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Laima (also Laime, Laimas mate in Latvian
Latvian language

Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. Alternative names include Lettish and Lettisch. There are about 1.5 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad....
) was the personification of fate
Destiny

Destiny refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a Predeterminism future, whether in general or of an individual. It is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe....
 and of luck
Luck

Luck is a chance happening, or that which happens beyond a person's control. Luck can be good or bad ....
 in Latvian
Latvian mythology

BasicsLatvian culture, along with Lithuanian, is among the oldest surviving Indo-European culture. Much of its symbolism is ancient. Its seasons, festivals, and numerous deities reflect the essential agrarian nature of Latvian tribal life....
 and Lithuanian mythology
Lithuanian mythology

Lithuanian mythology is an example of paganism mythology containing archaic elements, developed by Lithuanians throughout the centuries....
. She was associated with childbirth
Childbirth

Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the delivery of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus. The process of normal human childbirth is categorized in three stages of labour: the shortening and dilation of the cervix, descent and delivery of the infant, and delivery of the placenta.....
, marriage
Marriage

Marriage is a social, spirituality, or law union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock....
, death
Death

Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that define a life organism. It refers to both a particular event and to the condition that results thereby....
, proliferation, and domesticity; she was also the patron of pregnant
Pregnancy

Pregnancy is the carrying of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, inside the uterus of a female. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or Multiple birth....
 women. Laima may be related to the Hindu goddess of luck and wealth Laxmi mata.

In Latvian mythology, Laima and her sisters, Karta
Karta

Karta can mean:* The Kraton of Sultan Agung of Mataram in Java of the early 1600s - on the banks of the River Oyo.* A goddess in Latvian mythology...
 and Dekla, were a trinity of fate deities, part of a widespread European and Aegean conception of Destiny
Destiny

Destiny refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a Predeterminism future, whether in general or of an individual. It is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe....
 in the hands of three ageless ancient women, like the Norns
Norns

The Norns are a kind of d?sir, numerous female beings who rule the fates of the various races of Norse mythology.According to Snorri Sturluson's interpretation of the V?lusp?, the three most important norns, Ur?r , Ver?andi and Skuld come out from a hall standing at the Well of Ur?r and they draw water from the well and take sand t...
 or the Moirae
Moirae

The Moirae or Moerae , in Greek mythology, were the white-robed personifications of destiny . The Greek word moira literally means a part or portion, and by extension one's portion in life or destiny....
.






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Laima (also Laime, Laimas mate in Latvian
Latvian language

Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. Alternative names include Lettish and Lettisch. There are about 1.5 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad....
) was the personification of fate
Destiny

Destiny refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a Predeterminism future, whether in general or of an individual. It is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe....
 and of luck
Luck

Luck is a chance happening, or that which happens beyond a person's control. Luck can be good or bad ....
 in Latvian
Latvian mythology

BasicsLatvian culture, along with Lithuanian, is among the oldest surviving Indo-European culture. Much of its symbolism is ancient. Its seasons, festivals, and numerous deities reflect the essential agrarian nature of Latvian tribal life....
 and Lithuanian mythology
Lithuanian mythology

Lithuanian mythology is an example of paganism mythology containing archaic elements, developed by Lithuanians throughout the centuries....
. She was associated with childbirth
Childbirth

Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the delivery of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus. The process of normal human childbirth is categorized in three stages of labour: the shortening and dilation of the cervix, descent and delivery of the infant, and delivery of the placenta.....
, marriage
Marriage

Marriage is a social, spirituality, or law union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock....
, death
Death

Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that define a life organism. It refers to both a particular event and to the condition that results thereby....
, proliferation, and domesticity; she was also the patron of pregnant
Pregnancy

Pregnancy is the carrying of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, inside the uterus of a female. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or Multiple birth....
 women. Laima may be related to the Hindu goddess of luck and wealth Laxmi mata.

In Latvian mythology, Laima and her sisters, Karta
Karta

Karta can mean:* The Kraton of Sultan Agung of Mataram in Java of the early 1600s - on the banks of the River Oyo.* A goddess in Latvian mythology...
 and Dekla, were a trinity of fate deities, part of a widespread European and Aegean conception of Destiny
Destiny

Destiny refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a Predeterminism future, whether in general or of an individual. It is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe....
 in the hands of three ageless ancient women, like the Norns
Norns

The Norns are a kind of d?sir, numerous female beings who rule the fates of the various races of Norse mythology.According to Snorri Sturluson's interpretation of the V?lusp?, the three most important norns, Ur?r , Ver?andi and Skuld come out from a hall standing at the Well of Ur?r and they draw water from the well and take sand t...
 or the Moirae
Moirae

The Moirae or Moerae , in Greek mythology, were the white-robed personifications of destiny . The Greek word moira literally means a part or portion, and by extension one's portion in life or destiny....
. Laima being considerably more popular, Dekla and Karta have similar functions. In modern Dievturi these three goddess
Goddess

A goddess is a female deity. Often deities are part of a polytheism system that includes several deities in a pantheon .Common associations of goddesses are the Earth goddess, the Mother Goddess, Love goddess, and the hearth goddess, reflecting historical gender roles....
es are referred to as the three Laimas, indicating they are the same deity
Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
 in three different aspect
Aspect

Aspect may be:*Aspect , a feature that is linked to many parts of a program, but which is not necessarily the primary function of the program...
s. Though Laima makes the final decision, all three make joint resolutions regarding the fate of particular individuals.

