Goddesses in Plain View: Listen To Your Mother and Grandmother Too! (New Essay)

Goddesses in Plain View: Listen To Your Mother and Grandmother Too (an essay from the heart) by Tim Kavi

Long-time readers and new readers, I hope too, realize that I write a lot about Goddesses and that I am writing in reverence, about archetypes (in a mythological and Jungian perspective) that can empower men and women alike, (as well as all persons), respecting mythology, and the tradition and empowerment of matriarchy over patriarchy.

Thus, I come before you with an essay that reminds us that goddesses are not as distant in history and development as one might think. Indeed, there is a strong mother goddess tradition in many traditions, as well as the older woman as a wise and guiding spirit. But these are not just abstractions or archetypes of the realization of potential. They are lived out realities manifesting themselves in personality cores and collective memories as long as there has been storytelling and nurturing.

Likewise, local manifestations of many goddesses may be much nearer than you think, perhaps embodied in your own mother, grandmother, mother-in-law,  wife, or a woman who is special to you, including heroines. But it is the mothering goddess I emphasize today. And as you might know, my own mother and grandmother are very, very, special to me. I have often written about my grandmother and mother, who penned poems about family life as an inspiration. And in many ways, they have instructed me throughout my life, even though they have both passed, their goddess natures and guidance still speak to me. When they do, I must listen with careful attention! Sometimes they are at the seashore, sometimes in the mountains, sometimes in a quiet whisper, sometimes in a heart tug of direction, and sometimes even in my dreams.

The following list shows how the mother goddess can be Jungian archetypes:

Psychological Meaning (Carl Jung Archetypes)

The following goddesses represent deep universal patterns:

Creation instinct

Maternal protection

Life–death cycles

Emotional nurturing

Cosmic origin

These appear independently across cultures because they reflect fundamental human experience of motherhood and existence itself.

The next few charts outline many mother-type goddesses. (Forgive me for exclusions, as there are many more than I can list here.

Archetypes of the Divine Mother

Archetype	Goddess	Culture	Role	Symbols
🌍 Earth Mother	Gaia	Greek	Primordial Earth, mother of all life	Earth, fruit
	Pachamama	Andean/Inca	Sustains crops and humanity	Mountains, soil
	Demeter	Greek	Agriculture and maternal grief	Wheat, torch
	Ninhursag	Sumerian	Creator of humans and nature	Omega symbol, womb
	Nerthus	Germanic	Sacred earth mother	Cart, earth
	Jord	Norse	Mother of Thor, embodiment of Earth	Land, fertility
🌌 Cosmic/Primordial Mother	Isis	Egyptian	Universal mother, resurrection	Throne crown, wings
	Aditi	Vedic Hindu	Mother of gods and cosmos	Sky, infinity
	Tiamat	Babylonian	Chaos mother, creator of gods	Serpent, ocean
	Eurynome	Greek	Creator goddess of the universe	Cosmic dance
	Coatlicue	Aztec	Mother of gods, life and death	Serpents, skulls
	Papa	Māori	Earth mother of all beings	Earth, embrace
❤️ Compassionate/Protective Mother	Parvati	Hindu	Universal mother and protector	Lotus, lion
	Tara	Buddhist	Compassion and salvation	Lotus
	Guanyin	Chinese Buddhist	Mercy and maternal compassion	Vase, willow
	Hathor	Egyptian	Motherhood, love, joy	Cow horns, sun disk
	Frigg	Norse	Protector of children and family	Spindle
	Yemaya	Yoruba	Mother of oceans and humanity	Ocean, moon
⚔️ Warrior Mother	Durga	Hindu	Cosmic protector	Weapons, lion
	Kali	Hindu	Destroyer of evil, liberator	Skull garland
	Sekhmet	Egyptian	Divine vengeance and protection	Lioness
	Anat	Canaanite	Fierce protector and mother	Weapons
	The Morrigan	Celtic	War, fate, sovereignty	Crow
	Cybele	Anatolian	Wild nature and protector	Lions

The most important mothering goddess is the one you are "listening" to right now; (or need to listen to), whenever you have need, and long to make a difference, in a world that truly needs care and nurturance, not to mention yourselves, and those around you! Namaste~~TK