~Goddess of the Day~

[Peace]

hello, all. i was sitting here, finally, with time to play and i thought i would start a new thread for fun. kind of a daily fun thing. the idea is a little info about a different goddess every day. i thought it would be interesting since there is so many different incarnations and lore yeah? i'll try to get in every day and post a new one, but anyone else can post, too.......... so ..............that's my ideary:) okies, here's today's.............

~ The Charities ~

The Charities are personification of aspects of grace and beauty. They are called Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Good Cheer). While the Muses inspire artists, the Charities apply the artists' works to the embellishment of life.

[saffy]

Great Idea!

I'll have to do some research

[♥Starlene]

Oh cool I like that idear!! Thanks Faery, I will contribute tooo!
((hugs))

[Peace]

cool! okies, here's one for today.............

~Artemis~

Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, virginity, and the natural environment. She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin sister of Apollo. Even though she is a virgin goddess, she also presides over childbirth.

Sacred animals: goat, bee, bear, lion, greif, bull

Sacred plants: fir tree, laurel and Artemesia Vulgaris (mugwort).

Other sacred symbols include: Silver, bow, moon.

Other names/titles:

Aeginaea ("Goat Goddess") at her sacred site at Taenarus.
Aegeria "Giver of Life"
Aetole: Name for Artemis at Naupactus
Agoraea "Protector of the People" Title of Artemis and Athena in Sparta
Agrotera/Agraea/Agrotora: Artemis as the huntress.
Ambulia "Goddess Who Delays Death" Title at Sparta

The Amnisiades are her attendants, who care for her sacred deer.

The pictures on the left show the Artemis Ephesia, which was a special mother and fertility goddess of her own right, later fused by the Greek with Artemis. The Artemesion in Ephesus (today Turkey) was her temple and one of the world wonders.

Her festival was held on the 6th of May, called the Artemesia and every four years was an even bigger one called Ephesia. The festival included a movement of the goddess statue, which was made of wood, through town on a special path (from the Artemesion to the State Agora, the Kuretstreet, to the theater and back to the Artemesion), as well as a feeding of the goddess (theoxenie) with salt and herbs. There may have been included a bath in the near sea.

[saffy]

Oh Oh...the name Diana is the Goddess of the Hunt in Roman Mythology.

[nathangela]

Awesome idea!

Hecate:
Hecate, Greek Goddess
of The Crossroads


Hecate, Greek goddess of the three paths, guardian of the household, protector of everything newly born, and the goddess of witchcraft -- once a widely revered and influential goddess, the reputation of Hecate has been tarnished over the centuries. In current times, she is usually depicted as a "hag" or old witch stirring the cauldron.

But nothing could be further from the image of Hecate's original glory.

A beautiful and powerful goddess in her own right, the Greek goddess Hecate was the only one of the ancient Titans who Zeus allowed to retain their authority once the Olympians seized control. Zeus shared with Hecate, and only her, the awesome power of giving humanity anything she wished (or withholding it if she pleased).

Usually classified as a "moon goddess", her kingdoms were actually three-fold . . . the earth, sea, and sky. Having the power to create or withhold storms undoubtedly played a role in making her the goddess who was the protector of shepherds and sailors.




A lover of solitude, the Greek goddess Hecate was, like her cousin Artemis, a "virgin" goddess, unwilling to sacrifice her independent nature for the sake of marriage. Walking the roads at night or visiting cemeteries during the dark phase of the moon, the goddess Hecate was described as shining or luminous.

In other legends she is invisible, perhaps only glimpsed as a light, a "will-o-the-wisp". Perhaps it was this luminous quality that marked Hecate as a "moon goddess", for she seemed quite at home on the earth.

Some scholars believe it is also was because her mother was Asteria (the Titan goddess of the Shining Light or "Star") or perhaps it was because she sensibly always carried a torch on her journeys.





Like Artemis, Hecate was usually depicted with her sacred dogs, although Hecate and even her animals, were sometimes said to have three heads and that they could see in all directions. Although usually depicted as a beautiful woman having three human heads, some images are fearsome indeed (one with a snake's head, one with a horse's, and the third a boar's head).

