A goddess is a female deity, in contrast with a male deity known as a "god". A great many cultures have goddesses, sometimes alone, but more often as part of a larger pantheon that includes both of the conventional genders and in some cases even hermaphroditic (or gender neutral) deities. As the concept of monotheism and polytheism can be relativistic, so too can related concepts be culturally misunderstood. The concept of gender as applied to a god and goddess, may connote deeper tendencies of patriarchy and matriarchy, which ...

Including:

• Goddess - Ancient Near East
• Goddess - Egypt
• Goddess - Mesopotamia
• Goddess - Arabia
• Goddess - Indo-European religion
• Goddess - Hinduism
• Goddess - Graeco-Roman religion
• Goddess - Celtic religion
• Goddess - Germanic religion
• Goddess - Abrahamic religions
• Goddess - Judaism
• Goddess - Christianity
• Goddess - Islam
• Goddess - New religious movements
• Goddess - Wicca and Neopaganism
• Goddess - Religious feminism
• Goddess - Secular use

Read more here: » Goddess: Encyclopedia - Goddess

See also:

Mother goddess, Mother goddess - Matriarchy and goddess history, Mother goddess - Sumerian Mesopotamian and Greek goddesses, Mother goddess - Celtic goddesses, Mother goddess - Norse goddesses, Mother goddess - Olympian goddesses, Mother goddess - Hinduism, Mother goddess - Shaktism, Mother goddess - Mother goddess worship in Catholicism, Mother goddess - Neopaganism

Read more here: » Mother goddess: Encyclopedia II - Mother goddess - Olympian goddesses

Goddess: A female god or deity; a greatly adored woman; a woman of great beauty

(See also: Goddess, Magic, Shamanism, Paganism, Wicca)

A mother goddess is a goddess portrayed as the Earth Mother who serves as a general fertility deity, the bountiful embodiment of the earth. From the elegant snake-offering goddess figures of Knossos to the rock-cut images of Cybele, to Dione ("the Goddess") who was invoked at Dodona, along with Zeus, until late Classical times, it is sometimes too facile to class all archaic female goddesses as manifestations of the mother goddess. Archaeologists tend to avoid such theories in interpreting sites and material remains and sometim ...

Including:

• Mother goddess - Matriarchy and goddess history
• Mother goddess - Sumerian Mesopotamian and Greek goddesses
• Mother goddess - Celtic goddesses
• Mother goddess - Norse goddesses
• Mother goddess - Olympian goddesses
• Mother goddess - Hinduism
• Mother goddess - Shaktism
• Mother goddess - Mother goddess worship in Catholicism
• Mother goddess - Neopaganism

Read more here: » Mother goddess: Encyclopedia - Mother goddess

In Celtic mythology, Damara was a fertility goddess worshipped in Britain. She was associated with the month of May/Beltaine. Other related archivesBeltaine, Britain, Celtic mythology, May, fertility, goddess

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Arete (Greek Ἀρετή) was a minor Ancient Greek goddess of virtue, daughter of the goddess of justice Praxidike. She and her sister Homonoia, goddess of concord, were known jointly as the Praxidikai (Exacters of Justice). As with many minor Greek deities, there's little or no real mythical background to Arete, who is used at most as a personification of virtue (see Arete (excellence)). The only ...

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Originally the personification of the mantra, the goddess Gayatri is considered the veda mata, the mother of all Vedas and the consort of the God Brahma and also the personification of the all-pervading Parabrahman, the ultimate unchanging reality that lies behind all phenomena. Gayatri is typically portrayed as seated on a red lotus, signifying wealth. She appears in either of these forms:- Having five heads with the ten eyes looking in the eight directions plus the earth and sky, and ten arms holding all the weap ...

See also:

Gayatri, Gayatri - Mantra, Gayatri - Text, Gayatri - Translation, Gayatri - Goddess, Gayatri - External link, Gayatri - Organizations

Read more here: » Gayatri: Encyclopedia II - Gayatri - Goddess

Styx is also the name of a primordial goddess who represented that river, and was the only female river. She was a daughter of Okeanos and Tethys. With Pallas, she was the mother of Zelus, Nike, Cratos and Bia (and sometimes Eos). Styx supported Zeus in the Titanomachia- she was the first to rush to his aid. For this reason her name was given the honor of being an oath for gods and men. ...

See also:

Styx mythology, Styx mythology - River, Styx mythology - Goddess, Styx mythology - Nymph

Read more here: » Styx mythology: Encyclopedia II - Styx mythology - Goddess

Goddess - Hinduism. Hinduism is a complex of various belief systems that sees many gods and goddesses as being representative of and/or emanative from a single source, Brahman, understood either as a formless, infinite, impersonal monad in the Advaita tradition or as a dual God in the form of Lakshmi-Vishnu, Radha-Krishna, Devi-Shiva in Dvaita traditions. Shaktas, worshippers of the Goddess, equate this God with Devi, the mother goddess. Such aspects of One God as male God (Shaktiman) and female energy (Shakti), ...

