomi Graetz (http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/wifebeating-in-jewish-tradition) to be quite interesting.
This was also of particular interest, “The rabbis…instituted and tightened prohibitions on domestic violence [during the Middle Ages I’m assuming]. Rabbi Peretz ben Elijah ruled, ‘The cry of the daughters of our people has been heard concerning the sons of Israel who raise their hands to strike their wives. Yet who has given a husband the authority to beat his wife?’ Rabbi Rothberg ruled that ‘For it is the way of the Gentiles to behave thus, but Heaven forbid that any Jew should do so. And one who beats his wife is to be excommunicated and banned and beaten.’ Rabbi Rothenberg also ruled that a battered wife could petition a rabbinical court to compel a husband to grant a divorce, with a monetary fine owed her on top of the regular ketubah money. These rulings occurred in the midst of societies where wife-beating was legally sanctioned and routine” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Judaism). This tells me that there was a history of domestic abuse, but one must ask, how long had it been going on before it had become a big enough deal to be noticed by the rabbis and actions had to be taken in an attempt to end this behavior?
I do remember reading somewhere a very long time ago about the connection of the woman in “Song of Songs” and the Goddess (I think it started at this site when I was researching the Black Madonna http://www.thenazareneway.com/Mary%20Magdalene%20Great%20Mother-Goddess%20Queen.htm). I freely admit that I do really enjoy “Song of Songs”, as it seems to be the only place in the Bible in which a woman (or Goddess) is mentioned in such a beautiful and sensual way in all of her feminine glory and loveliness. This is interesting to me because Solomon had allowed his wives to worship their Goddess and this is only book that I find such “veneration”. While this is all fine and good, this seems to be a single occurrence in which a woman is mentioned in such a way in the Bible and she cannot speak or be a representation for how all women were treated.
Also, the great women mentioned, I truly do believe that they are exceptions to the rule. I do however like to read about these great women and have suggested this link to my Christian sisters before (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/first/women.html) which I found very intriguing.
As far as menstrual cramps and childbirth, from my understanding, before the time of the patriarchy, menstruation and childbirth wasn’t looked at as a curse. It wasn’t until God “cursed” Eve for the downfall of all mankind that it was looked upon as something shameful and dirty. Why then, would women want to pray to a male god who had “cursed” them with this “affliction” for relief from said “curse”? God didn’t have a period, God didn’t give birth. The Goddess knew and understood these cycles as a woman knows and understands these cycles as a part of nature – not as a punishment or something dirty and shameful, or to be shunned and not touched by a man until her period is over.
I will put the book you recommended on my wishlist. I have heard that female on female violence can be extremely intimate, violent and brutal – especially in prisons. I am extremely interested in psychology and this would be a wonderful book to add to my collection. Thank you!
Hi RavynStar, and thank you for your detailed response. I was not suggesting that wife-beating and domestic violence did not exist in Judaism. I was more surprised at the choice of mentioning battered women, in your writing about the Hebrew Goddess, Aserah and not in the articles about any of the Hindu or Buddhist Goddesses.
Behind the peaceful pagodas of Goddesses of Japanese Zen Buddhism, over a third of Japanese women experience violence: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ed20120513a2.html
Forced prostitution, and exploitation of girls and women by Thai Buddhist monks are virtually institutionalised: http://www.american-buddha.com/thai.buddh.patriarchy.htm
In India wife–beating seems to be a national sport today, as it was 2000 years ago: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/india/110125/domestic-violence-indian-women
http://in.reuters.com/article/2009/06/08/idINIndia-40149420090608
Menstruation, being a ‘curse’ is primarily a Christian concept – in Hinduism during menstruation, women are considered to belong to the lowest caste, Shudra.
http://www.goddess-pages.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=792&Itemid=1&ed=24
And you are probably aware that in Nepal the Hindu gods will punish menstruating women, their family, land and livestock in any number of catastrophic ways if they try to contaminate their homes, so menstruating girls are quarantined:
http://www.asafeworldforwomen.org/womens-rights/wr-central-and-south-asia/wr-nepal/998-nepal-emerging-from-menstrual-quarantine.html
Incidentally there is a “50 Million Missing” global campaign to stop India’s female genocide today: http://www.causes.com/causes/74219-the-50-million-missing-a-campaign-against-india-s-female-genocide
So just wondering, about not mentioning this when writing about Kali, Tara – and why at Asherah?
