Goddess Tanit Ibiza – In Search Of The Goddess

Ibiza is one of my favourite places on the Earth and every time I go there I feel elated and on a natural spiritual high. If you aren’t familiar with Ibiza, you may have only heard about dodgy behaviour in places like San Antoni where young tourists drink their body weight in Jagger bombs.

I was initially sceptical when my close pal Anna urged me to go and told me it was a magical place that she returns to every year. Thank goodness I trusted her good judgment enough to plunge in and book a flight. That was 5 years ago and I’ve gone back every year since. I consider it an island of joy and laughter and it always uplifts my spirit. On top of that, this Island has more spiritual treasures than meets the eye.

Ibiza is an island that has something to offer everyone. It’s steeped in mystery, magic and spirituality as well as being a hedonistic paradise. Nostradamus said it would be the only safe place on Earth after the apocalypse, and it’s been revered over the centuries by many cultures for it’s unique vibe.

On my first trip to Ibiza, I was intrigued to read that the island has a resident Goddess but I never got around to researching it further. Ibiza was first established in 654BC when the Phoenicians founded a port. It was a much prized jewel in the Mediterranean. An important shrine with offerings to Tanit was set up, probably around the 5th century BC in a cave in Es Cuieram (most likely brought over by the ancient Tunisians) and her worship continued in the cave until at least the 2nd Century BC. In 74AD the invading Romans turned her into the Goddess Juno and in other places in the world she is said to be Astarte and Demeter amongst others.

She was the Goddess of sexuality (sacred sex) the sea, fertility and death, the Moon and the heavens.

We may never have known about the importance of the Goddess Tanit in Ibiza had her shrine not been discovered in 1907. The shrine was inside a cave with over 600 terracotta goddesses as well as a thousand figureheads and ceramic fragments.

On a wall a very important inscription reads

‘This wall of sculpted stone has been built, dedicated and repaired by Abdeshmun, son of Azarbaal, the priest, to our lady, to Tanit the powerful and to Gad on his own.’

Here’s a short film about my search for the Goddess in Ibiza..

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.