Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

176 Llew Llaw Gyffescarries the seal of heaven’s authority. He is consideredto be humane and moderate. In art heusually takes a central position between ChangFei on his left and Kuan Ti on his right.Llew Llaw GyffesGod. Celtic (Welsh). The counterpart of the Irishgod LUG. The son of ARIANRHOD, he was raisedby GWYDION. The heroic figure of Lancelot maybe derived from him.LoaSpirit beings. Puerto Rico and Haiti. The gods ofthe voodoo cult who were originally imported byslaves from West Africa. An amount of Christianinfluence is present in their makeup.LobaSun god. Duala [Cameroon, West Africa]. Localpeople pray to this deity after sunset to ensurethat he will appear again the following morning.Locana (the eye)Goddess. Buddhist (Mahayana). The SAKTI of aDHYANIBUDDHA (spiritual meditation buddha),generally AKSOBHYA or VAIROCANA. Color: blueor white. Attributes: cup, prayer wheel and lotuswith one or more staves. Also BUDDHALOCANA.Lo’cin-coro’moHearth spirit. Yukaghir [southeastern Siberia].The guardian of the household who migrateswith the family. Also Lo’cil, Yegi’le.LodurCreator god. Germanic. Mentioned in passing inthe creation mythology as being one of a trio ofdeities, with Odin and HOENIR, who engenderedmankind.See also OTHIN.LogosPrimordial spirit of reason. Greek. A concept promotedby the Stoics, who perceived Logos as themind of JUPITER, but more generally recognizedas the divine essence from which all deities arise.Philo of Alexandria apportioned human characteristicsto Logos. The Gnostic Christian, Valentinus,identified Logos as the word coming from themind of the father. The Christian father Clementof Alexandria claimed it to be the first principle ofthe universe, while Origen perceived it as the principleembodied in the flesh by Jesus Christ.Lokapala (protectors of the world)Guardians of the four directions. Hindu andBuddhist. Often placed in pairs at the entranceto tombs.Lokesvara (lord of the world)Generic name for a group of deities. Buddhist.These are thought to be a syncretization of Hinduand Buddhist deities and include such gods asŠIVA, VIŠNU and others which have come tobe defined as forms of a primeval buddha orDHYANIBUDDHA. The lokesvara are usually representedby a small figure, identified as ADIBUD-DHA or AMITABHA, which rests on the head of themain statue. Also a group name for the manyforms of the Buddhist deity AVALOKITESVARA.Lo’cin-po’gilFire spirit. Yukaghir [southeastern Siberia]. Oneof the “owners,” the apotheosis of fire.LOKIORIGIN Nordic (Icelandic). Ambivalent characterwell represented in mythology.