Sophia, Morrigan, Brighid, Cernunnos,
Herne, Momiji
Sophia
Sophia is not a common goddess. She is lunar and
ever changing. Her name means Wisdom, so she represents the abstract concept of
Wisdom in all its forms. She is the emerged from the Void, from the depths of
chaos, bringing light and wisdom and manifestation. She is more often seen in
Gnostic literature, but as Wisdom by other names, she can be seen in many other
religions and cultures.
“The
ways of Wisdom are so prolific that she changes every moment to adapt to all
conditions and circumstances. If she embraces all times and space in fullness
of her capacity, she will never let the wellspring of her gifts run dry, in
whatever situation we may find ourselves.”
(Hildegard
of Bingen, Book of Divine Works)
While
she can be honored at any phase of the moon, Momiji Moon coven honors her at
the Full Moon as we blend Celtic lunar tree associations, North American moon
associations and engage in some form of creativity or learning, or initiations.
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Morrigan
~ written by John WinterWolf
The Morrigan or the Morrigu is one of the most complex and challenging of the Irish deities. Depending on the source, the Morrigan can appear in many different guises. From a single war or death goddess to one of seven sisters responsibly for sovereignty over Ireland to a title for any number of deities that fulfill a function similar to that of the Norse Valkyries.
The Morrigan or the Morrigu is one of the most complex and challenging of the Irish deities. Depending on the source, the Morrigan can appear in many different guises. From a single war or death goddess to one of seven sisters responsibly for sovereignty over Ireland to a title for any number of deities that fulfill a function similar to that of the Norse Valkyries.
The name Morrigu translates one of three ways:
- “Mare Queen”
- “Phantom Queen”
- “Great Queen”
The Book of Invasions as told in the Book of
Leinster and the Book of Fermoy (the first redaction) list three sisters that
are linked to the Morrigan:
- Badb: Goddess of battle identified with the raven
- Macha: a Goddess of horses and sovereignty
- Anann: a land Goddess
There are two other redactions that confuse the
issue even more. In the second, Morrigu is listed as one of seven sisters:
Badb, Macha, Morrigu, Anann, Eriu, Fotla, and Banba. The last three are the
gods of sovereignty of Ireland who survived since before the flooding that
killed the first Irish settlers, the Cessairians.
There is a third redaction too. Are you a little
confused? So are most historians.
Celtic researcher Mary Jones sums it up like this:
What is most evident is
that from the texts, "Morrigan" or "Morrigu" is a title
applied to different women who for the most part seem to be sisters or related
in some manner, or sometimes it is the same woman with slightly differing names
in different manuscripts and redactions. We see that Morrigan is identified
with Badb, Macha, Anann, and Danann. The first is usually identified with the raven
and battle, the second usually identified with the archetypical Celtic horse
goddess, the third with the land goddess, and the forth with a mother goddess
(though linguistically perhaps with the Danube River of Europe, and thus to the
archetypical Celtic river goddess, like Boann). [1]
The Morrigan is a triple goddess. Her attributes,
like those of Lugh and Brigit, span the entire Celtic world view. She is mostly
remembered today for the first attribute, that of a war goddess.
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Brighid
~ written by John WinterWolf
The Celtic Goddess Brghid is well known for being the goddess of Imbolc, her feast day. Sometimes she is seen as the lighter side of the Morrgian. Like the Morrigan, she is a triple goddess. And like the Morrigan, her aspects are not necessarily maiden/mother/crone. She represents the roles for women: mother and matron of children and child-bearing; smith/poet and matron of creative arts; and healer. She is often considered a fire goddess, though she presides over a healing well.
The Celtic Goddess Brghid is well known for being the goddess of Imbolc, her feast day. Sometimes she is seen as the lighter side of the Morrgian. Like the Morrigan, she is a triple goddess. And like the Morrigan, her aspects are not necessarily maiden/mother/crone. She represents the roles for women: mother and matron of children and child-bearing; smith/poet and matron of creative arts; and healer. She is often considered a fire goddess, though she presides over a healing well.
