Also called Justice (Roman Iustitia is related).
Their story
Themis is a Titaness, daughter of Uranus and Gaia, and the second wife of Zeus, mother of the Horae and, in Hesiod, the Moirai. She held the oracle at Delphi after Gaia and before Apollo. In Homer she calls the gods to assembly and presides over feasts. Her name means what is laid down, the right order of things.
Best times to give to them
- Before a legal hearing or important agreement
- At the new moon, when setting intentions
- When you must judge fairly
What they like being given
- Fresh water
- Bread
- Incense
- Laurel leaves
How to honour them
- Ask for clear judgement and the willingness to hear both sides.
- Keep promises you make in her name.
- Study the customs and laws you live under.
How they can help you
- Fair decisions
- Legal matters
- Keeping order in a household or group
Symbols
- scales
- sword
- blindfold (modern)
- laurel
The blindfold is a Renaissance addition; ancient Themis was not blindfolded.
Sources
- Hesiod, Theogony 135, 901-906
- Aeschylus, Eumenides 1-8
- Homer, Iliad 20.4-6
More Greek goddesses
- Hera Queen of heaven and guardian of marriage
- Athena Grey-eyed goddess of wisdom and craft
- Artemis Lady of wild things and the hunt
- Aphrodite Foam-born goddess of love and beauty
- Hestia Goddess of the hearth and the home fire
- Demeter Mother of the grain and the harvest
- Persephone Queen of the underworld and the returning spring
- Hecate Keeper of crossroads and keys