Sheila-na-gig {Goddess of the Week}

[Agaliha]

The Sheila-na-gig is a figure from medieval stone carvings of the British Isles (mostly Ireland), of a grinning woman holding open Her vulva. She is regarded by some as a gargoyle-like figure meant as a medieval allegory of lust, or as a magical figure meant to cure infertility in women, but others have seen in Her an echo of the ancient Irish earth mother.

The word "gyg" is Norse for giantess, in other words, a supernatural or deified female, while "Sheila" is a woman's name, or used as a word for "girl".
The vulva as holy symbol of birth and life is a very ancient idea that symbolizes the life-giving and regenerative powers of the Earth Mother. The image of the vulva has a long history of being carved in stone, and is found all over Europe from the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages. Passage graves were built in the shape of the Goddess, with the passage the vagina, and the tomb chamber itself representing Her uterus. "Tomb" and "womb" were equated, thus ensuring regeneration and continuity after death, in the same way that a "dead" seed is planted in the fertile earth and sprouts up to grow into a complete plant.

Despite the fact that to modern eyes Her pose is "obscene" the Sheila-na-gig is most predominantly found carved in the decoration of churches.
This card in a reading indicates old and ancient themes that lie beneath the roots of the current situation. For example, the instinctual desire to have children may be dictating more of your life than you are aware, or sexual desire may be pulling the strings. Also, this card asks that you reexamine your ideas of what is "obscene" and what is "proper".

Alternate spellings: Sheela-na-gig, Sheela-no-gig, Sheelanagyg, Irish Síle na gCíoch "Sheila of the Breasts"
FROM: Sheila-na-gig (http://www.thaliatook.com/sheilanagig.html)
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Sheela na Gigs (or Sheela-na-Gigs) are figurative carvings of naked women displaying an exaggerated vulva. They are found on churches, castles and other buildings in Ireland and Britain, sometimes together with male figures. A well-known example can be seen at Kilpeck in Herefordshire, England. In The Sheela-na-Gigs of Ireland and Britain: The Divine Hag of the Christian Celts – An Illustrated Guide Joanne McMahon and Jack Roberts cite 101 examples in Ireland against 45 in Britain.

There is controversy regarding the source of the figures. One perspective, by James Jerman and Anthony Weir, is that the sheelas were first carved in France and Spain in the 11th century; the motif eventually reached Britain and then Ireland in the 12th century. Jerman and Weir's work was a continuation of the research started by Jørgen Andersen, who wrote "The Witch on the Wall", the first serious book on Sheela Na Gigs. Eamonn Kelly, Keeper of Irish Antiquities at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, draws attention in his book Sheela Na Gigs: Origins and Functions to the distribution of sheelas in Ireland to support Weir and Jerman's theory; almost all of the surviving in situ sheelas are found in areas of Anglo-Norman conquest (12th century), while the areas which remained "native Irish" boast only a few sheelas. Weir and Jerman also argue in Images of Lust that their location on churches, and their ugliness by mediæval standards, suggests that they were used to represent female lust as hideous and sinfully corrupting.

Another theory, espoused by Joanne McMahon and Jack Roberts, is that the carvings are remnants of a pre-Christian fertility or Mother Goddess religion. They point to what they claim are differences in materials and styles of some Sheelas from their surrounding structures, and that some are turned on their side, to support the idea that they were incorporated from previous structures into early Christian buildings. There are differences between typical "continental" exhibitionist figures and Irish Sheelas, including the scarcity of male figures in Ireland and the UK, while the continental carvings are more likely to involve male figures, and the more "contortionist" postures of continental figures.

Such carvings are said to ward off death and evil (Andersen, Weir, and Jerman). Other grotesques such as gargoyles and Hunky Punks are frequently found on churches all over Europe and it is commonly said that they are there to keep evil spirits away (see Apotropaic magic). They are often positioned over doors or windows, presumably to protect these openings.
FROM: Sheela Na Gig - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGkkCg7uBEq0UAv2VXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3dWJrZWozBGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDNARzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANGODA0X zIwMw--/SIG=11uen97mn/EXP=1155678240/**http%3a//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila-na-gig)

******
The goddess of fertility in British-Celtic mythology. She is prominently displaying her genitals in an attempt to allay the power of death. With the advent of Christianity she is portrayed (even on the outside of English churches) as a female demon to ward off evil.
FROM: Pantheon.Org (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/s/sheila-na-gig.html)
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The Mythology
Ancient Irish Goddess of birth and death, Sheila Na Gig's (pronounced shee'lah-nah-hig) grinning figure with both hands holding open her yoni adorned many a church doorway, till she was torn down or smashed by the offended. The Celts honored the sacred power of woman's genitalia and used sculptured of such for protection. Sheila Na Gig is portrayed here as a hag (woman of wisdom) in all her glory: rib cage of bone, breasts dried out and sadding, with few remaining teeth and little hair, yet vibrant and defiant in the beauty of her age. This beauty is the right of all women to claim. She dares you to look at her, face your fears of aging, and triumph in your celebration of what will age and die.


The Lessons of this Goddess Sheila Na Gig grins at you provocatively and invites you to join her in opening. Now is the time to open to new experiences, people, places, and things. Now is the time to begin new projects, forge new directions, venture out boldly. The universe invites you to come out and play. Perhaps you've had to contract your enery to deal with a wounding, grieving, an ending. Or you haven't felt it was safe to open up. You may have needed a time of seclusion, sorting out, and focusing inward. The Goddess is here to remind you that a period of contraction is followed by expansion and opening. It is time to nurture wholeness by integrating what the stretching, expanding, and opening will bring.

