Sheela is the Goddess that calls to me the most. While her images are crude, and newbies may consider her "gross", her depth and meaning is truely awesome.

She holds the doorway which opens in the liminal-times: the days of Bealtaine and Samhain, the twilight of sunrise or sunset, and when the mists arise where the land and the sky meet the waters.(7) She is both and neither, an Otherworldly force that refuses to fit into either/or categories.

She appears when opposing energies meet, and She is also found when the energies of the Three Sacred Realms come together. She opens and holds the center of sacred space – the doorway which opens when we connect with the powers of Land, Sky and Sea and balance them within ourselves, opening to the Spirit that flows throughout and unites all three. by Kathryn Price Theatana

The sheela-na-gig is a representation of the twin aspects of life: death and procreation, symbolised by her upper and lower halves. She is pre-Christian, pre-Celtic, and has been traced as far back in Britain as the advent of the Beaker People early in the second millenium B.C., and in Egypt as far back as the VIIth Dynasty of the First Intermediate Period. But what the sheela-na gig stands for is constant for all ages, eternal and universal: for if there were no death then there would be no need of procreation. The two are inseparable.

• Sheela And Sacred Space
• More Images
• John Hardings site, with pictures and information and links to other sites

This link has several inclusions from feminists, one of whom was an anthropologist from the 1930's (ahead of her time:-) No theologians, though. Technopagans

The most common book that beginners are referred to is: The Witch on the Wall" by Jorgen Andersen, ©1977

The Divine Hag of the Christian Celts

The following titles aren't about sheelas specifically but they will give you some information on the status of women and how they were percieved in medieval Ireland. The exception is Miranda Green's book which deals with European goddesses rather than just Irish ones.

Fergus Kelly, 'A Guide to Early Irish Law', Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, ISBN 0 901282 95 2

Miranda Green, 'Celtic Goddesses,' British Museum Press, 1995, ISBN 0 7141 2303

Rosalind Clark, 'The Great Queens: Irish Goddesses from the Morrigan to Cathleen ní Houlihan,' B&N, 1991, ISBN 0 389 20928 7

Patricia Lysaght, 'The Banshee,' O'Brien Press, ISBN 0 86278 490 5

Lisa M. Bitel, 'Land of Women: tales of sex and gender from early Ireland,' Cornell University Press, 1996, ISBN 0 8014 3095 x

The following titles should help give you very old background data for your study:

Rufus C. Camphausen. 1996. The Yoni: Sacred Symbol of Female Creative Power. Inner Tradition, Rochester, Vermont. ISBN 0-89281-562-0

Barbara G. Walker. 1996. The Women’s Encyclopaedia of Myths and Secrets. Castle Books, Edison, New Jersey. ISBN 0-7858-0720-9

Dorothy Morrison. 1999 In Praise of the Crone. Llewellyn Publications, St Paul MN. ISBN 1-56718-468-5

Nancy Qualls-Corbett. 1988. The Sacred Prostitute. Inner City Book. ISBN 0-919123-31-7

"Celtic Myth and Legend" by Charles Squire

Also the Goddess and the Green Man, a shop in Glastonbury has an excellent range of titles on ancient feminist issues.

Yet another good source of modern books on feministic power is the Green Leaf Bookshop, in Colston Street, Bristol. Both in the UK have catalogues which may give you some useful titles.

Books not to waste your money on:

I have been informed by several authors and experts that this is a fluff bunny book, and is about as accurate historically as the Xenna or Buffy shows. D. J. Conway. 1999. Maiden, Mother, Crone. Llewellyn Publications, St Paul MN. ISBN 0-87542-171-7

Images of Lust