#corn goddess

“In the great mysteries solemnised at Eleusis in the month of September the union of the skygod Zeus with the corn-goddess [i.e., grain-goddess] Demeter appears to have been represented by the union of the hierophant with the priestess of Demeter, who acted the parts of god and goddess. But their intercourse was only dramatic or symbolical, for the hierophant had temporarily deprived himself of his virility by an application of hemlock. The torches having been extinguished, the pair descended into a murky place, while the throng of worshippers awaited in anxious suspense the result of the mystic congress, on which they believed their own salvation to depend. After a time the hierophant reappeared, and in a blaze of light silently exhibited to the assembly a reaped ear of corn, the fruit of the divine marriage. Then in a loud voice he proclaimed, ‘Queen Brimo has brought forth a sacred boy Brimos,’ by which he meant, ‘The Mighty One has brought forth the Mighty.’ The corn-mother in fact had given birth to her child, the corn, and her travail-pangs were enacted in the sacred drama. This revelation of the reaped corn appears to have been the crowning act of the mysteries.”

—J. G. Frazer, The Magic Art & the Evolution of Kings, part 2 (The Golden Bough, vol. II, pp. 138-139)

c. 1900 sketch by H. Graillot of a Pompeiian fresco depicting the Hieros Gamos (L-R: Iris, Hera, Zeus).

First grown in Mexico some 5,000 years ago, corn soon became the most important food crop in North and Central America. Throughout the region, Puebloans, Mayans, Aztecs, and other Indigenous peoples worshiped corn deities and developed a variety of myths about the origin, planting, growing, and harvesting of corn, also known as maize. Secular and ceremonial life centered around the growing cycle of corn. Corn became an archetype planted in our collective unconscious.

In the process of writing my spiritual memoir, Riding Spirit Horse, I discovered a recurring theme. One motif that keeps repeating itself in my shamanic journey and trance experiences is that of corn. On my first shamanic journey into the spirit world in 1988, I met a spirit guide who became my lifelong mentor in the ways of the spirit world. Known as Corn Woman or Corn Mother, she is an important deity archetype in Pueblo mythology. She represents fertility, life and the feminine aspects of this world.

The importance of corn deities in Pueblo mythology reflects the importance of corn in the Pueblo diet. Each pueblo performs a ritual Corn Dance to honor Corn Woman and pray for rain, growth and fertility. A drummer and a chorus of chanting men support the lines of colorful dancers who move in a continually changing zigzag pattern. The graceful dancers turn and pause, then turn again, creating a sweep of movement that ripples through the line like a breath of wind through stalks of ripening corn. The dancers make gestures to indicate their requests to Corn Woman: lowering the arms depicts the lowering clouds, moving the arms in a zigzag motion denotes lightning, lowering the palms signifies rain, and lifting the hands symbolizes the growing stalks of corn. It is a dance that evokes the timeless Pueblo way of being.

In 2018 my inktober challenge revolved around gods and goddesses. I decided to then focus on a goddesses. I started this in mid 2019 and finished sometime before 2019 Inktober. Just never got around to post them. Btw the prompt was from @lyfeillustration 's 2016 Inktober prompt list.

Lava corn goddess ( 1300-1500 ).

Mexican, Aztec.

Three prints by Hannah Dansie, an artist whose work I encountered in a gallery in New Orleans. I’m not sure if the resemblance between the blond braid motif and corn husks is intentional or not but it’s cool if so. 

The Blue Corn Maiden

Diamond Tears