The GODDESS CIRCLE Goddess 4 - Mama Killa, Incan Goddess of the Moon, Cycles, Seasons & Menstruation
Mama Killa is the Incan Goddess of the Moon, Cycles, Seasons, Time, Menstruation, Motherhood & Marriage.
She goes by various names, including Mama Quilla, Killa, and Mama-Kilya. Her name translates literally as “Mother Moon” and originates from the Inca ‘Quecha’ meaning Mother and Killa meaning moon.
She is the fourth Goddess we’ll be working with in my upcoming Goddess Circle as part of my Moon Temple Membership for the New Moon in Cancer circle on ‘Harness the Natural Cycles for Creation’ (see more details at the end of this post).
She is predominantly associated with the Moon, its cycles and phases, and, in a rather dramatic way, the eclipses - see her myth further down. She is often depicted as a silver disk with a woman’s face and was seen to represent the divine powers of the Moon on Earth.
She also presides over the power of cycles, seasons and the passage of time and was believed to oversee the calendar in the Incan tradition, as the lunar calendar was used to calculate the timing of certain rituals and celebrations.
She oversees women’s own moon cycles or menstruation, and is a Goddess of motherhood, marriage and was widely honoured as the Protectress of Women.
Mama Quilla is the daughter of Viracocha, Supreme Creator God, and Mama Cocha, Goddess of the Sea. Her sister is Pachamama, the Earth Goddess (watch this space - I’ll be doing a post about Pachamama on 22nd April) . She is the wife and sister of the sun god, Inti and the pair were regarded as the supreme deities. She was the mother of Manco Capac and Mama Oclo, the founders and first rulers of the Incas.
In Cuzco, Peru, the capital city of the Incan Empire, she had her own temple with dedicated priestesses who were vestals and rainmakers and she was honoured at regular calendar-fixed rituals, especially held during eclipses.
HER MYTH
There are many myths surrounding this important Goddess, most pertaining to the Moon’s appearance in the sky.
The rather dramatic and imaginative legend created to make sense of lunar eclipses had it that they occurred when a wild animal (possibly a puma or mountain lion) caught up to Mama Quilla and took a great bite out of her side. So the Incan people were rather suspicious of eclipses as they believed the Goddess to be in danger. They would attempt to scare the wild animal away by throwing spears up at the sky and making as much noise as possible as part of lunar eclipse rituals in the hope of chasing the animal away. They believed that if the animal achieved its aim the world would be left in darkness.
When the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in the Incan Empire in the sixteenth century and set about converting the indigenous population to Catholicism, the Incans were shown respect for their ability to predict the timing of eclipses.
Another beautifully poetic myth is centred around the dark spots or craters on the moon. These were said to have been created by a fox who fell in love with the moon. When he died, his spirit floated up to the Moon to be with Mama Quilla who he so admired. When he reached her, Mama Quilla hugged the fox so tightly to herself and so impressed the craters in the moon. Awwww 😊
HOW TO WORK WITH HER
Working with the Moon Cycles
Mama Killa, as Goddess of the Moon and her cycles, can help us to sync with harnessing the natural rhythms and energies from the Moon in manifesting anything we wish to grow in our lives. Briefly, the main moon cycles consist of:
New Moons signify the beginning of a fresh new cycle - each one flavoured by the themes of the zodiac sign the new moon is in. The new moon is an ideal time to set intentions and goals that you'll develop as the moon waxes toward fullness. The New and Waxing Moon is associated with the Maiden phase of the Goddess.
The Full Moon represents completion, fertility, abundance, and transformation, when the seeds from the new moon can come into bloom. It is associated with the Mother phase of the Goddess and is a time of celebration, fullness and harvest. Because the moon is directly opposite the sun during this phase, it can also be a time of polarity and more-intense emotional energy.
