Creating Circles and Ceremonies: Rituals for All ... - reading...

274 Creating Circles & Ceremonies
Janus/Giano— God of the sun and of all beginnings,
portals, doorways and thresholds; associated
with journeys.
Laran— God of war; depicted as a youth wearing
a cape and armed with a lance and helmet.
Losna— Moon goddess.
Lupercus— God of agriculture, the wolf god. Roman
festival (Lupercalia) February 15.
Menrva— Goddess of wisdom and the arts.
Munthukh— Goddess of health.
Nethuns— God of fresh water; identified with wells
and springs and depicted as a naked and bearded figure.
Nortia— Goddess of healing and fate.
Nox— Goddess of the night.
Pertunda— Goddess of sexual love and pleasure.
Picus— Woodland god; agricultural deity associated
with the fertilization of the soil with manure.
Sentinus— God who gives sensibility.
Summamus— Storm god; he is responsible for
lightening and thunderbolts.
Tagni— Most ancient name for the god of Witchcraft.
Tana— Star goddess.
Tanus— Star god, consort to Tana.
Terminus— God of boundaries and fields, protector
of personal property. Related to Greek Hermes.
Thalna— Goddess of childbirth; depicted as a
youthful woman.
Tinia/Tin— Supreme sky god, married to Uni.
Tuchulcha— Goddess of death; she is part human,
part bird, and part animal, with snakes in her hair
and around her arms.
Turan— Goddess of love, health, and fertility; usually
portrayed as a young woman with wings on
her back.
Turms— Messenger god.
Umbria— Goddess of the shadows and of things
which are hidden or secret.
Uni— Goddess of marriage and magick.
Vanthi— Goddess of death; she is depicted with
wings, a cap on her head, and a key to open tombs
in her hand.
Vesta— Goddess of the hearth and fire.
Virbius— God of outcasts and outlaws, guardian
of sanctuaries.
Vertumnus— The Etruscan Green Man of vegetative
growth and springtime.
Greco-Roman Pantheon
Achaean Greeks first settled into various areas
of Greece around 2000 BCE The Romans adopted
the Greek gods pretty much intact, though giving
them different names. The Greek versions of their
origins and stories are found in Hesiod’s Theogony
(“birth of the gods”), and in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
The primary collection of the Roman versions
is Ovid’s Metamorphoses (“transformations”).
Gaea, Mother Earth, was the eldest of all Greek
deities—born out of Chaos, which also brought
forth Erebos (the Underworld) and Nix (Night).
After this, several generations proceeded. The first
were called the Titans. These were followed by the
Olympian Gods, who gained ascendancy after their
victory in the Titanomachia (“Battle of the Titans”).
These are the twelve Olympians—and their
Roman equivalents:
Aphrodité (Roman Venus)— Goddess of love,
beauty, and sex. Husband: Hephaestos. Symbols:
mirror and dove. Planet: Venus.
Apollo—God of the Sun, music, and prophecy. Twin
brother of Artemis. Symbol: lyre. Planet: the sun.
Ares (Roman Mars)— God of war. Symbol: Spear
and shield. Planet: Mars. Roman festival
(Equiria) February 27, March 14.
Artemis (Roman Diana)— Goddess of the moon
and the hunt. Twin sister of Apollo. Symbols: bow
drawn like crescent moon, deer, hounds. Planet:
the moon.
Athena (Roman Minerva)— Goddess of war and
wisdom. Symbols: shield, spear, aegus (breastplate
with head of Medusa).
Demeter (Roman Ceres)— Queen of the Earth,
goddess of grain and all cultivated plants. Symbol:
cornucopia.
Hades (Roman Pluto)— Ruler of the Underworld;
the dead, all things buried, and the wealth of
mines. Wife: Persephoné. Symbol: two-pronged
scepter. Planet: Pluto
Hera (Roman Juno)— Queen of the gods, wife of
Zeus. In charge of marriage, women, families.
Symbol: peacock tail-feather.
Hermes (Roman Mercury)— Messenger of the
gods. In charge of communication, magick, arcane
knowledge, hidden things, thievery. He is
the patron god of all Wizards. Symbol: caduceus.
Planet: Mercury.
Hestia (Roman Vesta)— Goddess of hearth and
home. She is always invoked first in any Greek
ritual.
Poseidon (Roman Neptune)— Ruler of the seas;
waves, tides, sea-monsters; also horses and earthquakes.
Wife: Amphitrite. Symbol: three-pronged
trident. Planet: Neptune.
Zeus (Roman Jupiter)— King of all the gods; ruler
of the sky, clouds, thunder, lightning, judgment,
authority. Wife: Hera. Symbols: thunderbolt and
eagle. Planet: Jupiter.
Other important Greco-Roman deities include:
Aesculapius— God of physicians and healers. Once
mortal, he was granted immortality for the number
of lives he saved. Symbol: staff entwined by
single serpent.