GAIA. BtVS Intertext/Allusion.
Earth Goddess of the ancient Greeks. Gaia created Uranus, the sky. He fertilised her and she gave birth to plants, birds, animals, monsters and gods. Uranus’ cruelty angered her, so she encouraged the Titan Cronos to rise up against him.
Scientist James E. Lovelock (http://www.ecolo.org/lovelock/) developed a hypothesis of Gaia, which he describes as, “the entire range of living matter on Earth, from whales to viruses,” regarded as “a single entity.” He suggests that if something upsets nature’s balance, then Gaia could release its destructive aspect.
Gaia's first mention on Buffy is satiric. In "Hush," the leader of the phoney Wicca group Willow attends (and first meets Tara) begins the meeting by saying:
We come together, daughters of Gaia, sisters to the moon we walk with the darkness the wolf at our side through the waterfall of power to the blackest heart of eternity. I think we should have a bake sale.
Later, Willow reports sarcastically on the meeting to Buffy:
BUFFY: So not stellar, hunh?
WILLOW: Talk, all talk. Blah blah Gaia. Blah, blah, moon, menstrual lifeforce power thingy. You know after a couple of sessions I was hoping we would get into something real but...
BUFFY: No actual witches in your witch group?
WILLOW: No, bunch of wanna blessed bees. You know nowadays every girl with a Henna tattoo and a spice rack thinks she's a sister to the dark ones?
In “Showtime” it transpires that Buffy’s resurrection has created instability, thus releasing the power of the First Evil. In “Lessons” Willow senses the stirrings of the First Evil in connection with her understanding of “Gaia and root systems” when she says to Giles, “I felt the Earth. It’s all connected, it is, but it’s not all good and pure and rootsy. There’s deep, deep back, there’s… I saw – I saw the Earth, Giles, I saw its teeth.” The positive side of everything being “connected” on Earth is revealed in “Chosen” when Willow’s magic empowers potential Slayers around the world.