Category: The Goddesses

Charge of the Dark Goddess

Goddess Comments & Graphics

The Dark Goddess speaks to us, through the mouths of Lilith, Kali, Tiamat, Hecate, the Black Maddonna, Nemesis, and Morgaine.

I am the Darkness behind and beneath the shadows. I am the absence of air that awaits at the bottom of every breath. I am the ending before life begins again, the decay that fertilizes the living. I am the Bottomless Pit, the never-ending struggle to reclaim that which is denied. I am the Key that unlocks every door. I am the Glory of Discovery, for I am that which is hidden, secluded, and forbidden.

Come to me at the Dark Moon and see that which can not be seen, face terror that is yours alone. Swim in the blackest ocean to the center of your greatest fears–the Dark God and I will keep you safe. Scream to us in terror and yours will be the Power of Forebear. Think of me when you feel pleasure, and I will intensify it, until the time I can have the greatest pleasure of meeting you at the crossroads between the roads.

~Magickal Graphics~

The Crone

 The Crone

Posted byPatrick McCleary
 
In my third and final installment covering the aspects of the Goddess, we turn to the Crone. Ancient Hag of the boundless wisdom. I hope that you enjoyed the last two sections.
Charge of the Crone

Come closer my grandchildren sit at my feet and hear my words. Let me tell you the story of my life and the lessons I have learned. Know that I am the Darksome terrible Goddess, but I only bring terror to those who do not understand.

I am Hecate, the Crossroads. I am Morganna, Raven of Battles. I am the widow descending to the Underworld to find my lost husband and my future son. And I am the womb that they are born from.

Know that at lifes end I will be waiting for you; to guide you through death and into rebirth. And that I will be there at birth to guide you through birth into life.

To truly taste life is to worship me. For Magick and art are my domains and my greatest lesson is love itself. So let there be compassion in your anger, power in your humbleness and mirth balanced against discipline.

Yet remember that if you seek to remove my veil and see my true face you have only to look within for I am always with you from the beginning to the end.

AspectsWho is the Crone? She is the one who, wrapped in mystery, brings the wisdom that is key to unlock the ancient mysteries. She is blunt and sometimes harsh but that is only because she has learned the value of unfettered honesty. The end of her life draws near and she has no time to indulge people in their illusions. She can be turned to when the world has baffled you, because she has lived a long life and more likely then not she has already solved the puzzle that faces you.See her face in the dark of the Moon and the cool night shadows and look within to know that she has always been with you from birth through death. She is the tomb that is the womb that leads from death into the rebirth and new life.

The Crone goddess of the Welsh was Cerridwen. A shape-shifting goddess of divination and enchantment. Her cauldron is a symbol of death and of life. It represents the womb and the tomb through which we have all passed and will pass again.

Her cauldron can contain the elixir of immortality that allows us to pass through death and into rebirth to live again. It may also contain the waters of Knowledge. Which would make it the Grail that Arthur seeked so long for. For a king of the Celts ruled by the will of the Goddess.

The ancient race of the Slavs worshipped a Goddess called Baba Yaga. She is the old crone that guards the Water of Life and Death. She is oftentimes represented as the wild untamed forces of nature but as we know the storm brings the water of life allowing for rebirth.

Her symbols are the birch tree, the tree of beginnings and endings. She was also known as the White Lady as she is stiff and white and carved of bone

 
Check Out!

The Mother

The Mother 

Posted byPatrick McCleary

In my continuing series on teaching the different aspects of the Gods to kids, here is the section on the Mother aspect.
 
Rede of the Mother

Listen close and hearken to my words:

I who am Demeter, giver of fruitfulness and abundance; I who am Arianrhod, the Turner of the Heavenly Wheel; I who am Selene, Queen of the Starlit Heavens and Goddess of the Moon; I who am Hera, Goddess of the Hearth.

As I am the Goddess of the Moon. I am the bringer of change in your life. And although you may not see the wisdom, all I do is done for the betterment of each and every one of my children. But fear not for I am also Hera, Goddess of the Unchanging Hearth and I bring that growing power to each of your ventures, if they follow the Rede.

But also remember that for each of these gifts that I offer you, you must in turn spread your gifts to the people around you. Be a light in the world to show the way of love and the way of peace and passivity. But do not think that I counsel you to let yourself be trodden upon. Stand firm in your beliefs and for your rights. Yet do this while remaining calm and loving. And I assure you that if enough of you do this then it will spread like all wondrous things will and the world will be united in peace and love.

Let each person lead their own lives. yet counsel in love if you see them doing harm to themselves or others. Also lead by example. Live these words and others will follow. For do not actions speak louder than words?

I give you all my blessings and shower you in my Love. Blessed Be!

AspectsThe Mother is an aspect of the Goddess that at first glance seems self-explanatory. The Mother is the mother right? While she is that nurturing force, she is also self-sacrifice personified. But not self-sacrifice for its sake, rather she will sacrifice her needs and desires and even herself for her children and those she loves.As the Maiden was the Virgin, so has the Mother commited herself to her lover and to her children. Now that she is grown older she can no longer worry only about today and how she is affected, for she has brought new life into the world and she carries that responsibility.

She is the gateway to life and the womb that grows the seed. She is the Moon and the Earth and the controller of tides. She is universal love and the path to peace.

Demeter as the Goddess of grain and fertility was an important deity to the ancient Greeks. She was the mother of Persephone who was also called Kore. And in that story we see the dedication found in this aspect. She never stopped seeking for her lost daughter and when she found her she braved all things, even death, to rescue her.

