Asherah Statue

Her name means "Holy Place." Harvest loaves for communal feasts were shaped like the goddess and blessed: the original cakes and ale and communion ritual.

Asherah, often represented as a tree, was the ruling queen of the Semitic pantheon. Her "Tree of Knowledge" bore fruit not only to feed the body, but also to nourish the spirit. As the Holy Communion Goddess, she gives sacred purpose to baking and cooking. Worship of this Hebrew fertility goddess ensured that matrilineal descent patterns would be protected from patriarchy. 

After harvest, women molded bread loaves shaped just like this figure, which were then blessed. This was the origin of the communion ritual we still celebrate today. 

[Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, c. 1400 BCE.] 

6 3/4" black fired Ganges clay statue.