TRIPTYCH: Death, Genesis, Birth Print

TRIPTYCH: Death, Genesis, Birth Symbolism of the Triple Goddess, representing the new moon, the full moon, and the waning moon. The Triple Goddess is a deity or deity archetype revered in many Neopagan religious and spiritual traditions. In common Neopagan usage, the Triple Goddess is viewed as a triunity of three distinct aspects or figures united in one being. These three figures are often described as the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone, each of which symbolizes both a separate stage in the female life cycle and a phase of the Moon, and often rules one of the realms of heavens, earth and underworld. Sexuality, pregnancy, breastfeeding—and other female reproductive processes—are ways that women may embody the Goddess, making the physical body sacred. The Maiden represents enchantment, inception, expansion, the promise of new beginnings, birth, youth and youthful enthusiasm, represented by the waxing moon; The Mother represents ripeness, fertility, sexuality, fulfilment, stability, power and life represented by the full moon; The Crone represents wisdom, repose, death, and endings represented by the waning moon. At the same time death is the beginning of life. The Triple Goddess is identified with the Greek moon goddesses: Artemis is a virgin, Selena is a mother, Hecate is an old woman, as she is often associated with the underworld and magic, and is therefore considered the "Queen of the Witches".