And then I went about researching a wee bit. The Wiki page states "Parvati is source of all the powers and weapons. She is the base of all kinds of powers that is used for doing any work. It is also believed that without her Shiva remains as Shava or Corpse, for she is the ultimate source of power for all beings, gods and Devas."

In my statue, Parvati is standing on a lotus bloom. "The lotus suggests a growing, expanding world imbued with vigorous fertile power." (Images of Indian Goddesses: Myths, Meanings, and Models, by Madhu Bazaz Wangu, Shakti Malik, Abhinave Publications, India, 2003, (page 21).

Furthermore, the "gods and goddesses, the buddhas and bodhisattvas, typically sit or stand upon a lotus, which suggests their spiritual authority." (Wangu, page 21)

I've yet to learn what the two torch-like pieces the two hands are holding, but I have learned about the two forward hands. Parvati's left hand is in the Varadamudra mudra. The left hand is "held out, with palm uppermost and the fingers pointing downwards", and "symbolizes dispensing of boons". "Varadmudra and abhayamudra are the most common of several other mudras seen on images and icons relating to Indian religions."

Parvati's forward right hand is in the Abhayamudra mudra, in which "the right hand is held upright, and the palm is facing outwards", which conveys "reassurance and safety", dispelling fear. This "earliest Mudra" is also featured in my statue of Shiva.

Perhaps the two torch-like pieces really are torches, whereby Parvati energizes Shiva, adding to his fire.

That's what I learned yesterday. Then I went to bed, mind full of loud chatter at least as loud as the very loud neighbors in back of us. With not too much effort, I could hear my own chatter distinctly. I pondered the similarities between the relationship of Set (Sutekh) and Astarte and the relationship of Shiva and Parvati. My brain was stretching in all sorts of ways and I came to some interesting possibilities. (All such mere Unverified Personal Gnosis'? ) But possibly it is an historically informed gnosis, with some reasonable foundation under it.

Astarte 'kicks butt' in a similar fashion to the way Sekhmet 'kicks butt'. However, Astarte works better with Set. Parvati certainly 'kicks butt', if necessary.

Now to those mudras. The Varadamudra mudra, with the hand out in 'offering' pose reminds me of the Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) gods' extending the hand to offer the ankh, giving 'life'. A renewed sense of vitality is among the greatest boons that can be had. The Abhayamudra mudra looks rather to me like the "HALT!" gesture of a policeman. To me, it is saying "Evil, HALT! You will not come nigh! You cannot approach!" To someone on the side of Ma'at (simplified here to 'good', this is comforting.

And then I thought about further implications. Placing this gesture within a statue serves an additional atropaic function. It is a message and protection against those with Isfet, (simplified here to 'evil', in mind. To me, it says to such nefarious people, "Halt! You cannot invoke my power for evil deeds!".

As I look through Betz' Greek Magical Papyri, and scan through the table, in amongst the standard sort of magical purposes, I see some rather questionable purposes:

PGM XII. 365-75 "Charm for causing separation" Goal is the target will have "strife, war" and "enmity", to break up a relationship and/or marriage.(page 166) PGM XII. 376-96 "Charm to induce insomnia" Goal is "the woman will die for lack of sleep, without lasting 7 days", that, or she will "consent". (page 166) PGM XII. 445-48 "A spell for separating one person from another" (page 169) PGM XII. 449-52 (Another spell of separation) (page 169) Goal is to "separate NN, born of NN, from NN, born of NN". (page 170) PGM XII. 453-65 (Another spell of separation) Goal is to "separate NN, born of NN, from NN, born of NN". (page 170) PGM XII. 466-68 "A spell to cause a woman to hate a man" (page 170) PGM XIXa. 1-54 Goal is very specific: The gods which are invoked are directed to a precise target, given unique names not quoted here,, and told to "do not allow N--- herself, whom N--- bore, to think of her own husband, her child, drink, food, but let her come melting for passion and love and intercourse, especially yearning for the intercourse of N--- whom N--- bore, in this hour, immediately..." (page 257) Number of the above listed curses invoking "Seth-Typhon": 5!

Those are only a small selection of curses in Betz' thick book. One might get an idea here and now of why the Roman government tried to put a ban on the use of magic. Perhaps some of the senators found their wives turning against them!

The misdeeds of lustful men! Such a source of societal and familial disturbance!

Of course, such people are found in every country, in every religion. Greco-Roman devotees, Kemeticists, Hindus, lustful Christian preachers, the subset of the illicitly lustful is found in every group. It is a 'sin' for some, but the acknowledgment of misdeed doesn't deter them just the same. They, however, cannot invoke their favorite deities to aid them in their endeavors! They're on their own! Neither Shiva nor Parvati will aid them!

Typhon, considered by the Greeks in the Classical period and continuing later under Roman rule to be amalgamated with Set, WAS invoked. In one, Typhon was invoked by including a drawing of a donkey-headed figure, labeled with their word for 'Seth'. In another Typhon was invoked by writing the spell using "donkey blood" to make the declaration "you who cause destruction and desolation, you who hate a stable household and you who do mischief." (page 170) It is easy to see the later identification of the destructive mischief maker with the Christian 'anti-god' Satan.

But as I've so patiently explained, Set was NOT ALWAYS ASSOCIATED WITH EVIL (aka 'ISFET')!!!. The pharaohs would not have invoked an evil entity's blessings, as they so clearly did in the Old through New Kingdom eras.