Advent Calendar 2023

The virgin goddesses of myth were not virgins in the sexual sense. In fact they were often portrayed as sensual and promiscuous. In Latin, the word virgo means ʹunmarried' or 'self-possessed', and connotes not sexual purity but a self-sufficiency which made these deities eschew wifely roles. As mistress of herself, the virgin goddess belonged to no one, and therefore acted solely from her own will, rather than as the mouthpiece or consort of a male deity.

The goddess Astraea, whose symbolism was exploited by Queen Elizabeth I as "cosmic" propaganda during her long reign, was known to the Greeks and Romans as the patron of justice and natural law, and presided over the orderly cycles of nature. Offended by the cruelty and boorishness of the human race, she abandoned the earth and withdrew into the heavens.

Earlier "virgin" goddesses, such as the Syrio-Phoenician Atargatis, were not so refined. They presided over orgiastic rites, dispensed their favors through temple prostitutes, and personified the fertile abandonment of nature. Yet they too were virgins and gave themselves to those men or gods who pleased them, rather than to those to whom they owed a wifely duty.

The virgin goddess of nature is an ancient symbol of the inviolable integrity of the earth itself. Despite our endless rape and wastage of her natural resources, the earth preserves its mystery, power and capacity for self-renewal.

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