Nyx
Nyx is a child of Khaos, the first of the primordial gods, and Phanes, the god of creation. These primordial gods are the embodiment of the world's elemental and physical forces. They arrived close to the beginning of time, before all other deities.
Before there was anything there was night. Nyx is the personification or deity of Night itself.
Nyx married Erebus, god of darkness. Night and darkness are similar and intertwined. Together they created Aither (light) and Hemera (day). From her own body, Nyx created a number of children, including Sleep, Strife, Death, Pain and the Fates.
She often depicted with wings or riding in a dark chariot. Sometimes a veil of darkness or the night sky flows behind her. Nyx resides in the deepest part of the Underworld, Tartarus. Her daughter Hemera lives there as well, but only when Nyx is not present. As “day” enters Tartarus, it forces “night” out, and vice versa.
Nyx is so powerful that even Zeus, king of the gods, is afraid to cross her. In a story where he has to choose between fighting with one of her children, she is the only goddess he ever seems to cower and retreat from as he feared what may come of her maternal rage if she were to defend her son. Nyx is sometimes considered “dark” or even “sinister” but she really is just neutral. What is most feared about her is her power and control over death and sleep, but she is not really one to be particularly malevolent with these powers.
There are no known temples for Nyx in Greece, but there were statues, often at temples for deities that were related to the Night, such as Artemis and Hekate, or to some of her children. So without much historical worship of Nyx to refer back to, many modern pagans and practitioners have chosen to honor her in new and creative ways. Your relationship with Nyx has no antiquity to follow, so there is a lot of freedom to forge your own traditions and offerings based on instinct rather than past practictioner’s experience.
Possible offerings & symbolism for Nyx
Below is a list of possible offerings or altar pieces for Nyx to help inspire you. This really should be considered for all deities as merely inspiration as we are all forging our own relationships and altars.
Dark crystals to represent Night: Onyx, obsidian, black tourmaline, hematite, snowflake obsidian
Lighter crystals to represent celestial energy: Quartz, selenite, smoky quartz, moonstone
Plants/Herbs: moon-blossoming plants such as Moonflower. Ones associated with sleep/meditation such as lavender or mugwort.
Black and white candles
Space or star themed items
Chariot/Dark Horse imagery
Dark veils
Black paint/ink or items painted black