We are Divine and Holy - The Message of Goddess of Willendorf by Tamara Albanna

Painting by Arna Baartz

In writing a children’s book on the Willendorf Goddess, it would appear that I have it all figured out.  That I’m so comfortable in my skin, so happy in my body, I’m completely unfazed by what others may think or say, or what society expects of me with regards to my appearance.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, could be further from the truth.

I have lived in this body for 40 years, most of that time it was a love/hate relationship, emphasis on the hate as I got older. These days I have reconciled a lot, I can look at myself naked and not recoil, I could even undress in front of a lover and not worry about what they might think.

But sometimes, it creeps up on me. A snide comment here, a funny look there, it all comes crashing down.

I have accepted that this very well may be a lifelong struggle. That I will possibly never be completely happy in this body, and I have to be perfectly OK with that, because, I’m not perfect.

I have learned that as a woman of Middle Eastern decent, I am simply not supposed to look like what the Western media pushes on us as an ideal. I understand that as a mother, the 'price' I paid for literally creating life, is a softer belly and stretch marks. I also appreciate, that there is literally no one like me, or like you. That’s what makes us beautiful, it is our uniqueness, like I say in our beautiful book. 

To the little girls, especially... I just want to remind you that you are absolutely amazing and incredible just as you are.  Just because you exist, because you are YOU. Please don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise or make you feel any less than the magnificence of what you are. The story I tell in this book—the message this wondrous Goddess is giving us—is that we are all worthy, as we are. There is nothing to “fix”—there are no mistakes—you really are Divine, and whole. 

I wanted to be open and honest, I didn’t want anyone to pick up this book and assume that I somehow have it all together, I really don’t.

I also want you to know that it’s OK if you don’t have it together too, let us embrace ourselves the best way we know how, and be kind to our precious bodies. They deserve at least that much.

Stay tuned for our upcoming anthology, Willendorf's Legacy: The Sacred Body.

Tamara Albanna has always been connected to the Goddess, even when she didn’t realize it. As a Doula and Childbirth Educator, she witnessed divinity first hand through other women. Now as a writer, Reiki healer and Tarot reader, she hopes to help others overcome their difficult pasts while healing with the Divine Mother. She has published two books on Inanna—Inanna's Ascent: Reclaiming Female Power (co-edited with Trista Hendren and Pat Daly) and My Name is Inanna—as well as two poetry chapbooks, As I Lay By the Tigris and Weep, Rosewater and Kismet.  Her most recent children's book is My Name is Goddess of Willendorf. A women's anthology on Goddess of Willendorf, co-edited with Trista Hendren, is in the works. Tamara currently resides in Vienna with her family.