In Lithuanian mythology
Lithuanian mythology

Lithuanian mythology is an example of paganism mythology containing archaic elements, developed by Lithuanians throughout the centuries....
, Laima is not only the goddess of fate, prolificacy and marriage, but also of darkness and light. Laima was associated with and would often be in the form of the cuckoo
Common Cuckoo

The Common Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the Geococcyxs, the ani , the coucals, and the Hoatzin....
. Laima’s entourage is goddesses Laime and Dalia
Dalia

Dalia may refer to:Places* Dalia , an offshore oil field in Angola* Dalia , a kibbutz in Israel* Dalia, the Latinized name for Dalsland, Sweden...
. Laima gives destiny for newborns. Laima's sisters are Giltine, Dekla, Karta
Karta

Karta can mean:* The Kraton of Sultan Agung of Mataram in Java of the early 1600s - on the banks of the River Oyo.* A goddess in Latvian mythology...
, Magyla.

The mythographer and archaeologist Marija Gimbutas
Marija Gimbutas

Marija Gimbutas , was a Lithuanian-American archeology known for her research into the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of "Old European Culture", a term she introduced....
 (1921–1994) recalled in an interview, how in her girlhood in Lithuania
"The Goddess Laima was there; she could call at night and look through the windows. When a woman is giving birth she appears, and the grandmother is there organizing things. She has gifts for the Goddess: towels and woven materials are laid for her, because she weaves the life, she is the spinner. She may be on the way to disappear, but fifty years ago she was still there" .
Laima’s sacred tree is the lime
Tilia

Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, in Asia , Europe and eastern North America; it is not native to western North America....
 (linden
Linden

Linden is one of three English names for the tree genus Tilia .Linden may also refer to:...
). In folk songs and tales she is the singing cuckoo in the lime. The lime tree has 3, 5, 6, 7 or 9 branches, and these numbers are the magic numbers of Laima. Laima’s altar
Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religion, or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place....
 is a stone in the shape of a woman. Such totem
Totem

A totem is any supposed entity that watches over or assists a group of people, such as a family, clan, or tribe .Totems support larger groups than the individual person....
s awarded for proliferation by women.

There are many Baltic folk songs telling how Laima arranged Aušrine
Aušrine

Au?rine is a Lithuanian feminine deity of the Morning Star in the Lithuanian mythology. Some mythologists reconstruct her as the goddess of beauty, youth and health, the queen of all stars ?vaig?des, showing the sky way for her mother Sun at morning....
's name giving gala (christening
Christening

Christening may refer to:*Baptism*Infant baptism*Ship naming and launching...
). She called all Stars (Žvaigždes, Latvian Zvaigznes
Zvaigznes

In ancient Latvian culture, Zvaigznes referred to several different ideas.# short for Zvaigznes Diena, a holiday.# Zelta Zvaigznes was an alternate name for Auseklis...
) but didn’t call Saule
Saule (Lithuanian mythology)

Saule is the common Baltic mythology solar deity, treated as a Femininity goddess in Lithuanian mythology and Latvian mythology. Saule/Saule is the conventional name for the Sun in Lithuanian/Latvian which originated from the Proto-Baltic name *Saulia > *Saule....
.

There were many rituals in 18th century and Middle Ages for Laima in Lithuania
Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest....
.

See also

  • Destiny
    Destiny

    Destiny refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a Predeterminism future, whether in general or of an individual. It is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe....
  • Fortuna (mythology)
    Fortuna (mythology)

    File:TomisFortuna2.JPGIn Roman mythology, Fortuna goddess of fortune, was the personification of luck; hopefully she brought good luck, but she could be represented veiled and blind, as modern depictions of Justice are seen, and came to represent the capriciousness of life....
  • Norns
    Norns

    The Norns are a kind of d?sir, numerous female beings who rule the fates of the various races of Norse mythology.According to Snorri Sturluson's interpretation of the V?lusp?, the three most important norns, Ur?r , Ver?andi and Skuld come out from a hall standing at the Well of Ur?r and they draw water from the well and take sand t...
  • Weaving (mythology)
    Weaving (mythology)

    The theme of weaving in mythology is ancient, and its lost mythic lore probably accompanied the early spread of this art. In traditional societies today, westward of Central Asia and the Iranian plateau, weaving is a mystery within woman's sphere, and where men have become the primary weavers in this part of the world, it is possible that th...