The Making of A Goddess

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Artemis

The Greek Goddess, Artemis, is known as the Goddess of the Hunt. She was the daughter of Zeus and Letos (one of Zeus's many lovers), and the twin sister of Apollo, God of the Sun. Letos could find no one to help her during the birth of the twins as everyone was afraid of Hera, the vengeful wife of Zeus. Letos finally went to a deserted island and gave birth to Artemis. Artemis then assisted Letos in the difficult birth of her twin brother, Apollo. Hera caused Letos great pain and suffering during and after the births of Artemis and Apollo When Letos finally took Artemis, at the age of three, to meet Zeus, he was so taken with the child, he claimed she should have everything she wanted. Artemis requested a bow and arrows, dogs for hunting, nymphs for company, and a short tunic to enable her to run freely in the mountains and woods. She also requested that she be able to keep her chastity. Zeus granted her all of these things.

Artemis was known for coming to the aid of those who called to her for help. Once when another goddess insulted Letos, Letos asked Artemis and Apollo to inflict just punishment for the insult. Artemis slew the six daughters of this goddess, and Apollo slew the six sons. Artemis came to the aid of her mother more than once, and was known for being quite merciless whenever anyone offended her or took advantage of others.

Artemis represents the strong, independent feminine spirit. She was untouched and unaffected by the desires of men, seeking instead to run free and pursue her own interests. She was self-directed, comfortable with her own sense of self worth and competence. She is a wonderful goddess to call upon when one needs to set aside the constant intrusion of others, and focus on a particular goal.

She is also representative of the sisterhood that many woman feel these days, as she preferred the company of nymphs, and they wandered the earth together pursuing their own interests, rather than taking care of others or conforming to others expectations. She was at home with herself and with nature, and many women today indentify with this aspect of Artemis as they seek to become more inner directed and also seek to reconnect with the Earth Mother and the feminine aspect of deity.

Although Artemis was one of the virgin goddesses, she did love another hunter Orion. Apollo was jealous of her love for Orion. One day when Apollo saw Orion swimming in the sea, he challenged Artemis to take aim with her bow and hit the object out of the water. Artemis did not know that she was directing her arrow at the head of Orion, and she killed him. In sorrow she gave Orion her best hunting dog, Sirius, and placed them both among the stars.

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Isis

Egyptian Moon Goddess, Great Mother and Giver of Life. With Osiris, Isis and Horus (the divine child) made up a Holy Trinity. She is the Goddess of marriage motherhood, fertility, magick, healing, reincarnation and divination, to name a few. Isis is the patroness of priestesses. One myth has Isis poisoning the sun God Ra, offering to save him only if he would reveal his secret name. At last, at the brink of destruction, Ra gives Isis his heart, with the secret name it held, and his two eyes (the sun and the moon). Isis quells the poison and ends up with Ra's supreme power. In time, the great Eye was passed along to her son Horus. Proclus mentions a statue of her which bore the inscription "I am that which is, has been and shall be. My veil no one has lifted." Hence, to lift the veil of Isis is to pierce the heart of a great mystery.

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Kali

Indian Dark Goddess, the Crone, Goddess of Death. Kali has a dual personality exhibiting traits of both gentleness and love, revenge and terrible death. She governs every form of death but also rules every form of life. Her image inspires horror - a hideous face smeared with blood, four arms, draped with snakes and wearing a necklace of skulls. She is the defender of women and children, and violence against any woman is forbidden by her. She is also the Goddess of regeneration, revenge, fear, sexual activities and intuition.

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Hecate

Greek Queen of the Night, Goddess of Witchcraft and the Underworld. Hecate can change shapes or ages at will and has the power to rejuvinate or kill. The daughter of Perseus and Asteria, she represents the oldest Greek form of the Triple Goddess. Her powers extend over heaven and the underworld, the earth and the sea. She is sometimes represented with three heads - one of a horse, one of a dog and one of a bear, or one of a dog, snake and lion. As Hecate of the Three Ways, her images stood at three-way crossroads where offerings of dogs, honey and black ewes were left on full moon nights. In the realm of nature, she is honored as Selene the moon, in Heaven. She is honored as Artemis the huntress, on Earth and as Hecate the destroyer, in the Underworld. She is also the Goddess of prophecy,
charms, vengence, wisdom, choices and regeneration and is often accompanied by a pack of black, baying hounds or the three-headed dog, Cerberus.

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Lilith

Babylonian or Sumerian Moon Goddess, patroness of Witches, demon Goddess to the Jews and Christians, Lilith represents primal female sexuality. Lilith is the protectress of all pregnant women and of children and mothers. She is the Goddess of wisdom, regeneration, enticing sorcery, erotic dreams and feminine allure. As early pages of Genesis give two accounts of the creation of women, legend has it that Lilith was Adam's first wife. Lilith, like Adam, was created from the dust of the Earth and had been one of the wives of Satan (or so the myth goes). She left her husband for Adam, but refused to be subservient and submissive to him, saying that they were both created from the same Earth and thus were equals. They quarreled,she left and was forced into exile.

Her name stems from a Semetic root meaning "night", and in the Talmud, she is portrayed as a long haird demon of the night. She is considered by many to be the first liberated woman.

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Some great Books I have found on Wild Women in general, as well as some on Goddesses ...
I have to say that I love Vicki Leon's "Uppity Women" series! I have read the "Uppity Ancient Women" already and look forward to the rest (in the series) being just as entertaining as well as informative as it has been. Here is a brief blurb of one of my favorite stories from it:

(from Page 58)
Nitocris
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Nitocris came to the throne unwillingly. She was married to her brother ,who was murdered-why,we don't know-by a mob of his subjects. This motley group of Egyptians then forced her to step up to the plate. For at least 7 years......Nitocris ran the country,but she remained curiously testy about her brother-husband's death. As therapy, she set about building a massive chamber underground, about the size of the average shopping mall. For the grand opening, she invited hundreds of Egyptians to the ribbon-cutting. Oddly enough ,the guest list coincided with the cast of conspirators who had murdered her beloved.

So there they were , party in full swing, watching the acrobats & the dancing girls, knocking back cocktails & nibbling dormice & other ancient Egyptian hor d' oeuvres. In a move destined to gain her the nickname "party pooper of all time", Nitocris then locked her guests in the hall & opened a huge concealed conduit that let the waters of the Nile fill the room.......

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~*Uppity Women of Ancient Times - By V. Leon*~

~*Uppity Women of Medieval Times*~

~*Uppity Women of The Renaissance*~

~*Wild Women-Crusaders, Curmudgeons, and Completely Corsetless Ladies in the Otherwise Virtuous Victorian Era*~

~*Women Who Run With the Wolves:Myths & Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype*~

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