Nyx in the House of Night

but the angel Gabriel visited Mary and gave her the news that she would bear the Son of God through immaculate conception. Devoted to God and the church, Mary accepted this news willingly.
    The subsequent conception and deliverance of the Savior of mankind made Mary one of the most celebrated figures in Christianity, particularly in the Greek Orthodox tradition. I have never been to a Greek Orthodox church in the United States or abroad where an icon of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus was not prominently and reverently displayed. August 15th, the feast day of the Assumption that marks the Virgin’s death and passing into heaven, is celebrated as a high holiday with fanfare equal to Christmas (the beginning of her son’s life) and Easter (the celebration of her son’s resurrection from death).
    Like Mary, the Nyx of Greek myth was also known for autonomous birth and may just be one of the first women to ask, “Who needs a man?” Though often linked to her consort Erebus, with whom she had children, Nyx gave birth to the majority of her progeny on her own. Hypnos (sleep), Oneira (dreams), Charon (ferryman to death), the Fates (the Moirae and the Keres), the Hesperides, Nemsis (retribution), Apate (deception), Philotes (friendship), Geras (age), and Eris (strife) were all born without male intervention. How’s that for sisters doing it for themselves?
    FEMALE WORSHIP
    The amazing power of fertility as exhibited by Nyx and Mary forms the basis of most worship of the female divine. Associated with fertility are realms of nature, the hearth, and the home. In fact, most of the well-known female deities in ancient and contemporary polytheistic and monotheistic religions—Gaia, Isis, Kali—rule over common elements of earth, the household, fertility, love, and internal energy. It is to these female deities that humans have turned to when praying for families, loved ones, and homes.
    In the House of Night series, female worship and ritual is marked strongly by compassion, reliance on instinct, and an innate connection to the elements: air, fire, water, earth, and spirit. Coloring all of these things is perhaps the strongest universal element of all: the encompassing love and protection offered by the female divinity.
    As the female deity watches over all her children, her children have the faith that when they call on their Goddess through prayer and ritual she will come to their aid. Several times, we see Zoey calling out to Nyx for help, and Nyx often answers her through the protective element of Spirit. Not only does Zoey believe that the Goddess will protect her, she believes that her control over the elements, a gift from Nyx, will see her through danger, a belief echoed by the rest of Zoey’s circle. We see, too, that even when her followers stray to the side of darkness, Nyx always gives them a chance to return to the light.
    Zoey’s trust and faith in Nyx is not at all unlike the faith Christian practitioners place in Mary, mother of saints. The familiar image of the Virgin holding the child Jesus close to her bosom is symbolic not only of a mother protecting her child, but that of the archetypal Great Mother protecting all her children. In the Greek Orthodox religion, one can call on any of the saints for protection or assistance, but the one called upon most in times of panic is the Virgin Mary. In Greek, the most common phrase used is Panaghia Mou , or “My Saint-of-All.” (As the woman who bore the Savior, Mary ranks above all the saints.) And as with Zoey’s pleas to Nyx, it matters less what you do in praying to Mary than the intent in your heart when calling upon her.
    PRAYER CANDLES AND CIRCLE RITUALS
    However, in reaching out to the divine, it seems too simplistic to just call out to them. Our base instincts require rituals and formalities, including prayers and offerings that illustrate our needs and devotion. And in many Christian traditions, those practices are not all that different from the ways we see the House of Night vampyres reach out to Nyx, or from religious practices in other cultures.
    When I go to church, the first thing I do is light a candle. I make a wish for myself and for the well-being of my loved ones, and in front of an icon, usually the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus, I pay my respects by crossing myself, saying a prayer, and kissing the icon. In addition to lighting a candle, my mother always makes a point to cut a rose or some fresh basil from her garden and