MoonGoddesses

One of the most significant archetypal symbols of the Goddess is the Moon.

The Triple Goddess is seen in the Moon as Maiden (Waxing Moon), Mother (Full Moon), and Crone (Waning Moon).

The Moon Goddess has been known by many different names in many different cultures. It is said that the Moon Goddess created time and measurement. Ancient calendars were based on the Moon's phases. She is usually seen as the protector of women, and she rules magick and childbirth. In ancient Thessaly, the Moon Goddess was invoked in a rite called "drawing down the moon", which we still practice today.

The Moon Goddess has many different names in many different cultures.

In Finland, the Divine Creatress was called Luonnotar.

In Scandinavia, She was Mardoll, or "The Moon Shining Over the Sea".

Gala or Galata is the original Moon-Mother of Gaelic tribes.

In Britain, an early name for the Moon Goddess was Albion, or "Milk-White Moon-Goddess".

To the Aztecs, the Moon Goddess was Mictecaciuarl, the devourer of the dead, and She had the same role among the Maoris and the Tartars.

Several cultures believed that the Moon was the "Land of the Dead".

In Africa, She is Akua'ba, in China Queen of Heaven, and to the Ancient Romans she was Luna.

Greek/Roman Moon Goddesses
include Artemis, Hecate, Bendis, Brizo, Callisto, Selene, Prosymna, Diana, and Luna.

Artemis
was daughter of Zeus and Leto, and twin sister of Apollo.
She was the Lady of the Beasts, Who roams the forest with her band of nymphs, protecting pregnant beasts and their young.
The Greeks assimilated her to a mistress of wild beasts. Bears were sacred to her, and the guinea-fowl were her birds.
Her name possibly means "high source of water" (the moon being regarded as the source and ruler of all waters).
She was the mistress of magick, enchantment, and sorcery.
She was a protector of youth, especially of girls, and was called upon as Artemis Eileithyia by women in childbirth.
She is often depicted with a hound, and carrying a bow and arrows. One of her forms was Callistro.
Other names for her include Delia, Phoebe, Pythia, and Parthenos. She was considered virginal, which means that she was her "own woman" and did not have a consort, however this did not mean that she was celibate.
She is the Roman equivalent of Diana.
Her tarot associations include nines, the High Priestess, and Temperance.
Her gemstones are quartz, moonstone, pearl, and crystal.
Sacred to her are the herbs mandrake, damiana, almond, mugwort, and hazel.
Her animals are the horse, dog, elephant, and centaur.
Other associations of Artemis are magickal weapons, perfumes, sandals, bow and arrow, and menstrual blood.
Her Festival is celebrated on February 12.

Hecate
was a Moon Goddess, Underworld Goddess and Goddess of Magick.
She was the daughter of Perses and Asteria.
Other traditions say she was the daughter of Zeus and Hera.
She protected flocks and sailors, and was associated with crossroads.
Her tarot associations are threes and the High Priestess.
Her gemstones include star sapphire, pearl, moonstone, and crystal;
Her plants include cypress, opium poppy, almond, mugwort, hazel, and moonwort.
Animals which are sacred to her are dogs.
Other associations include perfumes, myrrh, civet, and magickal weapons.

Bendis
was a Moon Goddess and wife of the Sun God Sabazius, and was worshipped with orgiastic rites. Thracians made her popular in Attica, and in 430 BC her cult became a state ceremonial in Athens, with torch races at the Piraeus.

Brizo
was a Moon Goddess of Delos, to whom votive ships were offered.
The name Brizo may be a form of Brighid.

Selene
was a Moon Goddess and daughter of Hyperion and Theia, and sister of Helios (the Sun) and Eos (the Dawn).
She was wooed and won by Zeus and by Pan.
She also fell in love with Endymion and visited him nightly while he slept.
(Zeus granted the mortal Endymion immortality on the condition that he remained eternally asleep.)
She is also called Luna.

Prosymna
is the Greek Goddess of the New Moon. She is also known as Persephone, and is given the title of Demeter as the Earth Mother in her Underworld aspect.

Diana
was the Roman equivalent of the Greek Moon and Nature Goddess Artemis, and rapidly acquired all her characteristics.
She is the Goddess of light, mountains, and woods.
She was invoked to protect the harvest against heavy storms. Diana, whose name means "light", was originally the Italian Goddess of the Sun, Moon, and Open Sky.
She also bestowed sovereignty and conception.
Her feast day is August 15.
Christians adopted her as St. Anne, Mary's mother, the "Grandmother of God".

LADY IN THE MOON

Did you think I forgot about Her? Nope....but before I begin I should comment on the Man in the Moon.
First, there are a number of good websites out there dealing with Man in the Moon info and lore. There are/were cultures which attribute gods to the moon (just as there are sun goddesses).

"The Moon Goddess has three aspects:
As She waxes, She is the Maiden; full, She is the Mother; as She wanes, She is the Crone." -- Starhawk ("The Spiral Dance")

Many cultures have Triple Goddesses. We can see the three distinct faces through the phases of the moon and within the cycles of our own lives. The Full Moon represents the Mother aspect of the Goddess.
I picked up the following from a website on the Net
at www.dragonwood.com/goddess.html but the site seems to be gone now.

Mother
I am the bearer of life. I hold Creation in my hands! I am giver, and healer, and the mother of all! I am the bounty of the Earth, the richness of the field, the swelling of the crop, the fruit of every tree. I am compassion, forgiveness, nurturing, and love! I am power and passion and tender handed touch! I am the fruition of desires, and the fulfillment of dreams. I am Protectress, Seductress, and Warrior Queen! Hear my voice, and know of me! I am She, who brought the world into being! I am the skies, and the stars, and the depths of the sea! I am the rain that will quench, and the light that will warm, the coolness of night, and the soft kiss of morning. Lover am I, to the Wild Hunter King. Mother am I, to the child come to living! Teacher am I, to the children of Earth. Through my womb, are the gates of rebirth! In the full silver moon, my face can be seen. I am the Mother! Hear my voice, and know of me!

It's interesting to note that the aspects of the Goddess as Mother and in her Full Moon guise (as well as the Maiden and Crone aspects...but we'll get to that later) play a strong role in the magickal aspects.