WICCAN GODS AND GODDESSES
WICANS HONOR WHAT IS CALLED THE 'TRIPLE GODDESS' WHICH IS THE MAIN GODDESS IN HER 3 ASPECTS OF MAIDEN,MOTHER
AND CRONE. WE WILL LIST DIFFERENT GODDESSES THAT REPRESENT THESE DIFFERENT ASPECTS...
THE MAIDEN:
The Maiden is the aspect of the Triple Goddess in Her youthful form.Sometimes the Maiden is shown as an ascetic virgin,at
the other extreme She may be strongly associated with pleasure and sexuality.The Maiden is the Goddess of beginnings, growth,
and expansion. She is symbolized by the Waxing Moon.The Maiden is the Goddess
of passion and creativity,arts, crafts, and sciences,inspiration, self-expression, and creativity -all things which stir the
soul or incite the mind- belong to the maiden.
The Maiden Goddess tends to be shown in one of three main forms:
The Artist: Goddess of all arts and crafts, skills and sciences. The mind, intellect, and inspiration. Examples of the Maiden Goddess in this guise include: Brighid, Flora, Kore, Minerva, and Sesheta.
The Guardian: The Goddess as warrior and protector. Patron of quests and
causes, champion of heroes and adventurers, defender of those in need. In this
form the Maiden grants courage, guidance, and fortitude. Examples of the Maiden
Goddess in this guise include: Anat, Artemis, and Durga.
The Lover: Goddess of love beauty and sexuality, She is the patron of lovers
and romance. Examples of the Maiden Goddess in this guise include: Ezili, Hathor, and Venus.
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THE MOTHER:
In Her simplest form, the Great Mother represents Deity as Mother of Creation, eternally loving, eternally nurturing. The Mother created the Universe from Herself and sustains it with Her Divine love and providence. In this sense the Mother is a Goddess of unconditional
love, compassion, and nurturing,and the Goddess of the deep fertility and creativity necessary to create and sustain life,
and has endless reserves of strength and will.The Mother Goddess is symbolized by the Full Moon, representing Spirit at the
Height of its powers.
Examples of the Goddess as Mother:
DEMETER -Greek Goddess of the Earth and of growing thingsIn early
times Demeter was sometimes depicted as being a horse, or as being horse-headed, linking Her to Celtic Mother Goddesses like
Danu, Epona, and Rhiannon.
GAIA -Gaia or Ge is the Greek Goddess of the Earth. In Greek myth Gaia was
the Primeval Mother.
LAKSMI -Laksmi is one of the most
popular Hindu manifestations of the Great Mother Goddess.
MATI SUIRA ZEMLYA -Mati Suira Zemlya means ”Mother Moist Earth.” She is the Mother Goddess of ancient Russia, and represents the fertility of the Earth itself.
YEMAYA -Also called Iemonja, Yemaya is the Afro-diasporic Mother Goddess. Goddess of the life-giving sea, Yemaya represents
the bounty of the ocean, and the waters which give fertility to the Earth and sustenance to living creatures.
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THE CRONE:
The third expression of the energy of the Triple Goddess is the Crone. The Crone is commonly
conceived of as an elderly Grandmother, and represents the last stage of life when the body is at its weakest, but psychic
and magical power are at their strongest. The Crone represents the height of Feminine power, and the wisdom and experience
which comes with age, wisdom, magic, and spirituality. The Crone is the Goddess of death and endings. She is associated with the Waning Moon and represents the ending of one cycle and the beginning of
the next.
Examples of the Goddess as Crone:
BABA YAGA -Baba (Grandmother) Yaga is the Russian form of the Crone Goddess.Baba Yaga is portrayed
as an ancient and wizened Witch.
HECATE -Hecate is the ancient Greek
form of the Crone Goddess.Goddess of prophesy, magic and Witchcraft, Hecate was worshipped at the crossroads, and was considered
a Queen of the Otherworld.
KALI -Kali is the most famous Hindu example of the Crone form of the Goddess.
TLACOLTEUTL -The name Tlacolteutl means “Refuse Eater” because this Aztec Crone Goddess
had as one of Her chief characteristics the quality of consuming outmoded forms and transmuting them.
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THE
GOD
The God is the moving essence of the Goddess.The God governs the quality of Time. It
is as Lord of Time that the God is considered Lord of the Dance of Life -Time, the sequencing of events, is what allows the
Dance. The God is usually seen as the young God and the old God as he ages through the
year. These 2 aspects also breakdown into 4 archetypes.
