Allat

The Female Divine; The Goddess

ALSO KNOWN AS:

Al-Lat; Alilat; Allatu

ORIGIN:

Arabia

Allat is the feminine version of the name Allah. It may be a title, not a name. She is a pre-Islamic spirit who was once among the primary deities venerated at Mecca. Allat, Al Uzza, and Menat are the trinity of goddesses mentioned in the Koran. They are the subject of the so-called “satanic verses,” which originally allowed prayers of intercession to be directed to the three Pagan goddesses. The Prophet Muhammed eventually retracted those verses. The incident was the inspiration for Salman Rushdie’s controversial 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.

Allat is a spirit of abundance with dominion over human reproduction.

Allat was popular throughout Northern Arabia and in Syria. Her chief sanctuary was at Ta’if, near Mecca, where she was venerated in the form of a large, unhewn block of white granite. Women ritualistically circled her rock, naked, expecting Allat to hear and grant their petitions. Allat was venerated by the Nabataeans at Petra in the form of a four-sided stone, and by the people of Hatra, capital of the first Arab kingdom, now in Iraq. She may have had dominion over trade routes, protecting those who traveled them.

She was identified with Athena and Minerva, but Herodotus compared her to Aphrodite.

MANIFESTATION:

Allat appears in the guise of a beautiful, mature, fertile woman.

ICONOGRAPHY:

On coins from the Roman province of Petraea, she appears as a robed woman holding a bundle of cinnamon sticks and standing beside a camel.

PLANET:

Sun

Animal: Camel

OFFERINGS:

Fruit and fragrance (incense, perfume)

SEE ALSO:

• Al-Uzza
• Aphrodite
• Athena
• Ereshkigal
• Menat
• Minerva

BOOKS FOR YOU TO READ IN OUR LIBRARY:

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses – Written by: Judika Illes Copyright © 2009 by Judika Illes.