by Janina RenÉe
Many types of animals have been manifestations, totems, or symbols of the Great Goddess at one time or another. The qualities we identify with the goddess, and perceive or project into animals, can represent aspects of our inner natures. By understanding the totemic essence of an animal (or our own perception thereof), we can also relate to our own personal goddess archetypes. Integrating the lessons of the goddess’s animal totems enables us to contact our instincts and portions of the deeper levels of the psyche.
The role of the life-giving mother as lady of the beasts has been recognized since times most ancient. Thus, virtually any living creature is her totem. However, the following are a few of her more familiar totems. (Note: Even though many of the following religious beliefs were long ago abandoned, I write in the present tense because goddesses can be active as archetypes, and also because many forgotten goddess names are being rediscovered and reactivated by Neopagans.)
Bear: Symbolically, the bear is associated with mothering and childbirth. Bear hugs and teddy bears suggest the nurturing qualities of mama bears. However, the bear also represents the aggressive and protective instincts of the mother, instinct that can invoke primal rage and fury. The bear’s hibernation connects it with earth mysteries as well as the psychological quality of introspection that brings self-renewal. The Celtic goddess Artio has been associated with a bear cult and presides over wildlife in general. Freya may have been associated with bears before cats became better known in Europe. Artemis can take the form of a bear, and some of her rites have featured bear-masked dancers. Bear-goddess figures are also found in Baltic and Slavic Pagan cultures.
Bees, Beetles, and other Winged Insects: The efficient matriarchal organization of bees has long attracted interest. Folklorist Jacob Grimm said, “It seems natural, in connection with these bustling winged creatures, to think of the silent race of elves and dwarfs, which like them obeys a queen.” The Roman goddess Mellona and the Lithuanian Austheia are associated with bees, and priestesses of Artemis have been called Melissae, which means “bees.” Bees and other helpful insects are harbingers of spring and of the earth’s fertility. Many have the name “Mary” or “Lady” attached to them, showing their connection with earlier goddesses. The ladybug has been an emblem of the Roman goddess Lucina and is sacred to Freya.
Birds: In folk belief, the soul is often represented as a bird, and birds can be spirits messengers. Birds symbolize thought, imagination, inspiration, intuition, and the transcendental qualities that allow the individual the personal freedom to fly beyond limitations and penetrate the higher realms. Bird imagery associated with manifestations of the goddess dates back to Paleolithic cultures. More information on bird totems follows under separate categories.
Birds of Prey: Birds of prey herald the goddess as death wielder. Freya and Frigga take on the plumage of hawks and falcons, and the sparrowhawk has been sacred to the Bohemians. The swiftness, power, and keenness of vision of these birds invokes awe and inspiration.
Cat: The comfort-seeking ways of cats associate them with Bast and Freya, goddesses of love and patronesses of all arts and pleasures. Freya also teaches witchcraft, as does Diana, who takes the form of a cat in witch lore. Cats figure in the witch lore of the Basques, and are tied in with their cult of Saint Agato. Cats’ keen night vision and their rounded eyes, which are said to be roundest at the full moon, give them lunar associations. Other goddesses connected with cats are Cerridwen and Anu, and there seems to have been an oracular cat cult in Ireland. As there were no cats in Neolithic or Copper Age Europe, many of their goddess associations are more recent.
Cow: The cow is connected with the very earthy aspect of the goddess that related to the physical conditions of existence. In the Eddas, the cow Audumbla is a primal ancestress and world mother. The cow’s sacred meanings are also tied in with the wealth of the earth and the fertility cycles of the moon. Goddesses associated with cows include the Hindu Lakshmi; Io and the cow-eyed Hera; Europa, who may have been a Cretan mother goddess and moon goddess; the pre-Biblical Ashtaroth; the Egyptian goddesses Isis and Hathor; and the Celtic Brigid, who is said to have been a cowherd.
Crow and Raven: These birds have been manifestations of the death goddess. The Celtic war goddess called the Morrigan appears on the battlefield in the guise of a crow or raven, and combines aspects of the goddesses Ana, Badb, and Macha. The Baltic goddess Ragana also has totemic associations with crows.
Deer: The tender relationships between does and their fawns make us see them as primal mother figures, and the deer has been a totem of the birth-giving goddess since early times. Artemis can take the form of a deer, and the deer also has Sumerian goddess associations. As we become aware of the importance of healing touch, the gentleness of the doe can take on special meanings for us.
Dog: Dogs are important household guardians, and mythological dogs are companions of the dead and guardians of the underworld in Egyptian, Greek, Mexican, and Northern European lore. Their nocturnal howling makes them heralds of the death goddess. One of Hecate’s three heads is described as dog-like. Dog symbolism is also associated with Hel, Artemis, and Nehalenna.
Dove: The dove is a manifestation of the fertility goddesses of Asia Minor, India, Crete, Greece, and Northern Europe. Harke, a form of Freya or Holda, flies through the air in the shape of a dove in order to make the earth fruitful. Also associated with doves are Atargatis, Tanith the Carthaginian goddess of heaven (who is accompanied by two of them), Venus, and Hera.
Fish and Sea Mammals: The watery realm is likened to the greater unconscious and engenders and nourishes life. Because fish move through this element, they symbolize fertility and richness as well as the psychological process of “becoming.” An ancient Boetian amphora shows the goddess with a fish in her womb. The fish also represents deep emotions. Among goddesses associated with fish symbolism are Atargatis the Syrian “fish mother,” Artemis, Aphanian, Dictynna the “lady of the nets,” Britomartis, Sedna the Eskimo heroine who rules an undersea realm and engendered whales and seals, Venus, Myrrhine, Mara, Hecate, and Behrta.
Frogs, Toads, and Other Aquatic Creatures: Aquatic creatures share symbolism with fish. Frogs represent embryonic life, due to their stages of transformation. In folklore, the sounds of frogs bring the rains and the return of spring. A frog goddess is a characteristic motif in early Anatolia, and the Egyptian frog-headed goddess Heket gave breath to humans at the time of creation. Toad figurines have been used as fertility charms, and toads appear as witches’ familiars, and are the main manifestation of the Baltic witch goddess Ragana.
Horse: Horses represent personal power, both in physical and spiritual domains. The horse is one of the most favored totems in shamanic rites, carrying its rider into other dimensions. The horse is especially an emblem of Celtic goddesses, including Rigantona, Epona, Etain, and Macha. Hecate is depicted with the head of a horse, and Demeter disguised herself as a mare.
Lioness: Big cats suggest the terrifying yet beautiful aspects of the dark goddess because they have great power coupled with grace. The lioness depicts the raw power and destructive fury of the goddess. Thus, the gentle cow goddess Hathor could transform into Sekhmet the lioness, saying “For truly, when I spill men’s blood, my heart rejoices.” The lioness also has symbolic affinities to the fire element. Astarte has been depicted with the head of a lioness, and Erishkegal and Bast are also able to make that transformation. Tibetan Tara and the fierce Hindu goddess Durga are shown mounted on lions. Other goddesses accompanied by lions include Cybele and Fortuna.
Owl: Folk belief gives owls prophetic knowledge of human destiny, but also makes them birds of ill omen. Owls are emblems of Athena, goddess of wisdom. They are also manifestations of the death goddess. Owl-goddess figurines were important funeral objects through Neolithic and Megalithic times. The owl was the hieroglyph for death in ancient Egypt. The owl retains her death goddess image in the Northern European legends wherein a nun is transformed into an owl and flies before the Wild Hunt, acting as Odin’s herald. This is probably related to the legend of Blodeuwedd, who is transformed into an owl and pursued by Gwydion, Odin’s Celtic counterpart. Signifying both wisdom and death, owls illustrate the ambivalent nature of the crone aspect of the goddess.
Rabbit and Hare: Though they are biologically different, rabbits and hares share some symbolism. Their sex drive and reproductive capacity is legendary. The fact that rabbits are burrowing animals connects them with the earth mysteries, and hares have traditional associations with the moon in both eastern and western lore. Shape-shifting witches favored the forms of hares, connecting them with the goddess Sorcery. As symbols of the earth’s renewal, bunnies are sacred to Ostara. These creatures are also sacred to Venus, Diana, and Hecate.
Serpent: Because snakes shed their skin, they signify self-renewal and immortality. Snakes also personify the life force, as their coiling forms suggest energy flow. Geomancers perceive the earth’s energy taking a serpentine course as it flows through landforms. Snakes are tied to the earth mysteries, and their stirring in spring suggests the quickening of nature. Minoan goddess or priestess figurines clutching snakes are admired art objects. Serpent effigies have been cult objects associated with Brigid, whose domination of life energies makes her patroness of healing arts. One of Hecate’s heads is serpentine. Coatlicue the five-fold goddess of the Aztecs is serpent-skirted, and Ix-Chel, Mayan goddess of water, the moon, childbirth, and weaving also has snake symbolism. Snake goddess figurines in household shrines of old Europe show her as household guardian. Other goddesses depicted as handling serpents or having them as totems include Rhea, Athena, Demeter, Hera, Britomartis, and Brehkina.
Spider: Spider symbolism shows the goddess as the matrix of life, binding all destinies together. This is evident in the descriptions of the Mayan goddess Ix-Chel, called Lady-Unique-All-Embracing, and of whom it is said that the world is her web and she is at its center. Spider Grandmother is important in southwestern lore. To the Zuni and Hopi she is an earth goddess and mother of the twin war gods. To the Kiowa she is a culture heroine who continues to help her people. The spider also appears as a benevolent figure in Ukrainian folklore.
Sow: The sow represents two very different aspects of the goddess. Her fast-growing, rounded body symbolizes pregnancy and the earth’s fertility. Representations of the sow as grain goddess date to the seventh millennium bce. It’s good luck to exchange pig figurines on New Year’s Day, and pig-shaped cookies were sacrificial offerings. On the other hand, swine have a reputation for eating any of their young that are flawed. This is a dark aspect of nature, who is not a doting mother and does not tolerate weakness or incompetence. The sow is a prime manifestation of the white goddess, whose names include Demeter, Cerridwen, Henwen, and Freya.
Waterbirds: Because of the richness of marshes, rivers, and ponds in engendering life, the birds and animals dwelling in them symbolize fertility and transformation. Thus we have a belief that the stork brings babies. Waterbirds were significant to goddess worship early on, and anthropomorphic waterbird figures from the Upper Paleolithic attest to this. Diving birds also symbolize unconscious knowledge because of their ability to penetrate the depths. Swans are seen to glide between the worlds and are symbols of Brigid in Gaelic Scotland, and Norns and Valkyries often take their forms. Swans are also sacred to Venus, as are ducks.
Wolf: For the Romans, the she-wolf was a primal ancestress, having nursed the founders of their great city. The howling of wolves associates them with the moon and death goddesses, such as Diana, Hecate, and Hel. In Scandinavian lore, sorceresses ride wolves, and old women living alone in the forest are called “wolf mothers” and give shelter to wolves when they are hunted.