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Ancient Goddesses in New York

An Online Guide to Discovering the Sacred Feminine in
Museums, Temples, and Public Places

Goddesses at the Rubin

This museum is like a temple on every floor and they even have a Buddhist Shrine Room where you can sit and meditate. The New York Times called it a "Haven for Asian art."

 

 

Green Tara, Tibet

Photo: Laurie Sue Brockway/Goddess Communications

 

Green Tara, Tibet, 14th Century.

 

 Tara is known as a Boddhisattva and "saviouress."  Up close, this female deity is serene and captivating. It is common to connect with her through the recitation of her invocation (mantra). Appealing to her in this way can bring protection and healing. The Mantra is: om tare tuttare ture soha.

Marichi, Goddess of Dawn, Mongolia

Photo: Laurie Sue Brockway/Goddess Communications

 

 

Goddess of the Dawn, Marichi, Mongolia, Late 17th Century or Early 18th Century.

 

As goddess of the dawn, Marichi is affiliated with the bright light of the sun and new beginnings. She offers a new day, each day, and a new chance to grow. Her presence in this statue is reassuring and gentle. There are other statues and images of her that capture her three heads and multiple arms.

Siddha Lakshmi, Nepal

Photo: Laurie Sue Brockway/Goddess Communications

 

Siddha Lakshmi Statue, Nepal, 17th Century.

 

With her multiple heads, arms, and symbols, this goddess is known as "the auspicious one." She is protective, can be fierce, and also brings good things. In this statue, she is a multi-faceted and multi-faced diety and it is hard to capture just how many dimensions there are to this statue. She commands your attention. She also seems to be a mystery, too profound to understand through intellect.

 

Siddha Lakshmi, Painting

Photo: Laurie Sue Brockway/Goddess Communications

 

Siddha Lakshmi

 

This holy painting of Siddha Lakshmi seems to be filled with love. This is different from the nearby statue. She is softer. She pulls you in and washes over you with her protective energies.

Pratisara, Central Nepal

 Photo: Laurie Sue Brockway/Goddess Communications

 

Pratisara, One of the Five Protective Goddesses, Central Tibet, mid-14th Century to mid-15th Century.

 

She is one of the five female deities that are the personification of early Buddhist texts (sutras).  She has four faces, and eight arms, and holds several symbols: a wheel, vajra scepter, arrow, sword, lasso, trident, bow, and ax. Himalayan Art Resources explains her function. "The personifications are also of the special verbal utterances contained in the sutras - called mantras. These five deities each have specific functions and are directed towards accomplishing worldly welfare and happiness, preventing and surviving natural disasters, curing snakebites, overcoming fear, and averting pestilence and epidemics."
 

Vajrayogini, Tibet

Photo: Laurie Sue Brockway/Goddess Communications

 

Vajrayogini, Tibet, 18th Century.

 

Vajrayogini is a Buddhist deity and Dakini associated with Vajrayana Buddhism. Her statue is so empowering and freeing. She looks like she is releasing us all from oppression and into liberation for the body, mind, and soul. She has a playfulness. "Vajrayogini's true nature is of great passion which is free of selfishness and illusion," according to Original Buddhas. Vajrayogini intensely works for the well-being of others and for the destruction of ego."

Snake Goddess Manasa

Photo: Laurie Sue Brockway/Goddess Communications

 

Snake Goddess Manasa

 

She is a Hindu goddess venerated in Bengal for her ability to prevent and cure snake bite. This superpower is reflected in her hood of seven snakes. "She is also believed to bestow agricultural prosperity and fertility, here represented by the fruit in her right hand and the vase underneath her foot," according to the Rubin website. Although she has fearsome abilities her presence in this statue is soft and a little motherly.

Green Tara, Central Tibet

 Photo: Laurie Sue Brockway/Goddess Communications

 

(Smiling) Green Tara, Central Tibet, 14th Century.

 

Tara has a smile on her face in this statue and she exudes kindness, warmth, and friendliness. She offers equanimity and the sense that the world will turn out okay (IMO).

Green Tara, Tibet

 Photo: Laurie Sue Brockway/Goddess Communications

 

 Green Tara, Tibet, 17th Century.

 

This statue of Green Tara represents the same kind of protection and stability that Green Tara is known for. But she is unique. Her headdress and jewels seem a little avant-garde.  Her persona is very relaxed yet Queenly. She exudes a sense of self-love along with her customary love for humanity.

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