Aphaea (gr. Aphaia; not dark or vanisher) was a Greek goddess who was worshipped almost exclusively on the island of Aegina. She later came to be identified with the goddesses Athena and Artemis and with the nymph Britomartis. On the Greek island of Aegina there is a ruin of the Temple of Aphaea. Other related archivesAegina, Artemis, Athena, Britomartis, Greek, Greek goddess

Read more here: » Aphaea: Encyclopedia - Aphaea

In Celtic mythology, Andarta was a warrior goddess worshipped in southern Gaul. Inscriptions to her have been found in Bern, Switzerland as well as in southern France. Like the similar goddess Artio, she was associated with the bear. Other related archivesArtio, Bern, Celtic mythology, France, Gaul, Switzerland, bear, goddess

Read more here: » Andarta: Encyclopedia - Andarta

Earth religion is a New Age term used mostly by believers in neo-paganism and similar faiths. It is an umbrella phrase that is used to cover any religion that worships the Earth, Nature, or fertility gods, such as the various forms of goddess worship. Some find a connection between Earth-worship and the Gaia theory. Category: New Age ...

Read more here: » Earth religion: Encyclopedia - Earth religion

The Veneralia (April 1) was the Ancient Roman festival of Venus Verticordia ("Changer of hearts"), the goddess of love and beauty. The worship of the goddess Fortuna Virilis ("Bold fortune") was also part of this festival. In Rome, women removed jewelry from the statue of the goddess, washed her, and adorned her with flowers, and similarly bathed themselves in the public baths wearing wreaths of myrtle on their heads. It was generally a day for women ...

Read more here: » Veneralia: Encyclopedia - Veneralia

In Roman mythology, Dea Tacita ("the silent goddess") was a goddess of the dead. In later times, she was equated with the earth goddess Larenta. In this guise, Dea Tacita was worshipped at a festival called Larentalia on December 23. Goddesses Mutae Tacitae were invocated to destroy a hated person: in this inscription (Année epigr. 1958, 38, 150) someone asks "ut mutus sit Quartus" and "erret fugiens ut mus". These silent goddesse ...

Including:

• Dea Tacita - External link

Read more here: » Dea Tacita: Encyclopedia - Dea Tacita

In Celtic mythology, Arnemetia was a water goddess worshipped in Britain. Her shrine was at Aquae Arnemetiae, modern Buxton in Derbyshire, England. Other related archivesBritain, Buxton, Celtic mythology, Derbyshire, England

Read more here: » Arnemetia: Encyclopedia - Arnemetia

In Irish mythology, Danu or Dana was the mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann (peoples of the goddess Danu), although little is recorded about her as a character. Her Welsh equivalent is Dôn. Danu Irish goddess - Antiquity of her Recognition. Based on the evidence of place-names, such as the river Danube (Latin: Danuvius), Dniestr, Dneipr and Don, she may have been worshipped throughout the Celtic and possibly Indo-European world. Indeed, the presence of a goddess named Danu in Indian Mythology, ...

Including:

• Danu Irish goddess - Antiquity of her Recognition
• Danu Irish goddess - Etymology of the name
• Danu Irish goddess - Other names

Read more here: » Danu Irish goddess: Encyclopedia - Danu Irish goddess

Brizo is an ancient Greek goddess. She was the protector of mariners, sailors and fishermen. She was worshipped primarily at Delos, primarily by women whose husbands and sons were away at sea. Food (no fish) was sacrificed to her in small boats. There was an oracle devoted to her, which gave answers to navigation, sailing and fishing related questions in dreams. Other related archivesDelos, Greek goddess, oracle

Read more here: » Brizo: Encyclopedia - Brizo

In Celtic mythology, Belisama (also Belesama, Belisma) was a goddess worshipped in Gaul and Britain. She was connected with lakes and rivers (the river Ribble in England was known by the name Belisama in Roman times), fire, crafts and light, and she was the consort of Belenus. Other related archivesBelenus, Britain, Celtic mythology, England, Gaul, Ribble, Roman, goddess

