The Goddess with a thousand names

Writing the Goddess' name

I have been thinking a lot about my last post about how to get the know the Goddess by naming aspects, qualities and attributes; by coming up with suitable adjectives and epithets. I also thought it would be a good idea to do some collage. Up till now it is hard to find pictures which represent Her and at the same time don’t confine Her. So I find myself back behind my laptop with a new Word Doc.

How am I going to capture Her essence in words?

Which words can describe Her without limiting Her?

Since She is all encompassing, where do I start?

To be honest I speak a lot about God(dess) but momentarily I perceive God as Female. This differs from time to time but for now I will address God as She and Her. Feel free to substitute these words by He and Him or They and Them

In my opinion the goddess is represented by numerous goddesses/archetypes. In every culture there are for instance a mother, a warrior, a maiden, a protectress, a wise woman, a lover, an enchantress, a teacher, a healer, a storyteller, a weaver, a spinner, a witch, a wild, woman….. etc.

These words tell us something about Her, yet they remain colorless and abstract. With adjectives and epithets we can paint the nouns and give them more depth and layers. For example:

Teacher of a thousand ways –Diligent Weaver of lives – Gentle Healer with the softest hands – Lady who has dominion over all that is wild and ferocious. Brave warrior, full of strength and compassion,

Nurturing Mother with Her arms open wide…..etc

When you start playing and shuffling like this with words, the possibilities are endless. And isn’t that what She is all about. So for the time being I will shift my attention to writing about Her instead of trying to make a collage or a painting.

To boost my “creative writing skills”, I thought it might be a good idea to draw a single card  (oracle or tarot) which will point me to an aspect of The goddess

Robin Wood Tarot and Goddess statue

For example this morning I’ve drawn the Page of Wands. In my tarot journal I have written this quote from Leila Vey: “I am the spirit of innovation and self-expression. I see the world in a new way, and can hardly contain my excitement with its possibilities. I live for the spark of inspiration which plunges me into the joy of creating something new. Even when others disapprove, I cannot help but express myself with truth. I celebrate my individuality, my originality in everything I do.”

So I could name The goddess:

The creative confident Lady of exiting new possibilities

The fierce Adventuress who dares to take a risk

The brave and frank Speaker of truth

(I have to admit this is easier in Dutch J). So, these are just a few of my thoughts and I welcome any ideas from you how to get to know Her a little bit better.