Art by Josephine Wall

On the morning of December 29th, 2013 I made this very short entry in my dream journal: I needed to know the fourteen names of the Goddess. It wasn’t a voice that told me this like in this dream; it was just a feeling that I needed to know this, and it remained with me when I woke up. I can’t remember now if it was later that day or in the following days that, as I was going through some of my post-it notes for post ideas, I came across a list I had previously made of goddesses (and gods) of the Moon or the cycles of Nature. To my surprise there were 14! This was my pre-dream list:

1. Hecate – Greek goddess of the Moon, sorcery, and crossroads.
2. Cailleach – Celtic goddess of winter, known as a hag or veiled one, sometimes the crone aspect of Brigid.
3. Brigid – Celtic goddess of spring, the hearth, and medicine.
4. Demeter/Ceres – Greek/Roman goddess of grains, fertility, and the cycle of life.
5. Persephone – Demeter’s daughter and goddess of vegetation and spring.
6. Selene – Greek goddess of the Moon.
7. Luna – Roman goddess of the Moon, sometimes part of a triple goddess with Hecate and Persephone.
8. Artemis/Diana – Greek/Roman goddess of wild animals, hunting, childbirth, virginity, and the Moon. She is the twin sister of Apollo, god of the Sun.
9. Mani – Norse god of the Moon.
10. Chandra – Hindu god of the Moon.
11. Phoebe – Greek Titan goddess of the Moon, associated with Selene, grandmother of Artemis, Apollo, and Hecate, and oracle of prophesy.
12. Kali – Hindu goddess of power, time, change, and death.
13. Lilith – Though called a demon, not a goddess, in Jewish mythology she represents the dark feminine, darkness, and the night. In astrology she is called Black Moon Lilith.
14. Black Madonna – Mary the mother of Jesus. Though originally there are likely cultural reasons for her being black, I had put her on my list as a representation of the feminine (dark vs. masculine-light) and divine mother.

At the time that I had both made this pre-dream list and subsequently received the dream message that I needed to know the fourteen names of the Goddess, I was deep into healing my psyche, my mother-wounds, ancestral karma, and emotions tucked away and lost long ago in the far reaches of my unconscious. I created a new list for the fourteen names of the goddess as my dream message told me. These fourteen names of the goddess are aspects that I needed to acknowledge and integrate into my being as a whole as part of my healing process. They are also aspects of the divine feminine that inspire me and guide me in my life. These fourteen feminine guides are:

1. Saraswati – Hindu goddess of writing, knowledge, language, and creativity.
2. Tara – Hindu goddess of wisdom, the Star. Buddhist goddess of compassion and liberation. Celtic mother goddess.
3. Seshat – Egyptian goddess of language and wisdom.
4. Kali – Hindu goddess of power, time, change, and death.
5. Sophia – Greek and Gnostic goddess of sacred wisdom.
6. Black Madonna – Divine Mother.
7. Venus – Roman goddess of love and beauty.
8. Lilith – Awareness of the shadow and dark feminine.
9. Brigid & Cailleach / Hecate, Demeter, & Persephone – The cycles of the seasons, nature, and life & death.
10. Freya – Norse goddess of beauty, death, and sorcery/shamanism.
11. Quan Yin – Buddhist goddess of compassion.
12. Mary Magdalene – She represents devotion and teaching to me.
13. Selene/Luna – Goddess of the Moon (intuition, light, emotions, and mother).
14. Artemis/Diana – Goddess of the Moon, animals, and nature.

These fourteen names of the goddess, or more what they represent and symbolize, are my reminders and inspiration as I continue to heal, grow, and shine for others.