Followers of the Wiccan, Dianic, and Neopagan religions, as well as some archeologists and mythographers, believe that long before the coming of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the Triple Goddess embodied the three-fold aspect of Gaia, the Earth Mother (Roman Magna Mater). A mother goddess was worshipped under a variety of names not only in the Ancient Near East and the Aegean and Anatolia, but also in pre-Islamic Arabia.

Descriptions of the relation between Greek Mythology and the Triple Goddess can be found in many of the myths translated in Robert Graves' anthology The Greek Myths and more cryptically and poetically in his book The White Goddess. Graves' theories on the origins of the Greek myths are generally considered highly speculative. His book was also the first time the triple goddess was portrayed as Maiden, Mother and Crone.

Maiden, Mother and Crone

The three

Many Neopagans claim historical antecedent for their beliefs, with some even holding that in Old Europe, in the Aegean world, and in the most ancient Near East, the Triple Goddess preceded the coming of nomadic speakers of Indo-European languages. In South Arabia the moon-god Hubal was accompanied by the three goddesses, Uzza the youngest, al-Lat ("the Goddess") and Manat the crone,

Wiccans often work with the Goddess in her triple form but may sometimes look at a particular goddess as Maiden, Mother and Crone even when there is no historical proof of this. An example of this would be the goddess Hecate, who was originally depicted as three maidens when in triplicate or as an old woman by herself in later times. Another example is the goddess Morrigan.

Maiden

The Maiden represents enchantment, inception, expansion, the female principle, the promise of new beginnings, youth, excitement, and a carefree erotic aura. Maiden goddesses include: Brigid, Nimue, Skuld, Durga and others.

Mother

The Mother represents ripeness, fertility, fulfillment, stability, and power. Mother goddesses include: Aa, Ambika, Ceres, Astarte, Lakshmi, Verdandi and others

Crone

The Crone represents wisdom, repose, and compassion. Crone goddesses include: Hel, Maman Brigitte, Oya, Sedna, Urd, Kali, and others.

Lunar imagery

In The White Goddess, Graves said: "..the New Moon is the white goddess of birth and growth; the Full Moon, the red goddess of love and battle; the Old Moon, the black goddess of death and divination."

Fates

Another cross-cultural archetype is the three goddesses of Fate. In Greek Mythology they are the Moirai; in Norse mythology they are the Norns. The Weird Sisters of Shakespeare's Macbeth and Wyrd Sisters of Terry Pratchett's novel of the same name are believed to be inspired by these Fates. The three supernatural female figures called variously the Ladies, Mother of the Camenae, the Kindly Ones, and a number of other different names in The Sandman graphic novels by Neil Gaiman play self-consciously on both the triple Fates and the Maiden-Mother-Crone goddess archetypes.

Other trifold goddesses

These goddesses may not fit into any distinctive archetype, but may be sisters.

• Brigid
• the Furies

See also

• Goddess
• Goddess movement
• Triforce