Before her marriage to Zeus, Hera was called the Queen of Heaven because she ruled over the heavens and the earth and was responsible for every aspect of existence, including the seasons and the weather. She was also known as Juno in the Roman pantheon, the Goddess of weddings. Her sacred animals were the peacock and the cow. The cow symbolizing Hera’s watchfulness over her children and the peacock symbolizes her beauty and immortality. She has been called upon in olden days to bless and protect a woman’s marriage. Bringing fertility and protection for her children

 
Check Out
It’s an awesome blog!.

The Maiden

The Maiden 

Posted byPatrick McCleary

One of the most often questions from my youngest is about the Goddess and God. So I sat down and wrote up some poems and guidelines to help explain the different aspects of Them. Today I figured I would share with you the work I did on the Maiden. Hope that you enjoy.

Song of the Maiden

Hear the words of the Maiden:

I who am La Primavera, The Springtime. I who am the promise of Life and the hope for immortality. The one who from beneath my dancing feet spring flowers. I who am the Virgin, untameable. Robed in white, pure and untouched by the world’s strife.

I bid you to be merry in all you do. When you make love be sure to think of me for your little deaths are a chance for the beginnings of a little life. And at every birth think of me. For whether boy or girl I am also born there.

Every drop of rain is a blessing falling from my lips, so rejoice in the falling rain. I represent life unbridled, untamed. So I bid thee remember to be unashamed to sing or dance when the mood takes thee.

For every dance and every song is but an expression of the Song of Creation and the Dance of the Creatrix.

Count thy blessings every day and let not sadness take thee for every ending and misfortune leads to a new beginning and greater fortune. There is no room for sadness in the worship of Me.

Also remember not to fear the night for after every night there comes a new dawn. And I promise tht if ye look careful you can see me arrayed in clours wondrous on every morn at the rise of the Sun.

Specific Goddesses

This is the aspect of the Goddess pertaining to Youth and Innocence. She is the Eternal Virgin but not in the patriacharchal sense of a woman before sex or marriage but in the older sense of the word, a woman that belongs only to herself.

The Maiden aspect has many lessons for us. To love without bounds, to view the world through the eyes of innocence and to live in the moment. Through her we learn mercy and compassion. She is also a goddess of passion and gracefulness.

But as much as the Maiden lives in the now, she does not forget her duties. Nor does she let her innocence allow her to be taken advantage of. She is the Huntress, the Warrior Queen as much as she is the Midwife and the Gardener.

There are many Goddesses that fall into this aspect. One example is Artemis who was born after a short and painless labor. After her birth she then turned around and became midwife and nurturer to her Mother, Leto, and helped her mother to give birth to her own twin brother Apollo. Because of this Artemis became the Goddess of childbirth, the protector of children, and the goddess who listened most closely to the appeals of women. This Goddess’ association with the wilderness around us, symbolized her own untamed nature. Because of her independence she became the best huntress of the Gods. She was also often depicted carrying a torch to light the way for others, leading them through territories yet uncharted.

There is also the Goddess Kuan Yin who’s story best tells us about her. In her youth she was Miao Shan a maiden that wanted to become a Buddhist nun but was forbidden to do so by her Father. He tried to have her married off and when she refused he sent soldiers to kill her. She was saved by a tiger but then descended into the Land of the Dead and freed the souls in bondage there. Rose again and was greeted by Buddha himself who sent her into hiding on the isle of P’u T’o Shan where she reached enlightenment. Yet her suffering had taught her mercy and compassion so that she stopped short and turned back with the pledge to save mankind. That she would not reach enlightenment until everyone else before her reached there.

 
Check out
It will definitely be worth your time, it is an awesome site.

Hecate: Goddess of the Witches, Our Dark Mother

Hecate: Goddess of the Witches, Our Dark Mother
By: Granny Moon, HPS, Order of the White Moon
 
Kindly old Grandmother, The Crone, a woman of wisdom, Our Dark Mother, she of many names and guises. Goddess of the Crossroads, Queen of the Witches, the Dark Goddess, The TripleGoddess. The protectress of the flocks and the sailors, she is invoked as the bestower of wealth and favor. These are but a few of the names by which she is known. She has been with us from the beginning.
 
Hecate is the oldest Greek tri-form Goddess. She is at the same time the three-phased Moon, and, in particular, it’s dark phase. She is the Dark Mother, or Crone aspect and a major deity of the Dianic tradition. In the Greek pantheon, Hecate Tri-form is known as Artemis, Persephone and Hecate. Hecate is sometimes seen as the third aspect of the Trinity Persephone/Demeter/ Hecate for it is Hecate who leads Demeter to her daughter. She is a “dark” Goddess, associated with magic and the night. She is often portrayed with 3 heads or with a 3 headed dog. She was worshipped mostly at crossroads where offerings were left for her – these offerings were known sometimes as “Hecate’s Suppers” – and were left there late at night on the eve of the Full Moon. The person leaving the food walked away without looking back, for fear of confronting the Goddess face to face. This was a way of honoring the threefold Goddess where one could look three ways at once. Other offerings included honey, dogs, black ewes and sometimes even humans. Some say she is not originally Greek, she has been classified as Thracian or as a Titan. She may also be linked to the Egyptian Goddess Heket.
 