This farsightedness, the ability to see in several directions at once (even the past, present, and future) featured largely in her most famous myth, the abduction of Persephone. For it was the goddess Hecate who "saw" and told the frantic Demeter what had become of her daughter.

The goddess Hecate continued to play an important role in the life of Persephone, becoming her confidante when she was in the Underworld. Hades, thankful for their friendship, was more than hospitable, honoring Hecate as a prominent and permanent guest in the spirit world. Surely this had the effect of enhancing her reputation as a spirit of black magic with the power to conjure up dreams, prophecies, and phantoms.





Hecate's ability to see into the Underworld, the "otherworld" of the sleeping and the dead, made her comfortable and tolerant in the company of those most would shun out of fear or misunderstanding.


In her role as 'Queen of the Night', sometimes traveling with a following of "ghosts" and other social outcasts, she was both honored and feared as the protectress of the oppressed and of those who lived "on the edge". In Rome many of the priests in her sacred groves were former slaves who had been released to work in her service.

The goddess Hecate was often accompanied on her travels by an owl, a symbol of wisdom. Not really known as a goddess of wisdom, per se, Hecate is nevertheless recognized for a special type of knowledge and is considered to be the goddess of trivia.

Hecate's farsightedness and attention to detail, combined with her extraordinary interest in that which most of us discount as irrelevant or arcane, gave her tremendous powers.

She knew what the rest of us did not.




Not surprisingly, the people thought it best to give the goddess Hecate (and any friends that might be accompanying her) a lot of honor and a fairly wide berth. When darkness descended they wisely retired to the fireside for supper, but put the leftovers outside as an offering to Hecate and her hounds.

That the homeless and destitute were often the actual beneficiaries hardly mattered...after all, they were under Hecate's protection.

In a similar fashion, food was often left at the crossroads to honor Hecate, especially at junctions where three roads converged --what we often call a "Y-intersection".

Frequently a pole was erected at the intersection and three masks would be hung from it to pay homage to Hecate and to request her guidance in helping to choose the right direction.

Three-faced masks also adorned the entrances of many homes, honoring the goddess Hecate who could, of course, wield her influence over "the spirits that traveled the earth" to keep them from entering the household.



It is hardly surprising that a woman who needed to make a trip alone at night would say a brief prayer to Hecate to seek her protection. The goddess Hecate, like her cousin Artemis, was known as a protector of women, especially during childbirth.

Not only was Hecate called upon to ease the pains and progress of a woman's labor, but especially to protect and restore the health and growth of a child.

Similarly, Hecate played a role that, in contemporary times, we would describe as "hospice nurse", helping the elderly make a smooth and painless passage into the next life and staying with them, if need be, in the otherworld to help prepare them for their eventual return to the earth in their next life.

Familiar with the process of death and dying as well as that of new birth and new life, the goddess Hecate was wise in all of earth's mysteries.



The Greek goddess Hecate reminds us of the importance of change, helping us to release the past, especially those things that are hindering our growth, and to accept change and transitions. She sometimes asks us to let go of what is familiar, safe, and secure and to travel to the scary places of the soul.

New beginnings, whether spiritual or mundane, aren't always easy. But Hecate is there to support and show you the way.

She loans her farsightedness for you to see what lies deeply forgotten or even hidden, and helps you make a choice and find your path. Oft times she shines her torch to guide you while you are in dreams or meditation.

Hecate teaches us to be just and to be tolerant of those who are different or less fortunate, yet she is hardly a "bleeding heart", for Hecate dispenses justice "blindly" and equally.

Whether the Greek goddess Hecate visits us in waking hours or only while we sleep, she can lead us to see things differently (ourselves included) and help us find greater understanding of our selves and others.

Although her name may mean "The Distant One", Hecate is always close at hand in times of need, helping us to release the old, familiar ways and find our way through new beginnings.





Goddess Symbols:
Hecate


Goddess Symbols
and Sacred Objects
of Hecate

Goddess symbols, individualized for each goddess, were incorporated into the worship of the ancient goddesses, were often worn as jewelry, and also used in the household decor as talismans to seek the goddesses special gifts, blessings, or protection. A large number of goddess symbols have survived in statuary and other works of art.

Many of the goddess symbols come from the legends surrounding a specific goddess and were "characters" in her story. Other goddess symbols were derived from the rituals used in the ancient rites of worship of these pagan goddesses.

