Goddess

Universal mother or female deity attributed with powers above that of mortals.

What is a goddess? The goddess is the girl inside of us. She lives outdoors, in the world that surrounds us.

The issue of whether divinity is immanent (within us) or transcendent (outside us all) is a question that is challenged in many religions. The worship of a goddess can be by people who have the same religion. Among Christian believers, for instance, there are several female Deities. One is  Mary, the Mother of Jesus/Yeshua. The Goddess is the Universal mother or female deity attributed with powers above that of mortals. Her aspects are broken up into 3 parts, called aspects – (maiden, mother, crone).

Probably the most unforeseen developments from the late 20th century is the particular rebirth of the Goddess in western cultures. Somewhere in Japan now, a lady is opening her palm trees towards the statue of the naked dancing goddess, the woman's throat ringed with skulls. Somewhere in Africa today, a guy is sounding an in-depth drum pulse, getting in touch with the village to provide morning hopes to the goddess of earth. Anywhere in the USA now, women inside a circle are closing their eyes, gripping each other hands, and calling upon their goddess.

Somewhere within the town in your area, a lady today may enact a routine that honors a particular goddess. Possibly she is going to accomplish this subconsciously: designing the tablecloth by having an ethnic design showing the plant goddess ornamented by her heraldic animals, or even baking a unique trip outside, that maintains the wintertime goddess. Or perhaps possibly she accomplishes this purposely through yoga as she watches a candle light - calling the name from the goddess who she would like to talk to.

Religious ritual and exercises to a goddess are often referred to to be located in theology, a theory from Greek roots which means the research (logos) of the methods humans understand god (theo). Among students, the parallel study is known as theology: the study from the goddess (thea) as well as the meanings. 

There are many questions that concern theologians today, questions that are rather complex, provocative, often even disturbing. They ask whether the existence of a goddess enables people of a religion to praise that a divine feminine while some people think it oppresses real women. So who are these goddesses?

Let's look at the most popular ones

Artemis - Goddess of the moon.

Artemis is the Goddess of the moon. There is a festival on the 12th of Febuary each year to celebrate her. She is the mistress of untamed things, she received sacrifices of a myriad of wild creatures within the second century a.d. The Pausanias mention deer, fawns, boars, wild birds, wolf cubs, and bear cubs. 

Artemis is associated with fertility. If a women want's to get pregnant a gift to this goddess will help. She is the birth giver, showing up in the birth of the child or animal. Artemis, was "the opener of the womb." In Thessaly, women that are pregnant are sacrificed to her.

The maternal traits of this goddess are normally sort when worshipping her. Artemis also signifies regrowth. Just like the Neolithic, her epiphanies is the bee and butterfly. She is known to help health matters of the vulva, fetus, and womb. In terms of animals that she turns into these are often the: frog or toad, hedgehog, fish, as well as hare's. The goddess has been worshiped as a toad in Italy, and Lithuania. 

Hekate

Among the wealthiest restorative healing godd​ess is Artemis-Hekate. This theory comes from a egg-formed amphora that is found in an Boeotian tomb, dating back to seven-hundred years to 675 B.H. Here the goddess is encircled by wildlife, swastikas, a bulls mind, a new bladder-formed object, howling tigers (or ferocious hounds), and upward-winding snakes in separate posts. The fish supports the central symbolic position within this scene. The fish floats in the human body in the goddess.

The Wiccan God Hierarchy

A person is chosen to be a god in a wicca.

A goddess has three roles: a mother, maiden and a crone. These stages signify the three periods of life of a female, with the maiden being a young women, the mother middle ages and the crone an older age.

The god is often known to wear a hooded outfit. And is sometimes called the “hooded one” or the “old one.” The Wiccans have a god and a goddess and they appear normally together as lovers. Thus, in this instance the hierarchy means that rituals are performed for the god and goddess by the lower people in the sect.

That is why people meditate and pray and at the same time, celebrate the wheel of the year. Other religions love nature and can cast spells, work with tarot cards or crystals. These traditions are celebrated and used before the existence of Wicca.