She is a Goddess of the Moon, of the Underworld, and of Magick. She is also considered the protectress of flocks, sailors and of course, witches. Hecate is the protectress of far-away places, roads, and byways. She is considered the Goddess of The Crossroads. Statues of her stood at crossroads where travelers were faced with three choices. In latter-day paganism, Hecterions (a form of pillar) depict the Goddess with six arms, three torches and three sacred symbols: A Key, A Rope and A Dagger. With the Key to the underworld, Hecate unlocks the secrets of the occult mysteries and knowledge of afterlife. The Rope symbolizes the umbilical cord of rebirth and renewal and the Dagger or Athame is a symbol of ritual power.
 
Hecate belongs to the class of torch bearing deities, and carries a burning torch in accordance with the belief that she is the nocturnal Goddess of The Moon. A huntress, she knows her way into the realm of spirits. She is depicted wearing a gleaming headdress of stars. All the secret powers of nature are at her command. She has control over birth, life, and death. Her work includes the world of the dead (just a resting place of the dead), of the night and of the darkness. She is the Mistress of all the Witchcraft and Black Arts.
On her walks at night, Hecate has many accomplices. Her two black, ghostly dogs who have been sacrificed to her, (her priestesses Circe and Medea) are sometimes referred to as being her daughters. At night during the Dark Moon, the Goddess can be seen walking the roads ofGreece with her howling dogs and torches. The black howling dogs at night mean that Hecate is approaching. She and her dogs journey over the graves of the dead to search for souls of the departed and then carry them to refuge in the Underworld. She also haunts scenes of crimes as a Goddess of Expiation and Purification. She can be called on during the Dark of the Moon to banish or render justice.
 
The women who worshipped her often stained their palms and soles of their feet with henna. An adaptation of this ritual is held on Halloween or Hallowmas held on October 31, to honor Hecate at a time when the veil between the Worlds is the thinnest. In private worship her followers prepare and partake of Hecate’s suppers and the leftovers are to be placed outdoors as offerings to her and her hounds.
.
Wishing you health, wealth and the magick of the Season!
 
About The Author: GrannyMoon is a High Priestess and Charter Council Member of The Order of the White Moon. Former staff member and student of the Esoteric Theological Seminary, attended LDS Seminary and is an ordained Metaphysical Interfaith minister with doctoral degrees in Theology and Divinity. Doula, Reiki Master and Lifetime Member of Herbal Healer Academy, Inc. Founder of Sisters of the Burning Branch, dedicated to the Feminine Divine and is currently taking students.

Atalanta

Atalanta

by Mia Gibson
Atalanta is the female athlete in Greek myth. It is unclear exactly where Atalanta comes from, some sources say that she came from Arcadia and was the daughter of Iasus and Clymene, but Hesiod and other sources attributes Atalanta’s origin to Boeotia where her father is Schoeneus. The contradiction over Atalanta’s birth contributes to the assumption that there were two maythic women that were merged into one person. 

Whoever Atalanta’s father was, he wanted a boy so bad that when Atalanta was born, he exposed her on a hill were she was suckled by a she bear, sent by Artemis, until a group of hunters found her and raised her to womanhood. Atalanta, like Artemis, loved to hunt.

Atalanta is best known for participation in male activities while at the same time having an aura of sexuality surrounding her. For example, some sources say that Atalanta was one of the Argonauts. Atalanta was even wounded in a battle with the Colchians and was healed by Medea, who was also on the voyage. But at the same time, other sources say that Jason refused to let Atalanta go on the voyage because she was a woman.

One male activity Atalanta definitely participated in was the Calydonian Boar Hunt. Other male members of the hunt objected to her presence, but consumed with lust, Meleagerinsisted that Atalanta be allowed to join. During the hunt, centaurs Hylaeus and Rhaecus tried to rape Atalanta. Atalanta killed both of them, thus the first bloodshed of the Calydonian Boar Hunt was human.

Atalanta shot the first arrow to pierce the boar. Because of this, Meleager gave Atalanta the boar’s pelt. This resulted in even more human bloodshed, Meleager’s two uncles protested to Atalanta receiving the pelt, so Meleager killed them. When Meleager’s mother heard that Meleager had killed her brothers, she threw an enchanted log on the fire, once the log finished burning Meleager would die.

After Atalanta’s success at the boar hunt, Atalanta’s father, Iasus or Schoeneus, was proud and claimed her as his daughter. Atalanta was reconciled with her father. Since Atalanta was now a princess, Iasus wanted Atalanta to marry. Atalanta had been warned not to marry by the Oracle. Atalanta came up with a witty plan that would stop her from having to marry. She would race the suitors, the one who beat her in the foot race would be the lucky man to marry her, but if she won, she could kill the man. Atalanta made the bargain knowing that no one could beat her. One day a racer, Melanion or to some sources Hippomenes, fell in love with Atalanta and wanted to marry her, but he knew he could not beat her so he called on Aphrodite, the love goddess, for assistance. Aphroditeprovided Melanion with three golden apples to entice Atalanta. During the race, whenever Atalanta would get ahead of Melanion, he would roll one of the golden apples forward, forcing a curious Atalanta to stop and pick the apple up. Atalanta’s frequent stops gave Melanion the advantage he needed and he won the race and Atalanta’s hand in marriage.

Once married, it seems that Atalanta could not contain her inhibitions any longer, for one day she allowed Melanion to seduce her in the temple of Zeus. Zeus was so angered that he turned them into lions. This was a fitting punishment because lions can not mate with each other.

Atalanta has a son named Parthenopaeus (son of a pierced maidenhead). Once again, there is a dispute as to who the father is. Some sources say that Atalanta had an affair with Meleagar, other sources attribute Parthenopaues to Ares or Melanion. Parthenpaoues was active in the war known as the Seven Against Thebes.

