Dria El
June 15th, 2001, 07:19 AM
The God
The God is also known as Sky Father, the Lord, and the Horned One. His realms of influence include fertility, winter, animals, healing, material wealth and well-being, and the forest. His directions are South and East and His elements are Fire and Air. In many pantheons the God is a solar deity (We love the Sun God, He is a fun God, Rah! Rah! Rah!) while the Goddess is symbolized by the Moon.
Magickal rites invoking the God work well at High Noon, but the Horned One walks free in the night as well.
In Egyptian mythology, the best known Gods are Ra, Osiris, Horus, Anubis and Thoth. Ra is the Creator God, Sun God. His main sanctuary was at Heliopolis (translates literally as Sun City) where He was worshipped in the form of a giant obelisk - a petrified Sun ray.
Osiris, ah Osiris! The Book of the Dead (more accurately, 'Chapters for Coming Forth by Day') lists over 200 titles by which Osiris was known, among them Lord of Lords, King of Kings, and Good Shepherd. His birth was said to hail the rising of the Nile flood. His flesh was symbolically eaten in the form of a communion cake of wheat in His temples. He was the Lord of life after death, reincarnation, fertility, civilization. His sister/wife Isis ruled Egypt while He went and civilized the rest of the world, according to myth.
Anubis was the messenger between the Gods and the humans. He is pictured with the head of a jackal. At the death of Osiris, Anubis invented embalming and funeral rites. He is protector and judge of the Dead, ruler of the Underworld. He was God of wisdom, intelligence, death, embalming, endings, truth, justice, surgery, medicine.
In Greek mythology, we have the All Father Zeus, who gained His position by patricide.The Sun is Phoebus Apollo, Bright Shining One, Dionysusis the vegetation God, the Horned One is Faunus/Pan and the Lord of the Dead is Hades.
Apollo, twin sister to Artemis, not only drove the Sun across the sky in his chariot, but also had dominion over music and healing. Ascepulious, the First Doctor, whose symbol was the cadecueus (two copulating snakes encircling a sword) was Apollo's son. His symbols were the Lyre and the Bay Laurel tree. He took over the Oracle at Delphi, where the priestess/sybil chewed bay leaves to assist her visions.
Dionysus, God of the Vine, was the sacrificed God, his priestesses, the Maenads, tended to run the hills barefoot in His name, catch small furry creatures and eat them raw. Ah, the good old days....(teasing!) His symbols were the thrysis, ivy, grapes, wine.
Faunus/Pan, horned God of the Rut, fertility in general, pictured as half human, half beast (which beast depends on the reporter....*G*). He was both the Lord of the wild animals and the domestic ones. He was invoked for good hunting, healthy flocks, and safe pregnancies, of all kinds. Sex was a major part of His worship.
Hades, Lord of the Underworld. He ruled both burning Tartarus and the blessed Elysium Fields. He fell in love with Demeter's daughter Kore, and whisked Her away to the Underworld with him. By eating of the pomegranate, Kore was commited to staying with her husband six months or three months, depending on the climate where the story is told. During this time, she is Persephone, Queen of the Dead (Kore means 'maiden', as Hades wife, she is 'maiden' no longer. Persephone means 'Destroyer') and winter rules the world as Demeter mourns her daughter's absence.
In the Celtic world (and this was once most of Europe), Herne or Cernunnos, God of the Wild Hunt, was both revered and feared. Lugh, Llew, Lugos is the Shining One, sun God, hero God. Lud, Llud, Nuada, Nodons is "Silver Hand", God of water and water activities, healing, harpers and poets. The Celtic influence was so wide spread it is hard to find a limited number of 'representative' gods - some, like those named, were common throughout the Celtic world, while others, such as Taranis the Thunderer, seem more local.
The Horned One, in Old Welsh Arddhu (the Dark One), was the Opener of the Gates of Life and Death. In His Green Man aspect, He is gentle greenery, the first signs of spring, but He is also a 'young man's fancy' - "I was walking through the woods one day In the very, merry month of May I was taken by surprise, by a pair of emerald eyes...." And He is the Stag in rut in the autumn. His sacred animals are the stag, the bull, the goat and the bear.