The difference between a Wiccan and the gods is that in a Wiccan ritual the sect honor the gods through seasons’ circles and by the way they lead their lives. That is what makes them Wiccans

The Matron Goddess and Patron God

In the Wiccan religion, they have a patron god and a matron goddess. Many Wiccans speak of their patrons referring to the god and the goddess. These are the gods that the Wiccan works with throughout their life.

There can be up to five gods - with all of them being in the same pantheon. Mixing pantheons is normally very tricky and should never be taken lightly. When one has patrons, they help them to develop fully. Both the goddess and god appear in the seasonal rites which are called Sabbats.

Everyone has a spirit guide, deities and ancestors who work for us as patrons. In Wicca, these are known as the Gods and Goddesses. We have slightly different patrons at different points in life.  

During serving and worshipping the patrons, the Wiccans get to understand them fully and become intimately close to them. And in time, the patrons will  teach them a great deal of lessons that are important in life.

How the Patrons Work

The Wiccans are allowed to have the same gods for a lifetime. One is at free will to change the patrons after a few years if they choose. The patron terminates a relationship with a Wiccan is seen as a normal thing as it sets them loose to move on with life. It only happens when they have benefited maximum from the relationship and the patron realizes that it is time to meet someone new to learn new lessons.

When a Wiccan has a patron, it doesn’t mean that the other gods are neglected. In the Wicca sect, they don’t believe that their patrons are jealous to the extent that they only have to adore one as found in other religions. One is free to go and worship another god or even perform a ritual to another goddess or god depending on their needs. The only difference between the other gods and the patrons is, that the patrons have a special ongoing relationship with the Wicca.

Firstly, you decide which deities that you will honour in life. This will greatly depend on which pantheon / or spiritual beliefs you have. Like Christians honour Jesus and God. Pagan’s have a choice of god or goddess that they will honour and ask for assistant.

The Call of the Gods

The Wiccans believe that their gods call them. Just like other religions, the calling by the god is normally very special and it becomes hard to even explain it with some Wiccans claiming that they get a sign. The signs include an animal or an image which is associated with a certain god or goddess that emerges from nowhere, in dreams, visions. This is then accompanied by an unexplained feeling or hearing an inner voice calling.  The calling is internal, felt in one’s brain and it is hard to explain it. It is believed that, once you become a Wiccan, one gets to expect more and more of this feelings from time to time.

No Call from the Gods

Not all Wiccans get callings from the gods but that does not make one any less Wiccan. It is possible that, since one is still new to the faith, they might ignore the call or they are not be ready “spiritually” to deal directly with the deity. They are encouraged not to get discouraged but to soldier on with their faith as they are Wiccans and the gods are not rejecting them if they don’t communicate straight away. Employing an extra initiative might just work with one seeking deities and approaching them to understand which one is applicable to their life stage or situation.

One does not have to sit down and wait for the deity’s call; they can go an extra mile and search for their guide in spiritual realms.

How to Find the Gods and the Goddesses

For a Wiccan to find a god, whether the god calls them or they have to search for him, there are things which they supposed to do in order to find patrons and strengthen their relationships.  

Firstly, one has to do research by reading and learning about gods and goddesses.  Often when searching for a god or goddess there is a sign that will be revealed to them. It is good to research after being given a sign and find out where the sign might be coming from. And if there is no calling, then it is high time to research and find out which is the best way to get a patron. They have to start with pantheons which will catch their attention.

For a Wiccan, it is advisable to be careful when reading Neo-Pagan books. Thse sometimes make an attempt to fit all gods into one god and goddesses. They are advised to read ancient mythology books which are vague in order not to be specific. Avoid modern books on old myths. It is believed that some Pagans prefer a feel-good touch to the old myths and they end up missing out on the original point of why the myths were written the way they were.

According to Wiccans, the gods are supposed to be there for people to learn from and not for people to live up to. Myths are allegory and full of symbolism. If a myth makes one uncomfortable, they are encouraged to read on as there is a hidden meaning. It will be clear in time what the wicca should  learn from their gods.

There is a lot to be talked about the gods from the witchcraft perspective. Watch this space for more information.

Please like us on facebook thank you so much.