Fertility

Fertility might be one of the most scary or avoided forms of magic by many people.  Say you were to have a fertility statue in your home and someone picked it up and asked, "What's this for?".  You know that if you say, "fertility" to them the chances of them dropping the statue on the floor directly from their hands is a very great one.   Fear of having a bunch of babies or even one unplanned is a great fear.  Fertility does not just focus on a womb full of fetuses.  If we look at the definition of fertile, we can gain new ideas about fertility on a magical level:

"fer·tile  –adjective

1.  bearing, producing, or capable of producing vegetation, crops, etc., abundantly; prolific: fertile soil.

2.  bearing or capable of bearing offspring.

3.  abundantly productive: a fertile imagination."

Fertility is not just about bearing a child and multiplying our population.   It also includes other forms of creation, from having a green thumb, to being imaginative.  Creativity being a big one here.  When we make an art project or find ourselves fruitful in our work, we are in fact experiencing a fertility type of energy.  When one does fertility magic or raises fertility energy it can manifest itself in any of these categories.  

Now, I am not saying we can not fine tune the energies to fill a certain goal in these categories.  You can be specific and focus more towards a green thumb, being productive or in fact creating life in yourself.   But as I well know, raising fertility energy can result in a new art project when you were hoping for a baby.  Now I do not mind having a new art or writing project, or developing a green thumb, or having another child.  In fact I welcome them all. 

I regularly invite fertility energy into my life because of my strong ties to motherhood.  I am always hoping to be productive.  One way I do this is to wear a fertility charm on my neck.   This is my Howlite mama goddess that I bought a few months back from Wild Mother Arts on Etsy (Thank you for the photo btw).  It has been on my neck ever since I got it and it truly is a remarkable piece of jewelry.  Most importantly, it is child proof, as it keeps finding ways to consecrate itself, by finding its way into babies hands and sometimes mouths.  It really pissed off one of my husbands cousins who said it looked like violent headless pornography (ignorance is wonderful!), whom I thought was going to kick me out of her house for it.  But most people come to me and give me so many compliments on it.  It is filled with fertile motherly energy and reflects who I am spiritually.  For I am a Mother and a Goddess, and I am filled with fertility.  

The Goddess Series- Paleolithic Figures

One of the most popular figures related to ancient goddess forms is the Venus of Willendorf, one that I have been drawn too for over a decade. One of my first pagan jewelry items that I purchased was a mini amethyst Venus figure, which I was always able to get away with wearing because everyone always thought it was a bunch of grapes. I have always felt drawn to images from this period of human history, including cave art, earth art and of course, goddess figures.

There are several aspects that have always drawn me to these figures. First and most importantly, her shape. She reflects a natural and realistic view of a woman, instead of our modern emaciated models. She has a large flabby tummy, wide hips and enormous breasts. She also does not hide her body or attempt to hide her sexuality. In Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, the figure actually hides her breasts and genitals and shows modesty. However, Venus of Willendorf places her arms above her breasts and displays them and her enlarged vulva for the world to see. She is exposed in all aspects and to me this is tied to embracing sexuality and womanhood fully. It shows her power as a woman and yet does not denigrate who she is. And lastly, she has no face, and thus she could be anyone and also a part of us all. Her anonymity also reflects a certain aura of her being beyond personification. If she had a face, it would distract from these Venus figures more womanly and openly fertile representations. Overall, when I see these figures I see a woman in her most fully primal state and it reminds me of the Goddess within myself.

There has always been some debate over the meanings behind these, the biggest being the battle over if these figures represented goddesses or not. Some believe they are representative of fertility and womanhood. Some think they were made by women to aid other women through menstruation, and child bearing. The Venus of Willendorf has a coating of red ochre, possible symbolism anyone? However, language and cultural barriers aside, no one is going back 25,000 years to ask the artist what the piece represented to them.

Regardless of what they represent, there is no doubt in my mind that these figures were made with an important agenda. Think about this. Can you go camping with nothing but hand tools and come back with a perfect replica of the Venus of Willendorf? I know that I couldn't not even if I used special tools designed for carving limestone. If someone spent the time and energy to make such a piece of art, wouldn't you think it was rather significant? Yes we see in our art world some things that have no meaning to us on a deeper and spiritual level, but they have some to the artist. If we look at it from an artists prospective, we still are given a high probability that this statue honored fertility and womanhood. One Carving in particular, The Venus of Laussel, carries a cornucopia in her hand with 13 notches on it. The number 13 is the same amount of lunar cycles in a year, which is paralleled by a womans cycle. Honoring these, is indicative that they too honored the feminine aspects of humanity on a larger scale. Even if these Venus figures are not goddesses, they represent a huge part of the female experience and should be honored as such.

There are lessons we can learn from these figures as spiritual beings ourselves, despite the meaning behind them. Be yourself and do not hide your femininity, embrace it and let your inner goddess shine. The scars of motherhood are not to be shamed, wear your hips, tummy, and breasts as a badge of honor. We may be very different from those who created these figures, but we still have a common tie through our womanly features, cycles and birth. Most importantly, we are surrounded by goddesses every day and they should be honored as such.


Resources

http://donsmaps.com/willendorf.html
http://arthistoryresources.net/willendorf/willendorfdiscovery.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_of_Laussel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_figurines

The Goddess Series- Intro

Yesterday Morning I went and got a new tattoo. I have been asking my husband to get a new tattoo for 8 months now (we always decide on things outside our budget together). Yesterday he finally said yes. I went to the tattoo shop and got a spiral Goddess on my right ankle. For me this is a symbol I have been wanting to get for a long time. I have been wanting to find ways on how to honor my inner Goddess. Being a Goddess is part of being a mother. We bring life into this world and nourish it and help it grow. We slowly plant the seeds of the seeds of the next generation and the future. This is an important job and in turn it is important to honor the Goddess within ourselves.

It is because of this that we will venture into, for the next few months or longer, the Goddess Series here at the Spiritual Mother. We will cover many aspects of goddesses including discussing different goddesses around the world, honoring her in yourself, teaching your children about goddesses and more. I can't wait to share this with you and want to remind all the women out there that you are a Goddess!