Ariel Bird Goddess Plaque 6" - Gold

The ancient Bird Goddess appears first in Paleolithic totemic carvings. By the beginning of agriculture in the Neolithic, Her worship achieved equivalent importance to the Great Earth Mother. Throughout classical antiquity She appeared linked to the worship of many important goddesses in the form of their sacred bird companion and alter-ego, e.g. Aphrodite's dove, Athena's owl, Saraswati's peacock. Her gift to the magickal arts was a form of divination called Ornithomancy.

Keeper of the powers of Air, She possesses multiple aspects: the Maiden whose singing brings the dawn, the Mother of Winds who hatches the Cosmic Egg and the dark-winged Crone who guides spirits of the newly dead into the heavenly afterlife.

These different aspects are often connected to the kind of bird that attends Her. From the songbirds of the Celtic Rhiannon to the vultures of Egyptian Mut, the Bird Goddess brings messages and omens on swift wings from the Otherworld. She covers Her children with the soft feathers of Her nurturing breast, and feeds their bodies with Her sacred Eostre eggs. Souls are weighed against the feather of Her Truth and Her keen eye sees through all deceptions into the Future. Her sharp talons and beak tear away the gross material forms, allowing the imagination to soar free.