The Triple Goddess: Maiden, Mother, Crone

We can see the presence of a triple goddess throughout world mythology, across religions and locations, and reaching back to ancient cultures and traditions.

Sometimes, we understand her to be three separate entities who work in harmony with one another, and sometimes she is one goddess with three aspects.

However the stories portray her, they always associate her with the moon–her ancient symbol being a waxing crescent, full moon, and waning crescent, in succession. Like the moon and her shifting phases, the triple goddess appears in different forms to bestow different blessings at different moments in a person’s life.

In this article, we’ll explain everything you need about the triple goddess to harness her divine feminine power and invoke her in your practice.

[[

](https://therelationshippsychics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/PsychicsDraw-1200-×-300-px.hevc_.mp4)](https://shop.therelationshippsychics.com/optinskydp5t2)

Wiccan triple goddess

We can apply the recurring figure of triple goddesses to many ancient goddesses, from the Tridevi deities of Hinduism and a host of Greek goddesses like the Charities, the Horae, and the Moirai. Even Hera was sometimes worshiped as a girl, an adult, and a widow.

But the modern formation of the Wiccan triple goddess- the Triple Moon Goddess- was introduced by Jane Ellen Harrison at the turn of the century, who would become an icon for some early feminists.

Robert Graves would go on to develop this figure in his essay The White Goddess. This conception of the triple goddess draws together recurring themes across cultures, resulting in a singular three-aspect figure for neopaganism to worship and invoke.

Triple goddess symbol

The different phases of the moon are an ancient symbol and are almost always associated with a feminine divinity–the triple goddess symbol is no exception.

The moon’s three phases represent each of the three aspects of the goddess, which in turn symbolizes a woman’s life cycle.

On the left is the waxing crescent, representing youth; in the center is the full moon, representing adulthood; on the right is the waning crescent, representing old age.

Thus, the triple moon goddess symbol encapsulates the different stages of a woman’s life.

While all three aspects are contained within one figure, each has qualities, blessings, and curses to bestow. No one aspect can be invoked entirely independently of the others, but depending on a witch’s stage of life, one aspect may draw a more robust connection.

Maiden Goddess

The waxing moon symbolizes the maiden goddess as a figure of youth and beauty. She is reckless and sometimes naive, which can result in trouble. But she’s also full of energy and hopeful.

A worshiper can invoke her when they seek love and affection, perhaps when they seek to cast a love spell on someone they long for. She’s also invoked more generally for fertility, as she is the aspect of the goddess that has just come into her womanhood. The Maiden brings bountiful crops and warm weather.

We call upon her in the spring, embodied in budding flowers and buzzing vitality. Sometimes we associate her with specific goddesses, including Artemis, Persephone, Rhiannon, Brigid, and Freya.

Mother Goddess

The Triple Goddess: The full moon represents the mother goddess–the peak power of womanhood. This is when she is both young enough to be full of life and old enough to have a bit of wisdom.

The Mother blesses the home and the community with stability and pragmatism. She brings fulfillment and shields against the consequences of naive innocence. Plus, she not only can create but the ability to care.

She is knowledgeable, powerful, and capable of great strength. She’s the aspect of summer, associated with harvest and goddesses like Demeter, Selene, Ceres, and Danu.

Crone Goddess

Symbolized by the waning moon, the Crone is a wise woman whose years have taught her great spirituality and deep magic. She is no longer preoccupied with beauty or procreation but provides insight and guidance beyond reproach.

Death follows at her heels, but the promise of rebirth comes with it. She is the fulfilled cycle and the inevitability of time.

The Crone is the archetype for the modern (mis)understanding of witches as old hags. She is autumn and winter at once, embodied by goddesses like the Morrigan, Baba Yaga, and Hecate.

Goddess Hecate

Hecate has long been considered the goddess of witches. In Greek mythology, she is the deity of crossroads, magic, the night, the moon, and necromancy. Hecate was a single-aspect goddess in her earliest iterations, reaching back to the 8th century BCE. Some scholars believe people worshiped her before Greece developed as an influential culture.

Eventually, that culture encountered other people with other religions. From there, she became the three-faced goddess we recognize as the Triple Moon Goddess today.

Modern Version

In modern paganism, practitioners have adopted Hecate from her original cult worship to serve as the deity that many witches invoke before performing spells and rituals. She is familiar with darkness and death but not frightened by it. As a result, she helps practitioners perform their magic without allowing black magic to influence them.

Hecate is also one of the few gods that can travel freely between the living world and the Underworld. Because of this, Hecate has great wisdom and understanding of life cycles, and believers associate her with boundaries between worlds–a super vital trait to have in practicing magic!

How to invoke the Triple Goddess

You can invoke the triple goddess the same way you might invoke any deity. Specifically, you can do so by channeling your divine feminine energy. The first step of invoking anyone is to say their name aloud. We recommend incorporating her into your intention setting.

Incorporate her into your altar.

You can invoke the triple goddess on an altar by arranging items in triangular fashions. Place crystals and candles in sets of three while maintaining symmetry. Use an altar cloth with a stamp or embroidery of the triple moon symbol.

Call upon her at the changing of seasons.

The triple goddess is a figure that transitions and crosses boundaries. She exists in phases. As such, she makes for an excellent overseer of your holiday observances. Call upon the Maiden on Imbolc, the Mother on Beltane, and the Crone on Samhain.

Cast spells at a crossroads.

Okay, be careful with this one–we’re not talking about actual crossroads with traffic. The triple goddess mirrors Hecate in many ways. As a result, crossroads are where you’re most likely to encounter her energy. If you can’t safely access a crossroads, set your spell circle up at the intersection of paths in the woods. Even a boundary space in your home will work (doorways are great).

Pay attention to the moon.

Even if you don’t incorporate the triple goddess into your practice, you probably already pay attention to the moon and its phases. But since different lunar phases represent each of her aspects, you should plan to do certain things at corresponding times. Want to cast a love spell? The Maiden can help with that–and she can’t help most powerfully when the moon is a waxing crescent.

[[

](https://therelationshippsychics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/PsychicsDraw-1200-×-300-px.hevc_.mp4)](https://shop.therelationshippsychics.com/optinskydp5t2)

Looking to chat with a psychic now?

Connect with our psychics right away by installing our app Mystica Psychic Readings.