One more quote: "The Horned One is not his name. He does not live as a man lives; he is, and he goes to and fro across the earth like the tides, or a star across the sky. He does not speak, he does not hear; he does not know there is such a thing as himself; but if you open your heart to him, he will come in his might." ~Alison Rush, 'The Last of Danu's Children'
Lugh, Llew, Lugos, the spellling of His name varies from place to place. His feast is Lughnassadh, the Grain Harvest, traditionally celebrated August 1. (Lammas, the other common name for this holiday, comes from the Christian 'Loaf Mass', a service held to bless the bread made from the first grain harvested....) A hero God, He had a magickal spear that never missed. Associated with ravens, in Wales the white stag is also His symbol. Like the Greek Ares, Lugh is another God of War associated with Harvest. He is the patron Deity of manual arts - carpentry, masonry, and blacksmithing. He also deals in revenge.
Nuada, Nodons, Lud, aka Silver Hand, He who bestows wealth; the Cloud-Maker. He has an invincible sword, one of the four great treasures of the Tuatha (pronounced sorta like 'dwata' and meaning 'the people') Associated mostly with oceans, water, and so on, He also has solar aspects. The Celts seemed less inclined to limit their gods with specific domains and powers than other cultures.
Last but not least, lets consider the Trickster Gods, specifically the Norse Loki, the North American Coyote and West Africa's Anansi. These gods are known for playing tricks, practical jokes, telling lies, and other assorted mischief. They act on both us and their fellow deities. Too often they are invoked as scape-goats, to take the blame that we should acknowlege ourselves. One can use them that way, only if one will admit to a lesson learned. The Tricksters play on our weaknesses, to make us look foolish, do things from stupid to downright dangerous. It is their equivalent of 'knocking us from our high horse'.
One thing particularly interesting about Loki is his nickname, "Father of Lies". He is a shape-shifter, and blood-brother of Odhinn. He is attractive and free with the ladies. Dangerous to invoke, as one can never be certain how he will answer.... Earthquakes and forest fires belong to Him, as well as being the patron of liars and thieves.
Coyote is one of the few gods in North America common to many tribes, he represents the breaking free of the negative power from the universal order of things. Chaos, in other words, those things we can't predict. He's always sneaking around causing trouble. The other big NA trickster God, also common to many tribes is Raven. Under Raven, write, "See Coyote" Consider your geography and you can probably figure out where Raven becomes Coyote.
In West Africa, the Trickster has a twist: Anansi is the Spider, ("Oh what a tangled web we weave / When first we practice to deceive!" ), the Great Trickster AND the Creator God. (God's last message to creation: 'GOTCHA!') One of the more recent stories of Anansi has Him stealing the wisdom of the people which is what led to their being enslaved.
The God is also known as Sky Father, the Lord, and the Horned One. His realms of influence include fertility, winter, animals, healing, material wealth and well-being, and the forest. His directions are South and East and His elements are Fire and Air. In many pantheons the God is a solar deity (We love the Sun God, He is a fun God, Rah! Rah! Rah!) while the Goddess is symbolized by the Moon.
Magickal rites invoking the God work well at High Noon, but the Horned One walks free in the night as well.
In Egyptian mythology, the best known Gods are Ra, Osiris, Horus, Anubis and Thoth. Ra is the Creator God, Sun God. His main sanctuary was at Heliopolis (translates literally as Sun City) where He was worshipped in the form of a giant obelisk - a petrified Sun ray.
Osiris, ah Osiris! The Book of the Dead (more accurately, 'Chapters for Coming Forth by Day') lists over 200 titles by which Osiris was known, among them Lord of Lords, King of Kings, and Good Shepherd. His birth was said to hail the rising of the Nile flood. His flesh was symbolically eaten in the form of a communion cake of wheat in His temples. He was the Lord of life after death, reincarnation, fertility, civilization. His sister/wife Isis ruled Egypt while He went and civilized the rest of the world, according to myth.
Anubis was the messenger between the Gods and the humans. He is pictured with the head of a jackal. At the death of Osiris, Anubis invented embalming and funeral rites. He is protector and judge of the Dead, ruler of the Underworld. He was God of wisdom, intelligence, death, embalming, endings, truth, justice, surgery, medicine.
In Greek mythology, we have the All Father Zeus, who gained His position by patricide.The Sun is Phoebus Apollo, Bright Shining One, Dionysusis the vegetation God, the Horned One is Faunus/Pan and the Lord of the Dead is Hades.
Apollo, twin sister to Artemis, not only drove the Sun across the sky in his chariot, but also had dominion over music and healing. Ascepulious, the First Doctor, whose symbol was the cadecueus (two copulating snakes encircling a sword) was Apollo's son. His symbols were the Lyre and the Bay Laurel tree. He took over the Oracle at Delphi, where the priestess/sybil chewed bay leaves to assist her visions.
