The oldest reference to the goddess Tara, perhaps, is found in an ancient saga of Finland thought to be 5 million years old. The saga speaks of a group known as Tar, the Women of Wisdom.

A version of the Goddess Tara exists in virtually every culture. Indeed, it is said that the Goddess Tara will assume as many forms on earth as there are needs for by the people.

The Celts called their Great Goddess Tara. Her name is thought to be the root of the word Tor, which is a mound of earth or hillock imbued with spiritual energy or connection to the other worlds.

We also hear the echo of her name in the Latin word for earth, Terra, a connection between Tara and the concept of "Mother Earth".

The Goddess Tara is also associated with Kuan Yin, the great Chinese goddess of compassion. In South America she was known as the ancient mother goddess Tarahumara.

The Cheyenne people revere the Star Woman who fell from the heavens and whose body became the earth that provided them with food.

In the legends of Tibet where the worship of the Goddess Tara is still practiced in the Buddhist tradition, it is told that the goddess Tara is the feminine counterpart of the Avalokitesvara, the Buddha who is reincarnated as the Dalai Lama.

It is told that she first appeared rising from a lotus blossom in the lake that had formed from his first tears of compassion, tears that fell when he first beheld the scope of suffering in the world.

Because of her essential goodness, she was granted the right to assume her human form as a man. But Tara elected to remain in her womanly form.

The Goddess Tara vowed:

"There are many who wish to gain enlightenment in a man's form, And there are few who wish to work for the welfare of living beings in a female form. Therefore may I, in a female body, work for the welfare of all beings, until such time as all humanity has found its fullness."

The statue measures 12.25 in. high. It is created in beautifully handpainted cold cast resin.