The Threefold Goddess

  The Threefold Goddess

 

     To understand the concept of Goddess requires more than the
ability to visualize God as a woman.  The Goddess concept is built
around the myth and mystery of the relationship between God and
Goddess, and beneath that, and part of it, Her Threefold Aspect …
Maiden, Mother and Crone.

     One of the oldest recognized Goddess forms is the first Greek
Goddess – Gaia, the Earth Mother; the Universal Womb; Mother of All.
The most ancient Goddesses were most often Earth and Mother Goddesses.
The were worshipped and revered as bearers of life … fat, healthy,
pregnant and fruitful. As the Goddess concept developed, then came the
Harvest Goddesses, who were also Earth Goddesses.  Understand that
this was a time when people did not even understand the basic
mechanics of procreation.  Life was very sacred and mystical indeed!

     Gradually, myth and mystery developed and revealed themselves,
creating the legend which we honor in the modern Wiccan Craft.

     We recognize the Goddess as the mother of all, including her
Mighty Consort, the God.  To Her he is Lover and Son, and together
they form the Ultimate, the Omniverse, the Dragon, the Mystery.

     Now that is a pretty tough concept all things considered.
Especially in our society as it sounds rather incestuous.  From a
mundane perspective, it gets worse as the Wheel of the Year Turns, and
the Oak and Holly Kings battle … eternal rivals and
sacrificial mates.

     In the pages that follow, we will explore the Goddess foundation
concepts and try to reach an understanding of the basis of the
Mystery.

     I don’t want to get off into all the names of all the Goddesses
in all the mythology in all of history.  While that is certainly a
noble endeavor, it is not the objective here.  What I do want to do is
look at the Goddess, in whole and in part, and see just who and what
she is.

     First and foremost, the Goddess is the symbol of the Cycle of
Everlasting.  She is constant, ever present, ever changing, and yet
always the same.  She could be compared in that respect to the oceans.

     As a part of that, she is that from which we have come, and to
which we will return.  She is the Universal Mother, the Cosmic Womb.
While those are largely symbolic images, as opposed to literal ones,
they are important to bear in mind about any aspect of the Goddess.
She never harms, she is Mother.

     One of the most difficult throwback mentalities to dispell in a
student is the difference between “dark and light” and “bad and good”.
Societally, and often religiously, we are trained to see bad and dark
and evil as being the same.  Hence, we are also taught to hate and
fear our own mortality.  All too often I see practicing Wiccans, who
ought to *know* better, fall back on these concepts when trying to
2677

explain or understand a concept.

     The Goddess is dark, she is light, she is birth, she is death,
and she rejoices in all things.  With death comes joy, for with death
comes renewal.  With life comes joy, for with life comes promise.
With growth comes joy for with growth comes wisdom.  Sorrow and fear
are not a part of her, not the way we feel those emotions.  She is
incapable of sorrow without joy, she fears nothing, because fear is
not real.  It is a creation of the mind.

     Whether you see the Goddess as a Warrior Queen, or like the Good
Witch of the North in the Wizard of Oz, she is the Goddess.  And she
has many parts and facets which defy comprehension as “One”.  She
simply IS, and in that, can be whatever you need her to be in order to
establish a relationship with her.  But none of that changes what she
IS.

     “I greet thee in the many names of the Threefold Goddess and her
Mighty Consort.  Athe, malkuth, ve-guburah, ve-gedulah, le-olam, Amen.
Blessed Be.”

      So here, at the Circle Door, greeted by the High Priest or
Priestess we first see mentioned the Threefold Goddess.  Full-sized
covens have three priestesses who take the specific roles of Maiden,
Mother and Crone, the High Priestess being Mother.

      The Threefold Goddess however is NOT three entities, she is one.
Her aspects represent Enchantment, Ripeness and Wisdom.

      Taking first things first is usually best, so we shall start
with a look at one side of the Maiden.

      Quoting “The Myth of the Goddess” as found in Gardenarian Wicca
(Gerald B. Gardner, The Meaning of Witchcraft, Aquarian Press, London,
1959.):

      Now Aradia had never loved, but she would solve all the
Mysteries, even the Mystery of Death; and so she journeyed to the
Nether Lands.

      The Guardians of the Portals challenged her, “Strip off thy
garments, lay aside thy jewels; for naught may ye bring with ye into
this our land.”

      So she laid down her garments and her jewels and was bound, as
were all who enter the Realms of Death the Mighty One.  Such was her
beauty that Death himself knelt and kissed her feet, saying, “Blessed by
thy feet that have brought thee in these ways.  Abide with me, let me
place my cold hand on thy heart.”  She replied “I love thee not.
Why dost thou cause all things that I love and take delight in to fade
and die?”

      “Lady,” replied Death, “it is Age and Fate, against which I am
helpless.  Age causes all things to wither, but when men die at the
end of time I give them rest and peace, and strength so that they may
return.  But thou, thou art lovely.  Return not; abide with me.”

      But she answered, “I love thee not.”
2678

      Then said Death, “An’ thou receive not my hand on thy heart
thou must receive Death’s scourge.”

      “It is Fate; better so”, she said, and she knelt, and Death
scourged her and she cried “I feel the pangs of love.”

      And Death said, “Blessed be” and gave her the Fivefold Kiss,
saying “Thus only may ye attain joy and knowledge.”

      And he taught her all the Mysteries.  And they loved and were
one, and he taught her all the Magicks.

