The God/desses of The Season

Goddess and God archetypes have existed since time out of mind and these archetypes, (being what they are), will probably spiral on past this moment for all time to come.

That much being said, we children of the garden have chosen to examine the different archetypical models of divinity on a lunar basis and in keeping with seasonal influences. By this we mean, monthly (er... roughly monthly, ok?) and by four major divisions encompassing the attributes of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

If you wish to learn more about the divine archetypes associated with this particular season, please select the image icon to your left.

The Need S/he Fulfills

As with all archetypes, existence is defined by need. So too with archetypes of the divine. In order to better accept the inevitable upsets and joys of living the goddesses and gods have historically been consulted to provide a blueprint for behavior. The many mythologies among the many human cultures are a testament to the frequency with which people are inclined to look toward the divine for understanding and comfort as they confront the uncertanties of the human condition.

As with most successful evolutionary themes, specialization and diversity is often the key to survival. When contemplating the specialization and diversity among divine archetypes one cannot help but notice a trend of the thematic groupings under which many of these archetypes are gathered. Simply put, there are so many deities from every culture and belief system associated with Love, and Birth, and Fertility, and Harvest, and War, and Death, and Re-Birth that you must surmise these issues are of tremendous import to people... All people... Everywhere.

Of course, it has been said that this is not just a one way relationship that humans have with divine archetypes, but, that the gods gain something from human existence as well. All the great philosophers have put forth theories on the reciprocal nature of this relationship and, while no one theory has answered all the questions as yet, we here in the garden are content to think of our experience in life as an offering to the divine. To put it another way, "Mankind gains divinity from the gods, and the gods gain humanity from mankind". To put it in even simpler terms "as above, so below".

If you wish to learn more about the purpose the divine archetypes of this season serve humans, and the purpose humans serve to the divine, please select the image icon to your left.

Their Legends and Myths

Throughout the course of human cultural development there have been handed down through the ages the remaining fragments of the myths and legends attributed to our divine archetypes. It is striking to note again how similar stories have been attributed to divine figures with different names and from different cultures.

It is equally striking to note how many of these similar legends differ in name only. This is referred to as "syncretization". Indeed in greco-roman pantheons it has become the norm to note both the Greek names for gods along with the Roman counterparts, so commonplace has it become to accept the syncretization of divine figures.

It should be quite comforting to recognize the universality of divine mythology and to celebrate the similarities that must surely further our appreciation and tolerance of cultures far different from our own. After all... the mythos of "a sun god reborn to return light to a winter darkened world" is found in Etruscan, Egyptian, Christian, Celtic, and Norse mythology. To be sure, the gods and goddesses have different names and attributes, but, the story is the same the world over. From such common threads can a whole-cloth of human understanding be woven.

If you wish to learn more about the Legends and Myths of the deity archetypes associated with this season, please select the image icon to your left.

Correspondences and Associations

Every archetype, whatever the cultural origination, may come to be associated with particular seasons, colors, days, planets, numbers and the suchlike. These associations are known as correspondences.

Here, we have gathered a small (but, we hope useful) compendium of correspondences and associations related to divine archetypes in a sort of "contrast and compare" excercise. This information may be new to some visitors here in the garden, but the practice of meaningful associations to create a deeper experience cannot be at all new to anyone who has ever experienced any community ritual expression. There are certain colors associated with Yuletide celebrations aren't there? or with funerals? or with wedding and handfasting rituals? We know these associations not through instinct, but through cultural education. Broadening our knowlege and understanding of correspondences and associations to include those of paths dissimilar from our own can only serve to broaden our collective cultural education. We see this as a good thing. We hope you do too.

It is our most sincere hope that visitors to our garden will note similarities rather more than differences. As a wise old crone we know is fond of saying "all spiritual paths lead up to the same mountaintop."

If you wish to learn more about the correspondences and associations related to the divine archetypes identified with this season, please select the image icon to your left.

Magical Attributes

Of course, one of the primary reasons for knowing correspondences and associations of archetypical deities is to more accurately "aim" the focus of rituals and meditations based upon these archetypes.

Much as you wouldn't use a baseball bat to knit a sweater, you also wouldn't meditate upon an archetypical deity associated with war to focus intent or draw meditational insights about agriculture, or, at least, we don't think you would... would you?

For excercises of both magical and meditational intent, we have gathered a small sampling of rituals and meditations appropriate for our featured divine archetypes.

If you wish to learn more about the magical attributes related to the divine archetypes identified with this season, please select the image icon to your left.

Other Links of Topical Interest

We haven't the space available to provide all the information available for this particular topic. In fact, we're pretty sure we don't have all the information available on this topic. What we do have, however, is a real willingness to recommend some good places for you to begin your own research should anything here pique your interest. Based on our own experience we can heartily recommend the following web addresses;

Mything Links

an incredibly detailed and rich source of information filled with impeccable scholarship. This is, (in our most humble of opinions), the definitive site for mythological research.

Encyclopedia Mythica

a delightful web site filled with surprising detail. Here you will find an encyclopedia on mythology, folklore, and legends updated with frequent expansions. We're sure you will want to return here often!



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