FROM: Sheila Na Gig, Goddess of Opening (http://www.angelfire.com/va/goddesses/shei.html)
******
Sheila Na Gig
from Goddesses and Heroines
Exerpt from Goddess & Heroines by Patricia Monaghan

Smiling lewdly out from rock carvings, this goddess of ancient Ireland can still be seen in surviving petroglyphs: a grinning, often skeletal face, huge buttocks, full breasts, and bent knees. What most observers remember best, however, is the self-exposure of the goddess, for she holds her vagina open with both hands.
She is the greatest symbol of the life-and-death goddess left in Ireland, where her stones have in some cases been incorporated as "gargoyles" in Christian churches. Her name means "hag"; her grinning face and genital display are complicated by the apparent ancientness of her flesh. Laughter and passion, birth and death, sex and age do not seem to have been so incompatible to the ancient Irish as they are to the modern world.
FROM: Sheila Na Gig (http://www.hranajanto.com/goddessgallery/sheila.html)
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The Goddess Displaying Her Parts. This Celtic archetype of the Great Mother appeared in folk and church art by at least 1080 CE, but undoubtedly is of much earlier origin. She may be identical with the war goddess Morrigan, consort to the Dagda. One of her images is found near the ancient goddess shrine of Avebury, where she symbolized fertility; displaying her sexual parts was believed to ward off evil. Carvings of Sheela-na-Gigs may have accompanied the seasonal harvest custom of weaving corn dollies which dates from North European antiquity.
FROM: Clonmel Sheila-na-gig 7"-Sacred Source (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGklIY8eBE9QsAbrtXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE4Y3FoMW0xBGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMTgEc2VjA3NyBHZ0aWQDRjgwN F8yMDM-/SIG=1294lqn4m/EXP=1155678872/**http%3a//www.sacredsource.com/prodinfo.asp%3fnumber=CLO)
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Colors:red, orange, purple, magenta
Moon phase: full or waning
Animals: heron, crane, stork
Herbs/Flowers: Hawthorn, birch, willow, cedar, black cohosh, heliotrope
Stones: any hard stones or building stone
Aspects: Protection, death, fertility, birth, lust, opening, enjoyment of life,
feminine power, feminine mysteries, womb chakra
Wheel of the Year:
Alder moon (Fearn): March 18 - April 14
Willow moon (Saille): April 15 - May 12
FROM: Sheila-Na-Gig (http://www.orderwhitemoon.org/goddess/Sila.html)
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Other Links: *I'm looking for some more links, so this'll probably grow.


Sheila-Na-Gig (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGkkCg7uBEq0UAumVXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3YjNqb2ZyBGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMwRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANGODA0X zIwMw--/SIG=11v0bu27r/EXP=1155678240/**http%3a//www.goddesscafe.com/yoni/sheila.html)
Sheela Na Gigs (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geuoLK7.BEDBkBPzVXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE4bm9sdWhvBGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMTMEc2VjA3NyBHZ0aWQDRjgwN F8yMDM-/SIG=11fvghe41/EXP=1155678538/**http%3a//www.sheelanagig.org/)
Tara's Sheela-na-gig Website (http://rds.yahoo.com/S=37172048:D1/CS=37172048/SS=37171623/SIG=11mv7nao9/*http%3A//www.members.tripod.com/~taramc/sheelas.html)
Sheela Na Gigs of Ireland and England (http://rds.yahoo.com/S=37172048:D1/CS=37172048/SS=37171856/SIG=111keqj2q/*http%3A//jlschubert.tripod.com/)
Sheela Na Gigs, The (http://rds.yahoo.com/S=37172048:D1/CS=37172048/SS=24480820/SIG=11ncfo3bs/*http%3A//www.geocities.com/Wellesley/1752/sheela.html)


ON MW:

Sheila-na-gig. (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=6902&)

[_Banbha_]

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e189/EtainOcean/Ancestors/Sheela_na_Gig/File00037EKilpeck7Ec7ER307Er50.jpg

Hooray, Sheela-na-Gig! I love Her. I have my own personal belief that she is a survival of the Cailleach, who inturn is a survival of the neolithic Goddess, despite all the other theories. :p

Here is my favorite site: http://www.bandia.net/sheela/
There is a great article with lots of references (though it is highly personal as well) and more links.

Here are some notes I wrote about her origins...

Fertility Figure
As Kathryn Price Theatana writes:
" 'Fertility Figure' (is usually) archaeological and anthropological shorthand for "we have no idea." Often applied dismissively to any female figurine about which insufficient research has been done. Or, to paraphrase Judy Grahn, 'Fertility [Figure]' is one of those generalized terms used to vaguely describe what is imprecisely understood.'"


A warning against Lust

Check out this excellent site: Satan in the Groin (http://www.beyond-the-pale.org.uk/)
In their book, "Images of Lust", Weir and Jerman argue that "the female exhibitionist is...the fruit of an unbelievable misogyny" . They postulate that taken in the architectural and religious contexts of the Middle Ages, sheela-na-gigs were not used as fertility or apotropaic fetishes. Rather, they maintain that "sheela-na-gigs and related exhibitionists are arguably iconographic images whose purpose was to give visual support to the Church's moral teachings."

In effect, these figures were intended to put people off sex, and to show that eternal damnation awaited those who succumbed to the sin of lust. Weir and Jerman continue, "masons were directed to use whatever imagery seemed best fitted to combat the frailties of the human race, to depict human behaviour at its worst, and not to be too fastidious in their efforts to vilify Woman, the cause of the Fall of Man."

It's an excellent study, but in my opinion a bit slanted, ignoring the differences in early British and insular Irish symbolism which points to an ancient connection.


Womb as Tomb
The sheela image is the third in the Celtic goddess trinity of maiden-mother-crone. In her aspect as the crone, she invites the hero back into her womb to death. Through this stark figure, we are reminded that we are all born of Mother Earth, and we will all return to the earth in death (through the same "door"--the womb of the earth). " For some reason I forgot to attribute this quote and have no idea where it came from. :bigredblu

This is much like the Cailleach feeling I get when I see her. Birth and Death. Though I do not believe the Irish trinities are Maiden/Mother/Crone (there is no evidence of this). I read an intersting specutation of the fourth aspect of the celtic goddess is the dark of the moon and Cailleach/Sheela seems to fall there. Cailleach seems removed from the rest of the Irish Pantheon.

