Goddesses for Children

As the theme for the month is Pagan Parenting, here is a list of Goddesses who protect and help children. They are all wonderful focuses for ritual and activities with your little munchkins!

Bast – Egyptian goddess of annoiting. She is the creator of perfumes and oils, as well as the Mother of cats and the magickal power they contain. Considered the mirror to Sekhmet, Bast is the protector of women and children and brings health, joy, and prosperity to Her worshippers. She teaches children (including the inner child) to play without fear and enjoy life.

Demeter – Greek Goddess of the Harvest.  Mother of agriculture and the seasonal year, Demeter is the Goddess of the grains and parenthood.  Sympathetic to suffering and grief, those who call out to Her for aid are always answered.  She is the Mother aspect of the Triple Goddess, forming the triad with Persephone and Hecate.  Demeter’s endurance and ferocity in the struggle to rescue Her daughter Persephone from the Underworld expresses a mother’s protective love for child.  She keeps children safe from harm.

Eostre – also Ostara. Goddess of Spring to the Saxon and Germanic tribes.  Eostre is usually depicted as an adolescent girl or as a buxom young woman, representing the beginning of the spring season, and the ripeness found within.  Her name is derived from eastre, an ancient word for Spring, and She is the ultimate representation of the Maiden.  The Christian holiday Easter is actually named for Eostre’s festival, where she was honored as a fertility Goddess with painted eggs and sweet foods.

Lady of Beasts – Animal Goddess of the Middle East.  The title Lady of Beasts is used to describe a variety of Goddesses in many cultures.  She is best known in the Middle East, stretching into Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley.  She is the life giving force of the universe, ruling wild forests, jungles, and the animals within them.  A birth and fertility goddess, Her presence is said to reproductively bless all women and animals. She protects animals domestic and wild, and teaches children to respect the animal kingdom. Lady of Beasts is generally depicted as a pregnant woman and surrounded by untamed animals.

Shasti – Hindu Goddess of Children.  Shasti protects mothers in labor and children until they reach puberty.  She is a favorite of midwives and nurses, and is pictured as a matronly figure riding a cat.