Nyx in the House of Night

equally honored today. But what did these ancient priests and priestesses do in their positions? And how did the modern role of the priestess evolve?
    First and foremost, the priestess served her goddess. Again, with so many different temples and gods and beliefs, there can be no single answer as to how priestesses served—no “correct” choice to this multiple choice test.
    Among her sacred duties, a priestess might: conduct rituals in worshipping her goddess, see to temple business, act as sacred harlot, go to war, heal the sick, tend to the hungry, or prepare the dead for their journey into the afterlife. One of the most famous rituals (which stretched across several cultures but came into play heavily with Celtic legend and lore) was that of the heiros gamos .
    In numerous Pagan religions—though perhaps best known in the Celtic realms—the heiros gamos (a Greek term meaning sacred marriage of a god and goddess) was mirrored in the marriage of the king to the land. The land was personified as a goddess of sovereignty—a goddess who held power over a certain area or people. The would-be king underwent a series of exhausting physical trials to test if he was fit to be king, but once decreed suitable, the aspirant king would then undergo ritual sex with a priestess representing the local goddess of sovereignty in order to finalize his marriage to the land. This would solidify the king’s loyalty to his people and the land over which he ruled and was a binding oath.
    In modern Paganism, the priestess (and/or priest) facilitates rites during celebrations and rituals. She keeps the energy flowing smoothly, focuses the magic being raised, takes care of anyone disrupting the Circle, and basically leads the rituals—much of what we see in the House of Night series. In some traditions, the priestess will channel the goddess being served, and together with the priest will at times reenact the heiros gamos ritually, using a blade (representing the phallus of the god) and chalice (representing the womb of the goddess). During the ritual, the blade is lowered into the chalice as a representation of sexual union.
    Not all priestesses today follow a single goddess or even a named goddess. A number—especially within the Wiccan tradition—follow what might be termed the generic “Earth Mother” or “Moon Goddess.” And then there are many priestesses—like myself—who are pledged to either a specific god or goddess, or group of gods. But modern Pagans almost always work out a personal connection with the gods: what they want us to do and what we need to do for them.
    In the House of Night series, we explore the concept of Goddess worship through the eyes of Zoey Redbird. Her path follows a traditional modern high priestess’s path: she is chosen by her Goddess, undergoes her first ritual, and begins her training toward the goal of becoming high priestess. As with priests and priestesses of old, she is her Goddess’ agent in the world, acting on her behalf and communicating her wishes. But that is not the only role Zoey can be seen as playing within the House of Night series. And it is here that we move into an examination of one of the more prevalent perceptions of the Goddess, the Triple Goddess, and how the three faces of the Goddess are reflected by characters within the series.
    THE TRIPLE FACE OF THE GODDESS
    One common motif in the history of Goddess worship shows the Goddess as having three faces—Maiden, Mother, and Crone. She rules all aspects of women’s lives, and many goddesses around the world were seen as having a triple face (Brighid from Celtic mythology, Hecate from Greek mythology, and the Morrigan from Irish mythology, for example).
    Probably the best-known example of the Triple Goddess is the Fates—three sisters spinning out the destiny of humans. The Moirae—three Greek goddesses—were said to spin out each mortal’s web of life on a loom. Their parents were thought to be either the Goddess Nyx (the primal goddess of night), or Zeus (the leader of the Greek gods) and Themis (one of the Titans).
    The Maiden Goddess spins the life-thread, the Mother measures it out, and the Crone cuts it: Clothos, Lachesis, and Atropos, respectively, in the Greek tradition. And so we see the powers of the Triple Goddess encapsulated by the Fates—youth, the prime of life, and age.
The Fates in the House of Night
I n a nod to the Triple Goddess, P.C. and Kristin include a silver silhouette of the Fates