Medeina-the Goddess of the Forest
Hello friends!
Just wanted to drop a quick note to share that I now have fine art giclee prints of my newest illustration: Medeina the Goddess of the Forest!
Medeina prints available here!
Medeina is one of the goddesses I was hired to illustrate for the "Dark Goddess Magick" book that will be coming out in October, you can preorder it here- www.quartoknows.com - Dark Goddess Magick. I didn't know much about her when I started, but got to know her in my research and drawing.
Balticmythology.com writes "Medeina or Medeinė (medis – tree) – forest goddess, worshipped by hunters, food pickers and warriors. Her very first image appears to be a bear. During winter solstice rites Lithuanians dressed up as bears as it is believed that bears are sacred animals and represent goddess Medeina. She is also associated with mythological creature called Juodas kudlotas (juodas – black; kudlotas - hairy) which looks like a cross of a wild animal and a human being and lives in the woods.
In time Medeina’s image started changing and became more human-like. Since then she is described as a single young woman, unwilling to get married, though a voluptuous and beautiful huntress. Medeina is also called vilkmergė (she-wolf) and is said to be escorted by a wolf pack. Moreover, she is connected to hares that help the goddess to protect the woods by leading hunters astray since her duty is not to help the hunters but to protect the forest. Even Mindaugas, King of Lithuania, would not hunt in the forest if he saw Medeina’s hare. As part of the official pantheon, Medeina also represented military interest of warriors. Whenever people started cutting trees during shortest days of winter the goddess would hide in the deepest parts of the woods and start crying. Lithuanians did not want to upset the goddess nor anger her thus they did not dare to take even a single twig during that period."
Are any of you familiar with this goddess?
