Selene - Goddess of the Moon

Selene - The Radiant - Goddess of the Moon

(Her Roman counterpart was Luna.)

According to the poet Hesiod, Selene was the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, sister of Helios, the Sun and Eos the Dawn. Other sources claim she was the child of Pallas and Euryphaessa. Selene, the eternally beautiful goddess of the Moon, was usually represented as a woman with the moon, often in crescent form on her head and driving a chariot pulled by two white horses. At night, she rose from the ocean and with her chariot and rode through the sky.

Selene is one of the Greek triple Goddess of the Moon, Artemis - Waxing Moon, Selene - the Full Moon and Hecate - the Waning Moon. In the maiden, mother, crone aspects of the Goddess, Selene is the mother Goddess, Artemis the maiden and Hecate the Crone.

The mother aspect of the triple Goddess represents womanhood, she is represented by the full moon, were she is at the height of her reproductive potential. The Earth as Gaia, the mother, in whom life can be reborn, where seeds germinate and produce new crops, so the Mother Goddess was also able to bring forth new life. Selene, is the fruitful mother, the Star Goddess, the Sky Goddess, the keeper of the silver wheel of stars, is honoured at the Full Moon and the days of the full and new moon were set aside for her worship. She is also a teacher of the magicians. As Luna, she had temples at Rome on the Aventine and Palatine hills.

She is known for her various love affairs, with Zeus, she is the mother of Pandia meaning 'All-bright' and Ersa meaning 'Dew', with Pan who gave her a herd of white oxen and by Endymion, she is the mother of fifty daughters, who are said to represent the fifty lunar months that elapse between each Olympiad.

Hymn to Selene

Muses, sweet-speaking daughters of Zeus Kronides
and mistresses of song, sing next of long-winged Moon!
From her immortal head a heaven-sent glow
envelops the earth and great beauty arises
under its radiance. From her golden crown the dim air
is made to glitter as her rays turn night to noon,
whenever bright Selene, having bathed her beautiful skin
in the Ocean, put on her shining rainment
and harnessed her proud-necked and glittering steeds,
swiftly drives them on as their manes play
with the evening, dividing the months. Her great orbit is full
and as she waxes a most brilliant light appears
in the sky. Thus to mortals she is a sign and a token.

Selene and Endymion

According to mythology, Selene saw Endymion, a shepherd, asleep in a cave on Mt. Latmus as she drove he chariot across the sky, as she gazed upon Endymion she fell madly in love with him and began an affair with Endymion, from whom she gave birth to fifty daughters. But Endymion, being, mortal, was susceptable to aging and death, Selene could not bear the thought of this cruel fate, she asked Zeus to grant Endymion eternal sleep, she had learned from her sister, Eos, not to ask for eternal life or she would have a grasshopper. So it was that Endymion would remain eternally youthful by casting a spell that would cause him to sleep forever and while he dreamed of holding the moon in his arms, Selene bore him fifty daughters.

" Selene is a favorite of many poets, especially love poets. A moonlit night brings the feeling of romance. It is said that Selene's moon rays fall upon sleeping mortals, and her kisses fell upon her love, Endymion. "
--From Encyclopedia Mythica

Correspondences

Day of the week: Monday
Festival: 7th February

Perfume: white poppy, white rose, wallflower Incense: myrtle
Wood: willow
Color: silver, grey-white
Influences: agriculture, domestic, long life, medicine, travels, visions, theft (new moon)
Candle: white