Selene
Greek Goddess of the Moon
By CathyMoondancer
Priestess, Sisters in The Goddess Tree
Selene is a Greek Goddess whose presence is felt when the moon is full. In the triple phase of womanhood, Selene is the fruitful mother at the Full Moon who stands proudly between the maiden Artemis at the Waxing Moon and the crone Hecate at the Waning Moon.
Selene is usually depicted with a pale face and a crescent-shaped crown on her head. She wears a cloak in the traditional color of red for the Mother Goddess while raising a torch to light the night sky. A silver chariot pulled by winged white horses race in the night as Selene lifts up her power and fills the heavenly realms.
She is honored at the Full Moon and the days of the full and new moon were set aside for her worship. At that time she is at the height of her reproductive potential and can bring forth new life. She was perceived as being a goddess of mothers and women, who were eager to conceive, invoked her for fertility, intuition and inspiration.
Selene is said to be the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, and sister to Helios, the Sun God and Eos the Goddess of the Dawn. One source believed her birthplace was in the Greek Island of Rhodes and another said she had no temple site of her own. However, her Roman equivalent, Luna, had temples in Rome on the Aventine and Palatine Hills.
Selene
is known for her various love affairs. She had an affair with the
Sky-God Zeus, and out of that union produced Pandia, the Goddess of
Brightness, Ersa, the Goddess of Dew, and Nemea, the Mountain
Goddess. One day she was seduced by the God Pan. He
disguised his hairy black goatishness with a white fleece, and unaware
of the disguise, Selene allowed herself to be coaxed into riding
him. Pan proceeded to ravish her, and then gave her the
gift of a white horse or white oxen.
Her most famous love affair was with the handsome shepherd Endymion. According to mythology, Selene saw Endymion on Mt. Latmus and fell madly in-love with him and began an affair. She wished for him to remain eternally youthful and cast a spell that would cause him to sleep forever. It is said that while Endymion dreamt of holding the moon in his arms, Selene bore him fifty daughters representing the fifty lunar months of an Olympiad, the four-year span between Olympic Games.
Correspondences:
*Candle: White
*Incense: Myrtle
*Festival: February 7th
*Color: Silver, grey-white
*Day of the Week: Monday (“moon-day”)
*Scents/flowers: Myrtle, willow, white poppy, white rose, and wall flower
Strengths:
Passionate, lights the night, controls time
Weaknesses:
Changeable like the moon
Areas of Influence:
Agriculture, anything domestic, travel, long life, medicine, and visions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ritual Dedicated to Selene
Original Ritual by CathyMoon
Purpose:
*To Honor and Nurture the Self
Items Needed:
*White Candle(s) *Incense *White Flowers *Water to bathe in (Shower/tub/sink)
*** Best Time for Ritual is in the Evening When the Moon is Full ***
The idea for this ritual is to take a moment to honor and nurture the self. Make sure you will not be interrupted. Light candles and incense, place your flowers where you can see them. Get naked and step into a nice warm bath or shower (or simply wash your hands). Envision all the wonderful qualities you have and meditate on the images that come to your mind. Enjoy your time alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chant to Selene
Original Chant by CathyMoon
Selene, Goddess of the Moon, I pray,
Cleanse me and give me strength
Heal me and give me strength
Nourish me and give me strength
Comfort me and give me strength
Blessed Be…..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original Art
By CathyMoon
CathyMoon as Goddess Selene praying to the Full Moon
with torch in hand and wearing the traditional red cloak of the mother.
References:
www.theoi.com
http://www.sistersofearthsong.com/SELENE/SELENE.html
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/sgodsandgoddesses/g/Selene.htm
http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/the_goddess/selene_-_goddess_of_the_moon.asp
http://gogreece.about.com/od/mythology/a/selene_greek_goddess_of_the_moon.htm
Greek Goddess of the Moon
By CathyMoondancer
Priestess, Sisters in The Goddess Tree
Selene is a Greek Goddess whose presence is felt when the moon is full. In the triple phase of womanhood, Selene is the fruitful mother at the Full Moon who stands proudly between the maiden Artemis at the Waxing Moon and the crone Hecate at the Waning Moon.
Selene is usually depicted with a pale face and a crescent-shaped crown on her head. She wears a cloak in the traditional color of red for the Mother Goddess while raising a torch to light the night sky. A silver chariot pulled by winged white horses race in the night as Selene lifts up her power and fills the heavenly realms.
She is honored at the Full Moon and the days of the full and new moon were set aside for her worship. At that time she is at the height of her reproductive potential and can bring forth new life. She was perceived as being a goddess of mothers and women, who were eager to conceive, invoked her for fertility, intuition and inspiration.
Selene is said to be the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, and sister to Helios, the Sun God and Eos the Goddess of the Dawn. One source believed her birthplace was in the Greek Island of Rhodes and another said she had no temple site of her own. However, her Roman equivalent, Luna, had temples in Rome on the Aventine and Palatine Hills.
Selene
is known for her various love affairs. She had an affair with the
Sky-God Zeus, and out of that union produced Pandia, the Goddess of
Brightness, Ersa, the Goddess of Dew, and Nemea, the Mountain
Goddess. One day she was seduced by the God Pan. He
disguised his hairy black goatishness with a white fleece, and unaware
of the disguise, Selene allowed herself to be coaxed into riding
him. Pan proceeded to ravish her, and then gave her the
gift of a white horse or white oxen. Her most famous love affair was with the handsome shepherd Endymion. According to mythology, Selene saw Endymion on Mt. Latmus and fell madly in-love with him and began an affair. She wished for him to remain eternally youthful and cast a spell that would cause him to sleep forever. It is said that while Endymion dreamt of holding the moon in his arms, Selene bore him fifty daughters representing the fifty lunar months of an Olympiad, the four-year span between Olympic Games.
Correspondences:
*Candle: White
*Incense: Myrtle
*Festival: February 7th
*Color: Silver, grey-white
*Day of the Week: Monday (“moon-day”)
*Scents/flowers: Myrtle, willow, white poppy, white rose, and wall flower
Strengths:
Passionate, lights the night, controls time
Weaknesses:
Changeable like the moon
Areas of Influence:
Agriculture, anything domestic, travel, long life, medicine, and visions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ritual Dedicated to Selene
Original Ritual by CathyMoon
Purpose:
*To Honor and Nurture the Self
Items Needed:
*White Candle(s) *Incense *White Flowers *Water to bathe in (Shower/tub/sink)
*** Best Time for Ritual is in the Evening When the Moon is Full ***
The idea for this ritual is to take a moment to honor and nurture the self. Make sure you will not be interrupted. Light candles and incense, place your flowers where you can see them. Get naked and step into a nice warm bath or shower (or simply wash your hands). Envision all the wonderful qualities you have and meditate on the images that come to your mind. Enjoy your time alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chant to Selene
Original Chant by CathyMoon
Selene, Goddess of the Moon, I pray,
Cleanse me and give me strength
Heal me and give me strength
Nourish me and give me strength
Comfort me and give me strength
Blessed Be…..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original Art
By CathyMoon
CathyMoon as Goddess Selene praying to the Full Moon
with torch in hand and wearing the traditional red cloak of the mother.
References:
www.theoi.com
http://www.sistersofearthsong.com/SELENE/SELENE.html
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/sgodsandgoddesses/g/Selene.htm
http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/the_goddess/selene_-_goddess_of_the_moon.asp
http://gogreece.about.com/od/mythology/a/selene_greek_goddess_of_the_moon.htm
This page is the creative property of CathyMoondancer
Priestess, Sisters in The Goddess Tree
July 2010