Images: Yarmukian Goddess, Sha’ar HaGolan, Northern Israel ca 6400 BCE (L)
Goddess Inanna/Ishtar on an Akkadian Empire seal, 2350 BCE, modern day Iraq (R)

The Sacred Feminine in Judaism:
An In-Depth Exploration
A Four Part Series

What do we mean by the "Sacred Feminine?"

Who is the Divine Feminine in Judaism and who were her precursors before we became the Jewish people?

We have numerous references to the presence of the Goddess Asherah in the ancient Temple, yet most Jews today would roundly deny, and even be shocked at the notion of worshiping a female divinity. The Shekhinah as Divine Presence is central to Jewish mysticism, yet many if not most Jews are unfamiliar with the specifically female aspect of G’d.  

In this series, in which we offer varying perspectives, we will explore the pre-Hebraic, pre-Judaic Goddesses of the Ancient Near East and how they embodied the Sacred Feminine; the Hebrew Goddesses and their presence in the Biblical text, and the Shekhinah in ancient and modern Jewish mysticism. The series will conclude with an experiential session exploring the presence and meaning of the Sacred Feminine in our own lives and psyches.

Session 3 The Mystical Feminine Experience

Led by Adrienne Momi

Using poetry, story, and visual imagery, our survey will describe experiences of the Shekhinah from the Bronze Age to the present, exploring Her chthonic lineage, Biblical/Religious citations, and Mystical Imagery.   

Adrienne Momi, PhD, painter, printmaker, book artist and scholar. Retired Adjunct faculty in Women’s Studies, University of Missouri St. Louis, and Mythological Studies, Pacifica Graduate Institute, Adrienne’s goal is to reveal spiritual experience and examine preliterate myths. The influence of the Divine Feminine in our lives is the leitmotif in her university lectures, public presentations as well as her contributions to conferences at UNESCO and other prestigious European organizations based on the monumental art installations she created on Neolithic archaeological sites in the Czech Republic and Turkey.