Glorious Goddesses

I originally intended to give information about The Goddess in general, but I've decided to give little bits on various Goddesses instead. Enjoy!

PSYCHE
The story of Psyche tells of a mortal woman taken to a mysterious castle to be married to a fierce dragon. Her husband comes to her in the middle of the night, and she falls in love with him. Told that she must never look upon his face, she disobeys this injunction and finds that her husband is really Eros, the god of love; when he awakes, he flies away leaving her forever. Psyche roams far and wide trying to find Eros. She goes to his mother, Aphrodite, who gives her four tasks to complete, each seemingly impossible. The final task requires her to descend into Hades and retrieve a box of beauty. Through the process of meeting the challenges of her tasks and integrating her experiences Psyche grows from an innocent young girl into a mature goddess. Psyche is a rich reminder of our imperative to grow; she reminds us that the process of life takes us into dark places as well as light, just as the butterfly emerges from the dark chrysalis into the light.

SELENE
Selene, Queen of the Starlit Heavens, is the ancient Greek goddess of the moon. She carries the moon across the sky in a white chariot driven by winged horses or bulls. She is the totality of the moon, with its waxing into fullness and waning into darkness. Selene fell in love with a mortal, Endymion. When she descended to the earth to join Endymion, he fell into a deep sleep from which he never awoke. Selene continued to visit him nightly. In later Greek mythology Selene represented the full moon, while Artemis represented the crescent or waxing moon and Hecate the waning and dark moon; hence Selene is Phoebe, meaning "bright, Shining." She is traditionally represented with the crescent moon as a diadem. Selene represents the fullness of life, incorporating all phases of light and darkness in her shining.

MORGAN LE FAY
Morgan le Fay is commonly remembered as the enchantress half-sister of King Arthur. She is, in fact, the great queen goddess, ruler of the mystical island of Avalon, the Fortunate Island of the Blessed Dead. Sometimes equated with the ancient Irish warrior goddess Morrigan, she is the Celtic death goddess. As Morgana Fata she is the controller of destinies and knows the fate of each person. She is noted for her healing powers, her knowledge of healing plants, and her prophetic vision. Like a shaman she is a shape-shifter, able to take on many forms. Morgan le Fay represents that deep place of healing magic within each of us--the center where wisdom and healing flow even in the moment of death. The ambivalence with which she is traditionally represented echoes our own fear of deep and ancient wisdom.

DIANA
Diana is the ancient lady of the Beasts, called by the Romans Lucina, Goddess of the Light. As mistress of wild things she is especially responsible for anything young and vulnerable, be it wild or human. She is a goddess of solitude, comfortable with the wilderness and with great silences of nature. She represents the mystic, primitive identity of the hunter and the hunted. Diana is a moon goddess, symbolizing the moon in its crescent phase. She stands for the virgin, a self-sufficient, free goddess who lives life on her own terms. Especially a goddess of women, she is related to all phases of female existence, from infancy to menstruation through birthing, nursing, menopause, and death. Diana stands for the part of us that is at home in the wildness, at home with our primitive, instinctual nature.

KUAN YIN
Kuan Yin, revered throughout Asia for thousands of years, is the Chinese goddess of infinite mercy and compassion. Her name means 'she who listens to the sounds (suffering) of the world.' In the Buddhist tradition, she is an aspect of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva who sprang from one of the Buddha’s tears. She one took the form of Miao Shan, a woman who was spurned by her father for refusing to marry; later, Miao Shan sacrificed both arms and legs in order to heal her father. Her appeal is particularly widespread because she gives assistance in this world: she provides the earthly blessings of children, health, and long life and rescues people from drowning, lightning, and poverty. She is particularly a protector of women. Kuan yin is a symbol of the unlimited compassion each of us can have for ourselves. No matter what the situation, it is possible to treat ourselves with mercy and love.

BAST
Bast (or Bastet, or Pasht) was the Egyptian goddess who appeared in cat form. The Egyptians highly revered cats; the word for cat, "mau", also denoted light and was a cognate within the word for mother. The cat is a lunar animal and also a solar animal representing the power of the sun as reflected in nature. Since the cat is an earth animal, Bast is also an earth mother goddess, a giver of life and abundance. In touch with her wild, instinctual nature, she also is a protector of women during childbirth. Like a cat, she is fiercely independent and belongs to no one but herself. Bast is one of the more joyful goddesses; her elaborate festivals in the town of Babustis were renowned for their joyful dancing. Embodying a cat's gentler aspects, Bast is a personification of life and fruitfulness. The quintessential life-affirming mother, she reminds us to be playful and relaxed like a cat and to find occasions to celebrate life.