#Ishtar is equivalent to Aphrodite

[astrcthesiai-archived]

Robin as a deity

Wondering what goddess or deity Robin would likely be? There are a plethora, but I think a goddess of death, fate, or scriptures. I cannot see her as Persephone, the Morrigan, or Hecate. I do see her as maybe Atropos of the Fates in Greek origin and one of the Rozhanitsy which are akin to the Fates. Atropos cuts the lives while her sisters measure the lives of mortals.

Robin may also be Morana, the Slavic goddess of Winter and Death. Many people vilify Morana because she rules over unpleasant things, but they are necessary in life much like Robin is vilified for her knowledge of Poneglyphs.

[cleopheanne]

Bharani : the birth of Venus.

Part 1

Let's talk about ancient godesses of love and Bharani nakshatra.

I will base my research on the legend of the dead and resurrected god present in many religious myths coming from the middle east (ps : i'm sorry in advance for the grammar, syntax or spelling mistakes that you may find in this post, english is not my first language)

Bharani, situated in the heart of the rashi of aries is governed by Shukr: Venus but also by Yami and Yama in vedic mythology who are twins and gods respectfully of life and death.

Yama, the main deity of Bharani is said to be one of "8 celestial gatekeepers, who guards eight directional doorways or exits through which souls travel from an earthly plane to other planes of existence" making him the lord of Dharma since at one's death, he decides basing on his actions in what plane should one reincarnate.

Since Yama is responsible for directing the flow of life on Earth the association between bharani and the yoni becomes evident: the female reproducting system serves as a portal for souls to take on a physical form. So bharani as Claire Nakti perfectly described it relates to the feminine ability to receive, hold, nurture and ultimately transform through the womb.

Because Bharani aligns itself with all the feminine qualities by excellence it makes sense as to why Venus is it's ruler.

Venus is the roman name for the goddess Aphrodite: in greek mythology. She is said to be the goddess of love and beauty at large but also the goddess of war and sexuality. First because the ancient greeks saw the duality that links love to war and how they seem to come together through sex.

Also, Aphrodite is said to be born from the sperm of Ouranos when his testicules got cut by his son Saturn as he was always feconding Gaia, the Earth and causing her distress: he was acting cruel regarding their children. The sperm of Ouranus got mixed up with the foam of the Ocean creating Aphrodite which means "risen from the foam". So it was interesting to see that as Shukr also means sperm in sanskrit and it shows the origin of Venus as a fertility goddess too.

This conception of Aphrodite directly links her to ancient goddesses of love such as Ishtar or Inana in Mesopotamian/summerian mythology or Isis in egyptian mythology. Most of the time, these goddesses are the female counterpart of a god that was once mortal, got cursed, died and then came back to life for them to form an immortal couple.

In the case of Ishtar, her consort is Dumuzi or Tammuz and Osiris is the consort of Isis.

In Mesopotamian mythology :

Ishtar or Inana in sumerian is the goddess of love and sexuality, beauty, fertility as well as war because of her status as a " bloody goddess" mostly refering to her character in plenty of myths.

For example: in one story, she became infatuated with the king Gilgamesh, but the latter knowing her fierce reputation, refused her advances. As a result she got furious and unleashed the celestial Bull on Earth which resulted in 7 years of plagues. This celestial bull was later defeated by Gilgamesh and Endiku, and its corpse was throwed in front of Inana. Blinded by rage, she decided that as a punition Enkidu must die and sad at the death of his bestfriend Gilgamesh began his journey to find a cure to Death.

Bharani is a fierce or Ugra nakshatra meaning that its nature is agressive, bold and assertive in pursuing their goals. They are ruthless in the process of accompling what they desire the most and are inclined to extreme mood swings that can result in them to be "blinded" by their extreme emotions perfectly expressing the passionate character of Venus and her other equivalents in differents pantheons of antiquity.

Inana/ Ishtar's story with Dumuzi/Tammur begins as she was convinced to chose him by her brother Utu. Then she got married with the shepphard Dumuzi instead of whom she prefered in first the farmer: Enkinmdou. During the courtship, Inana prefered the fine textile of the farmer and his beer rather than the thick wool and milk of Dumuzi. The preference for the shepphard illustrates that at the time the Mesopotamian civilisation was known for their proliferent agriculture with the egyptians in the region, so this myth encapsulate the opposition between nomads and sendatary people at this specifific time period.

