The Elven Records
Every culture has its own story of the ancient magic and monsters of this world and the next. Some forgotten that should not have been. Ancient terrors and powers forgotten to the minds of man, But we the elves have not forgotten and have taken on the burden of remembering, recording, and keeping the magic alive, as the realm of science and technology grows and mans belief and dreams fade. When man no longer fears what lurks in the shadows, We will remember. This is the true world we live in, with the greatest of terrors hidden in the darkest of places. These are the elven records of the true world, of the forgotten world.
To those who wish to read:
These records are for those who wish to remember and explore the unknown. Generations have come together to keep the different magics alive.
Author's Note:
Countless hours have gone into find and learning as many of these myths as I can. The more I research the more I want to make this into a fun little story with all the facts, because we all know how boring just facts can be. I want anyone to be able to look to this as reference for the perfect beast for their own stories. I go through a lot of trouble to make sure all my research is complete and the information is correct. i have ordered tons of monster books and spent many hours at the library, My nose in books and computers, My hand writing down any fact that I find and then check with other sources. If you find any information that just doesn't seem correct feel free to call it out. Anyone can make a mistake with a research project this large. If you don't see a monster you think should be in here let me know in the comments and I will added it to my ever growing list. Believe me I love finding more and more monsters. Again thank you for stopping by and checking out my hard work and I hope that you enjoy every bit of it as much as I have creating this.
pronounced Ah-ba-ng Ah-ku
Origin: Malay
Description: In one version the tower was an inter-home gateway by gods, and the Á Bao A Qu was those gods that were caught in this home when the gateway closed. Because it was caught in this world and needed to be able to cross over into its own home, it has become attached and dependent on human behavior, beliefs and karma.
Lives on the steps of the tower of victory in chito, From the top of which one can see " the loveliest landscape in the world" it waits on the first step for a man brave enough to try to climb up. Until that point, it lies sleeping, shapeless and translucent, until someone passes. Then, when a man starts climbing, the creature wakes, and follows close behind. As it progresses further and further up, it begins to become clearer and more colorful. It gives off a blue light which increases as it ascends. But it only reaches perfection when the climber reaches the top, and achieves Nirvana, so his acts don't cast any shadows. But almost all the time, the climber cannot reach the top, for they are not perfect. When the A Bao A Qu realizes this, it hangs back, losing color and visibility, and tumbles back down the staircase until it reaches the bottom, once more dormant and shapeless. In doing so, it gives a small cry, so soft that it sounds similar to the rustling of silk. When touched, it feels like the fuzz on the skin of a peach. Only once in its everlasting life has the A Bao A Qu reached its destination at the top of the tower
Origin: Basque People
Pronounced:
Name Meaning: Young Bull
Also Known as: Etsai, Beigorri (Red Cow), or Aatxegorri (Young Red Bull)
Description: Aatxe is a Spanish spirit bull, which dwells in the mountains troubling travelers at night.
A Cave dwelling Spirit, who uses the form of a young red bull, but is also sometimes seen as a man. At night, usually during stormy weather, he leaves his lair. He attacks criminals and other malevolent people.He also protects people by making them stay home when danger is near. He is theorized to be a representative of the goddess Mari, the goddess of quick punishment to those who lie, cheat, steal or are disrespectful, or even the enforcer of her will, punishing people who cheat her.
Inhabits: Caves and Hollows, Mountains.
Origin: Sakha
Pronounced:
Name Meaning: Black
Description: They have teeth of iron and travel in packs of seven. They are one-eyed, one- armed, and one legged. That ride on a two-headed, eight-legged, two-tailed dragon. Also Believed to be horribly ugly man eating demons. Their leader is described as a three-headed, six-armed and six-legged giant with body made of iron.
they are also Believed to be spirits of those long since passed, who stay near their grave or abandoned places. They cause Destruction. Said that they Server Arson-Duolai, The ruler of the dead, who also swallows people' souls and gives the living diseases.
Also Said to be under the domain of the demon Ulu Tojon ("Powerful Lord") who rules all nine clans of abassy.
The abaasy can be appeased by blood sacrifices.
It is believed that they can cause sexual manifestations and madness in those who are about to receive their shamanistic powers
They are usually a reference for hate, or dislike.
Inhabits: Live in the Sakha's version of the underworld or kingdom of darkness.
Sacred Animal: Raven
Origin: Kongo, Native to Kurdufan
Also Known as: Nillekma or Arase
Pronounced:
Description: Similar to the unicorn, but instead it has two two crooked horns as opposed to a unicorn's single one. Its horns are also believed to be an antidote to poison. Its described to be the size of a small donkey with the tail of a boar.
Origin: Tatar, Siberian
Pronounced:
Description: Some legends say it looks like an old woman, while others a demon or spirit. Saying that he appears in the shape of a human with blue skin, two great horns, green hair, and a long green beard across his face, carrying a club or whip indicating his mastery of the forest. He can shape shift into many different forms. As a human, he looks like a peasant with glowing eyes, and his shoes are on backwards. He is a Turkic forest being, similar in nature to the Iyes. He protects the birds, trees, and animals of the forest;
It is said if one should ever encounter an Äbädä, one must Defeat him immediately by turning all one's clothes inside out and backwards, and placing one's shoes on the opposite feet.
Inhabits: Forests
Origin: Melanesian
Pronounced:
Description: Said to be a type of large, Magical Eel. It is said that it considers all creatures in the lake its children and protects them furiously against anyone who would harm or disturb them. It is said that those who are foolish enough to try to catch the fish from a lake containing the Abaia are immediately overwhelmed by a large wave caused by the thrashing of the Abaia’s powerful tail.
Another version of the legend states that if someone were to harm a creature living in the Abaia’s home, It would cause a great rain storm flooding the land and drowning those who had caused the harm
The myth is belived to have begun from encounters with an actual undiscovered Species of giant eel living at the bottom of these remote lakes.
Inhabits: The bottom of freshwater lakes in the Fiji, Solomon, and Vanuatu Islands.
Story: One day a man discovered a lake in which were many Fish, and at the bottom of the lake lived a magic eel, but the man knew it not. He caught many fish and returned the next day with the people of his village whom he had told of his discovery, and they also were very successful, while one woman even laid hold of the great eel, Abaia, who dwelt in the depths of the lake, though he escaped her. Now Abaia was Angry that his fish had been caught and that he himself had been seized, so he caused a great rain to fall that night, and the waters of the lake also rose, and all the people were drowned except an old woman who had not eaten of the fish and who saved herself in a tree.
Origin: Unknown
Pronounced:
Description: the name of a Legendary race of people native to a country of the same name. The people of Abarimon had backwards feet, but in spite of this handicap were able to run at great speed. They lived side by side with wild animals and attempts to capture them failed because they were so savage.
They lived in a great valley of Mount Imaus (now called the Himalayan Mountians). There was a special quality of air they breathed, which meant if it was breathed for a long period of time it would be impossible to breathe any other type of air and the inhabitants could never leave the valley alive.
Origin: Malay
Pronounced:
Description: A mythical creature resembling a unicorn, first appearing in records in the 16th century.
Described as female, with a single horn growing from its forehead. Like the Unicorn , a powder made from this horn supposedly served both as an aphrodisiac and as an antidote to poison.
The Difference however is the unicorn was usually represented as male and was believed there was only ever one in existence at any time, Unlike the Abath.
it is speculated that these were probably the result of a half-glimpsed Javan or Rhino.
Origin: Japanese
Name Meaning: Oil Presser
Pronounced:
Description: This spirit, which surprises people on the Kusazumigoe mountain pass, is thought to be the ghost of a human who stole oil. In the days before electricity, oil was a very valuable commodity, necessary for lighting and heating a house. As such, the theft of oil, particularly from temples and shrines, could lead to punishment via reincarnation as a Yokai.
Origin: Native American
Pronounced:
Description: The Ghost or Spirit of a little girl who comes down from mountains and hilltops at night to bring sickness to humans, particularly children. They are often depicted with dark or unnatural eyes and can also be referred to as "hill fairies". The only defense against an Acheri was thought to be a red ribbon tied around one's neck. The Acheri is said to bring death to the elderly or other people with low immune system defenses.
Pronounced: A-Kill-Eez
Parents: Father- Peleus, king of the Myrmidons. Mother - Nymph Thetis ( Zeus and Poseidon had been rivals for the hand of Thetis until Prometheus, the fore-thinker, warned Zeus of a prophecy that Thetis would bear a son greater than his father. For this reason, the two gods withdrew their pursuit, and had her wed Peleus.
There is a tale which offers an alternative version of these events: Zeus' sister and wife Hera alludes to Thetis' chaste resistance to the advances of Zeus, that Thetis was so loyal to Hera's marriage bond that she coolly rejected him. Thetis, although a daughter of the sea-god Nereus, was also brought up by Hera, further explaining her resistance to the advances of Zeus.)
Description: was a Greek hero of the Trojan War and the Main character and greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.
Achilles is most known for his appearance during the Trojan War with the slaying of the Trojan hero Hector outside the gates of Troy. he was killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris, who shot him in the heel with an arrow. Later legends state that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for his heel. Because of his death from a small wound in the heel, the term Achilles' heel has come to mean a person's point of weakness.
Becoming Immortal: when Achilles was born Thetis tried to make him immortal, by dipping him in the river Styx. However, he was left vulnerable at the part of the body by which she held him, his heel. In another version of this story, Thetis anointed the boy in ambrosia and put him on top of a fire, to burn away the mortal parts of his body. She was interrupted by Peleus and abandoned both father and son in a rage
Another version of the myth has Thetis attempting to protect her infant by dipping him in the river Styx. The infernal waters indeed rendered Achilles' skin impervious to the likes of any mere Trojan arrow. But Thetis forgot that she was holding him by the heel during the dipping process, so that part was unprotected.
The Story: Achilles would not have been vulnerable even in this part of his body had his mother, the sea-goddess Thetis, been allowed to protect him as she intended. When he was an infant, she rubbed him each day with godly ambrosia, and each night she laid him upon the hearth fire. Unfortunately, Achilles' father was unaware that this procedure would make his son immortal. And when he unexpectedly came home one night to find his wife holding their baby in the flames, he cried out in alarm. Thetis was offended and went home to her father, the Old Man of the Sea, leaving Achilles to his mortal fate.
It is believed that Peleus entrusted Achilles to Chiron the Centaur, on Mt. Pelion, to be reared.
The death of Achilles: as predicted by Hector with his dying breath, was brought about by Paris with an arrow In some versions, the god Apollo guided Paris' arrow. Some retellings also state that Achilles was scaling the gates of Troy and was hit with a poisoned arrow. Ajax carries off the body of Achilles
All of these versions deny Paris any sort of valor, owing to the common conception that Paris was a coward and not the man his brother Hector was, and Achilles remained undefeated on the battlefield.
Another version of Achilles' death is that he fell deeply in love with one of the Trojan princesses, Polyxena. Achilles asks Priam for Polyxena's hand in marriage. Priam is willing because it would mean the end of the war and an alliance with the world's greatest warrior. But while Priam is overseeing the private marriage of Polyxena and Achilles, Paris, who would have to give up Helen if Achilles married his sister, hides in the bushes and shoots Achilles with a divine arrow, killing him.
Achilles was cremated and his ashes buried in the same urn as those of Patroclus. Paris was later killed by Philoctetes using the enormous bow of Heracles.
Origin: Roman
Pronounced:
Description:
He described it as saying it looked somewhat like an Elk, though it bore some very strange characteristics. It was said its upper lip was so large that it had to graze backwards to avoid its lip falling over its mouth. A great problem because its back legs had no joints, forcing it to sleep standing up or leaning against a tree. This allowed hunters a relatively easy way to catch them. They chopped halfway through the tree where the creature slept and when the Achlis put any weight against it he fell onto the ground. Because of its back legs it could not get to its feet fast enough to get away.
Origin: Welsh
Pronounced:
Name Meaning: words llwch ("dust") and gwin ("wine").
Description: were giant Birds , similar in kind to the Griffin, which were given to a warrior named Drudwas ap Tryffin by his Fairy wife. These birds were said to understand human speech and to obey whatever command was given to them by their master. However, on one occasion, when Drudwas was about to do battle with the hero Arthur he commanded them to kill the first man to enter the battle. Arthur himself was delayed and the birds immediately turned on Drudwas and tore him to pieces. Later, in medieval Welsh poetry, the phrase Adar Llwch Gwin came to describe all kinds of Raptors including Hawk, Falcons, and, on occasion, brave men.
Origin: Solomon Islands ( Melanesian)
Pronounced:
Name Meaning:
Description: They were malevolent Merman- Like sea spirits. They lived in the pacific ocean and were said to arise the wicked part of a person's spirit.. Described to be a man with grills behind ears, tail fins for feet, a horn like a shark dorsal fin and a sword-fish or saw fish like spear growing out of head. They are said to travel in waterspouts and along rainbows. They shoot men with poisonous flying fish. It is also said that part of the soul, the Aunga ( The good) Which Dies, And the Adara (The Bad) Remains as a ghost. They live in sun light.
Alexandre's daughter Adele was the second Queen Consort of the Red Town, wed to Carvel's eldest son Cyrille, she is the mother of Keena, the only female to rule the Red Town in her own right.
Origin: Greek
Pronounced: A-Dih-Fay-Jee-Ah
Name Meaning: Gluttony
Description: Goddess of gluttony. She was worshiped mainly for agricultural bounty rather than self-indulgence, and was worshiped along side Demeter.
She has a temple on the island of Sicily
Origin: Manx
Pronounced:
Name Meaning: Children of Pride/ Ambition
Description: they are also known as Manx Fairies, or Cloan Ny Moyrn. They are said to be fallen angels, cast out from heaven but to good for hell. They could be benevolent but are mischievous towards humans, Taking babies when they choose. Although there powers are said to have no effect on a person on an errand of mercy. When visible they are said to be the size of a small child, they fished at sea and herded cattle in the hills. they are a shy, mostly female race, that play in waterfalls and on top of mountains. The malevolent ones lived separate from the rest in caverns, heavy fog, or dark places.
Origin: Hindu
Name Meaning: Timeless, free from bounds
Consort: Sage Kashyap
Children: Mara, Surya, and vamana
Description: Mother of the gods and goddess associated with space and mystic speech. she is considered female version of Brahma. goddess of boundless sky, past and future and consciousness of all living things.
Origin: Inuit (Native Americans of Greenland)
Pronounced:
Name Meaning:The Stripped ones
Description: A race of creatures in the Inuit mythology of Greenland. The word usually refers to the island tribes but it also refers to a tribe w/ dog legs and human bodies. known to run quickly and usually encounter between men ended in battle with man being the victor. They were always in conflict with men and were taller than the average human, and believed to be cannibals.
Legend: A woman who lived with her father refused to marry. After she refused all suitors she marries a dog, ijirgang, With red and white spots. Of their 10 children 5 are dogs while the other half are Adlet. The father dog does not hunt, so the woman's father has to provide for them all. Finally the father puts them all on an island and tells the dog to come every day for meat. When he does the woman gives him boots to wear around his neck to carry it in. Instead the father fills them with rocks and drowns the dog.
In revenge the mother sends dog children to gnaw on his hands and feet, so the father kicks her overboard when she is on his boat. as she clings to the side of the boat, the father cuts off her fingers which fall into the ocean and create whales and seals. The woman scared that her father would kill her children she sends them inland where they prosper. believed to be European ancestors.
Origin: Lugbara
Pronounced:
Children: The Adroanzi (nature gods of specific rivers, trees and other sacred wild areas)
Description: He was their creator god, who had both good and evil aspects. When he appeared on Earth It was as a Man who was near death. He was depicted as a very tall white man with only one half of a body, missing one Eye, one leg, etc.
Story: Adora created Gborogboro (‘the person coming from the sky’) and a woman named Meme (‘the person who came alone’). Meme bore a boy and girl who in turn produced a male and female pair.
The names and number of generations vary according to various myths. Some myths say the Siblings did not have intercourse but women gave birth after goat’s blood was poured on their legs to symbolize menstruation. Lugbara believe conception occurs three to four days after menstruation. However, all versions state that bridewealth was not given.
Origin: Ewe
Pronounced:
Description: A Vampiric Being. In the wild, the adze takes the form of a Firefly, though it will transform into human shape upon capture. When in human form, the adze has the power to possess humans.
People, male or female, possessed by an adze are viewed as witches. The adze's influence would negatively affect the people who lived around their host. A person is suspected of being possessed in a variety of situations, including: women with brothers (especially if their brother's children fared better than their own), old people (if the young suddenly started dying and the old stayed alive) and the poor (if they envied the rich). The adze's effects are generally felt by the possessed victim's family or those of whom the victim is jealous.
In firefly form, the adze would pass through closed doors at night and suck blood from people as they slept. The victim would fall sick and die.
It is said there is no defense against an Adze.
Believed to become a myth as a way to explain Mosquitoes and Malaria.
Origin: Norse
Pronounced: Ae- Gear
Parents: the giant Fornjótr
Siblings: Logi ("fire") and Kári ("wind")
Consort: Sea Goddess Ran, His wife
Children : nine billow maidens, Who wore white robes and veils
Servants: His two faithful servants are Eldir and Fimafeng. The latter was killed by the treacherous god Loki during a banquet the gods held at Aegir’s undersea hall near the island of Hler (or Hlesey).
Description: The sea god, As with all Sea Gods, he is worshiped and feared by sailors. They always respect watery Gods, especially AEGIR as he has a fondness for dragging ships and men down to his halls. But as he is well-known for his wonderful parties, it could just be his way of avoiding gate-crashers. Sacrifices were made to appease him, particularly prisoners before setting sail. He is also known for hosting elaborate parties for the gods. It is believed he is the same as the sea-giant Hlér, who lives on the isle of Hlésey.
It is said that sea froth is caused by his Underwater Brewery.
Origin: Greek
Pronounced:
Description: Is a disease demon, It is often believed to normally dwell unseen in the air, though it sometimes takes the form of a human. As a disease demon, Aerico are believed to spread disease, such as the plague and Malaria.
Origin: Welsh
Pronounced:
Description: A lake monster, Its exact description varies; it is described variously as resembling a crocodile, beaver, or dwarf-like creature, and is sometimes said to be a demon.
The lake in which it dwells also varies; it is variously said to live in Llyn Llion, Llyn Barfog, near Brynberian Bridge or in Llyn yr Afanc, a lake near Betws-y-coed, that was named after the creature.
The afanc was a monstrous creature that, like most lake monsters, was said to prey upon any foolish enough to fall into or swim in its lake.
Story 1: One tale relates that it was rendered helpless by a maiden who let it sleep upon her lap; while it slept, the maiden's fellow villagers bound the creature in chains. The creature was awakened and made furious; its enraged thrashings crushed the maiden, in whose lap it still lay. It was finally dragged away to the lake Cwm Ffynnon, or killed by Peredur.
Story 2: In the tale, Peredur Son of Efrawag, the "Addanc of the Lake" resides in a cave near the "Palace of the Sons of the King of the Tortures". The palace is so named because the Addanc slays the three sons (chieftains) of the king each day, only for them to be resurrected by the maidens of the court. It is not stated why this cycle of violence continues, but when Peredur asks to ride with the three chieftains, who seek out the Addanc daily, they state that they will not accept his company as if he was slain they would not be able to bring him back to life.
Peredur continues to the cave on his own, wishing to kill the creature to increase his fame and honour. On his journey he meets a maiden who states that the Addanc will slay Peredur through cunning, as the beast is invisible and kills his victims with poison darts. The maiden, actually the Queen of Constantinople, gives Peredur an Adder Stone that will make the creature visible.
Peredur ventures into the cave and with the aid of the stone, pierces the Addanc before beheading it. When the three chieftains arrive at the cave they state that it was predicted that Peredur would kill the Addanc.
Some legends ascribe the creature's death to King Authur.
An agathodaemon (Greek: ἀγαθοδαίμων, agathodaímōn) or agathos daemon (Greek: ἀγαθὸς δαίμων, agathós daímōn, lit. "noble spirit") was a spirit (daemon) of the vineyards and grainfields in ancient Greek religion. They were personal companion spirits,[2][3] similar to the Roman genii, ensuring good luck, health, and wisdom.
Though he was little noted in Greek mythology (Pausanias conjectured that the name was a mere epithet of Zeus),[4] he was prominent in Greek folk religion;[5] it was customary to drink or pour out a few drops of unmixed wine to honor him in every symposium or formal banquet. In Aristophanes' Peace, when War has trapped Peace (Εἰρήνη Eirene) in a deep pit, Hermes comes to give aid: "Now, oh Greeks! is the moment when, freed of quarrels and fighting, we should rescue sweet Eirene and draw her out of this pit... This is the moment to drain a cup in honor of the Agathos Daimon." A temple dedicated to him was situated on the road from Megalopolis to Maenalus in Arcadia.[6]
Agathos Daimon was the spouse or companion of Tyche Agathe (Τύχη Ἀγαθή, "Good Fortune"; Latin: Agatha). "Tyche we know at Lebadeia as the wife of the Agathos Daimon, the Good or Rich Spirit."[7] His numinous presence could be represented in art as a serpent or more concretely as a young man bearing a cornucopia and a bowl in one hand, and a poppy and an ear of grain in the other. The agathodaemon was later adapted into a general daemon of fortuna, particularly of the continued abundance of a family's good food and drink.
Origin: Greek
Pronounced:
Description:
Parents: Cecrops( Half- Dragon, Half- Man)
Siblings: Herse (Hermes' Beloved)
Story: Aglauros had a thing for Hermes, and was jealous of her sister. And so when Hermes came to visit, she stood in his way and said she would not move. When she would not move he turned her into a stone.
Origin: Inuit
Pronounced:
Description: A Spirt that lives underneath the ice and gives aid to fishermen and hunters
Origin: Hindu
Pronounced:
Name means: Fire
Weapon: Javalin
Consort: Svaha
Children: Agneya
Steed: Ram
Description: is the God of fireand the conveyor of sacrifices to the Gods. He is also a god of divine knowledge, who leads man to the gods, and is also associated with water. He was one of the most important of the Vedic gods.
Agni has three forms: 'fire', 'lightning' and the 'Sun'.
The Rig Veda often says that Agni arises from water or dwells in the waters; the Vedic sage says that Agni manifesting in the waters and seated in the lap of the winding waters, flaming upward, increases; and that Agni was born by the prowess of Tvashtr (Rig Veda I.95.5). He may have originally been the same as Apam Napat, the supreme god of creation, who is also sometimes described as fire arising from water. Hydrogen burns easily and Oxygen is required to inflame the fire. This is the important physiological phenomenon in any living body, which in a natural explanation may have referred to flames from natural gas or oil seepages surfacing through water, or as the seven rays or seven bands of light of a rainbow. Other Rig-vedic names, epithets or aspects of Agni include Matarishvan, Jatavedas, or Bharata.
Sacrificial fire and high-priest
Agni is the personification of the sacrificial fire. He is associated with Vedic sacrifice, taking offerings to the other world in his fire. He is the priest of the gods, and the god of the priests. Through yajna he carries the oblations to the gods, to ensure the continuance of conditions favourable to mankind. No god is approachable without the medium of Agni, and no divinity is without the presence of Agni.[note 2]
Agni is the chief terrestrial deity personified by the sacrificial fire which is the centre of the ritual poetry of the Rig Veda. The earth enveloped in darkness and the sky, become visible when Agni is born; the acquisition of fire by man is regarded as a gift of the gods. Agni is only compared and not identified with the Sun.
Agni as the immortal guest is the witness of all actions, supremely powerful, all consuming and unresistible but who commands all earthly and heavenly riches i.e. all temporal good.[6]
Agni is the receiver, holder and distributor of energy, who leads the devtas to victory in their battles against the asuras, and confers wealth of various kinds to the performers of yajnas. Born in the human aspirant he awakens the gods, and burns the opposing foes, the demons.
Jataveda and Kravyād
Agni has two forms: Jataveda and Kravyada:
In the Jātaveda form, "He who knows all creatures", Agni acts as the divine model for the sacrificial priest. He is the messenger who carries the oblation from humans to the gods, bringing the Gods to sacrifice, and interceding between gods and humans (Rig Veda I.26.3). When Agni is pleased, the gods are generous. Agni represents the cultivated, cooked and cultured aspects of Vedic ritual. Together with Soma, Agni is invoked in the Rig Veda more than any other gods.[7]
Kravyād (क्रव्याद) is the form of Agni which eats corpses, the fire of the funeral pyre; the fire that eats corpses can eat everything. This is the impure form which is much feared.[8] In this form, after one’s death and at the time of cremation, Agni heats up and burns the body only, the body which is the impure human condition (SB 2.2.4.8).[9]
Knowledge
Agni is Abhimāni, from Sanskrit: abhi (towards) + man (the verbal root man 'to think', 'reflect upon') meaning dignified, proud; longing for, thinking. Agni is the 'Mystic Fire', who leads man on the journey to God. Agni is worshipped as the symbol of piety and purity; as expression of two kinds of energy i.e. light and heat, he is the symbol of life and activity. Agni-rahasya, "the secret of fire," is the key to all knowledge because Agni is the power of inner and outer illumination.
Water
Agni is also called Arka, "water," the accessory to worship, and the cause of fire that covers all food which covers all life(Yajurveda V.vii.5).[10][11] Rishi Tritapti (Rig Veda X.v.3), in a mantra in praise of Agni, refers to the bearers of water, the most subtle and the most refined aspects of manifestations. In a subsequent mantra he says[note 3] that in the conditions prevalent prior to the formation of water, Agni, which was the first visible manifestation of the Unmanifested, was the giver and the taker, both, because as energy it had transformed into matter, beginning with water.[12]
Agni is depicted with two or seven hands, two heads and three legs. One head marks immortality, and the other marks an unknown symbol of life. He rides a ram[21] or a chariot harnessed by fiery horses. Agni is represented as red and two-faced, suggesting both his destructive and beneficent qualities, and with black eyes and hair, three legs and seven arms.[22]He rides a ram, or a chariot pulled by goats or, more rarely, parrots.
Agni has two mothers,[23] or has two parts of the firedrill used to start the fire. He has ten servant maids, the fingers of the man who is lighting the fire or the ten undisclosed powers that nourish Agni.[24]
Seven rays of light emanate from his body. One of his names is Saptajihva, "the one having seven tongues".[25] He has seven fiery tongues with which he licks the sacrificial butter. In the Mundaka Upanishad (I.ii.1-5) it is said that Agni, here meant the Āhavaniya Fire, has seven tongues or flames – Kālī ('black'), Karālī ('terrible'), Manojava ('speedy as the mind'), Sulohita ('very red'), Sudhumravarna ('coloured like thick smoke'), Sphulingini ('emitting sparks') and Vishwaruchi ('having the fuel as the Sun' – तस्मादग्निः समिधो यस्य सूर्यः (II.i.5)).
The ancient seers divided Agni into three parts – gārhapatya (for general domestic usage), āhavaniya (for inviting and welcoming a personage or deity) and dakshinagni (for fighting against all evil).[26] Yāska states that his predecessor Sākapuni regarded the threefold existence of Agni as being in earth, air and heaven as stated by the Rig Veda, but a Brāhmana considered the third manifestation to be the Sun.
Birth
Agni is the eldest son of Brahma. In the Visnu Purana, Agni, called Abhimāni is said to have sprung from the mouth of the Virat purusha, the Cosmic Man. In another version, Agni is the son of Dharma (Eternal Law) and Vasubhāryā (daughter of Light).
A sage of the Rig Veda (Sukta IV.iii.11) states that the Sun became visible when Agni was born.[28]
In some Hindu symbolism, Agni's parents are said to be the two components of the firedrill used to start the fire, and when young he was said to be cared for by ten servants who are represented by the ten fingers of the man who starts the fire.
Agni hid from the gods, but Atharvan found him and raised him, thus combining the divine and the human worlds, transforming the sublime and the subtle to the gross and the material.
Ascend and family
At the command of Bhrigu, Agni was brought down from the heavens for man’s use by Matarishvan, in the later writings Agni is described as a son of Angiras who happened to discover fire and its uses.
Agni married Svāhā (invocation offering) and fathered three sons - Pāvaka (purifier), Pāvamāna (purifying) and Śuchi (purity) who in their turn had forty-five children, all different aspects of fire.[29][30] Agni’s three sons, according to the Vayu Purana, stand for three different aspects of Agni (fire): Pāvaka is the electric fire, Pāvamanā is the fire produced by friction, and Śuchi is the solar fire. Every fire has a corresponding relation to one of the human psychic faculties. They also represent body, spirit and soul, and body.[31] Abhimāni, his three sons, and their 45 sons constitute the 49 mystic fires of the Puranas, especially the Agni Purana.
