Key nature goddesses from all over the world

In many ancient religions, deities are associated with the forces of nature. Many cultures associate goddesses with natural phenomena such as fertility, crops, rivers, mountains, animals and the land itself.

Below are some of the key nature goddesses of cultures around the world. The list is not intended to include all these deities but represents a series of nature goddesses, including some lesser known.

Earth goddess

In Rome, the earth goddess was Terra Mater or Mother Earth. Tellus was either another name for Terra Mater or a goddess so assimilated by her that they are in all respects the same. Tellus was one of the twelve Roman agricultural deities and its abundance is represented by the cornucopia.

The Romans also worshiped Cybele, a goddess of the earth and fertility, who they identified with Magna Mater, the Great Mother.

For the Greeks, Gaia was the personification of the Earth. It was not an Olympic deity but one of the primordial deities. It was the consort of Uranus, heaven. Among his children was Chronus, time, who overthrew his father with the help of Gaia. His other sons, these of his son, were gods of the sea.

Maria Lionza is a Venezuelan goddess of nature, love and peace. Its origins are in Christian, African and indigenous culture.

Fertility

Juno is the Roman goddess most associated with marriage and fertility. In fact, the Romans had dozens of minor deities associated with aspects of fertility and childbirth, such as Mena who governed the menstrual flow. Juno Lucina, which means light, governed childbirth, bringing babies "to light". In Rome, Bona Dea (literally Good Goddess) was also a fertility goddess, who also represented chastity.

Asase Ya is the earthly goddess of the Ashanti people, who governs fertility. She is the wife of the deity of the creator of the sky Nyame and mother of several deities including the swindler Anansi.

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess who rules love, procreation and pleasure. It is associated with the Roman goddess Venus. Vegetation and some birds are related to its worship.

Parvati is the mother goddess of the Hindus. She is the consort of Shiva and considered a goddess of fertility, supporter of the earth or goddess of motherhood. Sometimes she was represented as a huntress. The cult of Shakti worships Shiva as a female power.

Ceres was the Roman goddess of agriculture and fertility. It was associated with the Greek goddess Demeter, a goddess of agriculture.

Venus was the Roman goddess, mother of all the Roman people, who represented not only fertility and love, but also prosperity and victory. It was born from the foam of the sea.

Inanna was the Sumerian goddess of war and fertility. She was the most recognized female deity in her culture. Enheduanna, daughter of the Mesopotamian king Sargon, was a priestess named by her father and wrote hymns to Inanna.

Ishtar was the goddess of love, fertility and sex in Mesopotamia. She was also the goddess of war, politics and fighting. It was represented by the lion and an eight-pointed star. It may have been linked to a previous Sumer goddess, Inanna, but their stories and characteristics were not identical.

Anjea is the Australian Aboriginal goddess of fertility, and protector of human souls among incarnations.

Freyja was the Norse goddess of fertility, love, sex and beauty; she was also the goddess of war, death and gold. He receives half of those who die in battle, those who do not go to Valhalla, Odin's room.

Gefjon was the Norse goddess of plowing and therefore of an aspect of fertility.

Ninhursag, a goddess of the Sumer mountain, was one of the seven main deities and was a fertility goddess.

Lajja Gauri is a Shakti goddess originally from the Indus valley which is connected with fertility and abundance. It is sometimes seen as a form of the Hindu mother goddess Devi.

Fecundias, which literally means "fertility", was another Roman goddess of fertility.

Feronia was the umpteenth Roman goddess of fertility, associated with wild animals and abundance.

Sarakka was the Sami goddess of fertility, also associated with pregnancy and childbirth.

Ala is a deity of fertility, morality and land, revered by the Nigerian Igbo.

Onuava, of which little else is known besides inscriptions, was a divinity of Celtic fertility.

Rosmerta was a fertility goddess also associated with abundance. It is found in Gallic-Roman culture. She likes some other fertility goddesses often depicted with a cornucopia.

Nerthus is described by the Roman historian Tacitus as a German pagan goddess linked to fertility.

Anahita was a Persian or Iranian goddess of fertility, associated with "Waters", healing and wisdom.

Hathor, the Egyptian cow goddess, is often associated with fertility.

Taweret was the Egyptian goddess of fertility, represented as a combination of hippopotamus and feline who walked on two feet. She was also a goddess of water and a goddess of childbirth.

Guan Yin as a Taoist deity was associated with fertility. His assistant Songzi Niangniang was another fertility deity.

