Nyx in the House of Night

arguments as to the nature of what certain Goddess symbology means that it’s an exercise in futility to hope that we can arrive at a clear picture of just how many of the temples/shrines worked, especially those from oral traditions. So we do our best to create new versions of ancient worship for the modern world.
    Ask ten different Pagans for a definition of the Goddess and you will get ten different answers. Still, there are a few things that the majority of Pagans believe, and we’ll touch on some of those in the following pages.
    First, a little background on Goddess worship in general.
    WHEN GODS WERE BORN
    As humankind evolved, our survival depended on the ability to read the weather, to follow the herds, and to learn the difference between poisonous and safe plants to eat. Rain, snow, lightning, fire, windstorms—all elements became both adversaries and allies. Without the knowledge of how they worked on a scientific level, we explored them energetically. Our ancestors divined the magical side of the elements—wind, water, fire, and earth—seeing these elements as being sent by the gods or—in some cases— as gods themselves .
    As religion began to evolve, our ancestors came to believe that our ability to thrive and to survive was dependent on our ability to assuage the whims of these deities and elements. History credits our ancestors with having created the gods to fit the world around them, but a number of other Pagans—as do I—take a different view: that our ancestors observed the natural world around them and discovered the divinity inherent within that natural order.
    And so, the Earth became the Mother, giving birth to animals and plants. Through her nurturing the people survived. When she was angry and turned her breast away, the people starved. Sacrifices were made to her in hopes for her lenience, and celebrations were held to rejoice and thank her during the bountiful times. Holidays arose, correlating with the equinoxes, solstices, and, eventually, the cross-quarter days. Between the Sun (male) and the Earth (female), the circular Wheel of the Year evolved—which modern Pagans still celebrate. Life was seen as a circle—from birth to life to death to birth again, and as the wheel of the year turned, so did the wheel of life, ever upward in a spiral.
The Spiral Path in the House of Night
I n the House of Night series, we see the spiral on the uniforms of the Third Formers at the House of Night, where it represents following the path of night to learn the ways of the goddess Nyx. The symbolism of the spiral can be seen in many forms within Paganism and Goddess worship in the real world, as well. In addition to representing Triple Goddess worship, it can represent the path to the inner self, the spiral of life, the helix of DNA, and the concept of reaching from the inner core to the outer universe, and is also linked to the womb and fertility rites.
    The concept of the living earth as a goddess is more than just a concept to those of us who actively follow Paganism as a spiritual path. This belief celebrates life and acknowledges the place of death in the cycle. Light and shadow are balanced—without one, the other cannot survive. These beliefs combine the carnal and the cerebral and the spiritual.
    For a time, the Goddess was forced underground, though she remained very much alive. For centuries, Pagans were forced to sublimate their beliefs, hiding them in the guises of monotheistic holidays and as superstitions. For any religion that is patriarchal in nature has no place for the divine feminine if she is given an equal stature to the God . But in most Neo-Pagan circles today, Paganism and Goddess-worship revere the divine feminine on an equal level with the divine masculine. In most cases, one gender does not subjugate the other. And so we come to the role of the priest and the priestess.
    THE PRIESTESS AS SERVANT
    The Goddess worship within the House of Night Series is a matriarchal sort. There are priestesses, but no priests, although there are special roles for male vampyres, as with the Sons of Erebus. In this, as well as the rituals we see performed by high priestesses (and high priestesses in training) in the series, including Zoey and Neferet, the Casts’ series mirrors modern Pagan roles and rites more than it mirrors the past duties of priestesshood.
    Historically, priests were as important to their gods and goddesses as were priestesses and, in most Pagan circles, are