Jana is not a well-known goddess. We know better her husband and her brother Janus, who gave her name to the first month of the year. An interesting tidbit here is that Jana gave June the name through her reincarnation as Roman Juno. I am thinking of the Hebrew tradition according to which the year consists of two half-years, one beginning on Rosh Hashanah in the fall and the other on Pesach in the spring. Perhaps the Romans had a similar tradition, one year from midwinter to midsummer, the year of Janus, and another from midsummer to midwinter, the year of Jana.

Jana is the Goddess of doors. One could say that the saying “when God closes a door, he opens a window” fits Jana perfectly. There are many types of doors in life. Some lead us into a whole new life, and these should be celebrated, like we celebrate graduation. Jana is also the Goddess of initiations. Some entrances do not have doors, and going through them simply extends life. These doors can be used in both directions. An example of this is the journey from one role we have in life to another role. Travel is another of Jana’s domains.

She is the Goddess of beginnings, including the New Year. She has two faces, she faces the new year and the old at the same time, the future and the past. Jana’s role as guardian of the gates reminds me of the High Priestess of the Tarot, sitting with her moon in front of the gate and like a sphinx, she waits for you to answer the question correctly before letting you into the Empress’ paradise. .

In the Italian tradition, the new year begins at Midwinter. In Finland, the winter solstice is a time of divination. Two types of divination are specially practiced; mirror divination and molten tin divination (Molybdomancy). Both are sacred to Jana, because she, the all-seeing Goddess, uses every reflective surface as her window. She is the Goddess of the Moon, and what is the Moon but a huge mirror that reflects the light of the Sun towards the Earth?

Jana is also the goddess of divination, and if she likes you, she will let you see things through her eyes. His are all kinds of mirror divination and scrying.

Her animal is the peacock, and Jana’s eyes are on the peacock’s beautiful tail. This is the reason why peacock feathers bring luck. Jana can see your house through her eyes. In some countries, peacock feathers bring bad luck: people do not want a pagan goddess to enter their homes.

Jana became Diana and Juno, and both goddesses still retain their qualities. Diana stayed with the peacocks Luna and Juno. The Holy Spirit of Christianity is also Jana transformed.

When the Greek gods took over the Roman pantheon, Jana continued to live as Juno Lucina, which is named after Juno as the goddess of childbirth. Childbirth is just another beginning, coming through a door, and Lucina means “The Light.” Juno Lucina became Saint Lucia, which is celebrated on the thirteenth of December. That was the day of the winter solstice according to ancient reckoning (the Julian calendar), and Saint Lucy is the patriot saint of the blind.