Why do people assume that all moon deities were goddesses?

Question

Sugar pie: There have been many religions over the course of human history. Christian monotheism is only one, and even Islamic monotheism has an emphasis on the moon.

Embigguns: I didn't say anything in this question about a matriarchy. I asked a similar question "Why do people think that the ancients were matriarchal moon goddess worshipers.?" but here I am just interested in peoples impressions of moon god genders.

JCCCMA: I am actually asking four different questions all interrelated. This one only has to do with the gender of moon gods and what shapes peoples impressions.

Answer 1

Do they? I don't think the average person has the slightest idea what a moon deity is period. But certainly there is a traditional link in some mythologies between the moon and the sacred feminine as well as between the sun and the sacred masculine.

The reason for this is primarily because many ancient cultures in Europe and elsewhere linked the moon to the female and the sun to the male. In other mythologies where this link did not exist, there was no set rule as to which gender the sun or the moon was linked to and hence no "pattern" that was as easy to generalize. The correlation between the moon and the female gender is partly because female menstruation is linked to the lunar cycle. Likewise, the moon influences the oceans' tides on Earth, and water has generally been associated with the female rather than the male.

Water and earth are linked to the female, and hence we have associations such as the Earth as a womb and correlations between amniotic fluid/the menstraul cycle and water, etc... Hence, we have this idea of "Mother Earth". Likewise, masculinity has traditionally been linked to fire and air. Air is conceived of as being the "intellectual" element and hence was characterized as masculine, based on the fact that most ancient cultures did not allow women to pursue science or intellectual arts. Fire was perceived of as a consuming but creative force that turns metal into weapons, etc..., and hence was associated with men. Therefore, the sun being associated with fire and the moon with water, the sun was seen as masculine and the moon as feminine.

Another reason for the association was simply that men, being in control, saw themselves as more "enlightened" and therefore associated themselves with daylight, while simultaneously seeing women as "mysterious" and therefore associated with moonlight.

Of course, there are always exceptions, but sun gods and moon goddesses are quite common, especially in the various mythologies that formed through Europe:

Aztec: Coyolxauhqui, the moon goddess, is the sister of the Sun god, Huitzilopochtli.
Greek: Selene, the moon goddess, is the sister of the sun god Helios.
Roman: Artemis is the goddess of the moon, while Apollo is the god of the sun.
Mayan: Ix Chel is an earth/moon goddess; her lover was the sun.
Hindu: Aditi is a moon goddess. Surya is a sun god, as is Garuda.
Ancient Egypt: Hathor is the moon goddess; Ra is the sun god

As a remnant of European/Near Eastern associations between male/sun and female/moon that existed in earlier polytheistic religions, many monotheistic religions with dualist philosophies (good vs. evil; male vs. female; etc...), including Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism, retain a vestige of these ancient correlations in the fact that they have a single, dominant deity who is male and who is associated with the sun.

As for those who claim that the Islamic god Allah is a pagan moon god, bear in mind that most of the time they are trying to discredit the religion by associating it with an ancient pagan deity. "Allah" may have been used for a certain moon god, but that is because "Allah" simply means "god". You can say the same thing about the Judeo-Christian god because the name "Elohim" has the same root as the woord "Allah," except that "Elohim" is the plural form, which hints at the ancient polytheistic/ pagan roots of Judaism, as well. Islam in no way expresses any link between Allah and the moon, and he is perceived as being the ruler of both the sun and the moon, neither of which should be praised or sacrificed to. The fact that Ramadan and other feasts are based on the lunar cycle is only the case because months are based on the lunar cycle. The moon is just the most practical way of measuring a time period of about 4 weeks. The crescent moon on many Islamic flags was something picked up much later when they conquered Istanbul and adopted that city's flag.

Answer 2

I have heard somewhere (sorry, I don't remember the source) that the moon is thought of as feminine by many cultures because it resembles the pregnant woman. Also, the sun is the dominating of the 2 "lights" of our sky. In patriarchal societies, the male is dominating and therefore the sun is seen as the male, and the moon therefore is feminine. The woman I guess is supposed to reflect the light of her husband moreso than having her own light. It's patriarchal.

There are cultures where the moon is a God and not a Goddess.

Answer 3

Well the image of the moon is generally thought of as very feminine. Rather than the bright, intense masculinity of the sun, it's soft, smooth, and the feminine counterpoint. In nature all is supposed to be equal, so masculinity reigns during day, while feminism takes control for the night.

Answer 4

Male Moon Gods:

Allah
Hubal
Sin
Nannar
Daramulum
Hilal
Ta'lab
Wadd
Metztli
Tecciztecatl
Yarikh
Napir
Chons
Djehuty
Kaskuh
Arma

I could keep going, but this list has gotten long enough

Answer 5

Moon has always been signified in the Female stanza. As far back as one can remember, or has been written. I imagine because the moon is for LUNACY, and is supposed to cause mental illness, and women are crazy? Perhaps a correlation?

Answer 6

In hinduism moon is very much represented as a male deity.

Answer 7

Do they? could be something to do with associating femininity and masculinity- the moon being feminine and the sun masculine.
Interesting question.

Answer 8

because to belong to the belief that there is a moon diety means that you have to believe in the opposite of everything...hence woman ruler.

Answer 9

Muhammad splitting the moon in half. Because people actually believe he did it!

Answer 10

I dont think too many people worry about such LUNAR things in this modern day and age.

Most gods are sexless.

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