Goddess Diana Project
by Ladyhawke
Diana. Lady of many names, who stretches across
cultures and even times and has been venerated since the dawn of time. She has
been known as Artemis, from Greece. She is also known as Diane, or Diana, in
Roman mythology
The Ephesians called Her Dia Anna; the Etruscans, Artumus.
For the Kemetics, She was Bast, Kemetics being ancient Egyptians. To the
Phoenicians, Astarte or Ashtoreth. Her other names include Goddess of Light;
Queen of Heaven; Lunar virgin; Goddess of Wildwood; Divine Huntress; Protector
of Animals; and Lady of the Beasts; Lady of the Lake. One source stated one of
Her names was Limnatis. (1) For the Gauls, and later the Celts, She was Diona.
That name means divine and brilliant. Some other names include….Aegina, Aetole,
Agrotera, Alphaea, Alpheionia, Amarysia, Amarynthia, Apanchomene, Aptera,
Aristo, Aristobule, Astrateia, Brauron, Britomartis, Calliste, Caryatis,
Cederatis, Chitone, Cnacalesia, Gnaceatis, Cnagia, Colaenis, Condyleatis,
Cordaca, Coryphaea, Corythallia, Cynthia, Daphnaea, Delia, Delphinia,
Derchiatis, Dictynia, Dictynnaea, Ennodia, Ephesia, Euclea, Eurynome, Gaeeochus,
Hegemone, Hemeresia, Heurippe, Hymnia, Iolcia, Iphigenia, Issoria, Laphria,
Leucophryne, Limnaea, Limnatides, Limnatis, Locheia, Loxo, Lyceia, Lycoatis,
Lysizona, Mesopolitis, Munychia, Mysia, Oenoatis, Orthia, Parthenos, Patroa,
Pheraea, Pitanatis, Propylaea, Proseoa, Pyrmia, Rhoccaea, Saronia, Sciatis,
Selasia, Selasphora, Soodina, Soteira, Stymphalia, Tauropolis, Triclaria, Zea.
(1) As anyone can see, She was a very popular Lady.
Genealogically, She
is alleged to have been the daughter of Leto and Zeus, born on the island of
Delos. Her brother was Lucifer and Her lover, Orion. She was sister to Apollo.
The story of Her lover was one of sadness. Apollo tricked His sister into
believing that something swimming out to sea was a target for Her famed bow and
arrows. He bet Her She could not hit that target, which, of course, was Orion.
She did, as She was one of the best shots that ever lived. When She found out
it was Her lover, She was enraged. She turned Orion into stars and sent Orion
into the sky to become what we now call the Orion’s belt. She is associated
with Ursa Major to be close to Her lover. She is considered part of the triune
concept of Selene, Diana and Hecate. Diana would be equated with the maiden
part of that triune. Selene the mother and of course, Hecate, the crone.
Diana is associated with several places in the world. Of course, Delos is one,
where She was born. Also, the Temple of Artemis in Rhodes at Lindos. Lake Nemi
is known as Diana’s mirror. Quite possibly the most famous would be the temple
at Ephesus. A temple to the Goddess which was later usurped and used to
venerate and deify Mary, the alleged mother of the man Jesus.
In fact,
Diana is mentioned by name in the Bible. The New Testament to be exact, in Acts
as allegedly written by Paul. It states, “ So that not only is there danger
that this trade of ours will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of
the great Goddess Artemis (Diana) will be regarded as worthless and that She
whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from Her
magnificence. ( pronouns for Diana capitalized by this author)(2). That same
chapter of Acts goes on to tell of the ‘miracles’ at Ephesus which, of course,
were taken straight from our roots. The formers of the Bible, seeing the
universal love the people had for Diana, in Her various guises, and in
particular, Constantine, at the Council of Nicea, replaced Diana with Mary.
Yet, the miracles of Diana could not be quashed by the monotheistic
faiths. More specifically, the Roman Catholic Church. Her worship was merely
driven underground. She would not remain underground, however. In 1899,
Charles G Leland wrote Aradia, The Gospel of the Witches. (3) This highly
controversial book allegedly comes from an Italian witch known only as
Magdalena. It recounts the story of Diana, and tells how She is the mother of
all Witches. Leland’s book led to one by Raven Grimassi called Stregheria or
The Ways of the Strega. (4) This book traces the history of our path, as far
back as Etruscan times.
