15. Mother's milk: Pagan cow goddesses and their fascinating origin & myths

Within Indo-European spirituality, cow goddesses occupy a unique and venerated position, symbolizing fertility, prosperity, and the nurturing aspects of nature. They play a central role in the mythologies and religious practices across various Indo-European cultures. Their symbolism extends beyond the realms of agriculture and animal husbandry, intertwining deeply with concepts of marriage and the life-giving forces of rivers. This episode is about how the plethora of Indo-European cow-associated and -depicted goddesses all belong together, represent the same functions and constitute a category or classification of goddesses throughout the IE world. It also shows that this group of cow goddesses are intimately related to and a sine qua non for river goddesses, and vice versa – helping the reader understand the Indo-European worldview, social construction and perception of (parts of) feminine divinity. To understand the original concept of the Indo-European cow goddess, the functional classification of later cow deities it gave rise to, why they all belong together, and the close bonds between the cow as symbol and Indo-European river goddesses, we must first take a closer look at the Proto-Indo-European and early Indo-European lifestyle, society and worldview.