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

278 Creating Circles & Ceremonies
Balder— God of beauty, light, joy, purity, innocence,
and reconciliation. His wife is Nanna.
Bragi— God of eloquence and poetry. His wife is
Idun.
Heimdall— Watchman of the gods and guardian of
the rainbow bridge, Bifrost.
Forseti— God of mediation and justice, son of Balder.
Thor— God of thunder, and strongest of the gods.
Lightning flashes whenever he throws his hammer
mjollnir. His wife is Sif.
And here are some of the Vanir:
Njordh — God of the sea, winds, fire, and the hunt.
Husband of Skadi. When he was killed by mistake,
she demanded of the gods a new husband.
Nerthus— A Frisian Earth-goddess whom many
believe to be the sister-wife of Njordh and mother
of Freyr and Freyja.
Freyr— God of sun and rain, and the patron of
bountiful harvests, son of Njordh. His wife is the
beautiful Giantess Gerd.
Freya— Goddess of love, beauty, fertility, prosperity
and magic. Daughter of Njordh and twin sister of
Freyr, she likes love-poetry, but she also chooses slain
warriors for her great hall, Sessrumnir.
Idun— Goddess of eternal youth and keeper of the
apples of immortality. Wife of Bragi.
Skadi— Originally the wife of Njordth. When her
husband was slain she demanded justice of the
gods. She was blindfolded, and chose Hoder, but
he loved the sea and she loved the mountains.
Sif— Golden-haired fertility goddess (some say giantess),
wife of Thor.
Tyr— Original Germanic god of war and justice,
the precursor of Odin.
Ullr— God of the hunt, famous for his skill in archery.
Son of Sif.
Other Norse deities and beings include:
Mimir— Keeper of the Well of Wisdom.
Hel/Hella— Goddess of the Underworld, daughter
of Loki and sister of Fenris. She is a terrible icy
cold keeper of the unworthy dead.
Fenris— The huge and terrible wolf who will destroy
the gods in the Battle of Ragnarök.
Norns— Goddesses who determine fate. The three
best known are Urd (what has been), Verdandi
(becoming), and Skuld (what shall be). One’s fate,
or wyrd, was the result of what one was given at
birth as well as the choices one made.
Valkyries— Daughters of Odin who select dead
heroes and bring them to Valhalla, home of the
Gods. They fly on winged steeds, singing songs
of victory; Freya sometimes leads them.
Phoenician (Canaanite & Carthaginian)
The belief system of the western Phoenicians
or Punic peoples—that is, the Carthaginians and
the people of the other Phoenician colonies along
the coast of Africa, Iberia, and the islands of
Sardinia, Corsica, Malta, and the western portion
of Sicily—was very similar to that of the old citystates
of Phoenicia or Canaan, as it is referred to
in the Old Testament. Carthaginians worshiped a
pantheon of gods and goddesses similar to those
of the cultures with which they had contact. They
even adopted some of the gods of their neighbors.
The Phoenician pantheon includes:
Adon/Adonis— God of youth, beauty, and regeneration.
He dies, is mourned, and is reborn each year.
Anat/Anath— Maiden goddess of love and war.
She rescued her husband Baal from the Underworld
and slew the god Mot.
Asherah/Baalat Gubl— Goddess of Byblos; the
“Upright One,” goddess of the fertility of flocks
and fields, and represented by the Tree of Life.
She was particularly hated by the Hebrew prophets,
who forbade her worship in any form.
Astarte/Ashtarte— “Queen of Heaven,” goddess of
love and pleasure, her offerings were honey cakes.
Her priestesses were qadistu (“sacred prostitutes”),
and her temples were sanctuaries for doves and fishes.
Baal/El—“Almighty,” “Lord of the Earth,” “Rider
of the Clouds.” Ruler of the universe, god of the
sun, and fire of summer; high god of sacrifice. Son of
Dagan.
Baal-Hammon— God of fertility and renewer of
all energies.
Dagan/Dagon— God of fishes and the deep ocean,
patron of fishermen. Father of mighty Baal.
Eshmun/Baalat Asclepius— God of healing.
Kathirat— Goddess of marriage and pregnancy.
Kothar/Hasis— Skilled god of craftsmanship.
Melqarth/Melqart— Lord of the Underworld and
the cycle of vegetation.
Mot— God of old age, death, and decomposition;
keeper of the Underworld.
Shahar— God of dawn.
Shalim— God of dusk.
Shapash— Sun goddess.
Tanit/Tanith—“Queen of Heaven” or “Mother
Goddess.” Goddess of Carthage, good fortune,
wealth, abundance, and bountiful harvest. She
received infant sacrifice.
Yamm— God of the sea.
Yarikh— Moon god.
Sumerian-Babylonian Pantheon
Mesopotamia (“land between the rivers”) is
the fertile plain of modern Iraq through which the