Some of the symbols that are related to this
amazing Goddess are as follows…
Generic symbols. Crescent moon, new moon,
bow and arrows, sandals, clouds, three pillars, and the blue sky.
Animals.
Hogs, Guinea Fowl, doves, deer, bees, goats, swans, wolves, lions, snakes, fish,
boar, quail, elephant, horses, bear, and most importantly, the
stag.
Plants. Anemones, flowing almond, hazel, honeysuckle, thistle,
laurel, fig tree, amaranth, cypress, cedar, myrtle, willow, daisy, mugwort, oak
and walnut trees.
Perfumes. Jasmine, aloe, ginseng, lemon verbana,
camphor.
Gems and stones. Moonstone, pearls, quartz, crystal, silver,
turquoise, iron, aluminum, diamond.
Colors. Silver, white, red, turquoise,
and green.
Places. Lakes, marshes, streams, woodlands, oceans, and most
particularly, forest sanctuaries.
Objects. Water, the sun, the moon, a
double axe, lightening, thunder, the javelin, the torch, the star Sirius, the
forest, and herbal medicine.
Numbers. 3 and 9
Astrological signs.
Pisces, Aquarius, and Sagittarius.
Best time to work Magick with Diana is
the Meridiane, or the full moon at midnight in the spring or summer.
She is
known as the patron of singers, young girls, fertility, women, particularly
abused and neglected women, sports, sailors, priestesses who taught the sexual
mysteries.
Days of the week. Monday and Friday.
Month is
November.
Candle color is white.
Goddess Diana Cake
Recipe for a White cake with fig and almond, a cake made specifically
for Diana, as the color is Her’s, the almond and the fig. This recipe is my own
creation, celebrating the Goddess Diana.
Ingredients.
1 cup white sugar
½ cup of butter
2
eggs
2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract. (don’t use imitation)
1 ½ cup
white flour. (I use only cake flour, but all purpose is fine too)
1 ¾
teaspoons of baking powder
½ cup whole milk.
Chopped figs
Chopped or
slivered almonds.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a
9 X 9 pan or you can use cupcake tins if you prefer.
In a medium bowl,
cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the
vanilla. Combine the flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and
mix well. Then, finally, stir in the milk and mix until smooth. Lastly, add
the fig and the almonds to the batter and spread those evenly. Bake for 30 to
40 minutes, depending on which pan, or until the cake springs back when
touched. I frost this with almond butter cream frosting.
Almond butter cream frosting.
½ cup butter, softened.
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups of powdered
sugar, or confectioners sugar
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
extract. Not the imitation kind
½ teaspoon almond extract.
2
tablespoons of whole milk.
Cream the butter until soft. Add the salt
and part of the sugar slowly, blending after each addition. Then add the egg
yolks and other ingredients, alternating with the milk and the rest of the sugar
until it’s the right consistency to spread. Enjoy for your rituals to Diana!
Remember to leave some for Her and Her animals!
Goddess Diana Fig Jam
For the really adventurous. Here is a recipe for fig jam. Its totally
yummy and very simple to make. This is another of my own recipes, using foods
sacred to Diana.
2 quarts chopped fresh figs (about 5 pounds)
3/4 cup water
6
cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
To prepare chopped figs, pour boiling water over figs, let
stand 10 minutes. Drain, stem and chop figs. Measure and add 3/4 cup water and
sugar to figs. Slowly bring to boiling, stirring occasionally until sugar
dissolves. Cook rapidly until thick. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Add
lemon juice and cook 1 minute longer. Pour, boiling hot, into hot Ball jars.
Adjust caps. Process 10 to 15 minutes. Yield about 5 pints.
Simple Prayer to Diana
Hail Diana!
Hail Diana and Artemis!
Blessed Lady of the
beasts.
I dedicate myself to you.
May my path honor thee.
May my
spirit celebrate thee.
May my life force magnify thee.
These things I
pray
Be fulfilled this day.
Goddess, mother, help me
To know what is
right.
So mote it be!
Ritual to Diana
“The altar is prepared to honor Diana with items that symbolize Her
Participants include high priestess, and women to take the part of the
mother, crone, handmaiden, summoner, and the four watchtowers.
The summoner sages all who enter the circle and asks each….
“Do you
come in perfect love and perfect trust?”