"In this aspect, sheela-na-gig is very like the Indian deity Kali, goddess of death. Depictions of Kali are often even more fearsome than sheela-na-gigs. In addition to having withered breasts, fierce visages and visibly empty wombs, Kali figures often wear garlands of human skulls!" :bigredblu

Protection and Luck

"Another theory holds that sheela-na-gig images were erected to provide protection from malevolent forces, such as the evil eye." And often they are placed on churches clearly transported from older buildings. In his entry on "Yoni Magic" in The Encyclopedia of Sacred Sexuality, Rufus Camphausen notes that the yoni (vagina) has ben held my many cultures around the world as "imbued with protective and healing energies"

Of course, Sheela-na-Gig will always remain mysterious and guard her secrets well; but she will always intrigue and beguile me.


Another interesting Sheela-na-Gig site (http://www.surenet.net/~nagig/)

[Agaliha]

Thanks for adding that, Wylde :)
Interesting info!

[_Banbha_]

Thanks for adding that, Wylde :)
Interesting info!

Your welcome, I was happy to see Her as Goddess of the week. :)

There is a Sheela-na-Gig Yahoo Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sheelanagig/) whose focus is on the academic (archaeology, history, ect.).

[Agaliha]

Cool, I might check that group out. :)

Got any suggestion for a Celtic god for the {God of the Week}?

[_Banbha_]

Got any suggestion for a Celtic god for the {God of the Week}?

I don't know how much has been done on him here (maybe a lot already); but Lugh is a great topic. :)

[Agaliha]

I don't know how much has been done on him here (maybe a lot already); but Lugh is a great topic. :)

Good choice, but I already did one on him a while back ;)
Here it is, feel free to add to it!
Lugh {God of the Day} (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=115493)

[SilverSeraphim]

Great info!

Agaliha, how about Manannan for the Celtic God of the Week?

[Agaliha]

Sure, I'll see what I can find about him! Thanks, Silver :)

[_Banbha_]

Some More Theories on Origins

The name ‘sheela-na-gig’ was first published in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 1840-44 as a local name for an exhibitionist carving which was once attached to the gable wall of a church. The name sheela-na-gig comes from the Irish language - the most likely interpretations are Sighle na gCioch meaning ‘the old hag of the breasts’, or Sile-ina-Giob meaning ‘sheela (a name for an old woman) on her hunkers’. Other recorded names include the Devil Stone, the Idol, the Evil Eye Stone, Julia the Giddy, Shiela O’Dwyer, Cathleen Owen, St. Shanahan, Whore, the Witch, and the Hag of the Castle.

http://homepage.eircom.net/~ccm/sile_na_gig.html



....a Gaelic speaker can hear the words 'Sheela na Gig' as being - in Gaelic - Sidhe Lena Gig. This is pronounced 'Shee Lena Gig'. Sidhe is the Gaelic for Fairy Woman. Lena is the Gaelic for 'with her' and Gig is the Gaelic for sexual appendage. So.... Sheela na Gig is 'Sidhe Lena Gig' and means Fairy Woman with her sexual appendage.

http://www.ballybegvillage.com/sheela_na_gigs.html



Pronounced….Sheela nah Ghee and has always been that way in my memory of over 50yrs living in Dublin...Gi(gh) or Ghee, which is still in use today by the city working classes to refer to the female sex organ.
I think using this translation gets right to the point, and leaves out sagging breasts, hunkers, hags and jigging, and other spurious attempts to avoid the obvious conclusion.

Great Site: http://www.irelands-sheelanagigs.org/



Older interpretations suggest that Sheela-na-Gigs were used to represent the hellish nature of native pagan beliefs; more modern commentaries suggest that it is more likely that their incorporation in churches indicated a continuation of goddess worship, traditionally connected with that site. This seems particularly prevalent in Ireland.

http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/item1/8656



In parts of Ireland, where today the greatest number of examples can be found, it is quite possible that nearly every building of importance may have once been adorned with a Sheela-na-Gig.

As an instance of what we may have lost in relation to the lore of the Sheela-na-Gig one researcher, Anderson, cited the fact that the local name for a Sheela-na-Gig in the Macrocoom district of County Cork was directly related to the local wise woman, otherwise known as the ‘Hag', who obviously carried on weaving her spells and doing her cures despite church intervention. In fact she exists even into the present day. Then he went right to the point by recording the fact that Johann Kohl, a German visitor with a keen eye for the mysterious who travelled around Ireland in the 1840s, had discovered that country people often went to the wise woman if they wanted to avert ill luck, a malady that still seriously afflicts country people to this day, and that one of her main methods of averting the ‘evil eye' was apparently to expose herself to the victim.

It is easy to see why the early researchers did not delve too deeply into the mystery of the Sheela-na-Gigs, but the hushed reference to them was obviously necessary since at the time they were trying to get to the bottom of the subject the clergy and other pious people were busily removing these embarassments from their churches and holy places.

http://whitedragon.org.uk/articles/sheela.htm


More Links:

Sheela-na-Gig Poem (http://www.alsopreview.com/thepoets/graham/ngsheela.html)
The Stolen Sheela (http://www.fethard.com/histor/sheela.html)
Megalithica: Sheela-na-Gig Project (http://www.jharding.demon.co.uk/index.htm#http://www.jharding.demon.co.uk/SheelaNaGigIndex.htm)

[skilly-nilly]

Great links, WyldeDryad!

One of them has a link:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/sex/wgp/wgp16.htm

that references the island my ancestors came from, and calls them "mere idolators"!

:cheers: :yayah:

I disagree with the guy from Ballybeg, though. "...a Gaelic speaker can hear the words 'Sheela na Gig' as being - in Gaelic - Sidhe Lena Gig. This is pronounced 'Shee Lena Gig'. Sidhe is the Gaelic for Fairy Woman." I would argue that Sidhe refers to the whole group of non-human beings that live in the mounds. I am not a Gaelic speaker by any means, but I also think that 'ban' is the prefix denoting 'female'.

