Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
---|---|---|
Goddess name "Vestal Virgin" | Greek | A nun, a religieuse, properly a maiden dedicated to the service of the goddess Vesta. The duty of these virgins was to keep the fire of the temple always burning, both day and night. They were required to be of spotless chastity. Greek |
Deities name "Vigrieesvaraeugramurti" | Hindu / Puranic | family of deities. A popular depiction in art of SIVA (colored black) and Parvati with their son GANESA after he has been decapitated by his father and given the head of an elephant by way of replacement.... |
Goddess name "Wachilt" | Celtic | Goddess of the sea who rose from the depths and halted the ship of king Vilkinus of Norway, proclaiming that she was pregnant with his child. Celtic |
"Wagyl" | Australia | A snakelike creature who created the waterways in and around the south-west of Western Australia |
King name "Waking a Witch" | Britain | If a witch was obdurate, the most effectual way of obtaining a confession was by what was termed "waking her." For this purpose an iron bridle or hoop was bound across her face with four prongs thrust into her mouth. The "bridle" was fastened behind to the wall by a chain in such a manner that the victim was unable to lie down; and in this position she was kept sometimes for several days, while men were constantly by to keep her awake. Britain |
"Wali-sa-yali-ze-win" | Ojibway | The Creator, and the Light. Ojibway |
King name "Wayland" | Scandinavian | Wayland the Scandinavian Vulcan, was son of the sea-giant Wate, and the sea-nymph Wac-hilt. He was bound apprentice to Mimi the smith. king Nidung cut the sinews of his feet, and cast him into prison, but he escaped in a feather-boat. |
Goddess name "Wepwawet" | Egypt | God of påśśage. Depicted as a jackal, Wepwawet began as a god of Upper Egypt, but his cult spread along the whole of the Nile valley. According to Pyramid Texts, he was born beneath a tamarisk tree in the sanctuary of the goddess WADJET at Buto. He is also closely linked with the falcon god HORUS. He is perceived preceding the ruler either to or from battle, or to the afterlife, when his adze is used to break open the mouth of the dead person. In a similar context he is linked to the Sun god RE when he opens the dawn sky to the deceased. As a god of påśśage, he also opens the way to the womb.... |
"White Buffalo Woman" | N American | The sacred woman who brought secret knowledge to the Oglala. She reminded them of the mysteries of their mother, the earth. Urging them always to honour her, she disappeared in the shape of a white buffalo. |
God name "Wiidigo" | Ojibwa / Canada | Ice god. A terrible being formed of ice who symbolizes the starvation of Winter. There are said to be many windigos, but they are always referred to in the singular. Cannibalistic, the windigo appears as an ice skeleton and a human being can be turned into one through possession.... |
Goddess name "Wuriupranili" | Australian aboriginal | Sun goddess. The position of Wuriupranili in the godly hierarchy is unclear, but mythology explains that she carries a burning torch made from tree bark and that she travels from east to west each day before descending to the western sea and using the embers to light her way through the underworld beneath the earth. The colors of the Sunrise and Sunset are said to be a reflection of the red ocher body paints with which she adorns herself.... |
Spirit name "Xhindi" | Albanian | Put scissors and broomsticks under your baby's mattress to keep these invisible spirits away. Albanian |
"Yagastaa" | Carrier Indians | He who dwells on High is my father. He sent me down to help you because your village was so unhappy, your women always weeping for their lost children. The Carrier Indians |
"Yezd" | Persia | Chief residence of the Fire-worshippers. They have kept the sacred fire alight above 3,000 years, without suffering it to go out for a second. The sacred fire is on the mountain Ater Quedah (Mansion of the Fire), and he is deemed unfortunate who dies away from the mountain. Persia |
God name "Yukateuctli" | Aztec | God of the ways, of merchants and travellers. Aztec |
God name "Zalmoxis" | Greek | A legendary social and religious reformer, regarded as the only true god by the Thracian Dacians. According to Herodotus (IV), the Getae, who believed in the immortality of the soul, looked upon death merely as going to Zalmoxis, as they knew the way to become immortals. Greek |
Deities name "Zemi" | Puerto Rico / Haiti | One of a pair of primordial beings. Known as Morobo and Binatel, they are the parents of all other deities, though they did not create the cosmos which, according to belief, has always been in existence. They are depicted in stone, wood or clay figures and are invoked in prayers. Two wooden ZEMIS used to be kept in a sacred cave at Toaboyna in Haiti and were the subject of several annual pilgrimages. The Sun and the moon were believed to have emerged from the cave.... |
Goddess name "Zyanya" | Native American | A goddess who will be here always and forever. |