The Hero is the Champion Who
overcomes all obstacles and embodies creativity, vitality, and self expression (Astrologically: Mars). The Hero is the temporal or outward aspect of the Young God’s energy. The Hero God represents independent young
manhood,energy, vitality, and growth
Examples of the Hero:
APOLLO
-Venerated by the Greeks and Romans, Apollo is the God of life force and vitality, creativity and self-expression,God of beauty,
Master of all arts and crafts, He is the Lord of prophesy and healing, Patron of both physical and spiritual medicine.
Apollo is also God of music.
GREEN MAN
-The Green Man, also called Green Jack or Green George, represents the spirit of vegetation which returns to the Earth in
Spring and flourishes in Summer.
MARS -Although
usually thought of as a God of war, the Roman God Mars is actually much more than this. Mars represents the Summer season,
the growing crops, the warmth of the Sun which fertilizes the Earth.
PERCIVAL
-Percival or Peredur figures in the legend of King Arthur as the Knight who finds the sacred Grail, which restores the stricken
King to health.
THOR -Originally
called Thunar, or “Thunder”, Thor is the Germanic God of storms and fertility.
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The Lover is the Consort of the
Goddess, the Dying and reborn God Who embodies all virtues (the Sun).The Lover represents the God as Consort of the Goddess.The
Lover represents the principle of the God at Its greatest power. The Lover represents
the joy of life and the exuberance of being.
Examples of
the Lover:
ATTIS -Attis is the consort of the
Mother Goddess Cybele, Whose worship originated in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and later became popular throughout the Roman
empire.
HORUS -In Egyptian mythology the God Osiris taught the Egyptians
all arts and sciences and ruled them as their King.
LUGH -Also called Lugus and Lleu, Lugh is the Celtic version of the dying and reborn God.
TAMMUZ -According to an ancient Mesopotamian
myth, Tammuz was the King of Uruk, and husband of the Goddess Ishtar.
XANGO -Xango is the Afro-diasporic God of fertility.
Lord of storms, Xango is accompanied by thunder and lightning, and governs the rains which fertilize the Earth. Xango is thought of as the epitome of masculine beauty.
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The King is the God of justice
and cosmic order, prosperity and expansion (Jupiter). King, Father, Counselor, Judge. Of all the forms of the God, this is
the one with which most Wiccans have the greatest difficulty. The King is the God of the harvest. He is the Sun which has
begun to dim, following the Summer Solstice,the spirit of the crops, literally sacrificing His life that others may live.He
is the father Who has given up the independent life of a child to be part of a family.The King is a Judge,the God of honor
and of law, of honesty and civility.The King is the temporal or outward aspect of the Old God.
Examples of the King:
ATLAS -Atlas is one of the Titans, Gods of pre-classical Greece.
A God of the sky.
JUPITER -Roman King of the Gods, Jupiter is related to and identified with the Greek Zeus, but is not identical to Him.
NODENS -A God of the ancient Celts, much of Nodens’ mythology
is lost. He was King of the Gods, and is associated with prosperity and expansion.
RA -Falcon headed God of the Sun, Ra was considered chief among the Gods of Egypt for many centuries.
YU-HUANG-SHANG-TI -The “Supreme August
Jade Emperor,” Chinese King of Heaven, Who maintains the balance and order of the Universe and the eternal progress
of its cycles. Patron of government and of law, Yu-Huang-Shang-Ti is God of justice and honor, duty and responsibility.
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The Sorcerer is the Divine Fool,
the Magician Who rules over magic, prophesy, and the Otherworld (Mercury). The
Sorcerer is also called the Horned God, because He is often shown with horns or antlers, and is identified with the forest
(as a symbol of the Otherworld).
Lord of Winter, the Old God is also Lord of the Hunt
and of the forests, Master of Game and of all wild creatures and places.
Lord of Death, the Old God was also the Patron of Shamans,
Priests, and Sorcerers. He presided over omens, dreams, and ecstatic trance. In many ancient traditions the Old God led the “Wild Ride” in which the souls of
the dead were believed to ride forth by night in a great and tumultuous procession, in which the living could also join through
trance and astral projection. This was the central feature of the now extinct
German form of Witchcraft known as the Hexenrai.
The most common name for the Old God which you will find in modern Wicca is “Cernunnos.” Cernunnos is the name of an ancient Celtic form of the Sorcerer archetype, and means
literally “Horned One” (From Cornu -”horn”). The name
of Cernunnos is attested from a number of ancient -mainly Gallic- Celtic inscriptions.
It is also preserved in modern folk versions such as Herne the Hunter, and the Giant of Cerne Abbas.
Other Celtic names for Cernunnos include Secullos,
Dagda, and the Fisher King.
