Goddess Gaia: her history, importance and how to worship her

In this post you will meet one of the most popular goddesses of Greek mythology: Gaia, the Earth Goddess. Arising from Chaos, Gaia is the mother of 12 titans and 6 monsters, fruits of her union with Uranus, and is the personification of the Earth.

Meaning of Gaia

Gaiaalso called geia or Ge (in Greek: Gaia), in Greek mythology, is Mother Earth, as a primordial and latent element of an immense generating potential. The word Gaia means Earth and therefore the Goddess Gaia it is always related to abundance, prosperity, origin of everything and infinite love.

History of the Goddess Gaia

According to the poet Hesiod, Gaia the greek goddess, is the deified Earth itself, the personification of the world and the basis of all other things that came after its emergence. Coming from Chaos, she is the origin of everything and transcends time, so she is considered the Great Mother of all creation. Interestingly, Gaia herself is considered as chaos before existence, which makes us understand that she created herself.

Like her, other Gods, her brothers, are called Primordials. Are they:

• Nyx, the Goddess of Night;
• Erebus, God of darkness or void;
• Eros, God of love and, in other versions, son of Aphrodite and Tartarus, God of the underworld.

After appearing out of nowhere, Gaia spontaneously generated three children without fertilization: Uranus, Óreas, and Céu e Ponto. Gaia made her Uranus her husband and from this relationship the 12 titans were born: Themis, Phoebe, Tethys, Mnemosyne, Theia and Rhea, on the female side; and Krio, Hyperion, Iapetus, Ceos, Ocean and Kronos, on the male side.

In addition to Titeia, mother of the Titans, Gaia is also known for being the protective goddess of us mere mortals. Thus, Gaia is a goddess or titan?

Discover the legend of Gaia and Uranus

The Legend of Gaia and Uranus is among the most fascinating and horrifying in Greek mythology.

Gaia and her husband, who is also her son, are the parents of 12 children and 6 more monsters: three Cyclopes, Arges, Steropes and Brontes, immortal giants with an eye in the middle of their forehead, and three Hecatonchires, Aigaion, Stump and Gyges, giants of a hundred hands and fifty heads. Uranus judged beings by their appearance and tried to imprison them in the womb of Gaia, that is, in the bowels of the Earth.

Another version of the myth says that Uranus sent his children to Tartarus, known as the Underworld or Fifth of Hell. Anyway, we can deduce that these creatures did not live with other beings and were reclusive inside the Earth. This led to a small family crisis.

Mother and children came to hate their father, in the face of so much cruelty. But, even fearing for help, only the last of his children answered him: Kronos, the Titan of Timewhose equivalent Roman god is Saturn.

Nurturing so much hatred for her husband, Gaia handed Cronos a scythe and asked her son to take action and avenge the atrocities of Uranus. With that scythe, Kronos castrated his own father by delivering a clean blow.

The blood that gushed from the wound washed over Gaia, fertilizing her once more. In this way, the Giants were born, colossal and indomitable beings, in addition to the Erinyes, deities who personified revenge and the Meliades, the nymphs of the ash tree. A few drops of blood fell into the sea and, mixed with the foam of a wave, Aphrodite was bornthe goddess of love and beauty.

Legend has it that, after mutilating his father, Kronos threw his sickle into the sea and formed the island of Corfu, near the northwest coast of Greece and, according to Hesiod’s Theogony, at this moment the reign of Kronos begins.

Symbols of the Goddess Gaia

The main symbols of Gaia are the terrestrial globe, the abundance, coming from the Earth, in addition to the rivers and forests that give us the necessary food and supplies. In addition to them, the serpent also symbolizes Gaia in the face of renewal by shedding her skin and protecting the grains against rodents. The snake Python, which inhabited Delphi, is the daughter of Gaia.

Characteristics of the Goddess Gaia

• Animals: snake
• Scents: cedar
• Colors: green, brown and black
• Day of the week: Saturday
• Symbols: Earth Globe, Sheaf of Wheat and Stone

How to worship the Goddess Gaia

invoke the Goddess Gaia to attract fertility, abundance, strength, marriage, regeneration, plenty, prosperity, wealth, health, structure, foundation, solidification and death.

Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Imagine that roots sprout from your feet that absorb the energy of the earth. Establish your connection with Gaia and ask her to be always available to bring you health, refreshment and transformation. Breathe deeply again and imagine that your feet have returned to their original shape. thank the Goddess Gaia by the invigorated energies and feel the intensity of your actions on your body.

Prayer of the Goddess Gaia

“Beloved Mother Earth Gaya,

Sacred ground that welcomes us,

we praise and thank you for all the life generated in all your kingdoms.

Today, after so many cycles, after so long…

We perceive and know the size of your beauty,

the sacredness of your purity,

the magnitude of your greatness;

the divinity of your nature.

Nourished and welcomed in your divine love,

We know the simplicity of our destiny.

Forgive us for all the times we forget the magnitude of your existence,

For all the times we failed to protect it, denying the so sacred conscience.

Sacred land of the four seasons, of the eight visions, of the divine cycles that teach the great lessons…

the time to sow, to cultivate, to grow, to nourish, to reap…

the time to change, to exchange, to share, to let go, to contemplate…

the time to be, to live, to know, to die…

Sacred land of the cycles of life, Great Mother, so loved and dear, we praise you, we thank you, we bless you and we promise you:

May your fire enkindle our spirit;

May your waters renew our hearts;

May your airs free our minds;

May your lands nourish our bodies;

And so we will be ONE with your Presence!!!

And so, your soul will forever be felt and lived within us,

And in unity, we will honor the wisdom and life that exists in All. On Earth, as in Heaven! Amen

Beloved Gaya, receive from us, your children, infinite gratitude.

May we place in your sacred heart all our immense love and all our absolute gratitude.”

Goddess Gaia in Wiccan Culture

In Wiccan culture and in Paganism in general, the Goddess Gaia teaches us to live in abundance, happy, full and nourished in love, contrary to what most other religions preach where the focus is guilt, scarcity and suffering.

Do you know what Wicca is? Watch the video below in which Brendam Orin, tarologist and Wiccan priest, explains about this religion based on pagan practices in Europe.

Curiosities

In the 1970s, the British James E. Lovelock proposed, through his studies, that the planet Earth should be considered a superorganism, in which everything that is inserted in it is a small part of a whole. This idea was called the Gaia Hypothesis, also known as the Gaia Theory, because in Greek mythology, Gaia was the Earth goddess and mother of all living things.

Even though it generated controversy in the scientific world, James’ hypothesis never stopped being considered.

It’s not just Greek mythology that is rich in stories of goddesses. Also check:

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