Mother

Mother & Child by Gustav Klimt

Mother: From the Latin mater, “mother,” “womb.”

Connotations: Life, creation, nourishment, nurturing, ripeness, fertility, fulfillment, stability, power, compassion, beauty, virtue.

“The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men — from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms.” ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

From Symbols and Allegories in Art by Matilde Battistini:

“Life’s receptacle and womb, the figure of the Mother is related symbolically to water and the earth, the principles of universal germination…She is the symbol of universal fecundity and reception. The woman’s uterus is considered the source of life, and amniotic fluid its lymph.”

Related Gods & Symbols:
Mother Earth, Ishtar, Isis, Gaea, Rhea, Demeter (Ceres), Hera (Juno), Artemis (Diana), Selene, Eros, Libertas, Eve, Luna, the Virgin Mary, the Church, Saint Anne, vase, egg, athanor, seashell, cave, life, water, night, knowledge, inverted triangle, heifer, garden, death

Wait — did you catch that? The mother symbol is associated with death?!

Indeed. Click the image to learn more: