Wiccas/Pagans: There is the concept of the Triple Goddess but what about..?

Question

The Triple God?

I can remember early in my studies that I read something about a triple god concept (sorry I don't remember the book exactly). It was something like:

The green god
The horned god
The blue god

In my current studies of male Deity concepts. This seem pretty prevalent. There is the green god of nature and plant life (the green man, for example). There is the horned god of animals and animal energy (Cernunnos, etc). The blue god of love and compassion (Krishna, etc). I haven't found all three in one particular pantheon, but rather pieced among all.

What do you think of that concept? Does it fit into your understanding of the god?

Thank you to those who post a respectful and knowledgable response.

Answer 1

Yes. Triplicity is fairly common. It has to do with the perceived specialness of the number 3 We even speak of time as past present and future.

Answer 2

Throughout my many years of studying the various sources of Mythology I too have come across a number of "Triune" God concepts. However, MY interpretations of it all have come down to Lord of the Hunt, Lord of the Harvest, and Lord of Wisdom and Knowledge (Sage). I find very little which refers to the stages of life which the Goddess is celebrated for (Maiden, Mother and Crone). I am very sure that there are a NUMBER of different views on this, but like you, I have found that it is difficult to find ONE single source which melds it all together in a single, seamless mythological setting. This unfortunately leaves us with having to do our OWN research and find the material which BEST fits our understanding of it all. So much HAS been lost throughout the ages that it's almost like putting together a 300 piece jigsaw puzzle only having 50 pieces of the puzzle in the box. It is further complicated in that there is NO picture on the box cover. Occasionally someone discovers one or two of the missing pieces and finds where they might possibly fit into the picture, BUT, until we find ALL of the pieces, we will never know for sure WHAT the real picture truly is.



Brightest Blessings,

Raji the Green Witch

Answer 3

Nightwind makes an excellent point. The "green god/blue god" does sound like Feri, and Feri is not Wicca (nor does it claim to be.) More here: http://www.wiggage.com/witch/feriFAQ.8.html



UEW teaches about two sets of triple gods in the same understanding as the Hellenic goddesses traditionally represented by the triple goddesses (remembering that the entire maiden-mother-crone thing is a modern interpretation of the whole ball of wax, not Hellenic at ALL) as Son, Father and Sacred King and also, in the grape gods, as well as the sons of Somnus, as perpetual child, father/adult and elder/sage. (Page 79, All One Wicca, 10th anniversary ed..)

Answer 4

Might green/horned/blue god be something out the Feri tradition? I know ever little about it (because its initiatory) but that kind of rings a bell. Feri is not Wicca.



Personally, the triple goddess is simply a concept to me. I don't follow a goddess I actually see in three aspects, nor do I believe three goddesses are aspects of a larger "triple goddess." So I personally see no need for a triple god concepts in my own practices, nor is it standard Wicca to my knowledge.



Neither the notion of a triple god nor goddess fits my understanding of my own gods. Other peoples experiences will, of course, vary.

Answer 5

i look at 'triple gods' as a PC way to make male energies the same as female, which they certainly are not. equal, yes, but not the same.



the triple goddess is prevalent because of the phases of the moon and the obvious physical stages of a woman's life. the same things are not part of male energy or physiology. there are male trinities, but they are not 'triple gods'. forcing this paradigm on the male archetype, IMHO, misrepresents masculinity.

Answer 6

Try The Witches God and the Witches Goddess by Janet and Stewart Farrar.

Answer 7

my idea of the triple god is much like prairecrow's idea, i think i read it in one or two small random books you can pick up. . . but i have yet to pull my books out of storage to give them a good dusting off. i suggest barns&noble or a local "witchy" store as i like to call them. (yeah i know, so not pc.) if you go to the smaller store just ask them if they know any reading materal about the triple god. (google also works wonders if you dont want to spend money on a book)

Answer 8

Another concept of the Triple God is that of:



Son

Warrior

Sage



Or, for the more peacefully minded:



Son

Lover

Sage



ETA: No source but my own reading over the course of sixteen years. :-) Sorry I can't give you more specific resources.

Answer 9

Maiden, Mother, Crone.

Hunter, Father, Sage.

Answer 10

I view God as such:

Son

Lover/Warrior (I feel He encompasses both at the same time)

Sage/Sacrifice (He is sacrificed during the Fall so that he may descend into the Underworld to reign over the dead)

Answer 11

It's a relatively recent concept, created by

Robert Graves...



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Goddess

Answer 12

First of all there is absolutely no evidence that any deity ever existed anywhere. The bible was written by men to control other men plain and simple. This is the twenty first century and humanity has to pull itself together and resist believing in religious mythology of all kinds and start creating a world based on science to benefit all of us. Planet Earth is beautiful as it is and we should stop wasting our human energy by praying to invisible gods and killing each other over different religious points of view. Every time we hear someone talking about gods, heaven, hell or how humanity must be saved from eternal damnation because some woman named Eve was talking to a serpent regarding apples and he convinced her to take a bite is shear nonsense. If there really was an omnipotent deity and it wanted humanity to understand what was wished it would not need to go through third party preachers, bible codes and multiple religions to get the point across. So let's get real, put a damper on all this imaginary religious mysticism and start enjoying the beautiful universe and wonderful life we already have right here on earth.