Where did the "Faith of the Seven" come from?

Potential Spoilers Below

Have you ever wondered why there is a “Faith of the Seven”?  This faith represents a god who has 7 aspects:  the Father, the Mother, the Maiden, the Crone, the Warrior, the Smith, and the Stranger.

The Smith, The Warrior, The Father, The Stranger, The Mother, The Maiden and The Crone

The Seven-Faced God

The Father: represents divine justice, and judges the souls of the dead

The Father

The Mother: represents mercy, peace, fertility and childbirth.  She is sometimes referred to as “the strength of women”.

The Mother

The Maiden: represents purity, love and beauty.  She protects the chastity of virgins.

The Maiden

The Crone: represents wisdom and foresight.  She is represented carrying a lantern.

The Crone

The Warrior: represents strength and courage in battle.

The Warrior

The Smith: represents creation and craftsmanship.

The Smith

The Stranger: represents death and the unknown.  It is rarely prayed to.

The Stranger

The Stranger is depicted as neither male nor female, thus the number of male and female aspects within the godhead is equal:  three males (Father, Warrior, and Smith), three females (Maiden, Mother, Crone).

So where did the idea for the Seven originate?  Well in the Wheel of Time the Seven are simply 7 of the main characters within the series.

The Father is represented by Tam al’Thor who is the father of the main protagonist of the series Rand al’Thor.

Tam al'Thor

The Mother is represented by Amyrlin Seat.  The Amyrlin Seat is the leader of the Aes Sedai, a group of women in the White Tower referred to as sisters.  They all refer to her as Mother.

Egwene as Amyrlin wearing the 7-striped stole

Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah

The White Tower in Tar Valon

The Maiden is represented by the Maiden’s of the Spear or Far Dareis Mai.  In the series they accompany Rand al'Thor the main protagonist as his honor guard.

A Maiden of the Spear

The Crone is represented by Nynaeve al’Meara.  Prior to becoming swept up in events in the story she was the Wisdom of Emond’s Field.  Wisdom is a term used in the Two Rivers region of Andor to describe a village healer.

Nynaeve al'Meara

The Warrior is represented by al’Lan Mandragoran.  He is a Warder and is also a blademaster which means he has complete mastery of the sword.  He is considered one of the most dangerous men alive who wield a Heron Mark sword.

The Smith is represented by Perrin Aybara who is a blacksmith.  He is another of the main protagonists in the series.

The Stranger is represented by the DarkOne.  The Dark One is an immensely powerful being assumed by the characters of the series to be the oldest and most powerful force of evil in existence.  The Dark One seems only to seek to destroy creation.

The Dark One trying to break into the world of man

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  Wait till we dive down and you get a look at the big picture.  Keep an open mind as I slowly piece together this puzzle.

Comments encouraged.  Love to hear the idea’s of others.  Most believe that since I present my idea’s as “fact like” I’m not open to change my viewpoints which is far from the truth.  I simply look at the information presented and go from there.  If you can shine a light on another way of thinking that opens the door to debate.