A Pagan Ritual Prayer Book (49 page)

G
ENIUS
:
“One Who Gives Birth.” Roman. A divine being who is intimately connected with a certain thing—a person, an area, a group of people, etc.

T
HE
G
OD
:
Wiccan. The male principle personified, with attributes such as death, power, and sexuality.

T
HE
G
ODDESS
:
Wiccan. The female principle personified, with attributes such as birth, fertility, and sexuality.

G
REEN
M
AN
:
Modern Pagan. A personification of the forces of the wild, especially of forests.

G
^W
OUWIND
:
“Giver of Cows.” Proto-Indo-European. A goddess of prosperity.

H
ATHOR
:
“House of Horus.” Egyptian. A very complicated goddess, mixing motherhood, sexuality, fertility, death, and protection. She was often depicted with a cow's head.

H
EARTH GODDESS
:
Found in many cultures, she is seen as being present on the hearth as the fire itself. The most famous hearth goddesses are the Irish Brighid, Roman Vesta, and Greek Hestia.

H
EKATE
:
Greek. Goddess of witchcraft, the crossroads, and justice.

H
ELIOS
:
“Sun.” Greek. God of the sun, as the great “eye in the sky,” he sees the deeds of men, and is thus a god of justice, truth, and sight.

H
EPHAESTUS
:
Greek. God of smiths and potters, and thus of artisans in general.

H
ERAKLES
:
“Glory of Hera.” Greek (in Rome, he was called “Hercules”). Hero god; originally half-human, he knows what it's like to be one of us. Because he had to wander so far in his Twelve Labors, he protects travelers, and also merchants.

H
ERMES
:
Greek. Messenger of the gods, leader of the soul to the land of the dead. Also a god of magic, commerce, travel, thieves, and skills.

H
ERNE
:
“Horn.” English. A hunting god; the name is often used by Wiccans as one of the names of their God.

H
ORUS
:
“Distant (or “Superior”) One.” Egyptian. God of the sun, hero god, destroyer of evil.

I
NANNA
:
“Lady of the Sky.” Sumerian. Goddess of sexuality, life, death, and kingship.

I
NDRA
:
“Man, Hero.” Vedic. Protector, warrior, god of the thunderstorm.

I
RIS
:
Greek. Goddess of the rainbow and, in early times, the messenger of the gods.

I
SIS
:
“Throne.” Egyptian. Mother goddess, sovereignty goddess.

J
ANUS
:
“Doorway.” Roman. God of beginnings and of doors; he was shown with two faces—one looking one way, one looking the other—showing that he was the god of the moment between one thing and another.

J
UPITER
:
“Shining Sky Father.” Roman. Head of the gods, and a god of justice.

K
AMI
:
Japanese. The term for any spiritual being; it can be used for either the singular or the plural.

K
INDREDS
:
The sacred figures seen as a whole, encompassing the deities, the Ancestors, the land spirits, etc.

K
WAN
Y
IN
:
Buddhist. A divine being of mercy and compassion. Also spelled
Guan Yin
.

L
LEU
L
LAW
G
YFFES
:
“Bright One with the Steady Hand.” Welsh. Champion god, god of kingship and justice.

L
UGH
:
“Shining,” or perhaps “Champion.” Irish. God of lightning, kingship, protection, and agriculture. He is called “He of many skills,” and is a patron of artisans.

M
AAT
:
“Truth, Order.” Egyptian. Goddess of justice, not in the legal sense, but in that of doing the right thing. It is by her that the rightness of our actions is determined.

M
ANANNÁN MAC
L
IR
:
Irish. A god of the sea and of wisdom.
Mac Lir
means “Son of the Sea,” which is probably not meant to indicate who his father was, but what he was associated with. His earliest name was probably Oirbsen.

M
ARDUK
:
Possibly “Bull Calf of the Sun.” Babylonian. A god of lordship, protection, and war, he fought against Chaos and created the Cosmos from her body.

M
ARS
:
Roman. God of war and agriculture; likely originally one of thunder.

T
HE
M
ARUTS
:
Vedic. A warrior troop that accompanies Indra and may originally have been connected with thunder.

M
ENOT
:
“Moon, Measurer.” Proto-Indo-European. God of the moon, and, because the moon measures out time, of measurement and right thinking.

M
ERCURY
:
Roman. A go-between—messenger of the gods, protector of merchants (and thus a god of wealth), guide to the land of the dead. Also a god of knowledge.

M
INERVA
:
Posssibly “Thought.” Roman. Goddess of wisdom, communication, and the practical arts; also of politics and protection. Equivalent to the Greek Athena.

M
ITHRA
:
“Contract.” Vedic. God of the human laws, protector from the vagaries of the divine. In later Sanskrit, his name becomes the everyday word for “friend.”

M
ITHRAS
:
Roman. The god at the center of a mystery cult that seems to have been based on the idea of the development of the soul into a level of divinity. Not the same god as either Mithra or Mitra.

M
ITRA
:
“Contract.” Iranian. Enforcer of agreements, god of justice, protector of friendship.

M
ORPHEUS
:
“Shaper, Molder.” Greek. God of sleep.

M
ORRÍGAIN
:
“Nightmare Queen.” Irish. Goddess of sovereignty, war, and sexuality.

N
UIT
:
Thelemic. Goddess of the stars, of infinite possibility, and of the great Void.

O
DIN
:
“Ecstatic One.” Norse. God of war, wisdom, magic, and inspiration.

O
GHMA
:
“Writing.” Irish. God of writing and thought.

O
SIRIS
:
Egyptian. God of the land of the dead.

P
AN
:
“Nourisher, Protector.” Greek. God of the pastures, that is, of the land between the domesticated and the wild. Bringer of divine madness.

P
ELE
:
Hawaiian. Goddess of the volcano.

P
ERK
^W
ÚNOS
:
“Striker” or “Oak God.” Proto-Indo-European. Protector, warrior, god of the thunderstorm. Patron of farmers.

P
ERSEPHONE
:
Greek. Goddess of the spring and of new growth, but also the queen of the dead.

P
OSEIDON
:
Possibly “Lord of Earth.” Greek. God of the ocean, earthquakes, and horses.

P
AN
:
“Protector” or “Nourisher.” Vedic. God of merchants and travel; conveyor of brides.

Q
UIRINUS
:
“God of the Assembly.” Roman. God of the people as a whole.

R
HIANNON
:
“Great Queen.” Welsh. Goddess of sovereignty and of wisdom.

S
ARASVATI
:
“Marshy.” Hindu. Goddess of speech, eloquence, poetry, the arts, and music.

S
ELENE
:
“Moon.” Greek. Goddess of the moon.

S
EQUANA
:
Gaulish. Goddess of the river Seine.

S
HANG
T
I
:
“Celestial Lord.” Chinese. The creator god, the divine version of the Emperor. Also spelled “Shangdi.”