The Goddess is far more than a flat representation of the sacred feminine.

Instead, she is the sum of the whole sacred feminine. She represents the true nature of women, our strengths, and our validity, and versatility as human beings.

The Goddess is multifaceted and sometimes complicated to understand. She is the Goddess with 5 faces.

Through my years practicing Paganism & Witchcraft, I have come to appreciate and learn about the Goddess in her many forms through her many representations. I have also come to look at The Goddess in a very specific and very unique way. In learning and experiencing the Goddess, I felt that only having three aspects were not enough to fully appreciate and know the sacred feminine.

If you read the post on my beliefs, you might recall my position on deity. It is true I don’t necessarily align myself with deity. Rather, I see deity as being the representation of the universal energy we tap into as we walk a spiritual and Magickal path. This energy is very real and vast in its representations. Here, I will take some time to explain my views of Goddess and how I related to her. Consider this a short snippet of the Goddess and all she is.

I view the Goddess as holding 5 different aspects. These aspects enrich and go beyond the traditional Triple Goddess, we all know and love. This Goddess is multi-faceted just as women tend to be. I hope to summarize the 5 faces or 5 aspects of the Goddess as briefly as possible in this post. As you can imagine it is a difficult task to separate and explain the Goddess. At times, she is more than we are able to understand, much less able to describe. It is also expected that some aspects of each Goddess will flow into one another. Each stage or phase growing upon one another to create a powerful and complete representation of the sacred feminine.

I hope to explain myself so you too can view the Goddess differently… or perhaps this is how you have always viewed her, but could not find an expression. I think of each aspect as a thread in spider’s web. Each strand touches one another. The weaving of these threads creates stability, strength, and balance. When you disturb one, you send a vibration throughout the whole.

So without further ado, here is my breakdown of the 5 Faces of the Goddess…

The Maiden Goddess – The Waxing Moon

This is the aspects of the Goddess relate to childhood and adolescence. This is the young, curious and playful Goddess. She is discovering life, sexuality, she is playful and fun.

This Goddess is filled with wonder, she seeks to know as much as she can about whatever interests her. She is carefree and excited for new discoveries.

This Goddess is directly related to new beginnings, new projects, gaining knowledge, ideas, the wind, and sky.

To call upon this Goddess, you are asking for renewal, creativity, youthful energy, and curiosity.

• East
• Air
• New beginnings, creation, seeking knowledge, creativity, intelligence…
• Spring

The Mother Goddess – The Full Moon

This phase of the Goddess is most often related to the Mother, the nurturer, the protector, and the teacher in all of us. She is the homemaker, the bread winner, the comforter, and disciplinarian.

This goddess represents us as we make a house a home, raise children, and guide others toward adulthood and/or maturity on a spiritual path. She is sexual and fertile. She is strong and will protect those she loves with a vengeance. She is also no stranger to pain.

This Goddess has gained some experience. She is the budding healer and potential destroyer.

This Goddess is directly related to Summer, existing projects, movement, passion, motivation, love, and motherhood.

To call upon this Goddess, you are asking for nurturing, comfort, simple healing, and the knowledge of motherhood. She embodies the essence of the Maiden as she pursues the knowledge of the Crone.

• South
• Fire
• Action, fertility, motivation, movement, passion…
• Summer

The Crone Goddess – The Waning Moon

This phase of the Goddess is related to the Crone. She is the wise teacher, the aggressive healer, the storyteller, the patience advisor, and guardian of secrets. She is the giver of abundance.

She is a calm goddess that is not easily aroused into fear or anger. She has learned that there are many reasons why things happen and she has learned to take in all the facts for acting or reacting. She is also very well versed in healing Magick and other aggressive forms of Magick.

This Goddess is the patient wise counsel. She is the keeper of secrets, deity, and what exists beyond the veils.

To call upon this goddess you are asking to know what the wise women know and to discover a power only the crone can possess. This Goddess possesses all the knowledge of the maiden and Mother as she utilizes her wisdom and learns to expand her knowledge beyond her already extensive awareness.

• West
• Water
• Cleansing, wisdom, patience, knowledge, intuition…
• Autumn

The Dark Goddess – The Dark or New Moon

This is an aspect of the Goddess that might be new illumination to most. This Goddess moves us beyond the crone stage. She has developed and gained all the knowledge of the triple Goddess (Maiden, Mother & Crone) and is experiencing the wisdom and knowledge most cannot face.

This Goddess allows herself to dig deep and experience the darkest parts of the human and spiritual psyche. This Goddess intimately knows the things we bury deep within and refuse to acknowledge due to their painful nature. She is neither old nor young, She is as she chooses to appear.

This Goddess is also patient, she no longer fears the unknown, because she now knows the unknown. She does not find much repulsive as she has become intimate with repugnance. She is able to see in the darkest of places and she is able to navigate the deepest crevices of our human nature. She moves through pain, insanity, fear, death, and the like with ease, using each to her advantage.

To call upon this Goddess, you are asking to know things that you may not be ready to handle. You are seeking the things that have bitten you to the bone and you are seeking to commune with these things that might stir insanity. Her knowledge can only be accepted once the stages of the Triple Goddess are mastered. Her power is vast and very strong. She is the darkness before the light. She is that fleeting moment of clarity when all else seems to be chaos. She is the truth that brings transmutation and illumination from within. She is intensity.

This Goddess should not be taken lightly.

• North
• Earth
• Deep inner knowing, darkness, gestation, truth, intensity, illumination…
• Winter

The Whole Goddess – All Cycles of the Moon

As you might guess, this is the sum of the whole. The Whole Goddess is all aspects balanced into one creating the 5^th face of the Goddess.

This Goddess is the most difficult to reach. She is the ascended being who has mastered all the lessons. She uses them in a balanced and honorable method. She too is intense and her theologies are difficult to grasp.

As it goes balance is not something you achieve, it is something you work to maintain every day. This is difficult as we lead a conventional existence.

To call upon this Goddess you are accepting the true cycles of nature, you are accepting your own cycles without self and pride. You are ready to set yourself aside to truly reach spiritual transcendence.

This Goddess is pure Magick, the pure essence of universal power, and she is both light and dark.

She is the sum of the whole. She is a perfect balance.

• All directions
• Spirit
• All aspects balanced within and used equally
• All seasons, she is the essence that bring their transitions and movement.

So there she is the Goddess in her 5 forms.

She is everything we are as women. Her strengths and wisdom are vast and balanced. She has many valuable lessons for us to learn and embody as we walk our path.

It is also important for us to understand that although we would like to work through and learn each goddess quickly, we must refrain from rushing. When we thrust ourselves into a phase when we are not fully ready we create imbalance and find turmoil in our path.

I invite you to share your own thoughts on the Goddess below.

Bright Blessings!

Leandra

© 2014, The Magick Kitchen