Wow, this is some amazing information that you provided – a majority of it being new to me. I truly appreciate you sharing this and will be reviewing the links you listed. All of those points you just made never came up in my research during my research of the Goddesses mentioned. The examples of there being no battered women’s shelters and menstruation were examples mentioned by Bathia Amenahem, who had received her PhD in Archaeological Judeo-Christian studies, when I was doing my research on this Goddess and that it is the reason whey I included it in this entry on Asherah.
Pondering upon these points further, I think the point that Amenahem was trying to make that yes, these things were going on (domestic abuse, degradation, the common hardships that women face on a day to day basis) and continue to go on in all cultures. Yet, there is need for a female deity that women can turn who can relate to the hardships they endured; a female deity that the Hebrews (and other patriarchal societies) tried to demote, demonize and eliminate in their effort to instate their one “true” male god. In the other cultures you mentioned, there are female deities for women to turn to in their times of need (Buddhists have the Holy Mother Tara – The Saviouress; Chinese and Japanese have The Mother of Mercy – Kwan Yin or Kannon; the Hindu have The Great Divine Mother – Shakti in all of Her different aspects). It is only in the “Big Three” (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) that I have found, lack a Goddess in which women can turn and pray to in their times of need (with the exception of Catholicism where The Virgin Mary is almost elevated to Goddess or co-redeemer status in which women can turn to).
So here is an example of how in a Goddess-loving religion like Hinduism, in India, a poor widow can go to the Temple of Kali and get comforted by Her “in their times of need” :
“Widow paraded naked for entering the temple of Kali” http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-04-05/india/27750550_1_kalawati-gheraoed-police-station
Widow humiliated for entering Kali temple. In a shameful incident a widow was made to wear a garland of shoes and to top it, her face was blackened after she defied a ban on her offering prayers at a Kali temple in Dhanbad district in Jharkhand.
Kalawati Devi was barred by villagers from entering the temple because she was a
widow, reports in the local media said. Not satisfied they then proceeded to blacken her face and paraded her in the village square naked. To make matters more unseemly than they were, most of those who humiliated Kalawati were women.
That is tragic. It’s bad enough when you hear about instances of caning, stoning and acid attacks on women by men in these regions (to include the Middle East of course), but when this type of behavior is exhibited by her “sisters” – other women, it makes it especially awful. Even though there is a Goddess presence in this religion and culture, it is still a male dominated patriarchal society (which are characterized by violence) that institutes a caste system versus a more matriarchal society in which women enjoy a sense of autonomy, are considered equals, free to express themselves and are less prone to violence as can be seen in the few existing matriarchal typed societies today (i.e. the Mosuo in China, the Minangkabau of Indonesia, the Khasi of Bangladesh, the Kalash of northern Pakistan and even the Juchitán society of southern Mexico).
Andre,
It just occurred to me that I do remember coming across information on a Goddess who is invoked to protect against domestic violence, Erzulie Dantor, and thought this may interest you. She is the Voodoo Goddess of love, romance, art, jealousy, passion, & sex. Erzulie Dantor is the patron loa of lesbian women, fierce protector of women experiencing domestic violence and patron loa of New Orleans.
Erzulie Dantor is a mulatto woman who is often portrayed as the Black Madonna, or the Roman Catholic “Saint Barbara Africana”.
