Deities of the Moon

We’ve talked before about the power of the moon and how humans have always been mystified by its beauty.

It has been personified in many cultures and religions as a deity or divine being. Although a lot of people tend to relate the moon to a woman, because its cycle mirrors that of a woman’s menstrual cycle, there are both Gods and Goddesses that are the moon incarnate. Let’s explore just a few of these beings and their unique abilities, stories, and personalities.

Artemis (Greek)

Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto and it is the twin sister of Apollo. She is the Greek Goddess of the hunt, wilderness, wild animals, the moon, and chastity. She is often depicted with a bow and arrows. She is known as the protector of young girls and has sworn to remain a maiden and never marry.

Gleti (Dahomean)

Gleti is a moon Goddess from the African kingdom of Dahomey, in what is now Benin. She is the mother of all the stars (Gletivi). An eclipse is said to be caused by the shadow of her husband when he crosses her face.

Khonsu (Egyptian)

Khonsu means “traveler” in relation to how the moon travels through the night sky. He has other titles like “Pathfinder” and “Embracer” because he watches over anyone who travels at night. He works with the God Thoth to mark the passage of time. The creation of new life in all living creatures is largely thanks to Khonsu.

Kmnuutar (Finnish)

Kuu is the Finnish word for moon and so Kuutar is known as the “Maiden of the Moon” and the Goddess of the moon in Finnish mythology. The Kalevala is a collection of epic poetry from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology. There is a poem about the creation of the Earth where Ilmatar, a virgin spirit of the air, let a teal lay an egg on her knee as she floated into the abyss. The egg fell and broke, its yolk becoming the sun and the white becoming the moon. She owns the gold of the moon and creates clothes out of the golden yarn she spins from it. In Kalevala, young maidens ask for golden clothes and jewelry. She is described as incredibly beautiful.

Máni (Norse)

Máni is the personification of the moon in Norse Mythology. Prose Edda and Poetic Edda are collections of Old Norse anonymous poems and literature that claim the personification of both Máni and his brother Sól as the moon and sun, respectively.  Máni is connected to the idea of the “Man in the Moon”

Triple Goddess (Wicca)

The Triple Goddess is revered in many Neopagan traditions. She is composed of three figures, united as one being. She is described as the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone, each a symbol of the stages of a female life cycle and the phases of the moon. She goes through each of these stages every year, following the Wheel of the Year and its Sabbats. Her symbol is the triple moon.

Tsukuyomi (Shinto)

Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto or Tsukuyomi is the moon God in Shinto and Japanese mythology. He is considered one of the three noble children and was born when he was washed out of Izanagi-no-Mikoto’s right eye. He is the brother of the Goddess of the Sun Amaterasu-ōmikami, or Amaterasu, and the God of the sea and storms Susanoo-no-Mikoto or Susanoo. Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu shared the sky as husband and wife. Until Tsukuyomi killed Uke Mochi, the goddess of food because he was disgusted by how she prepared the food at a large feast. Amaterasu had sent Tsukuyomi to represent her at the feast and was so enraged when he killed Uke Mochi that she refused to ever look upon his face again. She moved to another part of the sky forever, which is why day and night are never together.

This is just a sprinkle of the folklore and mythology that exists for the moon. There are over 90 different divine beings with ties to the moon. Their stories and personalities are fascinating and vastly different. If you are ready to fall down a rabbit hole of information, this is a great one to chase!