More About Goddesses: Mama Quilla:The Radiant Lunar Mother of the Inca (New Essay)

 

More About Goddesses: Mama Quilla: The Radiant Lunar Mother of the Inca (New Essay) by Tim Kavi

In the luminous pantheon of the Inca civilization, few figures shine as gently yet as powerfully as Mama Quilla, the goddess of the moon. Revered as the consort of Inti, the Sun God, and the sister-wife of Viracocha’s divine children, she embodied cycles of time, fertility, and feminine power. To the Inca people, Mama Quilla was not merely a celestial body but the very essence of womanhood—protector of wives, mothers, and the tides of human life itself.

Historically, the Inca regarded Mama Quilla as one of the three great deities of their empire, alongside Inti and Pachamama (the Earth Mother). Her worship stretched across the Andean highlands, and her golden temples gleamed in the ancient capital of Cusco. The priests and priestesses of the moon observed her phases closely, marking them as divine rhythms by which to guide agriculture, ritual, and governance. The lunar calendar, vital to planting and harvest, was dedicated to her. Each full moon was a celebration, when offerings of silver—her sacred metal—were made to honor her reflected brilliance and to maintain harmony between the heavens and the earth.

Mythologically, Mama Quilla was said to weep tears of silver that fell to the earth as moonlight, explaining the presence of the precious metal in Andean mines. Her tears were symbols of compassion and sorrow—mourning the pain of the world while illuminating its darkness. As Inti’s counterpart, she balanced the harsh light of the sun with her cool reflection. Their divine union represented the duality that structured Incan cosmology: male and female, day and night, order and renewal. The Inca viewed such complementarity not as opposition, but as a sacred balance, a principle deeply embedded in their social and spiritual lives.

Mama Quilla also served as a protector of women, particularly those wronged or abused. Legends describe her defending mortal women against injustice, and rituals invoking her were performed for healing and reconciliation. In this role, she symbolizes the sanctity of emotion, the power of empathy, and the endurance of cycles—birth, death, and rebirth. Her monthly waning and waxing mirrored the phases of womanhood, reinforcing the spiritual connection between human and cosmic rhythms.

As an archetype, Mama Quilla continues to instruct us today. She teaches the value of reflection—how to shine light not through dominance, but through receptivity and grace. While Inti blazes with outward energy, Mama Quilla glows through inward wisdom. She embodies emotional intelligence, intuition, and the strength found in gentleness. In a world that often glorifies solar qualities—speed, productivity, and conquest—her lunar nature reminds us to honor introspection, cycles of rest, and the quiet power of nurturing.

In archetypal terms, Mama Quilla represents the feminine principle of renewal, reminding humanity that illumination arises from darkness. She shows that beauty and meaning often emerge through change, loss, and restoration. As the Inca once looked to her to guide their seasons and ceremonies, we too can look to her as a guide for our inner seasons—recognizing that every waning is followed by a waxing, and that the moon’s light, like compassion, never truly disappears.

Marriage With the Goddess (new poem)

Marriage With the Goddess (New Poem)
by Tim Kavi

across the veils of time and space,

in a still and sacred place,

I beheld your face—

the moon’s own grace.

when silence sang across the void,

and light and shadow intertwined,

our vows were written in the mind

of heaven, not destroyed.

what words suffice for such a flame?

when yin calls yang by secret name,

and breath to breath, our souls align—

a kiss becomes the grand design.

no thread of history could weave

the pattern fate had dared conceive;

yet in your lace, the cosmos stirred,

the stars themselves became our word.

no utterance was ever truer

than your love—

a river to my fire,

a whisper to my roar.

and still, eternal,

our union stands:

the goddess in my trembling hands,

the lover in my heart’s command—

one soul,

no matter what.

A Sonnet to Artemis (new poem)

A Sonnet to Artemis (New Poem)
by Tim Kavi
Subtitle: Oh Artemis: A Sonnet of Summons and Entreaty

Beneath the silver glow of moonlit skies,

This devotee wanders through shadowed glades,

My heart entwined with whispered prayers and sighs,

To Artemis, whose grace the night pervades.

O Goddess sweet, who roams the forest vast,

With bow in hand and hounds that swiftly run,

Protector pure, both present and steadfast,

The stars above reflect thy watchful sun.

The seeker calls, my voice a trembling plea,

"Great Huntress fair, O guide me on my way;

Through paths unknown, grant courage unto me,

And let thy light dissolve the night's dismay."