The Waning and Dark Moon (the last stages of the waning crescent) represents letting go, release, death, alchemy and rebirth and is associated with the Crone phase of the Goddess. It is a time to cut cords to anything not serving you, perform any releasing rituals and alchemise any lessons from the previous moon cycle into wisdom.
Harnessing the Cycle of Creation You’re In
As the Goddess of cycles and seasons, Mama Killa can help us to harness the natural rhythms of the Earth, the Moon and the cosmos and align with our own personal cycles of creation. (It’s predominantly in this aspect we’ll be working with her in my upcoming Goddess Circle - more details at the end of this post).
Mama Killa can help us discern which creative cycle we are currently in - particularly in the West where we are highly conditioned to believe we should be endlessly productive. It is not always time to harvest. Without periods of rest, planning, planting and nurture, there may be no harvest. It is important to balance the yang with the yin.
The Mama Killa Goddess Power oracle card has an empowerment message along these lines:
Mama Killa, the Incan Goddess of the moon, presides over the power of cycles and seasons. The moon rules the night sky, returning full 13 times a year.
The ancients marked time by the moon to know when to plant, when to harvest, when to store food, and when to celebrate fertility.
Right now, you are invited to see what is familiar and decide whether you need to improve on it or leave things as they are. The answer to your inquiry can be found in the timing of things and the cycle you’re in. You can apply the idea of natural cycles to relationships, creative projects, personal growth and more. If you are honest with yourself, you will see there is no way to control these cycles, only to use the creative energy they offer to help you.
… When your outer world seems to be slowing down, with obstacles rising up and temporarily blocking your every move, do not put up a resistance. Instead, take advantage of the need to rest and re-calibrate your intentions as you wait for the cycle to change.
No matter what, like the cycles of the moon, there is divine order in everything that is happening in your life right now. Once you know this, the Goddess Mama Killa welcomes you to her divine moon dance of co-creation.
Goddess Power Oracle, Colette Baron-Reid
When you tune into your body and emotions and observe how the universe is responding to your attempts to grow or manifest something, what season do you feel you’re in personally? Often during illness, grief, loss or after a significant transition or stressful period we can go through an extended winter or ‘fallow’ time, often necessary whilst we process all the energetic and psychic material and fully integrate any healing we need.
What Personal Year Number Are You In?
Along with observing how the universe seems to be supporting or resisting your creation attempts, another worthwhile way to check what cycle or season of your life you’re in is to check what ‘personal year’ number you’re currently in.
The ‘personal year’ number in Numerology is a year-long cycle of energy, running from one birthday to the next describing the potential events and opportunities being presented for the upcoming year. The personal years run sequentially 1, 2, 3, … up to 9 at which point they start over again. Each number, one through nine, is assigned certain characteristics that tend to symbolically correlate to the nine stages of the human life cycle.
You can calculate your personal year number on Astro.com or Kari Samuels where they also go into summaries of what each year number brings.
We also have a ‘collective year number’ too - each year has a universal theme or energy that we experience as a collective, and each year cycle builds on the last. We’re currently collectively in a year 8 in 2024, which is all about strength, power, effort, results, karma, abundance, expansion, balance and manifestation. 2023 was a 7 year which is about introspection, emotion, analysis, intuition, reflection, seclusion, research, and faith. It’s meant to be a quieter, “inner” year offering the chance to withdraw from the outer world and focus on spiritual and personal growth.
The Seasons of the Menstrual Cycle
Menstruation, influenced by the lunar tides, is another cycle Mama Killa helps regulate - she can support us with tuning into, honouring and harnessing the various stages or ‘seasons’ thereof.
Just like the seasons of the year, there are four stages or ‘inner seasons’ to the menstruation cycle where each woman, no matter her age, has the opportunity to connect with the various phases of the Triple Goddess.
Week 1: Inner Winter
Around day 1-6 of your menstrual cycle - the bleeding phase.
