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The goddess origins of the Statue of Liberty and her connections with the founding and the future of America * Examines Lady Libertys ties to Native American spiritual traditions, the Earth Mother, Roman goddesses, Black Madonnas, and Mary Magdalene * Reveals the sharp contrast between depicting "liberty" as a female and the reality of women and other suppressed classes even today * Explains how this Goddess of the New World inspires all people toward equality, compassion, peace-keeping, and environmental stewardship Uncovering the forgotten lineage of the Statue of Liberty, Bob Hieronimus and Laura Cortner explain how she is based on a female symbol representing America on the earliest maps of the continent in the form of a Native American "Queen." The image of a woman symbolizing independence was embraced by the American revolutionaries to rally the populace against the King, filling the role of "Founding Mother" and protector of the fledgling republic. Incorporating Libertas, the Roman goddess of freed slaves, with Minerva, Demeter, Justice, and the Indian Princess, Lady Liberty is seen all over the nations capital, and on the seals and flags of many states. Showing how a new appreciation for the Statue of Liberty as the American goddess can serve as a unifying inspiration for activism, the authors explore how this Lady Liberty is a personification of America and its destiny. They examine multiple traditions that influenced her symbolism, from the Neolithic Earth Mother, to Mary Magdalene, Columbia, and Joan of Arc, while revealing the sharp contrast between depicting "liberty" as a female and the reality of women and other suppressed classes throughout history. Their study of "Liberty Enlightening the World" led them to conclude that the empowerment of contemporary women is essential for achieving sustainable liberty for all. Sounding the call for this "Goddess of the New World" to inspire us all toward peacekeeping, nurturing, compassion, and environmental stewardship, the authors explain how the Statue of Liberty serves as the conscience of our nation and is a symbol of both the myths that unite us and the diversity that strengthens us.
About the Author
Robert R. Hieronimus, Ph.D., is a historian, visual artist, and radio host. His weekly program, 21st Century Radio®, has been broadcasting New Paradigm topics across the United States since 1988. He is known for his large, colorful murals and artcars all over Baltimore featuring occult and symbolic themes often including teaching about America's symbols. His most famous art car is "the Woodstock Bus" photographed by the Associated Press, Rolling Stone, and Life Magazine at the original 1969 Woodstock, still seen today regularly reprinted in media all over the world. All of his most recent books have been co-authored by Laura E. Cortner, director of the Ruscombe Mansion in Baltimore.
In 2016 they collaborated most recently on The Secret Life of Lady Liberty: Goddess in the New World, published by Inner Traditions, taking a new look at American history through the lens of the goddess and the indigenous cultures that are part of our history and self-identity. www.SecretLifeofLadyLiberty.com.
Hieronimus is a frequent guest on documentaries for National Geographic, Discovery and the History Channels. His doctoral research on the U.S. Great Seal has been used in the speeches, literature, and libraries of the White House (1976, 1982) , the State Department (1978) , and the Department of Interior (1982) . His Independence Hall speech on the Great Seal's bicentennial was published in the Congressional Record (1983, 1984) , and his research was shared in a personal meeting with the late Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat. Together with his wife, Dr. Zohara Meyerhoff Hieronimus, DHL, Robert Hieronimus lobbied the House and Senate on the Great Seal Act (1982-1986) . Inner Traditions published a popular version of Hieronimus's doctoral thesis in 1989, entitled America's Secret Destiny: Spiritual Vision and the Founding of a Nation. This book was revised and expanded in 2006 under the title Founding Fathers, Secret Societies: Freemasons, Illuminati, Rosicrucians and the Decoding of the Great Seal. www.SecretDestiny.org.
In 2008, New Page Books released his book, United Symbolism of America: Deciphering Hidden Meanings in America's Most Familiar Art, Architecture and Logos, an account of how the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, the flag, the eagle, the Great Seal, and Washington DC became American icons. www.UnitedSymbols.com.
In 2002, after almost 30 years of tracking down the principle co-creators, Hieronimus published Inside the Yellow Submarine: The Making of the Beatles Animated Classic for Krause Publications, which has been called "an indispensable companion to the movie." His unique perspective on the Yellow Submarine not only includes interviews with over 50 of the animators, writers and artists of the original film, but also a symbolic and archetypal analysis of this classic film. In 2005, in between speaking on a panel for the screening of "Yellow Submari
