goddess painting of the day: Nut, a detail

Nut, the Egyptian goddess who personifies the sky, is painted here in her traditional form. It’s not the first time I’ve painted her — I created a miniature which was reproduced in both The Book of Goddesses as well as the Goddess Inspiration Oracle — but this is a far more ambitious composition! It was received in a vision by Star Wolf, one of the authors of Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt; I did my best to hew as closely as possible to her description. I also incorporated aspects of ancient Egyptian art in a respectful manner in my presentations of the deities, decorative elements and borders.

This art excerpted from the cover painting (left) for Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt, a book recently published by Inner Traditions and authored by Nicki Scully and Linda Star Wolf. I used watercolor, gouache and pencil for it; I created a total of eight paintings for the book.

Here’s a not-so-secret secret: the authors have decided to adapt the art from this book into an Egyptian-themed oracle. It will be published by Inner Traditions/Bear & Co. in late 2008. I’ve been reading so much about Egyptian history lately for the New Book that I’m excited to be delving back into this world!

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goddess inspiration oracle: reviews and a signing!

It’s September, which means that (drumroll, please!) the Goddess Inspiration Oracle is officially out and about in the world. For those of you in the NYC area, I’ll be having a signing for the GIO at East West Living. Here’s the official information:

Wednesday, October 24, 7 pm:

East West Living
(formerly East West Books)
78 Fifth Avenue @ 14th Street
New York, New York 10011
Phone: 212-243-5994.
Email: bookpos@eastwestnyc.com

If you can’t make it, the GIO can be purchased online from Amazon.com here. (Link opens in new window.)

As well, reviews for the GIO are starting to appear. Here are quotes from a few of them:

Corrine Kenner:
“I don’t know about you, but every now and then I’ll do a reading that flows beautifully from one card to the next, gracefully unveiling a story that makes perfect sense … until I reach the final card. That’s when I slam head-first into a brick wall with an outcome card that brings the whole reading to a screeching halt.

In those cases, I realize that I really didn’t want an ordinary outcome card: What I really wanted was guidance and advice. So I throw clarification cards — sometimes, one after another, which only complicates the issue.

That’s what makes the Goddess Inspiration Oracle such a welcome addition to my collection. It’s a quick and easy way to clarify any card in a tarot reading, and answer one of our most pressing questions: What should I do?

I love the fact that the Goddess Oracle cards complement the Goddess Tarot deck so well.“ read the rest of this review . . .

Aeclectic Tarot:
“The “Goddess Inspiration Oracle” kit consists of an 80-card deck of oracle cards based on a Goddess theme, a 120 page companion book (the “Goddess Inspiration Oracle Guide”), and a lovely gold colored organdy bag to act as a home for the cards. As always with Waldherr’s work, I am in awe! . . .

I found it interesting that Waldherr defines oracles as being both the vehicle for the message, and the message itself. Waldherr sees her messages as offering creative solutions, Whereas one of her previous works, “The Goddess Tarot”, offered wisdom through the venue of Tarot, Waldherr see the “Goddess Oracle” as opening this knowledge to those who do not necessarily work with Tarot . . . Incredible artistic talent, combined with a bent for serious research, is a trademark for Kris Waldherr!” read the rest of this review . . .

Julie Cuccia-Watts
“The Goddess Inspiration Oracle is very multicultural which I always like and it was also something very user friendly. It is perfect for a one card pull. This deck is something that I would use as there are times when I don’t want to use my own decks especially for my own personal readings, cuz let’s face it using my own deck can get to be, just too much “me”sometimes.

I think even though there are some cards that have grown up themes I
would still highly recommend this deck for teens. My daughter just
turned 15 and I think she would enjoy the ‘girl power’ energy of
this all goddess oracle with the meanings printed right on the card.
I found the Goddess Inspiration Oracle to be both educational and
inspirational. . . .

I give the Goddess Inspiration Oracle a thumbs up for content, multicultural, the feminine divine and art.” read the rest of this review . . .

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Meanwhile, I’ve got several posts percolating within me. One of them is about this piece of art (detail posted below):

A tip of the hat to anyone who can identify the painting, the artist and the quote. A hint: think fin de siecle Vienna.

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retail therapy: of goddesses and queens

I haven’t done a Retail Therapy post in a while. Now that autumn is edging in, I thought it might be fun to write one. As well, I think that Lisa, Karen and Elizabeth’s recent guest blogs have inspired me anew to feature the artistry of other women here.

I’ve been reading a lot these days, mainly because of the New Book. So far, this book is far more research-intensive than some of my other books — the focus here is on my writing rather than my art. One benefit is that I’m rediscovering how much I love to immerse myself in research. Generally speaking, most of my time in the studio is spent writing, painting and designing. (Well, that is how you make a book.) Though I often read for work-related reasons, it’s rare for me to believe that hours of time spent with a book are equally as important as making the book itself. Which is silly — after all, research provides the backbone of what I write about — but it’s easy to discount this when choruses of “I must meet my deadline” are dancing through my brain.

That written, while I was on vacation I was able to indulge in some recreational reading semi-related to my work at hand. Here are a few books that I think you, Dear Reader, might find of interest.

Charlene Proctor, PhD is the creatrix behind The Goddess Network, an online community dedicated to educating women about the Divine Feminine. She’s also the author of Let Your Goddess Grow! and The Women’s Book of Empowerment.