I don't see the Sheela-na-Gig as being one of the Gentry at all, but as symbolic of the Mystery. The beginnings of Life is a big part of the Great Mystery, and She reminds us of this in an immediate and earthy way.

[Meadhbh]

They also have The Sheela Na Gig Project http://www.sheelanagig.org/. They have a lot of photographic material on the Gig's in the UK. Sheela seems to me to be a sort of transation figure. As in we're christain now but we're not to sure its going to work so its best to keep her around to. Here are a few more links if your interested:

http://www.bandia.net/sheela/
http://www.members.tripod.com/~taramc/myths.html
http://www.thaliatook.com/sheilanagig.html

[_Banbha_]

Great links, WyldeDryad!

Thanks! I've got some more I'll post later... :)

One of them has a link:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/sex/wgp/wgp16.htm

that references the island my ancestors came from, and calls them "mere idolators"!

:cheers: :yayah:

What are they talking about? 'mere idolators'? How about 'supreme idolators'? :lol: That's better. hhmmm. :yikess:

I disagree with the guy from Ballybeg, though. "...a Gaelic speaker can hear the words 'Sheela na Gig' as being - in Gaelic - Sidhe Lena Gig. This is pronounced 'Shee Lena Gig'. Sidhe is the Gaelic for Fairy Woman." I would argue that Sidhe refers to the whole group of non-human beings that live in the mounds. I am not a Gaelic speaker by any means, but I also think that 'ban' is the prefix denoting 'female'.

I don't see the Sheela-na-Gig as being one of the Gentry at all, but as symbolic of the Mystery. The beginnings of Life is a big part of the Great Mystery, and She reminds us of this in an immediate and earthy way.

Oh, me too. On both counts. Ban sidhe is simply woman of the sidhe. I wanted to post all theories and scholars find that one weakest as well.

Rambling thoughts: Sheela, to me, is primordial, not of the Gentry. Separate, like Cailleach. Back to the barrows and tombs. The Earth and a passage... a repeated theme with early goddesses at the boundries between the worlds or as the very boundry herself... ;)

[Djiril]

Also available in chocolate!
http://www.chocolatedeities.com/deity.php?deity=sheela

[_Banbha_]

Is she or isn't she? :hahugh:

Edit: lol, that looks like I was asking if she's chocolate *points up* ....which sounds yummy. *earmarks Chocolate diety page* Thanks Djiril!


From Cailleach to Sheela-na-gig?

A number of modern writers have suggested the development of the Sheela-na-gig figures found over church doorways from the crone figure of the Cailleach. If this is the case then perhaps the Morrígan did manage to infiltrate the Christian Church or be assimilated in one of her guises.

The name Sheela-na-gig is suggested as coming from the Gaelic síle-na-glíoch. This word may come either from Sighe na gCioch meaning old hag of the paps, or Síle na Giob meaning Sheela on her hunkers (i.e. squatting). In both these cases we can see that the name begins with Sí, the word for faery.

The first examples of Sheela-na-gig figures come from eleventh century French churches. We already know that guises of the Morrígan existed in France from much earlier than this, so the derivation is a possible one. The first of these figures to reach Ireland did so during the 1160s.

The physical image of the Sheela-na-gig certainly reminds us of aspects of the Morrígan. She is usually portrayed as being a very ugly hag. The Morrígan often appears in this guise, as Badb, the Cailleach, etc. The tales are full of descriptions appropriate to these carvings.

The displaying of the genitals to emphasise sexuality is another appropriate symbolism for the Morrígan. The squatting woman is highly reminiscent of the image of Queen Medb urinating when she has her courses.

The gaping genitalia bring to mind the opening to the primal womb, often represented in the past as caves and chambers in mounds. In this context the faery association springs back to mind, with the Sídh or faery mound as the otherworld entered by the dark tunnel. To this end the fact that Sheela-na-gigs are placed over doors to churches, (or sometimes over doorways in castles) symbolising the entrance to "another realm", i.e. the place of worship, is highly significant.....

From Cailleach to Sheela-na-gig? (http://www.avalonia.co.uk/morrigan/Cailleach_sheela_na_gig.htm)


This is from the site that publishes _The Guises of The Morrigan, Irish Goddess of Sex & Battle: Her Myths, Powers & Mysteries_ by David Rankine and Sorita D'Este (Avalonia, 2005). I just received the book itself yesterday. It seems to be a complilation of folklore. I don't know anyone who read this book or any reviews other than this site...any opinions?

I also received the book _The Sheela-na-Gigs of Ireland and Britain: The Divine hag of the Christain Celts~An Illustrated Guide_ by Joanne McMhahon & Jack Roberts, which came highly reccomended. It looks fantastic. :)

I have other books that explore the Cailleach/Sheela theory, _The Land of Women: Tales of Sex and Gender from Early Ireland_ by Lisa M. Bitel, and _The Divine Hag of the Pagan Celts_ by Anne Ross



Another interesting article on orgins and functions of Sheelas from
Irquas INSIGHT Magazine (http://homepage.eircom.net/~archaeology/three/sheela.htm) an excellent resource URL.

Sheela-na-Gig: Some contemporary feminist viewpoints (http://sex.t0.or.at/sexsite/shes/shefiles/sheela-na-gig.html) some mature content.

Yoni Displays (http://www.yoniversum.nl/yoni/disp11.html)

A Kiltinan Sheela-na-Gig Reproduction (http://www.goddessmandala.com/gallery/kiltinan.html)

Sheela-na-Gig Poem (http://www.endicott-studio.com/cofhs/cofshela.html)

Another Sheela-na-Gig Poem (http://jacketmagazine.com/25/eshle.html)

[_Banbha_]

I read this about the 3,000 year old Urumchi Mummies found entombed in a remote area of the Taklamakan Desert in the region of Xinjiang in western China and found an interesting mention of Sheela-like fugures. You can't access the whole article on the link so I've included the relavent bits here. Link (http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1222214.ece)


The bodies are far better preserved than the Egyptian mummies, and it is sad to see the infants on display; to see how the baby was wrapped in a
beautiful brown cloth tied with red and blue cord, then a blue stone placed on each eye. Beside it was a baby's milk bottle with a teat, made from a
sheep's udder.

