Anahit
May 1 - June 20
Moons of Fullness
Symbols: Arevakhach, Grain + Fruits, Peacock, Lion
Botanicals: Pomegranate, Rose, Apricot Flower, Quince Flower, Jasmine
Stones + Metal: Garnet, Gold
Colors: Red, Orange, Gold
Element: Fire
Anahit is the much beloved Mother Goddess of ancient Armenia.
She is a goddess of both Fire and Water, fertility, wisdom, healing, abundant harvest, and riches. Her most well known epithet, Voske Mayr, means "the Golden Mother," which refers to both her association with the harvest and her cult statues, which were reputed to have been made of solid gold. Anahit may be a syncretization of earlier tribal goddesses of the Armenians and other ancient peoples indigenous to the Armenian highlands: the Hurrians, Luwians, Hittites, and Urartians. The Urartians were a politically savvy warrior race who appear to be the most direct ancestors of modern Armenians, and had a pantheon of many gods and goddesses.
The highest of the pantheon were Haldi, Tesheiba, and Shivini: three powerful warrior gods. Arubani was the consort of Haldi, and the most revered goddess of the Urartians. She was a fertility goddess and patron of the arts. It is likely that Anahit inherited some or all of Arubani's qualities, expanding upon them and growing in prominence over older, localized goddesses.
When the religion of Zoroastrianism came to greater Armenia with the Persian conquest, some aspects of the indigenous goddesses (Astghik, Nané or Inanna) became syncretized and renamed Anahit, roughly analogous to the Persian Anahita, the Zoroastrian goddess of the Heavenly Waters. Anahita has some similarity to Anahit as a primary Mother goddess of the Near East, but her own iconography is quite distinct. She is a fertility goddess strongly associated with purity, specifically the pure waters of heaven. Anahita granted sovereignty to kings and bestowed blessings of marriage, fertility, and childbirth to the people. Her full name, Aredvi Sura Anahita, roughly translates to "water/pure/mighty" and seems to have arisen from the earlier Sanskrit goddess Sarasvatī, also representing the heavenly river.
Over time Anahit absorbed some of the fertility and love aspects of Astghik (meaning "little star," the planet Venus), and her earlier, martial protectress aspects fell to Nané (equated to the Greek Athena, a goddess of war and wisdom), although each of these goddesses retained their own worship and cultic practices. Anahit was often referred to by classical Hellenistic authors as Aphrodite Anaitis, a goddess clearly understood to be an iteration of their own goddess of love and war, Aphrodite.
Although no figurative images or statuary officially identified as Anahit have survived the centuries (excepting the bronze head and hand of the Satala "Aphrodite" pictured above), many archaeological finds in Western Armenia and Anatolia depict a majestic goddess, often seated upon a throne or chariot and flanked by lions. These figures are officially labeled by Turkish academic authorities as the Phrygian Cybele or Greek Potnia Theron, but the icons are contemporary with the height of Anahit's worship and reflect many of her divine qualities and realms of influence.
The goddess Anahit grew in stature and popularity as the Persian and Hellenic cultures gained power. At the height of her cult, Anahit was revered as part of the divine triad alongside the Creator god Aramazd and the Warrior god Vahagn, eventually becoming a prototype for Mary, Mother of Jesus (the solar son).
Anahit was worshiped widely by Armenian kings, as was noted by many classical historians. In this respect we can see her as a goddess of Sovereignty, echoing the qualities of the Persian Anahita. According to 4th century author Agathangelos, Anahit was called "the benefactress of the whole human race, mother of all knowledge, daughter of the great Aramazd" by King Trdat (298-330 CE), the Armenian Arsacid king who ultimately converted and proclaimed Christianity the official religion of Armenia. Anahit's centers of worship were located in Erez, Armavir, Artashat and Ashtishat. The whole of Erez was dedicated to her, called Anahtakan Gavar. A mountain in the Sophene province was known as Athor Anahta, or “Anahit’s Throne.” Her temple at Eriza was said to be the noblest and wealthiest in Armenia, where esteemed families would send their daughters to serve as priestesses at the temple before marrying. This may be the source of the idea that the temple was a center for sacred prostitution, as recounted by historian Strabo.