      For there are three great events in the life of Man:  Love,
Death and Resurrection in a new body, and Magick controls them all.
For to fulfill love you must return again at the same time and place
as the loved one, and you must remember and love them again.  But to
be reborn you must die, and be ready for a new body; and to die you
must be born; and without love you may not be born.  And these be all
the Magicks.

     So there in the Gardnerian Myth of the Goddess we have her
Maiden aspect, seeking, searching and opening herself to the
mysteries.  But it is well to remember that the Goddess herself is a
mystery, and the primary gift of the Goddess is intuitive Wisdom.

     Beltaine (Bealtain) is the only Sabbat where the Goddess is
entirely devoted to the Maiden.  Here, she revels in the enchantment,
in the joy of coming into fullness and mating with the God.  Here, she
is maiden bride and we can most easily understand that facet of the
Maiden aspect.  I should probably note here that some see this
festival as maiden turning into mother, with the maiden being in full at
Candlemas, but I do not agree with that.

     Youth, newness, innocence and beauty are fundamental facets of
the Maiden aspect.  But beneath those are seeking, and love, and love of
seeking.  There is more to understand of the Maiden though.
Enchantment does not end with maidenhood, it is simply the beginning
of the Mystery of Life, for that, above all, is what the Goddess
stands for.

     In Circle, in the Balanced Universe, the Maiden takes her place
in the East.  In examining this most comfortable quarter, you learn
more about the Maiden Aspect.  East (Air) rules the free mind and
intellect.  It is the place to seek the ability to learn and to open
spiritually, to open your mind and find answers.  It is a masculine
quarter, ruled by intellect, and analytical logic, but she brings to
it an intuition which is required to use these to best advantage.

     “The river is flowing, flowing and growing, the river is flowing
back to the sea.  Mother carry me, a child I will always be.  Mother
carry me, back to the sea.”

     This Circle chant, sung in joy, sung in sorrow, is a cry to the
Mother Aspect for comfort and warmth, a power chant calling upon the
steady power and fullness of the Mother and a plea for guidance.
While the Earth Mother, and the fully aspected Goddess are placed
North in the Earth quarter, the Mother aspect alone belongs in the
west.
2679

     Comfort and love rule here.  Emotions, sorrow, joy, tears, these
belong to the ripeness of the Mother.  Caring and loving for all her
children, watching in pain and pride as they struggle to gain their
own, knowing full well she could reach out and do it for them, but
being both bound and desirous to let them do it for themselves.

     There is a considerable difference, as you might have interpreted
from the above, between the Earth Mother and the Mother Aspect of the
Goddess.  That is why we’ve started with her quarter, because it
reveals the limitations of the Aspect.

     The Mother aspect is ripeness, the ancient bearing of fruit,
child and grain.  She represents emotion and sexuality.  The Goddess
in that aspect is most of the altar (as discussed in the Great Rite
lesson.)  It is interesting to note the practice in numerous ancient
cultures of lovemaking or outright sex magick in cornfields to help
make the corn grow.

     The Dark Mother should also be placed here, although culturally, I
have a tendancy to think of the Dark Mother as more in keeping the
Crone Aspect.  It is a bit of work to see the Dark Mother in the West,
to separate Dark Mother from Crone, but it is worthwile.  If you have
any background with the tarot I would suggest you take it in that
context, it is beyond the scope of this text.

    Our exploration of the Goddess and her Aspects brings us now to
the Crone.  For me, the Crone is the most fascinating of the Aspects
of the Goddess.  Partly I suppose because she is the most mysterious
and paradoxical.

    “Blessed Goddess, old and wise, open mine, thy child’s, eyes.
Speak to me in whispered tones that I may know the rune of Crones.”

    With life and growth comes age and wisdom, and the Crone is this
in part.  She holds fire and power, which wisely used can be of great
benefit, but hold great danger for the unaware.  Hers are the secrets of
death and of life, and the mystery beyond the mystery.

    Part of the pleasure in knowing the Crone aspect is that while,
unlike the fully aspected Goddess, she is not also Maiden and Mother,
she does retain the experiences of both those Aspects in order to be
Crone.  The Crone, wizened though she is, must still be able to reach
into herself and recall the innocent joys and high passions of the
Maiden and the love and warmth of the Mother.  To be Crone and to not
have forgotten, to still be able to experience Maiden and Mother is,
to me, very appealing.  More importantly, to be comfortable in that
Aspect, where you have truth and knowledge but have left youth and
physical beauty behind, and to still _feel_ youth and beauty without
being desirous of them is an admirable quality.

    Crone is the least paralleled Aspect of the Goddess to our human
society.  We discard our old and wise, not understanding their value
as teachers and models, and fearing their appearance as a reminder of
our own mortality.

    Knowing Crone is a door we much each open for ourselves for to know
and love her is to cast aside a great many of our cultural and societal
malteachings.
2680

     While the individual Aspects of Threefold Goddess are certainly
valid concepts and paths to knowing Goddess, I should caution that most
mythological Goddess figures are composite Goddesses.  Earth Mother
Goddess figures are fully aspected Goddess by definition because they
represent the full cycle of the Wheel.  Most other Goddess figures can
be classified as having a dominant (or operative) aspect and recessive
(promised, or in some cases past) aspect.  Future and past should not be
taken literally, mythological Goddess figures are always whatever they
are eternally, they do not tend to change (ie age).

