 Diana was the perpetually virginal huntress goddess, associated with wild animals and woodlands. She also later became a moon goddess, supplanting Luna, and was an emblem of chastity. Oak groves were especially sacred to her. She was praised for her strength, athletic grace, beauty and hunting skill. She made up a trinity with two other Roman deities: Egeria the water nymph, her servant and assistant midwife; and Virbius, the woodland god.
In Roman mythology, Diana was the virgin goddess of the hunt, the equivalent of the Greek goddess Artemis. Born with her twin brother Apollo on the island of Delos, Diana was the daughter of Jupiter and Latona.
Diana is usually depicted with a deer. This is because Diana was the patroness of hunting. It is also a reference to the myth of Acteon (or Actaeon), a prince who saw her bathing naked. Diana transformed Acteon into a stag and sent his own hunting dogs to kill him.
Dianic Wicca, Dianic Witchcraft, and Feminist Dianic Witchcraft are all common titles for the Neopagan Feminist Dianic tradition. While some Dianics self-identify as Wiccans, some prefer the term Witch or priestess of the Goddess. Most Dianic Wiccans worship the Goddess only, acknowledging that She is the source of all living and contains all within Her. There are Dianic witches who practice other forms of paganism outside of their Dianic practice. Some Dianics are monotheistic, some are polytheistic, some are non-theistic.
Many Dianic Wiccans believe that before recorded history there were widespread or universal matriarchal or matrifocal cultures which worshipped the Goddess, had matrilineal family structures, had social equality between the sexes, and did not practice war. These cultures were slowly supplanted by violent patriarchal groups; the original myths of the Great Mother and goddesses were subsumed into mythology honoring the conquerors and war gods. Dianics point to the work of influential and controversial archaeologist Marija Gimbutas. Says Utne: "UCLA archaeologist Marija Gimbutas turned historical scholarship on its head in the '70s and 80s with research that depicted peace-loving, co-operation-based Goddess-worshipping societies in ancient Europe-- which were overrun in the Neolithic era by Indo-Europeans who imposed patriarchal order. Gimbutas' vision of an earth-friendly, feminine-centered spirituality has sparked religious awakening; an estimated 400,000 Americans now declare themselves neopagans, and many more with feminist or environmentalist leanings are helping revive Goddess worship." Some Dianic Witches believe that matrifocal, Goddess-worshipping cultures existed literally, others see them as unproven but inspiring legends.
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