In the 1st century BCE, Antiochus I ruled the kingdom of Commagene, located in the highlands of historical Syria (or Western Armenia) nestled between the neighboring kingdoms of Cappadocia, Sophene, Cilicia, Osrhoene and Antiokhia. Antiochus was of Greek, Persian, and Armenian ancestry, being a descendant of the Orontid dynasty of Armenia and Darius the Great of Persia. Antiochus was proud of his heritage, and his legacy is a massive tomb sanctuary complex built at the top of Mount Nemrut, featuring himself seated amongst the gods of his ancestors.
An artist's recreation of the pantheon atop Mt Nemrut: left to right the god Tir (Apollo or Hermes), the goddess Commagena (Anahit), Aramazd (Zeus), Antiochus I, and Vahagn (Heracles/Ares)
Although the deities portrayed in the monument are usually referred to by their Greek or Persian nomenclature, the goddess is named Commagena in the monument inscriptions. This characterizes her as a kind of localized Tyche, or personification of a city or kingdom's fortune, despite the clear references to Antiochus' Persian and Armenian Zoroastrian roots. In this lineup we have the divine triad of Aramazd / Anahit / Vahagn, with the addition of Tir (Armenian god of writing, wisdom, fate, and divination), as well as Antiochus himself. We also see the lion and the eagle as emblems of Persian and Armenian royalty flanking the deities. Who better to endorse his earthly kingship and immortal cult?
The New Year festival of Navasard is dedicated to Anahit, once considered to be the last month of summer and the beginning of “the golden autumn.” Although Navasard was originally celebrated in spring, as is the Persian New Year celebration of Nowruz, its festivities were always associated with agricultural cycles and rituals to ensure rain and bountiful harvests. In addition to feasting, dancing, and games, people would make annual pilgrimages to Anahit’s temple to ask for healing. Echoes of the spring Navasard may be found in the festival of "Beauty and Motherhood" celebrated by modern Armenians on April 7.
The Armenian people's love for Anahit transcended its conversion to Christianity, and the image of the head of her ancient bronze statue has become a symbol of the nation and culture of Armenia. Despite enduring centuries of conquest and colonization, genocide, forced displacement, and the intentional fracturing of their ancestral homeland, Anahit persists as a powerful, unifying, and healing goddess to the Armenian people.
In the years since I began working with Anahit, her sphere of influence has grown and I really understand how she could embody so many things to some many people. She is at once a loving and nurturing mother, a sensuously beautiful lover, a model of divine purity, a wise healer, a goddess of war, and a fierce protectress. Over time her role has evolved profoundly, responding organically to the needs of her worshippers.
In the spring of 2023 I took the Mt Shasta Goddess Temple's Aphrodite Priestess Training, knowing that Anahit was well known in Anatolia as Aphrodite Anaitis. I wrote this prayer to her as part of my work in the program.
It was just a few months after completing the training that the Republic of Artsakh (historically part of Greater Armenia) was invaded by its neighbor to the east, Azerbaijan. After an almost year-long blockade that had starved the indigenous ethnic Armenians, leaving them deprived of power, heat, water, medicine and basic needs, the final, humiliating blow was dealt to the people of Artsakh. See my blog post from September 2023 for the backstory.
Mere weeks after Artsakh was forcibly emptied of 120,000 Armenians, the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas occurred. Without going into horrific detail here, the subsequent counter-attack by Israel has resulted in the bloodiest and most catastrophic conflict since the Holocaust itself: the genocide and criminal expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, which as of July 2024, is ongoing.
Although the overwhelming majority of modern Armenians practice the orthodox Christianity of the Armenian Apostolic Church, there are a growing number of Armenians, both native and diasporic, that are actively reclaiming their pre-Christian pagan roots. In this respect, Anahit is a goddess that rises to the profound challenge of these tumultuous times.
In the months since these invasions and warcrimes have erupted, Anahit has become for me a powerful emblem for sovereignty and self determination, and an ally to all victims of political conflict. Anahit was once venerated by Armenian kings for her wise and benevolent nature—"the glory of our nation." There is archaeological evidence of the Persian Anahita bestowing her blessing at the investiture of Sassanian King Narseh, so we know her to be a goddess with authority over kings and nations. I strongly associate this aspect of Anahit with lions as her sacred beasts, which incidentally parallels many of the powerful pre-Islamic goddesses of the Near East, including the ancient goddesses of Palestine.
In my work with her this spring, I composed this prayer for peace and incorporated it into a ritual for Artsakh, Gaza, Ukraine, and other nations currently struggling for their sovereignty and survival against powerful aggressors.
A Prayer for Peace
*Magical and Ritual Associations are based on my own research and devotional practice.
