Sky Goddesses

      As spring storms tear through the heartland, it’s timely to review goddesses who rule the skies. 
      Tiamar, the Sky Goddess of my fictional world Kolkha, is inspired by Tamar, a Pagan goddess of the Caucasus region of present-day Georgia.  Tamar controls weather patterns and the seasons, is called "eye of the earth," and rides her serpent/dragon with a golden bridle. Tamar’s serpent/dragon links her to the Mesopotamian goddess Tiamat, a primordial sea serpent. 
      A related deity is Tzovinar, a goddess of water and rain from the southern Caucasus region of Urartu (present-day Armenia).  “Tzov” means inland sea or lake.  She rides her horse across the clouds creating thunderstorms and lightning flashes from her “fiery eyes.”  In one epic, she is the mother of heroes, similar to the goddess Satanaya, matriarch in the Nart sagas of North Caucasus.

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      A less fierce sky goddess is Tallay (Ugaritic: ṭly), a gentle weather goddess associated with dew and light rain in ancient Ugarit.  Tallay's name is usually translated as "Dewy" and is derived from the Ugaritic word ṭl, "dew," and a second syllable y, which can be translated as "disperser," or "daughter."  She is called "disperser of showers,"  "daughter of rain" or "dispenser of drizzle.”

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      A sky goddess from the ancient Egyptian religion is Nut, goddess of the sky, stars, cosmos, astronomy, and the universe.  Her actual name Nwt, means "Sky.” 
​      She is portrayed as a star-covered woman arching over the Earth, and is also called "Our Lady of the Stars,"  "Lady of the Starry Heaven," "Queen of Heaven,” and "Queen of Space.”  

In The Book of the Law Nut says: 
      "I am Infinite Space, and the Infinite Stars thereof.” 
      "Every man and every woman is a star." 
      "Invoke me under my stars!" 
      "I am the blue-lidded daughter of Sunset; I am the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night-sky." 

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      Several goddesses in the ancient Near East are given the title Queen of Heaven, among them Inanna, whose name Nin-anna in ancient Sumerian comes from the words NIN meaning "lady" and AN meaning "sky."  She is a lusty goddess and many beautiful poems are addressed to her by her most famous priestess, Enheduanna:
      Like a dragon,
      You … roared at the earth
      In your thunder, …
      A flood fell from the mountain:
      You, Inanna,
      Foremost in Heaven and Earth.
      Another Queen of heaven, the winged Egyptian goddess Isis is associated with the annual flooding of the Nile and with rain, believed to be the tears she sheds when she mourns the death of her husband-brother Osiris.

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      *H₂éwsōs (literally 'the dawn') is the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European name of the dawn goddess.  *H₂éwsōs is believed to have been one of the most important deities worshipped by ancient Indo-Europeans due to the consistency of her characterization in subsequent religious traditions.  Her attributes are mixed with those of solar goddesses in some later traditions, most notably the Baltic sun-deity Saulė.  *H₂éwsōs derives from the verbal root *h₂(e)wes- ('to shine',  'glow red',  'a flame').  The same root also underlies the word for gold, *h₂ews-om, literally "glow."  A derivative adverb is *h₂ews-teros, meaning "east" (literally "toward the dawn").  The Dawn goddess is “early-born” and “born in the morning.”  *H₂éwsōs is usually associated with the natural colors of the dawn: gold, saffron, red, or crimson. 

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      Two Hindu sky goddesses are Ushas and Aditi. 
      Ushas (uṣá, literally "dawn") reveals herself "with the daily coming of light to the world, driving away oppressive darkness, chasing away evil demons, rousing all life, setting all things in motion, sending everyone off to do their duties.” 
      Aditi ("boundless" or "limitless") is the personification of the sprawling infinite and vast cosmos in the sacred Hindu Vedas.  She is the mother of numerous beings including the celestial solar deities known as the adityas.  As celestial mother and synthesis of all things, she is associated with space (akasha) and is the goddess of motherhood, consciousness, unconsciousness, the past, the future, and fertility.

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      In Chinese mythology, Dianmu (Diànmǔ; literally 'Mother of Lightning'), also known as Leizi, is a Chinese goddess who uses flashing mirrors to send bolts of lightning across the sky. 
     She is married to Leigong, the god of thunder and uses her mirrors to illuminate the Earth, so Leigong can see who he hits and make sure they aren't innocent.  This is why lightning comes before thunder. 
      Another Chinese sky goddess is Feng Po Po ("Madame Wind"), who rides through the clouds on her tiger.  She often carries a fan, sack, or goatskin bag from which she releases the roaring winds.

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     The next time a castle of clouds floats across the sky, or storms rumble in the night, you can thank one of the many sky goddesses who rule the heavens above.

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For more on powerful goddesses read When Women Lead the World; 
Warrior Goddesses; Inanna’s Descent; and Tiamat vs. Marduk

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