What I like about these books is their message of hope for women who feel trapped by patterns of low self worth, or victimized by cultural messages. For myself, I know that since I became a mother, it’s too easy to feel less than adequate — you haven’t lived until you’ve had some stranger on the street snap at you because your child isn’t wearing a wool hat on a sunny spring day. So these books came to me at a moment when I needed to be reminded that I am more than the sum of others’ criticisms.

These books aren’t specifically about goddesses — rather, they are about how to embrace your native divinity. They would make a welcome gift for someone you know who is on the fence about the Divine Feminine, but needs to be eased into reading about Athena, Isis, Sarasvati and the rest of the pantheon. While many of the tools Dr. Proctor offers in these books may feel somewhat familiar to anyone into self help, she presents them in a gently subversive package that I applaud; these ideas could extend beyond transforming the self into transforming society itself, if enough women embraced them. In Let Your Goddess Grow!, Dr. Proctor’s chapter on the Divine Feminine is nothing short of a rallying cry for women to reclaim their sacred past.

The Women’s Book of Empowerment presents 323 affirmations that are specific to women’s lives. They’re logically organized according to subject matter. This is the book designer in me coming through here, but the packaging of the books is very appealing, especially for The Women’s Book of Empowerment. The interior of TWBoE is printed in an ethereal midnight blue as soothing as its subject matter, with lovely halftone art backgrounds. The small trim size makes it handy to tuck into a bag or on a nightstand for when you need a quick dose of inspiration.

Margaret George’s The Memoirs of Cleopatra recently came to my attention because of the New Book. (Yup, I’m writing about Cleopatra and her family these days.) Though a novel can hardly be counted as research, it did list many helpful primary and secondary sources for me to peruse. </rationalization>

Now here is a woman who had no doubt she was divine — Cleopatra’s Egyptian subjects considered the queen to be the living embodiment of Isis, though she had not a drop of Egyptian blood in her veins. (Fun fact: her Ptolemaic dynasty hailed from Macedonia and took over Egypt after Alexander the Great’s demise.) She also used this mythic awareness to manipulate her enemies and allies in a surprisingly modern public relations war. It also helped that her lovers, Caesar and Marc Antony, considered themselves to be of sacred origin; for example, Antony traced his family lineage all the way back to Hercules.

This massive 900 page-plus novel is a fun, voluptuous read presenting the queen’s life in first person narrative form. Though some of the language veers dangerously close to romance novel euphoric — I could have done without some of the sexual encounters between Cleopatra and Caesar, which were a bit too Heathcliff-the-brute for my taste — the last chapters are very moving. The descriptions of Cleopatra’s preparations for her demise are especially haunting. By this point, you sense that she has transcended her Greek origins in life to become genuinely Egyptian in death.

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Goddess painting of the day: the Valkyries

Are the Valkyries goddesses? Or are they supernatural warrior maidens? According to Norse mythology, they are dísir, or fate goddesses who served the ruling god Odin. Their main purpose was to choose the most heroic of those who had died in battle and to carry them off to Valhalla, where they became warriors to fight at Odin’s side at the preordained battle at the end of the world.

The most famous Valkryie is Brunnhilde, whose story I find particularly stirring. She offers a potent example of how love can inspire people to great deeds. It also serves as the linchpin for Wagner’s massive music drama, The Ring of the Nibelungen. Valkyries are also associated with ravens; some images show them as half-raven/half-woman, almost vulture-like in form as they swoop down to gather the dead.

My drawing depicts the Valkyries as they fly through the sky on their supernatural mounts, like thunder in the sky. Like the Muses, there are nine sister Valkyries (though that number varies in different myths); I’ve only drawn three of the Valkyries here, so I could focus more on the details — didn’t want to draw a crowd scene!

This drawing was created for Goddess Alive, a book I recently illustrated for Llewellyn Publications. I used pencil, white gouache on tinted paper. The book features 13 Celtic goddesses, each associated with the turn of the seasons and the phases of the moon.

Goddess Alive was recently published and can be ordered at amazon.com. If you decide to order it, autographed bookplates are available upon request.

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Goddess Inspiration Oracle: Sophia

KEYWORDS:
the soul
knowledge
purity

The goddess Sophia is considered the divine embodiment of feminine wisdom; her name translates literally as “wisdom” in Greek. In the ancient Near East, Sophia provided humans with the knowledge needed to create literature and the arts. Sophia symbolized the soul in its purest manifestation, often represented in art as having the form of a dove.

Later history associated Sophia with the Holy Spirit in Gnosticism. Gnosticism—derived from gnosis, the Greek word for knowledge—grew alongside early Christianity. Some gnostic traditions even claimed Sophia as the mother of Christ. An important tenet of gnosticism held that knowledge could free humanity from the shackles of limitation; it enabled the divine spirit every person possessed to return to the unknowable source of creation.

Text and art adapted from the Goddess Inspiration Oracle, published by Llewellyn Worldwide. All content © Kris Waldherr 2007. All rights reserved.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Draw strength from Diana, the beloved Roman huntress. Channel your anger wisely with help from the Hawaiian fire goddess Pele. Consult Anuket for prosperity. The Goddess Inspiration Oracle makes it easy for women to tap into the sacred wisdom of these powerful deities.

From Abeona to Zhinu, eighty goddesses from across the globe are represented in this deck. Each card features a striking portrait of a deity, her attributes, and a message inspired by her unique story. It’s an ideal instrument for creating affirmations, sparking creativity, gaining fresh perspectives, and uncovering insights related to health, love, creativity, motherhood, and other issues specific to women. The guidebook offers in-depth descriptions of each goddess, keywords associated with her, and practical suggestions for working with the cards.

Purchase now.
Learn more or try a free reading.

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