     Maiden Goddesses possessing their operative in the Huntress or
Warrior aspects most often have a promise of Crone. Maiden Goddesses
expressing their dominance in beauty and/or love usually have their
recessive aspect as Mother.  For example, Athena is a Maiden Goddess
with Crone attributes (the combination produces many Mother-type
qualities, and this results in the Crone aspected Maiden being the
most complete of the Mythological Goddesses, with the exception of
Earth Mother Goddesses.) Aphrodite is of course a Maiden Goddess with
Mother attributes.

     Similarly, Dark Mother Goddess figures mostly find their promise in
Crone and Light Mother figures their recessive in Maiden.   Crone
recessives work the same way, although sometimes it takes a bit of
close examination to find the “hidden” aspect.

     One should note that this is not a formula, rather a tool to
assist in examining and understanding Goddess figures and creating
one’s own personal spiritual link with Goddess.  It is also a useful
consideration when invoking a specific Goddess with purpose in ritual.
     The purpose of this course has been to open avenues of approach
in discovering and developing a relationship with Goddess.  For me
personally, I do not “believe” in the reality of mythological Goddess
figures as they were presented, but I do believe they are a valid way to
establish communication with Goddess.  I also believe Goddess will
appear in whatever form we are most ready to accept.  The real
Goddess, by my belief (and this is personal, not trad) is an entity
beyond my comprehension, perhaps composed of light (could 5000 sci-fi
films be wrong?), most assuredly unlike anything I could ever imagine in
true form.  However, I do find mythological Goddess figures highly
useful for ritual, and of some help in my personal relationship with
Goddess. I hope you will too.

What are Gods?

 
Many a hotly debated discussions have taken place over the years about what Gods are and whether it is important to believe in them as actual beings or if it is only necessary to understand that they represent psychopomps in our psyche that describe a part of ourselves or the world around us. There may never be a definitive answer found to this question, since each and every witch approaches the idea of the divine from a different point. To make one grand decision for everyone would be the height of hubris. Be that as it may, the Gods do hold power over and around us through both of these paths.
 
They can unlock the power that we hold within ourselves so that we can use it readily and easily by letting that aspect of ourselves be free. Additionally, they can exist in nature and the world around us to add more power to our own. What matters is that we ally ourselves wisely with those deities or archetypes that work best for us. If you are uncomfortable with a particular deity, trying to work with that one will most likely thwart what you are trying to accomplish.
 
Sometimes it is necessary to work through that discomfort, however. For example, many pagans and witches have difficulty working with the Christian God. There is great power, though, in being able to do so. When you learn how to deal with this discomfort, you have learned to stop letting it control you.
 
In the Craft, the state of mind that you do something in can have a large impact on the results of what you are attempting to do. A spell can be given a completely opposite direction to take if you do not focus on exactly what it is that you want and let yourself become distracted by other random thoughts. This is why clarity of mind and purpose is so necessary to witchcraft.

In a nutshell, Gods are whatever you believe them to be. Before you scream in frustration, take a deep breath and read on. Looking across the world’s religions, there are a whole host of beliefs about what Gods are. Christianity believes that there is one God, and only one God, all others being false idols, and that God is removed from the world, existing on high and watching us all.

Buddhism does not believe in Gods. Instead, they believe that a person can achieve enlightenment and cease their earthly existence and move on to something better. Many tribal religions revere more than one God, choosing instead to put the divine into the natural world and unexplained things and naming them Gods.

In my studies, I have found that there are five main beliefs that religions, or most of them, fall into; Atheism, Monotheism, Duothesim, Polythiesm, and Pantheism. Starting with the easiest, atheism is the belief that there is no God or that man himself is God. Some branches of Satanism fall into this category, as well as many pagans of varied “religious” beliefs, including some types of Wicca, that see the human as the pinnacle of existence, and most people who believe that there is no God, including man.

Monotheism, then, is the belief that there is one God, or the worship of one God despite recognizing the existence of others. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all fall into this category, as do people who follow one particular God such as Gaia or Set. Closely related to Monotheism is the belief of Duotheism. A person who practices duothesim is a follower of two deities, most often a male-female pairing. Most Wiccans fall into this category or blend this with polytheism or pantheism.

Polytheism, as one might expect, is the worship of many Gods, each individual and separate. Tribal religions from around the world fall into this category as well as many pagans that are followers of the Norse paths. Finally, pantheism is the belief that all Gods are one God who has many faces so that man might understand the divine. Pantheism can also be expressed duotheistically by the belief that all Gods are one God and all Goddesses are one Goddess, both of whom wear many faces.

We still do not know, however, what Gods are. Within all of these categories, there are further subdivisions, most with no clear cut name, that allow a closer look at what gods are. The first group to look at is the people that believe that gods are literal entities. With this belief, worship is much more likely to be of an offertory nature, invoking the gods and asking them to intercede and help on the petitioner’s behalf. Most of the world’s dominant religions follow this belief, though they are scattered throughout the five types of theistic belief.

The second group believes that Gods may be literal entities, but they really aren’t sure and so they are not really going to worry about it, besides, who wants to offend a God if they’re wrong? For these people, worship is a little less offertory, though there are still offerings made. They tend to be more geared towards nature and the earth than any of the others, with the belief that the divine is in everything around them.

The second group believes that Gods may be literal entities, but they really aren’t sure and so they are not really going to worry about it, besides, who wants to offend a God if they’re wrong? For these people, worship is a little less offertory, though there are still offerings made. They tend to be more geared towards nature and the earth than any of the others, with the belief that the divine is in everything around them.

There are many other types of beliefs that are not covered here, as to what the Gods are or are not, but this give you, as a student, a place to start and discover for yourself what they mean to you and how you will interact with them. You may find, as you study and learn more, that your ideas of what the Gods are changes from time to time. This happens to almost everyone at one time or another, and is nothing to become distraught about. It is all a part of the riddle of the Gods, and they expect it.