Agneya is the daughter of Agni and the Hindu Goddess of Fire. Medhā (intelligence) is Agni’s sister.[29]
Purifier
Offended by Agni, Bhrigu had cursed Agni to become the devourer of all things on this earth, but Brahma modified that curse and made Agni the purifier of all things he touched.[32]
The Khandava Forest
In the "Khandava-daha Parva" (Mahabharata CCXXV), Agni in the guise of a Brahmin is seen to approach Krishna and Arjuna seeking sufficient food for gratification of his hunger; and on being asked about the kind of food which would gratify, Agni expressed the desire to consume the forest of Khandava protected by Indra for the sake of Takshaka, the chief of the Nagas, Agni wanted to regain his own nature which him having drunk clarified butter for twelve years had dulled at the sacrifice of Swetaki. Aided by Krishna and Arjuna, Agni consumed the Khandava Forest, which burnt for fifteen days, sparing only Aswasena, Maya, and the four birds called sarangakas; later, as a boon Arjuna got all his weapons from Indra and also the bow, Gandiva, from Varuna.[33]
Kartikeya
The Puranas associate with Agni the origin of Krittika nakshatra (the Pleiades star-cluster) and the birth of Kartikeya. It is said that Agni received Shiva’s energy from Parvati as alms that he had to share with others, being the carrier of all oblations to the gods. Agni gave this energy to the six wives of the saptarishis, who wanted to warm themselves, and for this they were cursed by their husbands to become nakshatras, the six nakshatras that make up the Krittikas, the 3rd of the twenty-seven Lunar mansions. Thereafter, these six wives gave the energy they had received from Agni to the Himalayas, which then flowed down as one to be distributed to the reeds from which the six-headed boy, Kartikeya was born.
Another version of this legend states that Kartikeya was initially born from Shiva and Parvati's combined power as an effulgent orb of energy, so radiant so as to burn the universe. Agni stole it so as to keep the child safe and kept running across the universe to escape the vile Asura Taraka who was to be destroyed by Kartikeya. Parvati awoke from her meditative state and found out that her son was missing. She was enraged and came rushing out of the cave to which she encountered the Devas and their preceptor, Brihaspati. They informed her that Agni had taken her son and only did so to ensure their son's protection. This made Parvati extremely furious and she attained her Adishakti form which caused lightning and all other calamities to begin on Earth. In anger, she cursed the Devas that their wives would be infertile and never enjoy parental happiness furthermore. She cursed Agni that he would be an all-consumer, adding that he would be unable to differentiate between pure and impure and that all who touched him would turn into ash (bhasma) and because of the impurities in his food, he would be surrounded by thick black smoke forever. At the nick of time, Shiva came out of the cave and calmed down Parvati promising her that he himself would find their son. She assumed her normal form and went back inside the cave. Shiva later found Agni and blessed him that despite Parvati's curse, he would always be holy.[34]
King Shibi
There is the story about King Shibi who was tested by Agni assuming the form of a pigeon and by Indra assuming the form of a hawk; Shibi offered his own flesh to the hawk in exchange of pigeon's life. The pigeon which had sought Shibi's shelter was thus saved by the king's sacrifice.[35]
Fire ordeal
Agniparikshā or 'the Fire ordeal' has Agni as the witness. Sita was forced to undergo this ordeal to prove her virtue. Agni redeemed the original Sita from the wrath and condemnation of her husband and her community.[36]
Fire-symbolism
Agni denotes the natural element fire, the supernatural deity symbolized by fire and the inner natural will aspiring for the highest knowledge.[54][55][56]
Heat, combustion and energy is the realm of Agni which symbolizes the transformation of the gross to the subtle; Agni is the life-giving energy.[57] Agnibija is the consciousness of tapas (proto-cosmic energy); agni (the energizing principle); the sun, representing the Reality (Brahman) and the Truth (Satya), is Rta, the order, the organizing principle of everything that is.[58]
The one who knows
Agni, who is addressed as Atithi ('guest'), is also called जातवेदसम्, meaning "the one who knows all things that are born, created or produced."[59] He is the god of will-power, united with wisdom. The Vedic people knew human will-power to be a feeble projection of this power which they believed could be strengthened by the Rig Vedic chants to Agni.[60]
The Kanvasatpathabrahmanam (SB.IV.i.iv.11) calls Agni "wisdom" and the "ind."[note 15][61] Rishi Bharadavaja Barhaspatya, in a mantra addressed to Agni Vaishvanara[note 16] calls Agni "the mind swiftest among (all) those that fly."[62]
Rishi Praskanva states that Agni represents great learning and enlightening wisdom, which ought to be sought, located and humbly approached. Agni excites Buddhi (reason and intellect), the perceiving and the determining factor, and by illuminating the mind it makes one understand and comprehend the truth – प्रचेतसोऽग्ने देवाँ इह द्रवत् (Rig Veda I.xliv.7).
Vedic rishis
Agni is the essence of the knowledge of Existence. The Vedic Rishis held Agni to be responsible for the manifestation of gods for the mortal beings, who then come to know them and worship them by the mind.[note 17] They pray[note 18] for Agni, which is the essence of the knowledge of existence, to increase its own strength or power, which is within all human beings, to enable them to cultivate strong conviction and belief, without which there cannot develop a meaningful faith and deep devotion to support a dedicated mind.[63] With Agni's increase ignorance and all delusions are wholly destroyed, without nescience to be taken for granted, and the human form assumed by Brahman is erased from the mind.[64]
Upanishads
The Kena Upanishad says that Agni was the first to discover Brahman's nature, limits and identity. The Vedic gods manifest themselves in man, and assume the appearance of human limitations.[65] 'Knowledge', 'faith' and 'works', these three, because of their connection with human faculties, are not without their respective limitations,[66] and it is the mortal body harbouring within it the individual self and the Universal Self that remains bound by limitations.[67]
Agni symbolises the soul; it is the power of change that cannot be limited or overcome. Light, heat, colour and energy are merely its outer attributes; inwardly, agni impels consciousness, perception and discernment.[68]
Raja Rishi Chitra, describing the path of Jnana, states "He (at the time of death), having reached the path of the gods, comes to the world of agni, to the world of vayu;"[note 19][69] this leads to the Brahmaloka, the sphere of Brahman. This is the path taken by the enlightened souls with transcendental knowledge.[70]
Relation with other gods
Agni is often identified with other gods:
Origin: East African
Pronounced:
other names: kakundakari, kilomba, sehite, agogure or agogue
Description: a purported small human-like Biped It is 3.3 to 5.6 ft tall with long arms and long rust-coloured woolly hair and is said to have yellowish-red skin under its coat. It has also been reported as having black or grey hair. Its feet are said to be about 12 cm (5 in) long with opposable toes. Alleged differences between it and known apes include a rounded forehead, small canines and its hair and skin colour.
Although its appearance is said to be grotesque, the agogwe is said to be more mischievous than menacing.
Origin: Inuit
Pronounced:
Description: A dancing skeleton ,He was responsible for causing shipwrecks in the ocean; his dancing made the waves vibrate, influencing the way the boats move. Ahkiyyini played instrumental music, using human arm bones to beat his xylophone of shoulder blades.
Origin: Aztec
Pronounced:
Description: The creature is described as dog-like, its waterproof fur often clumping up to create spikes (hence its name). The ahuizotl has hands capable of manipulation and an additional hand on its tail. The ahuizotl is feared due to its liking for human flesh, especially nails, eyes, and teeth. It is said to live in or near the water and to use the hand on the end of its tail to snatch its prey, dragging the person into the depths to drown them. Victims of the ahuizotl, Aztec beliefs state, are destined for the paradise of the god Tlaloc.
Origin: San Religion
Pronounced:
Description: (singular Aigamuchab) are a race of man-eating, dune-dwelling creature that are mostly human-looking, except that they have eyes on the instep of their feet. In order to see, they have to go down on hands and knees and lift one foot in the air. This is a problem when the creature chases prey, because it has to run blind.
Pronounced:
Origin: Celtic
Description:
The Goddess Aine, Originally revered as the Goddess of Love and Light, Aine is also celebrated as the Queen of the Elves. She is also known as the Lady of the Lake, the Goddess of the Earth and Nature and the Goddess of Luck and Magick. Call upon Aine to manifest your heart's true desires and to open your eyes, heart. (Tuatha de Danann) Irish Love Goddess, also known as 'Lady of the Lake'. In Irish mythological legend, Aine was the Goddess who created abundance for all that grows upon Earth. She is also the Goddess of Prosperity, Protector of Women, Animals and the Environment. caroline evans aine fairy
Airavata is a mythological white elephant who carries the Hindu god Indra. It is also called 'abhra-Matanga', meaning "elephant of the clouds"; 'Naga-malla', meaning "the fighting elephant"; and 'Arkasodara', meaning "brother of the sun".[1] 'Abharamu' is the elephant wife of Airavata. Airavata has four tusks and seven trunks and is spotless white. It is also known as Erawan in Thai. Airavata is also the third son of Kashyap and Kadru. In the Mahabharata he is listed as a great serpent
According to the Ramayana, the elephant's mother was Iravati. According to the Matangalila, Airavata was born when Brahma sang sacred hymns over the halves of the egg shell from which Garuda hatched, followed by seven more male and eight female elephants. Prithu made Airavata king of all elephants. One of his names means "the one who knits or binds the clouds" since myth has it that these elephants are capable of producing clouds. The connection of elephants with water and rain is emphasized in the mythology of Indra, who rides the elephant Airavata when he defeats Vritra. This mighty elephant reaches down his trunk into the watery underworld, sucks up its water, and then sprays it into the clouds, which Indra then causes to rain forth cool water, thereby linking the waters of the sky with those of the underworld.
As per another legend, Airavatha is believed to have come out of churning the Ocean of milk and it is believed that the elephant guards one of the points of compass.[3] Airavata also stands at the entrance to Svarga, Indra's palace. In addition, the eight guardian deities who preside over the points of the compass each sit on an elephant. Each of these deities has an elephant that takes part in the defense and protection of its respective quarter. Chief among them is Airavata of Indra. There is a reference to Airavata in the Bhagavad Gita:
Erawan (Thai: เอราวัณ, from Pāḷi Erāvana, or Sanskrit Airāvana) is one of the Thai names of Airavata. It is depicted as a huge elephant with either three or sometimes thirty-three heads which are often shown with more than two tusks. Some statues show Indra, the king of Tavatimsa Heaven, riding on Erawan. The elephant is sometimes associated with the old Lao Kingdom of Lan Xang and the defunct Kingdom of Laos, where it was more commonly known as the "three-headed elephant" and had been used on the royal flag
Airmed - Irish Goddess of Herbalism and Healing (note the white veil);;;;artist..Sulamith Wulfing, Airmed, Celtic Goddess of healing and herbalism
In Polynesian languages the word aitu refers to ghosts or spirits, often malevolent. The word is common to many languages of Western and Eastern Polynesia. In the mythology of Tonga, for example, ʻaitu or ʻeitu are lesser gods, many being patrons of specific villages and families. They often take the form of plants or animals, and are often more cruel than other gods. These trouble-making gods are regarded as having come from Sāmoa.[1] The Tongan word tangi lauʻaitu means to cry from grief, to lament.
In Māori mythology, the word aitu refers to sickness, calamity, or demons; the related word aituā means misfortune, accident, disaster.[2] In Tahitian, aitu (syn. atua/raitu) can mean 'god' or 'spirit';[3] in other languages, including Rarotongan, Samoan, Sikaiana, Kapingamarangi, Takuu, Tuamotuan, and Niuean, aitu are ghosts or spirits.
In Cook Islands Aitu is also the name of ancient tribes who came from the east.
According to tradition, some of the Aitu tribes settled on the islands of Aitutaki, Atiu and Mangaia. At Aitutaki (Aitu-taki) they were eventually destroyed or driven away. At Mangaia they were from time to time slaughtered in order to provide sacrifice to the gods. There still exists at Mangaia the remains of a great oven named te umu Aitu where large numbers of these people were cooked after being slain.
[4]
In the Samoa Islands, aitu also means ghost
Aitvaras is a household spirit in Lithuanian mythology. Other names are Kaukas, Pūkis, Damavykas, Sparyžius, Koklikas, Gausinėlis, Žaltvikšas, and Spirukas. Aitvaras is identical to the Latvian Pūkis. An Aitvaras looks like a white or black rooster with a fiery tail (meteorite). An Aitvaras may hatch from an egg of a 9- to 15-year-old rooster. If the Aitvaras dies, he becomes a spark.
In many cases, this Lithuanian creature is described as having the appearance of a rooster while indoors and the appearance of a dragon outdoors. An Aitvaras will lodge itself in a house and will most often refuse to leave. It brings both good and bad luck to the inhabitants of the house. Aitvaras provide their adopted home with stolen gold and grain, often getting the household into trouble. According to many, an Aitvaras can be purchased from the devil - the price being that person's soul.
In Finnish folklore, Ajatar (also spelled Aiatar, Ajattaro or Ajattara) is a spirit known as "Devil of the Woods". It is an evil female spirit that manifests as a snake or dragon. Ajatar is said to be the mother of the devil. She spreads disease and pestilence, any that look at her become ill, and she suckles serpents. Ajatar is related to the Lithuanian Aitvaras and the Estonian Äi, Äijo or Äijattar. She is in some ways similar to Babylonian Tiamat, dragon mother of the gods and goddesses.
The word "ajatar" is possibly derived from the verb ajattaa, "to make pursue", of Finnish word ajaa, "to pursue" (also: "to drive").
Also Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren pictured Ajatar in her book Ronia the Robber's Daughter. In the book they were dangerous flying creatures with women's heads.
An akateko (赤手児?, lit. "red handed child") is a yōkai, or Japanese monster, from the folklore of Aomori prefecture, specifically in the city of Hachinohe.[1][2] The monster is also a legend local to Kagawa and Fukushima prefectures.[1]
The monster is described as the red hand of a small child descending from a tree. It is accompanied by the spectre of a young woman at the base of the tree whose beauty lulls unsuspecting passerby into a trance or fever state.[1] In Kagawa and Fukushima prefectures, the spirit will travel in pairs, resembling moving feet or legs
In Inuit mythology, Akhlut is an orca spirit that takes the form of a gigantic wolf or a wolf-orca hybrid when on land.[1][2] It is a vicious, dangerous beast that ventured onto land in order to hunt humans and other animals.[1][3] Its tracks can be recognized because they are wolf tracks that lead to and from the ocean, indicating that the creature is waiting for prey under the water nearby.[2] Often, dogs seen walking to the ocean and/or into it are considered evil. Little is known of this spirit other than that it changes from an orca to a wolf when hungry. Not many myths relate to it
Akka is a female spirit in Sami shamanism and Finnish mythology. Worship of the akka was common and took the form of sacrifices, pleas for help and various rituals. Some Sámi believed the akka lived under their tents.
Sami mythology
Akka in Finnish and Estonian mythologies
In Finnish mythology, Akka is the wife of Ukko and is the goddess of fertility. As they make love, thunder rolls. She could be seen as the female side of nature, Maaemonen "mother earth", whom Ukko fertilizes.
In Estonian mythology she is known as Maan-Emo.[4][5]
Akkorokamui (アッコロカムイ) is a gigantic octopus-like monster from Ainu folklore, which supposedly lurks in Funka Bay in Hokkaidō and has been allegedly sighted in several locations including Taiwan and Korea since the 19th century.[1] John Batchelor most notably records an account of this monster in his book The Ainu and Their Folklore when noting, “...three men, it was said, were out trying to catch a sword-fish, when all at once a great sea-monster, with large staring eyes, appeared in front of them and proceeded to attack the boat. The monster was round in shape, and emitted a dark fluid which has a very powerful and noxious odour.”[2] It is said that its enormous body can reach sizes of up to 120 meters in length. The coloration of the Akkorokamui is said to be a striking red, often described as glowing and sometimes likened to the color of the reflection of the setting sun upon the water.[1] Due to its coloration and immense size, it is visible from great distances. It is possibly a giant squid[3] or a giant octopus.
Ainu reverence of this monster has permeated into Shintoism, which has incorporated Akkorokamui as a minor kami. Self purification practices for Akkorokamui are often strictly followed. While Akkorokamui is often presented as a benevolent kami with powers to heal and bestow knowledge, it is fickle and has the propensity to do harm. Akkorokamui’s nature as an octopus means that it is persistent and it is near impossible to escape its grasp without permission. Like other Shinto purification rituals, prior to entering the shrine of Akkorokamui, one’s hands must be cleaned with water with the exception that one’s feet must also be cleaned as well.[4] Akkorokamui enjoys the sea and offerings which reflect this: fish, crab, mollusks, and the like are particular favorites of Akkorokamui, which give back that which it gave. Homage to Akkorokamui is often for ailments of the limbs or skin, but mental purification and spiritual release is particularly important.
Shrines in dedication to Akkorokamui and associated octopus deity are found throughout Japan. In particular, well known shrines include one in Kyoto and the island of Hokkaido that pay homage to Nade yakushi. These shrines, while named to different entities, come from and share various characteristics with Akkorokamui, and as such practices involving healing, renewal, and purification are similar.
Akkorokamui is characteristically described with the ability to self-amputate, like several octopus species, and regenerate limbs. This characteristic manifests in the belief in Shinto that Akkorokamui has healing powers. Consequently, it is believed among followers that giving offerings to Akkorokamui will heal ailments of the body, in particular, disfigurements and broken limbs. Nade yakushi is housed within the Takoyakushi-do, a shrine dedicated to Nade yakushi, along the street Teramachi-dori, meaning “Temple town,” in Kyoto. This deity receives visits by thousands of individuals per year wishing for healing. At the shrine, Nade yakushi is physically manifested as a wooden statue of an octopus. Worshippers believe that when the left hand of an individual touches the limbs of the statue, the individual's ailments, both mental and physical, are removed
Akurojin-no-hi (悪路神の火, "fire of the god of the bad road") is a ghostly flame from the folklore of Mie prefecture. It often appears on rainy nights. People who encounter it and do not run away become gravely ill
Al (or Hal; Armenian: Ալ or Ալք, Mongol: Гал "Qal", Oirat: Һал, Persian: آل, Russian: Алы, Turkish: Al, Azerbaijanese: Xal, ) is a class of demon in the folklore of the Caucasus, Iran, Central Asia, and Armenia. Als are demons of childbirth, interfering with human reproduction. The al is known by various other names, including alk in Armenian and Kurdish, ol, hāl and xāl in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, almasti or albasti in Central Asian Turkic speaking countries, and halmasti among the Dards.
Other languages
Traditions
In Armenian tradition, the als steal the lung, liver and heart of women in childbirth, pregnant women, and women who have just given birth. The als also destroy embryos in the womb, causing miscarriage, and can steal babies forty days after childbirth, replacing them with imps.[1] They are male and female. They have clay noses and fiery eyes, and "appear with sharp fangs, disheveled hair, copper claws, iron teeth, the tusks of a wild boar and sagging breasts, resembling a crone."[3] After stealing the organs of a woman, the al attempts to escape and cross the first source of water, after which the woman cannot be saved. Apotropaic wards against als include methods used against other demons (such as charms, prayers, iron objects, onions, and garlic), and preventing the al from reaching water.[4]
In Iran, the al is "a bony, thin old woman, with a clay nose, red face, and a straw or reedy basket hanging from its shoulder, in which the liver or lung of the young mother is placed."[1] In Central Asia, the al is customarily "a fat, ugly and hairy crone with sagging breasts, the one hanging over one shoulder, while hanging over her other shoulder is a woolen bag ... in which she has placed the heart and liver of her victim."[5]
According to numerous Near Eastern traditions, God created an al for Adam's first consort, but the earth-born Adam couldn't adapt to the al's fiery nature; this is the origin of the enmity between the al and Eve and her daughters.[3]
The al is first documented in European literature in the middle of the 19th century
An ala or hala (plural: ale or hali) is a female mythological creature recorded in the folklore of Bulgarians, Macedonians, and Serbs. Ale are considered demons of bad weather whose main purpose is to lead hail-producing thunderclouds in the direction of fields, vineyards, or orchards to destroy the crops, or loot and take them away. Extremely voracious, ale particularly like to eat children, though their gluttony is not limited to Earth. It is believed they sometimes try devouring the Sun or the Moon, causing eclipses, and that it would mean the end of the world should they succeed. When people encounter an ala, their mental or physical health, or even life, are in peril; however, her favor can be gained by approaching her with respect and trust. Being in a good relationship with an ala is very beneficial, because she makes her favorites rich and saves their lives in times of trouble.
The appearance of an ala is diversely and often vaguely described in folklore. A given ala may look like a black wind, a gigantic creature of indistinct form, a huge-mouthed, humanlike, or snakelike monster, a female dragon, or a raven. An ala may also assume various human or animal shapes, and can even possess a person's body. It is believed that the diversity of appearances described is due to the ala's being a synthesis of a Slavic demon of bad weather and a similar demon of the central Balkans pre-Slavic population.[1] In folk tales with a humanlike ala, her personality is similar to that of the Russian Baba Yaga. Ale are said to live in the clouds, or in a lake, spring, hidden remote place, forest, inhospitable mountain, cave, or gigantic tree.[2] While ale are usually hostile towards humans, they do have other powerful enemies that can defeat them, like dragons. In Christianized tales, St. Elijah takes the dragons' role, but in some cases the saint and the dragons fight ale together. Eagles are also regarded as defenders against ale, chasing them away from fields and thus preventing them from bringing hail clouds overhead.
While some mythological beings are common to all Slavic ethnic groups, ale seem to be exclusive to Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serb folklore. Even so, other Slavic groups also had demons of bad weather. Among East Slavs, this witch was called Baba Yaga, and was imagined as a woman of gigantic stature with a big nose, iron teeth, and protruding chin; it was believed that she ate children, and her presence brought thunderstorms and cold weather. The term baba is present in customs, beliefs, and toponyms of all Slavic groups, usually as a personification of wind, darkness, and rain. This leads some scholars to believe there was a proto-Slavic divinity or demon called Baba, associated with bad weather.[1]
Traces of beliefs in that demon are preserved among South Slavs in expressions for the bad weather common in early spring (baba Marta, babini jarci, babine huke, etc.). Brought to the Balkans from the ancient homeland, these beliefs combined with those of the native populations, eventually developing into the personage of the ala. The pre-Slavic Balkan source of the ala is related to the vlva, female demons of bad weather of the Vlachs of Serbia, who, like ale, led hail clouds over crops to ruin them, and uprooted trees. A Greek female demon Lamia might also have contributed in the development of the ala. Just like ale, she eats children, and is called gluttonous. In southern Serbia and Macedonia, lamnja, a word derived from lamia, is also a synonym for ala.[1] The Bulgarian lamya has remained a creature distinct from the ala, but shares many similarities with her.[2] The numerous variations in form of ale, ranging from the animal and half-animal to the humanlike concepts, tell us that beliefs in these demons were not uniform
While some mythological beings are common to all Slavic ethnic groups, ale seem to be exclusive to Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serb folklore. Even so, other Slavic groups also had demons of bad weather. Among East Slavs, this witch was called Baba Yaga, and was imagined as a woman of gigantic stature with a big nose, iron teeth, and protruding chin; it was believed that she ate children, and her presence brought thunderstorms and cold weather. The term baba is present in customs, beliefs, and toponyms of all Slavic groups, usually as a personification of wind, darkness, and rain. This leads some scholars to believe there was a proto-Slavic divinity or demon called Baba, associated with bad weather.[1]
Traces of beliefs in that demon are preserved among South Slavs in expressions for the bad weather common in early spring (baba Marta, babini jarci, babine huke, etc.). Brought to the Balkans from the ancient homeland, these beliefs combined with those of the native populations, eventually developing into the personage of the ala. The pre-Slavic Balkan source of the ala is related to the vlva, female demons of bad weather of the Vlachs of Serbia, who, like ale, led hail clouds over crops to ruin them, and uprooted trees. A Greek female demon Lamia might also have contributed in the development of the ala. Just like ale, she eats children, and is called gluttonous. In southern Serbia and Macedonia, lamnja, a word derived from lamia, is also a synonym for ala.[1] The Bulgarian lamya has remained a creature distinct from the ala, but shares many similarities with her.[2] The numerous variations in form of ale, ranging from the animal and half-animal to the humanlike concepts, tell us that beliefs in these demons were not uniform
The demon’s name in the standard Serbian, ala, comes from dialects which lost the velar fricative, while hala is recorded in a Serbian dialect which has retained this sound and in Bulgarian. For this reason, it is believed that the original name had an initial h-sound, a fact that has led Serbian scholar Ljubinko Radenković to reject the etymology given by several dictionaries, including that of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, by which the demon’s name comes from the Turkish word ‘ala’ (snake) as that word lacks the h-sound.[3] The name may instead stem from the Greek word for hail, χάλαζα (pronounced [ˈxalaza]; transliterated chalaza). This etymology is proposed by Bulgarian scholar Ivanichka Georgieva,[4] and supported by Bulgarian scholar Rachko Popov[5] and Serbian scholars Slobodan Zečević,[1] and Sreten Petrović.[6] According to Serbian scholar Marta Bjeletić, ala and hala stem from the noun *xala in Proto-South-Slavic, the dialect of Proto-Slavic from which South Slavic languages emerged (x in xala represents the voiceless velar fricative). That noun was derived from the Proto-Slavic root *xal-, denoting the fury of the elements.[7]
Appearance
Dragon or serpent like demon connected with the wind, and thunderstorm and hail clouds. It was believed in the Gruža region of central Serbia that the ala is invisible, but that she can be heard — her powerful hissing resonated in front of the dark hail clouds.[1]
In Bulgaria, farmers saw a horrible ala with huge wings and sword-like thick tail in the contours of a dark cloud. When an ala–cloud overtook the village, villagers peered into the sky hoping to see an imperial eagle emerging there. They believed that the mighty bird with a cross on its back could banish the ala–cloud from the fields.[8] In eastern Bulgaria, ala appeared not in clouds, but in gales and whirlwinds.[9] In other regions of Bulgaria, the ala was seen either as a "bull with huge horns, a black cloud, dark fog or a snake-like monster with six wings and twelve tails". The ala is thought to inhabit remote mountain areas or caves, in which she keeps bad weather. In Bulgarian tradition, thunderstorms and hail clouds were interpreted as a battle between the good dragon or eagle and the evil ala.[5]
Serbs in Kosovo believed that the ala lowers her tail to the ground and hides her head in the clouds. Anyone who saw her head became instantly insane. In a high relief carved above a window of the Visoki Dečani monastery’s church, an eagle clutches a snakelike ala while an eaglet looks on.[10] According to a description from eastern Serbia, the ala is a very large creature with a snake’s body and a horse’s head. A very common opinion is that the ala is the sister of the dragon, and looks more or less like him.[2] In a spell from eastern Serbia, the ala is described as a three-headed snake:[11]
In one mouth she bears fairies and winds,the second mouth – infirmity and bad diseases,the third mouth – spells, curses.
By a description recorded in the Boljevac region, the ala is a black and horrible creature in the form of wind. Similarly, in the Homolje region of eastern Serbia, the people imagine the ala as a black wind moving over the land. Wherever she goes, a whirlwind blows, turning like a drill, and those who get exposed to the whirlwind go mad. In Bulgaria too, the ala is a violent wind that sweeps up everything in its way and brings havoc:[12]
A belief from the Leskovac region states the ala is a monster with an enormous mouth who holds in her hand a big wooden spoon, with which she grabs and devours everything that gets in her way. One story has it that a man kept such an ala in his barn; she drank thirty liters of milk every day. Another warns that ale in the form of twelve ravens used to take the crops from vineyards.[3]
In eastern Serbia it was believed that ale who interact with people can metamorphose into humans or animals, after which their true selves can be seen only by so-called šestaci – men with six fingers on both hands and six toes on both feet – though human-looking ale cause houses to shake when they enter.[13] By a belief recorded in the Homolje region, ale that charge to the Moon also display shapeshifting abilities: they repeatedly shift from their basic shape of two-headed snakes to six-fingered men who hold iron pitchforks, black young bulls, big boars, or black wolves, and back.[3]
Effect on humans The locals of the Kopaonik mountain (depicted) believed that the local ala defended the crops from outsider ale.
Ale primarily destroy crops in fields, vineyards, and orchards by leading hail storm clouds overhead, usually during the first half of the summer when grain crops ripen. Ale are also believed to “drink the crops”, or seize the crops of a village and transport them to another place in their huge ears, thereby making some villages poor, and others rich. This was held as the reason why the Aleksandrovac region in central Serbia was so fruitful: it was where ale transported their loot. The people of Kopaonik mountain believed the local ala defended the crops of the area from other ale. If hail destroyed the crops, it was thought that an ala from another area had defeated the local ala and “drunk the crops”. Ale can also spread themselves over fields and thwart the ripening of the crops, or worse, consume the field's fertility, and drink the milk from sheep, especially when it thunders. Ale also possess great strength; when a storm uprooted trees, the people believed that an ala had done it.[1][3] This resulted in a saying for a very strong man: jak kao ala, "as strong as an ala".
At the sight of hail and thunderstorm clouds, i.e. the ala that leads them, people did not just sit and wait – they resorted to magic. In the Pomoravlje region, this magic was assisted by ala’s herbs, picked in levees and the places on a field where a plow turns around during plowing. These locations were considered unclean because ale visited them. In folk spells of eastern Serbia, a particular ala could be addressed by a female personal name: Smiljana, Kalina, Magdalena, Dobrica, Dragija, Zagorka, etc. An expression for addressing an ala – Maate paletinke – is of uncertain meaning. One of the spells that was used upon sighting hail clouds, and which explicitly mentioned an ala, was shouted in the direction of the clouds:[13]
Another spell was spoken by a vračara, a woman versed in magic, while she performed a suitable ritual:[14]
Не, ало, овамо,
овамо је грђа ала гологлава.
У планину, облаче,
где петао не пева,
где пас не лаје,
где краве не ричу,
где овце не блеје,
где се слава не слави.
Not hither, ala,a mightier, bareheaded ala is here.Off into the mountain,[A] cloud,where no rooster crows,where no dog barks,where no cows bellow,where no sheep bleat,where slavais not celebrated.
