Everything about Laima totally explained
Laima (also
Laime,
Laimas māte in
Latvian) was the personification of
fate and of
luck in
Latvian and
Lithuanian mythology. She was associated with
childbirth,
marriage,
death, proliferation, and domesticity; she was also the patron of
pregnant women. Laima may be related to the
Hindu goddess of luck and wealth
Laxmi mata.
In Latvian mythology, Laima and her sisters,
Kārta and
Dēkla, were a trinity of fate deities, part of a widespread European and Aegean conception of
Destiny in the hands of three ageless ancient women, like the
Norns or the
Moirae. Laima being considerably more popular, Dekla and Karta have similar functions. In modern
Dievturi these three
goddesses are referred to as the three Laimas, indicating they're the same
deity in three different
aspects. Though Laima makes the final decision, all three make joint resolutions regarding the fate of particular individuals.
In
Lithuanian mythology, Laima isn't only the goddess of fate, prolificacy and marriage, but also of darkness and light. Laima was associated with and would often be in the form of the
cuckoo. Laima’s entourage is goddesses
Laimė and
Dalia. Laima gives destiny for newborns. Laima's sisters are
Giltinė,
Dekla,
Karta,
Magyla.
The mythographer and archaeologist
Marija Gimbutas (1921–1994) recalled in an interview, how in her girlhood in Lithuania
» "The Goddess Laima was there; she could call at night and look through the windows. When a woman is giving birth she appears, and the grandmother is there organizing things. She has gifts for the Goddess: towels and woven materials are laid for her, because she weaves the life, she's the spinner. She may be on the way to disappear, but fifty years ago she was still there" Interview with Gimbutas
.
Laima’s sacred tree is the
lime (
linden). In folk songs and tales she's the singing cuckoo in the lime (?). The lime tree has 3, 5, 6, 7 or 9 branches, and these numbers are the magic numbers of Laima. Laima’s
altar is a stone in the shape of a woman. Such
totems awarded for proliferation by women.
There are many
Baltic folk songs telling how Laima arranged
Aušrinė's name giving gala (
christening). She called all Stars (
Žvaigždės, Latvian
Zvaigznes) but didn’t call
Saulė.
There were many rituals in 18th century and Middle Ages for Laima in
Lithuania.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Laima'.
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