Saule {Goddess of the Week}

[Agaliha]

:sunny:

"Saule, my amber weeping Goddess
creating light like thread.
As "Saules Mat" my mother sun, daily blessing
your thankful world with light."
FOR MORE INFO: Saule (http://www.blueroebuck.com/saule.html)

:sunny:

Saule ("the sun") is the most powerful of Latvian heavenly goddesses. She is the goddess of the sun and of fertility, the patroness of all unfortunate people, especially orphans (as the only one to substitute the mother, to warm the child; mother is compared to Saule speaking of kindness, and bride as speaking of beauty). She is the mother of Saules meitas or meita (plural or singular). She is said to live on the top of the heavenly mountain (some model of world), where she rides during the day in her chariot. At night she sails with her boat on the world sea. The motif of permanent motion is apparent in this image, as well as the idea of the sun shining somewhere else during the night. Of course, the diachronic aspect is to be taken into account. In several cases she appears as the ruler in heaven, especially in relations with Meness.

FROM: HERE (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/s/saule.html)
Article "Saule" created on 03 March 1997; last modified on 08 April 2002 (Revision 2). 153 words.
© MCMXCV - MMVI Encyclopedia Mythica™. All rights reserved.

:sunny:

The sun goddess Saule and her star-daughter, Saules Meita, are central to the mythology of Lithuania and Latvia, east of Poland on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Tender folk songs, called dainas, attest to the love the Baltic peoples had for their goddesses; a million dainas have been recorded and can be found in the folkloric archives in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania. The last European regions to become Christianized, the Baltic states held to their goddess traditions into the late middle ages. Even then, everyday life was filled with small rituals - like greeting the sun as she rose each morning - that connected the Baltic people to their ancient ways.

The story of Saule and her daughter is one of sorrow and pain, as well as fierce love and deep connection. It began at the dawn of time, when Saule married the moon-man Meness. At first the marriage was happy, as they rose together and traveled the skies each day in their chariots. Their first child was the earth; after that, countless children became the stars of heaven. Among these, Saule's favorite was her daughter, Saules Meita, sometimes called Valkyrine or Austrine, the star of morning.

For eons and eons, life was happy for the sun goddess and her family. But slowly, things grew strained. The moon became moody and withdrawn. He often refused to mount the sky in his chariot in the morning, claiming he was not feeling well. But Saule, a responsible mother to her world, never missed a day of work. Each morning, she bade a tender farewell to her family, kissed her husband sweetly, and took her brown horses into the air. She had many tasks to do as she traveled: nipping tall trees with her silver shears, so the forests would not block the sun; blowing clouds away from Lithuania so that they darkened other skies; finding lost items for her human children.

When the day ended, Saule bathed her weary steeds in the Nemunas River, then hitched them to the apple tree at the end of the earth. She sat there for awhile drawing to herself the souls of people who had died that day. Then she went to her sky-palace and checked on her family. Always the happiest moment of her day was seeing the smiling face of her lovely daughter

But one day, Saule found the, palace ominously quiet. Meness was nowhere to be found, and neither was Saules Meita. The sun goddess, growing ever more anxious, searched and searched. Finally, she found the girl, sitting dejectedly by a steam at the end of heaven. Saules Meita dangled one hand listlessly in the cold water of a fountain, and tears streamed from her beloved eyes. At first she refused to tell her mother what was bothering her, claiming only that she had lost a ring in the water. But finally Saule learned the whole bitter truth: that in her absence, the moon-man had raped her daughter.

Furious beyond words, Saule left her daughter and went to seek her husband. Without listening to his excuses, the sun goddess took a sword and slashed the moon's face leaving marks we can still see today. Then she banished him forever from her presence. Although they once traveled side by side through the daytime sky, they have never been seen that way since. When he must be near the sun, Meness hides his face in shame, causing the moon's dark phase. Only when he is across the sky from his former wife does he dare show his entire visage.

After that tragedy, Saule lived as a single mother, raising her star-children by herself. She remained as reliable as she had always been, lighting the sky for her earthly children.

