Astarte and her connection to the Cauldron of Creation

Astarte…ancient Goddess of Sumeria and Canaan, adored for thousands of years…we call upon her name now to reclaim and re-awaken her energy of feminine strength and clarity within us. Her name Astarte actually translates to “womb”, the cauldron of creation that we are all inspired by.  Other names she is known by in other cultures are Ishtar, Asherah, Inanna and Aphrodite. ( Astarte was the “whore of Babylon” of the Old Testament, so reviled by the misogynistic patriarchy of the Jewish fathers that her name was perverted to “Ashtoreth” meaning “abomination”.) Like these Goddesses, she is associated with the planet Venus and its symbol of the five-pointed star, the shape of the pattern the planet makes around the moon in its ongoing cycle.  As the morning star Astarte is the Warrior, dressed in flames, riding on the back of her lion, carrying her bow in her arms, taking aim at her desire.  As the evening star, she is the Lover, seducing the objects of her desires with her feminine charms.   ~ Helen Holifield~