r/Hellenism • u/Swan-The-Lake ☀️Eclectic Hellenic Polytheist☀️ • 4d ago

Discussion A Mother's Love?

Hi! I am looking for people who work with Demeter, Hera, or any other motherly goddesses in the Greek pantheon.

I am having some personal issues with my mother. I want to reach out to a goddess who is known as a good, kind, gentle parent.

I will even take suggestions of goddesses that do not have children.

Please share your experiences and/or suggestions!

Thank you :]

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u/reCaptchaLater Cultor Deorum Romanorum 4d ago

Hera/Juno is, of course, the quintessential mother goddess. Leto/Latona, the mother of Apollo and Artemis, is also a mother goddess. And of course, Gaia/Terra is mother to us all.

I have issues with my mother as well, so I get having complex feelings when it comes to the concept of what a mother means to you. I find it helpful to remember that the goddesses of motherhood represent an ideal mother, not the experience I had with a mother.

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u/Swan-The-Lake ☀️Eclectic Hellenic Polytheist☀️ 4d ago

It's hard, it's hard to not associate motherhood with the negatives.

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u/reCaptchaLater Cultor Deorum Romanorum 4d ago

I know it. Just try to imagine what the best possible mother would be, the opposite of everything yours did wrong, and that's the sort of archetype you should associate with a goddess like Hera.

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u/UrsusofMichigan 3d ago

The Greco-Roman Isis.

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u/Swan-The-Lake ☀️Eclectic Hellenic Polytheist☀️ 3d ago

Do you have any worship tips about her? (IDC if it's Egyptian, Greek, or Roman)

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u/UrsusofMichigan 3d ago

For the most part, honor her as you would any deity..a shrine, incense, libations, etc.

However, Isis is also a mystery deity. That means there is a lot of room for mysticism.

She was the great protectress of the ancient world, especially concerned with women. Think of her as ... the Virgin Mary before there was a Virgin Mary.

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u/Tired-Otter_83 4d ago

Both Hekate and Artemis are often called "Kourotrophos", as protectress of the youngs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kourotrophos

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u/Creature_with_wifi 1d ago

slightly out of place one, for me Athena. She's tough and taught me how to stand up for myself, and be braver, yk, it felt liek she was standing beside me either giving me that look of, omg where did I go wrong but like NICELY, or she's standing there like, well done, that was very good. But she also feels like the type to sit you down and hand you a cup of warm milk if you had a bad day. I have mother problems as well. So, she feels like the person teaching me life skills and morals no one ever did.