As several other supernatural entities were also held responsible for bringing hail and torrential rains, when the entity is not explicitly named, it is often impossible to conclude to which the magical measures apply. There was, for example, a custom used when the approach of a thunderstorm was perceived: to bring a table in front of the house, and to put bread, salt, a knife with a black sheath, and an axe with its edge directed skywards on the table. By another custom, a fireplace trivet with its legs directed skywards, knives, forks, and the stub of the Slava candle were put on the table.[14]
Another characteristic attributed to the ala is extreme voracity; in the Leskovac region, she was imagined as a monster with a huge mouth and a wooden spoon in her hand, with which she grabbed and devoured whatever came her way. According to a widely spread tradition, ale used to seize children and devour them in her dwelling, which was full of children’s bones and spilt blood. Less often, they attacked and ate adults; they were able to find a hidden human by smell.[1][3]
People in eastern and southern Serbia believed that ale, in their voracity, attacked the Sun and the Moon. They gradually ate more and more of those celestial bodies, thereby causing an eclipse. During an eclipse, the Sun turned red because it was covered with its own blood as a result of the ale’s bites; when it shined brightly again, that meant it had defeated the ale. The spots on the Moon were seen as scars from the ale’s bites. While ale devoured the Sun or the Moon, many elderly people became depressed and even wept in fear. If ale succeeded in devouring the Sun, the world would end. To prevent that, men shot their guns toward the eclipse or rang bells, and women cast spells incessantly. There was a notion in the Homolje region that, if ale succeeded in devouring the Moon, the Sun would die from sorrow, and darkness would overwhelm the world.[3][13]
Ale were believed to be able to make men insane; in eastern Serbia there is a special term for such a man: alosan. When people encountered an ala on a road or field, they could get dangerous diseases from her.[3] Ale are also responsible for dogs’ rabies, although indirectly: a skylark that reaches the clouds and encounters an ala there goes mad (alosan), plunges to the ground, and so kills itself; a dog that finds and eats the bird goes mad too.[13]
Traversing a crossroads at night was considered dangerous because it was the place and time of the ala’s supper; the unfortunate person who stepped on an “ala’s table” could become blind, deaf, or lame.[6] Ale gather at night on the eves of greater holidays, divert men from their ways into gullies, and torture them there by riding them like horses.[13]
Ala can “sneak” into humans, gaining a human form while retaining their own properties. A tradition has it that an ala sneaked into St. Simeon, which made him voracious,[B] but St. Sava took her out of him. In a tale recorded in eastern Serbia and Bulgaria, a farmer killed an ala who possessed a skinny man living in a distant village, because the ala destroyed his vineyard. In another story, an ala gets into a deceased princess and devours the soldiers on watch.[3]
A human going into an ala’s house, which is frequently deep in a forest, but may also be in the clouds, in a lake, spring, cave, gigantic tree, or other hidden remote place, or on an inhospitable mountain,[2] can have varied consequences. If he approaches the ala with an appeal, and does not mention the differences between her and humans, he will be rewarded. Otherwise, he will be cruelly punished. According to one story, a stepdaughter, driven away from home by her stepmother, comes to an ala’s house; addresses her with the word mother; picks lice from the ala’s hair full of worms; and feeds the ala’s “livestock” of owls, wolves, badgers, and other wild animals; behaving and talking as if these things are quite normal to her, and is rewarded by the ala with a chest filled with gold. When the stepmother’s daughter comes to the ala’s house, she does the opposite, and the ala punishes her and her mother by sending them a chest of snakes, which blind them. In another example, when a prince asks an ala for her daughter’s hand, she saves him from other ale, and helps him get married. But when a girl to whom an ala is the godmother visits the ala with her mother, the ala eats them both because the mother talked about the strange things in her house.[3]
That even a dead ala is bad is seen in the legend explaining the origin of the Golubatz fly (Simulium colombaschense),[15] a species of bloodsucking black fly (genus Simulium) that can be lethal to livestock. The legend, recorded in the Požarevac District in the 19th century by Vuk Karadžić, tells how a Serbian man, after a chase, caught and wounded an ala, but she broke away and fled into a cave near Golubac (a town in the district), where she died of the wounds. Ever since, her body has bred the Golubatz flies, and in late spring, they fly out of the cave in a big swarm, spreading as far as Šumadija. People walled up the cave’s opening once, but when the time came for the flies to swarm, the wall shattered.[16]
Aloviti men Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja was believed to have been aloviti(ala-like).
In Serbia, men believed to possess properties of an ala were called aloviti (ala-like) men, and they were given several explanations. An ala may have sneaked into them; these were recognized by their voracity, because the ala, in order to satisfy her excessive hunger, drove them to eat incessantly. They may also have survived an ala blowing on them – an ala’s breath is usually lethal to humans. These people would then become exceptionally strong. Alternatively, they could be the offspring of an ala and a woman, or could have been born covered with the caul. It was believed that aloviti men could not be killed with a gun or arrow, unless gold or silver was used.[17]
Like ale, aloviti men led hail-producing and thunderstorm clouds: when the skies darkened, such a man would fall into a trance, and his spirit would fly out of his body toward the clouds as if his spirit were an ala herself. There was, however, a significant difference – he never led the clouds over the fields of his own village; the damage was done to the neighboring villages.[17] In this respect, aloviti men are equivalent to zduhaći. Besides leading clouds away, an aloviti man could also fight against ale to protect his village.[3] Children, too, could be aloviti, and they fought ale using plough beams. In these fights they were helped by the Aesculapian snake (smuk in Serbian), and for this reason people would not hurt these snakes.[7]
There is a story about an aloviti man, who is described as unusually tall, thin, bony-faced, and with a long beard and moustache. When the weather was nice, he worked and behaved like the other people in his village, but as soon as the dark clouds covered the sky, he used to close himself in his house, put blinds on the windows, and remain alone and in a trance as long as the bad weather and thunder lasted.[17] Historical persons believed to be aloviti men are Stefan Nemanja,[17] and Stefan Dečanski.[6]
In modern Serbian adjective ''alav'' still signifies voracious appetite.[18]
Adversaries In folklore, St. Elijah often replaces the pagan dragon as the ala’s main opponent.
Ale have several adversaries, including dragons, zmajeviti (dragon-like) men, eagles, St. Elijah, and St. Sava. The principal enemy of the ala is the dragon; he is able to defeat her and eliminate her harmful effects. Dragons are thus seen as guardians of the fields and harvest, and as protectors against bad weather. When an ala threatens by bringing hail clouds, a dragon comes out to fight with her and drive her away. His main weapon is lightning; thunder represents a fight between ale and dragons (during which ale hide in tall trees). An instance of a more abundant crop at a particular point is explained in the Pčinja region as a result of a dragon having struck an ala with lightning just over that place, making her drop the looted grains she had been carrying in her huge ears. If an ala finds a dragon in a hollow tree, however, she can destroy him by burning the tree.[1][3][8]
Ale can be defeated by zmajeviti men, who have a human mother, but a dragon father. They look like ordinary people except for little wings beneath their armpits; such men are always born at night after a twelve-month term.[19] Much like a zduhać, a zmajeviti man lives like everybody else when the weather is nice, but when an ala leads threatening clouds into sight, he falls into a trance and his spirit comes out of his body and flies up to the clouds to fight with the ala, just like a dragon would do. A story from Banat, which was held as true until the 1950s, says that before World War I, an exhausted ala in the form of a giant snake fell from the clouds onto a road. The explanation of the event was that the ala was defeated in her fight with a zmajeviti man; people gave her milk to help her recover.[1][3]
In a Christianized version, the duel involves the Christian St. Elijah and the ala, but there is a belief that the saint and the dragons in fact cooperate: as soon as St. Elijah spots an ala, he summons the dragons, either takes them aboard his chariot or harnesses them to it, and they jointly shoot the ala with lightning. Arrow-shaped stones, like belemnites or stone-age arrowheads, are regarded as materialized lightning bolts imbued with a beneficial magical power, and finding one is a good omen.[19]
In a more Christianized version, St. Elijah shoots lightning at the devils who lead the hail clouds; the devils in this case are obviously ale. As shown by these examples, beliefs with various degrees of Christianization, from none to almost complete, can exist side by side.[1]
An eagle’s appearance in the sky when thunderclouds threatened was greeted with joy and hope by people who trusted in their power to defeat an ala; after defeating the ala, the eagle led the clouds away from the fields. An explanation for this, recorded in eastern Serbia, is that the eagles which nest in the vicinity of a village want thunderstorms and hail as far as possible from their nestlings, so coincidentally protect the village’s fields as well. The role of eagles, however, was controversial, because in the same region there was a belief that an eagle flying in front of thunderstorm clouds was a manifestation of an ala, leading the clouds toward the crops, rather than driving them away.[1]
Connection with Baba Yaga
Comparing folk tales, there are similarities between the ala and the Russian Baba Yaga. The aforementioned motif of a stepdaughter coming to an ala’s house in a forest is recorded among Russians too – there a stepdaughter comes to Baba Yaga’s house and feeds her “livestock”. Similar are also the motifs of an ala (by Serbs) and Baba Yaga (by Russians) becoming godmothers to children whom they later eat because the children discover their secret. In the Serbian example, the mother of an ala’s godchild speaks with the ala, and in the Russian, the godchild speaks with Baba Yaga.[3]
Serbian tale(...) Yesterday, the woman went to the ala’s house with her child, the ala’s godchild. Upon entering the first room, she saw a poker and a broom fighting; in the second room, she saw human legs; in the fourth – human flesh; in the fifth – blood; in the sixth – she saw that the ala had taken off her head and was delousing it, while wearing a horse’s head in its place. After that, the ala brought lunch and said to the woman, “Eat, kuma.”[C] “How can I eat after I saw a poker and a broom fighting in the first room?” “Eat, kuma, eat. Those are my maids: they fight about which one should take the broom and sweep.” “How can I eat after I saw human arms and legs in the second and third rooms?” And the ala told her, “Eat, kuma, eat. That is my food.” “How can I eat, kuma, after I saw the sixth room full of blood?” “Eat, kuma, eat. That is the wine that I drink.” “How can I eat after I saw that you had taken your head off and were delousing it, having fixed a horse’s head on yourself?” The ala, after hearing that, ate both the woman and her child.Russian tale(...) On her name day, the girl goes to her godmother’s house with cakes to treat her. She comes to the gate – the gate is closed with a human leg; she goes into the yard – there a barrel full of blood; she goes up the stairs – there dead children; the porch is closed with an arm; on the floor – arms, legs; the door is closed with a finger. Baba Yaga comes to meet her at the door and asks her, “Have you seen anything, my dear, on your way to my house?” “I saw,” the girl answers, “the gate closed with a leg.” “That is my iron latch.” “I saw a barrel in the yard full of blood.” “That is my wine, my darling.” “I saw children lying on the stairs.” “Those are my pigs.” “The porch is closed with an arm.” “That is my latch, my golden one.” “I saw in the house a hairy head.” “That is my broom, my curly one,” said Baba Yaga, then got angry with her prying goddaughter and ate her.
The two examples witness the chthonic nature of these mythological creatures: a hero can enter the chthonic space and discover the secret of that world, but he is not allowed to relate that secret to other humans. Both the ala and Baba Yaga can be traced back to an older concept of a female demonic divinity: the snakelike mistress of the underworld.
Persian/ Urdu Alal or Allal, in 12th century Persia was believed to be one of the names of the queen of the full moon, princess of hearts, or mother of the sky.
The legend of Alal is celebrated across south Iran and parts of the Middle East.
There are a range of Myths that portray Alal to be the Greek Aphrodite or the Roman Venus, Goddess of Love. She was believed to be the daughter of a wine merchant who ran away to a nearby river and fell in love with nature. Alal was known to be the symbol of charisma and love. She was described to have a voice that was flowing and musical along with eloquence and affection.
The Alal was typically described to be crowned with dark hair, large lustrous eyes and a round doll-like complexion. Many of the antique Persian miniatures often outlined her certain characteristics. The 17th and 18th century Persian court poets, described her to be a beautiful yet mysterious socialite that possessed a heart of gold with extreme radiance. She was known to be a rare and striking beauty, too glorious to live on Earth, and was moved to the Sky, where she resides in her palace amongst the stars, and became as we know her today, the Moon.
The Alan are deformed spirits from the folklore of the Tinguian tribe of the Philippines. They have wings and can fly, and their fingers and toes point backwards.[1]
The Alan are said to take drops of menstrual blood, miscarried fetuses, afterbirth, or other reproductive waste and transform them into human children, whom they then raise as their own. They live near springs in extremely fine houses, made of gold and other valuables.
Basic Legend
A Tinguian was once walking along a trail in the woods when he heard a strange sound in a large tree near him, and looking up he was startled to see that it was the home of the Alan-spirits who live in the wood.
He stopped and gazed for a moment at the horrible creatures, large as people, hanging from the limbs of the tree with their heads down like bats. They had wings to fly, and their toes were at the back of their feet, while their long fingers, which pointed backward, were fastened at the wrist.
"Surely," thought the man, "these terrible beings will eat me if they can catch me. I will run away as fast as I can while they are asleep." He tried to run but he was too frightened, and after a few steps he fell face down on the ground.
At this the Alan began to wail loudly, for they saw him fall and believed him dead. They came down out of the tree with gold and beads which they laid on him.
After a while the man gathered courage and, jumping up, he cried as loudly as he could, "Go away!"
The Alan did not move, but they looked at him and said: "Give us the one bead nagaba [a peculiar bead of double effect], and you may have the rest." When the man refused to do this, they were angry and turned away, crying, "Then we are going to burn your house, for you are a bad man."
Thereupon the man went home as fast as he could go, but very soon after that his house burned, for the Alan kept their word.
And then...This Alan creature passed his legacy on to those that came forth and were worthy creatures of the gift. So, from generation to generation the Alan creatures can be seen.
Origin: Greek
Parents: Eris
Description: Goddesses of suffering. The Algea are referred to as being "full of weeping,” and they governed suffering of both body and mind.
There are three:
The Alicanto or Allicanto is a mythological bird of the desert of Atacama, pertaining to Chilean mythology.
Legend
The legend says that the alicanto's wings shine during the night with beautiful, metallic colors, and their eyes emit strange lights; making a luminous flight some would not project shade on the desert.
This bird brings luck to any miner who sees it. Alicantos live in small caves between hills containing minerals, and feed on gold and silver.
If the lucky miner follows an alicanto without being caught, they can find silver or gold. But, if the alicanto discovers them, the bird will guide the greedy miner off a cliff, causing them to fall to their death.
Alicanto should not be confused with the Alicante, a fictional Mexican snake that drinks mother's milk and impregnates women, or uses the human stomach as a living place.
A winged unicorn is a fictional horse with wings like Pegasus and the horn of a unicorn. This creature has no specific name, but in some literature and media, it has been referred to as an "alicorn", which is a historical word for the horn of a unicorn.[1]
Winged unicorns have been depicted in art. Ancient Achaemenid Assyrian seals bear depictions of winged unicorns and winged bulls as representations of evil.[2][3]
Irish poet W. B. Yeats wrote of imagining a winged beast that he associated with laughing, ecstatic destruction. The beast took the form of a winged unicorn in his 1907 play The Unicorn from the Stars and later that of the rough beast slouching towards Bethlehem in his poem "The Second Coming."[4]
In the continuity of Hasbro's My Little Pony and its related media after 2010 (including its My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic television series), winged unicorns[note 1] play a role as ponies of royal status. Members of the "Falcoknight" class in the Fire Emblem series ride winged unicorns.
The Alkonost is, according to Russian mythos and folklore, a creature with the body of a bird but the head of a beautiful woman. It makes sounds that are amazingly beautiful, and those who hear these sounds forget everything they know and want nothing more ever again.[1] She lives in the underworld with her counterpart the sirin.[2] The alkonost lays her eggs on a beach and then rolls them into the sea. When the alkonost's eggs hatch, a thunderstorm sets in and the sea becomes so rough that it is untravelable. The name of the alkonost came from a Greek demigoddess whose name was Alcyone. In Greek mythology, Alcyone was transformed by the gods into a kingfisher
In heraldry, the Allocamelus (AKA Ass-Camel) was the depiction of a mythical creature with the head of a donkey and the body of a camel. It is the legendary representation of the llama. It was first used as a crest for the English Eastland Company, and later by the Russia Company.
The Almas or Alma (Mongolian: Алмас/Almas, Bulgarian: Алмас, Chechen: Алмазы, Turkish: Albıs), Mongolian for "wild man", is a purported hominid cryptozoological species reputed to inhabit the Caucasus and Pamir Mountains of central Asia, and the Altai Mountains of southern Mongolia.[1] The creature is not currently recognized or cataloged by science. Furthermore, scientists generally reject the possibility that such megafauna cryptids exist, because of the improbably large numbers necessary to maintain a breeding population,[2] and because climate and food supply issues make their survival in reported habitats unlikely.[3]
Description
Almas is a singular word in Mongolian; the properly formed Turkic plural would be 'almaslar'.[4] As is typical of similar legendary creatures throughout Central Asia, Russia, Pakistan and the Caucasus, the Almas is generally considered to be more akin to "wild people" in appearance and habits than to apes (in contrast to the Yeti of the Himalayas).
Almases are typically described as human-like bipedal animals, between five and six and a half feet tall, their bodies covered with reddish-brown hair, with anthropomorphic facial features including a pronounced browridge, flat nose, and a weak chin.[5] Many cryptozoologists believe there is a similarity between these descriptions and modern reconstructions of how Neanderthals might have appeared.[6]
Evidence
Speculation that Almases may be something other than legendary creatures is based on purported eyewitness accounts, alleged footprint finds, and interpretations of long-standing native traditions that have been anthropologically collected.[7]
Folk tales
Almases appear in the legends of local people, who tell stories of sightings and human-Almas interactions dating back several hundred years.
Drawings interpreted as Almas also appear in a Tibetan medicinal book. British anthropologist Myra Shackley noted that "The book contains thousands of illustrations of various classes of animals (reptiles, mammals and amphibia), but not one single mythological animal such as are known from similar medieval European books. All the creatures are living and observable today." (1983, p. 98)
Famous sightings
Sightings recorded in writing go as far back as the 15th century.
In 1420, Hans Schiltberger recorded his personal observation of these creatures in the journal of his trip to Mongolia as a prisoner of the Mongol Khan. Schiltberger also recorded one of the first European sightings of Przewalski horses. (Manuscript in the Munich Municipal Library, Sign. 1603, Bl. 210)(Shackley, 94). He noted that Almasty are part of the Mongolian and Tibetan apothecary's materia medica, along with thousands of other animals and plants that live today.[8]
British anthropologist Myra Shackley in Still Living? describes Ivan Ivlov's 1963 observation of a family group of Almas. Ivlov, a pediatrician, decided to interview some of the Mongolian children who were his patients, and discovered that many of them had also said that they had seen Almases and that neither the Mongol children nor the young Almas were afraid of each other. Ivlov's driver also claimed to have seen them (Shackley, 91).
Alleged captive Almas
A wildwoman named Zana is said to have lived in the isolated mountain village of T'khina fifty miles from Sukhumi in Abkhazia in the Caucasus; some have speculated she may have been an Almas, but the evidence indicates that she was a human.
Captured in the mountains in 1850, she was at first violent towards her captors but soon became domesticated and assisted with simple household chores. Zana is said to have had sexual relations with a man of the village named Edgi Genaba, and gave birth to a number of children of apparently normal human appearance. Several of these children, however, died in infancy.[9]
The father, meanwhile, gave away four of the surviving children to local families. The two boys, Dzhanda and Khwit Genaba (born 1878 and 1884), and the two girls, Kodzhanar and Gamasa Genaba (born 1880 and 1882), were assimilated into normal society, married, and had families of their own. Zana herself died in 1890. The skull of Khwit (also spelled Kvit) is still extant, and was examined by Dr. Grover Krantz in the early 1990s. He pronounced it to be entirely modern, with no Neanderthal features at all. Another account by Russian anthropologist M.A.Kolodieva described the skull as significantly different from the normal males from Abkhazia: the skull "approaches closest the Neolithic Vovnigi II skulls of the fossil series".[9]
In the 2013 Channel 4 documentary, Bigfoot Files, Professor Bryan Sykes of the University of Oxford showed that Zana's DNA was 100% Sub-Saharan African in origin and she could have been a slave brought to Abkhazia by the Ottoman Empire[10] Sykes however raised questions as to whether Zana could have been from a population of Africans who left the continent tens of thousands of years earlier as her son, Khwit's skull had some unique and archaic characteristics.
In 2015, Prof. Sykes reported that he had run DNA tests on saliva samples of six of Zana's living relatives and a tooth of her deceased son Khwit and concluded that Zana was 100% African but not of any known group, refuting the theory that she was a runaway Ottoman slave. Rather, he believes her people left Africa approximately 100,000 years ago and lived in the remote Caucasus for many generations.[11]
Another case is said to date from around 1941, shortly after the German invasion of the USSR. A "wild man" was captured somewhere in the Caucasus by a detachment of the Red Army. He appeared human, but was covered in fine, dark hair. Interrogation revealed his apparent inability (or unwillingness) to speak, and the unfortunate creature is said to have been shot as a German spy. There are various versions of this legend in the cryptozoological literature and hard proof is absent.[12]
Explanations
Myra Shackley and Bernard Heuvelmans have speculated that the Almases are a relict population of Neanderthals, while Loren Coleman suggests surviving specimens of Homo erectus.[5] They have been connected to the Denisova hominin.[13] Descriptions of Almases are similar to that of the Yeti of the Himalayas.
Al-mi'raj (Arabic: المعراج al-mi'raj) is a mythical beast from Islamic poetry said to live on a mysterious island called Jezîrat al-Tennyn within the confines of the Indian Ocean.[1] Its name can be broken up several different ways, though is generally seen truncated as Mi'raj, Mir'aj or just Miraj. Its name is also synonymous with Muhammad's ascent into heaven.
Al-mi'raj is a large, harmless-looking yellow rabbit with a single, 2-foot-long (0.61 m), black, spiraling horn protruding from its forehead, much like that of a unicorn.
Despite its docile appearance, Al-Mir'aj is actually a ferociously territorial predator known to be able to kill animals and people many times their own size with a few stabs of its horn. It also has an immense appetite and can devour other living things several times its size without effort. Al-Mir'aj frightens other animals and they will always flee from its presence due to this.
The people of the island were so terrified of Al-Mi'raj eating them and their livestock that they would turn to witches to ward them away as soon as the rumor of a Miraj met their ears. It was reported that only a true witch would charm the Miraj, rendering it harmless so the people could remove the Miraj from the area
It is possible this myth originates from observations of the effects of any one of several diseases in rabbits that can create horn-like growths upon the bodies of animals, most commonly Fibromatosis and Papillomatosis.
Papillomatosis is the result of a virus infecting the skin, causing a large, red, swelling growth on the skin of the subject.[2] These red marks may have appeared to be where horns had broken off or were shed. Fibromatosis is a similar virus which infects the skin and causes the flesh of the rabbit to mat with hair, hardening into long, hard horn-like protrusions.[3] Both diseases could account for the appearance of wild, fierce (with pain) rabbits with "horns" as infected specimens have been found, catalogued and are well documented
Pronounced: Am-a-zon-z
Origin: Greek
Also Known as " Antianeirai- Those who go to war like men" and " Androktones- Killer of males"
Description: A race of extremely Beautiful and larger than average human sized woman, who live with only woman and train to be fierce Warriors.
Weapons: Bows and arrows (Main), Sword, Double Axe, Crescent shield called a "pelta"
Cloths: Short tunic with a girdle, or animal skins
Gods:
Way of Life: Cut or burned right breast off to draw bow back better. they battled on top of horses.
Reproduction: took prisoners ( the most handsome men) and used for sexual pleasure, then they either killed or enslaved them.
Children:
Books: The Foretelling, Son of Neptune
Pronounced: Ah-Men-Ra
Origin: Egyptian
Name Meaning: Hidden Light
Description: A red eyed Man With a lions head that was surrounded by a solar disk. Before Amen Ra excited, he was known as Amen until he was fused with Ra, The sun god. Amen Ra is the god of Sun, Fertility and Wind.
Origin: Egyptian
Name Meaning: Devour, Soul Eater
Description: A female Demon that was part lion, hippo, and Crocodile. ( The three largest man eaters in Africa)
She was a funerary Deity, Her tittles included
It was believed that when the heart was being judged in the after life, If it was judged impure she would eat the heart and the soul would become restless and not be allowed to continue its journey towards Osiris and immortality. Once Ammit swallowed the heart, the soul was believed to become restless forever; this was called "to die a second time" She was not a worshiped deity; instead she embodied all that the Egyptians feared, threatening to bind them to eternal restlessness if they did not follow the principle of Ma'at.
Ammit was also sometimes said to stand by a lake of fire. In some traditions, the unworthy hearts were cast into the fiery lake to be destroyed. Some scholars believe Ammit and the lake represent the same concept of destruction.
Inhabits: lived near the scales of justice in Duat, the Egyptian underworld.
Origin: Greek
Pronounced:
Mother:Eris
Description: Female spirit of Disputes, Debates & Contention
Origin: Judaism and Greek
Description: Azrael, The archangel of death. 4 faces, four thousand wings, whole body of eyes and tongues the number of which correspondences with the number of people on the planet. He will be the last to die.
Archangel Samael, Grim reaper skeletal figure carrying large scythe in cloak and hood. Can cause death which lead to myth that he could be tricked, bribed, or outwitted to retain life or just guide those who die to the next world.
Greek (Hellenic): Bearded and winged man or young boy ( thantos- death is male, life is female) His brother twin hypnos, and sister keres spirits of violent death. they are evil and feed of the blood of bodies. they have fangs, talons and bloody garments.
Anubis was the son of two of the Gods ( Osiris and Nephthys) who feature in the Ennead. The Ennead was the collective name given to the nine original deities (Gods and Goddesses) of the cosmogony of Heliopolis (the birthplace of the Gods) in the creation myths and legends.
Anubis was one of the Gods of the dead. His main roles were in the cemeteries and mummification processes. It was Anubis's job to open, and escort the recently deceased to the TUAT, also known as the underworld.
Origin: Greek
Pronounced: Ah-Pay-T
Parents: Nyx
Description: Goddess and Personification of Deceit. She was one of the evil spirits released from Pandora's box.
Sumerian myth: 7 bird headed, fish bodied sages, demigods who are said to have been created by the god Enki to establish culture and give civilization to mankind.
Origin: Greek
Becomes the first spider, skilled in weaving beautiful fabrics that had a complicated design. Spiders called arachnids after her.
Versions
There are three versions of this story, two in which Arachne wins and one in which Athena wins.
Ovid's version:
In this version, Arachne was a shepherd's daughter who began weaving at an early age. She became a great weaver, boasted that her skill was greater than that of Athena, and refused to acknowledge that her skill came, in part at least, from the goddess. Athena took offense and set up a contest between them. Presenting herself as an old lady, she approached the boasting girl and warned: "You can never compare to any of the gods. Plead for forgiveness and Athena might spare your soul."
"Ha, I only speak the truth and if Athena thinks otherwise then let her come down and challenge me herself," Arachne replied. Athena removed her disguise and appeared in shimmering glory, clad in a sparkling white chiton. The two began weaving straight away. Athena's weaving represented four separate contests between mortals and the gods in which the gods punished mortals for setting themselves as equals of the gods. Arachne's weaving depicted ways that the gods had misled and abused mortals, particularly Zeus, tricking and seducing many women. When Athena saw that Arachne had not only insulted the gods, but done so with a work far more beautiful than Athena's own, she was enraged. She ripped Arachne's work into shreds, and sprinkled her with Hecate's potion, turning her into a spider and cursing her and her descendants to weave for all time. This showed how goddesses punished those human for wanting to be equals.
Athena wins:
In this version, someone asked Arachne how she learned to weave so well and suggested that Athena taught her and she didn't know it. Arachne dismissed this and boasted that she could teach Athena a thing or two in weaving. Athena then appeared in the doorway, wrapped in a long cloak, and asked if she really didn't believe that Athena had taught her to weave. Arachne repeated her boast and Athena challenged her to a contest in which Jupiter (Zeus) was to be the judge. Whoever lost must promise never to touch spindle or loom again. Arachne wove a web thin yet strong with many colours. This was no match for Athena's weaving, made up of the gods and their glory, shining with their beauty.
Arachne acknowledged Athena's triumph, but despaired at the loss of her craft. Athena saw that Arachne could not live if she could not weave, so she touched Arachne with the tip of her spear, turning her into a spider so she could weave without spindle or loom.
Arachne hangs herself:
In this version of the myth, Arachne was a blessed weaver of Greece. People asked her if she had been taught weaving by Athena herself, the goddess of wisdom. Although this was meant as a compliment, Arachne became angry. She thought that her skill was greater than the goddess's. Hearing of her attitude, Athena appeared on her doorway disguised as an old woman in a dark cloak. She asked her to respect the gods and goddesses, but Arachne just laughed, and said that even if Athena herself challenged her, it would be an easy win. Athena then revealed herself and challenged Arachne to a competition. The loser would promise never to weave again.