Hecate, "The Distant One" ( best known as Hecate, Greek goddess of the Crossroads) is often represented by symbols associated with her personality traits and her role as Queen of the Night. Since Hecate is the goddess of witchcraft, it should come as no surprize that many of her goddess symbols play a prominent role in the celebration of Hallowen.







General:
Torch, dark moon, raisin & currant cakes, crossroads, three-headed animals or statues, the number 3, masks, and candles.


Animals:
Dogs, horses, sheep (especially black female lambs), owls, bats, snakes, and boars.


Plants:
Willows, dark yew, blackthorn, groves of trees, saffron, raisins and currants, and gourds (especially pumpkins)


Perfumes/Scents:
Queen of the Night (a light flowery fragrance), cinnamon, myrrh, mugwort, honey, lime, and lemon verbena


Gems and Metals:
Sapphire, silver, gold, moonstone, black tourmaline, black onyx, hematite, smoky quartz and any stone that is dark or luminous


Colors:
Black, orange, yellow-orange, and red-orange

[Peace]

wow!!! now THAT was an article! lol. great one. here's mine for the day........
~Demeter~

Demeter is the goddess of the earth, of agriculture, and of fertility in general. Sacred to her are livestock and agricultural products, poppy, narcissus and the crane. She is the mother of Persephone by Zeus. During the months Persephone lives with Hades, Demeter withdraws her gifts from the world, creating winter. Upon Persephone's return, spring comes into bloom.

Other names and titles:
Achaiva: Spinner
Amphictyonis: name at Anthela.
Alternative Names: Achaea in Athens

[nathangela]

Origins of Brighid:
In Irish legend, Brighid (or Brighit), whose name is derived from the Celtic brig or "exalted one", is the daughter of the Dagda, and therefore one of the Tuatha de Dannan. In some versions of her story, she is the wife of the Fomorian Bres, with whom she had a son, Ruadan. Her two sisters were also called Brighid, and were associated with healing and crafts. The three Brighids were typically treated as three aspects of a single deity, making her a classic Celtic triple goddess.

Patron and Protector:
Brighid was the patron of poets and bards, as well as healers and magicians. She was especially honored when it came to matters of prophecy and divination. She was honored with a sacred flame maintained by a group of priestesses, and her sanctuary at Kildare, Ireland, later became the home of the Christian variant of Brighid, St. Brigid of Kildare. Kildare is also the location of one of several sacred wells in the Celtic regions, many of which are connected to Brighid. Even today, it's not uncommon to see ribbons and other offerings tied to trees near a well as a petition to Brighid.

In Britain, Brighid's counterpart was Brigantia, a warlike figure of the Brigantes tribe near Yorkshire, England. She is similar in aspects to the Greek goddess Athena and the Roman Minerva. Later, as Christianity moved into the Celtic lands, St. Brigid was the daughter of a Pictish slave who was baptised by St. Patrick, and founded a community of nuns at Kildare.

In addition to her position as a goddess of magic, Brighid was known to watch over women in childbirth, and thus evolved into a goddess of hearth and home. Today, many Pagans and Wiccans honor her on February 2, which has become known as Imbolc or Candlemas.

Like many Pagan holidays, Imbolc has a Celtic connection, although it wasn’t celebrated in non-Gaelic Celtic societies. The early Celts celebrated a purification festival by honoring Brighid. In some parts of the Scottish Highlands, Brighid was viewed as Cailleach Bheur, a woman with mystical powers who was older than the land itself. In modern Wicca and Paganism, Brighid is viewed as the maiden aspect of the maiden/mother/crone cycle.

[Peace]

~Echidna~

'Monster', half-women, half-snake. She dwelt under the earth. She is either the daughter of Phorkys and Keto or of Tartaros and Gaia. She had several 'horrible' children with Typhon: Kerberos, the three-headed dog, the Hydra, the Chimaira, and the Sphinx.
In my opinion she could be seen as an archetype of a dark earthgoddess or underworld mistress.