 

Rhiannon

by Karen Davis

Rhiannon (her name is either “Maid of Annwn” or a variant of Rigatona, “Great Queen”), a version of the horse-goddess Epona and of sovereignity. She was mistress of the Singing Birds. She appeared to Pwyll, lord of Dyfed, as a beautiful woman in dazzling gold on a white horse. Pwyll sent his fastest horsmen after her, but could not catch her. On the third day, he spoke and she told him she wanted to marry instead of her espoused husband Gwawl. Pywll was to meet her in a year and a day.

He won her at the court of her father, Hefeydd the Old, by her aid. She bore Pwyll a son, who vanished. Her women killed a puppy and smeared its blood on her, to avoid blame at the child’s loss. As punishment, Rhiannon spent seven years telling her story to all comers and bearing them, like a horse, to the court.

The child, meanwhile, turned up at the court of Teyrnon, whose mares foaled on May eve and lost the foals mysteriously. When Teirnon kept watch, he saved a foal from a mysterious beast and also discovered, outside the stable, a child, whom he and his wife adopted. Then child grew to young manhood in seven years, and was given the foal rescued on the night he was found. Teirnon recognised the child as the son of Pwyll and returned him to his family, where he was named Pryderi(“worry”) by his mother.

Later, after Pwyll’s death, Rhiannon married Manawydan, brother of Bran and Branwen and son of Llyr, a great magician. One day, all of Dyfed turned into a wasteland, and only Rhiannon, Manawydan, Pryderi, and his wife Cigfa, were spared. Manawydan and Pryderi out hunting followed an enormous white boar into a caer, where Pryderi saw a golden bowl; when he touched it, he was enspelled. Rhiannon went after him and fell under the same spell the caer then vanished, taking them with it. She was rescued when Manawydan captured the wife of their enemy, Llwyd, who was taking revenge for the illtreatment of Gwawl.

Arianrhod

by Karen Davis

Arianrhod (“silver wheel”, thus, the moon), is one of the descendants of Don. She had two brothers, Gilfaethwy and Gwydion the sister of Math ap Mathonwy, whose quality was that he required a virgin’s lap to place his feet in, unless he was at war. When this virgin was raped, Math asked for a replacement, and Arianrhod volunteered. But when she stepped over his rod, she immediately gave birth to two children: a young boy and a blob. (This is likely because the word morwynmay mean either ‘virgin’ or ‘free young woman’, but it also indicates her divine status.)

Arianrhod

The boychild was named Dylan; he was a sea-being who returned to the waves. The blob was snatched up by Arianrhod’s brother Gwydion, who hid it in a chest until it grew into a baby. Arainrhod imposed three geases upon this boy: he would have no name unless she named him, he would bear no arms unless she armed him, and he would have no human woman to wife. Thus, Arianrhod denied him the three essential passages to manhood. Nevertheless, Gwydion raised the nameless boy, and one day Arianrhod spied a young boy killing a wren with a single flung stone. She called out that he was a bright lion with a sure hand, and thus he took that name: Llew Llaw Gyffes. Later, Gwydion faked an alarm, and tricked her into arming the boy.

Branwen

by Karen Davis

Branwen (“white raven”) a daughter of Llyr and Penarddun, and sister of Bran, and Manawydan, and half-sister of Nisien and Efnisien. Matholwch of Ireland sued for her hand, and gave horses to Bran. Efnisien mutilated the horses, nearly precipitating warfare, but Matholwch was appeased by the gift of a cauldron that could resurrect the dead. Branwen wed him, and went to Ireland, where she bore him a son, Gwern. But the Irish began to complain about their foreign queen, and she was banished to the kitchen, where she was a slave and boxed on the ears by the butcher daily. This lasted three years, during which Branwen trained a starling to speak and sent it to Wales, where it told Bran of her plight, and he sailed to rescue her.

Matholwch was terrified at the sight of a forest approaching Ireland across the sea: no one could make it out, until he called for Branwen, who explained it as Bran’s navy, and Bran himself wading through the water. He sued for peace, they built a house big enough for Bran, and Matholwch agreed to settle the kingdom on Gwern. Some Irish lords objected, and hid themselves in flour bags to attack the Welsh. But Efnisien, scenting Irish treachery, cast them into the fire, and then cast Gwern himself in (avoiding the geas against shedding kinsmen’s blood thereby). A war broke out, and the Irish replenished themselves through the cauldron. Efnisien, repenting, sacrificed himself by feigning death and being thrown into the cauldron, which he then broke, dying in the process. Only seven Welshmen survived, and Bran was fatally wounded. His head, which remained alive and talking, was returned to Wales and buried, and soon afterwards Branwen sailed to Aber Alaw and died. She is one of the three “matriarchs of Britain”, along with (probably) Rhiannon and Arianrhod.

Charge of the Star Goddess

Traditional, based partly on the “Charge of the Goddess”
by Charles Leland, Gerald Gardner, and Doreen Valiente.
 

Here ye the words of the Star Goddess; she in the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven, and whose body encircles the universe.

I who am the beauty of the green earth, the white moon among the stars, and the mystery of the waters call unto thy soul; arise and come unto me.

I am the soul of nature who gives life to the universe. From me all things proceed, and unto me all things must return. Before my face, beloved of gods and of me, let thine innermost divine self be enfolded in the rapture of the infinite.