Athena wove a tapestry of the people of Greece, with Poseidon and Athena over them, deciding whose name should be given to the city of Athens. Arachne wove a tapestry about Zeus, and his seduction of Europa and others. Athena saw that although Arachne had insulted the gods, her work was so beautiful that Athena herself was awed. She realized that Arachne couldn't live without weaving. To make Arachne realize her mistake and also to teach her to respect the gods and their works, she touched Arachne's forehead with the tip of her hand. The magic worked only partially, filling Arachne with guilt for her insolence, and she hung herself. Out of pity, Athena brought Arachne back to life as a spider, so that she and her descendants could weave all their lives
In Celtic mythology, Arduinna was the eponymous goddess of the Ardennes Forest and region, represented as a huntress riding a boar. Her cult originated in what is today known as Ardennes, a region of Belgium, Luxembourg and France.
Arianrhod; Welsh goddess of the stars, Arianrhod is a moon goddess and a star goddess. She's said to be the goddess of reincarnation and karma. Pay attention to what I state here because these are areas that she can help you with in your life. She is said to be of beauty and fertility. She has influence over your memories of your past lives so if you want to be able to remember those and want some help with that area, she just may be able to help. She is also said to have influence over general difficulties that life may throw your way. Arianrhod was one of the major Celtic Goddesses, known often as the goddess of the silver wheel. Worshipped as a goddess of feminine power, fertility, and the moon, Arianrhod played a very important part in Celtic mythology
(Celtic) is said to be able to shape shift into a large Owl, and through the great Owl-eyes, sees even into the darkness of the human subconscious and soul. The Owl symbolizes death and renewal, wisdom, moon magic, and initiations. She is said to move with strength and purpose through the night, her wings of comfort and healing spread to give solace to those who seek her
Pronounced: Ah-s-k
Origin: Norse
Name Meaning: Ash Tree
Description: The first male, much like Adam, Created by the gods. He was fashioned From one of two tree trunks. They were given Ond ( Breath/Spirit), Odr ( Ecstasy/ Inspiration), La ( Health). It is believed that this is the origin or beginning of the family tree.
Asteria - The Titan goddess of Prophetic Dreams, Astrology and Necromancy, Asteria flung herself into the Aegean Sea in the form of a quail in order to escape the advances of Zeus. She became the "quail island" of Ortygia. which became identified with Delos, which was the only piece of earth to give refuge to the fugitive Leto when, pregnant with Zeus's children, she was pursued by vengeful Her
Origin: Greek
Pronounced:
Description: goddess of lighting was Astrape. She was a handmaiden of Zeus.
Origin: Greek/ Roman
Parents: Lelautos and Periboia
Description: Goddess of the breeze ( A titan) and fresh cool air of early morning.
Two stories of her rape
The ancient Baba Yaga is the wild old crone guardian of the Water of Life and Death. Goddess of Death and Birth who sings while sprinkling Water of Life on corpses the to let them be reborn. Although fearsome to look upon, like all forces of nature, often wild and untamed, she can also be kind. All knowing, all-seeing and all-revealing to those who'd dare to ask. She is the Arch-Crone, wild and free, a nature spirit bringing wisdom and death of ego, and through death, rebirth
Baba yaga: In Russian folklore there are many stories of Baba Yaga, the fearsome witch with iron teeth. Whenever she appears on the scene, a wild wind begins to blow, the trees around creak and groan and leaves whirl through the air. Shrieking and wailing, a host of spirits often accompany her on her way
The Irish Banshee is a solitary female fairy connected to a family, although it lives in the forest. The Banshee will scream when a family member’s death is imminent, and long after the death in mourning. From this legend we have the phrase “scream like a banshee.” It is thought that the legend rises from the practice of “keeners,” women who wail in mourning at funerals, sometimes professionally
Origin: Greek
Pronounced: Bass- eh-Lis-K
Name Meaning: Little King
Enemy: The Weasel (From the story of the cobra and Mongoose)
Description: A legendary Reptile thought to be king of serpents and said to have the power to cause death with a single glance. On top of head has a crown shaped crest, Giving it a kingly feature. In some forms it is believed to be hard to distinguish from a Cockatrice. It is said to have poisonous breath/Venom. Also said Basilisk ashes turn silver into gold.
Origin: Native American
Pronounceed:
Description: She was mother of the stars, and is also known as the moon.
She taught the first man and woman dancing, songs, games, ceremonies and taught them everything they should before returning to the sky.
Daughter of RA, BAST was originally a lion-headed Sun Goddess of Protection before becoming a super-powered Top Cat with lunar tendencies. She has a flair for avenging wrongs and scratching enemies where it hurts. In fact she was feisty enough for the Greeks to have identified her with ARTEMIS. Over time, the nurturing instincts of mothering cats came to be associated with BAST's protective care and she developed a reputation as a Mother Goddess.
Bast, an Egyptian Goddess ~ The famous cat Goddess, she protected pregnant woman and children. Bast was a very sensual Goddess who enjoyed music, dance and perfume.
Beira, Queen of Winter, a Scottish deity. She freezes the ground with her staff and chases away Spring
Belisama is the Gaulish Goddess of light and fire. Her husband, Belenus, is the God of the Sun, and she shares many attributes with him. Belisama, whose name means “summer bright”, was associated with the Greek Goddess Athena and the Roman Goddess Minerva, and this brought her rule over crafts. Her roles as Goddess of fire and Goddess of crafts combined in her power over the forging of metals and those who worked them, smiths.
Origin: Roman
Name Meaning: War, Also Known As Duellona Meaning Battle
Symbol: Military Helmet, Sword
Greek Counter Part: Enyo
Consort: Wife of Mars
Siblings: Mars, Vulcan, Minerva, Hercules or Nerio
Description: She is the goddess of war and protecting the homeland. She wears a helmet and armor with a spear and torch, may have even had feathered wings. She was a blood thirsty Warrior who loves to rampage on the battle field. She is the companion of Nerio. All meetings concerning Foreign War were done in her temple, and her festival was celebrate June 3rd. She drives the chariot of mars.
Goddess Berehynia. Berehynia is a female spirit in Slavic mythology, which recently came to be regarded as a “Slavic goddess” with a function of “hearth mother, protectoress of the home
Origin: San Religion
Pronounced:
Description : A Female man-eating creature which have only one leg and one arm, and travel by jumping.
Birds of Rhiannon-"birds of Rhiannon", are supernatural creatures whose song can "wake the dead and lull the living to sleep".
In English folklore, a boggart (or bogart) is a household spirit which causes mischief and things to disappear, milk to sour, and dogs to go lame. Always malevolent, the boggart will follow its family wherever they flee. In Northern England, at least, there was the belief that the boggart should never be named, for when the boggart was given a name, it would not be reasoned with nor persuaded, but would become uncontrollable and destructive.
Bramble Pixies are never to be triffled with, for you see, when Bramble Pixies get angry
Brighid - Irish Celtic Goddess of Fire and Water. One of the triple Goddesses, Brighid - Celtic Goddess of hearth and home, fertility, smithcraft, and healing. Brighid is honored on Imbolc - a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of Spring. Brighid (pronounced BREED) is the Celtic Goddess of Fire. She rules over many types of fire—the fire of the forge (as Goddess of smithcraft and metal working), the fire of the hearth (as Goddess of healing), and the fire of creativity (as Goddess of poetry). Brighid is seen as a triple Goddess, and she is associated with three different spheres—high (leaping flames, tall forts, wisdom), middle (hearth and home), and low (wells and sacred springs). Celtic goddess Brighid. This guardian of hearth and home is celebrated in her aspect as a fire goddess. Brigid - goddess of change, of creativity, of life and rebirth - Imbolc and the Sacred Feminin
Byakko (or Bai Hu in Chinese) is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese Constellation, along with Genbu (Black Tortoise) Seiryuu (Blue Dragon) and Suzaku (Red Sparrow). Byakko represents the West, the autumn season and the element of Metal (Wind in the Japanese system)
Caer Ibormeith Irish Goddess of sleep and dreams; and perhaps a less violent version of Mare; daughter of Ethal Anubail, a faery king of Connacht. She often took the form of a swan who lived on a lake called Dragon’s Mouth, and wore a copious golden chain with 130 golden balls on a silver chain about her slender neck.
Pronounced: Ka-lip-so
Origin: Greek
Parents: Atlas
Symbol: Dolphin
Name Meaning: To cover, conceal, hide, deceive
Description: A goddess/ Nymph who lived on the island ogygia, most famous for keeping odysseys trapped on her island for seven years trying to make him her immortal husband. Athena asked Zeus to order his release, and it was granted. Said to be a lovely seductress.
Described to be a kind and sweet minor goddess who was cursed to stay on her island forever by the gods because she supported her father, atlas, in the first war. She was also cursed to have wounded hero's Wash on to her island and they'd always be people she'd fall in love with but they could not stay.
Said to have caramel colored hair, Smell of cinnamon, braided over shoulder, dark almond shaped eyes, milky face that seemed timeless. 15 or 16 in age, white sleeveless Greek dress with low Circular neckline trimmed in gold. Peach Colored complexion, with pouty lips.
She is Calypso, the sea nymph, the daughter of the Titan, Atlas. She lived on a beautiful island, so beautiful that even the gods themselves were stunned by it. It was on this island that Odysseus was shipwrecked during his travels and Calypso tended his wounds and fell in love with him, offering him immortal life and love. She kept him on the island for seven years and Odysseus must have made the best of things as they had two children
Origin: San Religion
Pronounced:
Other Names: Kaang, Kaggen
Description: is the supreme god of the San. He is the first being and the creator of the world.[1] He is a trickster god who can shape-shift, most often into the praying mantis but also takes the form of a bull eland, a louse, a snake, and a caterpillar.In some variants of the San creation story, Cagn receives so much opposition in the world that he moves his abode from the earth to the top of the sky. Cagn is said to have created the moon which holds special significance to the San people; the phase of the moon dictated when rainmaking rituals were to be performed.[5]
In Slavic mythology, the cat - is an independent and freedom-loving. Cat was not attached to anything as she lives for her own pleasure. Slavic Hero Tales - Cat - Baiyun drives away evil spirits. Cats on the contrary like coziness and are more attached to the home than to the owner.
Origin: Celtic (Irish), Scottish
Description: a fairy creature said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its breast. Legend has it that the spectral cat haunts the Scottish Highlands. The legends surrounding this creature are more common in Scottish folklore, but a few occur in Irish. Some common folklore suggested that the Cat Sìth was not a fairy, but a witch that could transform into a cat nine times
Cerberus: The three headed dog, Guardian of the Underworld, who was the twelve labor of Hercules
Celtic Gods. Cernunnos - The Green Man - The Antlered God.
The Irish legend of the Children of Lir is about a stepmother transforming her children into swans for 900 years. In the legend The Wooing of Etain, the king of the Sidhe (subterranean-dwelling, supernatural beings) transforms himself and the most beautiful woman in Ireland, Etain, into swans to escape from the king of Ireland and Ireland's armies. The swan has recently been depicted on an Irish commemorative coin.
Origin: Greek
Pronounced: Ki- Mare-ah
Name Meaning: She Goat
Father: Typhon
Mother: Echidna
Symbolized: Female Evil
Description: A lion with a goat head sprouting from it's back and a snake for a tail. A fire breathing creature with goat utters and was always female.
Other: The term "Chimera" is used to describe orthrus, any mythical creature or fictional animal with parts of various animals. Once was identified with the constellation Capricorn (The serpent tailed goat). It was said seeing chimera was an omen of bad luck and was often seen before disasters such as shipwrecks, violent storms, and volcanic eruptions.
The chimera of legend was killed by Bellerophon on Pegasus, He shot lead from the air that melted and killed her.
This is "Clatria" similar to the mythical god Gia, she loves nature and animals, she has many spells that keep her and her friends from harm. She is old as the wood but as beautiful as new sunshine
Clotho
Origin: Greek
Pronounced: K-Low- Th- Oh
Roman Counter part: Nona
Other: the youngest of the three fates. She spinned the thread of human life , and made major decisions such as when one was born or died. The length of the thread determined how long you lived. Along with Hermes she was given credit for creating the alphabet. The essence is part of the universe and even gods can't disturb or go against them.
Origin: San Religion
Pronounced:
Description: the wife of Cagn. She gave birth to the eland, and Cagn hid it near a secluded cliff to let it grow.One day Cagn's sons, Cogaz and Gewi, were out hunting. Not knowing their father's love for the eland, they killed it.[7] Cagn was angry, and told Gewi to put the blood from the dead eland into a pot and churn it.[8] Blood spattered from the pot onto the ground and turned into snakes.[8] Cagn was displeased. Next, Gewi scattered the blood, and it turned into hartebeests.[8] Again, Cagn was unhappy. He told Coti to clean the pot and add more blood from the eland, with fat from the heart. She churned it, and Cagn sprinkled the mixture on the ground. It turned into a large herd of eland.[8] This was how Cagn gave meat to his people to hunt and eat.[7] The San attribute the wildness of the eland to the fact that Cagn's sons killed it before it was ready to be hunted, spoiling it.[7][9] The scholar David Lewis-Williams recounts a variation of the eland myth involving the meerkats. Cagn's daughter the porcupine married Kwammang-a, a meerkat. They had a son called Ichneumon (a mongoose).[2] Ichneumon was close to his grandfather Cagn.[10] Cagn used to take honey to feed his favourite, the eland.[11] The people were curious as to what Cagn was doing with the honey, so they sent Ichneumon to spy on him and find out.[11] When Ichneumon saw Cagn giving honey to the eland, he reported his discovery to his brothers, the meerkats.[12] While Cagn was out gathering honey, the meerkats persuaded Ichneumon to show them where the eland was.[13] They called the eland out of its hiding place and killed it.[13]
Origin: Native American (Crow)California and Great Basin.
Pronounced:
Name Meaning:
Description: In creation myths, Coyote appears as the Creator himself; but he may at the same time be the messenger, the culture hero, the trickster, the fool, the clown.
The Criosphinx The Sphinx is a traditional monster with the body of a lion, and the head of either a human, falcon or ram invented by the Egyptians of the Old Kingdom, before being imported in Greek mythology. The name sphinx comes from the Greek sphiggein Σφινξ — Sphinx, apparently from the verb σφινγω — sphingo, meaning ‘to draw tight’ or more loosly translated: ‘to strangle’
Cthulhu is a malevolent entity who hibernates somewhere beneath the ocean in the South Pacific. The imprisoned Cthulhu is the source of constant anxiety for mankind at a subconscious level, and also the subject of worship by a number of human religions.
A cyclops in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead.[1] The name is widely thought to mean "round-eyed"[2] or "circle-eyed".[3] Hesiod described three one-eyed Cyclopes, Brontes, Steropes and Arges the sons of Uranus and Gaia, brothers of the Titans, builders and craftsmen,[4] while the epic poet Homer described another group of mortal herdsmen Cyclopes
The Dagda was the father God of the Celts; they called him the Good God because he protected their crops. He was king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He had a cauldron called the Undry which supplied unlimited food and was one of the magical items the Tuatha brought with them when they first landed on Ireland. He also had a living oak harp called Uaithne which caused the seasons to change in their order and also played three types of music, the music of sorrow, the music of joy and the music
Danu is a Celtic/Irish mother goddess of fertility and creation. She is the leader of the Irish pantheon, the Tuatha de Danann
In Roman mythology, Dea Tacita ("the Silent (or Mute) Goddess") was a Goddess of the Dead. In later times, She was equated with the Naiad Larunda. In this guise, Dea Tacita was worshipped at a festival called Larentalia on December 23. Goddesses Mutae Tacitae (Mute Goddesses) were invoked to destroy a hated person. These silent Goddesses are the personification of the terror of obscurity--- Fear
Origin: Hindu
Pronounced: De- V-Ee
Name Meaning: Goddess
Consort: Shiva
Description: Female aspects of the divine, Represents consciouness and discrimination. She balances out the male. She was also known as the divine mother, Mother of all.
The Trinity:
The Mother of life: Protects against disease, Mild and loving
The Mother of Death: Terrible, Has 8 arms, One arm holding a sword. either on a lion or tiger.
She holds the universe in her womb, in the middle of head has a bindu ( Drop or dot) Represents all Woman
In Norse mythology the Dísir are ancestral spirits described as "dead women" in grand attire who visit dreams.
Dodola (also spelled Doda, Dudulya and Didilya, pronounced: doh-doh-la, doo-doo-lya, or dee-dee-lya), Perperuna or Preperuša is an old Slavic tradition. According to some interpretations, she is the Slavic goddess of rain, and the wife of the supreme god Perun (who is the god of thunder). Slavs believed that when Dodola milks her heavenly cows, the clouds, it rains on earth. Each spring Dodola is said to fly over woods and fields, decorating the trees with blossoms.
The dark elves, known as Dökkálfar, are subterranean creatures of Scandinavian mythology who inhabit the world of Svartalfheim.
Viktor Korolkov “Dola i Nedola” In Slavic mythology, Dola are the protective spirits which embody human fate. They can appear in the guises of a god, cat, man, mouse, or woman. They have their own preferences; and they would hound you if you made choices that were not planned by Fate. Dola can also ruin someone’s life. This spirit can be inherited from “father to son”, but brothers have different Dolas. Nedola is a negative variant.“Dola” means “fate” in Slavic. “Nedola” means “misery”
Domnu, Goddess mother of the Fomorians - In The Silurian, book 3, Owen White-tooth threatened to bring a Formorian army with him to battle against Arthur; Bedwyr thought the Formorians were real warriors of the Gaels, and this threat caused him a lot of worry.
Origin:
Pronounced: Dr-ah-g-on Rye-d-er
Description:
A human or Humanoid who can actually ride on the back of the mystical beast called a dragon. Often as steeds into battle. They are always characterized by a bond with the dragon they ride, resulting in a synchronous relationship between the two. they have a telepathic link that has no way of separation without drastic consequences.
"Drekavac" comes from slavic mythology, and literally means 'the yeller'. It comes from the soul of a dead unbaptised child, and it's scream, if heard, can kill you.
Drekavac: A Slavic creature that screams in the night and has been said to wander the Zlatibor Mountains and mutilate sheep. Sightings have been recorded as recent as 2003.
Druantia..."Queen of the Druids". Celtic Fir Goddess and Mother of the tree calender. Symbolizes protection, knowledge, creativity, passion, sex, fertility, growth, trees and forests. Her feast day was Beltane
Druantia is the Celtic Goddess of Fir Trees and Fertility. Her names derives from the Indo-European root “deru” meaning tree or wood. Also called the Queen of the Druids, Druantia is associated with the fertility of both plants and humans, ruling over sex and passion. She is credited with the creation of the Celtic tree calendar, which divides the year into 13 months that correspond to the cycles of the moon.
Origin: Greek
Pronounced: Dry-add
Description: A dryad is a tree nymph, that is a female spirit of a tree. Dryad - A dryad is a tree nymph, or female tree spirit, in Greek mythology. In Greek drys signifies "oak." Thus, dryads are specifically the nymphs of oak trees, though the term has come to be used for all tree nymphs in general. They were normally considered to be very shy creatures, except around the goddess Artemis, who was known to be a friend to most nymphs. Tags: dryads, tree nymphs, nymphs, hamadryads
Dziparu Mate is the Latvian Goddess of Yarn. Knitting was very important in the life of young Latvian women. Girls were expected to knit over fifty pairs of mittens before their wedding day, and the number of pairs a girl had made was one factor in finding a husband. On the wedding day, the bride would give out the mittens she had made to her in-laws. Dziparu Mate was called upon by these young knitters to watch over their yarn and make sure that it had no tangles.
Dziwożona (or Mamuna) is a female swamp demon in Slavic mythology known for being malicious and dangerous ( Polish Mythology )
Echidna was called the mother of all monsters, but really she was only the mother of about six of them: the dragon that guarded the Golden Apples of Hesperos, the Hydra, the Chimaera, Orthus (a hell-dog), and Cerberus, the Crommyonian Sow, the Caucasus Eagle (that's the one that kept eating Prometheus' liver every day), and by her son Orthus she mothered the Sphinx (see below) and the Nemean Lion
Origin: Greek
Pronounced: Eye- re-n
Name Meaning: Peace.
Description: She is the goddess of Eternal Peace (Hope). she has a diplomatic nature. Her name also often appears as Irene.
Eloko or Biloko- Mongolian myth: dwarf like creatures that are extremely ferocious and vicious. They had mouths that could open so wide to swallow whole humans. They had no hair, only leaves grew from their skin. They also had huge claws. They were forest guardians, guarding treasure and the wildlife.
Origin: Greek
Pronounced:
Name Meaning: Trumpeter to Arms
Description: One of the Giants, the enormous children of Gaia (Earth) fertilized by the blood of castrated Uranus. He was struck by a spear thrown by the goddess Athena and buried on the island of Sicily, under Mount Etna. The volcanic fires of Etna were said to be the breath of Enceladus, and its tremors to be caused by him rolling his injured side beneath the mountain. In Greece, an earthquake is still often called a "strike of Enceladus"
Origin: Mesopotamian, Arabian
Was formed from clay and saliva by Aruru, goddess of creation, to rid Gilgamesh of his arrogance. A wild man, raised by animals and ignorant of human society until bedded by Shamhat. Embodies wild or natural world, and though equal to Gilgamesh in strength and bearing acts in some ways an antithesis to be cultured, urban bred warrior king, becomes king constant companion and friend until stricken ill. trys to find godly immortality.
Together killed humbaba, Tried killing bull of heaven, gods were angry but could only punish Enkidu, so they made him very ill until he died, but before he died he cursed Shamhat for introducing him to civilization but he took it back after being told How he was introduced to the pleasures of civilization and got to meet Gilgamesh. He becomes the symbol for shifting from primitive to Civilized life.
Epona was a protector of horses, donkeys, and mules. She was a Celtic goddess of fertility,
EREBUS (also spelled Erebos) ; God of Darkness. Erebus is a Primoridal Greek God. He is engendered by Chaos and Nyx. In pre-Homeric mythology, he formed an incestuous liaison with his mother to create the first elements of the cosmos, Aether (light) and Hemera (day
In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal (lit. "Queen of the Great Earth") was the goddess of Irkalla, the land of the dead or underworld. She's the sister and counterpart of Inanna/Ishtar, the symbol of nature during the non-productive season of the year. Ereshkigal was also a queen that many gods and goddesses looked up to in the underworld. "Klaatu Verata Nicto"
Origin: Greek
Symbol: Golden apple of Discord
Name Meaning: Discord, Stife
Greek opposite: Harmonia
Parents: either Nyx or Zeus and Hera.
Siblings: Ares, Enyo, Hephaestus, Hebe. Or Thantos, Hypnos, Keres
Children: Dysnomios (Lawlessness) Disruptor of civil order, Eumomia ( Ender of strife), Ate(Ruin/Folly), Lethe (Forgetfulness), Limos (Famine), Algos (Pains/Sorrows), Hysminai ( Fightings/Combats), Makhai (Battles), Phonoi (Murders/Slaughterings), Androktasiai (Manslaughters), Neikea (Quarrels) , Pseudologoi (Lies/Falsehoods), Amphilogiai (Disputes), Horkos (Oath)
Roman counterpart: Discordia
Latin counterpart: Concordia
Description: Goddess of chaos, Strife, and discord. She is a dark, winged version of Athena. It was thought to be equated to Enye, the war goddess. The religion Discordianism is named after her. Stole Hera's Golden apples of immortality and turned it into sour apple of discord.
Two Forms of Eris:
Tale 1: She was the cause of the Trojan war. Along with all the Olympians invite to the forced wedding of Peleus and Thetis, who would become the parents of Achilles, But Eris was not invited because of her trouble making. Mad she tossed the apple into the party making Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena fight over who was the fairest, Zeus made Paris choose who was the fairest. The goddesses stripped naked to try to win Paris' decision, and also attempted to bribe him. Hera offered political power; Athena promised infinite wisdom; and Aphrodite tempted him with the most beautiful woman in the world: Helen, wife of Menelaus of Sparta, He chose Aphrodite.
Tale 2: Another story of Eris includes Hera, and the love of Polytekhnos and Aedon. They claimed to love each other more than Hera and Zeus were in love. This angered Hera, so she sent Eris to rack discord upon them. Polytekhnos was finishing off a chariot board, and Aedon a web she had been weaving. Eris said to them, "Whosoever finishes thine task last shall have to present the other with a female servant!" Aedon won. But Polytekhnos was not happy by his defeat, so he came to Khelidon, Aedon's sister, and raped her. He then disguised her as a slave, presenting her to Aedon. When Aedon discovered this was indeed her sister, she chopped up Polytekhnos' son and fed him to Polytekhnos. The gods were not pleased, so they turned them all into birds.
The classic Faairy Tale Sleeping Beauty is partly inspired by Eris's role in the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. Like Eris, a malevolent fairy curses a princess after not being invited to the princess' christening
Étaín —a figure of Irish mythology, best known as the heroine of Tochmarc Étaíne (English: The Wooing Of Étaín), one of the oldest and richest stories of the Mythological Cycle. She is sometimes known by the epithet Echraide, (“horse rider”), suggesting links with horse deities and figures such as the Welsh Rhiannon and the Gaulish Epona.
Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone (the proof of Arthur's lineage) are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was associated with the Arthurian legend very early. In Welsh, the sword is called Caledfwlch
Excaliver dragons are best known for two things. Their silvery white mix of feathers and scales, and their unbreakable bond with their companions.
The Excaliver Dragons are amongst the rarest of dragon breeds. Living comparitively short lives amoungst their bretheren, these dragons are none the less some of the greatest hunters to grace sky, land or sea.
According to Irish legend, Fairy Rings are the location of gateways into the fairy kingdom. The physical appearance of a circle of mushrooms or flowers are commonly found throughout the Emerald Isle. Folklore states that a fairy ring appears where a Leprechaun, fairy, or any other sprightly mystical creature exists and they will often be found laughing and dancing in the twilight.
Origin: European, English
Name Meaning: Were Demons belonging to the house hold.
Description: Also known as Familiar spirit. They are supernatural creatures believed to assist witches and cunning folk, According to records, They woulds appear in numerous Guises, Often as animals, Sometimes Human or humanoid. They were 3d Real creatures. When they served witches, they were thought of as Malevolent and when working for a cunning folk they were often thought of as benevolent. Though both have have stories of both.
They used to be categorized as demons but now are categorized as fairies.
Main Purpose: To serve a witch or a young witch, Providing Protection for him/her as they come into their new powers.
A familiar spirit[Alter ego, doppelganger, personal demon, personal totem, Spirit Companion] is the double, alter ego of an individual. they do not look like the individual, they even have independent life, but they remain closely linked.
Meeting: they either randomly appear or given by a family member or highly spiritual person. either enter a pact that could last weeks, or decades. they could call on spirit.
Types and Placed:
Stories like Rumpelstiltskin and Frog Prince came from familiars.
Common Forms:
Origin: Roman
Description: A rustic god or goddess of forest associated with enchanted woods, like the Greek god Pan and his satyrs. They are half human and half goat with horns. the top half is human and the bottom goat. They used to scar people from traveling in wild places. Fawns are foolish and less woman crazed, unlike Satyrs. They follow the god Faunus.
Books: Chronicles of Narnia, Son of Neptune
Pronounced: Fin-reer
Origin: Norse
Parents: Loki and Angrbooa
Siblings: Jormungand, goddess of the underworld Hel
Children: Skoll, Hati hroovithisson
Description: A monstrous sized. Foretelling great trouble from fenrir and rapid growth, The gods raised him themselves to keep him under control and not reek havoc. As a pup the gods had nothing to fear. the gods tricked and bound him so fenrir bit off the right hand of tyr. ( The only god brave enough to care and feed him.)
The chains that bind him made of:
When Ragnarok comes he will kill Odin and be killed by Vidar
Flidais: She is the Celtic (Irish) Goddess of the Woodlands and wild things. Her name itself means “doe, and she rides a chariot drawn by deer. Flidais owns herds of deer and cattle, and is equated with the Greek Pantheon’s Artemis. Flidais is said to have a coracious sexual appetite. Her daughers were Fand, Be Chuille and Be Teite. 2 were considered Witches, and one was a Faery Queen. All of them were said to have sexual proclivities like their mother
Fodla - Celtic goddess of sovereignty. Part of a trinity of goddesses along with Eriu and Banba. Daughters of Ernmas
Fódla (pronounced FO-la) is the Celtic Goddess of the power of Ireland. She is one of the Tuatha de Danaan, the people of the Goddess Danu. When the Milesians arrived in Ireland and conquered them, Fódla and her two sisters, Ériu and Banba, all asked that the island be named for them. Ériu won the request, but Fódla’s name continued to be used on occasion. Fódla’s husband MacCecht was one of the last kings of the Tuatha de Danaan. Fódla’s name, which means “a sod of earth,
The Fomorians from Irish mythology are steeped in mystery, It is unknown where they came from, or the length of time they had knowledge of Ireland, and what actually happened to them. Lady Gregory describes one Fomorian habitat as a glass tower in the sea. Many people describe them as sea fairies or sea monsters. My best guess is that they were Nephilim!
Origin: Roman
Name Meaning: The Avengers
Parents: Uranus and Gaea
Description: 3 goddesses of vengeance and justice
They are called the daughters of night but that is not the case. They are also known as Erinyes or Infernal goddesses. Without mercy they would punish all crime including Breaking rules considering all aspects of society. They would strike offenders with madness and never stopped following offenders. The worst of all crimes and what they punish above all others is patricide and matricide.
