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The Yoni: Sacred Symbol of Female Creative Power
From earliest times, humanity has found visual expression for the cosmic forces of creation, birth, and passion in artistic representations of human genitalia. Fertility cults centered on phallic worship are well documented, but older and even more pervasive are Goddess images of the vulva-known in the East since ancient times as the yoni. Yoni symbolism is a part of spiritual traditions in every part of the globe-from naturally occuring rock formations revered by North American Native peoples to the shakta-pithas of Hindu temples, and from early Celtic sheela-na-gig carvings to the Japanese kagura ritual.
The Yoni traces this primal motif in Australian Aboriginal folk tales, in alchemy, in Tantric practices, and in contemporary art by painters such as Georgia O'Keefe and Judy Chicago.
Dozens of illustrations, many in color, reproduce the variety of carvings, drawings, and other portrayals of this universal symbol of feminine creativity.
The Yoni traces this primal motif in Australian Aboriginal folk tales, in alchemy, in Tantric practices, and in contemporary art by painters such as Georgia O'Keefe and Judy Chicago.
Dozens of illustrations, many in color, reproduce the variety of carvings, drawings, and other portrayals of this universal symbol of feminine creativity.
134 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1996
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202 people want to read
About the author
Rufus C. Camphausen
11 books3 followersBorn in Germany, Rufus C. Camphausen is a writer and illustrator now living in the Netherlands.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 26, 2012
This book is an easy read with enough information to introduce the topic and plenty of resources for further study. The book addresses several aspects of the Yoni including history, Religious/spiritual affiliations, metaphorical and physical manifestations, as well as contemporary views and related artwork. I was very pleased with this text and would encourage those interested in Tantra, Goddess worship, feminine studies, or similar subjects to check this book out.
April 8, 2009
Really love the visual references and explorations made in this book. The tone can get a little too spiritual for me but...
December 31, 2023
The technical difference between mythology and folklore is that folklore pertains to the ways of prescientific people, while mythology deals with nonscientific explanation of material phenomena. The trouble with trying to understand the difference beyond that—or between both on one hand, and science on the other—is that the mystery remains regardless of what tools one uses to apprehend it.
You ask the greatest question and the next question remains to be asked, according to legendary SF scribe Theodore Sturgeon. If the world rests on the back of a turtle, this brings in the question of what’s below the turtle. The answer—“It’s turtles all the way down!”—seems to work until some smart aleck asks what’s below that infinite regress of shells and plastrons.
A child who won’t stop asking “Why?” will eventually fry the synapses or at least tie the tongue of the most serious philosopher.
So, putting aside the question of the meaning of life, let’s start with another unsolvable riddle: where do we come from?
As far as we know, the womb is the only non-vitro method of gestating a child and bringing it to term. The shortest route from the world to the womb is through the vagina. Terms like “Mother Earth” and metaphors that make use of fertility to talk about both crops and human offspring seem to recognize the consanguinity between human creation and that of all life.
Many religions throughout most of history recognized the sacral in the feminine, and worshipped female deities. With the passage of time, this has become less and less the case, aside from some voguish attempts by pockets of pagans here and there to revitalize the cults. And these are more about invoking the divine feminine for political and rhetorical reasons, rather than a resurgence of animist belief in the female divine. Not even the lady selling Reiki crystals on Etsy with the dreamcatcher earrings and ten Margaret Atwood books actually thinks she can converse with the vaguely vaginal innards of a strawberry and ask it for advice or help getting that promotion at work.
The Yoni: Sacred Symbol of Female Power, examines this history of worshipping female power and cults, symbols, mythology, and superstition tied to its anatomical analogue. It takes us from the animist—unicameral in the formulation of Julian Jaynes—to the integrated and conscious thinking of type and archetype perpetuated by Jungians. Although it’s short, the book is well-illustrated and contains numerous photographs as well as neo- and paleolithic totems, lignans, and fetishes of every stripe.
