Nephthys Etymology[edit] Nephthys - Musée du Louvre, Paris, France Nephthys is the Greek form of an epithet (transliterated as Nebet-het, and Nebt-het, from Egyptian hieroglyphs).The origin of the goddess Nephthys is unclear but the literal translation of her name is usually given as "Lady of the House," which has caused some to mistakenly identify her with the notion of a "housewife," or as the primary lady who ruled a domestic household. This is a pervasive error repeated in many commentaries concerning this deity. Her name means quite specifically, "Lady of the [Temple] Enclosure" which associates her with the role of priestess. Function[edit] Nephthys was known in some ancient Egyptian temple theologies and cosmologies as the "Useful Goddess" or the "Excellent Goddess".[2] These late Ancient Egyptian temple texts describe a goddess who represented divine assistance and protective guardianship. Triad of Isis, Nephthys, and Harpocrates. Pyramid Text Utterance 222 line 210.[11] Symbolism[edit]
Osiris Osiris (/oʊˈsaɪərɨs/; also Usiris), is 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. Osiris is first attested in the middle of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt, although it is likely that he was worshipped much earlier;[4] the term Khenti-Amentiu dates to at least the first dynasty, also as a pharaonic title. Most information available on the myths of Osiris is derived from allusions contained in the Pyramid Texts at the end of the Fifth Dynasty, later New Kingdom source documents such as the Shabaka Stone and the Contending of Horus and Seth, and much later, in narrative style from the writings of Greek authors including Plutarch[5] and Diodorus Siculus.[6] Etymology of the name[edit] Appearance[edit] Early mythology[edit]
Freyja In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse the "Lady") is a goddess associated with love, sexuality, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death. Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, owns the boar Hildisvíni, possesses a cloak of falcon feathers, and, by her husband Óðr, is the mother of two daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi. Along with her brother Freyr (Old Norse the "Lord"), her father Njörðr, and her mother (Njörðr's sister, unnamed in sources), she is a member of the Vanir. Stemming from Old Norse Freyja, modern forms of the name include Freya, Frejya, Freyia, Frøya, Frøjya, Freia, and Freja. Freyja rules over her heavenly afterlife field Fólkvangr and there receives half of those that die in battle, whereas the other half go to the god Odin's hall, Valhalla. Etymology[edit] Attestations[edit] Poetic Edda[edit] Völuspá contains a stanza that mentions Freyja, referring to her as "Óð's girl"; Freyja being the wife of her husband, Óðr.
LUGHNASA © Anna Franklin Lughnasa, make known its dues, In each distant year: Tasting every famous fruit, Food of herbs at Lammas Day. Most Pagans know Lughnasa as one of the eight annual festivals but, historically, British witches were unique in celebrating Lughnasa. Lughnasa is a harvest festival, marking the end of the period of summer growth and the beginning of the autumn harvest. Assemblies on hilltops are a traditional part of the proceedings. The massive man-made Silbury Hill, 130 feet high, was in Neolithic times nearly 4,600 years ago. Lughnasa was a day for visiting wells and those on the Isle of Man were said to be at the peak of their healing powers. Late July and month of August are traditionally times for fairs; the weather would usually be mild and the ground suitable for travelling. Many traditional summer fairs are called 'wake fairs'. Even today the Irish still associate equine activities with this time of the year. to mind the deaths of both the Irish Lugh and the Welsh Llew.
Irish Soma Many scholars believe that the Indo-Europeans used an entheogenic or psychedelic drug in their rituals -- called soma amongst the Vedic people of India, and haoma in Iran. The ancient Greeks also used an ergot-based preparation in wine as the entheogenic trigger of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Soma has been identified as amanita muscaria or the fly agaric mushroom; haoma may have been the same, or it might be "wild rue," a harmaline-containing shrub (see Bibliography under Flattery and Schwartz). If there's any truth to these theories, we would expect to find that other Indo-European peoples also used such drugs shamanically or ritually. I consider it strange that in all the writing I've read about psychedelics, and about Ireland, not one text has connected the two subjects. Irish myths and legends were not written down till the Christian era, and then only by monks who might well have misunderstood or even censored any references to a soma-type substance or cult. St.
Hel (being) In the Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, and Heimskringla, Hel is referred to as a daughter of Loki and Angrboða, and to "go to Hel" is to die. In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, Hel is described as having been appointed by the god Odin as ruler of a realm of the same name, located in Niflheim. In the same source, her appearance is described as half black and half white flesh-coloured and further as having a gloomy, downcast appearance. Scholarly theories have been proposed about Hel's potential connections to figures appearing in the 11th century Old English Gospel of Nicodemus and Old Norse Bartholomeus saga postola, potential Indo-European parallels to Bhavani, Kali, and Mahakali, and her origins. The Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, features various poems that mention Hel. Hel is referenced in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, various times. The Icelanders' saga Egils saga contains the poem Sonatorrek.