They have snakes for hair and blood dripping from eyes. They are older than any Olympian, they are crones with dog heads, coal black bodies and bat wings. When not punishing the living, they were punishing the damned in the underworld. they were born from the blood of Uranus. they carry torches, whips, and cups of poison to punish with. They also appear as storm clouds or swarm of insects. They are not seen as evil, they protect the innocent and good doers.
Fylgjur (plural of Fylgja) are described as supernatural guardian spirits, bound to a family line, said to accompany a person throughout life. Like many concepts in Norse mythology, the Fylgja is sometimes hard to comprehend or explain
Origin: San Religion
Pronounced:
Description: is a beast who lived on the edge of a pit. It would trick people into throwing stones at it, but the stones would always bounce back from the creature's hide, and the thrower would fall into the pit. When the hero Heitsi-eibib met the beast, he refused to throw stones until Ga-gorib turned away from him, whereupon he cast a stone that knocked Ga-gorib into its own pit.[16] In another version of the same story, Heitsi-eibib wrestled with the Ga-gorib and was thrown to the pit repeatedly, but could not be kept down. In the end, the Ga-gorib is again thrown to his own pit by Heitsi-eibib.[20] Gorib is "the spotted one" (meaning leopard, cheetah, or leguaan) in Khoe languages, so the Ga-gorib probably has some connection with this formidable species. The element "ga-" remains to be explained. Possibly, it is a negative, "not-a-leopard", not only on comparative morphological grounds, but also because its adversary Heitsi-eibib is connected symbolically to the leopard.
Origin:
Pronounced:
Description: symbol of wisdom and knowledge, a talking bird who foretells the future and fortunes, one of three prophetic birds of Russian folklore, alongside Alkonost and Sirin
A Gancanagh (from Irish: Gean Cánach meaning "love talker") is a male faerie in Irish mythology that is known for seducing human women. They are thought to have an addictive toxin in their skin that make the humans addicted to them. The women seduced by this type of faerie typically die from the withdrawal, pining away for the Ganacanagh's love or fighting to the death for his love.
Origin: Hindu
Name Meaning: Lord/Master of group
Parents: Shiva and Parvati
Consort: Buddhi ( Wisdom), Sddhi (Attainment), Kiddhi ( Prosperity)
Description: Lord of beginnings, lord of obstacles, god of art, sciences, intellect, and wisdom. He has an elephant head, a human body, a broken tusk, a large belly, and 4 arms. He has a huge appetite.
Origin: France
Origin: Norse
Pronounced:
Description: a dog associated with Ragnarök, and described as a blood-stained watchdog that guards Hel's gate
Origin: San Religion
Pronounced
Description: is a god of sickness and death who is locked in constant battle with Tsui'goab
Origin: Greek
Pronounced:
Latin Counter part: Risus
Description: God of laughter.
The Ghillie Dhu ~ A fairy (perhaps originally considered a deity) guardian of the trees in Scottish mythology. The Ghillie is kind to children, but generally wild and shy. Said to be dark haired, he is particularly fond of birch trees and is most active at night. Ghillies wear clothing made from sewn together leaves and knitted grass and mosses
Gleti is a Moon Goddess from the African kingdom of Dahomey, situated in what is now Benin. She is the Mother of all the Stars. An eclipse is caused by the shadow of the Moon’s Husband crossing Her face.
Pronounced: No-m-e
Origin: World Wide
Name Meaning: Knowledge
Element: Earth
Weakness: The sun turns them to stone.
Types of Gnomes:
Description: They hoard secret knowledge and treasure, They are misshapen mischievous spirits with pointy caps. They are 2x stronger than man, have better sight than a hawk, and can run 35 miles per hr.
A gnarled old man, who lives deep under ground and guards buried treasure. They are stout humanoids who wear tall pointed conical caps and dress in solid colors such as blue, red, and green.
Males: Have long white beards, are 15cm Tall, and are slightly pigeon toed which gives them speed and agility. they weigh 300 grams. They wear peaked red caps, blue, brown, or green pants, and either felt, birch, or wooden clogs and around their waist they wear a tool kit with a knife and hammer. They are fair faced, with rosey red cheeks and long beards that turn gray faster than the rest of their hair.
Females: They weigh 225-275 Grams. They wear Gray or khaki Clothing, a blouse and skirt that goes to ankles. Black or grey knee socks and high shoes. Before they are married they have a green cap and their hair is hung down.
Gnomes love animals and feel responsible for them. They love gems and are the best gem cutters in existence. They are vegetarians and never worry.
Diet: Nuts, Mushrooms, Peas, Beans, Potato, Apple Sauce, Fruit, Berries, Tubers, Spices, Veggies, Preseves For desert. They don't eat meat so they consume high protein nectar Called Vicia Sepuini
They drink mead dew ( Fermented honey) Fermented Raspberrys ( Has a very high alcohol content.) Spiced gin.
They live in hilly meadows, and rocky woodlands,
Books: Harry Potter
Enemies: Trolls who destroy their homes, otherwise are peaceful .
The figure known as the Green Man is a god of vegetation and plant life. He symbolizes the life that is found in the natural plant world, and in the earth itself.
GRY-PHON grif·finˈgrifin 1. a mythical creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion, typically depicted with pointed ears and with the eagle's legs taking the place of the forelegs.
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Greek: γρύφων, grýphōn, or γρύπων, grýpōn, early form γρύψ, grýps; Latin: gryphus) is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and an eagle's talons as its front feet. Because the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. The griffin was also thought of as king of all creatures. Griffins are known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions.[1] Adrienne Mayor, a classical folklorist, proposes that the griffin was an ancient misconception derived from the fossilized remains of the Protoceratops found in gold mines in the Altai mountains of Scythia, in present-day southeastern Kazakhstan, or in Mongolia.[2] In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine
The derivation of this word remains uncertain. It could be related to the Greek word γρυπός (grypos), meaning 'curved', or 'hooked'. Also, this could have been an Anatolian loan word, compare Akkadian karūbu (winged creature), and similar to Cherub. A related Hebrew word is כרוב (kerúv).[4]
Form
Most statues have bird-like talons, although in some older illustrations griffins have a lion's forelimbs; they generally have a lion's hindquarters. Its eagle's head is conventionally given prominent ears; these are sometimes described as the lion's ears, but are often elongated (more like a horse's), and are sometimes feathered.
Infrequently, a griffin is portrayed without wings, or a wingless eagle-headed lion is identified as a griffin. In 15th-century and later heraldry such a beast may be called an alce or a keythong.
In heraldry, a griffin always has forelegs like an eagle's hind-legs. A type of griffin with the four legs of a lion was distinguished by perhaps only one English herald of later heraldry as the Opinicus where it also had a camel-like neck and a short tail that almost resembles a camel's tail.
History
While griffins are most common in the art and lore of Ancient Greece[citation needed], there is evidence of representations of griffins in Ancient Persian and Ancient Egyptian art dating back to before 3000 BC.[5] In Egypt, a griffin can be seen in a cosmetic palette from Hierakonpolis, known as the "Two Dog Palette",[6][7] which is dated to ca. 3300-3100 BC.[8] In Persia, griffins appeared on cylinder seals from Susa as early as 3000 BC.[9] Griffin depictions appear in the Levant, Syria, and Anatolia in the Middle Bronze Age,[10][11] dated at about 1950-1550 BC.[12] Early depictions of griffins in Ancient Greek art are found in the 15th century BC frescoes in the Throne Room of the Bronze Age Palace of Knossos, as restored by Sir Arthur Evans. It continued being a favored decorative theme in Archaic and Classical Greek art.
In Central Asia the griffin appears about a thousand years after Bronze Age Crete, in the 5th–4th centuries BC, probably originating from the Achaemenid Persian Empire. The Achaemenids considered the griffin "a protector from evil, witchcraft and secret slander".[13] The modern generalist calls it the lion-griffin, as for example, Robin Lane Fox, in Alexander the Great, 1973:31 and notes p. 506, who remarks a lion-griffin attacking a stag in a pebble mosaic Dartmouth College expedition at Pella, perhaps as an emblem of the kingdom of Macedon or a personal one of Alexander's successor Antipater.
The Pisa Griffin is a large bronze sculpture which has been in Pisa in Italy since the Middle Ages, though it is of Islamic origin. It is the largest bronze medieval Islamic sculpture known, at over three feet tall (42.5 inches, or 1.08 m.), and was probably created in the 11th century in Al-Andaluz (Islamic Spain).[14] From about 1100 it was placed on a column on the roof of Pisa Cathedral until replaced by a replica in 1832; the original is now in the Museo dell' Opera del Duomo (Cathedral Museum), Pisa.
Ancient parallels
Several ancient mythological creatures are similar to the griffin. These include the Lamassu, an Assyrian protective deity, often depicted with a bull or lion's body, eagle's wings, and human's head.
Sumerian and Akkadian mythology feature the demon Anzu, half man and half bird, associated with the chief sky god Enlil. This was a divine storm-bird linked with the southern wind and the thunder clouds.
Jewish mythology speaks of the Ziz, which resembles Anzu, as well as the ancient Greek Phoenix. The Bible mentions the Ziz in Psalms 50:11. This is also similar to Cherub. The cherub, or sphinx, was very popular in Phoenician iconography.
In ancient Crete, griffins became very popular, and were portrayed in various media. A similar creature is the Minoan Genius.
In Hindu religion, Garuda is a large bird-like creature which serves as a mount (vahana) of the Lord Vishnu. It is also the name for the constellation Aquila.
Medieval lore
In legend, griffins not only mated for life, but if either partner died, then the other would continue the rest of its life alone, never to search for a new mate.[citation needed] The griffin was thus made an emblem of the Church's opposition to remarriage.[dubious ] A Hippogriff is a legendary creature, supposedly the offspring of a griffin and a mare. Being a union of a terrestrial beast and an aerial bird, it was seen in Christendom to be a symbol of Jesus, who was both human and divine. As such it can be found sculpted on some churches.[1]
According to Stephen Friar's New Dictionary of Heraldry, a griffin's claw was believed to have medicinal properties and one of its feathers could restore sight to the blind.[1] Goblets fashioned from griffin claws (actually antelope horns) and griffin eggs (actually ostrich eggs) were highly prized in medieval European courts.[15]
When it emerged as a major seafaring power in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, griffins commenced to be depicted as part of the Republic of Genoa's coat of arms, rearing at the sides of the shield bearing the Cross of St. George.
By the 12th century the appearance of the griffin was substantially fixed: "All its bodily members are like a lion's, but its wings and mask are like an eagle's."[16] It is not yet clear if its forelimbs are those of an eagle or of a lion. Although the description implies the latter, the accompanying illustration is ambiguous. It was left to the heralds to clarify that.
Heraldic significanceA heraldic griffin passant.
In heraldry, the griffin's amalgamation of lion and eagle gains in courage and boldness, and it is always drawn to powerful fierce monsters. It is used to denote strength and military courage and leadership. Griffins are portrayed with rear body of a lion, an eagle's head, with erect ears, and feathered breast, with forelegs of an eagle, including claws. These features indicate a combination of intelligence and strength.[17]
In British heraldry, a male griffin is shown without wings, its body covered in tufts of formidable spikes, with a short tusk emerging from the forehead, as for a unicorn.[18] The female griffin with wings is more commonly used.
Use of the word for real animals
Some large species of Old World vultures are called griffines, including the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus). The scientific name for the Andean condor is Vultur gryphus, Latin for "griffin-vulture".
Origin
A theory, postulated primarily by Adrienne Mayor, is that the griffin originated with ancient paleontological observations brought by long-distance traders to Europe along the Silk Road from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, where white fossils of Protoceratops are naturally exposed against reddish ground. Such fossils, seen by ancient observers, may have been interpreted as evidence of a half-bird-half-beast.[35][36] Over repeated retelling and drawing recopying its bony neck frill (which is rather fragile and may have been frequently broken or entirely weathered away) may become large mammal-type external ears, and its beak may be treated as evidence of part-bird nature and lead to bird-type wings being added
This enigmatic goddess was the Vanir’s secret weapon in the war with the Aesir gods. Her ability to intensify greed and despair allowed her to single-handedly bring the war to a crippling end. Hey magic drove the Aesir to bicker and fight with one another- to the cusp of civil war.
Origin: Welsh
Pronouced:
Name Meaning: White shadow, White one, White Enchantress, Fairy Goddess
Consort: King Arthur
Children: None
Description: Believed to have existed as long as there has been surf to pound against rocky shores. She is praised for her wise judgement. It was prophesied that no man could rule without her by there side. She is the goddess of love and relationships
She is also known as Guinevere or Gueneva
Known as a Celtic triple goddess
1. Flower maiden: Brought fertility to the earth.
2. Mother goddess: She looked over her court and brought inspiration to mortals
3. Crone: She brought down the round table.
Believed to be the Guinevere from the king Arthur legend. Some versions of the legend say there were three different Guinevere's that married king Arthur at some point.
Crytals: Garnet, and Rose Quarts
Books with her: The Mist of Avalon, Avalon High
Origin: San Religion
Pronounced:
Description : A Male man-eating creature which have only one leg and one arm, and travel by jumping.
Pronounced: Ha-are-pee
Origin: Greek, Roman
Name Meaning: Snatcher
Parents: Thaumas and Electra
Siblings: Iris
Children: Achillies two talking horses ( Fathered by Zephyros)
Description: Female monsters in the form of birds with human faces, together known as the harpies. They were dipicted as winged woman with either ugly faces or their lower bodies of bodies. They steal food from their victims while they are eating and carry evil doers ( Especially those who killed their families) to the Erinyes. Originally were wind spirits.
They were agents of punishment who abducted people and tortured them on their way to Tartarus. They were vicious, cruel, and violent. They lived on the island of the Strophades. They were usually seen as personifications of the destructive nature of wind. They are now thought of as three sisters than the original two.
There are four names in mythology:
They were spirits of sudden, sharp guests of wind. They were also Known as the hounds of Zeus and were Dispatched by the god to snatch away people and things from earth, Sudden disappearances were blamed on harpies. They were once sent to plague king Phineus of Thrake as punishment for revealing the secrets of the gods. Whenever a plate of food was set before him the harpies would snatch it away. When Argonauts came to visit, the winged Boreades gave chase, and pursued harpies to Strophades island, Where iris commended the Boreades to leave them unharmed. Legend blames them for rough seas and bad weather.
Harpy's can be one of the most dangerous creatures you'll ever meet, or the most trustworthy
Origin: Greek
Pronounced:
Name Meaning: Mastery
Description: She was the goddess of plants, who's duty was to see that plants bloomed and bore Fruit as they were supposed too.
Loki's daughter, Hel, rules the underworld in Norse Mythology. She's half corpse, half woman. I personally have always found her interesting because she's not your typical goddess
Origin: Northern European
Description, A supernatural dog with black fur, glowing red or yellow eyes. It has super strength or speed. It is usually ghostly or phantom like with a foul Oder. They can sometimes can talk and sometimes has a fire-like appearance. They hunt lost souls or guard a supernatural treasure.
European legend: The hell hound was an omen of death.
Hemera was one of the primordial deities in Greek mythology, the daughter of the primordial deities Erebus (darkness) and Nyx (night). She was the personification of the day. Her husband was her brother Aether, with whom she gave birth to Thalassa (sea), Uranus (heavens) and Gaia (earth).
Herne, pagan god of the forest who appears in Celtic, Viking, Anglo-Saxon and other mythologies.
Hexe’s themes are health, banishing and magic. Her symbols are healing, herbs and charms. This ancient Germanic witch’s Goddess rules over health, banishing curses, and teaching people the effective use of spells, charms, and other mystical procedures for improving well-being. Thus we come by the old phrase ‘hex doctor’.
Hina is the Hawaiian goddess of the moon, death, and rebirth. One particular legend that I enjoy is that Hina lived in the sea and was tired of her toilsome underwater existence, so she left the water and escaped to the moon.
The hippocampus or hippocamp, also hippokampoi (plural: hippocampi or hippocamps; Greek: ἱιππόκαμπος, from ἵππος, "horse" and κάμπος, "monster"[1]), often called a sea-horse[2] in English, is a mythological creature shared by Phoenician[3] and Greek mythology, though the name by which it is recognised is purely Greek. It was also adopted into Etruscan mythology. It has typically been depicted as having the upper body of a horse with the lower body of a fish.
n the Iliad, Homer describes Poseidon, who was god of horses (Poseidon Hippios), earthquakes, and the sea, drawn by "brazen-hoofed" horses over the sea's surface,[7] and Apollonius of Rhodes, being consciously archaic in Argonautica, describes the horse of Poseidon emerging from the sea and galloping away across the Libyan sands.[8] This compares to the specifically "two-hoofed" hippocampi of Gaius Valerius Flaccus in his Argonautica: "Orion when grasping his father’s reins he heaves the sea with the snorting of his two-hooved horses."[9] In Hellenistic and Roman imagery, however, Poseidon (or Roman Neptune) often drives a sea-chariot drawn by hippocampi. Thus hippocampi sport with this god in both ancient depictions and much more modern ones, such as in the waters of the 18th-century Trevi Fountain in Rome surveyed by Neptune from his nicheabove.
The appearance of hippocampi in both freshwater and saltwater is counter-intuitive to a modern audience, though not to an ancient one. The Greek picture of the natural hydrological cycle did not take account of the condensation of atmospheric water as rain to replenish the water table, but imagined the refreshening of the waters of the sea oozing back landwards through vast underground caverns and aquifers, rising replenished and freshened in springs.[10]
Thus it was natural for a temple at Helike in the coastal plain of Achaea to be dedicated to Poseidon Helikonios, (the Poseidon of Helicon), the sacred spring of Boeotian Helikon.[11] When an earthquake suddenly submerged the city, the temple's bronze Poseidon accompanied by hippocampi continued to snag fishermens' nets.[12] Likewise, the hippocampus was considered an appropriate decoration for mosaics in Roman thermae or public baths, as at Aquae Sulis modern day Bath in Britannia (illustration, below).
Poseidon's horses, which were included in the elaborate sculptural program of gilt-bronze and ivory, added by a Roman client to the temple of Poseidon at Corinth, are likely to have been hippocampi; the Romanised Greek Pausanias described the rich ensemble in the later 2nd century AD
Etruscan
Hippocampi appear with the first Orientalising phase of Etruscan civilization: they remain a theme in Etruscan tomb wall-paintings and reliefs,[13] where they are sometimes provided with wings, as they are in the Trevi fountain. Katharine Shepard found in the theme an Etruscan belief in a sea-voyage to the other world.[14]
Pictish
The sea-horse also appears in Pictish stone carvings in Scotland. The symbolism of the carving (also known as "Pictish Beast") is unknown. It is similar but not identical to Roman sea-horse images, and it is not clear whether this originates from images brought over by the Romans, or had a place in Pictish mythology.[15]
Medieval and Renaissance, and Modern
The "sea-horse" in medieval heraldry was a legendary creature that was part horse and part fish, not to be confused with the later heraldic hippocampus, which was a natural seahorse.
The mythic hippocampus has been used as a heraldic charge, particularly since the Renaissance, most often in the armorial bearings of people and places with maritime associations. However, in a blazon, the terms hippocamp and hippocampus now refer to the real animal called a seahorse, and the terms seahorse and sea-horse refer to the mythological creature. The above-mentioned fish hybrids are seen less frequently.[16]
The sea-horse is also a common image in Renaissance and post-renaissance art, for example, in the Trevi fountain, dating to 1732.
A winged hippocampus has been used as a symbol for Air France since its establishment in 1933 (inherited from its predecessor Air Orient); it appears today on the engine nacelles of Air France aircraft.
Capricornus and related mythical animals
Closely related to the hippocampus is the "sea goat", represented by Capricorn, a mythical creature with the front half of a goat and the rear half of a fish. Canonical figures, most of which were not themselves cult images, and coins of the Carian goddess associated with Aphrodite as the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias through interpretatio graeca, show the goddess riding on a sea-goat.[17] Brody describes her thus:[18]
... a semi-nude female figure appears riding on a sea-goat, accompanied by a dolphin and a Triton. This is the goddess Aphrodite herself, shown here not in her distinctive local guise but in a more traditionally Hellenistic style. She is the marine aspect of Aphrodite, known to the Greeks as Aphrodite Pelagia .... She rides on a fantastic marine creature with the body and tail of a fish and the forepart of a goat. This sea-goat moves to the right and turns his head back to look at the goddess. This group also appears on Aphrodisian coins from the 3rd century A.D.
Aside from aigikampoi, the fish-tailed goats representing Capricorn,[17] other fish-tailed animals rarely appeared in Greek art, but are more characteristic of the Etruscans. These include leokampoi (fish-tailed lions), taurokampoi (fish-tailed bulls) or pardalokampoi (fish-tailed leopards).[
The Holly King is the lord of Winter woods, ruler presiding over the waning year - a darker twin to the Oak King. The two are dual aspects of the Horned God battling for the favor of the Goddess
The myth of the Holly King/Oak King probably originated from the Druids to whom these two trees were highly sacred. The Oak King (God of the Waxing Year) kills the Holly King (God of the Waning Year) at Yule (the Winter Solstice). The Oak King then reigns supreme until Litha (the Summer Solstice)
Origin: Norse
Siblings: Baldr
Description: God of winter, was blind.
He was tricked by Loki to shoot baldr with a mistletoe arrow ( The only thing that could kill him)
The goddess Frigg made everyone swear not to harm baldr except for mistletoe which was to young. Loki learned this and tricked Hoth.
Odin and the Giantess Rindr had Vaili who grew to adult hood in a day and slayed hoth.
Pronounced: Hoo-gin
Origin: Norse
Name Meaning: Thought
Description: A raven who flies with its partner (Muninn) all over the world and brings info to Odin. Can be seen on ancient Norse clothing and banners. Thought to be a projection of Odin himself.
Origin: Greek
Pronounced:
Parents: Asdepius
Goddess of good health
Origin: Greek
Pronounced: Eye- Ri-S
Name Meaning:
Consort/ Husband: Zephyrus (God of wind)
Siblings: Harpies
Description: Goddess of rainbows and messenger of the gods along side Hermes. She is also know as one of the goddess' of the sea and sky. Iris links the gods to humanity, She travels with the speed of the wind from one end of the world to the other end and into the depths of the sea and the underworld. She carries a caduceus, Like Hermes, And a pitcher of water from the river Styx by order of Zeus. She fills clouds with water. She has gold wings. She is the twin to the titan Arke, Who joined the titans as their messenger and became the enemy. Arke has Iridescent wings. Iris traveled on the rainbow when she was taking the gods message to mortals.
Pronounced: Ice-is
Origin: Egyptian
Name Meaning: Throne
Symbol: The throne, sun disk with cow horns, Sycamore tree
Consort: Osiris
Siblings: Osiris
Children: Horus
Description: A woman wearing a headdress shaped like a throne and on ankh in her hand. She is worshiped as the ideal mother and wife, She is the patroness of nature and magic. A friend to slaves, Sinners, and artisans. She listens to prayers of wealthy, maidens, aristocrats, and rulers.
She is an important representative of pharaohs power, the pharaoh was depicted as her child who sat on a throne she provided. Instrumental in resurrection of Osiris, when murdered by set. Nile river flooded every year due to tears of sorrow from Isis as she wept for Osiris.
She can be found on coffins with wings out stretched as a protection against evil.
originally a Goddess from Nubia and was adopted into Egyptian belief. Her name literally means female of throne, Queen of the throne
I am all that is, was, or ever will be." Words of Isis inscribed at the Temple of Sais
Mayan Goddess of the Moon. As an ancient fertility goddess, Ix-Chel was responsible for sending rain to nourish the crops. When fulfilling that function she was called “Lady Rainbow”. She helped insure fertility by overturning her sacred womb jar so that the waters would flow.
Ixchel, the aged jaguar goddess of midwifery and medicine in ancient Maya culture. According to Mayan mythology, Ixchel was married, but had other lovers. When her husband got very jealous of her, she made herself invisible to him and spent her nights assisting women in childbirth. As protector of mothers and children, she is often depicted as a maiden with a rabbit, a symbol of fertility and abundance.
Origin:
Pronounced:
Consort: Izanagi
Children: Kagu-tsuchi
Description :the first female as well as the goddess of creation and death. She died shortly after the birth of Kagu-tsuchi, and Izanagi followed her to the underworld, but failed to bring her back to the living world. A marital spat between the pair caused the cycle of life and death for all living beings.
Origin: Native American (The Lenni Lenope Tribe)
Location: Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey
Pronounced:
Description: Flying Bi-ped With hooves, Kangaroo-like Posture with the head of a goat, leathery bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, cloven hooves, and a forked tail. Said to move quickly and emits a "blood Curdling" Scream.
Legend: A mother had 12 Children, Said her 13th would be a demon. It is said she was a witch and the father was the devil. The child was born on a stormy night, It started out looking normal then changed. In 1740 a clergy exorcised the demon, for the next 100 years it wasn't seen till 1890.
Origin: Norse
Parents: Loki and Giantess Angrboau
Siblings: Fenrir
Arch Ememy: Thor
Symbol: Ouroboros- Snake Biting tail ( Greek word "okerom" to make water.)
Description: Also known as the midgard serpent or world serpent. Odin threw him into the great ocean. He grew so long he was able to circle the earth and grasp his tail. Legend says when he lets go of his tail that will be when the world ends ( Much like atlas if he let go of the world.) He is considered a venomous snake or dragon.
Hindu myth: a man that was a gandhava( celestial musician) but was cursed into a giant with no head nor neck but with a mouth on his stomach and an eye between his shoulders. He was killed and freed from his curse by the god Rama.
Origin: Hindu
Pronounced: Call- e
Description: Kali, is the powerful and often feared Goddess of death and destruction which is part of the Alchemical process of resurrection, rebirth, and empowerment. She brings the death of the Ego as the illusory self-centered view of reality. She is the great destroyer and transformer of that which is profane and needs to be purified by fire (Shakti) to bring the life force into its highest expression.
Destroyer of Ego, wrath of material energy, uncontrolled, absolute, reflected as Goddess Kali in Indian mythology.
n Hindu mythology, Kamadhenu (Sanskrit: कामधेनु, pronounced [kaməðenu]) was a divine cow who was believed to be the mother of all cows.
Origin: Hittite
Pronounced:
Description: Goddess of healing and magic. She was able to cure paralysis and other illnesses, by unbinding the illness from the worshiper. When the fertility God Telepinu had left the world in a rage, resulting in widespread famine, it was Kamrusepas who was finally able to subdue his anger with her rituals. After calming him with honey and fruit, her magic captured and banished his anger to the underworld.
A Kappa is a dwarf-like water demon of Japan that resembles a shrivelled old man, with webbed hands and feet, sporting a tortoise shell. These demons are thought to the ghosts of drowned souls, and any pond or river may have one. They possess immense strength and can easily overpower a human, with the source of their power coming from the stored water within the dish on their head.
Kirin are considered the highest beings of the furry animals in Chinese myths. Kirin often appear before good changes happen. They are often described as Eastern unicorns. Despite their fierce appearance, Kirin are known to be gentle creatures that never step on living things
Kitsune (fox) Yokai are Japanese creatures from Japanese folklore and ghost stories. A Japanese history professor also told me that to be "cursed by a fox" was a euphemism for mental illness
Origin: Norway, Greenland
Pronounced:
Description: It was believed that they originated from a siting of a giant squid, that are believed to grow 40-50 ft In size. Krakens were known to attack ships by wrapping their tenticules around the hull and capsizing it. The Crew would then drown or be eaten . They had 1000 arms and were 100's of feet big.
Greek: Created by Hades from furious anger and hatred. He was to power, like Typhon, He was imprisoned in a cave at the bottom of the sea.
Some believe my also be associated with scylla
Personification of power
Origin: Hindu
Name Meaning: Deformed or monstrous.
Consort: Riddhi, Bhadra
Description: Lord of wealth, god king of the semi-divine yakshas. he is a fat man covered in jewels, carrying money bags and club. he is a dwarf with a fair complexion, 3 legs, 8 teeth and 1 eye, he also holds a pomegranate. with him is a mongoose. he is thought to be evil and the chief of all evil creatures living in the darkness.
La chusa- Hispanic folklore: a witch with the head of a hideous old woman and the body of an owl. She is said to take peoples souls when they die. If you caught her, in the morning she would turn into a beautiful woman.
Lamia was once the beautiful queue of Libya but was later transformed into a man eating demon with a serpent tail. The reason for this transformation has been the subject of much interpretation. One story told how this was caused by Hera forcing Lamia to eat her own children. Others said that Hera directly gave Lamia the monster appearance. Whatever the origin, Lamia has been used extensively in many folktales and stories
Origin: Greek
Pronounced:
Description: Goddess of cures and remedies
In Celtic folklore, the Irish Leannán Sí "Barrow-Lover" is a beautiful woman of the Aos Sí (fairy folk) who takes a human lover. Lovers of the Leannán Sídhe are said to live brief, though highly inspired, lives. She is generally depicted as a beautiful Muse, who offers inspiration to an artist in exchange for their love and devotion; however, this frequently results in madness for the artist, as well as premature death
Goddess of the Ocean and the New Year. "Iemanjá" known as "Yemanjá" or "Janaína" in Brazilian Candomblé and Umbanda religions. And Yemaya" in the folklore of Yoruba and Afro-Caribbean.
Goddess Wives of the dioscuri twins, were mortal princesses who were carried to heaven by the gods.
