Saulė

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Lithuanian:Saulė, Latvian:Saule was the common Baltic solar deity, treated as a feminine goddess in Lithuanian and Latvian mythology. Saulė/Saule is the general name for the Sun in Lithuanian/Latvian. She is one of the most powerful deities, the goddess of life and prolificacy. Saulė provides the warmth of nature, and fertility. She is patroness of all misfortunates, especially orphans, since she is the only substitute of a mother’s warmth, and because of this, she is known as the Universal Mother. The Lithuanian word for "the world", pasaulis, respectively Latvian pasaule, is translated as "the place under the Sun". Souls of the dead travel with Saulė to the underworld, which people believed is behind the horizon. It was considered an offence to point at the Sun or Moon because of their association with the God and Goddess. It was said that bad spirits sleep when Saulė is shining in the sky.

Saulė and Mėnuo/Meness (the Moon) were husband and wife. The two were divorced, over the Moon’s inability to stay faithful to his wife. Mėnuo felt in love with daughter of Saulė and Perkūnas—Aušrinė. This is why the Sun shines during the day, and the Moon at night. Though divorced, both want to see their daughter.

Saulė's daughter Aušrinė (the Morning star) who burnt the fire for Saulė and made her ready for another day's journey was a maiden of remarkable beauty with golden hair and an image of the Saulė on her crown. She wore a starry mantle with a moon-shaped brooch on her shoulder and was often considered to be even more beautiful than the Sun herself. Other daughters in Lithuanian mythology were Vakarinė (the evening Venus), Indraja (Jupiter), Sėlija (Saturn), Žiezdrė (Mars), Vaivora (Mercury), Vakarinė (who makes the bed for Saulė). They were 6 eldest daughters; three of them were living between people, and three were shining in the sky (look Žvaigždės). Ašvieniai, sons of Dievas, spooned to Saulė. One of them was black horse—sunrise, and the other was a yellowish afterglow.

In folk songs, Saulė is associated with a stag that has nine horns, and this motif is frequently portrayed in folk art and clothing and ornamentation.

Aside from Lithuaninan mytology, Saule is also a traditional Kazakh and Central Asian female name. The meaning of the name is interpreted as a sunlight or Sun. The history of the name goes back to the history of Zoroastrianism. Although, majority of modern Kazakhs have adopted Islam, Saule remains to be very common female name. Due to such religious roots name Saule is common for a number of cultures such as Kazakh, Afghan, Kyrgyz, and other ethnic groups living in the region.

Alternative: Saulužė motinėlė, Saulelė, Saulytė, Saulutė, Motė Saulė.