Here we go, some stories about a few Fire Goddesses. I only have four right now, but I am still researching.
If you know of any good sites or books with stories, myths or legends of Goddesses of Fire that I have not yet found/listed, please let me know.
BILIKU/Spider Woman
Spider Woman is worshipped among many of the southwestern Native American tribes. While she is occasionally thought to be destructive, she is nearly always portrayed in a positive light.
Grandmother spider of the Cherokee tribe brought people the sun and fire; she taught them crafts such as, pottery and weaving, and showed them how to make ceremonial blessings. She is called Spider Woman among the Pueblo, Tewa, and Kiwa tribes and is thought responsible for bringing fire.
A spider woman found in the Indian subcontinents, named Biliku, also brought fire and light. For the Hopi, Spider Woman is a creator who helped the people during their emergence, created the moon, has the power to give and take life, and is connected to hunting and agriculture.
Spider Woman is a reminder that good can come from anywhere. Even the lowly spider, sometimes dismissed as extraneous, has the power to create and teach.
BRIGHID
Brighid was one of the great Triple Goddesses of the Celtic people. Some say that there are three Brighids (see also the Triune Goddess): one sister in charge of poetry and inspiration, one in charge of healing and midwifery, and the third in charge of the hearth fire, smithies and other crafts. Her festival is the ancient Celtic Fire Festival of Imbolc (February 1).
Brighid has gone through many transformations. She was originally a Sun Goddess, but her love of weaponry, favoring the spear and arrow, led to her image as a Warrior Goddess relating her to Minerva/Athena. As a Goddess of Herbalism, Midwifery and Healing, she was in charge of Water as well as Fire. Once Christianity became popularized, she became a popular Catholic saint until her de-canonization in the 1960's.
Until 1220 CE, the Goddess Brighid had always kept a temple at Kildare, Ireland, with an eternal flame tended by nineteen virgin priestesses called Daughters of the Flame. No men were allowed near the temple or the women who kept the flame. When Catholicism took over in Ireland, the temple became a convent and the virgin priestesses became nuns but the same traditions were held and the flame was kept burning. Traditionally, a different priestess/nun was in charge of the sacred fire every day but the 20th day of each cycle, when Brighid herself tended the fire. For over a thousand years, the sacred flame was tended by nuns, and for countless years before that it had been tended by the Priestesses.
In 1220 CE, a bishop became angered by the no-males policy of the Abbey of St. Brighid of Kildare. He insisted that nuns were subordinate to priests and therefore must open their Abbey to inspection by a Priest. When they refused and asked for another Abbess or other female official to perform any inspections, the bishop was incensed. He reproached them to submission, then decreed that the keeping of the eternal flame was a Pagan custom and ordered the sacred fire to be extinguished. This ended Brighid's reign as a fire goddess.
These three sisters form a triad representing the three crop seasons; growing, ripening and harvesting. Some say they mirror the Fates, but, in my opinion that is narrow-minded as the only common factor lies in their trialilty. These three Celtic goddesses survived into Christianity disguised as saints, as with many other pagan deities and traditions. While this page was originally intended to highlight fire goddesses specifically, I felt the need to explore these three as a group since all their aspects form one stronger power.
Lasair (LOH-seer) is the Irish fertility goddess of spring, the eldest of the triune and the "creatress goddess of spring and budding". Her name means "flame". She rules over seasonal rites. This was the only information I could find that was not directly related to Brighid.
Inghean Bhuidhe, also known as Crobh Dearg, is the "nurturing mother goddess of ripening" and the middle sister. Her name means "the yellow-haired girl". She rules the beginning of summer, flower festivals, spring planting and is honored on Beltane (May 6) with rituals around a sacred well.
Latiaran is the 'death-bringing crone goddess of harvest', though she is youngest of the three sisters. Latiaran represents the first harvest of Lughnasadh (August 1) and rules over seasonal rites and fire magicks. The only surviving story of Latiaran is that each morning she carried a "seed of fire" from her nun's cell to a nearby forge. One morning the blacksmith complimented her on her beautiful feet, and she, vainly, looked down. At that point, her apron caught fire. While her clothes burned she, herself, was unharmed. She sank into the ground under a heart-shaped stone and was never seen again.
GOGA
Among the Massim people of Papua, New Guinea, Goga, the goddess of fire and rain is credited with the origin of fire. Goga is not necessarily a benevolent goddess. Rather than bequeathing fire as a gift to her children, humans were forced to steal fire from her. After men had stolen her fire, she tried to extinguish it by sending a downpour, but a large snake preserved the flame on its tail.