Maiden blesses and dedicates all with Diana oil and a pentacle over the
third eye Chakra and says….
“Sister to sister, we share this circle.”
All participants cast the circle.
The High Priestess speaks
this….
“I am called Diana. The Bright One and the Mother Flame. I am
Diana. The Queen of Ephesus. I am Diana. Artemis. Great Hunter and protector
of all this is wild and free. I am Diana, Selene whose golden hair gives light
to the moon. From the smallest of the brethren on the earth and of the Nature
kingdom all the way to those mighty elementals that serve creation. I am the
Mother. I send before you many teachers that have earned a Threefold Flame,
they will be wise indeed and know all the secrets of the mysteries. They will
work to teach the ways of the light and life eternal. Thus, when these who are
higher up on the scale of the hierarchy of our bands perceive your gentleness,
yet your firmness and your ability to marshal the forces of elementals for good
works, they will be open to you. Learn well my lessons and realize that an
initiations passed will ascend your ascension unto me. In my circle, you have
gathered and tonight I speak to you. Awaken and know that you are your own
worst enemy. It is you who will allow doubt to deny the within. I say to thee
my daughter that a house divided against itself cannot stand and that you
understand that the reason it cannot stand is because the foundation has no
support from any Goddess manifestation. until this problem of the psyche be
solved. For one is a divided house has not yet entered the path of oneness with
me and the one who so allows her earthly body to divide her right and left or
her karma or her psyche should know that this is true. Realize my daughter this
may be the root cause of your not going forward on your path as you can and as
you should. Hear me now and know that at this moment as always I am thee and
thee are me. It is only a matter of your determined will if you will summon me
forth through true mind, heart and soul, you will be filled with the mysteries
of time eternal. When one is awakened to the Goddess within one becomes the
master of their path. Resolution and harmony are your rewards.
The east watchtower says…
“’Goddess speak to me”
A girl whispered
“Goddess, speak to me.”
And a meadowlark sang but the girl did not
hear.
So the girl yelled “Goddess, speak to me.”
And the thunder rolled
across the sky.
But the girl did not listen.
The looked around and said,
“Goddess, let me see you.”
And a star shone brightly.
But the girl did
not notice.
And the girl shouted “Goddess, show me a miracle.”
And a
life was born.
But the girl did not know.
So the girl cried out in
despair, “Touch me Goddess and let me know you are there.”
Whereupon the
Goddess reached down and touched the girl.
But the girl brushed the
butterfly away and walked on.
The Maiden says…
“we are strong, sexy and proud. We walk with our
heads high, confidence in our strides and power in our wake. Others watch us
and want us to be us, unable to comprehend how we can be so cool. Sometimes,
people are intimidated. We are women. We are Witches. But we still are
human, Every moment of our lives is a lesson. There is something to be learned
from every action and every reaction. We still cry, hurt, bleed. But we also
laugh, rejoice, dance and sing. With Goddess within us, without us, around us,
we are able to be strong even when the world tries to tear us down. We allow no
one to break us down with their insecurities, hatred, ignorance or greed. We
understand that to pretend is to be better than someone, to bring ourselves up
only hurts ourselves and those around us. We do not pretend, instead, we live
our truth and the truth of the Goddess. She is in our every step, thought,
every word that escapes our lips. To spread negativity is to insult Her sacred
system. So while we are strong, filled with Her power, we are also human and
humble and vow to walk in Her truth every day, with every action we take upon
ourselves to commit. We are women of the Goddess. We are Witches.
All will chant…
Smiling virgin, shining crescent, waxing fullness, luminescent.
Sickle
of silver, reaper of bone.
Maiden, mother and crone.
Maiden, mother and
crone.
Ancient Goddess, daughter of moonlight, Ancient Goddess, mother of
stone.
Ancient Goddess, keeper of midnight maiden, mother and
crone.
Maiden, mother and crone.
South watchtower says…
“we
feel a sadness we cannot name. Though we have accomplished much of what we set
out to do we sense something is missing in our lives and fruitlessly search “out
there” for the answers. What is missing is we are disconnected from our
authentic sense of self.
Mother says…
“By Moon Fox, I can see it in your eyes, you’re as strong
as I surmised. But do you know it? Do you know you have the strength? Do you
know the power is your’s Witchy Woman. You can use it if you like. Its your
gift and its your right. Use it wisely, Witchy Woman. Mother Nature is your
guide, she will show you wrong from right. Feel the power, its your
connection. I can see it in your eyes. You’re as strong as I surmised. But do
you know it? There’s a Goddess and a Queen, deep inside your living soul.
Treat her kindly Witchy Woman. She will never lead you wrong. She is only
light and truth. Listen closely, she has the answers. Its not hard to hear
her speak, listen closely everyday. Intuition, that’s her language. It see
it in your eyes. You’re as strong as I surmised. But do you know it, Witchy
Woman?”
All will chant….
Behold, there is magic all around you, behold, there is magic all around
you, behold, there is magic all around you.
Awaken, rejoice and sing.
I
am the air around you. I am the breath of life within you. I am the wind
blowing through you. I am all that I am.
I am the fire around you. I am
the spark of life within you. I am the flame burning through you. I am all
that I am.
I am the water around you. I am the pulse of life within you. I
am the ocean flowing through you. I am all that I am.
I am the earth around
you. I am the heartbeat within you. I am the ground below you. I am all that
I am.
I am the spirit around you. I am divinity within you. I am the
light shining through you. I am all that I am.
Behold, there is magic all
around you, behold, there is magic all around you, behold, there is magic all
around you.
Awaken, rejoice and sing. Awaken, rejoice and sing.
West watchtower says….
We often live our lives backwards. We try to have more things or more
money in order to do more of what we want so that we will be happier. It is our
need to control, to suppress, to instill unnatural rules that is not living in
harmony. Our memory must rekindle the universal knowledge within us to follow
the natural cycles and divine order of Mother. We must first be who we really
are, then do what we need to do in order to harvest our true path.
Crone says….
“By Silver Wind breath of life into my soul. Awaken
all that lies deep within. Who am I to deny where my destiny lies? I see
myself in shadow, a life long ago. Where hurt turned to madness and
inconsolable pain turned to wrath. Light into darkness, changing the world as I
knew it and creating a monster of hate within all I touched and could not love.
Power beyond reckoning to hurt as I have been. But now as my karmic tale
unfolds a twist in this tale now begins. From madness to love, turn chaos to
peace, healing the monster I once unleashed. For her light now shines forth
guiding me along my way to heal those who have hurt with love. A power beyond
reckoning, turning the tide. Becoming the witch I have been called to be. Who
am I to deny where my destiny lies?”
All will chant….
We are alive as the earth is alive. We have the power to create our
freedom.
We have the courage. We are healers. Like the sun, we shall
rise.
We have the courage. We are healers. Like the moon, we shall
rise.
We are alive as the earth is alive. We have the power to create our
freedom.
We have the courage. We are healers. Like the sun, we shall
rise.
We have the courage. We are healers. Like the moon, we shall
rise
We are alive as the earth is alive. We have the power to create our
freedom.
We have the courage. We are healers. Like the sun, we shall
rise.
We have the courage. We are healers. Like the moon, we shall
rise
We are alive as the earth is alive. We have the power to create our
freedom.
We have the courage. We are healers. Like the sun, we shall
rise.
We have the courage. We are healers. Like the moon, we shall
rise
North Watchtower says….
My life as a woman now flows with the cycles of Mother Earth. I am part
of mother and she is me. I have opened up my mind, my heart and my feminine
potential to be the Goddess of my kingdom. In reflection of Mother Earth and
the Goddess Diana I too begin the hunt. I shall gather my resources from the
forest that is life. I shall not tarry but be quick with my spiritual bow to
take what I need that my harvest knows fruitation.
All
One by one, all will stand at the altar and claim their strength to begin
the hunt. They will state their name and game. They will summon the energies
of the wise ones to aid their hunt and they shall promise friuitation of their
harvest.
Celebration of circle.
Wine and Cakes
“blessed be this wine and cakes.
The body and the blood of the
Mother
May you never hunger….(pass the bread)
May you never
thirst….(pass the wine)
Blessed be!
High Priestess says…
Gracious Goddess, as we close our circle, we ask
that our path always be in your light.
All say…
“All give thanks to
the Goddess.”
Dismiss the watchtowers…
All say…
“ The circle is open but never broken. Merry meet, merry
part, and merry meet again.”” Taken by permission from Coven of the Goddess.
Used by permission of the writer Journey. See references.
