Art by Cocorrina
All over the globe, we look to the skies and see magic in the moon. But while we may look at the same satellite, we don’t see the same goddess. Whoever you are in life, you will probably find a match or two in the pantheon of moon ladies—maybe one or two who surprise you. So why not find out? This quiz is multiple choice.
For each group of statements, choose the option that best describes you.
Where I fit into the universe:
a. We all make our own universes.
b. I don’t just love the moon—I sense my emotions changing right along with it.
c. I can be as happy on my own as I am in a relationship.
d. I believe in ghosts and what we can learn from them.
e. I have always been impressed by the snakes’ ability to adapt to new situations.
f. When I look up at a crescent moon, I feel hopeful.
My core value is:
a. I celebrate all things feminine.
b. There’s nothing I value more highly than loyalty.
c. If someone offered me immortality on a platter, I might not take it.
d. I identify with both maiden and crone.
e. I am Team Maiden all the way—and I dress to celebrate my youthful beauty.
f. I’m confident enough to see myself anywhere in the world and as just about anybody. You don’t have to give me the keys to the city, but you can trust me with them.
My life so far has been:
a. Busy.
b. Full of surprises, rapture, regret, and most of all—love.
c. Complicated.
d. A long evolution, but I know who I am now.
e. Rough and tumble, but I can take it.
f. A learning process—I adapt.”
Here’s what you need to know about my personality:
a. I’m a caretaker and a peacemaker.
b. I can be impetuous.
c. If I see a wrong out in the world, I want to fix it.
d. I believe the moon has as much power when she’s waning as when waxing or full.
e. I can get angry and vengeful—that’s the way the universe works.
f. I am willing to plan ahead, work hard, and wait to get what I want.
How I get along with others:
a. Whether I have children or not, I’m a mother and guardian to all kinds of living beings.
b. There’s nothing better than romantic love.
c. I tend to put others’ needs above my own, sometimes to my own peril.
d. I might not have all the answers, but I still love to give advice.
e. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer … and never trust anyone.
f. Half my job is being a role model.
FIND YOUR GODDESS
Tally up the number of times you chose each letter. If you chose a letter
5 times: You know who you are.
4 times: You have a definite Moon Goddess profile, but you’re open to new phases.
3 times: You’ve never considered yourself to be only one thing.
2 times: Looks like you have a Goddess Rising. 1 time: You’re goddess-curious.
The letters correspond to these moon goddesses:
- Mawu
- Selene
- Chang’e
- Hecate
- Coyolxauhqui
- Diana
So, for example, if you answered b three times and e two times, you are a Selene with Coyolxauhqui rising. If you chose a three times and c and d one time each, you’re a Mawu with a dash of Chang’e and Hecate.
YOUR GODDESS PROFILES
Chang’e
In the best-known version of your story, your husband, Wu Gang (sometimes called Hou Yi), received a pill guaranteeing immortality. When thieves broke in and tried to steal it, you swallowed the pill to keep it out of the wrong hands. Some versions present Hou Yi as a cruel landowner and maintain that you took the immortality concoction to save the world from him. Either way, you now live on the moon with a jade rabbit, as an enduring symbol of self-sacrifice for others’ good, and you are one of China’s most popular deities.
Coyolxauhqui
You and your siblings died when your brother Huitzilopochtli sprang from the womb with his sword swinging in typical Aztec fashion. He cut off your head and tossed it into the sky, where it shines as the moon—and you are the atypical moon goddess who represents anger and strife. You are remembered as a beautiful woman … often, alas, dismembered. Your symbols are serpents and bells, which you used to wear as ornaments.
Diana
You began in Greece as the goddess of the hunt and the forest, and you now contain multitudes. You’ve evolved from the Greek huntresses Selene and Artemis, through Hecate and Luna, into the chaste, shining beacon you are now. Only late in the plot did you become goddess of things lunar, but this will be your domain forever. Your symbols are the crescent moon, your bow and arrows, deer, bees, the full moon, and keys. We see you everywhere—so smart, so sure of who you are, clever in the hunt … and you get what you want.
Hecate
You are the Greek queen of magic and the underworld—first a mother deity, then the goddess of ghosts and the underworld. Maiden and crone are one and the same to you. You are a wise protectress who wards away evil and rules over childbirth and the night, which is why you are sometimes called the Dark Goddess. You know we are thinking of you when we draw torches, keys, daggers, serpents, dogs, the waning moon, and the strophalos (usually a maze within a serpent, representing rebirth and a cosmos in flux). Even Zeus honors you, you goddess of change and the crossroads. Let Selene take the waxing moon, Diana the full one—our spirit tides rise for the Dark Moon.
Mawu
Born in Benin when it was known as Dahomey, you take Moon Goddess a step further as you represent the principle of feminine energy and the power to create. You are the ultimate creator goddess—you pretty much gave birth to the world. You are wise and protective, a wonderful mother figure, honored with symbols of serpents and crescent moons. You bless us with peace.
Selene
You are a creature of ideals and emotions. As the most ancient of our Greek moon goddesses, you’ve represented the moon herself from the beginning, gradually gathering up characteristics of Artemis and Luna. You are the child of the sun and the dawn, and you may be an idealist, but you haven’t always thought your decisions all the way through. When you fell in love with Endymion, for example, you asked Zeus to make him sleep forever so that he would never change. What good is immortality to someone who sleeps through it all? We do admire your loyalty for turning up to lie down beside him every night.