(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epona) |
Deity Name
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Epona, “The Great Mare”, “Divine Mare”, “Mare Goddess”
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Pantheon
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The Goddess Epona, while traditionally stemming from
Gallic origins is generally perceived as Gallo-Roman in nature.
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Native Origins
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The native origins of Epona are Gallic origins, although she
is one of the only goddess to be completely incorporated into the Roman
pantheon when they expanded in to Gaul and beyond.
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Correspondences
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Day of the week
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While no specific references could be found to a day on
which Epona would be honored if one was to take into account the associations
of agriculture, creativity, fortune, hope, protection and banishment of
negativity than Saturday would be an appropriate day. Thursday is another viable option as it is
associated with harvest, riches and fealty.
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Flowers and Herbs
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Flowers and herbs associates with the goddess Epona are: Roses,
coltsfoot, purslane, vervain, and grain.
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Fragrances and Incenses
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Some of the incenses that could be used in working with
the Goddess Epona are: rose, sandalwood, sweet grass, and null.
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Crystals and Gemstones
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There are many crystals said to be associated with the
goddess Epona. Some of these stones
are: cat’s eye, ruby, azurite, obsidian, moonstone, obsidian, carnelian,
chrysophase, shiva lingham, smokey quartz, rose quartz, bloodstone, unakite,
rhodonite, and garnet.
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Foods
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Given her association with horses, harvests and fertility
it makes sense that food involving grains, carrots, and apples would be
appropriate to the goddess.
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Sabbats
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The goddess Epona, as a goddess of harvests would be
called upon during the Autumnal Equinox.
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Metals
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While I couldn’t find any references to metals it would
seem logical that given the time period in which Epona came to be so popular
that Iron would be an appropriate metal.
Epona is associated with wealth also so gold might be another viable
option as it is something we have come to associate as a symbol of wealth and
power.
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Aspects
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Epona is a goddess of many areas, she is said to be a goddess
of Fertility, abundance, the moon, creativity, and freedom. Epona is also a Protector of horses and
things to do with them. Finally, there
are some references that link Epona to the underworld.
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Favored Offerings
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Given Roman connections favored offerings could involve
wine and mola salsa (salt and flour cakes), as well as roses and grains.
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Myth & Legend
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There are actually no surviving myths about Epona and so
we are left with evidence of her worship in various different aspects
throughout Celtic and Roman world and she has even been linked to the Welsh
goddess Rhiannon. There are some brief
mentions of her within the works of Juvenal, Apuleius, Minucius Felix,
Prudentius and Fulgentius but little else remains. Juvenal writes of Lateranus who refused to
offer sacrifice to any deity other than Epona while working in the
stables. Apuleius mentioned a shrine
to Epona found within a stable in his work “The Golden Ass” as does Minucius
in “The Octavius”. About the only
surviving story of Epona is that of her birth. It is said that a man by the name of
Phoulonios Stellos was entirely uninterested in women and instead mated with
a mare. The product of this union was
that the mare birthed a human daughter whom she named Epona.
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