Hina
Hina is a widespread Polynesian figure rather than one goddess: in Hawai'i she is the moon and the mother of Maui, in Maori tradition Hine-te-iwaiwa is the goddess of women's arts and childbirth, and in Tahiti Hina is the woman who left for the moon.
Hina is not one figure: in Hawai'i she is the moon and the mother of Maui, in Maori tradition Hine-te-iwaiwa is the goddess of women's arts and childbirth, and in Tahiti Hina is the woman who left for the moon; the names and stories differ by island, and 'the Polynesian moon goddess' is a flattening. The planetary (the Moon), zodiacal (Cancer, Pisces), tarot (the High Priestess, the Moon, the Star) and sabbat values in this entry are modern Western overlays, and the sabbat list is left empty because the Wiccan wheel has no Polynesian analogue. The moon is a living presence in these traditions, not a symbol of 'the feminine', and the note marks the difference between the Hawaiian, Maori and Tahitian figures. She is not a generic 'spirit guide' or a 'moon spirit'.
Correspondences
- Planetary Correspondence
- Moon
Offerings
- Offerings
- Tapa clothWhite flowersWaterThe first of the weaving
Sacred timing
- Sacred Timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- HineHina-te-iwaiwaHina of the Moon
- Gender Expression
- Feminine
- Titles
- The Moon WomanHina of the TapaThe Woman Who Went to the MoonMother of Maui (in some traditions)
- Symbols
- The moonTapaThe eelThe tideThe loom
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneGentle and cyclicAddressHinaMoon WomanHina of the MoonRelationshipThe woman in the moon who keeps the cyclesWarningShe is not the moon itself and the names are manyResonanceThose who work with their hands those who keep a cycle
- Modern Practice
Hina is honoured at the moon with white flowers, water and the first of the weaving, and her practice is the work of women's hands and the keeping of the cycle. The tapa and the moon are hers. The practice is not a 'divine feminine' workshop.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- The moonWomen workTapa and weavingChildbirthThe tideThe eelThe cyclesThe moonlight
- Mythology Summary
Hina is a widespread Polynesian figure rather than one goddess: in Hawai'i she is the moon and the mother of Maui, in Maori tradition Hine-te-iwaiwa is the goddess of women's arts and childbirth, and in Tahiti Hina is the woman who left for the moon. The names and stories differ by island, and the entry does not merge them. The moon, the tapa and the tide are her work. Beckwith's Hawaiian Mythology (1940) and the Maori sources record the separate figures.
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsWhiteSilverScentsJasmineSandalwood whiteRainMetalsSilverAnimalsEelSea turtle
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