- Diana--Goddess of the Waxing Moon, Lady of the Hunt/Huntress. The crescent Moon is Her bow in mythology.
- Selene--Goddess of the Full Moon, Mother aspect.
- Hecate--Goddess of the Waning Moon, Goddess of justice and war. Her symbol is the scales of justice.
- Aphrodite--a Goddess of love and beauty. Very similar to Astarte.
- Artemis--counterpart of Diana, Maiden Huntress.
- Astarte--see Aphrodite.
- Athena--Goddess of the waxing moon. Associated with the owl and with wisdom.
- Cybele--also known as Sybil. Seeress, mystical arts, divination.
- Caillech--from Celtic mythology. The Caillech's cauldron was a symbol of rebirth.
- Cerridwen--very similar to Caillech.
- Freya/Freyja--Norse goddess of love and beauty. Male counterpart is Frey.
- Inanna--ancient Queen of Heaven and Earth and That Below. Her "dark sister", or dark side, was Ereshkeigal, originally Queen of That Below but Inanna won her kingdom from her.
- Isis--Egyptian Goddess, wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. Osiris was a great god; his jealous brother Set/Seth tricked him and killed him. Isis revived him by fanning the breath of life into him with her sparrowhawk wings, long enough to concieve their son Horus, the falcon-headed God of the Sun. Osiris became the God of the Dead. Isis is probably the main goddess of the Egyptian pantheon.
- Kali--also known as Kali-Ma, She is a Hindu dark goddess. She is a warrior and very sexual; She is the destroyer of demons and She pierces illusion. Often depicted with a necklace of skulls.
- Kore--also Persephone, she was taken to the underworld by Hades. While there, she ate six seeds of a pomegranite. Her mother Demeter mourned her loss, causing winter throughout the world, and was finally led to Kore. However, Kore could not go back with her mother because she had eaten the six seeds; consequently, she remains in the underworld half the year, while Demeter (Goddess of grain) mourns, bringing winter after the fruitful and happy summer while Kore is with her mother.
- Kuan Yin--Chinese Goddess of Compassion.
- Luna--means Moon.
- Minerva--a counterpart of Athena; a Goddess of wisdom. She is associated with the owl.
- Morrigan--also known as Morgan le Fay, the Morrighan, and any other way you can spell it, she is a Dark Goddess, a warrior. She is associated with battle; Her other forms include the Raven. Highly protective.
- Neith--Egyptian Goddess of Night, keeper of secrets and the Mysteries. Also known as Nuit, Nut, or Mut. One of the Four Sisters of the Egyptian pantheon (Isis, Selket, Nepthys, and Neith).
- Spider Woman--also Spider Grandmother, she is a part of the African pantheon. A mother goddess, associated with creation.
- Aradia--Queen of the Witches, highly revered in Stregharia, (a form of Italian witchcraft) is an interesting deity; she is said to be the daughter of the union between Diana and Lucifer. She is specially honored at the New Moon.
- Apollo--Greek deity of light in general, solar light in particular. Associated with healing, music, poetry and the arts, truth, divination, music, writing, and prophecy.
- Dionysus--son of Zeus and Semele. Semele was a mortal woman that Zeus loved so much He visited her more than once, making Hera jealous. Hera told Semele that she should request that Zeus show himself to her in His real form. Semele got Zeus to swear by the river Styx that He would honor her request before finding out what it was. Upon seeing Him in His real form, Semele was promptly incinerated because she could not handle His energy.
- Helios--the Sun personified in Greek mythology.
- Lugh--the Celtic god of the Sun.
- Surya--Hindu. Seen not so much as a god of the Sun, but as the Sun itself; he dwelt in the Sun. Surya was described as being the husband of the dawn, as well as being Her son.
- Savitar--also Hindu; another personification of the Sun. His
name means "inspirer". As the sun-god He is spoken of as the
golden-eyed, golden-tongued, and golden-handed.
The Stars
The stars have long been associated with mystical things; in the Tarot deck, the Star (a Major Arcana card) is a symbol of good things. Many early religions stated that the dead walked among the stars. Stars are also associated with astrology, something that has become more popular with the advent of New Age stuff.
Some pages with information about the Moon:
The Current Moon Phase--or Moon phases for other times. Totally cool. Check it out!
The Old Farmer's Almanac--has some of the most complete information about moon phases and everything related to the moon (sun, eclipses, everything).
(Tip: the moon is waxing if, when you draw a straight line across the two ends, it forms a b; if it forms a d, the moon is waning. I remember it by saying, "Brigit is waxing; Diana is waning.")
Wiccans see the Divine as being a part of nature; in our belief system, celestial objects have certain sacred meanings and representations.
The Moon
"Wondrous lady of the Moon
You who greets the dusk with silvered kisses;
Mistress of the night and of all magics,
who rides the clouds in blackened skies
and spills light upon the cold Earth;
O Lunar Goddess,
Crescent-One,
Shadow maker and shadow breaker;
Revealer of mysteries past and present;
Puller of seas and ruler of women;
All-wise Lunar Mother,
I greet Your celestial jewel
at the waxing of its powers
With a rite in Your honor.
I pray by the Moon,
I pray by the Moon,
I pray by the Moon."
--Wiccan Prayer, by Scott Cunningham
The Moon is viewed by Wiccans as a symbol of the Goddess, with its three phases: waxing (when the cresent Moon is growing in size), full (when the Moon is completely round), and waning (when the crescent Moon is getting smaller). Because of the three phases, it is associated with the Triple Goddess, whose aspects are Maiden, Mother, and Crone.
The waxing moon is the time when Wiccans do rituals for things to grow, to come into being; for example, a Wiccan might choose the time of the waxing moon to do a ritual for love or for wealth. The waxing moon represents the Maiden aspect of the Triple Goddess.
The Full Moon, representing the Mother aspect of the Triple Goddess, is an Esbat, or minor holiday, and it is a time to honor the Goddess and to do rituals for things that have been building to come to fruitition. It is a sacred time and a time of completion. The Full Moon adds power to any spell done at this time. The Mother aspect of the Goddess is especially protective of mothers and children.
The waning moon, representing the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess, is the time for banishing rituals, rituals to break the hold of a bad habit or a drug. Rituals for justice can also be done at this time.
The New Moon, the time when the Moon is completely dark and cannot be seen in the sky, is the time for rituals of beginning and ending. It is a good time for protective rituals, although almost any ritual can be done on this day--much like the Full Moon, which lends power to any spell done on that day.
Lunar Deities:
The Sun
To Wiccans, the Sun represents the God. The rebirth and the peak of the Sun consitute two of the major holidays of Wicca--the Winter Solstice and the Summer Solstice. He is the fiery Sun, filled with the fire of life and excitement. The Sun also meant the difference between life and death to some cultures, when if you didn't have a stockpile of food to last you the winter, it meant you--and possibly all your tribe/clan/family-- might die. That meant that the later Winter came, the earlier Spring came, and the better the growing season, all of which relate to the Sun, the more likely you were to survive.
Solar Deities: