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The Wiccan
Story of Creation
Every
Culture/Religion has a creation story, here's the Wiccan one!
Long, long ago, the
world slept in the arms of the dark void.
From this place of
nothingness, Spirit drew together and created Our Lady of Infinite
Love.
The Lady danced
among the heavens, Her feet beating out the rhythm of all creation.
Sparks of light catapulted from Her hair, giving birth to the stars
and planets. As She twirled, these heavenly bodies began to move with
Her in the divine symphony of the universe. When Her dancing quickened
She formed the seas and mountains of Earth. She chanted words of love
and joy, and as these sounds fell to the Earth, the trees and flowers
were born.
From the pure,
white light of Her breath came the colours of the universe, turning all
things to vibrant beauty. from the bubbling laughter in Her throat
sprang the sounds of the pristine running water of the streams, the
gentle lapping vibrations of the lake, and the roaring screams of the
oceans. Her tears of joy became the rains of our survival.
When Her dancing
slowed and She sought a companion to share the wonders of the world,
Spirit created The Lord as Her life mate and companion. Because She so
loved the Earth, Spirit made Her companion half spirit, half animal,
so that together the Lord and Lady could populate our planet. The
Lord's power moves through her and She showers the Earth and all upon
it with Her blessings. Together, the Lord and Lady gave birth to the
birds, animals, fishes, and people of our world. To protect and guide
the humans, the Lord and Lady created the angels and power spirits.
These energies walk with us always, though we may not often see them.
Their speech creates a tapestry of positive energy, from which we draw
strength.
To each bird the
Lady gave a magic song, and to each animal the Lord bestowed the
instinct to survive.
The Lord is the
master of the animal and plant kingdoms, and therefore wears the
antlers of a stag crowning His great head. This aspect of half man,
half animal shows His joy in both the human and animal creations of
the Spirit.
As the humans began
to grow and prosper, the Lord and Lady saw a need for healers among
them. And so they drew forth energy from the realm of angels, the
realm of the power animals, and the realm of the humans to create the
Witches. The Witches brought with them the wisdom of the Lord and
Lady, the ability to heal, and the art of magic. The Lady taught the
Witches how to cast a magic circle and talk to Spirit, and the Lord
taught the Witches how to communicate with the energies of air, fire,
earth, and water, and commune with the animal and plant kingdoms.
As the world grew
darker with ignorance and hate of human creation, The Lady took the
body of the Moon to represent the gentle light of her perfect peace,
and the Lord took the vibrant rays of the Sun as his symbol of
strength in perfect love. And once a month, when the Moon is full, the
Witches celebrate and remember the blessings our Mother has bestowed
upon us.
We call forth Her
energy to help us take care of ourselves, our families, our planet,
and our friends. Four times a year the Witches celebrate the festivals
of fire and honor the Lord and His love for us - these are called the
cross-quarters. At the four quarters of the seasons, the Witches honor
the cycle of life and the gifts of the Earth with festivals to both
the Lord and Lady - signifying the balance they have brought us - the
Equinoxes and the Solstices.
The Lady has many
names - Isis, Astarte, Bride, Diana, Aradia, Hecate - and the Lady
walks within and beside each woman of every race.
The Lord has many
faces, from the strong Cernunnos to the delightful Pan. He guards and
guides us and resides in each man of every race.
When thunder roars
in the heavens, and lightning cracks from the ground, the Lord and
Lady dance the divine myth of creation so that we may remember them
and know that we are never alone.
When the Sun rises
each morning, we bask in the joy of His love for us, and when the Moon
moves through Her phases, we understand the cycle of birth, growth,
death, and rebirth.
When it is our
time, the Witches enter the Summerland. From the Spirit that moves and
flows through the Lord and Lady we continue to learn the mysticism of
the Universe so that we may return, life after life, to serve our
brothers and sisters.
In each lifetime,
Spirit guides us through learning experiences, preparing us along the
way for our individual missions. Sometimes we are born among our own
kind, and in other instances we must seek out our spiritual family.
Many of us do not remember our chosen path until we reach adulthood,
but others know instinctively of their heritage from the time they
form their own thoughts.
We are the
Witches, the representation of the growth of wisdom on our planet. We
are the Hidden Children, back from the dead. We are the people, the
power, the change, and we have incarnated in every race and every
culture. We are the angels of Earth.
Source -LLewellyn's 1999
Magickal Almanac
Greek,
Roman and Egyptian Deities:
|
Type of Deity |
Roman |
Greek |
Egyptian |
|
Supreme God |
Jupiter, Juno |
Zeus, Hera |
Ra |
|
Supreme/Mother Goddess |
Venus |
Aphrodite |
Isis |
|
Sun |
Apollo |
Helios |
Ra |
|
Moon |
Diana |
Artemis |
Thoth |
|
Earth |
Tellus |
Gaia |
Geb |
|
Fire |
Vulcan |
Hephaestus |
- |
|
Water/Rain |
Jupiter, Neptune (sea) |
Zeus, Poseidon (sea) |
Tefnut |
|
Air/Sky |
Jupiter |
Zeus |
Nuit |
|
Light |
Apollo |
Apollo |
- |
|
Thunder |
Jupiter |
Zeus |
- |
|
Dawn |
Aurora |
Eos |
- |
|
Fertility |
Bona Dea |
Rhea |
Osiris |
|
Harvest |
Saturn |
Cronos |
- |
|
Vegetation |
Ceres |
Adonis |
Osiris |
|
Death |
Pluto |
Hades |
Osiris |
|
Wisdom |
Minerva |
Athena |
Thoth |
|
War |
Mars, Bellona |
Aries, Athena |
- |
|
Love |
Cupid |
Eros |
- |
|
Messenger |
Mercury |
Hermes |
- |
|
Healing |
Apollo |
Apollo |
- |
|
Hunting |
Diana |
Artemis |
- |
Basic
information of Greek Deities:
|
Name |
Information |
|
Aphrodite |
Fair haired, blue eyed, beautiful and
voluptuous. Goddess of love. Symbol was her girdle
(belt). |
|
Apollo |
Son of Leto, former lover of Zeus. Twin brother
of Artemis. Zeus his father. Hera pursued Leto who was
forced to give birth on an island shielded by the sea
which was raised up over the island like an umbrella by
Poseidon. Oracle at Delphi. Celestial archer who's
arrows never missed. God of musicians. a handsome,
golden haired youth. Patron of prophesy. Represents
solar force in all aspects. |
|
Aries |
Represents blind energy and uncontrolled
passion. War God. Father of Harmonia and Aphrodite.
Shown as a muscled warrior with a crested helmet. |
|
Artemis |
Sister of Apollo. Symbolic animal the bear.
Animals sacred to her. Eternally virginal. Shown
carrying a torch. Protector of women against personal
violation, Goddess of childbirth. |
|
Athena |
Daughter of Zeus and Metis. Goddess of war, born
fully armed and carrying a spear. Emblem the owl. Born
from the head of her father who had swallowed her mother
while she was pregnant. Goddess of wisdom. |
|
Demeter |
Goddess of the soil and all growing things.
Temples were located in forests and called megara. Shown
as a mature, rather sad looking, lady with a crown of
corn. Mother of Persephone. |
|
Dionysus |
Son of Zeus with a mortal woman. Wandered the
earth drunch and angry for many years before being
admitted to Olympus. |
|
Hades |
Ruler of the underworld. Husband of Persephone. |
|
Hebe and Ganymede |
Goddess of youth and Zeus's cup bearer. |
|
Hecate |
Giver of wisdom, victory and wealth. Queen of
the dead as Prytania. Goddess of purification,
expiations, enchantments, magical charms, hauntings and
crossroads. Accompanied by the infernal hounds. |
|
Helios and Selene |
The Sun and the Moon respectively. |
|
Hephaestus |
Son of Hera. Husband of Aphrodite. Lame, short
and swarthy. Holds hammer and tongs. Smith to the Gods. |
|
Hera |
Goddess of marriage and all phases of women's
lives. A noble and severely beautiful woman. Zeus's
wife, symbols are the peacock and pomegranate. |
|
Hermes |
God of travel and commerce. Messenger of the
Gods. Shown as atheletic with a round, winged hat and
winged sandals. Holds the caduceus. Father of Pan,
associated with air. |
|
Hestia |
Goddess of the hearth. Circle sacred to her, her
temples were circular. Protected hearth and home. |
|
Ilythia |
Daughter of Hera. Original Goddess of
childbirth. |
|
Iris |
The rainbow, a messenger of Zeus. |
|
Pan |
Son of Hermes. Magical pipes. Nature God. |
|
Persephone |
Wife of Hades, daughter of Demeter. Symbols the
bat, narcissus and pomegranate. Goddess of the
underworld and of Spring. |
|
Poseidon |
God of the Sea. Brother of Zeus. Marine life and
the white horse sacred to him. |
|
The Fates |
Clotho/The spinner of the thread of life,
Lachesis/Chance or luck, Atropos/Cuts the thread of life
when the time has come and karma. |
|
The Four Winds |
Sons of Eos (dawn) and Astraeus (starry sky).
Zephyrus/West Wind, Boreas/North Wind, Eurus/East Wind,
and Notus/South Wind. |
|
The Muses |
Clio/History, Euterpe/Flute, Thalia/Comedy,
Melpomene/Tragedy, Terpsicore/Lyric Poetry and Dance,
Erato/Love Poetry, Polyhmnia/Mimic Art, Urania/Gastronomy,
Calliope/Epic Poetry and Eloquence. |
|
Themis |
Goddess of justice. Regulated ceremonial events
and kept order on Olympus. |
|
Zagreus |
Son of Zeus and Persephone. A shape changing
immortal. |
|
Zeus |
The ruler of the sky and all atmospheric
phenomena. Oracle at Dodona, worshiped in high places.
Oak tree sacred. Shown as a mature man, robust; with
thick, dark, curly hair and a beard. Holds a sceptre in
left hand and has a thunderbolt and eagle at his feet.
Colour is imperial purple. |
Basic
information of Egyptian Deities:
|
Name |
Information |
|
Anubis |
Dark
hunting hound or jackal. Guardian against the forces of
the lower world. Patron of anaesthetics, psychiatrists,
and seekers of lost items. He guards the spirit of the
unconscious. Colour is terracotta, symbol the
sarcophagus. |
|
Bast |
Wife of
Ptah, sister of Horus, daughter of Isis and Osiris.
goddess of music and dance. Sacred intrument the sistrum.
Sacred animal the cat. |
|
Geb |
Egyptian earth god. Son of Shu and Tefnut. Brother and
hisband of the sky god Nuit. Father of Osiris, Seth,
Isis, and Nephthys. Geb was generally depicted with
green skin. The goose was his sacred animal. |
|
Hathor |
Daughter of Ra. Dual aspects, the benign celestial cow
that nourished the gods, protects women, confers the
comforts of life, patroness of astrology and rules
womens beauty and adornment. Her other aspect was
Sekhmet, war goddess with a lions head. Colours coral,
peach and copper. Mirror or shield her symbol. |
|
Horus |
Son of
Isis. Colour yellow or gold. Lord of prophesy, god of
music and art. Patron of all things beautiful. Symbols
the hawk and the all seeing eye. |
|
Isis |
Wears a
throne on her headdress. Taught healing and instituted
marriage. Magician. Symbols the throne, knot or buckle
and the systrum. She was the wife and sister of Osiris. |
|
Nefertum |
Son of
Ptah and Sekhmet. Wears a lotus on his head. Guards the
sun at night. |
|
Nephthys |
Sister
and wife of Set, mother of Anubis. The revealer, psychic
receptivity, light and truth. Colors pale green or
silver. Symbols the lotus and the cup. |
|
Nuit |
Mother
Goddess, the sky Goddess, mother of Osiris, Horus, Set,
Isis, Nephthys. Protectress of the dead. Wife of Geb,
earth God. |
|
Osiris |
Nature
God and king, universal lord. Always accompanied by his
grand vizier, Thoth and his nephew Anubis. Husband of
Isis, father of Horus. Always shown with a greenish face
and dressed in white. Carries a crook and flail, the
insignia of order and discipline. Sometimes shown seated
on a throne surrounded by water and lotuses. Symbol the
djed or tet. |
|
Ptah |
Artisan
god, patron of builders and craftsmen. Known as the
architect of the universe. Performed miracles. Symbols
the masons tools and cord. |
|
Ra |
The
creator and sovereign lord of the sky. Sacred object the
obelisk. Created the universe. |
|
Sekhmet |
Wife of
Ptah. Head of a lioness crowned with the sun disk. |
|
Selkhet |
A
scorpion-goddess, shown as a beautiful woman with a
scorpion poised on her head. Protector of women in
childbirth. |
|
Set |
Brother
of Osiris and Isis. Red hair. Represents chaos and
destruction. Sought to destroy Osiris. |
|
Thoth |
Shown
as a man with the head of an Ibis. Patron of history,
keeper of the divine archives, lord of karma, herald of
the gods. Eldest son of Ra. Symbols the cadceus and the
white feather. God of medicine, learning, magic, truth,
books and libraries. |
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