Read more here: » Belisama: Encyclopedia - Belisama

Anakes were deities worshipped in Attica and Argos. The word is a title which means lords or kings, for they were the sons of Zeus (and were also known as Dioscuri). Some have associated the Anake(s) cult with worship of the goddess Helen. It is also possible that the name refers to three specific gods, but evidence for this is faint. Category: Greek gods Other related archivesArgos, Attica, Dioscuri, Greek gods, Helen, Zeus

Read more here: » Anakes: Encyclopedia - Anakes

Saraswati is the first of the three great goddesses of Hinduism, the other two being Lakshmi and Durga. Saraswati is the consort of Lord Brahmā, the Creator. Saraswati - Origins and context in Hinduism. Saraswati (Sarasvati, Saraswathi, Shatarupā) is the first goddess worshipped in the Hindu religion. She is first mentioned in the Rig Veda. She is also mentioned in Puranic texts, such as Ramayana. It was likely that she originated as a river goddess. Saraswati - Saraswati as a River< ...

Including:

• Saraswati - Origins and context in Hinduism
• Saraswati - Saraswati as a River
• Saraswati - Other Associations
• Saraswati - Appearance
• Saraswati - Festivals for Saraswati
• Saraswati - Saraswati in Other Cultures

Read more here: » Saraswati: Encyclopedia - Saraswati

In ancient Celtic polytheism, the deification of the River Wharfe conceived as a weaning Mother goddess. Verbeia - Centres of worship. Verbeia was worshipped in Roman Britain and altar-stones raised to her have been recovered in the United Kingdom, such as at Ilkley (635). Verbeia - Etymology. Verbeia may be derived from the Proto-Celtic *Wer(ā)-bejā meaning 'Rain-Thrasher' (q.v. [1] [2] [3]). Verbeia - Sources. < ...

Including:

• Verbeia - Centres of worship
• Verbeia - Etymology
• Verbeia - Sources

Read more here: » Verbeia: Encyclopedia - Verbeia

In Egyptian mythology, Bast (also spelt Ubasti, and Pasht) is an ancient goddess, worshipped at least since the Second Dynasty. The centre of her cult was in Per-Bast (Bubastis in greek), which was named after her. Originally she was viewed as the protector goddess of Lower Egypt, and consequently depicted as a fierce lion. Indeed, her name means (female) devourer. As protectress, she was seen as defender of the pharaoh, and consequently of the chief god, Ra, who was a solar deity, gaining her the titles La ...

Including:

• Bast goddess - Bast in Popular Culture

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

In Hinduism, Durga is a form of Saraswati, Parvati, Lakshmi or Devi, the supreme goddess. She is depicted as a woman riding a lion with multiple hands carrying weapons and assuming mudras, or symbolic hand gestures. This form of the Goddess is the embodiment of feminine and creative energy (Shakti). According to the narrative from the Devi Mahatmyam of the markandeya purana, the form of Durga was created as an warrior goddess to fight the demon Mahishasura who could not be defeated by any of god or man due to a boon he received ...

Including:

• Durga - The Worship of Durga Durga Puja
• Durga - Durga Puja in Bengal

Read more here: » Durga: Encyclopedia - Durga

In Greek mythology Artemis (World Book «AHR tuh mihs») (Greek Άρτεμις) is the daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of Apollo. In later times she was conflated with the goddess Diana of Roman mythology. In Etruscan mythology, she took the form of Artume. Artemis - Worship. She was the virgin moon goddess of the hunt, wild animals, healing, wilderness, chastity, and childbirth. She was worshipped as a fertility/childbirth goddess in many places since, according to some myths, s ...