Light elves were beautiful creatures. They were considered to be the “guardian angels” The god Freyr, were the ruler of Alfheim. The Light elves were minor gods of nature and fertility; they could help or hinder, humans with their knowledge of magical powers. They also often delivered an inspiration to art or music
Pronounced: Lil-i-th
Origin: Jewish
Consort: Samuel (Meaning- Poison of God)
Description: A female demon of the night, Primal Feminine aspect of dark sexuality often demonized as vampiric succubus. She is the symbol of modern independent woman who refuses the control of men. She flies around searching for newborn children to either kidnap or strangle them.
boys: Vulnerable to her for their first week of life
Girls: Vulnerable to her for their first three weeks of life.
Children wore amulets for protection, Lilith terrorizes newborns especially boys, unless she see's three angel names. Her obsession With children comes from losing hers.
She seduces and sleeps with men to create demon sons, if a man had a wet dream it was because of Lilith. Legends say Lilith was Adam's first wife, but was taken out of the book because she wanted to be equal.
Its said that Adam married Lilith because he was tired of lying with animals. In sexual intercourse Lilith would not comply to male dominance and lie beneath him.
She cursed Adam and went to the red sea, Adam told god, who then sent 3 angels to bring her back to Eden, She cursed them too, She then Became the lover to demons and had 100 children a day.
They threatened to take her children if she didn't return, when she didn't they took her children. And god gave Adam the docile Eve.
Lilith had daughters called lilim, also known as harlots from hell, and succubi. They were lusty she-demons. Lilith then was thought of as the wife, concubine, or grandmother of Satan. Lilith is the most powerful during the Waning of the moon.
Elderly goddess of prayer. She delivered prayers to the gods in heaven.
Lofn (pronounced LAW-ven) is the Norse Goddess of Forbidden Love. She is one of Frigg’s handmaidens, and serves Frigg (who is the Goddess of Marriage) by removing the obstacles that lovers face. She also presides over the marriage of the two that she has brought together. Lofn’s name, which means “praise,” is also seen as Lofna, Lofe, and Lofua.
In Greek mythology, Ioke (Ἰωκή) was the Spirit and Personification of Pursuit. In the Iliad, she is one of several warlike Personifications portrayed on Athena's aegis, other ones being Phobos, Eris and Alke, alongside the head of Medusa.
Loki (Norse): He is a son of the giant Farbauti ("cruel striker") and the giantess Laufey. He is regarded as one of Aesir, but is on occasion their enemy. He is connected with fire and magic, and can assume many different shapes (horse, falcon, fly). He is crafty and malicious, but is also heroic. Responsible for the death of Balder, the god of light. Is often called the Sly One, the Trickster, the Shape Changer, and the Sky Traveler.
Loogaroo are demons that haunt the West Indies, particularly Haiti, Grenada, and the Dominican Republic. The name is a corruption of loup garou, the French werewolf. The Loogaroo is sometimes described as a witch or a vampire, but often is a shapeshifter that holds all the attributes of other monsters. This monster sucks blood from innocent victims, which is given to the devil in exchange for magical powers. The Loogaroo is closely related to the Soucouyant of Trinidad and Guadeloupe.
The Loup Garou is the French form of a werewolf. This creature can change from a human into a wolf at will, unlike a werewolf, who is at the mercy of the moon’s phases. The Loup Garou also keeps his human wits while in the guise of a wolf, which makes it no less dangerous. This legend traveled to Louisiana where it became known as the Rougarou
* goddess Maat _ In ancient Egypt Maat was the goddess of truth, justice, righteousness and order, responsible for the maintenance of social and cosmic order, daughter (or mother) of Ra and wife of Thoth (some writers argue that the moon-god Thoth was Maat's brother). She is represented as a young woman sporting an ostrich feather on her head, which was weighed against the heart (soul) of the deceased in the judgment of Osiris. *
Irish transfunctional goddess; usually identified with the Morrigan or named as her sister. She is apparently a goddess of sovereignty. There are several figures named Macha in Irish mythology, several of whom are identified as the origin of the name of Emain Macha. The earliest references to her identify her as one of the sisters of the Morrigan.
"Maeve" is a portrait of the warrior queen from Celtic mythology. She is a headstrong and ruthless queen who has ties to the faerie world and plays a crucial role in the Celtic tale of the Cattle Raid of Cooley.
the Inca Goddess of the Moon. She is the daughter of Mama Cocha, Goddess of the Sea, and sister/wife of Inti, God of the Sun. Mama Quilla was worshipped in particular by women, because she ruled over menstrual cycles and marriage. While she was imagined in a human form, she was often represented by a disc made of either gold or silver—silver was considered to be Mama Quilla’s tears fallen to earth. Their love for Mama Quilla made the Inca very afraid of lunar eclipses.
Origin: Arabian, Pre-Islamic
Pronounced:
Name Meaning:
Description: God of woman and menstruation. His statue is cared for by woman but when they are on their period they are not allowed near it.
Mania is the Roman Goddess of the Dead. Not to be confused with the Greek Goddess of Madness (also named Mania), she is called the mother of the Manes, the souls of the dead, who became her children when they descended to the Underworld. She was also later said to be the mother of the Lares, the household Gods. Mania rules over the Underworld along with Mantus, God of the Dead. Her image was hung over doors to frighten away evil spirits.
Pronounced: Mares of Die-o-me-de-s
Origin: Greek
Hercules 8th labor out of 12
Description: they are also known as the mares of thrace, They were four man-eating horses. They belonged to diomedes, King of thrace, Son of Ares and Cyrene. It is said that Alexander the great's horse, bucephalus, was descended from the mares. Hercules labor was to take these horses.
The horses names:
They are magnificent, wild and uncontrollable mad/ crazy. They were kept Tethered to a bronze manager due to their madness, that caused by the unnatural diet of human flesh. Legends even say they breathed fire. Hercules left his favored companion to watch the horses, but he was eaten, so in revenge Hercules fed Diomedes to the mares. Said that eating calms them down. used that time to bind their mouths. He brought them back and were dedicated to Hera. Some legends say they were allowed to run free, others said he tried to sacrifice to Zeus. He refused and sent wolves, Lions and bears to kill them. Descendants used in Trojan war.
A Manticore is part lion, part eagle, and part scorpion, but it is far from the oddest creature you'll come across. A Manticore is a legendary creature similiar to a sphinx but described as a lion with the head of an old man, rows of incredibly sharp teeth and a tail that can fire deadly quills at its victim. A Manticore is often seen as dangerous and predatory, using its quills to poison or paralyse a victim before devouring Manticore them with its many rows of teeth - many people used to blame missing people on this beast
Mermaids are mythical and legendary sea-dwelling creatures of European & Asian folklore, resembling a woman, with a human torso, but having a fishtail or tails instead of legs. Mermen are also heard of, but have a secondary role in the lore of the sea. Other similar water spirits include nymphs, dryads, oceanids, hamadryads, naiads, nerieds, oreads, and undines.
A mermalion of a different kind. The fish-like lower extremities are gone, and are replaced with tentacles
Mesperyian, goddess of torture and punishment, daughter of Hades and Persephone. Burned and cursed by Aphrodite for her superior beauty.
n Aztec mythology, Mictecacihuatl is Queen of Mictlan, the underworld. Her role is to keep watch over the bones of the dead. She presided over the ancient festivals of the dead, which evolved from Aztec traditions into the modern Day of the Dead after synthesis with Spanish cultural traditions. She is said now to preside over the contemporary festival as well. Mictecacihuatl was represented with a defleshed body and with jaw agape to swallow the stars during the day.
In Norse mythology, Mist (Old Norse "cloud" or mist) is a Valkyrie. Mist appears in Valkyrie list in the Poetic Edda poem Grímnismál and both of the Nafnaþulur Valkyrie lists. No further information is provided about her. Rudolf Simek says that her name, Mist, is likely related to Old Norse mistr, meaning "cloud, mist," and that this "reminds us of the way in which Valkyries can ride through the air and over water." She is one of the few Norse Goddesses who`s names are intact in Modern English.
Mōdraniht (Old English "Night of the Mothers" or "Mothers'-night") was an event held at what is now Christmas Eve by the Anglo-Saxon Pagans where a sacrifice may have been made. The event is attested by the medieval English historian Bede in his 8th-century Latin work De temporum ratione. Scholars have proposed connections between the Anglo-Saxon Mōdraniht and events attested among other Germanic peoples (specifically those involving the dísir, Matres and Matrones
in Welsh mythology, Modron ("divine mother") was a daughter of Afallach, derived from the Gaulish goddess Matrona. She was the mother of Mabon, who bears her name as "Mabon ap Modron" ("Mabon, Son of Modron"), and who was stolen away from her when he was three days-old and later rescued by King Arthur. In the Welsh Triads, Modron becomes impregnated by Urien and gives birth to Owain and Morvydd.
Mokos- Slavic myth: the elder earth goddess. spring signifies that she is pregnant. she is a patron to women, especially pregnant women.
God of satire, Mockery, and poets
The Morrigan is a goddess of battle, strife, and fertility. Her name translates as either "Great Queen" or "Phantom Queen," and both epithets are entirely appropriate for her. The Morrigan appears as both a single goddess and a trio of goddesses.
The Morrígan is a goddess of battle, strife, and sovereignty from the Irish mythology. She sometimes appears in the form of a crow, flying above the warriors, and in the Ulster cycle she also takes the form of an eel, a wolf and a cow. She is generally considered a war deity comparable with the Germanic Valkyries, although her association with a cow also suggests a role connected with wealth and the land.
The Morrigan, the supreme war goddess. Queen of phantoms and demons, shape-shifter. Often takes the shape of a raven or crow. She is a triple goddess in Ireland
Origin: Greek
9 sister goddesses of music, song, dance, and so on. They are minions of the god apollo, and sang as a choir at the feasts of the gods.
Naga - an ancient race of semi divine serpent creatures beings first depicted in ancient Vedic Hindu mythology and oral folklore from at least 5000 B.C. They are extremely gifted shape-shifter, able to assume any shape they desire
Two white Nāginī. A female nāga is a nāgī or nāginī. Nāga is the Sanskrit and Pāli word for a deity taking the form of a very great snake—specifically the King Cobra, found in Hinduism and Buddhism.
Nalusa falaya- Choctaw myth: a shadow creature that resembled a man with slanted eyes and pointy ears. It would approach men on its belly like a snake. He would frighten hunters at night.
Namahage (生剥?)[1] in traditional Japanese folklore is a demonlike being, portrayed by men wearing hefty ogre masks and traditional straw capes (mino) during a New Year's ritual[2] of the Oga Peninsula[3] area of Akita Prefecture in northern Honshū, Japan.[4]
The frightfully dressed men, armed with deba knives (albeit wooden fakes[3] or made of papier-mâché) and toting a teoke (手桶?, "hand pail" made of wood),[2] march in pairs or threes going door-to-door making rounds of peoples' homes, admonishing children who may be guilty of laziness or bad behavior,[2] yelling phrases like "Are there any crybabies around?" (泣く子はいねがぁ Nakuko wa inee gā??)[5] or "Are naughty kids around?" (悪い子はいねえか Waruiko wa inee ka??) in the pronunciation and accent of the local dialect.
Older tradition
The above description is the modern rendition of the namahage visit, but the practice has shifted over the years.
Season
The namahage visits are nowadays practiced on New Year's Eve[6] (using the Western calendar). But it used to be practiced on the so-called "Little New Year" (小正月 Koshōgatsu?),[3] the first full moon night of the year. This is 15th day of the first lunar calendrical year, which is not the same thing as January 15[7] as it usually falls around mid-February, exactly two weeks after the Chinese New Year (Japanese: Kyūshogatsu).
Etymology
The namahage's purpose was to admonish laggards who sit around the fire idly doing nothing useful.[3][8] One of the refrains used by the namahage in the olden days was "Blisters peeled yet?" (なもみコ剝げたかよ namomi ko hagetaka yo?).[3] Namomi signifies the heat blisters, or more precisely hidako (火だこ hidako?) (Erythema ab igne or EAI), a rashlike condition caused by overexposure to fire sitting by the dugout irori hearth. Thus "Fire rash peeling" is generally believed to be the derivation of the name namahage.[8]
Some of the namahage's other spoken lines of old were "Knife whetted yet?" (包丁コとげたかよ hōchōko togetaka yo?)[3] and "Boiled adzuki beans done yet?" (小豆コ煮えたかよ azuki ko nietaka yo?).[3] The knife apparently signified the instrument to peel the blisters.[9] And it may be mentioned in passing that it was customary to have azuki gruel on the "Little New Year".[10]
Although the namahage are nowadays conceived of as a type of oni or ogre, it was originally a custom where youngsters impersonated the kami who made visitations during the New Year's season.[3] Thus it is a kind of toshigami.
The namahage would typically receive mochi from the households they visited,[3] but newlywed couples were supposed to play host to them in full formal attire and offer them sake and food.[3]
Legend
The legend of the Namahage varies according to an area. An Akita legend has developed regarding the origins of namahage, that Emperor Wu of Han (d. 87 BC) from China came to Japan bringing five demonic ogres to the Oga area, and the ogres established quarters in the two local high peaks, Honzan (本山?) and Shinzan (真山?). These oni, as they are most commonly called in Japan, stole crops and young women from Oga's villages.[6][11]
The citizens of Oga wagered the demons that if they could build a flight of stone steps, one thousand steps in all, from the village to the five shrine halls[5] (variant: from the sea shore to the top of Mt. Shinzan[11]) all in one night, then the villagers will supply them with a young woman every year.[11] But if they failed the task they would have to leave. But just as the ogres were about to complete the work, a villager mimicked the cry of a rooster, and the ogres departed, believing they had failed.[5][11]
Interpretations
An obvious purpose of the festival is to encourage young children to obey their parents and to behave, important qualities in Japan's heavily structured society. Parents know who the Namahage actors are each year and might request them to teach specific lessons to their children during their visit.[12] The Namahage repeat the lessons to the children before leaving the house.[13]
Some ethnologists and folklorists suggest it relates to a belief in deities (or spirits) coming from abroad to take away misfortune and bring blessings for the new year,[14] while others believe it is an agricultural custom where the kami from the sacred mountains visit.
Narcissim/ Narcissism is a term that originated with Narcissus in Greek mythology who fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water. Now it is used to describe a person who is pride or selfish.
nari Okami - Japanese goddess of rice, sake, fertility, tea, foxes and kitsune (faelike fox spirits), agriculture, and industry
The Irish god, Nechtan, possessed the secret "Well of Wisdom," the holy well of knowledge. Only he was allowed to draw water from it. Nine hazel trees (associated w/ wisdom) grew around the well. Five salmon lived in the well & ate the fallen nuts. The remaining husks floated down 5 streams which issued from the well, each representing one of the 5 senses from which all knowledge was acquired.
The Goddess Neith is one of the most ancient Goddesses of predynastic Egypt, She represents the Primal Beginning of things. She Personified the Abyss, the Deep, and the Dark of Night. Neith was a Creator Goddess who could be called the Great Mother. She is represented as self-existing. She is celebrated as the "Only One." The temple of Neith bore the following inscription: 'I am All That Has Been, That Is, and That Will Be. No mortal has yet been able to lift the veil that covers Me.'
In the Ennead of Egyptian mythology, Newet (alternatively spelled Nut, Nuit, and Neuth) was the goddess of the sky. Her name is translated to mean 'sky' and she is considered one of the oldest deities among the Egyptian pantheon, with her origins being found on the creation story of Iunu (Heliopolis). EGYPTIAN GODDESS NUT The goddess of the Milky Way and the heavens. Wife to Geb and mother to Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nepthys.
The 9 Tailed Fox九尾狐~In Japanese folklore it's believed that foxes as they are also called are intelligent beings and becomes magical.The more tails it has the older,wiser, powerful it is.In some folktales it is said that it will only grow an additional tail when it has lived for 1000 years.When it grows its 9th tail, its fur becomes golden or white. These nine-tailed foxes gain the abilities to see and hear anything happening anywhere in the world.Other tales attribute them infinite wisdom
In Norse mythology, Njörðr is one of the principal gods of the Vanir tribe of deities, father of Freyr and Freya. He’s associated with sea, seafaring, wind, fishing, wealth, and crop fertility, and his abode is Nóatún.
Nüwa was a serpent deity from ancient Chinese mythology. Sometimes she is pictured as a gorgeous woman, other times she is shown possessing a woman’s head but the body of a powerful snake. Nüwa was the creator of humankind and remained a powerful benefactor to people and all living creatures (many of which were also her handiwork).
Origin: Ancient Greek
Pronounced:
Roman Name: Nox
Parent: Chaos
Consort: Erebus (Darkness)
Siblings: Erebus, Gaia, Tartarus
Symbol:Star In Crescent Moon
Children w/ Erebus:
Aether (Brightness), Hemera (Day)
Children On her own:
Moros (Doom, Destiny), Ker (Fate, Destruction, Death), Thantos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), Oneior (Dreams) Momus (Blame) Uizys ( Woe, Pain, Distress) Hesperides, Moirai, The Fates, Keres, Nemesis (Indignation, Retribution), Apate (Deceit), Philotes (Friendship, Love), Gera (Old Age), Eris (Strife), Lyssa (madness).
Description: Greek Goddess of night, also believed to be the goddess of hellhounds. She can control Nocturnal animals. Zeus Feared Her Motherly Furry.
A shadowy figure who has stood since the beginning of creation. She is the mother of many other gods such as Hypnos and Thantos. No clear description of her but it is said she is a figure of extreme power and beauty found in the shadows of the world and only seen in glimpses. A churning figure of ash and smoke, 40 ft tall, dressed in black mixed with colors of a space nebula, as if galaxies were being born in her bodice. said she either has wings or rides in a carriot pulled by two large horses with silver fangs, and legs that turned from solid to smoke as they moved.
One of the first and most powerful beings in the universe, Nyx is the daughter of Chaos and sister and consort to Erubus (the God of Darkness). Homer calls her the subduer of gods and men, and relates that even Zeus stood in awe of her
It is said that the first ruler of the cosmos was Phanes, who passed the royal scepter to Erebus and Nyx, who then passed it to Gaea and Uranus, Then to Kronos and Rhea, Then to Zeus and Hera.
Books: House of Night, House of Hades
Origin: Greek
God of Eloquence and learning
In Greek mythology she was the mistress of Hercules. Dressed in skin of Nemean lion and holding Hercules' club; the labors of Hercules are in the background
Oni (鬼?) are a kind of yōkai from Japanese folklore, variously translated as demons, devils, ogres or trolls. They are popular characters in Japanese art, literature and theatre.[1]
Depictions of oni vary widely but usually portray them as hideous, gigantic ogre-like creatures with sharp claws, wild hair, and two long horns growing from their heads.[2] They are humanoid for the most part, but occasionally, they are shown with unnatural features such as odd numbers of eyes or extra fingers and toes.[3] Their skin may be any number of colors, but red and blue are particularly common.[4][5]
They are often depicted wearing tiger-skin loincloths and carrying iron clubs called kanabō (金棒?). This image leads to the expression "oni with an iron club" (鬼に金棒 oni-ni-kanabō?), that is, to be invincible or undefeatable. It can also be used in the sense of "strong beyond strong", or having one's natural quality enhanced or supplemented by the use of some tool
The word "oni" is sometimes speculated to be derived from on, the on'yomi reading of a character (隠) meaning to hide or conceal, as oni were originally invisible spirits or gods which caused disasters, disease, and other unpleasant things. These nebulous beings could also take on a variety of forms to deceive (and often devour) humans. Thus the Chinese character 鬼 (pinyin: guǐ; Jyutping: gwai2) meaning "ghost" came to be used for these formless creatures.
The invisible oni eventually became anthropomorphized and took on its modern, ogre-like form, partly via syncretism with creatures imported by Buddhism, such as the Indian rakshasa and yaksha, the hungry ghosts called gaki, and the devilish underlings of Enma-Ō who punish sinners in Jigoku (Hell).They share many similarities with the Arabian Jinn.
Another source for the oni's image is a concept from China and Onmyōdō. The northeast direction was once termed the kimon (鬼門, "demon gate"), and was considered an unlucky direction through which evil spirits passed. Based on the assignment of the twelve zodiac animals to the cardinal directions, the kimon was also known as the ushitora (丑寅), or "Ox Tiger" direction, and the oni's bovine horns and cat-like fangs, claws, and tiger-skin loincloth developed as a visual depiction of this term.[8]
Temples are often built facing that direction, and Japanese buildings sometimes have L-shaped indentions at the northeast to ward oni away. Enryakuji, on Mount Hiei northeast of the center of Kyoto, and Kaneiji, in that direction from Edo Castle, are examples. The Japanese capital itself moved northeast from Nagaoka to Kyoto in the 8th century
Traditional cultureSome villages hold yearly ceremonies to drive away oni, particularly at the beginning of Spring. During the Setsubun festival, people throw soybeans outside their homes and shout "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" ("鬼は外！福は内！"?, " Oni go out! Blessings come in!").[10] Monkey statues are also thought to guard against oni, since the Japanese word for monkey, saru, is a homophone for the word for "leaving". Folklore has it that holly can be used to guard against Oni.[11] In Japanese versions of the game tag, the player who is "it" is instead called the "oni".[12]
In more recent times, oni have lost some of their original wickedness[citation needed] and sometimes take on a more protective function. Men in oni costumes often lead Japanese parades to ward off any bad luck, for example. Japanese buildings sometimes include oni-faced roof tiles called onigawara (鬼瓦?), which are thought to ward away bad luck, much like gargoyles in Western tradition.[13]
Oni are prominently featured in the Japanese children's story Momotaro (Peach Boy), and the book The Funny Little Woman.
Many Japanese idioms and proverbs also make reference to oni. For example, the expression oya ni ninu ko wa oni no ko (親に似ぬ子は鬼の子?) means literally "a child that does not resemble its parents is the child of an oni," but it is used idiomatically to refer to the fact that all children naturally take after their parents, and in the odd case that a child appears not to do so, it might be because the child's true biological parents are not the ones who are raising the child. Depending on the context in which it is used, it can have connotations of "children who do not act like their parents are not true human beings," and may be used by a parent to chastise a misbehaving child. Variants of this expression include oya ni ninu ko wa onigo (親に似ぬ子は鬼子?) and oya ni ninu ko wa onikko (親に似ぬ子は鬼っ子?).[14] There is also a well known game in Japan called kakure oni (隠れ鬼?), which means "hidden oni", or more commonly kakurenbo, which is the same as the hide-and-seek game that children in western countries play.
Origin: Greek
Parents: Apollo and the muse Calliope
Description: A legendary musician, poet, and prophet. He is the inspiration for the singer. he is called the father of songs.
Major Story: Was able to charm all living things and even stones with his music even tried to save his wife from the underworld, but was killed by those who disliked his music.
an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He was classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and holding a symbolic crook and flail
Pan is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music, and companion of the nymphs."He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a faun or satyr. With his homeland in rustic Arcadia, he is recognized as the god of fields, groves, and wooded glens; because of this, Pan is connected to fertility and the season of spring. The ancient Greeks also considered Pan to be the god of theatrical criticism
PANACEIA (Panakeia) The goddess of curatives, literally named "All-Cure." She was one of the daughters of the medicine god Asclepius. "Panacea, the Greek Goddess of healing, was the daughter of Aesculapius, the god of medicine. She was said to have a potion with which she healed the sick. This brought about the concept of the panacea in medicine, a substance meant to cure all diseases.
The "box" was actually a large jar given to Pandora which contained all the evils of the world. When Pandora opened the jar, all its contents except for one item were released into the world. The one remaining item was Hope. Today, to open Pandora's box means to create evil that cannot be undone.
Pele - Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes
Perchta or Berchta was once known as a goddess in Southern Germanic paganism in the Alpine countries. Her name means "the bright one". Perchta was at first a benevolent spirit. In Germanic paganism, Perchta had the rank of a minor deity. That changed to an enchanted creature (spirit or elf) in Old High German - such as Grimm describes - but she was given a more malevolent character (sorceress or witch) in later ages
Perun - Old Slavic God of storms, thunder and lightning. Perunovým attribute of the ax - the weapon of Slavic warriors. The tree was dedicated to Perun Dub. Day - Thursday. It was Perun and donor harvest next Dažboga and Veles. #Slavic
A phooka (a Celtic trickster)
Pisces understands the world & all its different kinds of victims. A Pisces can be empathetic with any brand of misery or sadness. She knows just what to say to make you feel great. She's smart all around. She can boost anyone's ego & lift anyone's spirits.
Pronounced: Pic-see
Origin: Celtic and Swedish
Name Meaning: Wee little fairy
Description: Believed to inhabit ancient underground ancestor sites such as stone circles, barrows, quoits, rounds, or standing stones. Generally benign, mischievous short of stature and attractively child-like, they are fond of dancing and gather out doors in huge numbers to dance and sometimes wrestle.
Modern times, they are usually depicted with pointed ears and often wearing green outfits and pointed hats. Sometimes their eyes are described as being pointed upwards at the temple ends.
In modern times a pixie is a synonym for fairy and sprites, however in traditional mythology the two were at war.
Christians said they were the souls of unbaptized dead children. Some even believe that the name is racial to the Pictic tribes who used to paint and tattoo their skin blue, an attribute to pixies.
(Lady Midday) - a noon demon in Slavic mythology. She was usually pictured as a young woman dressed in white that roamed field bounds. She assailed folk working at noon causing heatstrokes and aches in the neck, sometimes she even caused madness.
Psyche was a woman gifted with extreme beauty and grace, one of the mortal women whose love and sacrifice for her beloved God Eros earned her immortality. Psyche became, as Greek word “psyche” implies, the deity of soul. To modern days, the myth of Psyche symbolizes a self-search and personal growth through learning, losing, and saving the real love.
The púca is a legendary creature of Celtic folklore, most notably in Ireland, the West of Scotland, and Wales. The púca is a mythological fairy and ultimate shapeshifter. The creatures are capable of assuming a variety of terrifying forms, including a horse, rabbit, goat, goblin, or dog. No matter what shape the púca takes, its fur is always dark. They are most commonly seen as a black horse with a flowing mane and luminescent orange eyes.
Quetzalcoatl is an Aztec God that is worshipped by people in other ancient cultures as well. To the Egyptians he is Thoth. In both these ancient beliefs and many others he is the God of Knowledge and Wisdom. Also, Hermes and Metatron
Origin: Navjho
Description: It is a story about how a bird went out trying to collect all the colors of the rainbow. This is how all birds got the large amounts of coloring they have today.
In Norse mythology, Rán (Old Norse "sea") is a sea goddess. She is married to Ægir and they have nine daughters together. She had a net in which she tried to capture men who ventured out on the sea She is also associated with the practice of sailors bringing gold with them on any voyage, so that if they drowned while at sea, Ran would be pleased by their gift
Rhiannon was one of the Celtic Mythology`s most beloved goddesses, with a name meaning "Queen," and she was recognized as the goddess of the moon, inspiration, songbirds, and horses
Origin: Arabic and Persian
Similar Birds: Phoenix, Thunderbird
Description: A legendary Bird of prey often said to be white, could carry an elephant in it's talons, would kill it by dropping it from extreme heights. It is 16ft long plus a 8 yard long wing span, Feathers are as long as palm tree leaves. There wings were the wind, and its flight is the thunder. An egg is 50 yards in circumference, never lands on earth only on a mountain, The center of the world. It has a forked tongue, Presence darkens the skies, and guards a valley filled with jewels.
In Slavic mythology Rod is the first god progenitor of deities, creator of the Universe and its manager. He is the supreme universal principle, which established the divine law Pravda (Prav). He is a protector of blood-ties and clan relations, a patron of kinship and clan unions.
A fantastic depiction of 'Rusalka', A mythical water spirit who lures young men into water to drown them
In Greek mythology, a satyr is one of a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus with goat-like (caprine) features, including a goat-tail, goat-like ears, and sometimes a goat-like phallus. In Roman Mythology there is a similar concept with goat-like features, the faun being half-man, half-goat. Greek-speaking Romans often use the Greek term saturos when referring to the Latin faunus. The female "Satyresses" were a late invention of poets.
Selene is the Greek moon goddess. She is the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and sister of the sun-god Helios and Eos, goddess of the dawn. Selene is associated with Artemis and Hecate, and all were regarded as lunar goddesses, although only Selene was regarded as the personification of the moon itself. The name Selene is likely derived from selas (σέλας), meaning "light". Her Roman equivalent is Luna.
"Selene was the titan goddess and the divine personification of the Moon. She was a daughter of Hyperion, the titan of light, and the sister of Eos and Helios, correspondingly the titans of dawn and the Sun. Selene’s dearest lover was Endymion, who was granted eternal youth and immortality on the condition of spending his life asleep. Selene visited him every night and the couple had many children, the most notable of whom were the Menai, the goddesses of the lunar months."
Selkies (also known as silkies or selchies) are mythological creatures found in Faroese, Icelandic, Irish, and Scottish folklore. The word derives from earlier Scots selich, (from Old English seolh meaning seal). Selkies are said to live as seals in the sea but shed their skin to become human on land. The legend apparently originated on the Orkney and Shetland Islands
The serpopard is a mythical beast from ancient Egypt that resembles a large lion or lioness with glowing red eyes and a serpents long winding neck.
the Great Goddess means “Cosmic Energy."Woman is the creator of the universe the universe is her form; woman is the foundation of the world, she is the true form of the body. In woman is the form of all things, of all that lives and moves in the world. There is no jewel rarer than woman, no condition superior to that of a woman
Bashkir and Tatar myth: a forest creature with long arms and fingers, a horn on its forehead, and a woolly body. It was said to be trickster and leading people into thickets and tickling them to death.
