Invoking the Goddesses Part I

 Below is a group of goddesses you can invoke and honor in your ritual work. I strongly advise placing images of a goddess on your altar when you need her aid, her strength, or her special qualities. Please refer to the chart on page in the back for a quick breakdown.

Aradia

She is the Italian “Queen of the Witches” who descends to earth to preserve the magic of the goddess, Diana, her mother. Through Aradia’s lineage, she is also a lunar deity. She is affiliated specifically with Dianic Wicca. Aradia is an excellent goddess to invoke for protection of for any moon rituals you perform or create.

Artemis

She is the Greek goddess of the moon. In her Roman form, Diana, she is the deity to whom Dianic witches and priestesses are devoted. She is a bringer of luck, the goddess of the hunt, and a powerful deity for magic and spell work. As the huntress, she can help you search out anything you are looking for, whether it is tangible or intangible. As a lunar deity, she can illuminate you. Invoke Artemis when you want to practice moon magic, and study her mythology further to design original lunar ceremonies. Enshrine her to bring good luck.

Athena

She is a goddess who rules both wisdom and war. Athena is a deity to invoke if you are doing ceremonies for peace, learning, protection, or any work-related issues. She can help you overcome any conflict with friends, families, or foes.

Bast

She is the cat goddess and the Egyptians’ great protector. Her domain includes cats, childbirth, healing, passion, pleasure, joy, and happiness. Bast is associated with the element of fire. Call upon her to watch over you when you travel. If any of your feline friends are taken ill, pray to Bast and create a healing altar and ritual for your cat with a statue of her on the left side. Bast is a wonderful deity to develop a relationship with, and she can come into your life in the form of a stray cat. Remain open-minded about unexpected new animal friends. They could be Bast on a mission!

Brigid

She was a Celtic solar goddess of poetry, smithcraft, and healing before the Catholic Church canonized her as a saint. Brigid is dually connected to the elements of water and fire. One way to bless water for ceremonies, your altar, and home is to pray to Brigid to sanctify the water. She is a guardian for all animals and children, taking care of all matter related to child rearing. Brigid is also a goddess of inspiration. You can create creativity rituals or purification rites that include Brigid.

Ceres

She is the great Roman grain goddess. Think of her every time you have some cereal, which is named after her. The early summer festival, the Cerealia, honors Ceres for supplying the harvest and an abundance of crops. Any ceremony for planting, growing, and cooking could involve this bounty-bringer. If you are going to plant a magical garden, craft a ritual with Ceres and make and outdoor altar to this grain goddess.

The Eye Goddess

She is an extremely ancient Mediterranean deity depicted as an all-seeing eye. She was a goddess of justice in the form of a pair of huge, unblinking eyes, and no transgression could be concealed from her. The Eye Goddess’s first appearance was around 3500 BCE. You can conjure the Eye Goddess’s powers of justice with the depiction of eyes and invoke her assistance any time you need the truth brought to light. You can also practice simple protection magic for the home and for your car with eyes watching out for you. Her symbol is sometimes mistaken for the evil eye, which makes workers of mischief nervous and causes thieves to think twice before committing a crime.

Hathor

She is the “cow goddess” who represents life, beloved in ancient Egypt for her ability to bring fertility. Hathor was also associated with royalty, and her priests were artists, singers, dancers, trained midwives, and seers. As the celestial cow, she held the golden disk of the sun in between her horns. Hathor’s other sacred animals include the lion, cobra, falcon, and the hippopotamus. The sacred sistrum, a rattle used in ritual,
was used to summon her. Mirrors were also her sacred tool. During spring rains and floods, you can stage a ritual dance for her to sanctify the joy of life. Invite your friends and let your imagination run wild with headdresses, costumes, and masks. Rattle, drum, and sway into the great dance of life.

Hecate

She is a crone goddess who shows her face in the dark moon. Hecate is the goddess of where three paths meet and the banisher of evil, which serves us well in rites of closure, “letting go,” and getting rid of any negatively charged aspect of your life. Any time you want to bring something to an end, invoke Hecate for help. Funeral rites or ceremonies of remembrance, especially those for older women, are appropriate occasions for summoning Hecate. As the personification of the dark moon, she is also the goddess of divination and prophecy.

Try creating a dark moon prophecy circle and invite her for deep and wise insight. Design a ritual during the dark moon with Hecate for ultimate feminine wisdom and a fresh new beginning.

Hestia

She is the goddess of home and hearth whom the Romans knew as Vesta. Hestia is associated with the element of fire and is concerned with the safety and security of the individual as well as families. As goddess of the hearth, she rules the kitchen, making it possible to perform magical baking recipes with your mixing bowl serving as a cauldron, enchanting it with spices such as cinnamon and cloves. Hestia is the perfect deity to help design a new house. She is a blessing there to help you with cleaning and purification rituals in your living space and sacred space.

