With the rise in popularity of the phases of the Moon it can be easy to overlook the meaning and history of their symbolism. Maybe you are familiar with this symbol (and it has a deep meaning for you), or maybe you have just seen it but don’t know what it is or what it means; here you can get an explanation.
The symbol of the triple goddess It is made up of a waxing moon, a full moon, and a waning moon. It often shows up in image searches, it’s common to see it in articles and all over the internet when talking about the moon phases, but it has much deeper roots and more important meaning than you might imagine.
The term «Triple Goddess» was coined by the 19th century British poet and writer Robert Graves. What would not be the impact on Graves’ imagery that was adopted by neopaganism and wicca, and the Triple Goddess became one of the main deities.
Graves frequently referred to her in his writings and even claimed that all his poems were actually an invocation of the goddess. And it is that the goddess had three facets: Maiden, Mother and Old Woman (Maiden, Mother and Crone); however, it does not stop being the same person, just as it happens with the Moon in the different phases of its cycle.
In Graves’s poems there were often references to the meaning of this symbol, referring to the lunar phases:
Maiden: crescent moon – birth
The maiden is inspiration and creation. She is the one who sits down to enjoy the simple pleasures of the world: smelling a rose or watching the grass sway in the wind. She is the creativity behind innovative ideas, she is what it means to look at the world with different eyes, with youth and magic. The maiden guides you to your spiritual center.
Mother: full moon – love
The mother is food and fructification. It is protection and responsibility; The mother is that stage in life when she really learns the consequences and responsibility of her actions, her children and her family. When you are in this place, you learn self-discipline and patience. The mother also teaches you how to give and receive love.
Old woman: waning moon – death
The old woman represents fulfillment and endings, she is wisdom and death. She is the death that occurs so that new growth can form; without it, there is no new beginning. The old woman teaches you to learn the hard and cold truth, loneliness and maturity.
The mother, the maiden, and the old woman are not the only way to honor and connect with this symbol. Here are some other meanings:
- Earth, underworld and sky.
- Life, birth and death (in the latter there is rebirth as the phases of the Moon continue).
- Hecate, Demeter and Persephone (the first one is the keeper of the keys to the underworld and mother of all witches).
Although Graves popularized the term Triple Goddess, a wide variety of scholars, pagans, and Wiccans have found clues pointing to a Triple Goddess long before the poet’s time, for in the fifth century B.C. C., the goddess Hecate was represented in a sculpture with three faces by the sculptor Alcámenes, in the classical Greek period.
Why use this symbol?
You don’t have to be part of paganism or wicca to enjoy this symbol. But if you want to start sporting it in pendants, necklaces, rings, and more, it’s good to know the meaning behind it.
Wearing the Triple Goddess symbol can be a powerful reminder throughout the day of your connection to the feminine and the divine, of the constant flow of life, birth and death in order to be reborn. Using the symbol on an altar or in a sacred space can help call out the goddess and all of her energy.