[saffy]

My turn

Hestia

Hestia was the sweetest, gentlest and most generous of all the Olympians. She never disagreed with anyone, and she never took sides in an argument. She was the goddess who protected the home and family, although she herself never married. Every human prayed to her, and every fire in every hearth was Hestia’s fire. When the home fire dimmed, the coals were kept alive and glowing to honor her. Usually, ancient Greeks carried live coals from an old city to a newly built city in her name.



Roman Name: Vesta

Parents: Cronus and Rhea

Symbol: Fire

[Peace]

ya know, this one makes me think of you, in some ways:) cool beans.

[nathangela]

Athena-I love her!



Birth

Athena was the daughter of Zeus and Metis. But there was a problem, Zeus checked up on Metis and found out that if he had a son by her this son would be mightier than him (you know, the same way he was greater than his daddy and his daddy was greater than his grandpa). So he tricked Metis and ended up swallowing her when she turned into a fly and figured she was no longer a threat. However, Metis was pregnant with Athena and when Athena was born, this turned into quite a problem. Soon Zeus was plagued with killer headaches and he ran to Hephaestus (Smith God) and begged him to open his head. Hephaestus did as he was told, and out popped Athena, full grown and ready for battle!

Other versions peg her father as Pallas (who later attempted to ravage her and she killed him without hesitation and took his name and skin). Some say her daddy was Itonus, a King of Iton. Some say her biological father was Poseidon, but that she begged to be adopted by Zeus. No matter what the story is, she never has a real mother.

Athena's birth "is a desperate theological expedient to rid her of matriarchal conditions" says J. E. Harrison. She was the Goddess of Wisdom, and the daughter of the Titaness who basically personified it. By having her born only from Zeus, it gave males authority and power over something that had previously only been a female realm. Zeus swallowed Metis, and so was able to assimilate her crafty wisdom. Athena did not have any loyalty to a mother figure, which probably played a major role in her self-description as misogynist.


Realm

Athena was, as I said earlier, the Goddess of more things than I can shake a stick at. But they can be pretty easily summarized into three things. She was the Goddess of Wisdom, Goddess of Military Victory (war with good tactics and winning strategies, not just fighting, like Ares), and Goddess of Crafts. I need to elaborate a little more on that last one, just so you can understand her coolness. Athena invented the flute, the trumpet, the earthenware pot, the plough, the rake, the ox-yoke, the horse-bridle, the chariot, and the ship. Now that's just the "guy" stuff. She was also the first teacher of the science of numbers, and all women's arts: weaving, cooking, and spinning. If you are looking through paintings and you think you might have found something that is Athena, here is some of her iconography: the aegis (shield/fringed cloak, sometimes with the head of Medusa on it), a shield (again, sometimes with the head of Medusa), bronze armor, a helmet (this is very common), and a spear (also very common). Athena was also one of the three Virgin Goddesses on Olympus, something you might want to read more about.

The Naming of Athens

I am telling this story here (briefly) because it is important to Athena (I think), but there is a much better version of this, for your reading pleasure, in the Myth Pages. So! Wayyyyyy back in the day the city of Athens belonged to Poseidon. He had claimed it by coming in, striking a rock with his trident and establishing a spring. But the spring only gushed salt water, and so it wasn't very useful, even if it was kind of pretty. Many years later, during the reign of Cecrops (a half-snake dude who was the king there), Athena came in and planted an olive tree, thus claiming the land for herself. Poseidon was totally pissed off, and challenged Athena to mortal combat (he would have got his ass kicked) and Athena was about to accept except that Zeus stepped in and stopped them (he probably didn't want Poseidon killed). Instead they went before the Gods with Cecrops presenting the evidence. The Gods voted. All the males voted for Poseidon and all the Goddesses voted for Athena, except for Zeus - who refused to give his opinion. Therefore, Athena won the decision by one vote.
Poseidon was pissed, and - like the stupid boy he was - threw a temper tantrum and flooded another one of Athena's cities (called Athenae on the Thriasian Plain). So Athena moved to Athens, took residence there and named that city after herself too. But, to help Poseidon's ego, the women of Athens were deprived of their vote, and men were no longer to carry their mothers' names.