Based on the mummy, the museum has reconstructed what Cherchen Man would have looked like and how he lived. The similarities to the traditional
Bronze Age Celts are uncanny, and analysis has shown that the weave of the cloth is the same as that of those found on the bodies of salt miners in
Austria from 1300BC.

The burial sites of Cherchen Man and his fellow people were marked with stone structures that look like dolmens from Britain, ringed by round-faced,
Celtic figures, or standing stones. Among their icons were figures reminiscent of the sheela-na-gigs, wild females who flaunted their bodies and can still be found in mediaeval churches in Britain. A female mummy wears a long, conical hat which has to be a witch or a wizard's hat. Or a druid's, perhaps? The wooden combs they used to fan their tresses are familiar to students of ancient Celtic art.


It's just a bit more circumstantial evidence of Sheela-na-Gigs antiquity as a symbol and Goddess. There is an excellent book "Mummies of Urumchi" (http://www.amazon.com/Mummies-Urumchi-Elizabeth-Wayland-Barber/dp/0393045218) about the finds that might have some pictures and further explainations.

[Agaliha]

Oh interesting, Wylde. I'll be reading that later! :reading:

[_Banbha_]

I found a link that has the entire article on A meeting of civilisations: The mystery of China's celtic mummies (http://uyghuramerican.org/articles/471/1/A-meeting-of-civilisations-The-mystery-of-Chinas-celtic-mummies/A-meeting-of-civilisations-The-mystery-of-Chinas-celtic-mummies.html). :fpipesmok

[Agaliha]

I thought this was interesting.
The Vedic goddess Aditi (The Mother of all the Gods) has a form (Lajja Gauri) that totally resembles Sheila-na-gig. There's a site about it. (http://www.shaktisadhana.org/Newhomepage/shakti/lajjahGauri.html)

A pic from the site:
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/866/2328vv3.jpg
This sculpture is also from the Sangameshwara Temple
complex, Kudavelli, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh,
India, c. 650 CE.

I've read some sites about how there is a strong Vedic-Celtic link. I'd like to find more scholarly resources about that though.
I do know that the Vedic culture is linked to the (proto) Indo-European culture and that most of Europe can be linked to them. So it's not a stretch.

[Nitefalle]

As far as Sheela being the boundary herself, I agree with that muchly. I see her as the balancing point between chaos and order, This World and the Otherworld. She is the Gateway. Personally, I have also found her to be connected to the Yew tree, in regards to the Ogham.

[_Banbha_]

I thought this was interesting.
The Vedic goddess Aditi (The Mother of all the Gods) has a form (Lajja Gauri) that totally resembles Sheila-na-gig. There's a site about it. (http://www.shaktisadhana.org/Newhomepage/shakti/lajjahGauri.html)

Ooo...Thank you! I am definately going to check this site out. I'm familiar with Aditi and I think she's a very interesting possible Vedic connection. On the Yahoo Sheela group I lurk on they refuse to even entertain the possiblities of Vedic connections despite it's relavence to the field of 'Celtic' scholarship and theory. To them Sheela is a medieval creation from France as is postulated by the book "Images of Lust", by Weir and Jerman. It is a good theory; but I think they miss the mark a bit (in post#2 I link to their site "Satan in the Groin" :2G: ).



A pic from the site:
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/866/2328vv3.jpg
This sculpture is also from the Sangameshwara Temple
complex, Kudavelli, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh,
India, c. 650 CE.

I've read some sites about how there is a strong Vedic-Celtic link. I'd like to find more scholarly resources about that though.
I do know that the Vedic culture is linked to the (proto) Indo-European culture and that most of Europe can be linked to them. So it's not a stretch.

It's not a strech at all but I don't use the word link in my mind because it sounds too definitive and direct. There are intriguing connections, similiarities, parallels between Vedic and Celtic myths for sure. I'd recommend reading Bruce Lincoln's _Death, War, and Sacrifice_ and the Rees brothers, _Celtic Heritage_. :)

[_Banbha_]

As far as Sheela being the boundary herself, I agree with that muchly. I see her as the balancing point between chaos and order, This World and the Otherworld. She is the Gateway. Personally, I have also found her to be connected to the Yew tree, in regards to the Ogham.

That sounds really interesting Nitefalle...the Yew is special to me and the connection is something I feel as well.

Is there a historical connection to it?


....intrigued & curious about Ogham.... :)

[Nitefalle]

No historical connection as far as I know, just something that came to me in a meditation with a Yew tree. A friend of mine and myself are on an Ogham journey - we just started this past Samhain and, feeling it was appropriate, we started with the Yew. We are spending three weeks on each tree and we just switched over from the Yew to the White Aspen / Poplar last week.

We went to a graveyard in search of a Yew tree as, at the end of each set, we are seeking out the tree itself and meditating with it, leaving offerings. We also wrote our thanks to the tree itself on recycled paper and left it speared on the branches. Anyway, to make an already long story short, as I was sitting next to the tree and meditating with it, I got a very strong sense of Sheela in concordance with the tree, as if they serve the same purpose in the greater cosmology, or perhaps they are connected, as I felt. It was completely UPG.

As a side note, while meditating on this tree, the White Aspen / Poplar, I got a strong sense of Ogma, Himself, with whom we meditated before this whole journey to ask his approval. It will be interesting to see if I come up with some sort of god-connection for all twenty symbols. It was not something I was looking for, but rather has come to me. I also found a very interesting site that links one line each from the song of Amergin to a symbol of the Ogham, though they don't cite any references, historical or otherwise, so I assume this is something they came up with themselves.

