When horned women were gods

and how the modern study of religion "civilised" them out of our memory

Running horned woman, Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria, 6000 – 4000 BC

As I land back from a fortnight camping in Tasmania, bones full of waterfalls and moss and the cleanest air in the world, here are some of my thoughts today on how we went from seeing icons like horned women as gods, to symbols of barbarism that justified the Apollonian overthrow of Dionysus (see last week’s piece for more on the wrestle between Apollo as representative of the modern rationale and Dionysus as the untamed wild).

As always, thanks for being here. And for reading me, or listening to my tertulias every Sunday! To receive the weekly entries, you can upgrade your subscription below.

Upcoming offering

And on another note, with the equinox coming up soon, I’ll be holding the next round of Oracular guidance with my colleagues and friends Chelsy Arber and Emma Meadows. The method we work with is a form of divination used by the oracles of the ancient Mediterranean world. You can send in three questions, which we will divide between the three of us. We will then go into ceremony on the equinox to retrieve your answers. And you will receive an audio recording with them within one week. Follow the link below for the joining instructions. The deadline to send in questions is March 19th.