In Greek mythology, Silenus (Greek Σειληνός) was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus.
the half-woman, half-bird creature emerging from Russian mythology, which in all its many forms most closely approximates the figure of the Muse or Inspiration, soothing, gentle and incredibly lyrical. In an enigmatic etching, "The Eternal Game," the Sirin appears in a vision before a woman playing a game of chess; following a mystical strain, the etching seems to suggest that the Sirin is the woman’s alter ego and that the game she is really playing is a game of identity.
Slavic mythology character - Siryn the bird, singing its song of sadness.
Sjöfn (Old Norse ‘Sgafni’ or ‘Sefi’) is a goddess associated with love. In other kennings, her name is associated with the word ‘woman’ who represents the feminine side of romance and attraction. women and men.
Skadi: Norse goddess of winter and the hunt she was the wife of Ull, Thor's stepson, she was a strong fighter and quite beautiful . She is only a goddess because she alone stormed Asgard
In the Finnish mythology the Nine diseases are the sons of Loviatar, the blind daughter of Tuoni.She is impregnated by the wind. According to the version told in the Kalevala they are Pistos (consumption), Ähky (colic), Luuvalo (gout), Riisi (rickets), Paise (ulcer), Rupi (scab), Syöjä (cancer), and Rutto (plague). The ninth, a witch and the worst of all, remains unnamed. He, the personification of envy, is banished by his mother to become the scourge of mankind.
Pronounced: Si-f-ee-n-ks
Origin: Greek, Egyptian, European
Name Meaning: Living Rock
Description: A creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human
Greek: Lion body, Great bird wings, and the head of a woman. She is treacherous and Merciless. Those who can not answer her riddles are killed and eaten. There is only one sphinx.
When Bested she threw herself off a cliff and dies.
European: Has Breasts and wears pearls
Egyptian: Most famous is the great sphinx of Giza, Instead of a woman was man who was viewed as benevolent, but has ferocious strength both thought of as guardians. usually found at royal tombs or religious temples.
The Spider Woman, sometimes referred to as The Spider Grandmother, is portrayed in Native American myth as the Mother who created all life. The woman who sits in the middle of the universe spinning her web connecting all living life to each other. She was honored in tribes such as the Navajo and the Hopi Indians.
Strzyga is a female demon a bit similar to vampire in Slavic (and especially Polish) folklore. People who were born with two hearts and two souls and two sets of teeth (second one barely visible) were believed to be strzygas. Furthermore a newborn child with already developed teeth was also believed to surely become one. When strzyga was recognized it was chased away from human habitat.
Succubus is a female demon or supernatural being appearing in dreams, who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus. Religious traditions hold that repeated intercourse with a succubus may result in the deterioration of health or even death.
Suea peek- Himmapan myth: the head and fore body of a tiger, and the back end and wings of a peacock. It had hands and could walk upright.
Svetovid is the Slavic god of war, fertility and abundance. He is four-headed war god. Svetovid's four heads stand for the four sides of the world that this all-seeing god is looking at. His attributes are a sword, a bridle, a saddle, and a white horse. Svantevit possessed several major temples, each with a guard of more than a hundred men.
Tamesis is the Celtic Goddess of Fresh Water. She gave her name to the River Thames—it was common for the Celts to have a deity for each particular river or body of water. She is said to wear a green cloak. Tamesis’s name, which means “dark flow,” is also seen as Temesia or Temesis
Origin: Greek
Name Meaning: Disturber
Description: Ghost-like creatures blamed for frightening horses, often associated with Poseidon as god of horses. Race horses given amulets to ward off, since they were normally found at race tracks. They are the ghosts of minor hero's.
the god or daimon of non-violent death. His touch was gentle, likened to that of his twin brother Hypnos (Sleep). Violent death was the domain of Thanatos' blood-craving sisters, the Keres, spirits of slaughter and disease.
the Titan Goddess of Sight (thea) and the shining light of the clear blue sky (aithre). She also endowed gold, silver and gems with their brilliance and intrinsic value. Theia married Hyperion, the Titan God of Light, and bore him three bright children--Helios the Sun, Eos the Dawn, and Selene the Moon
The Thunderbird is a legendary creature in North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It's considered a "supernatural" bird of power and strength. It is especially important, and richly depicted, in the art, songs and oral histories of many Pacific Northwest Coast cultures, but is also found in various forms among the peoples of the American Southwest and Great Plains.
In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is Chaos, a primordial Goddess of the Ocean, mating with Abzû (the god of fresh water) to produce younger gods. In the Enûma Elish, the Babylonian epic of creation, she gives birth to the first generation of deities; she later makes war upon them and is killed by the storm-god Marduk. The heavens and the earth are formed from Her divided body
Chaldean snake goddess, mother of hydras, gorgons, sirens, and snakes.
tir na nog | Tir na Nog is an island in ancient Irish mythology
Origin: San Religion
Pronounced:
Description: is a sky deity associated with the phenomena of thunder and lightning. His name translates to "bloodied knee", and he is said to dwell in a red heaven located somewhere in the east, as opposed to Gaunab's black heaven.
In mythology the Tuatha De Danann are believed to be shapeshifters. This could be thought of in terms of having the ability to alter the perception of another individual; making one believe that reality is different from what is actually going on. Shapeshifters are also known as changelings.
Tuatha Dé Danann, In Irish-Celtic mythology, the Tuatha Dé Danann are the Irish race of gods, founded by the goddess Danu. These gods, who originally lived on 'the islands in the west', had perfected the use of magic. They traveled on a big cloud to the land that later would be called Ireland and settled there. The Tuatha Dé were later driven to the underworld. There they still live as invisible beings and are known as the Aes sidhe. In a just battle, they will fight beside mortals
Finnish mythology. Tuulikki (pronounced TOO-le-kee) is the Finnish Goddess of Forest Creatures, daughter of Mielikki and Tapio. Her name means “little wind,” and she plays a role very similar to that of her mother. Both Tuulikki and Mielikki were asked to help hunters in finding game, and Tuulikki also protected breeding animals, ensuring a continued supply.
Tyche - Goddess of fortune and prosperity.
Origin: Greek, Persian, Arab
Pronouced:
Consort: Echidna
Some of Children: Orthrus, Cerberus, Ladon, Lernaen Hydra, Chimera, & Maybe the Sphinx and Nemeon Lion
Father: Tartarus
Mother : Gaia ( her last son)
He is the most deadly monster. Titan of storms, Storm-Demon. He could Create storms with tremendous power and durability. He was known as the "father of all monsters" while his wife, Echidna, was the "mother of all monster". He was the largest and most fearsome of all creatures. His upper body was that of a human, that reached to the stars, his head a 100 dragon heads that sprouted from his neck and shoulders. his hands reaches east and west. his bottom half a gigantic viper coil that when uncurled reached to the top of his head. He was constantly hissing. His whole body was covered in wings and fire came from his eyes. He was feared by the gods. At Gaia's whim he defeated Zeus for imprisoning the titans, but then Zeus defeated him and trapped him under Mt. Etna.
After trapping Typhon, Echidna stayed in a cave and protected the children, which Zeus let live as a challenge to hero's.
Uli is primarily known as a the Hawaiian Goddess of Magic or Sorcery. At the same time she is associated with Knowledge of Healing. She is sometimes related as a wife or sister of the underworld god Manua, or of the upper world god Wakea, and sometimes of the more intellectual god Lono. Her name, Uli, means "any dark color," "to steer," and "omen." Though the 'ulili or tattler bird is her most common kino lau (shape-shift form), she also takes the form of the tropic bird and the plover.
Origin: Native American ( Anishinabe Tribe)
The most important water beings among the great lakes and northeastern woodland tribes.
Also known as Mishipeshu meaning " The great lynx" They have the head and paws of a great cat with horns of a deer or bison and is cover in scales and has dagger like spikes running along back and tail. They sometimes have bird feathers depending on the myth telling.They have exceptionally long tails that are sometimes made of copper. They are thought to roar or hiss when the sound of storms or rushing rapids are near. Michipicoten island in lake superior is their home. They are masters of all water creatures even snakes. Some legends say there is a community of them. It is said they live in the deepest part of the river or lake to cause storms.
They live as opposites to the creature Thunderbird. they are opposing but complementary forces that are engaged in eternal conflict.
Some Stories say they are helpful, protective creatures but most say they are malevolent beasts that brought death and misfortune. For safe passage they need to be placated to get across the lake. As late as 1950's Native Americans preformed traditional ceremonies to placate the underworld panthers and maintain balance with the Thunderbird. The Panthers are believed to guard a vast amount of copper. The belief may have been started by a mistaken Alligator.
Pronounced: U-nee-cor-n
Origin: World Wide
Description: A beast with a large pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. A white horse-like or goat-like animal with cloven hooves and sometimes with a goat beard. An extremely wild woodland creature, that is the symbol of purity and grace. Can only be captured and tamed by a virgin maiden. The horn had the power to render poisoned water potable and healed sickness, all its power is in the horn.
When being chased will jump off a cliff and land on horn to escape safely. The horn is made of a substance called Alicorn. In medieval times, narwhal horns were sold as unicorn horns.
To the Greeks they were not legend but apart of their history. A unicorn can be White, Black, Red, or Pale Pink. Unicorn blood can make you live forever.
URANIA (Ourania) The goddess Muse of astronomy and astronomical writings
Origin: Norse
Pronounced: Val-Ker-Ee
Name Meaning: Chooser Of the Slain
One of 6,9, or 13 Female figures who decide which soldiers died in battle and which lived. They selected among half of those who died (The other half go to Freya's afterlife field) And brought them to after life hall of slain, Valhalla, which was ruled over by Odin. They sometime used malicious magic to make sure certain people died in battle. the deceased warriors became einherjar, and when not preparing for Ragnarok they were served mead.
Sometimes Valkyries were lovers of hero's and mortals. Sometimes described daughters of royalty and are sometimes occupied by a raven, swan, or horse. They are virginal.
Description: Beautiful Shield maidens armed with helmets and spears. Though beautiful they are war like, elegant, noble woman. They could be seen as a white swan, If seen in human form she becomes mortal and can never return to Valhalla. Original Valkyries were Priestess of Odin, Gruesome old hags who sacrificed prisoners.
Valknjöggr - A great dragon appointed by Odin to watch over Valhalla, whilst the Einherjar prepare for Ragnarok. It is believed that this creature was crafted by the bark of Yggdrasil, a fingernail from the frost giant Ymir as well as Odin’s own wisdom, Thor’s strength, and Tyr’s courage and loyalty. Once the soul of a slain hero is brought to Asgard they are judged by Valknjöggr before they are allowed passage to the great hall of the slain, Valhalla
Danish folklore: a supernatural raven with the ability that when it eats the heart of a dead person it can shapeshifting into that person. Once some valravn took the shape of a fallen king and led a whole kingdom astray.
she is the ASYNJUR goddess of promises and agreements, and one of FRIGG's handmaidens. She listens to people that make agreements with one another. She also punishes those that break their promises and contracts. The contracts that VAR makes are called VANAR. Her name means 'pledge' or 'beloved'.
The eggs of a Volcano Dragon survive thousands of years. Laid near a volcano the young dragons hatch once the volcano erupts and the eggs reach the right temperature through lava that flows past. After hatching the young dragons enjoy their first bath in the lava flow.
Origin: Norse
Description: Goddess of Wisdom and Prophecy. She is the seer or völva who tells Odin the story of how the world was created, and how it would come to its end. She is not named in the poem, and subsequent tellings have given her the name of her work, which means “the völva’s prophecy.”
The term Waldgeist is German for ‘woodland spirit’, believed by ancient pagans to be the custodians of the forest. The Waldgeist spirit was believed to live in the forest and be the protector of those with `pure spirit` who entered the forest.
Origin: Native American ( Algonqwanz Tribes)
Invokes the most fear.
Legend 1: A non-dead creature, roams the earth destroying all good hearted and those in love. Feasts on human hearts. The first wendigo was a mortal betrayed by their sweetheart. In revenge for treachery killed them and ate their heart. Rather than saver the warmth of revenge the heart turned to ice, During the day and phases of the moon they look human. during 3 days of full moon Strength and appetite are greatest.
Can become one by:
Getting injured by it, Dreaming of it, A medicine man.
Legend 2: Lost hunters or people who stay in a state of famine to long ( Especially winter time) Turning to cannibalism as a last resort and become wendigos or inhabited by its spirit and drawn to eat people. They become violent and anti- social. Even when returned to normal diet, they still crave flesh and endanger the community.
How to kill:
Canada used to have wendigo trials a lot like witch trials
White deer hold a place in the mythology of many cultures. The Celtic people considered them to be messengers from the otherworld; it also played an important role in other pre-Indo-European cultures, especially in the North. The Celts believed that the white stag would appear when one was transgressing a taboo, such as when Pwyll tresspassed into Arawn’s hunting grounds. Arthurian legend states that the creature has a perennial ability to evade capture; and that the pursuit of the animal repres
The white stag is a familiar creature of myth and legend. The white stag in Celtic myth is an indicator that the Otherworld is near. It appears when one is transgressing or breaking a taboo. It also appears as an impetus to quest--the white stag or hart often appears in the forests around King Arthur's court, sending the knights off on to adventure against gods and fairies.
A will-o'-the-wisp (/ˌwɪl ə ðə ˈwɪsp/), will-o'-wisp (/ˌwɪl ə ˈwɪsp/), or ignis fatuus (/ˌɪɡnɨs ˈfætʃuːəs/; Medieval Latin: "foolish fire") is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. It resembles a flickering lamp and is said to recede if approached, drawing travellers from the safe paths. The phenomenon is known by a variety of names, including jack-o'-lantern, friar's lantern, hinkypunk, and hobby lantern in English[1] folk belief, well attested in English folklore and in much of European folklore.
Etymology
The term "will-o'-the-wisp" comes from "wisp", a bundle of sticks or paper sometimes used as a torch, and the name "Will": thus, "Will-of-the-torch". The term jack-o'-lantern "Jack of [the] lantern" has a similar meaning.
In the United States, they are often called "spook-lights", "ghost-lights", or "orbs" by folklorists and paranormal enthusiasts.[2][3][4]
Folk belief attributes the phenomenon to fairies or elemental spirits, explicitly in the term "hobby lanterns" found in the 19th century Denham Tracts. Briggs' A Dictionary of Fairies provides an extensive list of other names for the same phenomenon, though the place where they are observed (graveyard, bogs, etc.) influences the naming considerably. When observed on graveyards, they are known as "ghost candles", also a term from the Denham Tracts.
The names will-o'-the-wisp and jack-o'-lantern are explained in etiological folk-tales, recorded in many variant forms in Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Appalachia, and Newfoundland.[citation needed] In these tales, protagonists named either Will or Jack are doomed to haunt the marshes with a light for some misdeed.
One version, from Shropshire, recounted by K. M. Briggs in her book A Dictionary of Fairies, refers to Will the Smith. Will is a wicked blacksmith who is given a second chance by Saint Peter at the gates to Heaven, but leads such a bad life that he ends up being doomed to wander the Earth. The Devil provides him with a single burning coal with which to warm himself, which he then uses to lure foolish travellers into the marshes.
An Irish version of the tale has a ne'er-do-well named Drunk Jack or Stingy Jack who makes a deal with the Devil, offering up his soul in exchange for payment of his pub tab. When the Devil comes to collect his due, Jack tricks him by making him climb a tree and then carving a cross underneath, preventing him from climbing down. In exchange for removing the cross, the Devil forgives Jack's debt. However, because no one as bad as Jack would ever be allowed into Heaven, Jack is forced upon his death to travel to Hell and ask for a place there. The Devil denies him entrance in revenge, but, as a boon, grants Jack an ember from the fires of Hell to light his way through the twilight world to which lost souls are forever condemned. Jack places it in a carved turnip to serve as a lantern.[5] Another version of the tale, "Willy the Whisp", is related in Irish Folktales by Henry Glassie. The first modern novel in the Irish language, Séadna by Peadar Ua Laoghaire, is a version of the tale.
Folklore Continental Europe
In European folklore, these lights are believed to be spirits of the dead, fairies, or a variety of other supernatural beings which attempt to lead travelers to their demise.
A modern Americanized adaptation of this travellers' association frequently places swaying ghost-lights along roadsides and railroad tracks. Here a swaying movement of the lights is alleged to be that of 19th- and early 20th-century railway workers supposedly killed on the job.
Sometimes the lights are believed to be the spirits of unbaptized or stillborn children, flitting between heaven and hell. Modern occultist elaborations, which follow the alchemical writings of Paracelsus, bracket them with the salamander, a type of spirit wholly independent from humans (unlike ghosts, which are presumed to have been humans at some point in the past).
See also: Supernatural beings in Slavic folklore Northern Europe
In Sweden, the will-o'-the-wisp represents the soul of an unbaptized person "trying to lead travellers to water in the hope of being baptized".[6]
Danes, Finns, Swedes, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians and Irish people and amongst some other groups believed that a will-o'-the-wisp also marked the location of a treasure deep in ground or water, which could be taken only when the fire was there. Sometimes magical tricks, and even dead man's hand, were required as well, to uncover the treasure. In Finland and other northern countries it was believed that early autumn was the best time to search for will-o'-the-wisps and treasures below them. It was believed that when someone hid treasure, in the ground, he made the treasure available only at the Saint John's Day, and set will-o'-the-wisp to mark the exact place and time so that he could come to take the treasure back. For then he could be fulfilled with treasures.
The Aarnivalkea, in Finnish mythology, are spots where an eternal flame associated with will o' the wisps burns. They are claimed to mark the places where faerie gold is buried. They are protected by a glamour that would prevent anyone finding them by pure chance. However, if one finds a fern seed from a mythical flowering fern, the magical properties of that seed will lead the fortunate person to these treasures, in addition to providing one with a glamour of invisibility. Since in reality the fern produces no flower and reproduces via spores under the leaves, the myth specifies that it blooms only extremely rarely.
Although clearly folklore, the claim has been made that the Outokumpu coppermine — the largest coppermine in Europe at its time — was discovered due to some light phenomena or another.[citation needed]
BritainSee also: Puck (mythology)
The will-o'-the-wisp can be found in numerous folk tales around the United Kingdom, and is often a malicious character in the stories. In Welsh folklore, it is said that the light is "fairy fire" held in the hand of a púca, or pwca, a small goblin-like fairy that mischievously leads lone travellers off the beaten path at night. As the traveller follows the púca through the marsh or bog, the fire is extinguished, leaving them lost. The púca is said to be one of the Tylwyth Teg, or fairy family. In Wales the light predicts a funeral that will take place soon in the locality. Wirt Sikes in his book British Goblins mentions the following Welsh tale about púca.
A peasant travelling home at dusk sees a bright light traveling along ahead of him. Looking closer, he sees that the light is a lantern held by a "dusky little figure", which he follows for several miles. All of a sudden he finds himself standing on the edge of a vast chasm with a roaring torrent of water rushing below him. At that precise moment the lantern-carrier leaps across the gap, lifts the light high over its head, lets out a malicious laugh and blows out the light, leaving the poor peasant a long way from home, standing in pitch darkness at the edge of a precipice. This is a fairly common cautionary tale concerning the phenomenon; however, the ignis fatuus was not always considered dangerous. There are some tales told about the will-o'-the-wisp being guardians of treasure, much like the Irish leprechaun leading those brave enough to follow them to sure riches. Other stories tell of travelers getting lost in the woodland and coming upon a will-o'-the-wisp, and depending on how they treated the will-o'-the-wisp, the spirit would either get them lost further in the woods or guide them out.
Also related, the Pixy-light from Devon and Cornwall is most often associated with the Pixie who often has "pixie-led" travellers away from the safe and reliable route and into the bogs with glowing lights. "Like Poltergeist they can generate uncanny sounds. They were less serious than their German Weisse Frauen kin, frequently blowing out candles on unsuspecting courting couples or producing obscene kissing sounds, which were always misinterpreted by parents."[7] Pixy-Light was also associated with "lambent light"[8] which the "Old Norse" might have seen guarding their tombs. In Cornish folklore, Pixy-Light also has associations with the Colt pixie. "A colt pixie is a pixie that has taken the shape of a horse and enjoys playing tricks such as neighing at the other horses to lead them astray".[9][10] In Guernsey, the light is known as the faeu boulanger (rolling fire), and is believed to be a lost soul. On being confronted with the spectre, tradition prescribes two remedies. The first is to turn one's cap or coat inside out. This has the effect of stopping the faeu boulanger in its tracks. The other solution is to stick a knife into the ground, blade up. The faeu, in an attempt to kill itself, will attack the blade.[11]
The will-o'-the-wisp was also known as the Spunkie in the Scottish Highlands where it would take the form of a linkboy (a boy who carried a flaming torch to light the way for pedestrians in exchange for a fee), or else simply a light that always seemed to recede, in order to lead unwary travelers to their doom.[12] The spunkie has also been blamed for shipwrecks at night after being spotted on land and mistaken for a harbor light.[13] Other tales of Scottish folklore regard these mysterious lights as omens of death or the ghosts of once living human beings. They often appeared over lochs [14] or on roads along which funeral processions were known to travel.[15] A strange light sometimes seen in the Hebrides is referred to as the teine sith, or "fairy light", though there was no formal connection between it and the fairy race.[16]
AsiaSee also: Chir Batti and Naga fireball
Aleya (or marsh ghost-light) is the name given to an unexplained strange light phenomena occurring over the marshes as observed by the Bengali people, especially the fishermen of West Bengal and Bangladesh. This marsh light is attributed to some kind of unexplained marsh gas apparitions that confuse fishermen, make them lose their bearings, and may even lead to drowning if one decided to follow them moving over the marshes. Local communities in the region believe that these strange hovering marsh-lights are in fact Ghost-lights representing the ghosts of fisherman who died fishing. Sometimes they confuse the fishermen, and sometimes they help them avoid future dangers.[17][18]
Chir batti (ghost-light), also spelled chhir batti or cheer batti, is a yet unexplained strange dancing light phenomenon occurring on dark nights reported from the Banni grasslands, its seasonal marshy wetlands[19] and the adjoining desert of the marshy salt flats of the Rann of Kutch[20] near Indo-Pakistani border in Kutch district, Gujarat State, India. Local villagers have been seeing these sometimes hovering, sometimes flying balls of lights since time immemorial and call it Chir Batti in their Kutchhi–Sindhi language, with Chir meaning ghost and Batti meaning light.[19]
Similar phenomena are described in Japanese folklore, including Hitodama (literally "Human Soul" as a ball of energy), Hi no Tama (Ball of Flame), Aburagae, Koemonbi, Ushionibi, etc. All these phenomena are described as balls of flame or light, at times associated with graveyards, but occurring across Japan as a whole in a wide variety of situations and locations. Kitsune, mythical yokai demons, are also associated with will 'o the wisp, with the marriage of two kitsune producing kitsune-bi (狐火), literally meaning 'fox-fire'.[21] These phenomena are described in Shigeru Mizuki's 1985 book Graphic World of Japanese Phantoms (妖怪伝 in Japanese).[22]
South America
Will-o-the-wisp is a part of the folklore in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Uruguay.
Boi-tatá (Portuguese pronunciation: [bojtaˈta]) is the Brazilian equivalent of the will-o'-the-wisp.[23] Regionally it is called Boitatá, Baitatá, Batatá, Bitatá, Batatão, Biatatá, M'boiguaçu, Mboitatá and Mbaê-Tata. The name comes from the Old Tupi language and means "fiery serpent" (mboî tatá). Its great fiery eyes leave it almost blind by day, but by night, it can see everything. According to legend, Boi-tatá was a big serpent which survived a great deluge. A "boiguaçu" (a cave anaconda) left its cave after the deluge and, in the dark, went through the fields preying on the animals and corpses, eating exclusively its favorite morsel, the eyes. The collected light from the eaten eyes gave "Boitatá" its fiery gaze. Not really a dragon but a giant snake (in the native language, "boa" or "mboi" or "mboa").
In Argentina and Uruguay the will-o'-the-wisp phenomenon is known as luz mala (evil light) and is one of the most important myths in both countries' folklore. This phenomenon is quite feared and is mostly seen in rural areas. It consists of an extremely shiny ball of light floating a few inches from the ground.
North America
Mexico has two equivalents as well. In one they are called brujas (witches), folklore explains will-o-the-wisp to be witches who transformed into these lights. The reason for this, however, varies according to the region. Another explanation refers to the lights as indicators to places where gold or hidden treasures are buried which can be found only with the help of children, in this one they are called luces del dinero (money lights) or luces del tesoro (treasure lights).
The swampy area of Massachusetts known as the Bridgewater Triangle has folklore of ghostly orbs of light, and there have been modern observations of these ghost-lights in this area as well.
AustraliaSee also: Min Min light
The Australian equivalent, known as the Min Min light is reportedly seen in parts of the outback after dark.[24][25] The majority of sightings are reported to have occurred in the Channel Country region.[24]
Stories about the lights can be found in aboriginal myth pre-dating western settlement of the region and have since become part of wider Australian folklore.[24] Indigenous Australians hold that the number of sightings has increased alongside the increasing ingression of Europeans into the region.[24] According to folklore, the lights sometimes followed or approached people and have disappeared when fired upon, only to reappear later on.[24][25]
Attempted scientific explanations
The earliest attempt to scientifically explain the causes of ignis fatuus was by the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta in 1776 when he discovered methane. He proposes that natural electrical phenomena (like lightning) interacting with marsh gas may be the cause of ignis fatuus.[26] This was supported by the British polymath Joseph Priestley in his series of works Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air (1772–1790); and by the French physicist Pierre Bertholon de Saint-Lazare in De l’électricité des météores (1787).[27]
Early critics of the marsh gas hypothesis often dismissed it on various grounds including the unlikeliness of spontaneous combustion, the absence of warmth in some observed ignis fatuus, the odd behavior of ignis fatuus receding upon being approached, as well as the differing accounts of ball lightning (which was also classified as a kind of ignis fatuus).[27] An example of such criticism is the following by the American anthropologist John G. Owens in Folk-Lore from Buffalo Valley (1891):
This is a name that is sometimes applied to a phenomenon perhaps more frequently called Jack-o'-the-Lantern, or Will-o'-the-Wisp. It seems to be a ball of fire, varying in size from that of a candle-flame to that of a man's head. It is generally observed in damp, marshy places, moving to and fro; but it has been known to stand perfectly still and send off scintillations. As you approach it, it will move on, keeping just beyond your reach; if you retire, it will follow you. That these fireballs do occur, and that they will repeat your motion, seems to be established, but no satisfactory explanation has yet been offered that I have heard. Those who are less superstitious say that it is the ignition of the gases rising from the marsh. But how a light produced from burning gas could have the form described and move as described, advancing as you advance, receding as you recede, and at other times remaining stationary, without having any visible connection with the earth, is not clear to me.[28]
However, the apparent retreat of ignis fatuus upon being approached might be explained simply by the agitation of the air by nearby moving objects, causing the gases to disperse. This was observed in the very detailed accounts of several close interactions with ignis fatuus published earlier in 1832 by Major Louis Blesson after a series of experiments in various localities where they were known to occur.[29] Of note is his first encounter with ignis fatuus in a marshland between a deep valley in the forest of Gorbitz, Newmark, Germany. Blesson observed that the water was covered by an iridescent film, and during day-time, bubbles could be observed rising abundantly from certain areas. At night, Blesson observed bluish-purple flames in the same areas and concluded that it was connected to the rising gas. He spent several days investigating the phenomenon, finding to his dismay that the flames retreated every time he tried to approach them. He eventually succeeded and was able to confirm that the lights were indeed caused by ignited gas. The British scientist Charles Tomlinson in On Certain Low-Lying Meteors (1893) describes Blesson's experiments as thus:
On visiting the spot at night, the sensitive flames retired as the major advanced; but on standing quite still, they returned, and he tried to light a piece of paper at them, but the current of air produced by his breath kept them at too great a distance. On turning away his head, and screening his breath, he succeeded in setting fire to the paper. He was also able to extinguish the flame by driving it before him to a part of the ground where no gas was produced; then applying a flame to the place whence the gas issued, a kind of explosion was heard over eight or nine square feet of the marsh; a red light was seen, which faded to a blue flame about three feet high, and this continued to burn with an unsteady motion. As the morning dawned the flames became pale, and they seemed to approach nearer and nearer to the earth, until at last they faded from sight.[27]
Blesson also observed differences in the color and heat of the flames in different marshes. The ignis fatuus in Malapane, Upper Silesia (now Ozimek, Poland) could be ignited and extinguished, but were unable to burn pieces of paper or wood shavings. Similarly, the ignis fatuus in another forest in Poland coated pieces of paper and wood shavings with an oily viscous fluid instead of burning them. Blesson also accidentally created ignis fatuus in the marshes of Porta Westfalica, Germany, while launching fireworks.[27][29]
In modern science, it is generally accepted that most ignis fatuus are caused by the oxidation of phosphine (PH3), diphosphane (P2H4), and methane (CH4). These compounds, produced by organic decay, can cause photon emissions. Since phosphine and diphosphane mixtures spontaneously ignite on contact with the oxygen in air, only small quantities of it would be needed to ignite the much more abundant methane to create ephemeral fires.[30] Furthermore, phosphine produces phosphorus pentoxide as a by-product, which forms phosphoric acid upon contact with water vapor. This might explain the "viscous moisture" described by Blesson.
