Conceiving the Goddess is a sequel to The Iconic Female: Goddesses of India, Nepal and Tibet (2008), an exploration of goddess cults in South Asia, and it embodies further researches on South Asian goddesses in various disciplines. The theme running through all the contributions, with their multiple approaches and points of view, is the concept of appropriation, a notion prominent in recent scholarship. In the present case of goddess worship, appropriation can be recognised when one religious group adopts a religious belief or practice not formerly its own.