By the way, another symbol of Bharani is the cave and traditionnaly, the cave was used as a storage room for food. Also Bharani's purpose is Artha so these individuals are motivated to accumalate resources and provide safety and security, so Bharani can be linked to the exploitation of natural ressources like the soil illustrating the preference of Ishtar for the farmer. This is reinforced also by its Earth element.

So coming back to the myth, in a mesopotamian text called Inana's Descent to the Underworld, the goddess goes to Kur (hell) with the intent of conquering it, and her sister Ereshkigal who rules the Underworld, kills her. She learns that she can escape if she finds a sacrifice to replace her, in her search, she encounters servants who were mourning her death however she finds Dumuzi relaxing on a throne being entertained by enslaved girls. Enraged by his disloyalty she selects him as a sacrifice and he is dragged to the Underworld by demons.

He is eventually resurrected by Inana and they become an "immortal couple" as he may only come back to life for half of the year, being replaced by his son (?) who is also his reincarnation for the other half of the same years, so describing the cycle of regeneration of life.

Other mythologycal stories of goddesses in the near east describe a similar patterns:

The goddess Asherah is described as being the mother and the lover of her son Adonis.

The goddess Cybele in the phrygian pantheon takes the form of an old woman as she described as the mother of everything and of all. And at the same time she is the consort of Attis who his her own son (wtf ?)

Also, Yama and Yami are implicated in a incestuous entanglement where his sister Yama wanted to lay with him however he refused establishing himself as a god with an infaillible moral campus.

All of these representations illustrate the relation between the masculine and the feminine, life and regenration which are all topics related to Bharani nakshatra. Women by their capacity to give life are seen as the source of life and therefore are eternal as they are able to regenarate themselves through daughters which are identical to them whereas man who is unable to reproduce by himself, is therefore mortal feels the need to associate with her to resurrect through a son who is identical to him. Bharani exiting as the embodiment of the link between "the father and the offspring" which is the feminine vessel.

So this is certainly part 1, I think that these ancient myths are where Claire Nakti found her inspiration for her series on Bharani.

[hopeastrz]

𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐓 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐘 𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐈𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒:🦢

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞🤍.

𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐈𝐬𝐡𝐭𝐚𝐫 (𝟕𝟎𝟖𝟖) is equivalent to Aphrodite, Ishtar was the Sumerian deity of beauty, fertility and sexuality, having it 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐬, (𝐬𝐮𝐧,𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧,𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐲, 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐬), 𝐌𝐂 𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐂 𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐛 (𝟎,-𝟏,-𝟐) is a beauty indicator.

𝟓, 𝟏𝟕, 𝟐𝟗 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐬𝐡𝐭𝐚𝐫 may mean being famous for your beauty, or having a beautiful hair!, Selena gomez has ishtar 5° degree and her hair is very beautiful!, Queen riri too in 5° degree 10th house.

𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧 (𝟑𝟒𝟗𝟕) is also is a beauty indicator asteroid, She’s a Sumerian goddess who’s the queen of heaven + earth, having it obviously in earth and air signs is a very good placement, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚 𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐬.

𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 (𝟐,𝟏𝟒,𝟐𝟔) might mean being a very sensual lover, or just have this air of richness, dearzia has this asteroid in 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐬, and you can feel elegancy oozing out of her in waves. 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧 indicates being a strong minded female, my mother has this placement and she’s a girl boss.

𝟕𝟔 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐚 is the goddess of love and queen of valkyries, magic and wealth, from my point of view i think it means where we are very blessed in beauty, or what’s the most beautiful thing about us.

For example i have it in the 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞, and I’ve been told multiple times that my voice is fancy?, yeah idk what this is but they say that i sound like im rich or smtg, but because it conjuncts chiron i don’t believe them, although it’s really prominent since it trines my sun and opposites my moon.

𝐊𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐚 (𝟐𝟏𝟔) 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐨 𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬, 𝟏𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐬𝐮𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 is such an amazing placement to have. The power and queen vibes these people carry is mesmerizing, like please turn me to a potato under your feet i won’t mind.

𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐨😭, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠

[wilcze-kudly]

So @follow-the-compass-home made an interesting point about how all the other victors are specific celestial bodies and Scott is just... stars. And that's not fair so here's an idea:

Scott is Venus

Now, he still gets to keep the star imagery because Venus is often known as the Evening/Morning star. It is the third brightest thing in Earth's sky (the other being the Sun and the Moon).

Venus is of course often associated with the goddess Venus, the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite which also fits quite nicely with Scott's character.

