Asherah and Mary

Question: Is there anything that links Mother Mary and the goddess Asherah?

Asherah, also known as Ashtoreth, Astarte, and Ishtar, was one of the three great Goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon, worshipped in ancient Syria and Phoenicia, as well as Canaan. She was often represented by a limb-less tree trunk in the ground, which might be carved into a symbolic representation of the goddess. Places associated with the worship of Asherah thus became known as groves. She was also worshipped on high places.

Asherah was the Moon Goddess, and her consort was Ba'al, the Sun God, also known as El. 

Asherah was also worshipped as the goddess of love and war, but her primary role was that of Mother Goddess. Ugaritic texts refer to her as the 'Creatress' & Mother, while her consort is the Creator & Father. Their children formed the pantheon of gods - between seventy and ninety of them! They are referred to as Asherah's 'pride of lions' as she is associated with lions (power), as well as with serpents (healing/immortality) and sacred trees (fertility). (The Hebrew word for the terebinth tree, ela, is etymologically identical to that for goddess, elat.) The association with trees also links Asherah with Eve in the Genesis story, who was the Mother of all living (Gen.3.20), and indeed the Israelites worshipped Asherah for most of their history, despite it being regarded by some, such as Josiah, as idolatry.

Nonetheless, Asherah was certainly worshipped in the Jerusalem Temple. This indicates that her cult was not purely a domestic/female one, although it has been suggested that it was particularly favoured by 'the mother of the King of Israel' - although without identifying the king! This is linked to the typical description of the father of the King as YHWH, indicating a correspondence between the queen mother, wife of the king's father on earth, and Asherah, wife of YHWH, the king's father in heaven. And indeed, there is archaeological evidence which strongly suggests that YHWH and Asherah were worshipped as a pair - raising questions as to the 'purity' of the monotheistic confessions of the Israelite faith. As regards that, I would like to think that they were capable of understanding that YHWH has many aspects, male and female, and that as humans who do not have the capacity to grasp them all, we need representations to help us realise the nature of the Divine.

Just as Asherah was the Mother (and El/Ba'al the Father, although Ba'al is sometimes regarded as her son), so Mary is revered as Mother, the Mother of God (Jesus, God Incarnate), although while Asherah is the 'bride' or 'consort' of the Father, Mary is not God's bride: she is a partner in the co-creation of the Son. Asherah, whose consort is the god of water, became known as She-who-treads-on-the-sea, while Mary is also known as Star of the Sea. In fact, it is said that this was a scribal error: Jerome was translating Eusebius' 'Dictionary of Proper Names' and translated the Hebrew name Miryam ('drop of the sea') into the Latin Stilla Maris, which later became Stella Maris, Star of the Sea, due to dialect differences.

There is also a leonine link between Asherah and Mary: Jesus has been hailed by some as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, so Mary, his Mother, like Asherah, is the Lioness. And, of course, Mary is seen by some as the New Eve.

Invocation to Asherah

Hail Holy Queen, Qadashu,

'Athirat, Our Lady of the Sea,

Mother of all, Giver of the Milk of Life,

Lioness, Labi'atu of our Pride:

we call you now,

and ask your blessings upon us.

Hear our prayer,

guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us.

May our sorrow cover our sins,

may our shortcomings be set aside,

and may you take us to your heart,

Great Goddess, 'Elat,

Co-Creator of all, Qaniyatu 'Ilima,

Star of Heaven, Ima, Shekinah,

Asherah.