<SNIP>
FOR MORE: The Sun, the Moon, and the Morning Star (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGki2bvz9GVAYB3Q5XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3NDZtam5wBGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMTQEc2VjA3NyBHZ0aWQDRjc1N V83Mw--/SIG=12l7rnrhg/EXP=1178669339/**http%3a//www.mysticalmind.com/Shadows/ezine/reviews/GoddessPath.htm)

:sunny:

Saule - Latvia & Lithuania
(Saul - a)

Saule wears silken garments,with a silver crown, with a silver crown, made of gilded leaves.
Saule crosses the lake, brilliant as tinsel, and polished slippers on her feet.
Goddess Mother Saule reached her hand above the river.
Her shawl, her gilt shawl, slipped from her shoulders.
I open the window to Saule,
I look out at Saule.
Ah! It’s too short this life that I live in her light.
The sun mother weaves shawls in the middle of the sky.
Two are solid gold the third is solid silver.
Saule, my amber weeping Goddess creating light like thread.
As "Saules Mat" my mother sun, daily blessing your thankful world with light.
FROM: HERE (http://www.blueroebuck.com/reclaim.html)

:sunny:
More links:

Saule (http://www.members.shaw.ca/kitchenwitch/kitchenwitch/saule.htm) --has "correspondences" and such
Saule (http://www.rahoorkhuit.net/goddess/goddess_quest/saule.html)
Lisa Hunt Art - Saule (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGki2bvz9GVAYB7w5XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3cTduZXR1BGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMjAEc2VjA3NyBHZ0aWQDRjc1N V83Mw--/SIG=12eidn869/EXP=1178669339/**http%3a//www.lisahuntart.com/celestial_gall_pages/saule.html) Pretty painting!
Saule (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGkkXwwD9GStgA4QFXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3bDkxbzBkBGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMjUEc2VjA3NyBHZ0aWQDRjc1N V83Mw--/SIG=128pfeuqv/EXP=1178669680/**http%3a//www.circleamaurot.com/Deities-html/saule.html)
Saule - PaganWiki (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGkkXwwD9GStgA5wFXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3NmJzbGVtBGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMjcEc2VjA3NyBHZ0aWQDRjc1N V83Mw--/SIG=12knbdc08/EXP=1178669680/**http%3a//www.paganwiki.org/index.php%3ftitle=Saule%26printable=yes)
Saulė - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu6XqwT9GdhUBdZpXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3bDUyZWxmBGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMzcEc2VjA3NyBHZ0aWQDRjc1N V83Mw--/SIG=11q7ofgas/EXP=1178669930/**http%3a//en.wikipedia.org/%3ftitle=Saule)
Saulė - Spinning and Weaving Goddesses (http://www.allfiberarts.com/library/goddess/blsaule.htm)
Saule (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/2810/Saule.html)
The Sun Goddess (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu.8Nwz9GqlkBInFXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2cm1qcWExBGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDNQRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANGNzU1X zcz/SIG=11th9brta/EXP=1178670221/**http%3a//www.pagannation.org/julyaug/2.html)
Ancient Lithuanian Mythology and Religion (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu5ZAwj9GdWoBQKJXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3dG9hMzZhBGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDNzEEc2VjA3NyBHZ0aWQDRjc1N V83Mw--/SIG=11qbabdt9/EXP=1178670016/**http%3a//covenantofrhiannon.org/lith.htm)
Lithuanian Paganism - Romuva (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu5Kuwj9G.GcAJRVXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2czRjdTQwBGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDOQRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANGNzU1X zcz/SIG=120uv1sp8/EXP=1178670126/**http%3a//www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/2810/)
The Basics of Lithuanian Paganism (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu9Yuwz9GhWYAam9XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2cm1qcWExBGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDNQRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANGNzU1X zcz/SIG=12gbeg4v3/EXP=1178670254/**http%3a//www.druidry.org/obod/deities/lithuanian_paganism.html)
Global Lithuanian Net. Lithuanian Mythology and Religion Resources (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu9Yuwz9GhWYAcG9XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2cDZmdGdjBGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDNwRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANGNzU1X zcz/SIG=1200rdgvm/EXP=1178670254/**http%3a//www.lithuanian.net/resource/myths.htm)
Ancient Lithuanian Mythology and Religion (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu9Yuwz9GhWYAeW9XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3a3I4Ym1pBGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMTAEc2VjA3NyBHZ0aWQDRjc1N V83Mw--/SIG=11uc3osnd/EXP=1178670254/**http%3a//www.litnet.lt/litinfo/religion.html)
Romuva (http://altreligion.about.com/library/faqs/bl_romuva.htm)

[RavenStars]

Very interesting. Thank you for all your hard work! Litha is approaching and I'm sure some people will be interested in a sun goddess... I might even do something with her.

