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The Double Goddess: Women Sharing Power (Original) — Occult Philosophy

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The Double Goddess: Women Sharing Power (Original)

Name: The Double Goddess: Women Sharing Power (Original)
Price: 22.00 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9781591430117

✍️ Noble, Vicki

Reader Score

4.6

(1 review)

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📚 WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT

Vicki Noble's groundbreaking work meticulously examines the pervasive, yet often dismissed, imagery of the double goddess across Neolithic and Bronze Age civilizations. Far from being mere curiosities, these ancient depictions of two women in intimate connection or as a dual-headed entity are presented as profound symbols of female sovereignty and intrinsic self-worth. This book seeks to reclaim a powerful archetype, offering contemporary women a pathway to reconnect with a foundational sense of wholeness and sacred bonding, reflecting the organic, dualistic cycles once central to ancient Goddess religions. Illustrated with numerous examples, it challenges conventional historical oversight.

Noble, Vicki

📚 all books by this author (4) →

🕯️

Occult Philosophy

Praise for this book

“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.”

— Mary Daly, author of Gyn/Ecology and Quintessence

🏛 Bear & Company 📅 2003 📖 296 pages 📔 Paperback ISBN: 9781591430117

Fun Fact

Vicki Noble's 'The Double Goddess' is a vital, passionately argued text that expertly unearths a long-ignored archetypal image, offering a compelling re-evaluation of ancient female power. What it does exceptionally well is bridge the gap between rigorous scholarship and profound spiritual relevance, providing a rich, illustrated tapestry of evidence. Those seeking a light, introductory read on goddess spirituality might find its depth challenging, but for serious students of comparative religion, women's studies, or those on a journey of self-discovery, it's an indispensable addition to the field, boldly reclaiming a crucial piece of our collective heritage.

📝 Description: The Double Goddess: Women Sharing Power (Original)

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.

📑 What's inside

Acknowledgments Maps of Archaeological Sites of Ancient Goddess Cultures Introduction: What Is the Double Goddess?
1: Power of Two: The Legacy of the Double Goddess
Biology Is Destiny: All Women Are Twins
The Divine Two-in-One
Mirroring Her, Mirroring Time
Dark-Light Goddess Spirituality
Siamese Twins: Merged Double Goddess Images
The Double Axe: Shorthand for Women
The Double Axe and Female Rule
Long Female Lineage of the Double Axe
2: Authentic Female Sovereignty: Chains and Doubles
The Double Goddess Shrines of Çatalhöyük
Women Sharing Power: The Queens Ruled Together
The "Two Ladies" A Euphemism for Ruling Queens
African Queen-Mother and Queen-Sister: Egypt's"Mighty Ones"
The Two Heras
3: Shaman Women and High Priestesses
Cemeteries and Shaman Women
Yoginis, Bee Priestesses, and the Magic Soma
Medea and the Golden Fleece
The Eternal Power and Prestige of Gold
The Trance-Induced Stare of the Eye Goddess
Island Sanctuaries of the Aegean
Mediterranean "Wild Women"
Enheduanna, the Shaman-Priestess of Inanna
Iron Age Shaman Women
Scythian Shaman-Priestesses and Tibetan Dakinis: Is There a Direct Connection?
4: Amazons in the Aegean and Beyond: A Bronze Age Female Lineage
The Trojan Women
Early Amazons Ruled in Dual Queenship
The Amazons Enter History
Destruction on the Mainland and Migration to the Islands
Amazons in the Greek Argolid: The Warrior Goddess Emerges
Amazon Hoards in Bronze Age Europe?
Eurasian Amazons
Amazons in China?
African Amazon Warriors
Standing Her Ground
5: Sacred Sexuality and Shape-Shifting
The Shape-Shifting Shamanistic Female
Emptiness and Female Shamanism
Roots of Tantra: Priestesses and Goddesses
Can Contemporary Women Rediscover the Ancient
Sexual Rites?
Lesbian Sexuality: Women-Loving Women
Shape-Shifting Contemporary Shaman Women
The Shamanistic Fluidity of Gender
Conclusion: Acknowledging, Developing, and Sharing Our Power
Fighting Back
Sufficient-to-Herself
Time Line Notes Bibliography Index

💎 Expert review

“

💎

Esoterica Books editorial team

Occult literature desk

Noble’s meticulous examination of double goddess imagery is both scholarly and deeply personal, challenging conventional historical oversight with compelling evidence. However, readers seeking straightforward dogma or simple self-help advice may find the academic depth and archaeological focus tedious. The book is not for those who prefer established religious narratives over reconstructed pagan history. It demands an open mind to engage with the concept of female sovereignty as presented through ancient artifacts rather than modern theology. While the illustrations are numerous, the core argument requires patience to unpack the significance of these dualistic symbols. It is a niche but vital contribution for those willing to delve into the roots of Goddess religions and understand the profound implications of this forgotten iconography for modern female identity.

✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

📖

Why this book is worth reading

This book is essential reading for women seeking to reclaim their spiritual heritage and dismantle internalized oppression through the lens of ancient history. Vicki Noble offers a profound exploration of the Double Goddess archetype, providing a tangible connection to female sovereignty and intrinsic self-worth that has been historically overlooked. Readers who feel disconnected from traditional religious structures will find solace in this reclamation of sacred bonding and organic dualistic cycles. It is particularly valuable for those interested in feminist theology, archaeology, and the reconstruction of pre-patriarchal societies. By examining intimate connections and dual-headed entities from the past, Noble provides a powerful pathway to wholeness, empowering contemporary women to recognize their own strength and validity through these forgotten, yet enduring, symbols.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Esoterica Books —

⭐ Esoterica editorial review Editorial rating 4.6/5

★★★★★

If you're drawn to ancient matriarchal studies, seeking to understand the historical roots of female power, or looking for archetypal inspiration for connection and self-actualization, this book offers profound insights into a forgotten facet of sacred feminine history.

Reader rating

4.6

Based on 1 reviews

Esoterica Books editorial team

Noble’s meticulous examination of double goddess imagery is both scholarly and deeply personal, challenging conventional historical oversight with compelling evidence. However, readers seeking straightforward dogma or simple self-help advice may find the academic depth and archaeological focus tedious. The book is not for those who prefer established religious narratives over reconstructed pagan history. It demands an open mind to engage with the concept of female sovereignty as presented through ancient artifacts rather than modern theology. While the illustrations are numerous, the core argument requires patience to unpack the significance of these dualistic symbols. It is a niche but vital contribution for those willing to delve into the roots of Goddess religions and understand the profound implications of this forgotten iconography for modern female identity.

❓ Frequently asked questions

The author meticulously presents 149 illustrations of ancient artifacts from sites like Catal Huyuk and Gozo, depicting two female figures or a single body with two heads, arguing these were consistently dismissed or misinterpreted by prior scholarship.

Noble posits that the double goddess offers a potent symbol for modern women to reclaim an innate sense of wholeness and self, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for sacred female bonding in various forms, from familial to romantic.

📖 Who should read this

🎯 Key themes and symbolism

Reclaiming Ancient Icons

This book passionately argues for the reinterpretation of ancient artifacts, specifically figures of two women or dual-headed goddesses, which have historically been overlooked or trivialized by scholars. Noble posits that these images are not simple decorative items but crucial representations of female power and spiritual significance from early civilizations, urging us to see them through a new, reverent lens.

Female Sovereignty Unearthed

Delving into the concept of the double goddess, the text explores how this powerful symbol can expand our understanding of women's historical autonomy and inherent spiritual authority. It suggests that ancient cultures recognized a form of female governance and self-possession that is deeply rooted in the cycles of nature and the duality of life and death, providing a powerful blueprint for modern self-empowerment.

Sacred Female Bonds

Noble highlights the double goddess as a potent archetype for celebrating and understanding the profound spiritual potential within female relationships. Whether it's the nurturing dynamic between mother and daughter, the wisdom shared between teacher and student, the strength of friendship, or the intimacy of lovers, this book illuminates how these connections echo an ancient sacred resonance, fostering wholeness and communal strength.

📜 Historical context

Vicki Noble's work stands firmly within the tradition of modern Goddess studies, particularly those focusing on prehistoric matriarchal societies and their spiritual systems. It builds upon the foundational scholarship that sought to restore female deities and their accompanying social structures to their rightful place in human history, offering a unique contribution by focusing specifically on the dual aspect of the Goddess.

📚 Glossary

Double Goddess
Neolithic/Bronze Age Cultures
Archetype

📔 Questions to reflect on

Reflect on a significant female bond in your life (mother, sister, friend, partner). How does the concept of the Double Goddess resonate with or illuminate the power dynamics and emotional depth of that connection?
Consider an ancient symbol or deity that you feel personally drawn to. How might a reinterpretation of its historical context, similar to Noble's approach, reveal new layers of meaning for you today?
If you were to create a modern icon representing female wholeness and duality, what imagery would you use, and how would it reflect both nurturing and powerful aspects of the feminine?