Hokmah

She is the holy spirit, an ancient Hebrew goddess of wisdom, the Gnostic Sophia. Hokmah is also related to Egypt’s Ma’at, mother of creative works of power from which the universe was formed. It was believed by scholars that bereshith, the very first word of Genesis, really refers to this goddess of wisdom. The book Targum of Jerusalem discusses the first words of Genesis and the goddess of wisdom at length. Bereshith is traditionally translated as “in the beginning.” Hokmah appears often in pre-Christian and early Christian writings, and Philo of Alexandria described her as the spouse of Jehovah. King Solomon himself decreed that Hokmah must be obeyed in “The Wisdom of Solomon,” a chapter not included in the biblical canon and established as apocryphal. Hokmah’s symbol, like that of Venus, is the dove.

You can summon the eternal wisdom of Hokmah with an image of a dove on your altar. Ignored and redacted from history, she holds vast beneficial power. You can design a women’s mystery rite by meditating on this ancient spirit. Allow inspiration to come and be literally filled with the holy spirit. Her wisdom will enlighten you and reveal how the rite should be designed.

Domestic Goddesses

A form of magic handed down from antiquity is to have a domestic goddess figure in your home; archaeologists have found them amongst the most ancient artifacts. It is a wonderful energy generator to have such a figurine decorating your home altar. The most important consideration is to choose the divinity with whom you feel the deepest connection.

Which of these beneficent beings do you identify with?

Agnayi – For the Indian subcontinent, she is the equivalent of Vesta as a domestic fire goddess.

Ashnan – Here we have a Sumerian grain goddess and protector of the fields. She is depicted in Babylonian imagery from ancient times as a beautiful young woman handing worshipful men a single stalk of grain.

Athena – The wisdom goddess also rules over battle. Call upon her to help resolve any disagreements. Under her domain is the owl and also olive trees. She stopped wars in ancient times with the offerings of an olive branch.

Bast – Egypt’s cat goddess who protected the lands. Bast has childbirth, healing, passion, pleasure, happiness and, of course, cats under her sphere of influence. Bast can come into your life in the form of a stray cat, a familiar, and can become a real guardian for your hearth and home.

Brigid – This Celtic solar goddess of poetry, smithcraft and healing existed long before the Catholic Church adopted her and canonized her as a saint. She is a protectress of all animals and children. Brigid can be invoked to bless your kitchen tools—pots, pans and knives can all have the strength of this bright being, forged by the fire of the sun.

Cerridwen – I was named in honor of an aspect of this Triple Goddess. She is of deep elder wisdom. In Welsh legend, Cerridwen represents the crone, which is the darker aspect of the goddess. She has powers of prophecy, and is the keeper of the cauldron of knowledge and inspiration in the Underworld. She is a mother goddess who makes sure to feed her followers and minds the fields.

The Eye Goddess – This most ancient of Mediterranean deities is depicted as an all-seeing eye and represents justice. No transgression can be hidden from the eye goddess. Dating back to 3500 B.C.E., she is often depicted as a single, unblinking eye. Anytime you need the truth brought to light, call up her. She can also protect from thieves by hanging her eye in your windows; she is an excellent resident in your magical kitchen. She is mistaken for the “evil eye,” but is a benevolent presence who will watch out for you and yours 24/7.

Hathor – This “cow goddess” represents life, beloved in ancient Egypt for her ability to bring fertility. Hathor was also associated with royalty, and her priests were artists, dancers, trained midwives and seers. As the celestial cow, she held the golden disk of the sun between her horns. Hathor’s other sacred animals include the lion, cobra, falcon and the hippopotamus. The sacred sistrum, a rattle used in ritual, was used to summon her. Mirrors were also her sacred tool. During spring rains and floods, you can stage a ritual dance for her to sanctify the joy of life and bless your newly planted gardens.

Juno – The Latin word for a female soul is juno, and Romans depended on this generous presence to watch over the daughters of the earth; she is regarded as the mother of all women and can be invoked for any magical gathering of women. Her special domain is as a protector of brides. When preparing feasts and cakes for wedding nuptials, ask Juno to bring her brightest blessings.

Persephone – Daughter of Athena, Persephone is bidden to spend half her time in the underworld with her husband, Hades. She is a harbinger of the change to the warmer seasons, as she rises from the dark world after the winter seasons, bringing spring and the growing season with her. The pomegranate is her significator. Invoke her for rites of spring.

Thalassa is a benevolent Greed goddess of the oceans, and part of a great pantheon of the seas including fresh water lake and river goddesses. She is invoked by individuals seeking to usher in change and self-transformation.