It’s informative while remaining conversational, with footnotes and sources and a bibliography, flexing genuine academic rigor without becoming turgid or unreadable. It countenances the crassness and misogyny of historical discourse on the Yoni (especially in recent history) without belaboring its point and thus perpetuating the coarseness. The glossary contains not only the “P” word but the dreaded “C-word” and its Germanic variant, Fotze, so be forewarned if you were expecting a simple paeon to pudendum.
Most men and women with a tangential interest in everything from human anatomy to prehistorical and early historical anthropology should find illumination herein. And while there are diagrams detailing things like erogenous areas, the “g-spot” and clitoral stimulation, one shouldn’t confuse it with a sex manual. Some of those texts, however—both ancient and modern—are included in the bibliography.
The reading didn’t quite arouse me, but as a middle-aged and not very libidinous dude who spends most of his time in the depressive equivalent of a refractory period, I’m probably not the person to ask about that, anyway.
Recommended, especially for religious studies scholars and those interested in archeology.
You ask the greatest question and the next question remains to be asked, according to legendary SF scribe Theodore Sturgeon. If the world rests on the back of a turtle, this brings in the question of what’s below the turtle. The answer—“It’s turtles all the way down!”—seems to work until some smart aleck asks what’s below that infinite regress of shells and plastrons.
A child who won’t stop asking “Why?” will eventually fry the synapses or at least tie the tongue of the most serious philosopher.
So, putting aside the question of the meaning of life, let’s start with another unsolvable riddle: where do we come from?
As far as we know, the womb is the only non-vitro method of gestating a child and bringing it to term. The shortest route from the world to the womb is through the vagina. Terms like “Mother Earth” and metaphors that make use of fertility to talk about both crops and human offspring seem to recognize the consanguinity between human creation and that of all life.
Many religions throughout most of history recognized the sacral in the feminine, and worshipped female deities. With the passage of time, this has become less and less the case, aside from some voguish attempts by pockets of pagans here and there to revitalize the cults. And these are more about invoking the divine feminine for political and rhetorical reasons, rather than a resurgence of animist belief in the female divine. Not even the lady selling Reiki crystals on Etsy with the dreamcatcher earrings and ten Margaret Atwood books actually thinks she can converse with the vaguely vaginal innards of a strawberry and ask it for advice or help getting that promotion at work.
The Yoni: Sacred Symbol of Female Power, examines this history of worshipping female power and cults, symbols, mythology, and superstition tied to its anatomical analogue. It takes us from the animist—unicameral in the formulation of Julian Jaynes—to the integrated and conscious thinking of type and archetype perpetuated by Jungians. Although it’s short, the book is well-illustrated and contains numerous photographs as well as neo- and paleolithic totems, lignans, and fetishes of every stripe.
It’s informative while remaining conversational, with footnotes and sources and a bibliography, flexing genuine academic rigor without becoming turgid or unreadable. It countenances the crassness and misogyny of historical discourse on the Yoni (especially in recent history) without belaboring its point and thus perpetuating the coarseness. The glossary contains not only the “P” word but the dreaded “C-word” and its Germanic variant, Fotze, so be forewarned if you were expecting a simple paeon to pudendum.
Most men and women with a tangential interest in everything from human anatomy to prehistorical and early historical anthropology should find illumination herein. And while there are diagrams detailing things like erogenous areas, the “g-spot” and clitoral stimulation, one shouldn’t confuse it with a sex manual. Some of those texts, however—both ancient and modern—are included in the bibliography.
The reading didn’t quite arouse me, but as a middle-aged and not very libidinous dude who spends most of his time in the depressive equivalent of a refractory period, I’m probably not the person to ask about that, anyway.
Recommended, especially for religious studies scholars and those interested in archeology.
November 19, 2025
As a girl raised in a Christian home, I was always reminded how shameful my body was... at all stages. As an adult woman who has been on a journey of healing and rebirth, I found this book after reading Pussy. This book is so validating and uplifting. Cultures across time and the world have WORSHIPPED the female body and with good reason. We are the creators of life! That is so beautiful and powerful. I love reading about the religion and rituals surrounding the sacred yoni. I feel empowered after reading this book. Probably gonna dive into my feminist collection next. All the stars to The Yoni!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews