Maia is usually explained as meaning Maker, for she is seen as the cause of the spring season when all that we have seen die away before winter now springs back to life. Therefore we have come to use her name to designate May, the month of flowers -- the time of rebirth.

In the mythology of ancient Greece, Atlas, her father, was punished for taking part in a revolt against the gods, and so was sentenced to bear the heavens on his shoulders. Unable to bear their father's humiliation, Maia and her sisters fled to highest heaven and can be seen there as the group known as The Pleiades.

Maia is called Grandmother of Magic. Seduced by Zeus, she gave birth to Hermes. The planet Mercury is named for Hermes, and in Sanskrit the name is Budh.

The same Goddess, called Maia by the Greeks, was the virgin mother to Hermes the Enlightened One, who had as many reincarnations as the Buddha.

As the virgin mother of Buddha, Maya embarrassed ascetic Buddhists and was soon written out of the script. Like ascetic Christians speaking of Christ's birth, some Buddhists claimed the Enlightened One could not touch his mother's "parts of shame" and so was born through an opening in her side. This mythic Caesarian section seems to have been bungled, for a few days later Maya died -- "of joy," as Buddhist scriptures rather fatuously put it.

Nevertheless, Maya remained very much alive as one of Kali's most revered manifestations, because the very fact of "Existence"-- the material cosmos-demanded her presence. As Zimmer analyzed her:

Maya-Shakti is personified as the world-protecting, feminine, maternal side of Ultimate Being, and as such, stands for spontaneous, loving acceptance of life's tangible reality. She affirms, she is, she represents and enjoys, the delirium of the manifested forms . . . . Maya-Shakti is Eve, "the Eternal Feminine,": she who ate, and tempted her consort to eat, and was herself the apple.

In herself Maya embodies all three aspects of the maternal trinity. Her colors were white, red, and black, the colors of the Gunas, or the Virgin-Mother-Crone. Like every other form of Kali, she was Creator, Preserver, Destroyer. She was also a spirit dwelling perpetually in women. A Mahayana text says, "Of all the forms of Maya, woman is the most important."

Not only the month but many other traditions attest to the great age and wide distribution of the Goddess Maya. She was more than the Maia who mothered Hermes; she was also Maga the Grandmother- goddess who bore Cu Chulainn's mother; and the Mandaean Christian's Almaya, called "Eternity," or "the World," or "Beings"; and Maga or Maj the May-maiden in Scandinavia. Like the Hindu Maya who brought forth earthly appearances at creation, the Scandinavian one personified the pregnant womb of chaos before the beginning: Ginnungagap. In this the World-virgin was associated with the idea of magical illusion, creating "appearances" like her Hindu counterpart.

The Maya people of Yucatan offered sacrifices in the same way as in northern India, at the same seasons, determined by the same stars. Mayan "scorpion stars" were the same as the constellation Scorpio on Hindu and Greek charts. As in India, Mayan divine images were painted blue and Mayan women pierced the left nostril for insertion of a jewel. Another version of the Creatress seems to have been the Mother Goddess Mayauel of the Mexican Agave, called "Woman with Four Hundred Breasts," with a strong resemblance to the world-nurturing Many-Breasted Artemis and other eastern forms of the deity who mothered all the world's creatures.
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Legend of the White Buffalo Woman is ancient, arising about 2000 years ago, and is central to the spiritual practices of numerous Native American nations. Various, but similar, versions of the legend of White Buffalo Calf Woman are told.

The brief story presented here is based primarily on the story of White Buffalo Calf Woman at various websites as told by Joseph Chasing Horse, Traditional Leader of the Lakota Nation.

It was told that next time there is chaos and disparity, she would return again. She said she would return as a White Buffalo Calf. Some believe she already has.
Words of Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe of the Lakota Nation

While two warriors were out hunting buffalo, a white buffalo calf appeared. As she approached them she changed into a beautiful young woman . . . which is how she came to be called the White Buffalo Calf Woman.

One of the young warriors offended her with his lustful thoughts, and White Buffalo Calf Woman asked him to approach. As he stepped forward, a black cloud descended over him and when it dissipated all that was left of him was his bones.

The other warrior fell to his knees and began to pray. The White Buffalo Calf Woman told him to return to his people, telling them she would appear to them in four days, bringing with her a sacred bundle.

And this she did, appearing to them as a white buffalo calf descending on a cloud. Stepping down, she rolled over on the ground, changing from white to black, then yellow, then red.

When White Buffalo Calf Woman arose she was once again the beautiful woman, cradling the sacred bundle in her arms.

