In Wicca, the
Goddess is a very important element. We believe in the Goddess, as well
as the God . She is the Earth Mother, and the Moon Goddess . She is the
Mother of the God, and the God's consort. She is seen in many different
guises, but, they are all aspects of the One. She is a Triple Goddess:
the Maiden, Mother, and the Crone. Following is the Charge of the Goddess
and the Charge of the Dark Goddess
This information
is from various internet sources.There are so many names for the Goddess,
but, all will fall into one of the 3 aspects of, Maiden, Mother, or Crone.
First off, I will try to explain a little about the 3 aspects of our Great
Mother. These are only my interpretations of each of the 3 aspects, there
are many other interpretations. As you study more and more, you will develop
your own personal interpretations.
Maiden Aspect:
The
Maiden signifies youth, the excitement of the chase, and the newness of
life and magick. In human age she would be between puberty and her twenties.
She does not have a mate. Her colors are soft & light, such as white,
soft pink, or light yellow.
Rituals
using the Maiden:
•Any new
beginning, or even the hopes and plans for new beginnings.
•When taking
on a new job, or planning to apply for a new job.
•During
the first steps of new ideas, whatever they are.
•Whenever
you plan or begin a complete turn around in your life.
•Whenever
you begin a new phase in your life.
•On moving,
in to a new house or apartment.
•On entering
a new school or going back to school after a delay in education.
•Any journey
that is connected with anticipated changes. This can be anything.
•The beginning
of a new relationship, love or friendship.
•Plans
for getting pregnant.
•The birth
of a child.
•The first
menestruation for girls.
•Puberty
on reaching the teens for boys.
Some maiden
Goddesses are Nimue, Artemis and Aradia.
Mother Aspect:
The
Mother stands for nurturing, caring, fertility; she is a woman in the prime
of her life and at the peak of her power. She protects her own and will
ensure that justice is done and done well. This woman is usually mated.
In human age, she would be seen as a woman in her thirties to mid-forties.
Her colors are warmer than that of the maiden, such as green, copper, red,
light purple or royal blue.
Rituals
using the Mother:
•Project
fruition and completion.
•When childbirth
is near.
•Strength
to see matters through to the end.
•Blessings
and protection. This especially applies to females who are threatened by
men.
•Guidance
in life decisions.
•Marriages,
or the contemplation of or desire for marriage.
•Finding
or choosing a mate or companion.
•Gardening,
the growing of any plant.
•Choosing
or accepting an animal. Protection of animal life.
•Making
choices of any kind.
•Gaining
or continuing peace.
•Developing
intuition and psychic gifts.
•Spiritual
direction.
Some mother
Goddesses are Gaia, Isis, and Mari.
Crone Aspect:
The Crone
is a being of age-old wisdom. She is shrew and counsels well. She cares
for the Maiden and the Mother as well as the off-spring thereof. SHe is
logical and can be terrible in her vengeance. She stands at the door to
the dimension of death. In human years, she is approximately 45 or older.
The Crone is the Most difficult of the three to place in human age. The
Crone's traditional colors are black, gray, purple, brown or midnight blue.
Rituals
using the Crone:
•Ending
relationships, jobs, friendships.
•Menopause,
or coming to terms with aging.
•Divorce.
•A regrouping
of energies needed at the end of a cycle of activity or problem.
•Rest and
calmness before making new goals and plans.
•When the
garden or plants are ready for winter.
•Harrassment
of any kind.
•Retribution
on rapists, murderers, abusers.
•On the
death of a person or pet; of any animal or human. Contemplation at the
end of your own life cycle.
•When moving
from a dwelling or job.
•When strong
protection is needed for attacks on the physical or psychic levels, or
even annoyance by spirits.
•To understand
the deepest of mysteries.
•Developing
trance or communication with the guides or other spirits.
Some crone
Goddesses are Hecate, the Morrigan, Anu and Cerridwen.
Now, let's
take a look at a few of the different Goddesses.
This is
taken from Encyclopedia Mythica. It can be found by following this link:
http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/areas/
Gaia
by Ron
Leadbetter
Gaia, known
as Earth or Mother Earth (the Greek common noun for "land" is ge or ga).