See also:

Goddess, Goddess - Ancient Near East, Goddess - Egypt, Goddess - Mesopotamia, Goddess - Arabia, Goddess - Indo-European religion, Goddess - Hinduism, Goddess - Graeco-Roman religion, Goddess - Celtic religion, Goddess - Germanic religion, Goddess - Abrahamic religions, Goddess - Judaism, Goddess - Christianity, Goddess - Islam, Goddess - New religious movements, Goddess - Wicca and Neopaganism, Goddess - Religious feminism, Goddess - Secular use

Read more here: » Goddess: Encyclopedia II - Goddess - Indo-European religion

Followers of the Wiccan, Dianic, and Neopagan religions, as well as some archeologists and mythographers, believe that long before the coming of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the Triple Goddess embodied the three-fold aspect of Gaia, the Earth Mother (Roman Magna Mater). A mother goddess was worshipped under a variety of names not only in the Ancient Near East and the ...

Including:

• Triple Goddess - Maiden Mother and Crone
• Triple Goddess - Maiden
• Triple Goddess - Mother
• Triple Goddess - Crone
• Triple Goddess - Lunar imagery
• Triple Goddess - Fates
• Triple Goddess - Other trifold goddesses

Read more here: » Triple Goddess: Encyclopedia - Triple Goddess

Goddess worship is a general description for the veneration of a female Goddess or goddesses. Many New Age Goddess devotees prefer the term goddess spirituality, avoiding the term "worship" for a faith that does not distance the Divine into a remote, hierarchical separation. Goddess veneration may be also used instead of "worship", as it can imply respect and intimacy without undue deference. In such contexts, "spirituality" is often preferred to "religion" because major organised religions have not typically nurtured go ...

Including:

• Goddess worship - Examples of goddess worship

Read more here: » Goddess worship: Encyclopedia - Goddess worship

In Hinduism, Ardra is the goddess of good luck and fortune. The name is also used for the Nakshatra that corresponds to the star Betelgeuse. Other related archivesBetelgeuse, Hinduism, Nakshatra, star

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The author and poet Robert Graves' study of the nature of poetic myth-making, The White Goddess, first published in 1948, and revised, amended and enlarged in 1966, represents a tangential approach to the study of mythology from a decidedly idiosyncratic perspective. It proposed the existence of a European deity, the White Goddess of Birth, Love and Death, represented by the phases of the moon, who he argued lies behind the faces of the diverse goddesses of various European mythologies. In this work, Graves argued that "true po ...

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In Egyptian mythology, Bata (also spelt Bat) was originally a deification of the Milky Way, which, since it was in early times considered a pool of cow's milk, made Bata be considered a cow goddess. She was originally worshipped in Seshesh, the 7th nome of Upper Egypt, where she, as a representation of the cosmos, was thought of as the essence of the soul. Hence her name, which is the feminine form of the word ba, the spiritual element that egyptians conside ...

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The Charge of the Goddess is a traditional inspirational text sometimes used in Neopaganism and Wicca. Doreen Valiente, a student of Gerald Gardner, originally wrote a Charge in verse, and later in prose: the prose version is the one known today. It has since been modified and adapted by many others, and is in the public domain. The original text of the prose version is found in Eight Sabbats for Witches by Janet and Stewart Farrar. See The Rebirth of Witchcraft by Doreen Valien ...

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In Australian aboriginal mythology, Wala is a sun goddess who lived with her sister, Bara, and her sister-in-law, Madalait. Bara accompanied her across the sun every day, but Wala realized she made the earth too hot and made her stop. Other related archivesAustralian, Bara, aboriginal mythology

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Amman is the rural South Indian mother goddess (predominantly in Tamil Nadu). She is usually portrayed with a red-hued face, and cures all summer heat-based diseases like pox and rashes. She is most famously referred to as Maariamman. In many rural shrines, She has no form - just a granite stone with a sharp tip, almost like a spear head. She is adorned with garlands made of limes. During the summer months, people walk miles carrying pots of water mixed with turmeric and neem leaves to ward off illnesses like the ...

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Aradia, according to Charles Godfrey Leland's Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, is the messianic daughter of the goddess Diana who came to Earth to teach witchcraft to her oppressed worshippers. Aradia has become an important mythical figure in Wicca and in some other forms of Neo-paganism. Aradia goddess - Aradia in Leland. Leland claimed that the majority of the book was based upon a manuscript given to him detailing the beliefs of an undiscovered religious witchcraft tradition in Tuscan ...

Including:

• Aradia goddess - Aradia in Leland
• Aradia goddess - Aradia in Neo-paganism
• Aradia goddess - Notes and references

Read more here: » Aradia goddess: Encyclopedia - Aradia goddess

Danu is a goddess in Hindu belief. She is said to be the mother of Vritra, and of the Asuras called the Dānavas. Categoy:Hindu mythology Other related archivesAsuras, Hindu, Vritra, goddess

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In Roman mythology, Concordia was the goddess of agreement, understanding, and marital harmony. Her oldest temple was on the Forum Romanum. It was built in 367 BC by Marcus Furius Camillus. The Roman Senate often met there. In art, Concordia was depicted sitting, wearing a long cloak and holding onto a patera (sacrificial bowl) and a cornucopia. Sometimes, she is shown standing between two members of the Royal House shaking hands. Her opposite is Discordia. Categories: Roman mythol ...

Read more here: » Concordia Roman goddess: Encyclopedia - Concordia Roman goddess