Let my worship be within the heart that rejoices, for behold! All acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. Therefore, let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you.

To thou who thinkest to seek me, know that thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not unless thou knowest the mystery. If that which thou seekest thou findest not within three, thou wilt never find it without.

For behold! I have been with thee from the beginning; and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.

Charge of the Dark God

Listen to the words of the Dark God, Who was of old called Dis, Hades, Osiris, Hunter, and Lord of Shadows.

I am the shadow that is cast by the sun in the brightest of days. I am the reminder of sudden mortality in the midst of joyous life. I am the black velvet night where dances the stars and the planets, time everlasting, unperturbed dancer of fiery endings and new beginnings. I am the Horned Hunter, bow drawn in my hand, gathering the living with my arrows and leading the Wild Hunt. By ny hand are ye lead from this life, that life may continue, for behold! My mystery lies in the movement of life energy from life unto life, for the reminder that all life feeds on life and that only through death is life found anew.

I am the strength that protects, comforts, gives solace and renewal. I am the one who stands by the Crone of Transformation, then enters her Tomb for birth through her womb. Follow my lead and find thy immortality. Together we shall laugh at the threshold of death passage as awareness awakens, and I shall embrace thee in thy last moments of life.

Remember me on dark moonless nights; look for my Rade in rolling storm clouds and the clash of bright lightning. I carry thee to the one who transforms. Dark Mother of all, releaser of strife. Sing to us thy songs in the tongues of ecstasy, for we understand the music of the soul. Blow me a kiss from the palm of thy hand when the moon is dark, and I shall smile upon three, but no kiss shall I return, for my kiss is the final one for all mortal flesh, nepenthe  to drink at the end of thy days.

Song of the Goddess

I am the Great Mother, adored by all creation which I have brought forth from my fertile womb. I am the Primal Mother, life-bringing force of the Divine Female, boundless and eternal.

My faces are many, for I am Transformation and I bring change to all. I am the Goddess of the Moon, Lady of all Magick, passing through phases of Maiden, Mother, and Crone. I am the Maiden whose name is carried upon the tides and the winds. I wear the Moon upon my brow as Crescent, Full, and Horned the stars rest beneath my feet, and the Serpent of Regeneration gazes up as me in adoration. I am Mysteries yet I reveal these to any who seek such of me. I open the New Path for the spiritual questor, comfort the weary traveler upon the old, and receive into my arms and soul in passage.

I am the Blessed Mother, the Bountiful Lady of the Harvest. I am clothed in the cool depths of the waters and draped in the gold of fields laden with grain. My tabard is the myriad forms of life in woodland, field, valley, river, sky and sea. My hair cascades across my shoulders as soft shadows stirring in the forests. By me are all seasons of the earth ruled that all things come to fruition through me, for lo, I am the Life-Giving Mother, fertile and joyous in my abundance.

I am the Crone, Grandmother, and Dead Mother, wise and tender. Through me pass all in the spiral dance of life, death and rebirth. I am the Wheel, the shadowed Moon, giving release and renewal to weary souls. The God ushers the Spirits unto me, for I am the Tomb through whom all must pass to be born of my Womb.

I am the Eternal Maiden, Mother of All, and Crone of Transformation. I stir the cauldron of Wisdom, Abundance, and Renewal, and I pour forth my Limitless Love upon all my peoples of the Earth.

Achlys

Achlys
She was the personification of Eternal Night, what was believed to have presaged Chaos. There was another who personified Misery, and Hesiod described her in the Shield of Heracles: “And beside them [the Keres and the Moirai] was standing Akhlys, dismal and dejected, green and pale, dirty-dry, fallen in on herself with hunger, knee-swollen, and the nails were grown long on her hands, and from her nostrils the drip kept running, and off her cheeks the blood dribbled to the ground, and she stood there, grinning forever, and the dust that had gathered and lay in heaps on her shoulders was muddy with tears.” How pleasant.

Adrastea

Adrastea
The name means something like, “unyielding,” and is a surname of Nemesis. Another chica named Adrastea was the daughter of Amaltheia (a nymph) and King Melisseus of Crete, and she took care of the infant Zeus with her sister, Ida, and the Curetes (these guys – whom some say were her brothers – who danced around and beat their weapons really loudly so that Cronos wouldn’t hear Zeus’ cries). Adrastea was a good babysitter and kept baby Zeus occupied with a pretty globe.

Aedos

Aedos
She was the personification of Modesty or Shame. She is often mentioned alongside Nemesis, who was goddess pretty big on conscience. Penelope’s dad, Icarius, built a statue of Aedos about 6 miles outside of Sparta after his darling daughter left him for Odysseus.

Aega

Aega
Aega was a lot of people. I will mention the more important ones. In one version she and her sisters suckled the infant Zeus and she was put in the sky later as the constellation Capella. In another version, she was chosen to suckle Zeus but couldn’t cut it, so Amalthea came in to take her place. In another version she was a daughter of Helios who was so bright that when the Titans were attacking Olympus they had to ask Gaia to hide her – then she was stuck in a cave, where she ended up suckling Zeus. Zeus got the aegis from the goat version of Aega. Aega is mostly translated as “goat,” but can also be said to be “gale of wind.”

Aegle

Aegle
One of the daughters of Aesclepius and Lampetia, or, more commonly, Epione. Like her sisters she was a Goddess of Healing. But she, like Iaso, is very rarely considered to be above demi-goddess level. Human Aegle was a couple of different people. There was also a nymph Aegle. Her name means “Brightness” or “Splendor” and she personified the “glowing health of the human body.”