Gaea "the Deep-Breasted One", is the ancient Greek Goddess of the
Earth, considered by Hesiod "the oldest of divinities". She was said
to be the child of Ether (Air) and Hemera (Day), though some said She was born
directly from Chaos with Eros (Love) and Nyx
(Night). She is credited with creating the Universe, and is known as the mother
of many many many, including: Ouranos, the starry sky; Pontos, the sea; the
mountains; the twelve Titans and Titanesses, who include Oceanos, Cronos, Rhea,
Mnemosyne the mother of Muses, Phoebe and Themis; the three Cyclopes, who had
but one eye each; the three Hekatonchires, hundred-handed monsters; the Erinyes,
or Furies; the Melic nymphs; the monsters Typhon, Ladon and Echidna; the sea-monster
Charybdis; and the serpent-king Erechtheus, whose temple is the Erechtheum
on the Akropolis.
Gaea is considered the Mother of All, who nourishes and cares for Her children,
and brings rich blessings. As Goddess of the Earth, She was also an Underworld
goddess who brought all Her creations back to Her and destroyed as well as
created. Gaea as the ever-present Earth was invoked in oaths as a witness,
and as one who being All, knew all, was considered a goddess of prophecy: the
Olympian oracle was Hers, and the famous oracle at Delphi was originally Hers,
before Apollo
either stole it, or before it was passed down through Her daughter Phoebe to
Him.
It is interesting to note that the ancient supercontinent of Earth, the primaeval
union of the land before continental drift gave us the current configuration,
is called Pangaea. Which literally means "All Earth", but is also
the names of the Great Mother Goddess and the Universal God, the "Great
All", Pan.
Gaea in a reading indicates a time of fruitfulness and bright blessings,
of nourishment and fulfillment.
Alternate spellings: Gaia, Ge.