Weekly Deity: Ecne

Ecne was a Celtic god.  He was one of the Tuatha de Danann and the god of wisdom/knowledge.

Attributes

It is unknown what Ecne looks like.  I couldn’t find this information written or in an image.

Mythology

According to Celtic lore, Ecne was the son of three brothers, each his father: Brian, Iuchar, and Iucharba.  These three brothers were the sons of the goddess Brighid and god Tuireann.  There is some debate, however, about whether the three brothers were born of Brighid or another goddess, Danand, who was the daughter of Tuireann.  Regardless, their father seems set to be Tuireann.  The three sons are often considered to be the three gods of dan, or knowledge.  Thus Ecne is the son of knowledge.

Ecne’s fathers are also notable because they killed Cian, the father of Lugh.

Unfortunately, Ecne does not appear to have his own myths that would tell us what his personality is supposed to be like.

Light and Dark Sides

Because Ecne has no legends of his own, nor does he seem to be a player in other myths, we don’t know what his Light or Dark sides are like.  We can only guess that he would be a Light deity since he is a god of wisdom, and in general wisdom is placed on the Light side of the scale.  Wisdom itself is neither good nor bad, but a tool, so lacking any further information we could say Ecne is a neutral deity, which may be closer to his personality anyway.

Weekly Deity: Matangi

Matangi is the Hindu goddess of inner thought and speech and primordial sound.  Her name means “elephant,” and she is also a goddess of knowledge.  She is known as the Dark One, the Outcast, She Who Vanquishes Deceit.

Attributes

Matangi is shown as a beautiful woman with either a dark blue or dark green complexion.  She has long black hair and a sensuous body.  Often Matangi is shown with a goad, a noose, a sword, and a sarod (a musical instrument).  Most importantly, Matangi has three eyes, with the third placed vertically on her forehead.

Mythology and Worship

The father of Matangi is the Rishi Matang (aka Matang Rishi), a man from the lowest caste who wanted to achieve brahminhood through his karma.  Matangi is considered to be outside the caste system (which some sources say could point to her origins as being a non-Vedic deity).

Matangi is an incarnation of Saraswati (the goddess of knowledge, music, and all creative arts).  She is also one of the ten Mahavidyas, which are 10 mysteries and 10 essential energies that are also ten goddesses.  The worship of these goddesses can interact, but each goddess is separate and whole in and of herself.  She is associated with the full moon and the throat chakra (the chakra of communication).  In Hindu religion, Matangi represents the power of the intellect–there are none to match her intellectually.  She enhances creativity and harmony as well as all powers of speech and communication and especially truth.  The wisdom associated with Matangi’s Mahavidya is: “speaking truth purifies”.

Matangi is called on to invoke creativity, knowledge, or power over speech (in any form).

Another website I found said that Matangi is the guardian of outsiders and misfits, and that she favors those kinds of people over the socially acceptable peoples of the world.

Light and Dark Side

The mythology I was able to find was scarce for Matangi, despite her apparent importance.  It’s possible that she simply doesn’t figure in many or any myths.  Based on the conventional knowledge of what she is supposed to be like, she seems like a benevolent goddess.  Despite the epithet “Dark One”, Matangi seems to be very Light in her duties.  There is nothing saying she treats others negatively.  But there is also nothing to say that she treats others positively either, or uses her gifts for good or bad ends.  However, as the goddess of inner thought and speech, of vast wisdom and knowledge, and as one of the Mahavidyas representing essential wisdoms, it’s implied that she’s a Light goddess.

Weekly Deity: Athena

Image taken from Google Image search

I chose Athena as the first goddess in my weekly review because she is probably my all-time favorite.  Something about her speaks to me and she has been a favorite since I first began reading mythology as a child.

Athena (also spelled Athene) is a Greek goddess of war, wisdom, and crafts.  In Rome her equivalent was Minerva.  She is also called Pallas Athena and Athena Parthenos among the Greeks.

Attributes

Athena’s attributes (the items she is normally portrayed with in art) include a helm on her head, a spear in hand, and either a shield or an aegis or both.  An aegis is a breastplate, and Athena’s is actually Zeus’ aegis that he had given to her.  At times the shield or the aegis or both are portrayed as having a Gorgon’s head on it, which was actually a symbol of protection to begin with and only later is associated with the ability to frighten or terrorize.  Owls and snakes are sacred to Athena, and she is often shown with one or both.  When in her aspect as a war goddess, the snake is sometimes shown twined around her spear or on her shield, but in her aspect of a craft and wisdom goddess, the owl is often with her instead of the snake.