[Agaliha]

You're welcome. I was inspired by the sunny day here :)

[aluokaloo]

wow I've never heard of Her. She sounds great! Way to go Saule!

[Agaliha]

Since she was the answer to a trivia question and I linked to this thread, it reminded me of something. So I wanted to ask... does anyone want the scans of her section for the O Mother Sun!: A New View of the Cosmic Feminine (http://www.amazon.com/O-Mother-Sun-Cosmic-Feminine/dp/0895947226/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215206025&sr=8-1) book? It's 11 pages (links).

Just let me know and I'll PM them to you :)

[Agaliha]

I also have this to add.

It's from a website that's no longer around. Internet Archives for whatever reason hardly loads the archived pages, most of the time it doesn't work. Grrrr. I managed to copy the text before Internet Archive crapped out with that site and here it is-- I can't credit anyone though, so if this is your work, please let me know!

the original link
http://www.geocities.com/cas111jd (http://www.geocities.com/cas111jd/anatolia/index.htm)


About Saule's husband:
Great Gods of the Balts
Meness

Spelled variously as Meness, Mehnesis, Mehnuo, Menuo, Mensis, Manu, Mene, Menu, Menelis, Mënulis, he is the Latvian and Lithuanian moon-god. He is depicted as a young god with a coat of silver, gray, or similar color, or else one covered in stars. His crown is a wreath made of stars, and he carries a sword that evidences his role as a war-god. His chariot is pulled by a gray horse. As the illuminator of the night he protects of travelers and soldiers. He also has fertility and weather functions.

Little is known about Meness' farmstead other than the fact that his two lazy sons lived there with him (They cared little for plowing or work in general). Meness' horses are identified with the morning and evening stars (the rising and setting Venus or Mercury?).

The warrior-god aspect was especially recognized by the Latvians. The pictured him as having a mantle covered in stars and a diamond sword. Latvian soldiers even adorned his symbols in battle to gain his aid in their success.

The moon is typically associated with goddesses in the IE mythologies and is atypically a god to the Baltic and some Slavic peoples. However, his name is a cognate with the Norse's Mani, who is also a moon-god. Mani's chariot is also pulled by a single horse. Moon gods are more common to primitive hunting peoples and moon goddesses with agricultural societies. This suggests that the German, Baltic, and some Slavic peoples inherited their moon-gods from a substrata of hunter-gatherers north of their original IE homeland. Significantly, the Lapps know the moon-god as Mano.

The myths of Meness in Baltic and Slavic mythology are mostly variations on a theme of rivalry over the courtship with the sun-goddess Saule.

Meness is one of the suitors of the sun-goddess Saule or her daughters the Saules meitas. His rival is either the star-god Auseklis (commonly identified with the planet Venus in another atypical role reversal) or the thunder-god Perkunas.

In one myth he and Auseklis are enemies because the latter stole his bride. In another he is the 'father' of all the stars except Auseklis, whose father is Perkunos by Saule. For this reason Meness hides in shame from Saule. In yet another myth Meness coveted the goddess Auseklis for which Perkunas blasted him with lightning, with the phases of the moon representing his broken face.

The moon's association with the sun and stars is natural enough amongst all peoples, but the Latvians even included the symbols of these three on their costumes, on rock carvings, and even on their battle flags.

Although Meness is generally a god, in some variations a goddess form appears. This may be due to distant memories of the more familiar IE pattern of a moon-goddess.
Saule:
Great Goddesses of the Balts
Saule

Known variously as Saule, Saulé Motule, Saules Mate, she is the 'Sun' and 'Mother Sun' worshipped by the Baltic peoples. She presides over childbirth and cares for orphans, and she is associated with spinning, weaving, laundering, and music. These are all functions of fate-goddesses such as Laume, so there must have been some accretion on Saule's behalf. This was probably derived from the omnipotence implied from her position in the sky and the Balts' recognition of the sun's nurturing powers over vegetation and animals. Indeed, Saule is often depicted pouring light from a jug, for it is her golden sunrays that enabled all life on earth.

