GOD OF THE MONTH
THE MOTHER
The pre-eminent expression of the Triple Goddess is as the Great Mother.
Though the three aspects of the Goddess -Maiden, Mother, and Crone- are all equally important and form an eternal cycle of creation and recreation, nonetheless it is Her aspect as Mother that is most commonly invoked.
In Her simplest form, the Great Mother represents Deity as Mother of Creation, eternally loving, eternally nurturing. The Mother created the Universe from Herself and sustains it with Her Divine love and providence.
In this sense the Mother is a Goddess of unconditional love, compassion, and nurturing. She is the Goddess of the deep fertility and creativity necessary to create and sustain life, and has endless reserves of strength and will.
As well as the Creator of the Universe, the Mother is also the ruler of the Universe -but She governs the Universe as a mother governs Her children: with love and a desire for their growth and security.
In a more abstract sense the Mother Goddess is “Spirit.” In the Vangelo Delle Streghe we are told that the Primordial Goddess divided Herself between the God (material world) and Goddess (spiritual world) energies. The Mother is that Spiritual essence which infuses all things, and without which our world would be nothing but lifeless matter. When we speak of the Mother Goddess in this sense the concept of Her nurturing and sustaining the Universe takes on a fuller meaning.
The Mother Goddess produces all life from Herself -all things are Her children. She loves all of creation deeply and equally, and Her only motivation is love. All things which exist are produced by Her love and sustained by it -and though it may not seem so in the moment, all things ultimately move in accordance with Her love.
The Mother Goddess is symbolized by the Full Moon, representing Spirit at the Height of its powers. She rules over the season of summer and the direction of the south. She rules the night as opposed to the day (the God), but from another viewpoint She is the day that follows the Maiden’s dawn and precedes the Crone’s dusk.
As the source of all life, the Mother is likened to the Earth in some places, the sea in others. This is because each is viewed as a source of bounty and sustenance by different peoples. Sometimes too She is likened to the stars of the heavens.
The Irish Mother Goddess Boann. (Artwork reprinted from The Round Table, ‘95)
The Earth is often spoken of as Her body, but in a wider sense the whole of the Universe is Her body.
Every creature of the Earth, from amoebas to elephants to people, is a part of the complex and interdependent eco-structure of the Earth. Though they appear independent, they are no more separate than the cells that make up your body -though each is a system unto itself. Similarly, the Earth itself is an interdependent part of the Universe, which can no more be separated from the Universe than your cells can be separated from you. The Universe and everything in it -All That Is- is the body of the Mother Goddess.
Thus when we invoke the Mother Goddess we can invoke Her in a personal sense as the loving Divine Parent, or in a cosmological sense as the spirit of All Things.
Below follow several examples of the Goddess as Mother:
DEMETER -Greek Goddess of the Earth and of growing things, Demeter created agriculture as a gift to humankind. The name “De Meter” means simply “the Mother.” When Her daughter Kore was kidnapped by the King of the Dead and became Persephone, Queen of the Otherworld, Demeter fell into mourning, and winter came to the Earth. The plants that people and animals lived upon withered and died and there was great suffering upon Earth. At length Demeter found Her daughter, and it was agreed that Persephone should spend part of the year with Her Mother, and part of the year as Queen of the Otherworld. Each year when Persephone was in the Otherworld winter would return to the earth -but so that people would not suffer from starvation, Demeter created grain, and gave the secret of it’s cultivation to Triptolemus, Prince of Eleusis, who then taught it to the world. The name Demeter is said to mean “The Mother.” In early times Demeter was sometimes depicted as being a horse, or as being horse-headed, linking Her to Celtic Mother Goddesses like Danu, Epona, and Rhiannon. The principle center of Demeter’s worship was at Eleusis, near Athens, where the great Eleusinian Mysteries were held in Her honor each year.
GAIA -Gaia or Ge is the Greek Goddess of the Earth. In Greek myth Gaia was the Primeval Mother. Gaia’s first child was Uranos, the Sky God, Who had no father. Thereafter Gaia took Uranos as Her consort. Gaia became the mother of the Titans, the Elder Gods of Greek mythology, and of all living creatures. In time Gaia and Uranos, Earth and Sky, were separated by Their son the Titan Chronos (Time) Who castrated His father and gave the world it’s current form. In modern belief Gaia is the Nouos, or “World Soul” -the soul and consciousness both of the Earth (as She is most commonly perceived), and in a larger sense of the Universe, which is a single, integrated living Being having both a Spiritual (Goddess) and Physical (God) aspect.
“Venus” figurines, representing the Great Mother -Gaia. To the right is the Austrian “Venus of Willendorf.” To the left is the Siberian “Venus of Gagarino.” The Willendorf is dated at 30,000 years old. (Artwork reprinted from The Round Table, ‘97)
LAKSMI -Laksmi is one of the most popular Hindu manifestations of the Great Mother Goddess. Symbolized by the “sacred cow”, Laksmi is viewed as the source of material sustenance, wealth, and good fortune, and as the origin of all material blessings. Laksmi is said to have arisen from a primordial sea of milk while mounted upon a lotus -a legend which links Her with Padme, a creator Goddess also symbolized by the lotus. Laksmi's consort is Visnu the Preserver, and they figure together in many myths. The most famous Avatars, or incarnations, of Laksmi and Visnu are Sita and Rama, and Radha and Krisna.
MATI SUIRA ZEMLYA -Mati Suira Zemlya means ”Mother Moist Earth.” She is the Mother Goddess of ancient Russia, and represents the fertility of the Earth itself. Mati Suira Zemlya’s consort is Svarog, the Sky God, and together They became the parents of the Gods and of all living things. Spirit of the Earth, Mati Suira Zemlya is greatly revered. She is held to be the origin of all stability, strength, and good things. When Russians speak of the “Mother Country” or “Mother Russia” it is ultimately to Mati Suira Zemlya that they are referring, though they may or may not always be conscious of the fact.
copyright Don Lewis ‘89
MATI SUIRA ZEMLYA
(Artwork reprinted from Wheel of Hekate no. 4, Spring ‘89)
YEMAYA -Also called Iemonja, Yemaya is the Afro-diasporic Mother Goddess. Goddess of the life-giving sea, Yemaya represents the bounty of the ocean, and the waters which give fertility to the Earth and sustenance to living creatures. A Goddess of compassion, strength, and nurturing, Yemaya is the special Patron of mothers and children, and of the family.