The Moon Myths Database is a constantly expanding reservoir of Moon myth, so if we’re missing a myth you admire, be sure to let us know about it.
Asia
China
Chang’e – Moon goddess
Chang’e was stranded on the Moon after being estranged from her husband, the almighty archer, Houyi. She lives there with a Jade rabbit and a woodcutter who is continually chopping away at a magic tree that grows back every time it’s cut down.
Japan
Tsuki-Yomi – Moon God
Tsuki-Yomi once lived with his sister, the sun goddess Amaterasu. One day, the goddess of food, Uke Mochi, was entertaining Tsuki-Yomi, when disgusted with an unorthodox food preparation method she used, he killed her.
Amaterasu is angry with him for this and they have lived apart ever since.
Asia Minor
India
Soma (Hindu) – Moon God
Soma rides through the sky on a chariot drawn by white horses.
The elixir of immortality is also called Soma, and can only be found on the Moon.
Middle East
Sumer (Iraq)
Sin – Moon God
Sin was the son of the air god Enlil and grain goddess Ninlil. He was born with two of his brothers, after his mother journeyed to the underworld.
As recompense for Enlil’s misdeeds, Sin was given to the gods, who sent him to the heavens to illuminate the night.
Europe
Greek
Artemis – Goddess of the moon (also goddess of the hunt).
Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo and daughter of Zeus and Latona. Like Apollo, she has a bad temper and tends to kill people if they offend her.
Roman
Diana – Moon Goddess and Goddess of the Woodland
Diana thinks her body is sacred. So when a hunter stumbled upon her beautiful body as she bathed in a forest pool, she got angry and turned him into a stag.
North America
Inuit
Anningan – Moon God
Anningnan is always chasing his sister, the Sun goddess Malina, across the sky. Chasing her makes him thinner, which is why there are phases of the Moon
Central America
Maya
Ix Chel or “Lady Rainbow” – Moon Goddess
Ix Chel is an old woman who wears a pretty skirt and crossed bones. She carries a serpent in one hand and large water jug in the other. Rainstorms and floods are caused when she empties her jug on the world.
Aztec
Coyolxauhqui – Moon Goddess
Coyolxauhqui was the daughter of the Earth goddess Caatlicue.
Coyolxauhqui’s once schemed with her siblings against their mother, so Coatlicue cut off her head and threw it into the sky. Now her head is the Moon.
South America
Brazil
Iae (Mamaiuran – Amazon Tribe)
Lae and his brother Kuat once lived in a world of darkness, as the sky was full of birds whose wings blocked-out the daylight. But Lae and his brother trapped Urubutsin, the king of the birds and forced him to share the light with them.
Since this time, Kuat has represented the Sun and Lae the Moon.
Pacific Islands
Maori
Rona – Tide Controller
Rona is the daughter of the sea god Tangaroa. Rona displeased the Moon one day when she cursed him for failing to illuminate her path as she walked with a bucket of water. The Moon got angry, put a curse on the Maori people and took Rona and her bucket to the Moon.
Rains come when Rona unsettles her bucket of water.
Wanting to share a good Moon myth you know? Visit the Moon Myths Forum [LINK].
Ben Connor 