Love and Kids and Virginity

Athena was loved by most everyone, and was a very loving person herself. But she loved everyone in the filial sense (like a sister), and was completely uninterested in sex. There were tons of Gods who would have given their eyes to marry her, but she was completely disgusted by the idea. Once, during the Trojan War, Athena had to ask Hephaestus to make her a set of armor and weapons. She offered to pay him, but Hephaestus insisted that his only payment would be love. She completely missed the sexual innuendo and agreed. When she came to Hephaestus' smithy to pick up her stuff, he came at her and tried to ravage her. Obviously that didn't happen. Don't think to badly of Hephaestus though, it really wasn't all his fault. Poseidon had played a joke on him and told him that Athena was on her way to the smithy hoping to make violent love to him. Athena totally ran away from the unfortunate Hephaestus, but she didn't move quite fast enough and he ejaculated on her leg. Athena was completely grossed out, and wiped it off with a piece of wool that she then dropped on the Earth. That would be Gaia, and she was fertilized by the semen on the wool. Gaia was revolted at the very idea of it, and so she refused to bring the child up. Athena was fine with this and decided to bring the kid, who she named Erichthonius ("Earth-born"), up herself. There is more to this story (involving love, suicide, and people getting turned into stone), but if you want to know it, you better check it out in the Myth Pages. Unfortunately it is not there yet, so you're just gonna have to wait.


Kindness and Temper
In general, Athena was a really nice goddess. She was very modest, like Artemis, but much more generous. Athena, like Artemis, was surprised by an enraptured onlooker while bathing, but she didn't kill him or transform him or rip him to shreds or anything. She laid her hands over his eyes and blinded him, but gave him inward sight and the ability to understand the birds' signs to tell the future. As a result, Teiresias (that was his name) was highly respected and revered from then on. So that wasn't bad at all.


Athena was, as I said, generally cool. But every once in a while she got all pissy (as gods tend to get) and lashed out. Once, was a rather minor incident when she invented this double stemmed flute. She was really excited about it, and went around playing it everywhere. That is, until someone happened to mention that she looked absolutely ridiculous with her cheeks puffed out like that to play. She was furious and threw the flute onto the ground where it was picked up by Marsyas, but that's another story. The one time Athena really lost it for something petty was in the story of Arachne, and that story isn't even really Greek. Arachne was this Lydian princess who was a fabulous weaver. She was so good that people said she was better than Athena. Athena heard and was all like, "Excuuuuuuse me? Please girl, I was weaving before humans existed," and challenged Arachne to a weave-off. They both made beautiful tapestries, and both were completely flawless, except Arachne's made fun of the Gods. Athena was bitter and very pissed and ripped Arachne's work to shreds in a cold, vengeful rage. Arachne totally didn't mean to upset her heroine and hung herself, but Athena remembered herself, and saved the girl by turning her into a spider and giving her the ability to weave forever. In a variation on the same theme, Servius reports that Athena loved this Attic chick, but the girl (Myrmex) went out and betrayed Athena's trust by claiming to have invented the plow herself, when it was really Athena. See, if they were both mortal, there would have been all this drama, someone would have gone home crying ... but Athena just turned the girl into an ant for being so presumptuous and that was the end of that.


Names and Stories

Athena is often referred to in mythology, but if you don't know her names, sometimes these references can be hard to catch. She is often called Pallas, or Pallas Athene. This name comes from a childhood friend she had, a nymph, who she accidentally killed when they were having a mock battle. Athena was distraught and carried her friend's name with her forever more. The name, Pallas, means Maiden. And as Athena is often referred to in this form - which can refer to her Virginity, her Youthful Strength, or her Independence - you should definitely know what it means.
Often you will find references to her as "gray-eyed", a reference which seems linked only to Athena and may have something to do with her wisdom. There is one weird reference by Pausanias about Athena having blue eyes. That comes from a Libyan story that Athena was the daughter of Poseidon and Lake Tritonis, and because of that has blue eyes like her father. But this story is not generally accepted, and you aren't going to find a blue-eyed Athena anywhere except on one statue next to a specific Temple of Hephaestus, so don't worry about it. Sometimes she is called "bright-eyed" but that is common to all Gods.



In Cylarabes there is an Athena called Pania. This name, I am guessing, comes from her discovery of the flute. In Athens they called her Athena Ergane (Worker) and were very devoted to her because of her crafts. The story of her patronship of Athens is really cool, and I told it above. She was called Athena Aethyia (Gannet, a type of bird), and I don't know why yet, but there was a Rock dedicated to this where the hero Pandion died.