Including:

• Artemis - Worship
• Artemis - Diana
• Artemis - Artemis in art
• Artemis - Appellations
• Artemis - Birth
• Artemis - Childhood
• Artemis - Men
• Artemis - Actaeon
• Artemis - Adonis
• Artemis - Siproites
• Artemis - Orion
• Artemis - Other stories
• Artemis - Callisto
• Artemis - Agamemnon and Iphigenia
• Artemis - Niobe
• Artemis - Taygete
• Artemis - Otus and Ephialtes
• Artemis - The Meleagrids
• Artemis - Chione
• Artemis - Atalanta and Oeneus
• Artemis - Artemis in Neopaganism

Read more here: » Artemis: Encyclopedia - Artemis

Mentioned in the Qur'an (Sura 53:20), `Uzzā "the Powerful" (derived from the root `zy) was a pre-Islamic Arabian fertility goddess who was one of the three chief goddesses of Mecca. She, Manāh and Allat were known as "the daughters of God". Uzza was worshipped by the Nabataeans, who equated her with the Graeco-Roman goddesses Aphrodite, Urania, Venus and Caelestis. According to Ibn Ishaq's controversial account of the Satanic Verses (q.v.), these verses had previously endorsed them as intercessors for Muslims, but were ...

Including:

• Uzza - Cult of `Uzzā
• Uzza - Uzza the garden

Read more here: » Uzza: Encyclopedia - Uzza

In the Aegean, Anatolian, and ancient Near Eastern culture zones, a Mother Goddess was worshipped in the forms of Cybele (revered in Rome as Magna Mater, the 'Great Mother'), of Gaia, and of Rhea. The Olympian goddesses of classical Greece had many characters with mother goddess attributes, including Hera, Demeter and Athena. In Minoan Crete one of her aspects was the Mistress of the Animals (Potnia Theron) who some say devolved into the huntress Artemis; the archaic Artemis of many breasts ...

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

Mother goddesses have been revered in many societies, though James Frazer (author of The Golden Bough) and those he influenced (like Robert Graves and Marija Gimbutas) advanced the theory that all European and Aegean mother goddess worship had originated in Pre-Indo-European neolithic matriarchies. This has been discounted by modern scholars, most notably by Peter Ucko [1]. The actual cultural and religious context of neolithic figures like the Venus of Willendorf has not been established. Some authors believe they were intended to re ...

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 - Matriarchy and goddess history

According to legend, Lin Muoniang (林默娘) was born in 960 (during the early Northern Song Dynasty) as the seventh daughter of Lin Yuan (林愿) on Meizhou Island, Fujian. She did not cry when she was born, and thus her given name means "Silent Girl." There are many legends about her and the sea. Although she started swimming relatively late at the age of 15, she soon became an excellent swimmer. She wore red standing on the shore to guide fishing boats home, e ...

See also:

Matsu goddess, Matsu goddess - Names, Matsu goddess - The person, Matsu goddess - The goddess, Matsu goddess - Worship, Matsu goddess - Festival of Matsu

Read more here: » Matsu goddess: Encyclopedia II - Matsu goddess - The person

According to legend, Lin Moniang (林默娘) was born in 960 (during the early Northern Song Dynasty) as the seventh daughter of Lin Yuan (林愿) on Meizhou Island, Fujian. She did not cry when she was born, and thus her given name means "Silent Girl." There are many legends about her and the sea. Although she started swimming relatively late at the age of 15, she soon became an excellent swimmer. She wore red standing on the shore to guide fishing boats home, e ...

See also:

Matsu goddess, Matsu goddess - Names, Matsu goddess - The person, Matsu goddess - The goddess, Matsu goddess - Worship, Matsu goddess - Festival of Matsu

Read more here: » Matsu goddess: Encyclopedia II - Matsu goddess - The person

Inclusive spirituality in the West initially gained ground in 19th century, when North American first-wave feminists such as Matilda Joslyn Gage introduced the idea of female Deity, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton published The Women's Bible. Their contemporary, the Swiss Joseph Jakob Bachofen, increased the attention given in Europe to prehistoric matriarchal Goddess cultures. However this information lay dormant in the North America and much of Europe until second-wave feminism. In addition to Bachofen, second-wave feminists who became interested in the history of religion also referred to the work of H ...

See also:

Goddess movement, Goddess movement - Terminology, Goddess movement - Background, Goddess movement - Use of Mythological Materials, Goddess movement - Wicca or Wicce, Goddess movement - Thealogy, Goddess movement - One or Many?, Goddess movement - Within or Without?, Goddess movement - Ethics, Goddess movement - Prehistoric Cultures, Goddess movement - Earth As Goddess

Read more here: » Goddess movement: Encyclopedia II - Goddess movement - Background