Celtic Triple Moon Goddesses

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There aren’t any.

Not in all of Western European, Greek, and Roman mythology. There are many triple Goddesses across almost all cultures: Brigid, the Morrigan (She’s a bit confusing and may be a triple triple Goddess,) Hecate, Demeter and Persephone and Hecate, the Matronae, and there’s where things really complex. So many of our British Goddesses and Gods come down to us via Roman and Gaulish names, for example, Nemetona. But there is not to my knowledge any true triple moon Goddess in mythology.

Where did She come from? It seems odd that the ancients named so many Goddesses (and Gods) as moon deities . . . but there are none (again, to my knowledge) combined as Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

So why do so many pagans, Wiccans, and witches worship a triple moon Goddess?

Because She was suggested, “proposed,” logically, I think, by Robert Graves in The White Goddess in the 1950s.

The fact that the concept of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone was put forth not even 100 years ago should not discourage anyone who is devoted to the triple Goddess of the Moon. It makes perfect sense. We know that the ancients planted, harvested, bred and harvested animals depending on the phase of the moon. These traditions have come down to us in the form of folklore. Cut your hair during the period of the new moon if you want it to grow back healthier. Plant during the new moon. Harvest close to the full moon. Don’t start new projects or enterprises during the waning moon.

It seems entirely natural to view the phases of the moon as the phases of a woman’s life. The concept is not negated because it was first officially proposed in the 20th century. It was first popularized in the 20th century. I have no doubt that the idea did occur to our ancestors, and perhaps the worship of a triple moon goddess did occur in times lost to us now. I have a moon goddess picture in a frame, prayer beads, and I go outside every night that the moon is visible after sunset, and I look at the moon, and honor Her, and asked Her for blessings. My intent in writing this post is not to discourage or dissuade anyone from venerating the Maiden, Mother, and Crone as personified by the moon.  My intent was simply to share information regarding Goddess worship, and if I’ve got anything wrong, please tell me.

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