Element: Earth
Winter is connected to the Dark Moon/‘Dark Crone’ phase of the Triple Goddess and this phase in the cycle is a time when the body is naturally shedding toxins so is a Yin time for deep rest, reflection, retreat, quiet, grounding, alchemy & letting go.
Week 2: Inner Spring
Around day 7-13 the pre-ovulation phase.
Element: Air
Spring is connected to the Maiden Goddess phase and is a fresh new cycle - a time for rebirth, renewal, new beginnings, clarity, potential, seeding new ideas & creative fertility.
Week 3: Inner Summer
Around day 14-21 the ovulation phase.
Element: Fire
Summer is connected to the Mother Goddess and is a more confident, fertile and energised time for nurturing plans, birthing creations, shining your light, expansion, fullness and manifestation.
Week 4: Inner Autumn
Around day 22-29 the luteal phase
Element: Water
Autumn (or Fall as y’all call it in the US!) is connected to the Crone/Wise Woman and is a time of harvesting, preparing and winding down before the Inner Winter phase. It’s a watery or emotional time and a time of heightened intuition. It’s during this time that we can begin to feel psychically very tapped in and energetically hyper-sensitive as the boundaries, or veil, between the physical and energy world thin for us personally - think of this week as your own personal witchy Samhain/Halloween every month!. 🧙♀️
In pre-patriarchal times, in many ancient cultures including Native American traditions, the Autumn-Winter phase was the time when the women - who were believed to be at their most powerful during this time - would retreat to a special menstruation tent or hut (commonly referred to now as ‘The Red Tent’) so they could receive cosmic downloads and wisdom which was honoured as being sourced from the Goddess and was used for the governing of the tribe. (Ah, if only we could return to that time instead of being expected to plough through menstruation with endless, machine-like productivity in most workplaces, with no regard to our body’s cycles and rhythms. Next time you’re on your period, demand a ‘Red Tent Day’ from your boss so you can “gather wisdom ahead of the next team meeting” 😉)
To go deeper into understanding the power of the period, I would also highly recommend the ‘period classic’, ‘The Wise Wound’ book by Penelope Shuttle - it literally changed my life with regard to how I viewed my period, myself as a woman and how I could powerfully harness the different phases of the menstrual cycle.
RECOGNISE HER IN:
In Isabel Allende’s novel “The House of the Spirits,” Mama Killa is invoked as one of the deities by Clara, a clairvoyant character, during her rituals.
RITUALS TO TAP INTO MAMA KILLA ENERGY
Consider what cycle/s you’re currently in by taking into account various factors collectively and individually: are you noticing a general flow with the universe in terms of what you’re intending and trying to manifest - perhaps the timing isn’t quite right for something just yet? Are we in a new moon or full moon cycle? If you menstruate - what season/stage of your menstrual cycle are you on? What season is it where you live? What personal season do you feel you’re in?
Develop self-care rituals for each stage of your menstrual cycle. Visit RedSchool.net and their various resources for a much deeper guide to understand the seasons, their themes and beautiful self-care suggestions
To sync with and harness the rhythms of each new moon cycle as a potent opportunity for setting intentions and manifesting based on the unique theme of each new moon, join my upcoming Goddess Circle (the second tier in my Moon Temple Membership) which begins with the New Moon in Aries and running until the new Moon in Virgo. Mama Killa is the third Goddess we’ll be working with for the New Moon in Cancer circle - you can see the other Goddesses we’ll be working with in the Circle on the above page or in the blog posts I’m releasing weekly in the lead-up to the Circle. The Goddess Circle encompasses a live online monthly gathering where I’ll be introducing the themes of the New Moon & the associated Goddess, doing a short guided meditation to connect in with the themes, an intention-setting ritual together (which seriously amplifies the power of intention-setting!) and closing the circle with a powerful Goddess Activation/Path-working with that month’s Goddess to energetically anchor in your intentions and support you to actualise your potential. It’ll be magical! ✨