Spending four days with the people, White Buffalo Calf Woman taught them sacred songs, dances, and ceremonies as well as the traditional ways.

White Buffalo Calf Woman instructed them to be responsible caretakers of the land and to be always mindful that the children are the future of the people.

On the fourth day White Buffalo Calf Woman left in the same manner she had arrived, telling the people she was leaving the sacred bundle, the White Buffalo Calf Woman pipe, in their care. She promised to one day return for it and to bring harmony and spiritual balance to the world.

White Buffalo Calf Woman prophesied that the birth of a white buffalo calf would be a sign that it was near the time of her return,
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Mohini is one of the twenty-two avatars (incarnations)of Vishnu listed by the Bhagvatam. Mohini is regarded as coexisting with Vishnu and is not, strictly speaking, an incarnation but a form that Vishnu assumes at will. Mohini has been called the Enchantress, but she does not enchant the mind so much as drive it bereft of reason by infusing every particle of it with desire - for her! Mohini is supernaturally beautiful, beautiful in a manner a woman never can be, for they have to be real, but she is a facsimile of the Creative Feminine and can be starkly, cruelly flawless.

Her story is intriguing, mysterious, and erotic, like Mohini herself. Vishnu's role in the cosmos is as the preserver of form and of balance. To meet his goals he frequently takes on fleshly form, often (but not always) human. While incarnate he retains his divine powers, but cannot be recognized by mortal eyes. His more prominent incarnations include Krishna and Rama.
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Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture. She was born when Uranus (the father of the gods) was castrated by his son Cronus. Cronus threw the severed genitals into the ocean which began to churn and foam about them. From the aphros ("sea foam") arose Aphrodite. After her birth, Zeus was afraid that the gods would fight over Aphrodite's hand in marriage so he married her off to the god Hephaestus, the steadiest of the gods. He could hardly believe his good luck and used all his skills to make the most lavish jewels for her. He made her a girdle of finely wrought gold and wove magic into the filigree work. That was not very wise of him, for when she wore her magic girdle no one could resist her, and she was all too irresistible already. She loved gaiety and glamour and was not at all pleased at being the wife of sooty, hard-working Hephaestus.

Aphrodite loved and was loved by many gods and mortals. Among her mortal lovers, the most famous was perhaps Adonis. She is accompanied by the Graces.

Her festival is the Aphrodisiac which was celebrated in various centers of Greece. Her priestesses were not prostitutes but women who represented the goddess and sexual intercourse with them was considered just one of the methods of worship.

Her attributes are the dolphin, the dove, the swan, the pomegranate and the lime tree. In Roman mythology Venus is the goddess of love and beauty and Cupid is love's messenger.
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Gaia more frequently spelled Ge, was the Earth. She is rarely even referred to as a deity, she is more a power.

There are two accepted versions of Classical creation: Hesiod's and Ovid's. Both versions begin with Gaia's emergence from Chaos. She has a parthenogenic birth (ie, only one parent needed). According to Ovid, Gaia pretty much just appeared. After her birth, Ovid continued to see the hand of a Creator at work, who populated Gaia with the necessary mountains, seas, flora, and fauna.

According to Hesiod, the first beings sprang into existance without cause or explanation. In her sleep, Gaia gives parthenogenic birth to Uranus (the Universe, who emerges as big and powerful as Gaia) and Pontus (the Sea, and the God of the Sea). Uranus, bursting with love for Gaia (possible only by the creation of Eros, you see)showers her with fertile rain and this is how Gaia gives birth to the rest of creation.

In many ways the Universe was created by her alone (okay, not really - but she did give birth to her son Uranus who then became her partner in the whole populating space thing). Once, Zeus had a wet dream at night that got Gaia pregnant, too.
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The story of Psyche tells of a mortal woman taken to a mysterious castle to be married to a fierce dragon. Her husband comes to her in the middle of the night, and she falls in love with him. Told that she must never look upon his face, she disobeys this injunction and finds that her husband is really Eros, the god of love; when he awakes, he flies away, leaving her forever.

Psyche roams far and wide trying to find Eros. She goes to his mother, Aphrodite, who gives her four tasks to complete, each seemingly impossible. The final task requires her to descend into Hades and retrieve a box of beauty.