Dionysus, God of the Vine, was the sacrificed God, his priestesses, the Maenads, tended to run the hills barefoot in His name, catch small furry creatures and eat them raw. Ah, the good old days....(teasing!) His symbols were the thrysis, ivy, grapes, wine.
Faunus/Pan, horned God of the Rut, fertility in general, pictured as half human, half beast (which beast depends on the reporter....*G*). He was both the Lord of the wild animals and the domestic ones. He was invoked for good hunting, healthy flocks, and safe pregnancies, of all kinds. Sex was a major part of His worship.
Hades, Lord of the Underworld. He ruled both burning Tartarus and the blessed Elysium Fields. He fell in love with Demeter's daughter Kore, and whisked Her away to the Underworld with him. By eating of the pomegranate, Kore was commited to staying with her husband six months or three months, depending on the climate where the story is told. During this time, she is Persephone, Queen of the Dead (Kore means 'maiden', as Hades wife, she is 'maiden' no longer. Persephone means 'Destroyer') and winter rules the world as Demeter mourns her daughter's absence.
In the Celtic world (and this was once most of Europe), Herne or Cernunnos, God of the Wild Hunt, was both revered and feared. Lugh, Llew, Lugos is the Shining One, sun God, hero God. Lud, Llud, Nuada, Nodons is "Silver Hand", God of water and water activities, healing, harpers and poets. The Celtic influence was so wide spread it is hard to find a limited number of 'representative' gods - some, like those named, were common throughout the Celtic world, while others, such as Taranis the Thunderer, seem more local.
The Horned One, in Old Welsh Arddhu (the Dark One), was the Opener of the Gates of Life and Death. In His Green Man aspect, He is gentle greenery, the first signs of spring, but He is also a 'young man's fancy' - "I was walking through the woods one day In the very, merry month of May I was taken by surprise, by a pair of emerald eyes...." And He is the Stag in rut in the autumn. His sacred animals are the stag, the bull, the goat and the bear.
One more quote: "The Horned One is not his name. He does not live as a man lives; he is, and he goes to and fro across the earth like the tides, or a star across the sky. He does not speak, he does not hear; he does not know there is such a thing as himself; but if you open your heart to him, he will come in his might." ~Alison Rush, 'The Last of Danu's Children'
Lugh, Llew, Lugos, the spellling of His name varies from place to place. His feast is Lughnassadh, the Grain Harvest, traditionally celebrated August 1. (Lammas, the other common name for this holiday, comes from the Christian 'Loaf Mass', a service held to bless the bread made from the first grain harvested....) A hero God, He had a magickal spear that never missed. Associated with ravens, in Wales the white stag is also His symbol. Like the Greek Ares, Lugh is another God of War associated with Harvest. He is the patron Deity of manual arts - carpentry, masonry, and blacksmithing. He also deals in revenge.
Nuada, Nodons, Lud, aka Silver Hand, He who bestows wealth; the Cloud-Maker. He has an invincible sword, one of the four great treasures of the Tuatha (pronounced sorta like 'dwata' and meaning 'the people') Associated mostly with oceans, water, and so on, He also has solar aspects. The Celts seemed less inclined to limit their gods with specific domains and powers than other cultures.
Last but not least, lets consider the Trickster Gods, specifically the Norse Loki, the North American Coyote and West Africa's Anansi. These gods are known for playing tricks, practical jokes, telling lies, and other assorted mischief. They act on both us and their fellow deities. Too often they are invoked as scape-goats, to take the blame that we should acknowlege ourselves. One can use them that way, only if one will admit to a lesson learned. The Tricksters play on our weaknesses, to make us look foolish, do things from stupid to downright dangerous. It is their equivalent of 'knocking us from our high horse'.
One thing particularly interesting about Loki is his nickname, "Father of Lies". He is a shape-shifter, and blood-brother of Odhinn. He is attractive and free with the ladies. Dangerous to invoke, as one can never be certain how he will answer.... Earthquakes and forest fires belong to Him, as well as being the patron of liars and thieves.
Coyote is one of the few gods in North America common to many tribes, he represents the breaking free of the negative power from the universal order of things. Chaos, in other words, those things we can't predict. He's always sneaking around causing trouble. The other big NA trickster God, also common to many tribes is Raven. Under Raven, write, "See Coyote" Consider your geography and you can probably figure out where Raven becomes Coyote.
In West Africa, the Trickster has a twist: Anansi is the Spider, ("Oh what a tangled web we weave / When first we practice to deceive!" ), the Great Trickster AND the Creator God. (God's last message to creation: 'GOTCHA!') One of the more recent stories of Anansi has Him stealing the wisdom of the people which is what led to their being enslaved.