The word mother conjures up strong images, sometimes loving and gentle. At other times, we imagine a fierce mother bear protecting her young. The mother goddess is an ancient, universal concept that has not been easily erased from the sacred landscape of even the most patriarchal societies.

People of every culture persist in recognizing her power, sometimes combining her with images of Mother Mary of the Christian faith which has kept the mother goddess alive for centuries in an atmosphere otherwise unfriendly to Pagan worship.

Some goddesses in mythology associated with motherhood may not have even borne children yet are venerated as the Great Mother because of their personalities and what they have done for humanity. Below are just a few examples of the mother goddess from different cultures.

Danu: A major Irish mother goddess and ruler of the Tuatha De Danaan whose name means People of Danu. These divine beings are believed to have gone underground and become the fairy people. Therefore, she is a goddess of magic and seeing between the worlds. She is thought by some to be the same goddess or twin to Anu and associated with the Welsh goddess Don.

Demeter: The Greek goddess mourned the abduction of her daughter Persephone and would not allow anything to grow on the earth until her beloved child was returned. She personifies the persistent mother relentless in pursuit of saving her child.

Devi: In Hinduism, there are many goddesses, but they are all part of the Goddess, the divine feminine force that Devi is synonymous with. Therefore, she represents all aspects of female energy from compassionate mother to fierce warrior.

Frigga: A Norse goddess of marriage, hearth, and home. Wife of Odin, she ruled in Asgard, the home of the gods and was mother to Baldur, god of light. She is sometimes associated with Freya, though there is debate as to whether they were really two goddesses.

Gaia: The Greek goddess who gave birth to creation out of chaos. She personifies the fertile earth mother goddess found in cultures around the globe. Other cultural counterparts are the Aztec Coatlicue and the Norse Nerthus.

Isis: This Egyptian goddess is said to have taught humanity many skills including spinning, weaving, and agriculture. She was the wife of Osiris who was killed by their brother. She went to the Underworld to retrieve him and used magic to revive his body long enough to conceive their son Horus.

Juno: This Roman goddess gives us the name for June, the bride's lucky month. She was wife to Jupiter and mother to several deities including Mars. The Roman Empire and Rome itself were under her patronage. She is the patron of marriage, hearth and home.

Kuan Yin: The Chinese goddess of mercy and compassion. She is a bodhisattva, someone who chooses to save others instead of enter nirvana. She personifies a mother's unconditional love.

Yemaya: An African goddess from the Yoruba tribe who gave birth to many of the Orishas, the spirit beings that represent the forces of nature. Her worship was brought to America with the slaves. She governs the ocean and is sometimes seen as a mermaid. She is a now strongly associated with the Virgin Mary and religions such as Voudun and Santeria. Yemaya is a patron of women, fertility, magic, and protector of children.

These are just a few of the mother goddesses in her many aspects from compassionate to fierce. Their stories have changed over the centuries and sometimes melded with those of other deities. Their worship has either remained or been revived as the image of the great mother deep within our collective unconscious reemerged. She provides hope in times of turmoil and change; the loving arms to protect us when we need it, and the sometimes not so gentle nudge to set us back on our path.