Through the process of meeting the challenges of her tasks and integrating her experiences Psyche grows from an innocent young girl into a mature goddess. Psyche is a rich reminder of our imperative to grow; she reminds us that the process of life takes us into dark places as well as light, just as the butterfly emerges from the dark chrysalis into the light.
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Oshun the Yoruban Goddess of love, delights in the creation of beauty and art, sensual delights and self-adornment. Her symbols are mirrors, jewelry, honey, golden silks and feather fans. Creativity in decorating home and temple is a way of honoring Oshun, who will bless any beautiful space created in Her honor. There is no object so common that Oshun will not appreciate more if it is made artistic and pleasing to the eye. Creativity in dress and self-adornment please her as well, and when Oshun is pleased, her blessings know no limits.

Oshun is the Yoruban Orisha (deity) of the sweet or fresh waters (as opposed to the salt waters of Yemaya). She is widely loved, as She is known for healing the sick and bringing fertility and prosperity, and She especially watches over the poor and brings them what they need. As Orisha of love, Oshun is represented as a beautiful, charming and coquettish young woman. In some tales She is said to be a mermaid, with a fish's tail.

The Yoruba clans inhabit parts of western central Africa, in present-day Nigeria. Oshun is the goddess of the river of the same name, and She is especially worshipped in river-towns. During Her yearly festival, She is said to choose one or more women dancers to descend into (much like participants in Vodou ceremonies may be "mounted" or "possessed" by a lwa). These women then take new names in honor of Oshun and are thereafter consulted as healers.
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Isis has never been equaled by any other aspect of the Goddess in terms of power of worship and influence. She was actively worshipped from at least 3000 B.C to the first century A.D., and the fascination with her myths has never disappeared. She is loving mother, passionate wife, grieving widow. She is the throne from which all rulers of Egypt took their power, and she is the natural force of wind, water, and nurturing land, of life and of life beyond death. The wings of Isis have spread wide indeed, and today's Goddess movement understands Isis not only as one specific Egyptian goddess, but as a symbol of the awesome and enduring power of the Great Goddess.
I am the All. I am the Past, the Present, and the Future.
Inscription on statue of Isis
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Tara is honored in two traditions. As the Hindu Star Goddess, she is a symbol of eternal light and life. As the Buddhist Goddess of Compassion, she teaches the wisdom of non-attachment. With her third eye, and eyes in each hand and foot, Tara sees beyond the mortal veil into eternity, gently reminding us that all things pass, and each moment is perfect. Open your eyes to the Now, says Tara, and be at peace.

Tara is a tantric deity whose practice is used by practitioners of the Tibetan branch of Vajrayana Buddhism to develop certain inner qualities and understand outer, inner and secret teachings about compassion and emptiness. To the Tibetans, even higher than a god or goddess is a Buddha, a being who has gone beyond the rounds of birth and death. Such an enlightened one has attained the highest wisdom, compassion and capability. Tara is so highly thought of that she is said to be the Mother of all the Buddhas. Buddhas integrate all aspects and possibilities. They are one with all that exists. They can manifest bodies of light and radiance and they can emanate bodies of form into the world in order to bring benefit to this world of challenges and confusion.

Tara is known to the Tibetans as The Faithful One, The Fierce Protectoress, and to this day there are stories carried out of Tibet by refugees, fleeing from the horrors of Chinese occupation, that tell of Her intervention and assistance in their lives. In the system of mind-training practices offered by the great masters of Tibetan wisdom, Tara is an archetype of our own inner wisdom. They speak of a transformation of consciousness, a journey to freedom. They teach many simple and direct means for each person to discover within themselves the wisdom, compassion and glory that is Tara. There are several forms of the Goddess depicted: Green, White, Red, Black, Yellow and Blue Tara.
Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha Tara, I praise you! In all your forms I call you!
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Luna, the moon goddess... Is the Moon herself a Goddess? From ancient times, she has been thought of as such. The Moon Goddess is called by many names: Artemis, Hecate, Chang-O, Jezanna, Kuan-Yin, Anu, Hina, Mari, Ix Chel, Mawu, Ishtar, Xochiquetzal, Selene... She rules the movement of the waters, from the greatest seas to the tides within each woman's body. She is the bringer of dreams and the illuminator of the psyche. Lunar magic is cyclical, intuitive, emotional, psychic. The feminine mysteries of the Moon are eternal and fascinating. With every rising of the full moon on the eastern horizon, our wonder is born anew.
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Yemaya is Mother Water and Stella Maris, the Star of the Sea. She is the Yoruban, Brazilian and Afro-Caribbean Goddess and Orisha of mother love. Yemaya is mostly concerned with the affairs of women, children, birthing, and matters of the home. But her love is all encompassing, and she is the deep ocean of comfort for all who are in need. Sometimes pictured as a mermaid, Yemaya protects all who venture on the seas ¿ and all who invoke her name in times of trouble.