Is the Goddess Asherah (Astarte) Worshipped Today?
Asked by
Lacroix (
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August 30th, 2009
I know that in ancient times, Asherah was celebrated as the Queen of Heaven, wife of Yahweh. Christianity seemed much more liberal, then, full of magic and mysticism.
My question is: is there any branch of religion today that worships Yahweh and Asherah, believes in the existence of more than one deity (but puts them as the Father and Mother, under whatever name), and condones the use of magic?
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Hmmm….well, paganism (or more specifically, Wiccan) if I recall correctly, worships the mother goddess (the three-in-one) and the horned god…which could be read as evolutions of the original Yahweh and Asherah. And Wiccanism definitely embraces and allows magic. (You can, however, be Wiccan and not be a practicing witch.)
But that would depend on who you’re worshipping with…some branches/covens ignore the male deity to focus just on the Mother goddess.
Wicca on Wikipedia has more information on this, if you’re interested.
That wasn’t Christianity. Christianity has been around for only about 2000 years, you know? There were many other religions before it, and there still are.
How old Christianity is or how many religions there are and were has very little, if anything, to do with this question, Jeruba. But to clarify, yes, ancient Christianity had a goddess figure. It had several other deities in it besides Yahweh, in fact.
That being said, what are some modern interpretations of this?
May we see some sources? Asherah appears in the Judeo-Christian tradition, but I am not aware of any strain of Christianity per se that has such a pantheon. I’d like to see scholarly references for this.
“Ancient” is relative.
I think you’re contradicting yourself here. You agree that Asherah appears in Christian tradition, but seem to say just a few words later that it doesn’t?
If you want sources, do a bit of reading. Here are a few titles to start you off.
Jesus and the Lost Goddess: The Secret Teachings of the Original Christians by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
The Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah: Evidence for a Hebrew Goddess (University of Cambridge Oriental Publications, Vol. 57) by Judith M. Hadley
Happy reading, Jeruba.
Does anyone else besides Evegrimm know of any similar modern traditions? Maybe new faiths that have sprung up?
Don’t be silly. Those are two different statements.
I said she appears in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. That is much broader than Christianity alone, unless you think Judaism is a Christian faith. Here is one reference, which says that she is referred to in the Judeo-Christian tradition as a false Canaanite deity. The Old Testament alludes to a number of false gods (false by the standards of the Hebrew religion); apparently she was one of them. The people of Israel worshipped one god.
And I said “I am not aware of…” which is a factual statement about my own knowledge and not about authorities or references. It is the reason why I asked you for sources.
The burden of proof for your assertions is on you. I asked you for scholarly references. You supplied some references. Thank you. I can’t judge sight unseen whether these are reputable sources or not. You have not provided any links, and I am disinclined to do much research in order to respond to your question. You seem to be interested in a different sort of answer from what I am able to give.
you know what’s fun? Ignoring religion in general…
@Lacroix also if you know so damn much on this subject ( hence your above preferred reading list ) then why ask your question at all?
Isn’t that the same godess as Istar? Which if I am not mistaken is also Aphrodite/Venus, godess of Love? There are a few people who supposedly worship them, though I think nowadays it’s more of a hobby than a true religion. They do not seem very convinced that she is a real godess that exists somewhere (eg on Olympus or at least the spirit world). It’s more of an anti-Christian reaction than anything.
To be honest, ancient Greeks and Romans did not take religion that seriously either. They even made jokes about their gods, and wrote comedies depicting their mortal imperfections.
@madcapper I know a lot about the past worship of her. My question is whether or not the worship has survived to the present day, and in what form.
Many of the biblical books/texts do include reference to a Father/Mother God – if course thanks to the Roman Catholic Church & others they are no longer included. Despite that those gospels include it we cannot really argue the fact that pagan texts predate Christian ones in general to the point that some Christian biblical texts that are commonly used today contain direct quotes from those earlier pagan texts. Much of what is & always has been Christianity is & always has actually been paganism. The ceremonies are carbon copies.
As far as anyone still worshipping or paying homage to Asherah there are many Earth based religions of the pagan variety that do. Quite often that name & multiple others are mentioned during ceremonies which I attend. (I practice a religion that is a mix of Gnostic Christianity, general Gnosticism & alchemical paganism)
The most comparable concept today to the Goddess Asherah would be “Mother Nature”. In that sense, she is still warshipped and revered today. I agree that Asherah is in the bible (Old Testament)(Judaism), and had been abandoned by the time of the creation of the New Testament(Christianity). She absolutely is in the Bible, even if this is considered a Pagan Concept today.
“To be honest, ancient Greeks and Romans did not take religion that seriously either. They even made jokes about their gods, and wrote comedies depicting their mortal imperfections.”
—This is a little vague. Please let me clarify. There were stories like Aesop’s Fables and Aristophanes The Frogs and Apulius Golden Ass. A certain amount of levity was added, so as not to interpret these stories as Gospel. These stories had more to do with morality than accuracy. For non-comedic writings… you would get several criticisms or writings about mistakes on almost every time a god was mentioned. Herodotus got so much criticism, that he was called “Father of History, Father of Lies.” Many Greeks did in fact takes there religion very seriously. Socrates was put to death, in large part, for his religious beliefs.
On the imperfections, in many ways, the Greeks practiced Hero Worship, in which these Hero’s and God’s were in fact flawed. As for qualities like Jealousy in Hera, or love in Aphrodite, sometimes these Gods were linked to emotions. And Emotion isn’t always pure. It has good and bad in extremes.
On the Hebrew God, with the story of Soddom and Gommorrah, some people have interpreted the Hebrew god as a vindictive God. As for Magic in the bible, I mean there are certainly miracles, and Jesus walking on Water, a burning bush, a parting red sea, Angels, etc… There is magic all over the bible. In America, Thomas Jefferson, wrote an edition of the bible, where he purged all of the magic. This bible never caught on.
Hi Lecroix.
I am part of a group called the “Jewitch Collective.” We are Jews who are also pagan or pagnas who also find interest in Judaism, or social justice activists who re religiously open minded. Think “Reclaiming Tradition Witchcraft” meets Judaism. We invoke Goddesses and Gods that are Canaanite, and Hebrew (Asherah, Baal, etc.) as well as ancestors (Miriam, etc). We practice Jewish holidays with an earth based magickal spin. For example we had a Tu’Bshvat ritual with Starhawk from Reclaiming and invoked Asherah, and we had a Sukkot ritual where we invoked Baal Hadad. I will leave our group website below, as well as a link for a book called “Magickal Judaism” that discusses other pagan centerd Jewish practices. Enjoy! https://www.facebook.com/jewitchcollective/
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