The Triple Goddess

The Great Goddess is sometimes referred to as the Triple Goddess. This means She is represented as having three aspects, Maiden, Mother and Crone. A cycle of aspects that reflects the various stages that the Divine Female moves through. Anatolian villages in the 7th century BC worshipped a Goddess in three distinct aspects - a young woman, a birth-giving mother, and an old woman.

The Triple Goddess can be found in many cultures, from Greece (Hebe, Hera, Hecate) to Celtic lands (the "Three Bridgets"), Chinese Buddhist (Triple Pussa), Slavonic (three Zoryas) and on and on.

Maiden is that sense of Enchantment... the first flush of dawn... the promise of new beginnings. She is adventurous, excitement, mischevious. She can be the Maiden of very young girls (pre-adolescent) or the Maiden of young women. She has a carefree erotic aura that can send men and Gods to preening. She is unselfconcious regardless of whether She is naked or dressed flamboyently. She is the Huntress. She can be a danger if abused, Joy itself if respected. Some examples of Maiden Goddesses are Kore and Persephone, Ostara, Nimue, Aphrodite.Maiden is that sense of Enchantment... the first flush of dawn... the promise of new beginnings. She is adventurous, excitement, mischevious. She can be the Maiden of very young girls (pre-adolescent) or the Maiden of young women. She has a carefree erotic aura that can send men and Gods to preening. She is unselfconcious regardless of whether She is naked or dressed flamboyently. She is the Huntress. She can be a danger if abused, Joy itself if respected. Some examples of Maiden Goddesses are Kore and Persephone, Ostara, Nimue, Aphrodite.

 The Mother. She is Ripeness, the moulder of life within the womb, the one who gives birth and nourishes that life, teaches it and when necessary, smacks it's bottom! She may give open advice or unnoticed influence. She is fertility itself, yet her fertility is not blind or aimless but an overall balance. It is that balance which determines her actions. The male principle is both her mate and her son. As mate she does not tantalize as the Maiden sometimes does. She gives Herself fully when the time is right, transforming both Her mate and His seed. She is merciless to anything threatening what She loves. She may seem merciless, in the eyes of those who don't understand, to anything impeding the development of what she loves, even if it is ourselves impeding ourselves! (Please don't use that paddle again Mom!) She is the essence of growth, and it is growth that She expects of her children. Mother Goddesses are numberless because the Great Mother is considered to be the first image of divinity that humans percieved. But some familiar names are Mary, Gaia, Juno, Isis, Brigid, Demeter.

 Lastly, the Crone. She is wisdom, experience, compassion that is undistorted by illusion or sentimentality. She has seen it all. She has compassion for all. Her wisdom is wider than intellectual knowledge, though it includes intellect and does not despise it. She has been Maid and Mother, and She has been within them as potential. She keeps the balance. She is Love, but a calm and understanding love, as compared to the Maiden's heady love and the Mother's incandescent love. To the male aspect, she is a steadying influence,enriching if He listens, balancing His linear-logical thinking. The Crone can also seem terrible, because She is the gateway to Death. But She is also the compassionate guide through Death, pointing the way to new life, where the cycle repeats and She too will be all Three again. Some obvious Crone Goddesses would be Erishkegel and Hel. There are some Goddesses who have distinct Mother traits as well, but are more often associated with Crone: Hecate, Kali, Minerva, Sekhmet.

The key to understanding is to realize that all Three are One, and we are one with Her. Male or Female, human or animal or plant... we are all a part of Her. We are Her children, whom She loves. She courts us, She births us, She helps us grow and She sometimes spanks us when we do something we know we shouldn't. She shares Her wisdom with us, as we grow with experience and share with others. And in time, She will take our hand and guide us to new life.

 

Invocation to the Dewy One
      from Starhawk's Spiral Dance

All-dewy Sky-sailing Pregnant Moon
Who shines for all,
Who flows through all.
Light of the world which is yourself.
Maiden, Mother, Crone, 
The Weaver The Green One
Isis Astarte Ishtar
Aradia Diana Cybele
Kore Ceridwen Levanah
Luna Mari Anna
Rhiannon Selena Demeter Mah
See with our eyes, Hear with our ears,
Touch with our hands, Breathe with our nostrils,
Kiss with our lips, Open our hearts,
Come into us!
Touch us, Change us, Make us whole.

 

This website written and maintained by habibidancer.
Last updated, 4/18/01
Maiden and Crone artwork by Joanna Powell Colbert.  Used with permission