Odin Etymology[edit] Odin's name is formed from "óðr" and the suffix "-inn". Old Norse had two different words spelled óðr, one an adjective and the other a noun. The adjective means "mad, frantic, furious, violent",[3] and is cognate with Old English wōd (hence the anglo-saxon Wōden).[4] The noun means "mind, wit, soul, sense" and "song, poetry".[5] Origin[edit] The 7th century Tängelgarda stone shows Odin leading a troop of warriors all bearing rings; Valknut symbols are drawn beneath his horse, which is depicted with four legs Originally, Odin was possibly considered mainly a shamanistic god and the leader of the war band. Parallels between Odin and the Celtic Lugus have often been pointed out. Adam of Bremen[edit] Written around 1080, one of the oldest written sources on pre-Christian Scandinavian religious practices is Adam of Bremen's Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum. Poetic Edda[edit] Völuspá[edit] Lokasenna[edit] Hávamál[edit] The sacrifice of Odin (1895) by Lorenz Frølich
Elysium Elysium or the Elysian Fields (Ancient Greek: Ἠλύσιον πεδίον, Ēlýsion pedíon) is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by certain Greek religious and philosophical sects and cults. Initially separate from the realm of Hades, admission was reserved for mortals related to the gods and other heroes. Later, it expanded to include those chosen by the gods, the righteous, and the heroic, where they would remain after death, to live a blessed and happy life, and indulging in whatever employment they had enjoyed in life.[1][2][3][4][5][6] The ruler of Elysium varies from author to author: Pindar and Hesiod name Cronus as the ruler,[9] while the poet Homer in the Odyssey describes fair-haired Rhadamanthus dwelling there.[6][7][10][11] Classical literature[edit] In Homer’s Odyssey, Elysium is described as a paradise: to the Elysian plain…where life is easiest for men. Pindar's Odes describes the reward waiting for those living a righteous life: See also[edit]
Hades Names and epithets As with almost every name for the gods, the origin of Hades's name is obscure. The name as it came to be known in classical times was Ἅιδης, Hāidēs. Later the iota became silent.[3] Originally it was *Awides which has been claimed to mean "unseen".[4] This changed into Ἀΐδης, Aïdēs (and afterwards Āïdēs), with the dropping of the digamma. Poetic variants of the name include Ἀϊδωνεύς, Aïdōneus, and *Ἄϊς, Aïs (a nominative by conjecture), from which the derived forms Ἄϊδος, Āïdos, Ἄϊδι, Āïdi, and Ἄϊδα, Āïda, (gen., dat. and acc., respectively) are words commonly seen in poetry.[7] From fear of pronouncing his name and considering that from the abode below (i.e. the soil) come the riches (e.g. from the soil grow the fertile crops, from the soil come the metals and so on), c. 5th century BCE the Greeks started referring to Hades as Πλούτων, Ploutōn,[8] a name that is an abbreviation of Πλουτοδότης, Ploutodotēs, or Πλουτοδοτήρ, Ploutodotēr, meaning "giver of wealth".[9] Cult
Pan (god) In Greek religion and mythology, Pan (/ˈpæn/;[1] Ancient Greek: Πᾶν, Pān) is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music, and companion of the nymphs.[2] His name originates within the Ancient Greek language, from the word paein (πάειν), meaning "to pasture."[3] 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 Roman Faunus, a god of Indo-European origin, was equated with Pan. The worship of Pan began in Arcadia which was always the principal seat of his worship. Representations of Pan on 4th century BC gold and silver Pantikapaion coins One of the famous myths of Pan involves the origin of his pan flute, fashioned from lengths of hollow reed. Pan is famous for his sexual powers, and is often depicted with a phallus.
Hecate Ancient Greek goddess of magic and crossroads Hecate was one of the main deities worshiped in Athenian households as a protective goddess and one who bestowed prosperity and daily blessings on the family.[5] In the post-Christian writings of the Chaldean Oracles (2nd–3rd century CE) she was regarded with (some) rulership over earth, sea, and sky, as well as a more universal role as Savior (Soteira), Mother of Angels and the Cosmic World Soul.[6][7] Regarding the nature of her cult, it has been remarked, "she is more at home on the fringes than in the center of Greek polytheism. Intrinsically ambivalent and polymorphous, she straddles conventional boundaries and eludes definition. Name and origin[edit] The origin of the name Hecate (Ἑκάτη, Hekátē) and the original country of her worship are both unknown, though several theories have been proposed. Greek origin[edit] R. Egyptian origin[edit] Anatolian origin[edit] Later development[edit] Iconography[edit] Sacred animals[edit] Sacred plants[edit]