Most Haitian women serve Dantor. She also supports independent business women and is the patron of women’s finances. Many women invoked Erzulie Dantor against their partners (male or female) should they become violent. (http://www.mysticvoodoo.com/erzulie.htm)
I agree with almost everything you said but two points I’d like to make. Ba’al is a title, not a name. It means “lord” or “master” sometimes it refers to a God, other times it refers to a King or Military commander.
The Bible is never specific about which Ba’al it is. Remember many Kings tried to force people to worship them as living Gods, the Ba’al mentioned in the Bible could be a King, a General of some sorg, or a Deity. The Baalim and Elohim were the same Gods simply the Yahwehist faction tried to rutessly murder most lf them.
But just because a Ba’al is a God doesn’t mean there good Gods. Ba’al Moloch was a Demon God (worshipped today by Satanists) who’s worship was catagorized by burning children to death as a sacrifice to him.
So it wasnt always that the Yahwehists had no reason to hate the Ba’als some were bloodthristy. Jezebel herself was a Tyrant which only contributed to making Asherah look bad.
The other point I wanted to make is that King Mannaseh was a practitioner of Black Magick who burned his children (possibly to Moloch) and instituted false priests by his own mandate. It’s said he spilled so much blood that it could fill Israel from corner to corner.
Now the other Kings you mentioned? Bloodthristy, sexist, bigots who hated the Goddess. But Mannaseh was a real bastard. Kings like him gave Hebrew Polytheism a bad name. Plus his so-called “necromancers” were not real Necromancers but people who were friends with them and he simply gave them the title. But they had little to no experience being priests or sorcerers of the dead which probably pissed the spirits off.
That’s the equivalent of me going around proclaiming myself a “witch” because the President is my friend so he gave me the title.
That’s an affront to all the spirits especially the Gods and Goddesses.
And it says he worshipped “the hosts of heaven” meaning that he engaged in Angelolotry, the Idolatry of Angels which Idolatry is forbidden in all faiths as far as I know.
Wow, some great info! Thanks so much for sharing!!
Very cool, thank you for the enlightenment!
Hi,
Thank you for this website. You have a lot of interesting information here that i really enjoyed reading. One thing that struck me was when you talked about how christianity doesnt have a female higher power to turn to for comfort. Being a woman, i understand where you are coming from. I like the idea of that but please know that in Jesus Christ you can find all the comfort you could ever need if you opened your heart to him. Jesus came in contact with many women in his ministry and treated them with kindness, respect and compassion even when Jewish traditions said he shouldnt have.
Today in church i was reminded of a passage in Mark 5 where Jesus had two different encounters with women. One woman was healed of her years long bleeding just by touching the hem of Jesus’ garmet. He responded to her with grace and love when they finally spoke. He also raised a young girl from the dead just a little bit after that, calling her a little lamb even though girls werent always considered valuable. Even though Jesus is a male figure, he cares for all people equally and because he made you, understands and loves you better than anyone else ever could. I hope you dont mind my comments. They come from the heart. I hope to hear back from you and God bless.
Hi 🙂 I came across your writings today and wanted to thank you for taking the time to research and share. My own personal interest is in the Canaanite Pantheon, half from an academic angle and half from a personal calling. I know that when we put up a post it’s there for anyone to criticise and I admire the way you are willing to take information from people and consider it and look further. The marks of good ‘journalism’ 🙂 — I find that most of the information regarding the Ugartic/Canaanite Ashtart is sadly lacking. There is little to support a relationship between her and Baal. However if you haven’t yet I encourage you to read the Myth of Baal , taken from the Ras Shamra texts, the dialogue and interaction between Baal and Anat is quite engaging. ‘Stories from Ancient Canaan’ by Michael Coogan is a great read for this. As well, some of the parts of his book, including a big chunk from Baal can be found : http://books.google.ca/books?id=1q2TzqnFWqQC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA89#v=onepage&q&f=false
Anyhow, thanks again!
The prayer is similar to San Francisco prayer.
After all, thanks for share this information. So interesting! 🙂
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You are most AWEsome! Thank you, sister.