The Double Goddess: Women Sharing Power
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Overview
The first book to seriously study the double goddess that figures prominently in Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures.
• Offers an important symbol for modern women seeking to reconnect with their ancient, integral sense of self and wholeness.
• Presents an archetype for the sacred potential of female bonding, whether between mother and daughter, teacher and student, friends, or lovers.
• Illustrated with 149 examples of double goddess images.
Numerous figures depicting two women in intimate relation with one another, or as a single body with two heads, have been discovered in important centers of early civilizations such as Catal Huyuk and Gozo. These have been routinely ignored by scholars or dismissed as mere dolls with no sacred connotations whatsoever. Vicki Noble shows, to the contrary, that this double goddess is an ancient icon that can considerably expand our understanding of female sovereignty, as well as provide contemporary women with a way to reconnect with the integral sense of self and wholeness enjoyed by their ancestors.
Ancient Goddess religion was informed by the organic cycles of nature—the dual poles of Life and Death. The double goddess represents phenomena such as the Earth-Moon pair, the Upper-Underworld pair, the Summer and Winter poles of the seasonal year, and the dual poles of the female biological reality of menstruation and ovulation—the dark and the light. The double goddess in all her varied forms also depicts the vast array of potential relationships women can form with themselves and each other. This book is a celebration of an archetype that not only empowers women, but also teaches them how to share that power with each other.
Synopsis
The first book to seriously study the double goddess that figures prominently in Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures.
• Offers an important symbol for modern women seeking to reconnect with their ancient, integral sense of self and wholeness.
• Presents an archetype for the sacred potential of female bonding, whether between mother and daughter, teacher and student, friends, or lovers.
• Illustrated with 149 examples of double goddess images.
Numerous figures depicting two women in intimate relation with one another, or as a single body with two heads, have been discovered in important centers of early civilizations such as Catal Huyuk and Gozo. These have been routinely ignored by scholars or dismissed as mere dolls with no sacred connotations whatsoever. Vicki Noble shows, to the contrary, that this double goddess is an ancient icon that can considerably expand our understanding of female sovereignty, as well as provide contemporary women with a way to reconnect with the integral sense of self and wholeness enjoyed by their ancestors.
Ancient Goddess religion was informed by the organic cycles of nature--the dual poles of Life and Death. The double goddess represents phenomena such as the Earth-Moon pair, the Upper-Underworld pair, the Summer and Winter poles of the seasonal year, and the dual poles of the female biological reality of menstruation and ovulation--the dark and the light. The double goddess in all her varied forms also depicts the vast array of potential relationships women can form with themselves and each other. This book is a celebration of an archetype that not only empowers women, but also teaches them how to share that power with each other.
Vicki Noble is a healer, teacher, artist, and author. She is the cocreator with Karen Vogel of the bestselling Motherpeace tarot deck. Her other books include Shakti Woman, Uncoiling the Snake, and Rituals and Practices with the Motherpeace Tarot. She lives near Santa Cruz in California.
Vicki's voice is unique and authentic in the women's spirituality movement.
Editorials
Olympia Dukakis
"Vicki's voice is unique and authentic in the women's spirituality movement."Mimi Davis
"Noble's research is painstakingly detailed and will be sure to engage readers interested in women's spirituality."Mary Daly
“Vicki Noble rekindles the forgotten lineage of female-to-female transmission—the sacred flow of energy between women that has never been possessed by the patriarchy nor by any male.”Monica Sjoo
"Vicki is herself a great healer and is very experienced in how women's "heat," magnetically flowing energies finely tuned to each other, can bring about miracles."Madelon Wise
“I highly recommend this book as an essential piece of Goddess scholarship and religion.”Jeannine Davis-Kimball
“A truly international collection of artifacts reflecting the power of ancient women . . . beautifully places each image in its historic context, affording an understanding of these ancient matristic cultures.”Eva Keuls
“Vicki Noble’s observation that, in many instances, matriarchal figures are depicted as bonded with other women in groupings of two or more . . . is original and brilliantly thought-provoking. She has, in fact, opened a new window on prehistoric societies.”JEANNINE DAVIS-KIMBALL
“A truly international collection of artifacts reflecting the power of ancient women . . . beautifully places each image in its historic context, affording an understanding of these ancient matristic cultures.”EVA KEULS
“Vicki Noble’s observation that, in many instances, matriarchal figures are depicted as bonded with other women in groupings of two or more . . . is original and brilliantly thought-provoking. She has, in fact, opened a new window on prehistoric societies.”From the Publisher
“I highly recommend this book as an essential piece of Goddess scholarship and religion.”