Myths

Some of her myths include the myth of Erectheus/Erichthonius, her birth, Medusa, Tiresias, naming of Athens, and the myth with Arachne.  Athena is the child of Zeus and Metis (a Titaness whose name meant something like “wisdom” or “cunning wisdom”).  The myth goes that Zeus swallowed his pregnant wife Metis to forestall any possibility of her producing a son that could supplant him the way he had supplanted his father Ouranos.  But since Metis was already pregnant with Athena, she had to be born at some point.  Metis crafted her daughter clothing and weapons, but the hammering of the metal was too much for Zeus to bear.  Zeus was in so much pain from this torture that he asked Hephaestos to crack open his skull and relieve the pain.  Hephaestos took up his hammer and cracked Zeus’ head open, and from the crack Athena emerged, fully grown and carrying her armor.

Image taken from Google Image search

Probably the well-known myth of Athena is the story of Arachne (whose name means “Spider”).  A young woman named Arachne boasted that her weaving was as good as or better than the weaving of the goddess Athena.  Athena heard this boast and decided to approach the girl first in the guise of an old woman.  The disguised goddess warned Arachne about challenging the gods, but Arachne ignored the warning and wished she could have a weaving contest with Athena herself.  The goddess revealed herself and took up the contest.  The best tapestry would win the contest, and both worked hard to make their tapestry the best.  Athena’s tapestry portrayed her victory over Poseidon in winning Athens.  Arachne’s tapestry depicted the infidelities of the gods, namely Zeus.  While Athena admitted that Arachne’s tapestry was indeed flawess, she was outraged that Arachne would choose such a subject.  So Athena destroyed Arachne’s tapestry and loom.  Arachne was so distraught and shamed that she hung herself.  Some version of the myth say that Athena then took pity on the girl and turned her into a spider to live again as a weaver.

Athena and Poseidon, the sea-god and Athena’s uncle, had a dispute about the naming of the city of Athens.  When neither would give way, they agreed that each would give the Athenians a gift, and the best gift would win.  The Athenians gathered to decide outside the city walls.  Poseidon struck the ground and caused a spring to well up, giving the Athenians a water source.  But the water was salty and not very good for drinking or growing.  Athena instead offered them an olive tree, which would bring them oil, wood, wealth, and food.  The Athenians accepted the olive tree and the patronage of Athena.

For more information on mythology, I suggest taking a look at Encyclopedia Mythica.

Light side

On her light side, Athena is courageous, wise, intelligent, and artistic and crafty.  She is the embodiment of an intelligent and strong female leader who not only has all the womanly arts but is able to move in a man’s world as well. Athena is the spirit of wise leadership.  In her aspect as the goddess of wisdom, she is also a representative of what the Greeks call “sophia,” or wisdom, and thus divine wisdom and knowledge.  With this divine wisdom she has the ability to inspire humans to their craft, their studies, or to battle.  As a virgin goddess, she is not a motherly figure, but rather a protector of the home and family.  She also can act as a guide or a counselor, but she can only advise from afar, as she was for Odysseus in Homer’s “The Odyssey” and as judge of Orestes in Aeschylus’ Oresteia.

Dark side

Like all deities, Athena has a dark side as well.  She is proud, as in the Arachne myth when Arachne grows boastful and stings Athena’s pride with her weaving.  Athena is a goddess of the Mind, and this can create the problem of being too rational and detached.  While she is the goddess of craftsmen, her inspiration of their arts does not come from the heart or a passion for the craft, but from a cool and reasoning part of the mind that takes functions from numbers and logic instead of passion.  Weaving, for example, is a craft that must be plotted and planned, and perfection can only be mastered with a great deal of practice.  She is an intellectual, and while this quality can be a great thing, it can also be highly negative by turning the person too far inward into themselves–an introspective outlook.  Athena can be see as cool, stubborn, and detached.

An interesting website I came across in my search was this one: Warrior Archetype.  It has more information on the qualities of Athena as warrior, virgin, and intellectual.

Personally, I like Athena a great deal.  I think there are many things to admire in her, and she is the goddess I felt an attraction to first and longest.  Her courage and wisdom inspire me.  However, like all things, her dark side is just as interesting and just as valid as her light side.