| The Thirteen Goddesses |
|---|
These are the thirteen goddesses after whom the months in the Goddess Lunar Calendar are named.1. Astarte, Hebrew and Canaanite goddess.
Her oldest temple at Byblos dates back to the Neolithic and she flourished in the Bronze Age where she was also known as Demeter in Greece and Ishtar in Babylonia. ... Her symbol was the dove and coinage portrayed Astarte as the heavenly dove of Wisdom ... Christian iconography will preserve her in her dove form with "seven rays emanating from the dove of the Holy Ghost: an image that went back to some of the most primitive manifestations of the Goddess". Astarte and Yahweh2. Bast, an Egyptian goddess, the sister of Heru Sa Aset (Horus), and thus the daughter of Aset (Isis) and Asar (Osiris). She is an aspect of both Tefnut and Sekhmet. She is represented as a cat-headed woman holding in her right hand a sistrum and in her left an aegis. In her cat persona she was originally associated with the rising sun (and later, by the Greeks, with the moon). A better-known legend has her as the daugther of Ra, or even his feminine aspect. She has a strong Sirius connection.3. Cybele, Latin name of a goddess native to Phrygia in Asia Minor and known to the Greeks as Rhea, the wife of the Titan Cronus and mother of the Olympian gods. Cybele is a goddess of nature and fertility who was worshiped in Rome as the Great Mother. Because Cybele presided over mountains and fortresses, her crown was in the form of a city wall, and she was also known to the Romans as Mater Turrita. The cult of Cybele was directed by eunuch priests called Corybantes, who led the faithful in orgiastic rites accompanied by wild cries and the frenzied music of flutes, drums, and cymbals.
4. Diana, one of the principal Roman goddesses, counterpart of the Greek goddess Artemis. She is chief hunter to the gods, and goddess of hunting and of wild animals, especially bears. Diana is also the goddess of childbirth, of nature, and of the harvest. As the moon goddess, she is sometimes identified with the goddesses Selene and Hecate. Traditionally the friend and protector of youth, especially young women.
5. Eris, the Greek goddess of chaos and discord, known to the Romans as Discordia.
6. Freya, the German goddess of love, beauty and childbirth. Daugher of Njord and sister of Frey. Leader of the Valkyries. She dispenses wealth (if you deserve it) and guarantees oaths.
7. Gaia, the Greek goddess of Earth and the daughter of Chaos. She is regarded as the mother of all creation, preceding Zeus and the other Olympian gods. She gave birth to Uranus, the sky, and with Uranus she produced the Titans. In addition to being a goddess of Earth she is goddess of marriage and goddess of death and the afterworld.
8. Hathor, originally an Egyptian sky goddess (Het Heret) and Queen of Heaven. Wife of the sun god Ra (or of Ptah), she is the goddess of fertility and patron of women and marriage. She is also the goddess of love and beauty; for this reason, she is identified often with the Greek goddess Aphrodite. According to Zecharia Sitchin Hathor is the same as the Sumerian goddess Ninharsag. Worshiped throughout Egypt, she was often depicted as the over-arching sky-cow Goddess of the day (with cloud-covered white skin). When shown in human form her head is adorned with horns, between which is the solar disk. A protectress of women, she is believed to assist them in their quest for beauty.
9. Isis, the wife and sister of Osiris and mother of Horus.
Isis was a magician, possibly the archetype for the high priestess of the tarot. She learned her magic from Thoth, although according to some legends she obtained her powers from Ra himself by tricking him into revealing his name to her, thus acquiring his full magical knowledge. Isis10. Juno, in Roman mythology, queen of the gods, the wife and sister of the god Jupiter. She is the protector of women and is worshiped under several names. As Juno Pronuba she presided over marriage; as Juno Lucina she aided women in childbirth; and as Juno Regina she is the special counselor and protector of the Roman state. Her special festival was the Matronalia. Juno is the Latin counterpart of the Greek queen of the gods, Hera.
11. Kali, consort of the Hindu god Shiva in her manifestation of the power of time. A destructive mother goddess, Kali is frequently depicted as being black, naked, wearing a garland of human skulls, having a frightening visage, laughing, and with blood-stained teeth and a protruding tongue. She usually has four arms, symbolizing absolute dominion over all finite things. One hand holds a sword, the second holds a severed human head, the third is believed by her devotees to be removing fear, and the fourth is often interpreted as granting bliss. Kali, "omnipotent, absolute, and all-pervasive", is beyond fear and finite existence and is therefore believed able to protect her devotees against fear and to give them limitless peace.
12. Lakshmi, a Hindu goddess, wife of Vishnu, goddess of wealth and good fortune, "Lady Luck".
13. Maat, the Egyptian goddess of truth and the consort of Djehuti (the Greek Thoth). Also known as Nehemaut, and to the Gnostics as Sophia. She is symbolized by a white feather.
Goddesses can also be found at Martina Hoffmann's Visionary Art Website.
| The Goddess Calendar | |
| Calendar Studies | Home Page |