The undeniable empowerment of women and their mysteries of holding life within and birth, a monthly cycle that portends this creative aspect and the grace of the tides of the moon, her cycles and the affect on earth and human are held within the domain of the Goddess. She is the Great Chalice who holds the waters of Life and Death and offers the elixirs of spirit.

She presents in many forms and holds the attributes of many levels of states of being. Most often she is seen and honored in one of her triune phases- The Maiden- The Mother or The Crone.

The Feminine Polarity

When we connect to the energy of the Goddess we are reaching deep into the wells of intuition, emotion and the movement of the tides within our being. It is through her waters of Life that the electrical current flows towards manifestation as an illumined spirit.

The Moon Goddess
” She is the ruler of the tides of flux and reflux.
The waters of the Great Sea answer unto her,
likewise the tides of all earthly seas,
and she ruleth the nature of women”
.. Dion Fortune ..

The Lunar Cycle

The Moon Goddess is the holder of the mysteries of the Lunar Cycle. It is within her domain that the cycle of the waxing and waning within the span of approximately every 29- 30 days coincides. She is intimately tied to the menstrual cycle of women and is celebrated in Esbat rituals. At the New Moon her energy is that of “becoming”, full with potential for what wishes to be brought to fruition. At the Time of the Full Moon her energy is that of the Mother- pregnant and ready to give birth to what seeds of growth have been planted just prior.

And, as the moon wanes, She moves into the wisdom of the Crone- having seen many outcomes and traveled through many layers and levels of experience to reach this place of inner knowing. It is within this natural cycle that plays out in the physical world that the lessons of the inner worlds may be found, as well as our celestial connection working in harmony with the work we do at a physical and mundane level.

The Triple Goddess

“Behold the Three-Formed Goddess;
She who is ever Three- Maid, Mother and Crone.
Yet is she ever One;
She in all women, and they all in her.

Look on these Three, who are One, with a fearless love,
That, you too, may be whole.”

(excerpted: The Witch’s Goddess)

One does not have to look very far within the mythos of almost every culture at some point of their history to find the archetypal energy of the Goddess as expressed in her tri-form of Maiden- Mother and Crone.

Click on the links to find out more…

The Maiden
The Mother
The Crone

The Triple Goddesses

Although, the Goddess may take on the energies of each of the triple phases in the form of individual Goddesses whose focus is solely on that specific energy, there are a few Goddesses who hold the energy of this triplicity at all times. They are both the individual and combined energies of the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone. With this expression, the totality of eternal cycle is always present. The broader picture is always at hand and the larger scope and impact of each attribute is synthesized. Two of these great Goddesses that are often honored are Hecate (Greek Pantheon) and Brighid (Celtic Pantheon)

Hecate

Hecate is often invoked at Samhain. She is the keeper of the crossroads and stands as Gatekeeper to the realms of the otherworld. She is all-seeing and all-knowing and to be in her presence is to feel the weight of her power, the scrutiny of her gaze and the expectation that you will do the work you are called to do. Hecate moves through the space of darkness and carries the torch to light the way. Her healing is that of embracing the shadow self, excising what is of no value and transforming what can be used. It is the cycle of clearing the way, removing the weeds and laying the compost of decayed matter to nourish and sustain what lays waiting to be birthed anew.

“Hecate is the goddess of pathways, Enodia, especially of cross-roads and of the offerings laid down there; the triple-form figure of Hecate arose from the three masks which were hung at the meeting of three pathways. The pathways of Hecate are pathways of the night; accompanied by barking dogs, she leads a ghostly retinue.”

( Greek Religion by Walter Burkert)

I have heard her call to action when doubt has moved across my heart. I have felt the cold of her hand as she has pushed me towards change. And, I have answered each of her questions as they have moved me to a place of strength and courage.