Here's the link:
http://www.cyberwitch.com/Wychwood/SacredWood/

[Agaliha]

Ooo...Thank you! I am definately going to check this site out. I'm familiar with Aditi and I think she's a very interesting possible Vedic connection. On the Yahoo Sheela group I lurk on they refuse to even entertain the possiblities of Vedic connections despite it's relavence to the field of 'Celtic' scholarship and theory. To them Sheela is a medieval creation from France as is postulated by the book "Images of Lust", by Weir and Jerman. It is a good theory; but I think they miss the mark a bit (in post#2 I link to their site "Satan in the Groin" :2G: ).

Most of the info about Aditi is in the Vedas. I'm still working on reading the Rig Veda. I'd love to have it in book form rather than online :ugh:
Interesting, though how they won't even consider the possiblity.

It's not a strech at all but I don't use the word link in my mind because it sounds too definitive and direct. There are intriguing connections, similiarities, parallels between Vedic and Celtic myths for sure. I'd recommend reading Bruce Lincoln's _Death, War, and Sacrifice_ and the Rees brothers, _Celtic Heritage_. :)

That's what I was meaning :lol:

Oh and I thought this was interesting. There's a Vedic goddess named Danu I believe and is linked to waters. Similar perhaps to the Celtic Danu.

Danu, a Hindu primordial goddess, is mentioned in Vedic texts. The word Danu described the primeval waters which this deity perhaps embodied. She is called the mother of Vrtra, a demonic personality, who does combat and is defeated by Indra. In later Hinduism, she becomes the daughter of Daksa and the consort of Kasyapa. A.G.H.
www.themystica.com/mythical-folk/articles/danu.html (http://www.themystica.com/mythical-folk/articles/danu.html)

I found some sites about the possible Vedic-Celtic parallels.
I haven't read them yet though.

From one site:
Of all the great ancient cultures perhaps no two share more parallels than those of the Celtic and Vedic peoples. A deep rooted affinity runs between them, what is present in one is mirrored in the other. Myths, Gods, Goddesses, even fairy tales bear a striking similarity in these archaic reflections of one another.
HERE (http://heathenslair.tripod.com/id85.html)

Seeing as the Vedic and Hindu aspect is close to me and my path, it's comething I'm interested in.

[_Banbha_]

No historical connection as far as I know, just something that came to me in a meditation with a Yew tree. A friend of mine and myself are on an Ogham journey - we just started this past Samhain and, feeling it was appropriate, we started with the Yew. We are spending three weeks on each tree and we just switched over from the Yew to the White Aspen / Poplar last week.

It's an interesting parallel for me as I've been focusing on the Yew and Sheela is an important Samhain Goddess for me. :) My birthday is on one of the older traditional days of Samhain too, so the symbolism has always been special. I've read about Ogham but have yet to make a study of it. _inabox_

We went to a graveyard in search of a Yew tree as, at the end of each set, we are seeking out the tree itself and meditating with it, leaving offerings. We also wrote our thanks to the tree itself on recycled paper and left it speared on the branches. Anyway, to make an already long story short, as I was sitting next to the tree and meditating with it, I got a very strong sense of Sheela in concordance with the tree, as if they serve the same purpose in the greater cosmology, or perhaps they are connected, as I felt. It was completely UPG.

Very similiar vereration of sacred trees in found in Irish folklore. So, I think it is not 'complete UPG.' Though I'm not knocking UPG at all. Some of my most transcendent personal experiences have been UPG. Some things have never been written and never can be. :smile:

As a side note, while meditating on this tree, the White Aspen / Poplar, I got a strong sense of Ogma, Himself, with whom we meditated before this whole journey to ask his approval. It will be interesting to see if I come up with some sort of god-connection for all twenty symbols. It was not something I was looking for, but rather has come to me. I also found a very interesting site that links one line each from the song of Amergin to a symbol of the Ogham, though they don't cite any references, historical or otherwise, so I assume this is something they came up with themselves.

Here's the link:
http://www.cyberwitch.com/Wychwood/SacredWood/

Thank you for sharing and for the link. The site looks beautiful.

[_Banbha_]

Most of the info about Aditi is in the Vedas. I'm still working on reading the Rig Veda. I'd love to have it in book form rather than online :ugh:
Interesting, though how they won't even consider the possiblity.

That's why I lurk there and don't post. Some people try to introduce the idea and get shot down immediately by the group owner. They joke about the Urumchi Sheela figures. To them she's a French medieval grotesque and nothing more. Meh. Whatever. :lol:

I've been tempted to start my own group. They're really dull, and it's not about the theory they embrace either. The guys who proposed that theory are interesting. I love their site.

That's what I was meaning :lol:

I figured, I just get peevey about it sometimes. 8O

Oh and I thought this was interesting. There's a Vedic goddess named Danu I believe and is linked to waters. Similar perhaps to the Celtic Danu.

Danu, a Hindu primordial goddess, is mentioned in Vedic texts. The word Danu described the primeval waters which this deity perhaps embodied. She is called the mother of Vrtra, a demonic personality, who does combat and is defeated by Indra. In later Hinduism, she becomes the daughter of Daksa and the consort of Kasyapa. A.G.H.
www.themystica.com/mythical-folk/articles/danu.html (http://www.themystica.com/mythical-folk/articles/danu.html)

I think Danu is one of the most interesting connections. Here are some notes on etymological aspects between Celtic and Vedic on Danu.



Languages: The Irish is an n-stem, the Indian one, a u-stem.

_Danu/Danann_ and the Vedic _Dánu_ are certainly cognate names, both coming from an IE stem meaning "moist earth". However, this is a name that
seems to have been given to many Indo-European river-goddesses, so it's not warranted to think of them as being "the same goddess".

The name of the _Dânavas_ has a different origin, and is associated with _Dánu_ only through a folk etymology; it's actually a cognate of Irish _dána_ "bold", and goes back to an IE root that gave rise to many tribal names
meaning "Bold Ones, Courageous Ones"
(e.g. Greek _Danaoi_, an exact cognate of Sanskrit _Dânavah_).