Tritogeneia was another name of Athena's. It could have come from three different sources. Geneia means "born" in Greek, and so it could be a reference to the idea that Athena was born from the Lake Tritonis. It also could have been from tritô, the Aeolian word for "head", therefore "head-born" - which would make a lot of sense. The other idea is that the trito was from the root meaning "three" and that she was the third child (she was the third Olympian daughter of Zeus after Artemis and Apollo).


Okay - there are SO many epithets of Athena that I don't have room or patience to discuss all of them in detail, but here's a list I copied directly out of Robert E. Bell's Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary (BUY IT!): Acraea, Aethyia, Ageleia, Agoraea, Alalcomeneis, Alcimache, Alcis, Alea, Amublia, Anemotis, Apaturia, Areia, Asia, Assesia, Axiopoenos, Boulaia, Budeia, Chalinitis, Chryse, Cleidouchos, Colocasia, Coryphasia, Cydonia, Ergane, Glaucopis, Hellotia, Hippia, Hippolatis, Hygieia, Iasonia, Itonia, Laosos, Laphria, Larissaea, Lindia, Longatos, Magarsia, Munychia, Narcaea, Nedusia, Nice, Onca, Ophthalmitis, Optiletis, Oxydercis, Paeonia, Pallas, Pallenis, Panachaea, Pareia, Parthenos, Phrygia, Polias, Poliuchos, Polyboulos, Promachorma, Pronaea, Pylaitis, Saitis, Salpinx, Sciras, Soteira, Telchinia, Triton, Xenia, Zosteria.

[saffy]

I thought about that too Aura. Except most of her characteristics, that is me all over. hehe

I love Athena...she was always one of my favorite Goddesses.

[Peace]

~Harmonia~

The "uniter," Harmonia is the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares. Some stories say the legendary Amazons claimed descent from her. Harmonia also founded the dynasty of Thebes and bore the famous Dionysian women Semele, Agave, Autonoe, and Ino. At
Harmonia's wedding, all the Olympians bore magical gifts, including a famous necklace from Aphrodite that gave irresistible sexuality to the wearer.

[♥Starlene]

I love this thread, I made it an announcement thread for us,,, so its on the main board at the top

I did not know about Harmonia,,, she sounds cool,,, I want the Aphrodite necklace, where can I get one? hehe

[saffy]

I was just going to say that...I want the necklace.

[Peace]

~HECATE~

The crone aspect of the triple Goddess (maiden, mother, crone), Hecate was worshipped during the dark phase of the moon where 3 roads crossed. As the Greek Goddess of death and regeneration, her powerful magic was widely respected. Her worship could have originated in Egypt as Heqit and possibly further back to Nubia and northern Sudan. She possessed knowledge of the Heka - the magical power of words. The frog (as a symbol of transformation) and the dog were her totems. Behind her, left, is part of a frieze from the Pergamon Altar: Hecate in her triple aspect in the battle between the Olympian gods and the Titans, 165-156 BCE, Greek, found in present day Bergama, Turkey; triple Goddess statue is Roman, 1st century; earrings from Madytos, Greece, 4th century BCE; necklace from Kourion, Greece, 4th century BCE.

[nathangela]

I was thinking the same thing about the necklace-lol!Great minds think a like!

[saffy]

Thanks for the info Aura. I have always felt a connection to the triple moon.

[saffy]

Rhiannon

---a Celtic goddess

Wise and magical goddess of the moon, Rhiannon hears our wishes and guides us on the path of inspiration - but only if we learn how to ask!

She was also known as the "Queen of the Fairies" and rode a mighty steed.

SUGGESTED MANTRA: INSPIRATION

SUGGESTED AFFIRMATIONS:

o I ask and therefore I receive
o I deserve to fulfil my destiny
o I welcome change in my life
o I see the path intended for me
o My future is full of possibilities
o I invite new choices into my life
o My goals are becoming manifest
o I deserve to have my dreams realised

ESSENCE: Goddessence NUIT 100% pure essential oil blend

GEMSTONES: Cat's-eye, ruby and moonstone