The Goddess Diana, along with Hecate is sometimes thought to be one of the Moon Goddesses, a theory which suggests that since there are different phases of the Moon, then there must be different Goddesses. In fact the Moon has only one presiding deity - Selene.

Some ancient peoples honoured Diana as a Goddess of childbirth; but most worshipped her as patroness of hunting. Diana's - Artemis - title of Agrotera 'She of the Wild' is linked by historians with the Minoan Goddess: 'Lady of Wild Things' and in this respect, they are much more accurate. For encounters with Diana are invariably in a forest or woodland.  Among women it was thought that a sudden but not violent death was caused by one of Diana's arrows.

Diana usually appears from a soft green light. She is not as slight as say the Goddess Aphrodite, or Selene; she is muscular, with sturdy limbs and broad shoulders. She has a healthy 'open-air' look about her, and slightly suntanned skin. Her hair is short and brown and curly. Most times she wears a tunic with a short pleated skirt, one shoulder bare as most of the Goddesses seem to wear. She also wears a garland or band around her head. Her hands are fairly large, strong and rough; on her feet she usually wears ankle boots, though sometimes she appears barefoot.
    Consistent with mythical depictions she does generally carry a bow and quiver full of arrows; but also she has a large knife which is attached to a belt round her waist. Often she is accompanied by an enormous hound, a cross between dog and wolf. 
    Team-members describe her presence as one of great authority, knowledge and determination. Her voice is loud and commanding, her expression mostly stern:

"I am the mighty Goddess Diana. I rule over all nature and the animals. I can be gentle, I can be wild. I can be kind and I can be aggressive. I deplore the cruelty and unnecessary slaughter of animals, the chopping down of trees and the ruination of the countryside by chemicals. Mortals care not that they cause suffering to wildlife.

In the temples of Diana mortals will soon come to realise who I am. I am making my presence felt, as have other Gods and Goddesses elsewhere. All wildlife is now under our protection. Mortals who destroy nature will be severely punished. We have stopped much cruelty, there have been some animals saved, and some trees; yet more will be saved in the future. The welfare of wild creatures is safer than it was, yet animals are still being hunted and killed by cruel mortals; traps are being set and trees felled. Single mortals can do nothing against the greed of companies; but it will stop by degrees and one day cruelty to animals, whether wild or domesticated will be over." 

Team-members during early encounters with Diana had to undergo tests; the first being simple but quite scary. The team-member was required to stand against a tree while Diana fired arrows, using the team-member's outline as a target. The objective was to remain still and focused. Only once did the team-member move, and an arrow grazed the skin. Other than this, the arrows did no harm.
    Most times Diana will take team-members for a tour of forest and woodland. This seems to be her realm of activity. The following is an account of such a tour:

'...We were in woodland, in a clearing between trees. I saw a medium sized brown bear snuffling among some roots. And nearby, hidden in bushes a man waiting patiently with a rifle. He watched the bear's movements through his gun-sight. He fired but missed. The bear heard the rifle crack and ran off. 
    We followed the man as next he stalked a smaller bear beneath the crest of a ridge. Again he aimed at the bear and missed but the sound alerted a larger bear who moved quickly toward the hunter. He aimed at close range, but I saw Diana step between the hunter and the bear; she had her bow aimed with an arrow directly at the hunter. She fired and the arrow thudded into the hunter's heart. He looked quite dead.

"This man has made his living doing the vile deed. They will find him and say he died of a heart attack."

Diana just leaned over the man's body and drew the arrow from his chest. There was no blood, no wound, nor mark on the man's clothing, but he was definitely dead.
    "Do not think of me as cruel, I am really quite kind. He will not kill again. In his next life he will be the one who is hunted. Know now how these mortals are punished. I am working very hard stopping this cruelty to wildlife."

We were walking through the woodland and came to a small trap with a rabbit caught by its tail. Diana opened the trap and the rabbit scuttled away into the undergrowth. Further along, deeper into the woods was another trap; this one had a weasel with its front paw caught, the poor creature squealing with pain. 
    Diana carefully opened the trap, picked up the frightened animal and placed her hand over its crushed paw. The paw miraculously became whole again, and she placed the weasel on the ground and it ran off. As we travelled through the woodland, there were countless traps and many different animals scared and in pain lying in various kinds of trap. Each creature in turn was removed, soothed, healed and released.

"This is just some of the work I am doing."  

Temple Diaries Diana and Fauna

Festival of Diana - September 12th