I think it's an interesting coincidence that a in Vedic
mythology there is the struggle between the Adityas, the children of the Goddess Aditi, and the Danavas, the children of the Goddess Danu. The Danavas where the antithesis of all that is symbolised by the earth, the sky and the sun. I just think it possibly represents an older mythical construct being displaced/absorbed by a newer one.

Just as an important note: When reading some of the Vedic/Celtic sites on Danu discussing parallels, I notice she's refered to as Mother of the Irish pantheon. That's erroneous. Danu of popular imagination, as the Mother of the Irish Pantheon, is a misreading of early Irish texts by Victorian scholars (Danu was the mother of three sons). So, comparing mythological motifs is more complicated than you'll find on many sites which do not make distinctions based on more acurate research. :)

Here is a discussion about the possible connections of Danu/Diana where Danu's possible roots and connections are discussed with lots of links.
http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=142034

I found some sites about the possible Vedic-Celtic parallels.
I haven't read them yet though.

From one site:
Of all the great ancient cultures perhaps no two share more parallels than those of the Celtic and Vedic peoples. A deep rooted affinity runs between them, what is present in one is mirrored in the other. Myths, Gods, Goddesses, even fairy tales bear a striking similarity in these archaic reflections of one another.
HERE (http://heathenslair.tripod.com/id85.html)

Seeing as the Vedic and Hindu aspect is close to me and my path, it's comething I'm interested in.

I've read this article before and was going to post it from another site.

Here are some more links:
http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/connections/Europe.php
http://dedanaan.com/vedic-origins-children-of-danu/
http://dedanaan.com/vedic-origins-children-of-danu/2/
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2000/2/2000-2-16.shtml
http://www.geocities.com/indianpaganism/articles.html
http://www.ceisiwrserith.com/pier/deities.htm
http://paranormal.se/member/db/topic/view/?tid=651026

http://www.dirah.org/lunarzodiac.htm: Hindu Zodiac (off topic: I just found this interesting) :)

[Agaliha]

I've been tempted to start my own group. They're really dull, and it's not about the theory they embrace either. The guys who proposed that theory are interesting. I love their site.

I'd join your group! :)

I figured, I just get peevey about it sometimes. 8O
_wedgie_


I think Danu is one of the most interesting connections. Here are some notes on etymological aspects between Celtic and Vedic on Danu.

That is interesting.


I think it's an interesting coincidence that a in Vedic
mythology there is the struggle between the Adityas, the children of the Goddess Aditi, and the Danavas, the children of the Goddess Danu. The Danavas where the antithesis of all that is symbolised by the earth, the sky and the sun. I just think it possibly represents an older mythical construct being displaced/absorbed by a newer one.

Intersting thought! Right now I'm copying all the Hymns from the Rig Veda to print up and read, for honoring the gods and for stuff like this. I'm sure I'll come across this struggle between the Adityas and the Danavas in my reading :)


Just as an important note: When reading some of the Vedic/Celtic sites on Danu discussing parallels, I notice she's refered to as Mother of the Irish pantheon. That's erroneous. Danu of popular imagination, as the Mother of the Irish Pantheon, is a misreading of early Irish texts by Victorian scholars (Danu was the mother of three sons). So, comparing mythological motifs is more complicated than you'll find on many sites which do not make distinctions based on more acurate research. :)


Ah thanks for pointing that out. I don't know much about the Celtic pantheon. Brighid and the Morrigan are the only ones I really researched (and with all the crap on the internet, I do wonder if any of it was incorrect). So Danu is the mother of three sons not the whole pantheon. Hmmm.


Here is a discussion about the possible connections of Danu/Diana where Danu's possible roots and connections are discussed with lots of links.
http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=142034


I think I lurked there before. I didn't read it all though. I'll check it out again.


I've read this article before and was going to post it from another site.
Here are some more links:
http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/connections/Europe.php
http://dedanaan.com/vedic-origins-children-of-danu/
http://dedanaan.com/vedic-origins-children-of-danu/2/
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2000/2/2000-2-16.shtml
http://www.geocities.com/indianpaganism/articles.html
http://www.ceisiwrserith.com/pier/deities.htm
http://paranormal.se/member/db/topic/view/?tid=651026
http://www.dirah.org/lunarzodiac.htm: Hindu Zodiac (off topic: I just found this interesting) :)

Thanks for the links! I'll check them out.
http://www.ceisiwrserith.com/pier/deities.htm -- I really like this one. It's the only place to find any info about PIE religon and gods.

[_Banbha_]

I'd join your group! :)

I am thinking about it. It could involve mainly Sheela but by extension other 'exhibitionist' figures that may have connections (or not) and goddesses like Cailleach, Morrighan, et el. who have been connected in sholarship as well as other theories. A more open atmosphere.

_wedgie_

:fishsmack :D

Intersting thought! Right now I'm copying all the Hymns from the Rig Veda to print up and read, for honoring the gods and for stuff like this. I'm sure I'll come across this struggle between the Adityas and the Danavas in my reading :)

That sounds like a great read. :fpraise:

Could you recommend a good, comprehensive book (or two) about the Rig Vedas?

Ah thanks for pointing that out. I don't know much about the Celtic pantheon. Brighid and the Morrigan are the only ones I really researched (and with all the crap on the internet, I do wonder if any of it was incorrect). So Danu is the mother of three sons not the whole pantheon. Hmmm.

There is more information on this in the 'Mary Jones' links on the Danu/Diana thread. There are some aspects of Irish myth that are based on bad, out-moded scholarship and attitudes. When I see some presenting comparisons based on both the 'Celtic' Irish Danu and Vedic Danu being Mother Goddess of their respective pantheons, and therefore the same somehow.... :2G:

I think I lurked there before. I didn't read it all though. I'll check it out again.

It has it's comedic moments. :lol:

Thanks for the links! I'll check them out.
http://www.ceisiwrserith.com/pier/deities.htm -- I really like this one. It's the only place to find any info about PIE religon and gods.