Saule is also depicted riding her copper-wheeled golden (or fire-) chariot pulled by two white horses. These were the pan-IE 'twin solar horse-gods' known in Latvia as the Deivas deli and Lithuania as the Asviniai. In Latvia the solar horse-god Usins is her driver. Moreover, one of her symbols is the wheel. This is a very ancient European sun-symbol. The wheel represents not only the sun as it travels across the sky, but also its eight spokes symbolizes the eight sunrays. Eggs and golden apples were also her accouterments, symbolizing her fertiltiy powers. Other symbols include wheels, eggs, golden apples, and flax.

The notion of a sun goddess is quite strange to the IE peoples and we must be intrigued by her origin. It is one of the few atypical gender reversals that is hard to explain. Given that a sun goddess is known by some of the nearby Slavic peoples shows, however, that this is not unique to the Balts. Searching for sun-goddess antecedents elsewhere in the IE pantheons we would hope to find some evidence of a sun goddess in Vedic India, but we are disappointed. Some scholars have proposed that Athena was a Greek sun goddess in origin, though this argument seems tenuous at best. The Hittites had a very powerful sun-goddess, though she seems to have been adopted from the indigenous Hattians.

It is not necessary to search far for Saule�s antecedents. While her name has a solid IE etymology, she is found throughout the mythologies of the Uralic peoples. For instance, in Finland she is Beiwe or Paive, and her daughter is Beiwe neida, �the Sun Maiden�. The Cheremis knew her as Keca Aba. To the Hungarians she was Xatel-Ekwa. Thus the Balto-Slavic sun-goddess is amongst the deities adopted from indigenous Uralic peoples.

Saule is normally considered the consort of the moon-god Meness. By him she was mother of the Saules meitas ('sun-maidens') who were identified with the planets, the oldest being the Earth. There was also some sort of conflict between her and Meness used to explain their opposition in the sky.

One myth had Meness lusting for and abducting Auseklis, the dawn-goddess personified by the rising Venus. The thunder-god Perkunas, being the keeper of moral order that he was, broke Meness' face with a thunderbolt. This explains the phases of the moon.

An alternate theory says that Perkunas and Saule had a tryst from which she bore Auseklis. Since then, the broken-hearted Meness has hidden his face in shame from Saule.

Saule is said to live in her castle (or farmstead) atop dausos, the 'heavenly mountain' ('dome of heaven') somewhere far to the east. Some say her home is located next to Dievs', which not only identifies her importance in the Baltic pantheon, but perhaps also suggests some synchronization with the Baltic 'cosmic mother' goddess who is sometimes known as Lada. The Slavs also had a goddess Lada and, interestingly, this word also meant 'summer', a notion that suggests some connection with the sun. From her palace Saule begins her daily ride across the day in her chariot.

At the end of her daily journey she is met in the Baltic Sea at sunset by her sun-maiden daughter Vakar, the evening Venus (< vakarai, 'west', with Venus also called the Marios Zvaigzde ('Sea Star')). At night she (some say Perkunele, though she and Vakar are probably synonymous) guides the boat across the world sea, arriving back at the east at each dawn. This is one of the few explanations in the IE mythologies detailing how the sun always rises in the east. It closely parallels the Egyptian version, where the sun also had a boat that sailed through the underworld river.

The next morning Saule is back in her palace in the east refreshed and shining for another day's journey. There her daughter Ausrine, the rising Venus, readies her for another day's journey.

Saule's major festival is Kaledos, held at the winter solstice. At this time she is honored and propitiated in anticipation of her return in the spring and summer. Her other major festival is Ligo at the summer solstice.