The
Need Fire is one of the aspects of Brighid worship that we incorporate
regularly in our rituals. The most famous sacred flame of the Celtic world is
Brighid’s Fire in Kildare, Ireland, which is still kept lit even today. She,
like Sophia, is the light in the darkest parts of our lives.
"Bríg came and keened
for her son. At first she shrieked, in the end she wept.
Then for the first
time weeping and shrieking were heard in Ireland.
(Now she is the Bríg who
invented a whistle for signalling at night.)"
--The Second Battle of Magh
Turedh
Much of the legends of the goddess Brighid have
been transferred to Saint Brigit of Kildare. There is no evidence that she is a
real person and in fact the two are hard to separate as the texts on Brighid
the goddess were written down after the story of saint Brigit.
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Cernunnos
~ written by John WinterWolf
~ written by John WinterWolf
The Song of Amergin
I am a stag of seven tines,
I am a wide flood on a plain,
I am a wind on the deep waters,
I am a shining tear of the sun,
I am a hawk on a cliff,
I am fair among flowers,
I am a god who sets the head afire with smoke.
I am a battle waging spear,
I am a salmon in the pool,
I am a hill of poetry,
I am a ruthless boar,
I am a threatening noise of the sea,
I am a wave of the sea,
Who but I knows the secrets of the unhewn dolmen ?
I am a wide flood on a plain,
I am a wind on the deep waters,
I am a shining tear of the sun,
I am a hawk on a cliff,
I am fair among flowers,
I am a god who sets the head afire with smoke.
I am a battle waging spear,
I am a salmon in the pool,
I am a hill of poetry,
I am a ruthless boar,
I am a threatening noise of the sea,
I am a wave of the sea,
Who but I knows the secrets of the unhewn dolmen ?
-Origin unknown
The name of Cernunnos comes from a depiction of the
a horned god made in the 1st century CE by Celts from the area of
Modern Paris, The Nautes Pillar. Cernunnos is probably the Romanized name for
the Celtic horned deity.
The images of Cernunnos are unusually consistent. A
mature man with long hair and a beard, who has horns of a stag. He wears a torc
and often carries other torcs in his hand or hanging from his horns. And, he is
seated and cross-legged. The hand not holding a torc is usually holding a ram
horned serpent.
It is from this picture that he has been given the
titles of The Stag Lord, The Horned God of the Hunt, The Lord of the Forest.
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Herne
~ written by John WinterWolf
God of the Wild Hunt. Ghost of the Forest. Hunter and Hunted.
God of the Wild Hunt. Ghost of the Forest. Hunter and Hunted.
Sometime a keeper here in
Windsor Forest,
Doth all the winter-time,
at still midnight,
Walk round about an oak,
with great ragg'd horns;
And there he blasts the
tree, and takes the cattle,
And makes milch-kine yield
blood, and shakes a chain
In a most hideous and
dreadful manner.
You have heard of such a
spirit, and well you know
The superstitious
idle-headed eld
Receiv'd, and did deliver
to our age,
This tale of Herne the Hunter
for a truth.
— William Shakespeare, The
Merry Wives of Windsor
Herne is said to have been a huntsman in the employ
of King Richard the second (in and around Windsor Forest). He saved the King's
life when he was attacked by a cornered white deer, but was mortally wounded
himself in the process. A local wizard, calling himself Philip Urswick, brought
him back to health using his magical powers, which entailed tying the dead
animal's antlers on Herne's head. However Herne and the other hunters had lost all
there hunting skills. Herne was hung for it. Only when the other hunters swore
on oath to Herne and formed a hunting party was the curse lifted. For this they
were also hung.
They became the eternal huntsmen, wild and furious, and always hunting. Some say these are ghosts lead by Herne, or faeries, or spirits. The Wild Hunt that rides the sky or the land. It is unclear what they hunt as there is no consistence in the lore
They became the eternal huntsmen, wild and furious, and always hunting. Some say these are ghosts lead by Herne, or faeries, or spirits. The Wild Hunt that rides the sky or the land. It is unclear what they hunt as there is no consistence in the lore
In the early 20th century, people began to view Herne as a version of Cernunnos. Some of the people who put this theory forth are R. Lowe Thompson and Margret Murry.