Modern explanations
One attempt to replicate ignis fatuus under laboratory conditions was in 1980 by British geologist Alan A. Mills of the Leicester University. Though he did succeed in creating a cool glowing cloud by mixing crude phosphine and natural gas, the color of the light was green and it produced copious amounts of acrid smoke. This was contrary to most eyewitness accounts of ignis fatuus.[31][32] As an alternative, Mills proposed in 2000 that ignis fatuus may instead be cold flames.[31][33] These are luminescent pre-combustion halos that occur when various compounds are heated to just below ignition point. Cold flames are indeed typically bluish in color and as their name suggests, they generate very little heat. Cold flames occur in a wide variety of compounds, including hydrocarbons (including methane), alcohols, aldehydes, oils, acids, and even waxes. However it is unknown if cold flames occur naturally, though a lot of compounds which exhibit cold flames are the natural byproducts of organic decay.[31][34]
A related hypothesis involves the natural chemiluminescence of phosphine. In 2008, the Italian chemists Luigi Garlaschelli and Paolo Boschetti attempted to recreate Mills' experiments. They successfully created a faint cool light by mixing phosphine with air and nitrogen. Though the glow was still greenish in color, Garlaschelli and Boschetti noted that under low-light conditions, the human eye cannot easily distinguish between colors. Furthermore, by adjusting the concentrations of the gases and the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, etc.), it was possible to eliminate the smoke and smell, or at least render it to undetectable levels. Garlaschelli and Boschetti also agreed with Mills that cold flames may also be a plausible explanation for other instances of ignis fatuus.[33]
In 1993, professors Derr and Persinger proposed that some ignis fatuus may be geologic in origin, piezoelectrically generated under tectonic strain. The strains that move faults would also heat up the rocks, vaporizing the water in them. Rock or soil containing something piezoelectric, like quartz, silicon, or arsenic, may also produce electricity, channeled up to the surface through the soil via a column of vaporized water, there somehow appearing as earth lights. This would explain why the lights appear electrical, erratic, or even intelligent in their behavior.[35][36]
Other explanations link will-o'-the-wisps to bioluminescence, e.g., honey fungus and fireflies. Barn owls also have white plumage that may reflect enough light from sources such as the moon to appear as a will-o'-the-wisp; hence the possibility of the lights moving, reacting to other lights, etc.[37]
Ignis fatuus sightings are rarely reported today. The decline is believed to be the result of the draining and reclamation of swamplands in recent centuries, such as the formerly vast Fenlands of eastern England which have now been converted to farmlands.[32]
The Slavic goddess the Wise Villa traditionally is more known as Vasilisa the Wise. She is magician, who Masters woods and waters , defends nature. christmas snow maiden ukraine
Goddess Wohpe, known as White Buffalo Woman in Native American goddess mythology
The World Turtle (also referred to as the Cosmic Turtle, the World-bearing Turtle, or the Divine Turtle) is a mytheme of a giant turtle (or tortoise) supporting or containing the world. The mytheme, which is similar to that of the World Elephant and World Serpent, occurs in Chinese mythology and the mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The "World-Tortoise" mytheme was discussed comparatively by Edward Burnett Tylor
IndiaFurther information: Kurma
The World Turtle in Hindu mythology is known as Akupāra (Sanskrit: अकूपार). Example of a reference to the World Turtle in Hindu literature is found in Jñānarāja (the author of Siddhāntasundara, writing c. 1500): "A vulture, which has only little strength, rests in the sky holding a snake in its beak for a prahara [three hours]. Why can [the deity] in the form of a tortoise, who possesses an inconceivable potency, not hold the Earth in the sky for a kalpa [billions of years]?"[1] The British philosopher John Locke made reference to this in his 1689 tract, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which compares one who would say that properties inhere in "substance" to the Indian, who said the world was on an elephant, which was on a tortoise, "but being again pressed to know what gave support to the broad-backed tortoise, replied—something, he knew not what."[2]
China
In Chinese mythology, the creator goddess Nüwa cut the legs off the giant sea turtle Ao (Chinese: 鳌; pinyin: áo) and used them to prop up the sky after Gong Gong damaged Mount Buzhou, which had previously supported the heavens.[3]
North AmericaMain article: Turtle Island (North America)
The Lenape myth of the "Great Turtle" was first recorded between 1678 and 1680 by Jasper Danckaerts. The myth is shared by other indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, notably the Iroquois
Also known as water wraith
Description: Withered old woman with scowling features wearing green. They lure people to their death by drowning them. Once where people who practiced dark magic, Who tried to extend their lives. When present there is extreme cold. Only a holy weapon can kill a wraith.
Origin: Aztec
Pronounced:
Name Meaning: Goddess of the Flowering Earth
Consort: wife of the rain god Tlaloc
Description: Goddess of Women. .An Earth Goddess, She is associated with flowers, the Moon, beauty, marriage, fertility, love and pleasure, and is a patroness of weavers. She is the female counterpart of the flower prince, Xochipilli. also the goddess of artists and craftworkers, such as weavers, silversmiths, and painters.
Origin: San Religion
Pronounced:
Description: is considered a benevolent and omnipotent supreme being.[21] He is also the sky god to whom the souls of the dead go. He is said to "Summon the magicians to their profession, and gives them supernatural powers." The San add that he provides the rain and is invoked in illness, before hunting and before traveling
Yemaya is the mother Orisha of the Yorubas, goddess of the oceans and mother of most of the more powerful Orishas. She protects families, brings protection and wealth and is one of the most generous, kind and protective goddesses. Look for her protection when seeking growth, fertility and peace at the household
Pronounced: Ye-tea
Origin: Himalaya, China, India, Mongolia
Description: Ape-like, Taller than average human, Said to live in the Himalayas. It is the most famous monster with the least amount of evidence.
The yuki-onna (雪女, snow woman) is a snow woman ghost that despite her inhuman beauty, her eyes can strike terror into mortals that get lost traveling in the snowy mountains. She floats across the snow, leaving no footprints. There have been many stories about Yuki-onna in both written and oral form...
God of Rivalry and competition. one of four winged Daemons who guarded the throne of Zeus.
Pronounced: Za-m-bee
Origin: Caribbean, Africa
Description: Flesh eating, relentless and oblivious to pain. Infect others through biting or a scratch. They come from voodoo religion. An animated corpse raised by magical means such as witch craft, by a broker or sorcerer. They control the zombie, which have no will power.
Zombi is another name for the voodou snake iwa, Human soul is captured to increase bokor's power, they keep it in a bottle and sell for luck, healing, and business success. Feeding Salt to a zombie will make them return to grave, usually done by small child.
Pop Culture: Pandemic Illness- Cause dead to reanimate and bear some superficial resemblance to the voodoo zombie.
Ways for a zombie apocalypse:
Zvoruna is the Lithuanian Goddess of the Hunt. She is a protector of wild animals and the forest, similar to the Roman Diana or the Greek Artemis. Her name, which derives from the word zveris “wild animal,” is also seen as Zverune
In Catalan mythology an aloja (Catalan pronunciation: [əˈɫɔʒə], Western Catalan: [aˈlɔʒa]; plural aloges), also known as dona d'aigua, goja or paitida, is a feminine being that lives in places with fresh water. These "water-women" are said to be able to turn into water blackbirds.
Legend
According to legend, these women are not immortal, but can live for thousands of years and retain their youth.
It is said that the lakes where the dones d'aigua bathe can boil in anger if any stranger enters them. In Majorca, the most famous water-woman is Maria Enganxa. According to tradition, she lives inside all the wells and cisterns and takes all the children that pass near them with her hook.
Appearance
Water-women symbolize the fertility and life-giving virtues of water and are said to possess oneiric beauty.
They are said to appear as small and innocent women, with a high self-esteem and very prideful of their beauty. They are good women and try to bring wealth and well-being to the areas they live in.
According to myth, water-women are nocturnal; have shimmering gold or red hair, and emerald or deep blue eyes; wear fine, rich clothes; and enjoy viewing their reflections in lakes on full-moon nights. Some of them are said to have beautiful wings of various colors. Many are said to carry magic wands carved from hazel, which is considered to be the only wood capable of casting spells.
Human interaction
There are many legends about romance and marriage between water-women and humans. In order to marry a water-woman, a human must agree to the water-woman's conditions. Often, one of the conditions is that the husband cannot reveal that his wife is a water-woman. If he does, the water-woman leaves him and disappears with his fortune. However, it is also said that the water-woman will still comb her children's hair and dress them every morning.
Water-women are purported to avoid any relations with humans, though this is not always possible. When contact with humans does occur, it often turns out ill for the humans.
An alp is a nightmare creature originating in German folklore.
Not to be confused with the similarly named Alp-luachra, the alp is sometimes likened to a vampire, but its behavior is more akin to that of the incubus. It is distinct from both of these creatures in that it wears a magic hat called a Tarnkappe, from which it draws its powers. The word "alp" is a variation on the word "elf". It is also known by the following names: trud, mar, mart, mahr, schrat, and walrider. Many variations of the creature exist in surrounding European areas, such as the Druden and Schratteli, or Old Hag in English-speaking countries.
Folklore
An alp is typically male, while the mara and mart appear to be more feminine versions of the same creature. Its victims are often females,[1][2] whom it attacks during the night, controlling their dreams and creating horrible nightmares (hence the German word Alptraum ["elf dream"], meaning a nightmare). An alp attack is called an Alpdruck, or often Alpdrücke, which means "elf pressure". Alpdruck is when an alp sits astride a sleeper's chest and becomes heavier until the crushing weight awakens the terrified and breathless dreamer. The victim awakes unable to move under the alp's weight. This may have been an early explanation for sleep apnea and sleep paralysis, as well as night terrors. It may also include lucid dreams.
Sexual attacks by the alp are rare.[3]
The alp is often associated with vampires because it will drink blood from the nipples of men and young children,[4] though women are the preferred victim of the invariably male alp, for it favors the taste of breast milk.
Alps also exhibit a tendency for mischief similar to elves, like souring milk and re-diapering a baby; a maid must sign a cross on the diaper or the alp will put the soiled diaper back on her child.[5] They also enjoy tangling hair into "elfknots" or chewing and twisting horse's tails. They will ride a horse to exhaustion during the night and may sometimes crush smaller farm animals such as geese to death during a pressing attack. Alps are also similarly blamed for minor illnesses and milking cows dry, for they enjoy the taste of cow's milk as well.
Characteristics
The alp is best known for its shapeshifting abilities, similar to the creatures from werewolf lore. It may change into a cat, pig, dog, snake or a small white butterfly.[4] It has also been said that it can fly like a bird and ride a horse. The alp always wears a hat, giving it an almost comical appearance.[1][3][4] The hat is known as a Tarnkappe[4] (the literal translation being "camouflage cap" or "cap of concealment") which is simply a hat (or less commonly a veil) that gives the alp magic powers and the ability to turn invisible while worn (see also cloak of invisibility). The hat is visible no matter what shape the alp takes. An alp who has lost this hat will offer a great reward for its safe return.[1] The alp also possesses an "evil eye" whose gaze will inflict illness and misfortune. Removing or damaging this eye also removes the alp's malicious intentions.
Protections against an alp include laying a broomstick under a pillow, iron horseshoes hung from the bedpost, placing shoes against the bed with the toes pointing toward the door, or placing a mirror on the chest. Steel and crosses are also used. If awoken by the alp and finding him still there, one can address him by asking him to return in the morning to borrow something or have coffee. The alp will dash away at once, arriving in the morning either in his "true" form, or else in the form of a human with eyebrows that meet to receive his gifts. The creature can be convinced to leave the victim alone at this time, but the alp will beg pitifully and at length not to be turned away. Plugging up any holes, specifically keyholes, before a visitation will keep the alp out. Plugging them during a visitation will invariably seal it inside the room, as they can leave only through their original entrance. A light kept constantly on during the night will also effectively ward off an alp. A sentry may also be employed to wait and watch for the alp to attack the helpless sleeper, the alp may be driven away if caught by someone not under the alp's influence. Similar to the German Neuntoter, alps are weakened or immobilized by shoving a lemon in its mouth should it be caught resting during the day. The alp appears all but impossible to kill, and sometimes even after being turned away it may reappear years later in a worse mood.[4]
Origins
The alp's history originated in the mountainous regions of Germany and Austria. The alp's Tarnkappe, as well as its demeanor and abilities, suggest that the dwarf king Alberich from the Teutonic epic poem Nibelungenlied is the source of inspiration for much of the alp's mythology.[6] In Teutonic myth and folklore, alps were considered friendly elf-like beings which lived in the mountains, but eventually turned more negative and malevolent. The characteristic magic that the alps possess also bear the creature much resemblance to the Kobold, particularly Hodekin.
The alp, in many cases, is considered a demon, but there have been some instances in which the alp is created from the spirits of recently dead relatives, more akin to a spirit or ghost. Children may become an alp if a woman bites a horse collar to ease the pain during an extremely long and tortuous childbirth. Also, a child born with a caul or hair on the palms may become an alp. If a woman who is pregnant is frightened by an animal, the child may be born an alp. Stillborn infants are also suspected to return from the grave as alps and torment their family. People who have eyebrows that meet are suspected to be alps.[7] As with the case of werewolves, sometimes a normal human or animal may become an alp during the night. They are typically unaware of their nocturnal activities and are invariably in disguise while doing so. Finding an alp while it is not active simply requires injuring or otherwise marking it during one of its attacks, and seeking out the being with a similar mark during the day. The person can then be cured if it is found out who sent them the curse, or how they became cursed to begin with. Witchcraft is often the prime suspect in this case.[2]
Sometimes an alp is a spirit summoned by a witch or an evil person wishing harm on another, and sent to torment them. Tricking an alp may lead a person to its master.
An Alphyn (from the Germanic word for "chaser" or "wolf"), also known as awfyn or alfin in older writings,[1] is a rare heraldic creature. It is much like a heraldic tiger, but stockier and with tufts of hair covering its body, and also has a thick mane and long thin tongue.[2] Another notable characteristic is its knotted tail, reminiscent of Celtic design and similar to that of the griffin.[3] Sometimes it is depicted as having an eagle's[3] or dragon's talons on its forelegs, other times they are cloven, like a goat's. Occasionally all four feet are depicted as having the claws of a lion. In English heraldry, the Alphyn was used as a heraldic badge of the Lords de la Warr, and also appeared on the guidon held by the knight in the Milleflour Tapestry in Somerset.
In England's first printed book, William Caxton's "Game and Playe of the Chesse" the chessmen now known as bishops are described instead as Alphyns, representing judges: "The Alphyns ought to be made and formed in manere of Juges syttynge in a chayer wyth a book open to fore their eyen."
An Alp Luachra (also spelt Alp-luachra or Alpluachra), also known as a Joint-eater or Just-halver,[1] is an evil, greedy fairy from Irish mythology. When a person falls asleep by the side of a spring or stream, the Alp-luachra appears in the form of a newt and crawls down the person's mouth, feeding off the food that they had eaten. In Robert Kirk's Secret Commonwealth of Fairies, this creature feeds not on the food itself, but on the "pith or quintessence" of the food.[2]
In Douglas Hyde's collection of folk tales, Beside the Fire,[3] a farmer, who was starving from an Alp-luachra, was eventually rid of the fairy. He was instructed to eat large amounts of salted meat and, when he could eat no more, lie still with his mouth open just above the surface of a stream. After having been driven to thirst by the salt, the offspring of the Alp-luachra, and eventually the Alp-luachra mother herself, jumped into the water.
In Islamic tradition, Al Rakim was the dog that guarded the legendary Seven Sleepers and that stood by them all through their long sleep.[1][2] However, Al Rakim has alternately been identified as the name of the location of the cave of the Seven Sleepers, or the name of a "brass plate, or stone table" located at the cave, naming the sleepers
In Greek mythology, Alseids (/ælˈsiːɨdz/; Ἀλσηΐδες) were the nymphs of glens and groves. Of the Classical writers, the first and perhaps only poet to use the term alseid is Homer. Rather than alseid he used alsea. The three uses of alsea by Homer are as follows:
"The nymphs who live in the lovely groves (ἄλσεα - alsea), and the springs of rivers (πηγαὶ ποταμῶν - pegai potamon) and the grassy meadows (πίσεα ποιήεντα - pisea pœëenta)."[1]
"They [nymphs] come from springs (krênai), they come from groves (alsea), they come from the sacred rivers (ποταμοί - potamoi) flowing seawards."[2]
"The nymphs [of Mount Ida] who haunt the pleasant woods (alsea), or of those who inhabit this lovely mountain (oros) and the springs of rivers (pegai potamon) and grassy meads (pisea).
In Akkadian and Sumerian mythology, Alû is a vengeful spirit of the Utukku that goes down to the underworld Kur. The demon has no mouth, lips or ears. It roams at night and terrifies people while they sleep,[1] and possession by Alû results in unconsciousness and coma;[2] in this manner it resembles creatures such as the mara, and incubus, which are invoked to explain sleep paralysis. In Akkadian and Sumerian mythology, it is associated with other demons like Gallu and Lilu.
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Alû is the celestial Bull.
An alux (Mayan: [aˈluʃ], plural: aluxo'ob [aluʃoˀːb]) is the name given to a type of sprite or spirit in the mythological tradition of certain Maya peoples from the Yucatán Peninsula and Guatemala, also called Chanekeh or Chaneque by the Nahuatl people. Aluxo'ob are conceived of as being small, only about knee-high, and in appearance resembling miniature traditionally dressed Maya people. Tradition holds that aluxob are generally invisible but are able to assume physical form for purposes of communicating with and frightening humans as well as to congregate. They are generally associated with natural features such as forests, caves, stones, and fields but can also be enticed to move somewhere through offerings. Their description and mythological role are somewhat reminiscent of other sprite-like mythical entities in a number of other cultural traditions (such as the Celtic leprechaun), as the tricks they play are similar.[1]
Some Maya believe that the Aluxob are called into being when a farmer builds a little house on his property, most often in a maize field (milpa). For seven years, the alux will help the corn grow, summon rain and patrol the fields at night, whistling to scare off predators or crop thieves. At the end of seven years, the farmer must close the windows and doors of the little house, sealing the alux inside. If this is not done, the alux will run wild and start playing tricks on people.
Some contemporary Maya even consider the single- and double-story shrines that dot the countryside to be kahtal alux, the “houses of the alux” (although their true origins and purpose are unknown).
Stories say that they will occasionally stop and ask farmers or travellers for an offering. If they refuse, the aluxes will often wreak havoc and spread illness. However, if their conditions are met, it is thought the alux will protect a person from thieves or even bring them good luck. If they are treated with respect, they can be very helpful.
It is believed that it is not good to name them aloud, as it will summon a disgruntled alux from its home.
The word “duende” is sometimes used interchangeably with “alux”. Duende is a Spanish word for a supernatural creature (commonly a goblin) or force. In fact, because of such striking similarities, some suspect that the Maya’s belief of aluxob developed through interactions with the Spanish or pirates during the 16th century. Pirates of that era were often from the British Isles, where belief in faeries was quite common, especially amongst those of lower socio-economic class (as pirates generally would have been). However, the Maya themselves would claim that the alux are the spirits of their ancestors, or the spirits of the land itself, preceding contact with Western civilization.
The supposition that aluxob featured in the mythical traditions of the pre-Columbian Maya is possibly supported by similar conceptions postulated from depictions in pre-Columbian artworks, but there is no direct evidence.
An arkan sonney (literally lucky urchin or plentiful pig) is the Manx term for hedgehog. In Manx folklore it is a type of fairy creature which looks like a pig with long hairs. They are said to bring good luck to one who catches them. For this reason they're also called "lucky piggies". They flee human beings.
It was said by the old folk that if you catch a lucky piggy you will always find a silver piece in your pocket.[1]
Another tale from A Manx Scrapbook by Walter Gill describes it as a white pig seen by a child near Niarbyl, Isle of Man. She wanted her uncle to help her catch it but he refused and it got away.[2] In Dora Broome's Fairy Tales from the Isle of Man, the pig is described as white with red eyes and ears. In that story the pig can change size, but not its shape
Amala is a mythological giant who supports the world in the mythology of the Tsimshian, Nass, Skidegate, Kaigani, Massett, and Tlingit Native Americans. He supports the Earth which he balances on a spinning pole. He receives an annual application of wild duck-oil to his muscles from a servant which brings relief to his muscles. The belief is that when all the ducks are hunted out, there will no longer be any duck-oil available in the world. At this point, Amala dies and the world topples off the pole and comes to an end.
The myth
The name Amala refers to his being very dirty and literally means “smoke hole.” Amala is said to be the youngest child in a family who is physically weak and lazy. He is made to sleep in the ashes and suffers mistreatment from everybody. In many variants of the myth, Amala sleeps in his urine.[2] Late in his life he attains supernatural strength in secret and becomes a handsome, and powerful young man who performs many daring feats and turns savior and protector for his relatives against their enemies. The concluding feat of his life is to succeed a dying chief on an island in the Southwest sea in the task of holding the Earth up. The dying chief hears of Amala's various exploits and, impressed by his prowess, calls the hero. When Amala arrives, the chief hands over the long pole upon which the flat world revolves. Some versions of the myth state that the chief places the pole on Amala's chest,[2] while some versions hold that the pole is held behind Amala's back. A servant relieves Amala's muscles with yearly application of spoonfuls of duck grease and wild-duck oil which help Amala to keep the world spinning.
Possible influences
There is a possibility that the myths about Amala and similar heroes of Native American mythology were influenced by the tales of Cinderella and Atlas - the titan who carries the world on his shoulder in Greek mythology, introduced into Native American culture from Europe. There is a similarity between Cinderella and Amala in that both sleep in ashes and both are abused by their tribe or family. The storyline of Amala - the despised member of the tribe who overcomes adversity and rises to be a hero among his people, may be a combination of elements of the downtrodden and derided hero or heroine, such as Cinderella, and the hero of the Atlas-type who dwells in the underworld
Amanojaku, or Amanjaku (天邪鬼?, "heavenly evil spirit") is a demon-like creature in Japanese folklore. It is usually depicted as a kind of small oni, and is thought to be able to provoke a person's darkest desires and thus instigates them into perpetrating wicked deeds.
One of the amanojaku's best known appearances is in the fairytale Urikohime (瓜子姫?, "melon princess"), in which a girl miraculously born from a melon is doted upon by an elderly couple. They shelter her from the outside world, and she naively lets the amanojaku inside one day, where it kidnaps or devours her, and sometimes impersonates her by wearing her flayed skin.
In religion
The amanojaku is commonly held to be derived from Amanosagume (天探女?), a wicked deity in Shintō myth, which shares the amanojaku's contrary nature and ability to see into a person's heart, "a very perverted demon".
The creature has also entered Buddhist thought, perhaps via syncretism with the yaksha, where it is considered an opponent of Buddhist teachings. It is commonly depicted as being trampled on and subdued into righteousness by Bishamonten or one of the other Shitennō. In this context it is also called a jaki
An amarok, or amaroq, is a gigantic gray wolf in Inuit mythology, said to stalk and devour any person foolish enough to hunt alone at night. Unlike real wolves who hunt in packs, amaroks hunt alone.
Writing in the 19th century, Danish geologist and Greenlandic scholar Hinrich Johannes Rink reported that the Greenlandic Inuit reserve the word amarok exclusively for this legendary wolf, whereas other Arctic peoples use it to refer to any wolf.[1]:48
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
In his book Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo,[2] Rink recounts several folk legends that feature the amarok.[1]
In one tale, a persecuted and physically stunted boy seeks to increase his strength. When he calls out to the lord of strength, an amarok appears and wrestles him to the ground with its tail. This causes a number of small bones to fall from the boy's body. The amarok tells the boy that the bones had prevented his growth; he instructs the boy to return daily in order develop his strength. After several days of wrestling with the amarok, the boy is strong enough to overcome three large bears, thus gaining him the esteem of his village.[1]:94
In another story, a man mourning the death of a relative hears reports that an amarok is nearby. He and a relative go in search of the amarok. They find instead her pups, and the mourner kills them all. The mourner's relative become frightened. The two retreat to hide in a cave. Looking out, they see the adult amarok returning to her pups, carrying a reindeer in her mouth. When the amarok fails to find her offspring, she hastens to a nearby lake and drags a humanoid form from the water; at that moment, the mourner collapses. The amarok, "from which nothing remains concealed", took the mourner's soul from his body.[1]:464
In some tales, a person captures or kills an amarok
In the mythology of the Quechua people of Peru, Amarum is a spirit in the shape of a water boa.
Amazake-babaa (甘酒婆, "amazake hag") is an old woman yōkai from the folklore of Miyagi and Aomori prefectures. She comes to the doors of houses at late night asking for amazake in a child like voice, but if anyone answers they fall ill. It was said that to keep her away, a cedar leaf is placed in the doorway. She was also known as the goddess of chickenpox.
Amemasu (アメマス) or Ō-amemasu (大アメマス) is a giant whale- or fish-like creature from Ainu folklore. It lives in Lake Mashu in Hokkaidō and capsizes boats, creates earthquakes and causes other disasters.
In one tale, the amemasu swallows a deer that has come down to the lake to drink, but the deer's antler tears open the great fish's belly and kills it. The amemasu's enormous corpse then blocks up the lake and puts it in danger of flooding. A god in the form of a bird warns the people in villages nearby. The villagers upstream escape to higher ground, but the people downstream, not believing the bird, find the amemasu's body and drag it out of the lake, after which the water comes rushing out with such force that everything downriver is washed away. That area is now the flat Konsengen'ya plain.
Amemasu is also a name given to the white-spotted char, Salvelinus leucomaenis leucomaenis.
Amorōnagu (天降女子, "girl who fell from heaven"), is a tennyo (celestial maiden) from the folklore of the island of Amami Ōshima, in Kagoshima prefecture. She bathes in pools and waterfalls in ravines.
An Amphiptere (also called Amphithere, Amphitere, or Phipthere) is a type of winged serpent found in European heraldry.[1]
Appearance
Amphipteres generally were said to have greenish-yellow feathers, a serpentine body similar to a lindworm, bat-like green wings with feathered bone, and an arrow-tipped tail much like a wyvern's. Others are described as entirely covered in feathers with a spiked tail, bird-like wings, and a beak-like snout. Even more uncommon is the description of one with legs.
Modern fiction
Amphitheres feature in the Dragonology series of books and Dracopedia: A Guide to Drawing the Dragons of the World. The former is presented as if it were 19th century research into real dragons
The amphisbaena (/ˌæmfɪsˈbiːnə/, plural: amphisbaenae) is a mythological, ant-eating serpent with a head at each end. The creature is alternately called the amphisbaina, amphisbene, amphisboena, amphisbona, amphista, amfivena, amphivena, or anphivena (the last two being feminine), and is also known as the "Mother of Ants".[not verified in body] Its name comes from the Greek words amphis, meaning "both ways", and bainein, meaning "to go".[not verified in body] According to Greek mythology, the amphisbaena was spawned from the blood that dripped from the Gorgon Medusa's head as Perseus flew over the Libyan Desert with it in his hand, after which Cato's army then encountered it along with other serpents on the march.[1] Amphisbaenae fed off of the corpses left behind. The amphisbaena has been referred to by various poets such as Nicander, John Milton, Alexander Pope, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and A. E. Housman;as a mythological and legendary creature, it has been referenced by Lucan, Pliny the Elder, Isidore of Seville, and Thomas Browne, the last of whom debunked its existence
Appearance
The amphisbaena has a twin head, that is one at the tail end as well, as though it were not enough for poison to be poured out of one mouth.
— Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia
This early description of the amphisbaena depicts a venomous, dual-headed snakelike creature. However, Medieval and later drawings often show it with two or more scaled feet, particularly chicken feet, and feathered wings.[citation needed] Some[who?] even depict it as a horned, dragon-like creature with a serpent-headed tail and small, round ears, while others have both "necks" of equal size so that it cannot be determined which is the rear head.[citation needed] Many descriptions of the amphisbaena say its eyes glow like candles or lightning, but the poet Nicander seems to contradict this by describing it as "always dull of eye". He also says: "From either end protrudes a blunt chin; each is far from each other." Nicander's account seems to be referring to what is indeed called the Amphisbaenia.[citation needed]
Habitat
The amphisbaena is said to make its home in the desert.[citation needed]
Folk medicine
In ancient times, the supposedly dangerous amphisbaena had many uses in the art of folk medicine and other such remedies. It was said[by whom?] that expecting women wearing a live amphisbaena around their necks would have safe pregnancies; however, if one's goal was to cure ailments such as arthritis or the common cold, one should wear only its skin.[citation needed] By eating the meat of the amphisbaena, one could supposedly attract many lovers of the opposite sex, and slaying one during the full moon could give power to one who is pure of heart and mind.[citation needed] Lumberjacks suffering from cold weather on the job could nail its carcass or skin to a tree to keep warm, while in the process allowing the tree to be felled more easily.[citation needed]
Origins
In The Book of Beasts, T.H. White suggests that the creature derives from sightings of the worm lizards of the same name.[2] These creatures are found in the Mediterranean countries where many of these legends originated.
Origin: Inuit
A massive slimy moist skinned monster that lives in the Bering Sea. It has four long human arms and hands, burrows underground and walks on land. It eats fisherman, birds and fish -