Yes it is, and thankfully it's a good one!

I read most of the links I gave you, but there might be a stinker in there. _inabox_

[Agaliha]

I am thinking about it. It could involve mainly Sheela but by extension other 'exhibitionist' figures that may have connections (or not) and goddesses like Cailleach, Morrighan, et el. who have been connected in sholarship as well as other theories. A more open atmosphere.

Sounds interesting :)


That sounds like a great read. :fpraise:
Could you recommend a good, comprehensive book (or two) about the Rig Vedas?


Well I was trying to find the whole Rig Veda in book form as it would be easier than my method.
I saw one book decent looking book, but it was only part of the hymns.
The Rig Veda: An Anthology of One Hundred Eight Hymns (Classic) (http://www.amazon.com/Rig-Veda-Anthology-Hundred-Classic/dp/0140444025/sr=8-2/qid=1164879434/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-7579984-7491069?ie=UTF8&s=books)
108 out of 3,000-- that's less that 30% :ugh:

The Holy Vedas (http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Vedas-Pandit-Satyakam-Vidyalankar/dp/8185120544/sr=8-4/qid=1164879434/ref=pd_bbs_4/103-7579984-7491069?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Pandit Satyakam Vidyalankar
Doesn't have them all either.

And then there were some others with little summary and no reviews.

It's online here, from sacred-texts.com:
The Rig-Veda (http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/index.htm)
translated by Ralph Griffith [1896] This is a complete English translation of the Rig Veda.

I don't know if it's a great translation or not. At this point I'm not too picky. I just want to read it all and learn it.

There's 10 books and over 3,000 hymns.
I copied and pasted them all into a document.
My comment after the task, from "What's on your Mind?"
Hand cramps!
Just copied and pasted all the hymns of the Rig Veda from sacred-texts.com to a document to print and read.
Word document: 282 pages = Printing: 70 pages.
.15 margins on all sides. Landscaped. Double columns.
Veranda, sized 8.
Four pages per one printing.
Without that it would take up a whole pack of paper, if not more!
I print everything like that though, 4 to a sheet, landscaped, no margins and small text. Saves space and ink.
Major hand cramp. Just saying. It took some time too.

I really wish there was a book with them all though. :ugh:

I do believe there are some books interpretating and discussing the Rig Veda though, if that's what you're interested in.

[_Banbha_]

Well I was trying to find the whole Rig Veda in book form as it would be easier than my method.
I saw one book decent looking book, but it was only part of the hymns.
The Rig Veda: An Anthology of One Hundred Eight Hymns (Classic) (http://www.amazon.com/Rig-Veda-Anthology-Hundred-Classic/dp/0140444025/sr=8-2/qid=1164879434/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-7579984-7491069?ie=UTF8&s=books)
108 out of 3,000-- that's less that 30% :ugh:

The Holy Vedas (http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Vedas-Pandit-Satyakam-Vidyalankar/dp/8185120544/sr=8-4/qid=1164879434/ref=pd_bbs_4/103-7579984-7491069?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Pandit Satyakam Vidyalankar
Doesn't have them all either.

And then there were some others with little summary and no reviews.

It's online here, from sacred-texts.com:
The Rig-Veda (http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/index.htm)
translated by Ralph Griffith [1896] This is a complete English translation of the Rig Veda.

I don't know if it's a great translation or not. At this point I'm not too picky. I just want to read it all and learn it.

It is really quite amazingly sad it is not available in a multi-volume set in a decent English translation. _inabox_

There's 10 books and over 3,000 hymns.
I copied and pasted them all into a document.
My comment after the task, from "What's on your Mind?"

Major hand cramp. Just saying. It took some time too.

I really wish there was a book with them all though. :ugh:

Consider the endless cutting, pasting and printing an act of devotion. :bug: :ahhhh:

I do believe there are some books interpretating and discussing the Rig Veda though, if that's what you're interested in.

I think I'd begin reading about them more first, to get a more accurate grasp on the context and history. I could use Sacred Texts to suppliment and read further. I am not up to reading them all. :collapse:

[Agaliha]

It is really quite amazingly sad it is not available in a multi-volume set in a decent English translation. _inabox_

I know. :sadman:
I'd think they'd be some full version out there somewhere.

Consider the endless cutting, pasting and printing an act of devotion. :bug: :ahhhh:

:lol: Totally.

I think I'd begin reading about them more first, to get a more accurate grasp on the context and history. I could use Sacred Texts to suppliment and read further.

Good idea.
I want to read more about them as well-- the context and all that, too.
I wish there was a book with commentary on all the hymns! That would be awesome.
Oh and I learned Kine=cow. It's all over the hymns. I was confused for a little while. :lol:
I am not up to reading them all. :collapse:

:lol: I just might be crazy.
I'm first going to focus on anything dealing with Surya, Aditi, Ushas, Ratri and a few other deities (Saraswati, etc).
And then come back and read the rest-- there are so many hymns to Agni and Indra-- I'd rather read later after I learn about the other gods.

[_Banbha_]

Good idea.
I want to read more about them as well-- the context and all that, too.
I wish there was a book with commentary on all the hymns! That would be awesome.
Oh and I learned Kine=cow. It's all over the hymns. I was confused for a little while. :lol:

I'm not surprised at the number of cows there, just like some the Irish goddesses. :lol:


:lol: I just might be crazy.
I'm first going to focus on anything dealing with Surya, Aditi, Ushas, Ratri and a few other deities (Saraswati, etc).
And then come back and read the rest-- there are so many hymns to Agni and Indra-- that'd I'd rather read later after I learn about the other gods.

I don't think your crazy, at all; I understand why you you're doing it. It's just dauntingly huge and complex. I'm still working on my Irish. :hehehehe: This discussion is making me think of picking up Ka (http://dannyreviews.com/h/Ka.html). I'm wondering how much of the Rig Veda is in there. The review mentions Wendy Doniger reccomending it as well. I have a book of hers, but it is not specifically about Hindu mythology.