A study of the mysterious stone carvings of naked females exposing their genitals on medieval churches all over the British Isles.

Traces the origins of the Sheela na gig from Medieval times to Paleolithic cave art • Reveals the sacred display of the vulva to be a universal archetype and the most enduring image of creativity throughout the world • Provides meditations on the Sheelas the author encountered in Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales, allowing readers to commune with the power of these icons • Includes more than 150 photographs and illustrations from around the world For millennia, the human imagination has been devoted to the Goddess, so it is hardly a surprise to find images of supernatural females like Sheela na gigs adorning sacred and secular architecture throughout Ireland, England, Wales, and Scotland. Appearing on rural churches, castles, bridges, holy wells, tombs, and standing stones, these powerful images of a figure fearlessly displaying her vulva embody the power of the Dark Goddess over the mysteries of sex, life, death, and rebirth. Exploring the art and myth of the Sheela na gig from Celtic and Classical times back to Paleolithic cave art, Starr Goode shows how the Sheela embraces a conundrum of opposites: she clearly offers up her ripe sex yet emanates a repelling menace from the upper half of her hag-like body. Through more than 150 photographs, the author shows how the Sheela is a goddess with the power to renew, a folk deity used to help women survive childbirth, and, as a guardian of doorways and castle walls, a liminal entity representing the gateway to the divine. She explains how these powerful images survived eradication during the rise of Christianity and retained their preeminent positions on sacred sites, including medieval churches. The author provides meditations on the individual Sheelas she encountered during her 25 years of research, allowing readers to commune with these icons and feel the power they emanate. Exploring comparable figures such as Baubo, Medusa, the Neolithic Frog Goddess, and vulva depictions in cave art, she reveals the female sacred display to be a universal archetype, the most enduring image of creativity throughout history, and illustrates how cultures from Africa and Ecuador to India and Australia possess similar images depicting goddesses parting their thighs to reveal sacred powers. Explaining the role of the Sheela na gig in restoring the Divine Feminine, the author shows the Sheela to be an icon that makes visible the cycles of birth, death, and renewal all humans experience and a necessary antidote to centuries of suppression of the primal power of women, of nature, and of the imagination.

An illustrated and comprehensive account of the Sheela-na-gigs (carvings of female images) of Britain and Ireland.

Jack Roberts' research calls 'bollocks' on the staid academic view of Sheela-na-gigs and brings readers back to the time when they were created and revered. His is an artistic and highly-researched history of Ireland's mysterious symbol of female divinity, the Sheela-na-gig.

"Sheela-na-gigs are carvings of naked females posed in a manner which displays and emphasises the genitalia. In recent decades, interest in the figures has grown and they have often been a source of controversy. Once thought of in negative terms only, they have more recently come to be regarded in a positive light. There is little tradition or folklore recorded in Ireland which provides any useful insight into their origin or function. Here Eamonn P. Kelly of the National Museum of Ireland examines the examples throughout the countryside and others held for display, and makes comparisons with similar figures occuring in Britain and the rest of Europe." --

This book represents a move towards a detailed, accurate and archaeologically sensitive record of the sheela-na-gigs in Britain and Ireland, and establishes their study firmly within the orbit of mainstream research. Throughout, context is a central concern.

Sexually explicit sculptures may be found on a number of medieval churches in France and Spain. This fascinating study examines the origins and purposes of these sculptures, viewing them not as magical fertility symbols, nor even as idols of ancient pre-Christian religions, but as serious works that dealt with the sexual customs and salvation of medieval folk, and thus gave support to the Church's moral teachings.