Section 1 LORE
Part 1~Gods and Goddesses
After I had finished, I saw that I had made a glaring omission in the Greek pantheon. So before I go into the American Indian and Norse pantheons let me finish off the Greek.
PAN~(and this is funny cause he's my favorite Greek god LOL). Goat footed and lusty. He is the god of wild things, music, dance and nature. He is an excellent compliment to Gaea, I like Pan and Gaea best of all the Greek gods and goddesses because they seem to me to be more personifications of what I see in Nature than any of the Olympian gods. Call it a personal failing but I think that a diety should be something higher than me, something I can emulate or aspire to be, somebody I would actually want to help me on my path. Whereas with the vast majority of Greek gods if you emulated them too closely you would most likely end up in jail or at least with several lawsuits pending against you. (So Mr. Zeus on the night of February 24th were you in the region of the Bosporus? Yes. And did you in fact turn yourself into a bull with the express purpose of raping Miss Europa here?)
Now on to Lecture #3.....
Gods and Goddesses continued~American Indian and Norse
American Indian~
Like the Celts the Native Americans were not one unified body, but thousands of culturally distinct tribes complete with separate languages and religious practices. Also Native American dieties only bear a superficial resemblance to Western dieties. This is because the Native Americans had the idea of immanant diety down pat. Every thing has a spirit, a life of it's own, a name by which you can call it and by studying it and emulating it you can learn it's secrets. Whether it be an animal or a rock or a force of nature, each has it's own life essence separate yet part of the greater whole and all divine. There WERE some overiding concepts though which covered many tribes and it is these that I will cover.
Great Spirit~
Also known as Master of Life, Father the Sky, Great Mystery, Wakonda, Tirawa, and Kitcki Manitou. It is he who is responsible for creating life, the divine essence which infuses all things. He can manifest himself as anything or any animal, though these animals are extremely large and either made of light or pure white. He guards and protects all things and only "interferes" when the natural order has been greatly disturbed and many lives are threatened.
Sun~
Sun is the next most powerful spirit and though he follows the Great Spirit's will he is not subordinate to him. Sun brings light and heat. When he is happy he shines on the Earth and helps the plants grow, when he is displeased he hides his face and the earth grows cold. When he is angry he burns very hot and men and animals wither. Every day he travels across the sky watching the actions of men and rewarding them or punishing them as he sees fit.
Moon~
Sister to the Sun. She travels the night sky bringing light, but she is constantly changing in her moods and her appearance. Moon is the special protector of women who like her change monthly. Women's magick is called Moon Magick. On a side note a couple of years ago I had the great honor and pleasure of attending a Native American Moon ceremony. The purpose of the ceremony was to make Moon water. This water once blessed has healing and refreshing properties and is all around great stuff. We gathered on a hill in the woods under a full moon. Everyone brought full jugs of water to be blessed. After smudging ourselves with sage and thanking the four winds, we entered a large circle and danced and chanted. Then the medicine woman invoked the powers of Moon to come dwell in our water (placed in the center of the circle) and grant it her power and blessing. There was more dancing and chanting and some other things which are woman secrets, then the ritual was closed. This was one of the most powerful and magickal ceremonies I have ever been to (also the first females only)and the moon water there created was indeed a very good tonic. I drank a small bit everyday and it always made me feel refreshed and revitalized. I now make moon water every full moon though I can't repeat the full ceremony used by the shamaness, I constructed a rough equivalent for one person to perform.
Mother Earth~
Also known as Grandmother and Nokomis. She is the one who gives birth to all the living things and supports and nurtures them in conjunction with the Great Spirit and to her all things return when they die. She is the beginning and end of life. She is wise and generous and all living things are sacred to her. She is the fount of all waters.
ThunderBird~
or just Thunder. He is the messenger of the Great Spirit. He brings warnings of danger and the Great Spirit's displeasure. He also carries a great lake on his back that he sprinkles on the ground when it is dry so that plants may grow. This is one of the tales I tell my children when they are scared of the lightning and the thunder, that it is just Thunderbird bringing us the rain that the Corn Maiden may grow and provide us with food.
Fire~
He is charged by the Great Spirit to bring warmth and light, but he is a greedy spirit and continually wants to be fed. If he is not carefully bound then he eats everything in sight.
The Winds~
The four winds bring rain and blessing, if displeased they can also bring destruction and drought.
Animal Spirits~
There are many, many animal spirits. Among them Coyote, Raven, Fox, Eagle, Owl, Snake, Dragonfly, Beaver, Buffalo, and so on. Each has it's own characteristics and wisdom to teach. I am just now exploring these and don't really feel qualified to expound on them, but a good place to go to check them out is Camlyn's Animal Totems Page.
Norse~
The Norse pantheon is a warrior pantheon, forged in a harsh environment of the far north in the extremes of fire and ice. A major pagan religion called Asatru is the following of the Norse gods. Followers of Asatru follow a strict creed based on honesty, loyalty, honor and valor. The Norse gods are in a continual state of battle with the forces of destruction and chaos personified as Fenris Wolf and the Ice Giants, a battle they are doomed to lose (Ragnarok). The main point being it's not if you win or lose but how you play the game *grin*.
Odin~
also called Wotan or Votan. Odin is the all father of the Norse gods. He caused the earth to be formed when he slew a great ice giant and molded the earth from it's corpse. He rules over everything from Asgard, the great fortress/palace of the gods. He is the god of battle, but also of Wisdom, and Inspiration.
Frigga~
Wife of Odin. She is the goddess of marriage, wives and clouds. She is prayed to for fertility and lasting love.
Thor~
Son of Odin, he is the god of thunder, weather and crops and protector of the Norse and mankind. Thor is a mighty warrior and his hammer (thunderbolts) never miss.
Sif~
Wife of Thor. Goddess of fidelity and skill.
Aegir~
God of the seas. He lives in a palace deep under the waves with his wife Ran and their nine daughters.
Baldur~
Son of Frigga. God of beauty and charisma and patron of healers.
Bragi~
God of poetry and song. Whenever people sing or play music they are worshipping Bragi who gave the gift of music.
Frey~
God of fertility and happiness. He brings light, sunshine and happiness into the life of humans.
Freya~
Twin sister of Frey. She is the goddess of passionate, romantic love and is associated with Fire.
Idun~
Wife of Bragi. She is the goddess of spring and new growth. She keeps the other gods young with her magic golden apples.
Loki~
God of mischief and Chaos. He is tolerated because of the past help he gave the gods but he is often in league with the gods' enemies and plots to kill his brothers Baldur and Thor.
Tyr~God of Law. Tyr sacrificed his hand to Fenris Wolf to forestall Ragnarok. He is fair and just in all his dealings.
This has been a brief overview of a selection of pantheons, but there are many more: Sumerian~Astarte, Baal, Gilgamesh, et al. Indian~Kali, Indra, Brahma, Vishnu, et al. Aztec~Quetzalcoatl, Omeoteotl, Tezcatlipoca, et al.
Next Lecture~The Goddess
