Author: A Solitary Pagan

A name that’s come to be popular in modern times, Circe is a nymph and goddess of Ancient Greece. Her father, Helios, sends her to exile on an island called Aeaea. Circe is a goddess of transformation and is best known for her skill with potions, herbs, and animals. She is a kind goddess if you treat her right, but if wronged, she will transform you into a pig or other animal. Read about her in Ho...

While not referred to as a “witch goddess”, Isis was indeed an Egyptian goddess of magic, in particular ritual magic. She is as ancient as time itself, and henceforth is the embodiment of the Feminine Divine. In Egyptian mythology, Isis gains her magical knowledge by tricking Ra into telling her his many names. She gave birth to the god Horus by taking in the seed of her dead husband, Osiris. That...

Hecate is a well-known witch goddess of Ancient Greece still worshiped by modern-day pagans. She is the lady of the crossroads with three heads or, alternatively, guarded by a three-headed white dog. Her dominion is the moon, menstruation, intuition, dreams, the cycles of life-death-rebirth and witchcraft. In Kala Trobe’s Invoke the Goddess, she writes Hecate is the “patroness of prostitutes, thie...

Cailleach is a witch goddess from Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. She is the Old Woman, the Winter Crone, the Veiled One, the Old Hag, and the Old Crone. Cailleach is the epitome of the “old hag” archetype and has long been honored for her rule over winter weather. When it snows, people say the Cailleach has unleashed her magic on the land. The mountains are the winter witch’s domain, as le...

Perhaps one of the most well-known pieces of Slavic folklore is the story of the witch goddess Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga was once a well-respected and revered witch goddess in Eastern Europe and Western Asia. As Christianity spread, Baba Yaga was diminished from a goddess to an ugly old hag that lived out in the woods and ate little children. It is possible that Baba Yaga was originally a triple-goddes...

Pomba Gira (pronounced pohm-ba shira), is Brazilian female spirit found in the traditions of Umbanda, Quimbanda, and Candomblé. She is revered by initiates and noninitiates alike as she is quite easy to relate to. Her imagery in her many manifestations is related to urban or street life and the everyday animal instincts and desires of people (vices, lust, indulgences, etc). She is very human, with...

To work with Pomba Gira involves a ritual called a trabajo. This ritual is similar to the trabajo of the exus, with some specific differences. All trabajos, like any ritual, include a specific intent, a specific location (usually a female crossroads) and specific offerings. Some other magickal correspondences are as follows: Food: honey, flour, palm oil Drink: anisette or champagne Color: red and ...

Pomba Gira is often called the Sacred Whore. She was originally thought to be a Kongo deity unique to Brazil. Some say she is the wife of Exu and shares many of his characteristics. Some say she is a separate Orisha and a female path of Exu. She is a powerful protectress and is often called “the last chance”. She will help you when you are desperate, down on your luck and no other Spirit will coop...

A significant study on the cult of Pomba Gira, this is the most comprehensive work in the English language on the Devil’s mistress, whose Brazilian cult has bewitched so many. It is a book that those seeking congress with the current of strong female magical sexuality have long desired. A beguiling spirit, Pomba Gira gives solace to the brokenhearted, vengeance for the wronged, and a fierce path f...