She was an early earth goddess and it is written that Gaia was born from
Chaos, the great void of emptiness within the universe, and with her came
Eros. She gave birth to Pontus (the Sea) and Uranus (the Sky). This was
achieved parthenogenetically (without male intervention). Other versions
say that Gaia had as siblings Tartarus (the lowest part of the earth, below
Hades itself) and Eros, and without a mate, gave birth to Uranus (Sky),
Ourea (Mountains) and Pontus (Sea). Gaia took as her husband Uranus, who
was also her son, and their offspring included the Titans, six sons and
six daughters. She gave birth to the Cyclopes and to three monsters that
became known as the "Hecatonchires". The spirits of punishment known as
the Erinyes were also offspring of Gaia and Uranus. The Gigantes, finally,
were conceived after Uranus had been castrated by his son Cronus, and his
blood fell to earth from the open wound. To protect her children from her
husband, (the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires, as he was fearful of their
great strength), Gaia hid them all within herself. One version says that
Uranus was aghast at the sight of his offspring so he hid them away in
Tartarus, which are the bowels of the earth. Gaia herself found her offspring
uncomfortable and at times painful, when the discomfort became to much
to bear she asked her youngest son Cronus to help her. She asked him to
castrate Uranus, thus severing the union between the Earth and Sky, and
also to prevent more monstrous offspring. To help Cronus achieve his goal
Gaia produced an adamantine sickle to serve as the weapon. Cronus hid until
Uranus came to lay with Gaia and as Uranus drew near, Cronus struck with
the sickle, cutting the genitalia from Uranus. Blood fell from the severed
genitals and came in contact with the earth and from that union was born
the Erinyes (Furies), the Giants and the Meliae (Nymphs of the manna ash
trees). After the separation of the Earth from the Sky, Gaia gave birth
to other offspring, these being fathered by Pontus. Their names were the
sea-god Nereus, Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto and Eurybia. In other versions Gaia
had offspring to her brother Tartarus; they were Echidna and Typhon, the
later being an enemy of Zeus. Apollo killed Typhon when he took control
of the oracle at Delphi, which Gaia originally provided, and then the "Sibyl"
sang the oracle in Gaia's shrine. It was Gaia who saved Zeus from being
swallowed by Cronus, after Zeus had been born, Gaia helped Rhea to wrap
a stone in swaddling clothes, this was to trick Cronus in to thinking it
was Zeus, because Cronus had been informed that one of his children would
depose him, and so to get rid of his children he had swallowed them, Gaia's
trick worked and Zeus was then taken to Crete. Gaia being the primordial
element from which all the gods originated was worshiped throughout Greece,
but later she went into decline and was supplanted by other gods. In Roman
mythology she was known as Tellus or Terra.
Isis
One of
the most popular goddesses in Egypt. Isis belongs to the Ennead of Heliopolis,
and according to the Heliopolitan genealogy is a daughter of Seb and Nut,
sister and wife of Osiris. Possibly she was originally the personification
of the throne (her name is written with the hieroglyph for throne), and
as such she was an important source of the pharaoh's power. In the Hellenistic
time Isis was the protrectress of sailors. In the Osiris myths she searched
for her husband's body, who was killed by her brother Seth. She retrieved
and reassembled the body, and in this connection she took on the role of
a goddess of the dead and of the funeral rights. Isis impregnated herself
from the Osiris' body and gave birth to Horus in the swamps of Khemnis
in the Nile Delta. Here she raised her son in secret and kept him far away
from Seth. Horus later defeated Seth and became the first ruler of a united
Egypt. Isis, as mother of Horus, was by extension regarded as the mother
and protectress of the pharaoh's. She was worshipped as the divine mother-goddess,
faithful consort of Osiris, and dedicated mother of Horus. Isis was depicted
as a woman with the solar disk between the cow horns on her head (an analogy
with the goddess Hathor) or crowned with a thrown, but also with the child
Horus sitting on her lap. A vulture was sometimes seen incorporated in
her crown. Also she was sometimes depicted as a kite above the mummified
body of Osiris. Isis' popularity lasted far into the Roman era. She had
her own priests and many temples were erected in her honor. On the island
of Philae in the Nile delta her largest temple was situated (it was transferred
to the island Agilkia in 1975-1980).
Spider Woman
by Susan
Nagoda Bergquist
Spider
Man and Spider Woman are Navajo supernaturals or Holy People. They taught
the Navajo people how to weave, and established the four warnings of death.
Spider Woman is an important mythic being among both the Eastern Pueblos
and the Western Pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona.
She probably
assimilated into the Navajo religious assemblage, as the Athabasans migrated
from their home land in Canada to the southwest, slowly taking on character
as they went along from different cultural associations. However, the major
influence was from the Pueblo peoples of the southwest, especially during
the 1600's and early 1700's, in conjunction with the Pueblo Revolt. At
this time there was a very close living association between the Navajo
and the Pueblos, at places like Largo Canyon in New Mexico. These stressful
times greatly influenced the Navajo religion and thought. In general, Spider,
Spider Woman or Spider Man is a beneficial character in the myths and stories
of the Plains, Southwestern, and Western American Indians. In some cases
a creator (Pima and Zia) and others a trickster ( Dakota groups). Among
the Jicarilla Apache, spider is a minor character, but Spider Woman is
a very important personage in the myths of the Hopi, especially with the
Hero Twins and Culture Heroes. She even takes a part in the Sunset Crater
myth, which may well have some Sinagua affiliations
This is
only a few, to get you started on your way. By far not a comprehensive
list, but, just a sample. Learning about the different aspects of the Goddess
is a most enjoyable task. I highly recommend the Encyclopedia Mythica,
as a beginning for your search. Happy Hunting.
