» Editor’s note: This is the fourth article in Juhi Sanduja’s new FII column entitled “Scripts of the Mothers: Reclaiming Matriarchal Knowledge.” This column is not just about nostalgia, but also about confrontation. It traces the buried, burned and rewritten languages through which women once remembered, goddess myths that became monsters, stabs that turned into screams, scripts that were once whispered in secret. The question is: What did matriarchal knowledge look like before patriarchy called it myth, madness or magic? From prehistory to pre-colonial archives, the column examines rituals, symbols and stories that refused to die. Based on feminist research and lived memory, this is not just about recovery, but about reclamation. What has been lost? What survives? And what do we owe to the women who dared to leave us signs, symbols and writings?
We find this in the British Museum Burney reliefwho stands there in silent defiance and presents a striking figure. It is a depiction of a winged woman with claw-like feet standing next to owls and a lion. Her name changes depending on tradition as she appears under different identities: Lilith, Inanna, goddessDemon or a forgotten queen. Her presence feels ancient and suggests to us that the feminine divine once aided in both creation and destruction, knowledge and wrath.
Patriarchal mythmaking has shaped the narrative we have about them, turning their complexity into danger. What happens when feminine divinity stops being held back and speaks openly again? This is a story of erasure and reclamation, in which characters like Lilith, Inanna and Durga were erased and then reclaimed over centuries of faith, fear and rediscovery.
Lilith and the Politics of Demonization
Jewish texts say Lilith was Adam’s first wife, made of the same clay as him. Unlike Eve, she refused to submit to Adam and insisted on being his equal. It is said that when Adam asked her to submit, she uttered the secret name of God and fled Eden. Similar to her departure from Eden, Lilith disappeared from sacred history, ultimately further shaping the narrative we have about her.
In other mythologies, Lilith’s persona is somewhat demonized, as if her independence was a curse that ultimately shaped her story. She became a night demon accused of stealing children and seducing men. The same wings that once symbolized freedom were now a symbol of evil.
But feminist theology has begun to reclaim it. In “The Coming of Lilith” (1972), scientist Judith Plaskow imagines her not as a demon but as a woman driven away because of her autonomy. In Plaskow’s retelling, Eve ultimately leaves the Garden of Eden, which becomes a radical act of sisterhood that transforms exile into liberation. Plaskov writes“They taught each other many things and told each other stories and laughed together and cried together again and again until the bond of sisterhood grew between them.”
For many women, Lilith has become a symbol of resistance against oppressive systems that seek to silence and punish feminine power, that is, the divine feminine. Lilith appears in feminist rituals and contemporary media where autonomy, once condemned, can be sacred.
Goddess Inanna: Descent as Authority
Long before biblical tradition, the Sumerian goddess Inanna reigned as queen of heaven and earth, known for her power, beauty, and emotional depth. Her stories, recorded on ancient cuneiform tablets, show us a goddess who defies easy categorization; Inanna is a warrior, a lover, a destroyer and an educator at the same time.
In The Descent of Inannatranslated by Wolkstein and Kramer, She decides to voluntarily descend into the underworld. As Inanna passes through the seven gates, she is stripped of her crown, jewels, and robes, the very things that symbolize her divine authority. Inanna’s death and eventual resurrection is not about purification but rather about rebuilding as she returns with deeper knowledge of death and the world beneath.
Over time, their complexity almost diminished. The Babylonian Ishtar, descended from Inanna, was primarily associated with lust and war and her deep spiritual layers were reduced to an archetype. Scholar Tikva Frymer-Kensky tells us in her work that as ancient religious systems shifted toward more male-dominated pantheons, powerful goddesses were reinterpreted or “domesticated” into narrower roles that focused on fertility, eroticism, or conflict. However, Inanna’s descent remains compelling today, as for many readers it becomes an allegory about reclaiming power through vulnerability. In contemporary feminist narratives, Inanna represents transformation without shame: a goddess who enters the darkness and returns whole.
Kali and the politics of fear
Kaliwhose name comes from the Sanskrit kāla, a word associated with both time and black, represents the powerful and transformative side of the feminine divine. In the Devi Mahatmya, she appears to defeat the demon Raktabija, whose blood, if spilled, would create endless clones. Kali drinks his blood before it touches the ground, destroying it and restoring cosmic balance.
Their story shows us that destruction, when used consciously, is sacred and also necessary for renewal. Their appearance is as impressive as their myth. She appears with dark skin, wild hair, multiple arms, a necklace made of severed heads, and a skirt made of arms. Both frightening and captivating, it shows us that creation often requires destruction. Historically, it has been revered outside the mainstream while being associated with cremation sites, tantric rituals and uncontrollable forces of nature.
Over time, she came to be revered as Kali Ma, a protective mother figure who plays a central role in festivals such as Kali Puja. And yet their uncontrollable power remains, refusing to be domesticated or tempered. The modern feminist reinterpretation reclaims Kali as a symbol of autonomy and resistance. It serves as a reminder that neither the Divine Feminine nor women need to be passive or softened. This reclamation serves as a reminder that difficult forms of power are still sacred.
Why recovery is important today
In various cultures we see goddesses reappear not only in temples or sacred texts, but also in various forms of art, literature and activism. In feminist practices and rituals, Lilith is now mentioned as a symbol of equality. In Wicca and Neo-Pagan practices, Inanna’s Descent is performed as a personal transformation rite. In India, Durga and Kali often appear in contemporary art and campaigns to symbolize women’s power and resistance.
Reclaiming these characters is not just about reviving mythology, but also about rewriting memory. As theologian Carol P. Christ explainedWhen we imagine the earth as the body of the Goddess, “the radical implications of the image are better recognized,” because this idea helps us to see the natural world and women as sacred again, since both have been devalued and controlled for so long. Her insight shows why reclaiming is important today, as remembering the divine feminine becomes a call to heal what has been damaged from women’s bodies to our own planet.
However, recovering these stories invites debate. Some critics argue that a contemporary reinterpretation risks distorting the sacred texts and narratives. But the mythology itself has always changed over time, having survived through retelling and reinterpretation by each generation.
The winged woman of the Burney relief still meets our gaze not as a demon or angel, but as her own self. Her story, along with those of Lilith, Inanna, and Kali, reminds us that the sacred once allowed women to endure many contradictions at once, and that too without apology. To be caring and dangerous, tender and firm.
If goddesses once embodied both destruction and creation, why do women today have to fight to be seen in all their complexity? Perhaps reimagining the divine feminine is less about creating new myths and more about reclaiming those once cast aside.
Juhi Sanduja is an editorial intern at Feminism In India (FII). She is passionate about intersectional feminism and has a keen interest in documenting resistance, feminist stories and questions of identity. Previously, she completed an internship as a research intern at the Center of Policy Research and Governance (CPRG) in Delhi. She is currently studying English literature and French and is particularly interested in how feminist thought can influence public policy and drive social change.
