mother of gods

I am loving this winter solstice 2022 issue of Cathy Pagano on Wisdom of Astrology - featuring our many divine mothers and beacons of light. 

Each year here in the northern hemisphere of Mother Earth we celebrate the rebirth of the Light from December 20 to 25. We rejoice in the return of the light. Cultural holidays aligned with the Wheel of the Year - the yearly cycle of the Sun and Earth.

Danu the Mother Goddess

Mother of the gods, earth mother, the flowing one - Danu is considered the most ancient of all the Celtic deities. 

Hekate

In artwork, Hecate - worshipped in ancient Athens as a protector of the oikos (household) - is often portrayed in three statues standing back to back, each with its own special attributes - torch, keys, daggers, snakes, dogs. 

Mother Mary & Baby Jesus in the manger

At Winter Solstice/Christmas we celebrate the Light and the Child. We must remember to celebrate the Mother who gives birth to the Child of Light. She is the source of this new life and light - this is the season of The Mother Goddess.

Haumea, Hawaiian goddess

Haumea is the goddess of fertility and childbirth in Hawaiian mythology. She is the mother of many important deities, such as Pele, Kāne Milohai, Kāmohoaliʻi, Nāmaka, Kapo, and Hiʻiaka. Haumea is one of the most important Hawaiian gods, and her worship is among the oldest on the Hawaiian Islands. 

Demeter & Persephone

In the ancient world, the Eleusinian Mysteries was a religion centered on women, abundance, life and death as well as the knowledge of rebirth. Dedicated to Demeter and her daughter Persephone, the practice was one of the most sacred and secret initiations in the ancient world.

Its mysteries celebrated for over a thousand years, not one of the initiates ever revealed the secret knowledge. It was an experience of the immortality of the soul and possibly the knowledge of reincarnation.

Tam Austria, Mother and Child, 1976

This reveals Demeter as more than just a fertility goddess - she was the guide and guardian of our human soul - a fitting job for a divine mother and what mothers are meant to do.

We want to guide our children so they have the tools to survive in the world and the values that will help them thrive. May all women of the world continue to be light bearers and beacons of grace.

A blessed winter solstice to us all and happy holidays too!