Gaia (Terra)

Gaia (Terra)

Gaia is the ancient goddess of the earth itself. (You might know her better as Mother Earth.) Yeah, she's a pretty big deal. Actually, Gaia is thought of as one of the oldest divine beings of them all, since she was one of the first to spring from Chaos, the empty void that existed before anything else. Yeah, anything else. She is often depicted as a full-bodied woman, emerging from the ground. Oh, and when you're important, you get a bunch of names, and that's definitely the case for our lady: she was also known as Gaea or Ge by the Greeks, and she was worshiped by the Romans as Tullus or Terra Matter.

Basic Information

NameGaia (or Gaea, depending on who's spellchecking)
NicknameMother Earth, Mama, Terra, Mother, Mommy, G-Force
SexFemale
Current cityI'm the earth. You live on me.

Work & Education

OccupationGoddess of the Earth, Being a Mother
EducationThe universe taught me everything I know. But I also like to freshen up my knowledge at the Geographical Association's annual conference. The wine and cheese events are to die for.

Beliefs

Political views"Politics" is the invention of lesser beings, most of whom are terrified of me.

Family & Friends (& Enemies)

ParentsChaos (pretty sweet parent, eh?)
SiblingsTartarus, Aither, and Eros (Well, we came into being at the same time anyway)
ChildrenAll of humanity (yeah, that means you)
Ouranos, Ourea, Pontus, Okeanos, Koios, Krios, Hyperion, Iapetos, Kronos, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Tethys, Phoibe, The Kyklopes, the Hekatonkheires, Erinyes, Gigantes, Meliai, Python, Kouretes
And, indirectly, everybody else on earth
FriendsI don't need "friends" – I'm the goddess of the earth
EnemiesYeah, right. (Well, maybe Orion, but come on – no hard feelings.)

Relationships

Relationship statusI was married to my son, Ouranos, the sky, but then I had him castrated. Do. Not. Mess. With. Me.
Interested inNobody, thanks. I can't seem to stop giving birth, whether I'm with anyone or not.

Favorites

Quotations"In a sense, each of us is an island. In another sense, however, we are all one. For though islands appear separate, and may even be situated at great distances from one another, they are only extrusions of the same planet, Earth."
– J. Donald Walters

"We are on a spaceship; a beautiful one. It took billions of years to develop. We're not going to get another. Now, how do we make this spaceship work?"
– Buckminster Fuller

"Being a mother is like trying to hold a wolf by the ears."
– Gram in Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech

"What, sir, would the people of the earth be without woman? They would be scarce, sir, almighty scarce."
– Mark Twain

"I wouldn't mind at all coming back to earth after my death."
– Edith Piaf

"This is earth. Isn't it hot?"
– Paris Hilton
BooksSilent Spring by Rachel Carson
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
"The Apple Trees at Olema" by Robert Hass
Basho: The Complete Haiku
"Night on the Great River" by Meng Hao-jan
"Burning Island" by Gary Snyder
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
The Living by Annie Dillard
Fern Hill by Dylan Thomas
National Geographic
Lonely Planet
Travel Guides
MusicOrinco Flow by Enya
Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell
This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie
Tibetan Singing Bowl (for my meditation practice)
Echoes of Nature: The Natural Sounds of the Wilderness (even though I do it better)
Mother Nature's Son by The Beatles
The sound of the wind
Celtic Woman
Platinum Collection by Enigma
MoviesBabies
March of the Penguins
Fern Gully
Avatar
Steel Magnolias
Planet Earth
Dances with Wolves
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Chocolat (I love strong women)
TV Shows Ancient Aliens
Parenthood
Up All Night
Survivor

Activities & Interests

LikesCrocs
Earth Day
Planetariums
The California Academy of Sciences
American Museum of Natural History
Carbon Footprint
The Monterey Bay Aquarium
Tofurkey
Juicers
My sleep machine with earth sound therapy
ActivitiesGiving birth
Being pregnant
Creating the earth
Taking care of precious earth
Yoga
Meditation
Writing haikus
Biking
Interests Midwifery
String theory
Existentialism
Naturalism
Transcendentalism
Buddhism
Ecotourism
Groups Discovery Channel's Planet Earth
Earthjustice
The Planet Earth
Earth Day
Google Earth
Save the Earth it's the Only Planet with Chocolate