Kapo is a Hawaiian fertility goddess, sister of the volcanic goddess Pele.

Dew Sri is an Indonesian Hindu goddess who represents rice and fertility.

Mountains, forests, hunting

Cybele is the Anatolian mother goddess, the only goddess known to represent Phyrgia. In Phrygia, she was known as the Mother of the gods or Mountain Mother. It was associated with stones, meteoric iron and mountains. It could be derived from a type found in Anatolia in the sixth millennium BC. It was assimilated to Greek culture as a mysterious goddess with some overlapping with the characteristics of Gaia (goddess of the earth), Rea (a mother goddess) and Demeter (goddess of agriculture and collected). In Rome, she was a mother goddess and was later transformed into an ancestor of the Romans as a Trojan princess. In Roman times, its cult was sometimes associated with Isis.

Diana was the Roman goddess of nature, hunting and the moon, associated with the Greek goddess Artemis. She was also a goddess of childbirth and oak woods. Her name ultimately derives from a word for daylight or the daytime sky, so she also has a history as a goddess of heaven.

Artemis was a Greek goddess later associated with the Roman Diana, although they had independent origins. She was a goddess of hunting, of wild lands, of wild animals and of childbirth.

Artume was a hunter goddess and animal goddess. It was part of the Etruscan culture.

Adgilis Deda was a Georgian goddess associated with the mountains and, later, with the arrival of Christianity, associated with the Virgin Mary.

Maria Cacao is a Filipino goddess of the mountains.

Mielikki is the goddess of forests and hunting and bear creator in Finnish culture.

Aja, a spirit or Orisha in Yoruba culture, was associated with the forest, animals and healing of herbs.

Arduinna, from the Celtic / Gallic regions of the Roman world, was a goddess of the Ardennes forest. Sometimes she was shown to ride a boar. She was assimilated to the goddess Diana.

Medeina is the Lithuanian goddess who rules forests, animals and trees.

Abnoba was a Celtic goddess of the forest and rivers, identified in Germany with Diana.

Liluri was the ancient Syrian goddess of the mountains, consort of the god of the time.

Sky, stars, space

Aditi, a Vedic goddess, was associated with the primordial universal substance and considered both a goddess of wisdom and a goddess of space, speech and the heavens, including the zodiac.

Uno Tzitzimitl is one of the Aztec female gods associated with the stars and has a special role in protecting women.

Nut was the ancient Egyptian goddess of heaven (and Geb was her brother, the earth).

Sea, rivers, oceans, rain, storms

Asherah, an Ugaritic goddess mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures, is a goddess who walks on the sea. Takes the part of the sea god Yam against Ba'al. In extra-biblical texts, it is associated with Yahweh, although in Jewish texts Yahweh denounces his worship. It is also associated with trees in the Hebrew scriptures. Also associated with the goddess Astarte.

Danu was an ancient Hindu river goddess who shares her name with an Irish Celtic mother goddess.

Mut is the ancient Egyptian mother goddess associated with primordial waters.

Yemoja is a goddess of Yoruba water linked in particular to women. It is also connected with infertility cures, with the moon, with wisdom and with the care of women and children.

Oya, who becomes Iyansa in Latin America, is a Yoruba goddess of death, rebirth, lightning and storms.

Tefnut was an Egyptian goddess, sister and wife of the god of Air, Shu. She was the goddess of humidity, rain and dew.

Amphitrite is a Greek goddess of the sea, also the goddess of the spindle.

Vegetation, Animals and Seasons

Demeter was the main Greek goddess of harvest and agriculture. The story of her daughter Persephone's mourning for six months of the year has been used as a mythical explanation for the existence of a non-growing season. She was also a mother goddess.

The Horae ("hours") were the Greek goddesses of the seasons. They began as goddesses of other forces of nature, including fertility and the night sky. The Horae dance was connected with spring and flowers.

Antheia was the Greek deity, one of the Graces, associated with flowers and vegetation, as well as spring and love.

Flora was a minor Roman goddess, one of many associated with fertility, especially flowers and spring. Its origin was Sabine.

Epona of Gallic-Roman culture, protected horses and their close relatives, donkeys and mules. It may also have been linked to the afterlife.

Ninsar was the Sumerian goddess of plants and was also known as Lady Earth.

Maliya, a Hittite goddess, was associated with gardens, rivers and mountains.

Kupala was a Russian and Slavic goddess of the harvest and summer solstice, connected with sexuality and fertility. The name is akin to Cupid.

Cailleach was a Celtic goddess of winter.