Momiji Moon regards Herne as a ghost, a hunter or seeker forever bound to his task.
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Momiji
Momiji is referred to as a kami in Japanese Shinto tradition. A kami cam mean many things: ghost, spirit, elemental, god, otherworlderly being, etc. In this case, she is seen most closely related to a dryad or tree spirit. She represents the essence of all Japanese maple trees. This ranks her as a spirit or minor deity.
In one myth, she aids the Goddess of Autumn (Akibimi). "One day a dryad named Momiji stumbled upon the mountain (Akibimi, powerless and transformed) and, realizing that the beauty of the earth could not be appreciated without the slumber brought on by Akibimi's powers, offered to free the autumn. To this end, Momiji climbed up onto Akibimi's head and set down roots, and through her, autumn once more fell on the world." (https://broomcloset.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/akibimi-japanese-goddess-of-autumn/)
To this day, there are special festivities in the Autumn to view the changing leaves of the Japanese maple trees. This is called Momiji-gare. It is both a social and a spiritual experience. There are even protocols for proper viewing, like there are for tea and calligraphy. While viewing, one should try to come into spiritual communion with the leaves, listening and communicating with the gods and spirits of these trees. The aim is to "enter nature" and let it touch your heart. Internalize its beauty. "Man enters Nature, and Nature, in turn, enters man." This viewing festival is important in all sorts of tales, like the Tale of Genji, and throughout history where meetings of officials were held in peace under the watchful eye and the beauty of Momiji. This leads to notions of peace and prosperity being associated with Momiji.
The leaf shape of the Japanese maple tree is akin to a child's hand (momiji) or the webbed hand of a frog (kaede). Often the Autumn coloring makes for crimson colored leaves (momizu, to become crimson-leaved).
In one myth, she aids the Goddess of Autumn (Akibimi). "One day a dryad named Momiji stumbled upon the mountain (Akibimi, powerless and transformed) and, realizing that the beauty of the earth could not be appreciated without the slumber brought on by Akibimi's powers, offered to free the autumn. To this end, Momiji climbed up onto Akibimi's head and set down roots, and through her, autumn once more fell on the world." (https://broomcloset.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/akibimi-japanese-goddess-of-autumn/)
To this day, there are special festivities in the Autumn to view the changing leaves of the Japanese maple trees. This is called Momiji-gare. It is both a social and a spiritual experience. There are even protocols for proper viewing, like there are for tea and calligraphy. While viewing, one should try to come into spiritual communion with the leaves, listening and communicating with the gods and spirits of these trees. The aim is to "enter nature" and let it touch your heart. Internalize its beauty. "Man enters Nature, and Nature, in turn, enters man." This viewing festival is important in all sorts of tales, like the Tale of Genji, and throughout history where meetings of officials were held in peace under the watchful eye and the beauty of Momiji. This leads to notions of peace and prosperity being associated with Momiji.
The leaf shape of the Japanese maple tree is akin to a child's hand (momiji) or the webbed hand of a frog (kaede). Often the Autumn coloring makes for crimson colored leaves (momizu, to become crimson-leaved).
Momiji is found in many Japanese poems for all the reasons mentioned above. It was also a poetic euphemism for eating venison. Each Japanese tree became associated with a kind of animal and thus meat. The cherry tree (Sakura) is associated with horses and eating horse meat. Momiji is associated with the deer and thus the eating of venison.
Momiji Moon venerates Momiji as its main spirit or totem, and treats Momiji as a deity. It is through Momiji that the coven and tradition had been revived, and through Momiji that the smooth blending of East Asian traditions could find balance.
(References also from: https://printsofjapan.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/momiji-%E7%B4%85%E8%91%89-the-japanese-and-their-love-affair-with-the-maple-tree/)
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