Can some one tell me a brief history of a Sheila-Na-Gig...were they only in Ireland?

Question

Hopflower-that is what I was looking for...thank you..wikipedia is brief( and freq wrong!)....and frankly I thought if I mentioned Ireland the specific information I was seeking would be included...which it was!

From little that I have read....there has really been no definition for why they were used in churches.. or what purpose they actually served ....I have read nothing re: that they were demons used to ward off evil....interesting.

Answer 1

The goddess of fertility in British-Celtic mythology. She is prominently displaying her genitals in an attempt to allay the power of death. With the advent of Christianity she is portrayed (even on the outside of English churches) as a female demon to ward off evil.

Answer 2

The Sheila-na-gig is a figure from medieval stone carvings of the British Isles (mostly Ireland), of a grinning woman holding open Her vulva. She is regarded by some as a gargoyle-like figure meant as a medieval allegory of lust, or as a magical figure meant to cure infertility in women, but others have seen in Her an echo of the ancient Irish earth mother.

The word "gyg" is Norse for giantess, in other words, a supernatural or deified female, while "Sheila" is a woman's name, or used as a word for "girl".

The vulva as holy symbol of birth and life is a very ancient idea that symbolizes the life-giving and regenerative powers of the Earth Mother. The image of the vulva has a long history of being carved in stone, and is found all over Europe from the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages. Passage graves were built in the shape of the Goddess, with the passage the vagina, and the tomb chamber itself representing Her uterus. "Tomb" and "womb" were equated, thus ensuring regeneration and continuity after death, in the same way that a "dead" seed is planted in the fertile earth and sprouts up to grow into a complete plant.

Despite the fact that to modern eyes Her pose is "obscene" the Sheila-na-gig is most predominantly found carved in the decoration of churches.

This card in a reading indicates old and ancient themes that lie beneath the roots of the current situation. For example, the instinctual desire to have children may be dictating more of your life than you are aware, or sexual desire may be pulling the strings. Also, this card asks that you reexamine your ideas of what is "obscene" and what is "proper".

Alternate spellings: Sheela-na-gig, Sheela-no-gig, Sheelanagyg, Irish Síle na gCíoch "Sheila of the Breasts"

Answer 3

see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila-na-gig

Answer 4

No, England too.