Read More About Hecate at Womb of Light:

Hecate’s Call (A 3-part series)

Brighid

Brighid (“breed”) is a Celtic Goddess of Triplicity and a member of the Tuatha De Danu (“People of the Goddess Danu”) She is known as the Goddess of Creativity, Healing and was often called upon at times of dire struggle to quicken the fires of survival at all costs. She is the energy of fire quickening, forging and transforming. Brighid is often invoked during the Spring Sabbats, a time of quickening and sustaining new life.

“Brighid is particularly associated with the first stirrings of Spring as the days begin to lengthen, the snowdrops bloom, and the ewes begin to lactate. In a Scottish story Bride is taken captive by Beira, the Queen of Winter. Some say her winter prison is the mountain, Ben Nevis. Before the fire of the sun can warm the earth again Bride has to be freed. So a spell is cast borrowing three days from the heat of August. As Bride walks free light fills the earth and the land turns green again.

Brighid’s fire is truly the fire of creativity. It is responsible for the kindling of the earth in early Spring, the kindling of sexual passion, the kindling of the body in healing, the kindling of the heart in poetry and song, the kindling of the mind in science and craft. Her fire is a guiding light to her people in times of trouble, darkness and despair. To see her pass the house at Samhain is a sign that those within will be safe throughout the dark days of Winter.”

(http://www.brighid.org.uk/goddess.html)

I have felt the fires of her creativity expressed through my work as a professional ballerina, and in the faces of my five beautiful children. The quickening rush of inspiration in planning a workshop or writing a ritual. I have felt the gentle brush of her golden hair which has awakened me from a slumber of dullness and inertia, and basked in her healing embrace, when I thought I could give no more or meet the many demands put upon me. Her very name means “bright arrow” and she has often illuminated my Path with her flame of light enabling my aim to be true to its mark.

Read More About Brighid here:

WitchVox: Brighid’s Healing Sword

The Star Goddess

The Realm of the Goddess is far-reaching and mirrors the principle of “as above, so below”. She is the holder of the earth and its life and her reach extends into the heaven’s and beyond. In her form as the Star Goddess she is all inclusive and mistress of all the heavenly bodies, affecting not only the tides, as in the form of the Moon Goddess but space, time and matter.

The Welsh Goddess, Arianrhod is one such Goddess of the starry realms. and holder of the Silver Wheel of Light and radiance. Within her castle, known as “Caer Arianrhod” the mystery of the cosmos and the connection with the heart of the Universe can be made. Our place in the greater world of starry matter and cosmic beginnings are revealed in her presence and the touch of her stellar hand awakens the memory of birth.

“ Arianrhod (ah-ree-AHN-rhohd), Arian meaning ‘silver’, and Rhod meaning ‘wheel’ or ‘disc’. Celtic Moon-Mother Goddess. Called the Silver Wheel that Descends into the Sea. Daughter of the Mother Goddess Don and her consort Beli. She is ruler of Caer Sidi, a magical realm in the north. She was worshiped as priestess of the moon. The benevolent silver sky-lady came down from her pale white chariot in the heavens to watch more closely over the tides she ruled.

A star and moon Goddess, Arianrhod was also called the Silver Wheel because the dead were carried on her Oar Wheel to Emania (the Moon- land or land of death), which belonged to her as a deity of reincarnation and karma. Her consort Nwyvre ‘Sky, Space, Firmament’ has survived in name only. Caer Arianrhod is the circumpolar stars, to which souls withdraw between incarnations, thus she is identified as a Goddess of reincarnation. The Mother aspect of the Triple Goddess in Wales, her palace was Caer Arianrhod (Aurora Borealis), or the secret center of each initiate’s spiritual being.”

(TheWhiteGoddess.co.uk)

The Divine Polarity

The Divine polarity of the Wiccan Path is represented by Goddess and God and the union of their co-creative exchange and energies. The God is the masculine principle and consort to the Goddess. Let’s take a look at the dynamics of his energy….

The Mystery of the God