Then soft winds stir, her presence felt so near—

Artemis answers, calming all my fear.

MORE ABOUT GODDESSES: Kali and Artemis Contrasted: Fierce Protectors of Their Daughters (New Essay)

MORE ABOUT GODDESSES: Kali and Artemis Contrasted: Fierce Protectors of Their Daughters (New Essay) by Tim Kavi

In the mythological landscapes of ancient India and Greece, two formidable goddesses emerge as fierce protectors—Kali and Artemis. Though they arise from vastly different cultural contexts, both embody primal, protective power and the unyielding love of a mother or sister figure toward vulnerable femininity. Whether severing heads or unleashing arrows, Kali and Artemis are united in their guardianship of women, particularly daughters—whether literal or symbolic.

Kali, a fearsome Hindu goddess often depicted with a garland of skulls and a tongue dripping with blood, embodies divine wrath and maternal ferocity. Emerging in texts like the Devi Mahatmya and Kalika Purana, Kali is not simply a destroyer; she is a protector of righteousness (dharma), annihilating demons that threaten the cosmic order. But her most intimate and emotional portrayals are as the mother who defends her children—particularly her spiritual daughters, women who embody or seek liberation (moksha). In the Chandi Path, when the gods are overrun by the demon Raktabija, Kali is called upon because only she can protect the divine feminine from desecration. In these moments, she becomes the ultimate maternal warrior—not gentle, but necessary.

Her protection of daughters extends metaphorically to devotees, especially women seeking empowerment. In Tantric traditions, Kali is not only feared but adored as a guide for women breaking societal boundaries. Her wrath is not chaos but a tool for liberation. She tears down illusions and ego, especially those that oppress feminine power.

Across the seas in ancient Greece, Artemis, the virgin huntress and daughter of Zeus and Leto, holds a different but equally potent archetype. In Homeric hymns and classical myths, Artemis is the protector of young women, midwives, and animals. As kourotrophos (nurturer of the young), Artemis oversees the transition of young women into full womanhood, fiercely guarding their purity and independence. She is not a maternal figure in the way Kali is, but she is more of a sister-goddess, defending the sanctity of female autonomy.

With Artemis, a similar protective instinct turns violent when violated. In the myth of Actaeon, the hunter stumbles upon Artemis bathing—an act of voyeurism—and is transformed into a stag, devoured by his own hounds. In another tale, she demands the sacrifice of Iphigenia to punish Agamemnon for slaying a sacred deer. While brutal, these acts demonstrate Artemis’s strict moral code: to harm her daughters is to incur her wrath.

Where Kali's protection is all-consuming and often cosmic in scale, Artemis's is more socially grounded—focused on boundaries, chastity, and the sacred rites of passage for women. Kali tears through demonic armies; Artemis ensures no man transgresses female space unpunished.

What binds them is their refusal to yield. They are guardians of feminine power—not as passive virtue but as dynamic, dangerous energy. In a world where female safety and autonomy are still contested, Kali and Artemis remind us that to protect daughters may require fierceness, not softness. Their myths endure because they offer not only fearsome warnings but fierce hope—for the right to exist, grow, and be protected in one’s own strength.~~TK

Candles and Shadows (new poem)

 

The March of Time (new poem)

The March of Time (new poem)

by Tim Kavi

relentless and cruel

the march of time

scratches the face

of all that lives

like a stream

becomes a river

opens into the ocean

and is taken up again

to the clouds

Nature claws a foothold

over the abyss

for the rain 

brings a promise

of a flowery kiss

a drink

to the desert

what time has forgot?

eternal love

dotes like a constant 

gardener and scribe

who writes down

the lines of Nature

like a poet

burns in consuming fire

aged and young

are both victims

and reverential fans

of discovery

of what is

promises to be

songs not yet written

and a love to be lived.

Oh Goddess! You Fill The Earth (new poem)

Oh Goddess! You Fill The Earth (new poem)

by Tim Kavi

Across the withered plains

there are currents in the sand

marks of played-out destinies

gleaming in the desert sun

burning like flames consume a book

my knowledge has become desolate

quaking at the power of Nature

searching with a lapping tongue

looking for, and 

desperately seeking

the oceans of your love.

so O goddess

fill the Earth

with the fruits of your being

let the dancers, rejoice

let the singers, sing

and let the poets speak.

for great cedars shall grow

where once it was desolate

and hearts frozen cold

shall beat again; in the power

of your love.