Havis Amanda

In Helsinki city center, right next to the masonic Stone of the Empress, stands another statue with hidden in plain sight esoteric symbolism. It's called Havis Amanda.

Helsinki art museum introduction:

Havis Amanda was completed and cast in bronze in Paris in 1906. It is a fountain with a female figure rising above it. It's unveiling ceremony took place on 20th September 1908 in Helsinki's main market place. According to the sculptor of this work, Ville Vallgren, the French were also interested in acquiring the sculpture for a location in Paris but Vallgren insisted that it was commissoned by the City of Helsinki. Havis Amanda fountain belongs to Vallgren's charming Parisian art nouveau works, characterised by subtle and skilful forms. Although it is a monumental work, it shares the delicateness of Vallgren's smaller sculptures.

According to Vallgren the central female figure, who has risen from the sea, symbolises Helsinki and the birth of the City. Upon her unveiling the Swedish language newspapers in Helsinki and the sculptor himself started to call the sculpture 'Havis Amanda'.

The fountain also includes four sea lions and water-spouting fish amid the swaying seaweed at Havis Amanda's feet. The sculpture is, for the most part, cast in bronze and stands on pink granite from Vehmaa. The work in total measures five metres in height.

Havis Amanda

She symbolizes "Helsinki and the birth of the City"? Oh, really?

Sure, that's the exoteric level of the symbolism, meant for the outsiders. For the insiders, the esoteric level is about something very different. She is the goddess, Venus, Aphrodite, Isis, Sophia - however you want to see it. She is the feminine aspect of god in the holy trinity.

In ancient cultures there were many holy trinities. The origins of the Cult of Aton - and it's branch Christianity - are from ancient Egypt. It is no surprise that the holy trinity of Christianity (the father, the son and the holy spirit) is very similar to the Egyptian trinity of Osiris, Isis and Horus - the father, the mother and the son.

The Christian holy trinity: the father, the son and the holy spirit (dove)

The Egyptian holy trinity: Horus, Osiris and Isis

To hide the origins of the christian trinity, the church fathers "masked" one of the three aspects, so that it wouldn't be too obviously pagan. The father (Osiris) and the son (Horus) were left as they are, but the mother was transformed into this mysterious Holy Spirit. Actually, one could say that the mother was split into two - the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. The christian motif of Mary and baby Jesus is a blatant copy Isis and baby Horus.

Isis and Horus - Mary and Jesus

The symbol of the Holy Spirit is the dove, which is a goddess symbol. For example in Gnosticism the dove represented the goddess Sophia. Another famous example is the "embodiment" of the USA - Columbia. The Latin word columba means dove.

Sophia and the dove

Columbia ('columba' = 'dove')

This brings us back to Havis Amanda. Understanding the connection between the goddess and the dove reveals the hidden in plain sight symbolism of the statue.

Havis Amanda represents the tarot card Ace of Cups.

Havis Amanda - Ace of Cups

Havis Amanda:

1. The shape of the stand is a cup.
2. There is a goddess on the stand.
3. There is water streaming down from the stand.
4. The water ends up into the pool.
5. There are drops of water all over.

Ace of Cups:

1. The card has a cup.
2. Above the cup is a goddess symbol dove.
3. There is water streaming down from the cup.
4. The water ends up into the pond.
5. The card has drops of water.

More examples of hidden in plain sight tarot symbolism on statues on page Esoteric statues.