Saule also had a presence in the house where she was sometimes thought of as being represented in the family hearth. Saule's festivals, naturally, were on the summer and winter solstices. Indeed, Saule had a great cult dedicated to her, including thanks for her bestowing her bounty and prayers from those invoking her aid.
Also of interest:
Great Gods of the Baltic Peoples
Usins (Ûsiòð)


Usins is the Latvian solar horse-god of morning light who drives the solar chariot each day, pulled by his two white horses. He is related to the twin horse gods known in Lithuania as the Asviniai and in Vedic India as the Asvins. The names of both these counterparts were derived from words for 'horse' (Lith and Skt asva, 'horse'), though Usins does not have a cognate for 'horse' in Latvian. Depictions of horse heads called Zirgeliai ('the horses') are common motifs on the roofs of houses in the Latvia and Lithuania where the roof represents heaven and the carvings represent the twin solar horse gods. They are placed there as tutelary gods of marriage for newlyweds.

One tradition has Usins with white hair, further suggesting his connection as a solar-god of light. He also has a wife, perhaps a dawn-goddess daughter of the sun, twin sons, and a number of daughters. However, in Lithuania the supreme sky-god Dievs is the father of Asvinai, and he is known as Dievas in Latvia.

However, despite the suggestion that Usins equated to Dievas, we should recognize Usins as one of the Latvian Dievs deli ('Dievs' sons'), the Latvian twin horse-gods. His twin brother, then, was probably Martins (= Eng marshall, 'horse groom'). The functions of these brothers were demarcated by the seasons. Usins is identified with the summer and Martins with the winter. In the spring the Balts (and all northern Europeans) let their livestock out to pasture (where Usins got to ride the horses). In the autumn they were put back in their stables where Martins would care for and protect them. Obviously, Usins had the better job.

Usins' festival on 9 May was the first day that livestock were led out of the barn for their summer pasturage. It was no doubt the day when he and Martins traded places perhaps with some synchronization with the summer-god - winter-god duel found in Celtic, Norse, and other myths and rituals. This was especially true of the Celtic festival of Beltaine. This was also a time for the beginning of summer pasturage and included ritualistic summer-god - winter-god ritual battles over the May queen.

Similarly, Baltic spring festivals included competitions between rival teams of horse-riders perhaps derived from ritual reenactments of the roles played by the ancient horse-gods in the celestial marriage and rivalry for the spring sun-goddess.

We can related this pair with other 'twin horse gods' elsewhere in the IE mythologies, with Usins being the immortal half and Martins the mortal. This seasonal separation also reflects the IE theme of the schism between the summer and winter gods as suitors of the summer goddess. Indeed, Usins was a suitor of the sun-goddess' daughters, as were the Asvinai. All the known IE 'twin horse gods' partook in the 'celestial wedding'. In Greece, the Dioscuri ('horse-rider gods') abducted the would-be brides (Phoebe and Hilaeeria - both names connote 'light') from their cousins. The result was that one of the Dioscuri was killed before both brothers were placed in heaven as the constellation Gemini ('the twins').
Conclusion

Usins was a single representative of the pan-IE twin solar horse gods common to the IE mythologies, otherwise known in Latvia as the Dievas deli or Zirgeliai and in Lithuania as the Asviniai. Usins' other half was the winter-god Martins, who reflected the role of the dying Castor in Greek myth. There, versions have Zeus granting that Castor and his brother Polydeuces trade places on alternate days, or that they each spend half the year in each others' abodes: Polydeuces' heaven (i.e. Usins' summer pastures) and Castor's Underworld (i.e. Martins' winter barn).

In Latvia Usins' solar horse-god role has become obscured by not lost. His twin sons were in fact he and his brother Martins. Usins' white hair also belies his equine identity as one of the white horses pulling solar chariot.

As a god of light associated with the morning and evening stars his name also seems related PIE *aes, 'light'. However, the IE 'divine twins' seem more probably associated with the planet Mercury than anything else. After all, tiny Mercury rises immediately before the sun. Why would the IE peoples associate anything else with a chariot-pulling solar horse?

This rising and setting planet probably inspired the notion that one of the twins was immortal (rising Mercury) and the other mortal (setting ~). He probably also was known in Lithuania as Zvaizdikis ('the Star-god'), who was depicted on a white horse. Indeed, the Dioscuri were similarly depicted on white horses - with white stars above their heads.


:)

[Whitewolf]

Very interesting. Thanks for posting that. :)