Nyx in the House of Night

the vampyres over whom she rules live and function at night, rather than in the daylight.
    Nyx might easily be considered a goddess of both dark and light moons (and not all moon goddesses were connected with both phases)—for she offers hidden secrets that are associated with the dark moon, and yet her rituals are held under the full moon, and sexuality—connected with the full moon—is an implied part in both general vampyre mythos and the House of Night series. Think of Zoey’s reaction to blood, or the sensuality in the Full Moon Ritual Neferet performs in Marked (or Aphrodite’s less refined bump-and-grind version).
    Nyx’s association with the moon is also shown in the series through the triple moon necklaces worn by the members of the Dark Daughters and Sons. Its depiction of the waxing crescent, the full moon, and the waning crescent is frequently used as a symbol of the Goddess.
    THE CASTS’ GODDESS
    Though the particular combination of rituals, practices, and beliefs the Casts have created is unique to the House of Night series, it pays homage to many aspects of modern Pagan goddess worship. The Casts have taken a goddess of myth and fleshed her out for their fictional world, and they have done the same for her followers. They have created an alternative universe where a Goddess looms high over the night—where priestesses walk the world in the robes of vampyres, honoring the Goddess in worship as in old legends, and practices are brought into the modern day.
    As I said in the beginning, the Goddess is alive and well; she has been here from the beginning of the world and will be here until Earth takes her last breath. Through real-world worship and fictional worship, she has been honored and revered down through time. And the Casts’ world and series fit snugly into her library of legend and lore.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author YASMINE GALENORN writes two bestselling urban fantasy series: the Otherworld series (aka Sisters of the Moon series) and the Indigo Court series, for Berkley Publishing and Berkley Jove Publishing. In the past, she wrote the Chintz ‘n’ China series—a paranormal mystery series—for Berkley Prime Crime; the Bath and Body series—a short-lived mystery series (under the name of India Ink)—again for Berkley Prime Crime; and eight metaphysical nonfiction books on the subjects of witchcraft, tarot, sex magic, and totem magic for Llewellyn Publications and Crossing Press. A modern Pagan and shamanic witch, she lives in Kirkland, Washington, with her husband, Samwise, and their cats. Yasmine considers her life a mixture of teacups and tattoos (the former in her china hutch, the latter on her skin), and can be found on the web at www.galenorn.com.

{ Worshipping the Female Deity }

    Christine Zika
    BEFORE I was P.C. Cast’s editor on her Goddess Summoning romances, I once worked with three female mystics on a self-help book for women. During one of our conversations, the authors pointed out that a lot of church rituals—burning incense, the use of flowers, and candle-lighting—had origins in Pagan and polytheistic traditions.
    Now, I’m Greek Orthodox, a branch of Christianity similar to Catholicism that is heavy on tradition, ritual, and symbolism. So while I take pride in my faith, I also take pride in my ethnic roots, which stretch back to the ancient Greeks and their beliefs in the gods and goddesses of Olympus. When I worked with P.C., I was always amused when she would call or write to me and address me as “Goddess Editor.” Each of the books in the Goddess Summoning series ( Goddess of the Sea , Goddess of the Rose , Goddess of Love , etc.) revolved around an everyday woman who is transformed when one of the mythical goddesses enters her life and helps her find love, and I assumed P.C.’s title for me was a play on the series. But as I’ve gotten to know her over the years and as I’ve read through each of the House of Night books, I realize that for P.C. the idea of worshipping the female deity is deeply entrenched, touching her personal, professional, and emotional life.
    P.C. brings the light and mysticism of the female deity she so loves into the House of Night series. We see the Goddess in her rendering of the omnipresent Nyx, and in all of her strong female characters—both good and evil—like Zoey, Stevie Rae, and Neferet. But more importantly, we also see the divine female in the Christian figures of Sister Mary Angela and the