Soap Molds are bagged in clear poly bag with parchment
header card. Average size of mold sheets are 8-3/4" x 8-3/4"
with a totally flat back for clean scrapping of soap to the edge after
filling. This facilitates easy clean up and less waste. Designed for
both the professional and home hobby soap maker.
Venus of Willendorf - Earth Goddess | Fertility Goddess Symbolism
The Venus of Willendorf is considered one of the oldest
depictions of the Great Earth Fertility Goddess. Dated between 30,000
and 25,000 BC, The 'Venus of Willendorf' is the name that was given
to a female figurine that was found in 1908 by an archeologist named
Joseph Szombathy in a Aurignacian loess deposit near the town of Willendorf
in Austria. This statue is an important icon of prehistory. Archeologists
have suggested many different ways of understanding its significance
for the nomadic society which made it. The first suggestion is that
it was a "Venus figure" or "Goddess," used as a
symbol of fertility. Apart from being female, the statue has an enlarged
stomach and breasts, its pubic area is greatly emphasized, probably
serving as a representative of procreativity, and the red ochre pigment
covering it has been thought to symbolize or serve as menstrual blood
seen as a life giving agent. The second suggestion is that the figurine
may have served as a good luck charm. Its diminutive size led archaeologists
to assume that it may have been carried by the men during their hunting
missions in which it served not only as a reminder of their mate back
at home but also as a charm to bring them success in their hunting.
This is further strengthened by the facelessness of the figurine giving
it an air of mystery and anonymity which suggests that it may have been
of more importance as an object rather than as a person. Also, the figurine's
hair is braided in seven concentric circles, seven in later times being
regarded as a magick number used to bring about good luck. A third possible
significance put forth is that of the figurine serving as a mother goddess
(earth mother or female deity). This comes from a suggestion that the
statue was a woman whose specialness was indicated in her obesity since
women in a hunter gatherer society would probably not have had the opportunity
to get as obese. With all the suggestions that have been put forward
about the significance of the sculpture, tentative conclusions can be
made about the social, political and religious beliefs of the foraging
society in which it was found. The use of the figurine as a deity suggests
the practice of religious ceremonies to ensure the success of the tribe.
As an earth goddess, it may have played the role of ensuring a continuous
supply of food in the society. Along with this comes a possible belief
in magic if the figurine was intended to ensure hunting success. Politically,
it can be speculated that women due to their nurturing capabilities
might have had an esteem role in the society. The society may have thus
been more matriarchal rather than patriarchal as suggested by Jacob
Bachojen (1815-1887), "Matriachate or gynaecocracy found among
tribal peoples, where authority in both the family and the tribe was
in the hands of the women, was to be associated with the worship of
a supreme female earth deity".
Witcombe, Christopher L.C.E. Stone Age Women: "The Venus of Willendorf".
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