THE TRIPLE GODDESS

The concept of the Great Goddess as The Triple Goddess, young woman (Maiden), birth-giving matron (Mother), and an old woman (Crone), dates from the earliest ages of mankind. (These attributes were also ascribed to the three phases of the moon; the Maiden, which corresponds to the new moon; the Mother, which corresponds to the full moon; and the Crone, which is the waning moon. These aspects have been used for centuries by many civilizations.) This concept was embraced by many different mythologies from many different parts of the world. The Vikings had the Norns (Urdu/Verdandi/Skuld), the Romans had the Fortunae (Concordia/Salus/Pax), the druids had Diana Triformis, the Greeks had the Moirae, Graeae, Horae, Persephone (or Hekate)

Maiden

The Maiden aspect represents enchantment, inception, expansion, the female principle, the promise of new beginnings, youth, excitement, and a carefree erotic aura. She is innocent in some ways, but also a seductress who recognizes the power of her sexuality. Maiden goddesses include: Anatha, Brigid, Nimue, Kore, Persephone, Gerd, Caer, Blodeuwedd. Her traditional color is white.

Mother

The Mother is ripeness, fertility, fulfillment, stability, and power. Mother is ripe, full-breasted, at the peak of her womanly powers. She is the one who tenderly rocks the baby, but she is also the lioness who hunts to feed her offspring and will fight to the death to protect them. Mother goddesses include: Aa, Ambika, Anahita, Asherah, Ceres, Coatlicue, Danu, Demeter, Hathor, Ishtar, Isis, Lakshmi, Luonnotar, Nintu, Sheng-Mu. Her traditional color is red.

Crone

The Crone is wisdom, retrenchment, repose, and compassion. She is old age, experience, accumulated wisdom and death. She is the gateway to Death, and the guide to Rebirth. Crone goddesses include: Annis, Baba Yaga, Cailleach, Greine, Hel, Maman Brigitte, Oya, Sedna, Skuld, Takotsi, Toci. Her color is black.

Goddesses who embody the triple aspect within themselves include: Brigid (Ireland/Celtic), Carmenta or Carmentis (Roman), Hekate or Hecate (Greek/Anatolia), Helice (Greek), Kali (India), the Morrigan (Ireland/Celtic).

Ireland: The Morrigan; Celtic Goddess of Destruction/Creation. The Irish triple goddess: Anu (Ana, Nemain), the fertility maiden; Badb, the mother, producer of life; and Macha, the death-crone, symbolized as a carrion-eating raven.

India: The Primal Goddess, Maha Devi, in India was divided into three goddesses personified as Creator, Preserver and Destroyer (Saraswati, Laksmi and Kali). The three aspects of the Primal Goddess were represented by three kinds of priestesses: Yogini (nubile virgins), Matri (mothers), and Dakini (women elders).

Greece: Kore, Demeter and Persephone (or Hekate) created from the original Cretan Rhea.

Countries all over the world have born witness to women who in addition to being trained their whole lives to be skilled in the art of war, have protected their lands and families by raising arms against an oppressor or even conquering lands themselves in an effort to gain power. From the mountains of ancient Greece, and the noble houses of Japan, to the wilds of Australia, these women existed and still exist today.

Matriarchal warrior tribes and matrilineal tribal descent are common threads throughout African history and in some cases survived into modern times.

Celtic women rulers and warriors were extremely common. The first recorded effort to bar women from military participation was a law passed in 590 A.D. at the synod of Druim Ceat. It proved to be unenforceable when the women warriors refused to lay down their arms and comply with it.

Among the ancient Celts women rulers and warriors were so common that when a group of Brigantian captives was brought to Rome in the reign of Claudius they automatically assumed his wife, Agrippina the Younger, was the ruler and ignored the Emperor while making their obeisance to her. In 51 AD the Brigantian Queen, Castimandua, allied herself with Rome as a client state after delivering to the Romans a rebel war-lord she had captured in battle.

Other well-known Celtic warrior queens include Aife of Alba (modern day Scotland) and her contemporaries Mebd of Ireland and Scathach of Skye. In 61 AD Queen Boudicca of the Iceni of Norfolk led a major rebellion against the Romans during which she sacked and burned modern day London and St. Albans.

Aethelflaed, oldest daughter of Alfred the Great, was considered the chief tactician of her time. She united Mercia, conquered Wales and subdued the Danes becoming the de facto ruler of the Mercians and Danes. She was killed in battle in June 918 AD at Tammorth in Staffordshire.

In 1100 Maude de Valerie, a Welsh revolutionary, raised an army to rebel against the oppressive regime of King John. She was captured on the battlefield and died as his prisoner.

In the 15th century Maire o Ciaragain led Irish clans against the English and was known for her ferocity in battle.

In 1545, Lilliard led the Scots at the Battle of Ancrum in one of their last victories over the English forces. She killed the English commander but lost her own life later in the battle.

Graine Ni Maille (1550-1600) was an Irish princess who commanded a large fleet of war galleys which wreaked havoc on the English navy, shipping and coastal towns.

Truganinni (Trucanini, Trugernanner, Lalla Rooke) 1812(?)-1876, Bruny Island, Tasmania. When she was 16 she saw her mother stabbed to death by Europeans. Her sisters were captured by sealers and her father died of disease. Parraweena, Truganinni's husband to be, was murdered with a friend in the channel by sawyers. In 1803 the British established Tasmania as a penal colony, which became renowned as one of the most brutal and inhumane of its kind. In 1828, martial law was declared and Europeans were authorised to kill Aborigines on sight. Bounties were declared and by 1830, even though the Aborigines put up a fierce resistance, many murders of the indigenous population took place; they were no longer considered a threat. By 1873, except for Truganinni, all of them had died. Truganinni was moved to Hobart where she died in 1876. Even in death she was not left in peace. Her skeleton was on display in the Tasmanian Museum from 1904 to 1907. It was not until 1976 that her remains received a proper burial.

............so as you can see I have lots more to entice you to come back, take care. See ya!

HOME