Image copyright Beyonce.com Image caption Beyonce has posted the photos with text referring to Osun, an African deity of water, love and fertility

Beyonce has shared further images from an elaborate photoshoot to celebrate becoming pregnant with twins.

They show the superstar swimming under water, reclining on a bed of roses and sitting naked on a floral throne.

They have been posted on her website alongside poetic text about motherhood and ancient figures of female strength.

Venus, the Roman goddess of love, Egyptian queen Nefertiti and West African deity Osun are all mentioned and seem to have inspired some images.

Image copyright Beyonce.com Image caption Blue Ivy appears with her mum in a number of photos

One verse about motherhood refers to "black Venus", and in some of the pictures, Beyonce herself is reclining in the style of a classical goddess.

In another picture, she stands naked, cradling her belly with one hand and a breast with the other, next to the sculpted head of an Egyptian ruler.

Image copyright Beyonce.com Image caption This picture of Beyonce on top of a red car probably has a deeper meaning too

She cradles belly and breast again in another portrait, this time wearing a Statue of Liberty-style crown.

Her five-year-old daughter Blue Ivy also appears, while one image sees her atop a flower-filled red car.

A passage from Beyonce.com:

Mother is a cocoon where

Cells spark, limbs form, mother

Swells and stretches to protect her

Child, mother has one foot in this world

And one foot in the next

Mother, black Venus

The verses and photos follow an announcement on Instagram on Wednesday, in which she and husband Jay Z said: "We would like to share our love and happiness.

"We have been blessed two times over. We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes."

The post has been liked 8.3 million times at the time of writing.

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