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7pm ET (NYC time)
Monday, December 7, 2026
PLEASE NOTE: A link to a recording of this talk will be sent out to ticket holders after its conclusion. It will also be archived for our Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanayomy.org. A temporary streaming link will be emailed after the event concludes.
From ancient Egypt to modern astronomy, the Sun and Moon have been more than just celestial bodies — they’ve been living gods and goddesses. In many cultures, the orbs in our sky weren’t merely things we observed, they were forces we knew, personified in divine form. This lecture will explore the history of solar, lunar, and planetary deities, and the complex roles they played in shaping human understanding of the cosmos, body, and gender.
In particular, we’ll focus on the patterns and anomalies in the way these deities are depicted across time and space, from the rigid, masculine sun-gods of Egypt and Mesopotamia, to the mysterious, often feminine, moon deities in Greco-Roman and indigenous traditions. Along the way, we will examine how celestial gods mirror human fears and desires, acting as both protectors and destroyers. Their stories expose the anxieties of the human condition: mortality, the passage of time, the boundaries between genders, and the unpredictable forces beyond our control.
We’ll also explore why these divine figures so often resist fixed gender identities — why is the Sun sometimes male, sometimes female, and why is the Moon often attributed with such complex, multifaceted qualities? By looking at the intersection of mythology, art, and astronomy, we’ll consider how these gods helped shape early human relationships with the natural world and our place within it.
Brenda Edgar is an Art Historian in Louisville, KY. Her research interests include relics and reliquaries, medieval medical manuscripts and depictions of disease in medieval art, as well as the historical role of altered states of consciousness in the creation of art. In addition to her work for Morbid Anatomy, she teaches Art History courses at Indiana University Southeast. Her free monthly public talk series, “Art History Illustrated,” is presented at the Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, Indiana. When she isn’t reading or writing, Brenda is a New York Times Crossword Puzzle addict as well as a yoga instructor.
7pm ET (NYC time)
Monday, December 7, 2026
PLEASE NOTE: A link to a recording of this talk will be sent out to ticket holders after its conclusion. It will also be archived for our Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanayomy.org. A temporary streaming link will be emailed after the event concludes.
From ancient Egypt to modern astronomy, the Sun and Moon have been more than just celestial bodies — they’ve been living gods and goddesses. In many cultures, the orbs in our sky weren’t merely things we observed, they were forces we knew, personified in divine form. This lecture will explore the history of solar, lunar, and planetary deities, and the complex roles they played in shaping human understanding of the cosmos, body, and gender.
In particular, we’ll focus on the patterns and anomalies in the way these deities are depicted across time and space, from the rigid, masculine sun-gods of Egypt and Mesopotamia, to the mysterious, often feminine, moon deities in Greco-Roman and indigenous traditions. Along the way, we will examine how celestial gods mirror human fears and desires, acting as both protectors and destroyers. Their stories expose the anxieties of the human condition: mortality, the passage of time, the boundaries between genders, and the unpredictable forces beyond our control.
We’ll also explore why these divine figures so often resist fixed gender identities — why is the Sun sometimes male, sometimes female, and why is the Moon often attributed with such complex, multifaceted qualities? By looking at the intersection of mythology, art, and astronomy, we’ll consider how these gods helped shape early human relationships with the natural world and our place within it.
Brenda Edgar is an Art Historian in Louisville, KY. Her research interests include relics and reliquaries, medieval medical manuscripts and depictions of disease in medieval art, as well as the historical role of altered states of consciousness in the creation of art. In addition to her work for Morbid Anatomy, she teaches Art History courses at Indiana University Southeast. Her free monthly public talk series, “Art History Illustrated,” is presented at the Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, Indiana. When she isn’t reading or writing, Brenda is a New York Times Crossword Puzzle addict as well as a yoga instructor.