Aphrodite is primarily the goddess of love, which can easily translate to Scott's strong loyalty and devotion to his allies. I mean, he literally rejected the boogeyman curse because it would make him harm his allies. He was also probably one of the only people who could pull off the 'love you' task without being suspicious. As he said himself, it was very on brand for him and barely anyone questioned it. This connection can also apply to how Scott plays the social games if not pushed, gathering allies and IOUs left and right. And the theme of love stays relevant as Scott's very first ally in the series was his 'husband'. Also there being a carnivorous flower named after the planet Venus is a cute little nod to the proverbial flower husband.

Aphrodite is also the goddess of beauty and he is the pretty Scott after all. Scott's love for making pretty and aesthetic bases while in a literal death game is another good example of this connection.

One of the biggest aspects of Aphrodite is her rejecting the husband Zeus assigned her, kinda like how Scott rejected Pearl in Double Life.

Limited life also has a lot of symbolism that could touch on the Venus ties. Aphrodite was said to be born out of the sea and Scott was a Mean Gill that season. Also one of Aphrodite's most famous lovers was Ares. Ares' was known by the Romans as.... Mars.

Aphrodite most likely originates from Ishtar/Inanna, an ancient Mespotamian goddess. One of her symbols is an eight pointed star. She is not only the goddess of love, but also of warfare, which fits into Scott being pretty good at PVP. Sometimes she is referred to with the epithet Irnina, which means victory and Scott is one of the Winners.

In Islamic tradition, Venus is associated with a beautiful woman who managed to get into heaven by tricking a pair of angels, but she became trapped there. Kinda like how Scott became the first victor other than Grian, the watcher.

In Turkik mythology, the god Erkliğ Han is associated with Venus. He is responsible for shooting stars which are called fiery arrows. Scott is very good with a bow, after all.

Tldr; make my boy an actual celestial body he desrves it

[damnation-if]

If the LIs were deities what would be there domains, favored animal, & weapon? Suchebh & Twilit, sweetcheeks (sweetcheeki?) you’ve been evicted, gotta get new ones, sorry :(

oh, this an interesting thing to consider... i wasn't quite sure whether you meant deities within the world of the game, or more something related to real-world deities, so i might try and give an example of both? i will admit that weapons is a bit hard, though, i'm not sure all of them would use specific weapons haha (adding a cut here for Length)

Arianis

Arianis would be extremely Put Out to suddenly be made a deity, but not particularly Surprised... within the game's universe i think the most likely thing they would be made a deity of would be quite unflattering, something like... Parasites. or Decay. there isn't a terrific real-world equivalent but i assume they would be perceived in a way similar to Pestilence from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, more or less. somewhere between Pestilence and Nergal, anyway - not as Purposefully Destructive as Nergal, that is to say XD

the animal used to symbolise them would probably be a wasp. if pressed to assign them some kind of weapon it'd probably be something like a gnarled and twisted staff of rotting wood.

Heluur

what he would be worshipped for in the game's world kind of depends on the context of... whether or not there's any growth in understanding of the demons and who/what they are. the most positive light i think he could be painted in would give him something like New Beginnings, while negative portrayals would view him more as Corruption. in both versions he'd be strongly associated with time, and viewed as a catalyst of great change. Kronos is probably the closest real-world equivalent, or somewhere in an admixture of Kronos and Aion.

Heluur's animal symbolism will always be a serpent; he generally is not a weapon guy, but i could see something like the Asclepian rod or caduceus being associated with him.

Lithiana

there's probably not a lot of ambiguity in what people would worship Lithiana for - Lust and Sexuality, probably with Sex Work thrown in. unfavourable portrayals of her might add Temptation or Control or something as well. there are a lot of real-world deities that are sort of similar but also a weird amount of them include things like war (Ishtar and Freya for example) so i guess the closest equivalents would be like. Aphrodite or the Mesopotamian Nanaya.

like Heluur, Lithiana's animal symbolism is fairly set - it will always be a shark. the particular type of shark i have in mind when i think about her colouring is a mottled grey kind of wobbegong. and i think for various symbolism-related reasons i'd have to give her a whip or a flail as a weapon.

Malkorath

like Heluur, Malkorath's domains would depend heavily on perception of them and demons in general; in the best light, they'd probably be regarded as representing Individuality and Freedom, and in the worst, something probably more like Death and Calamity. both versions would have overtones of boldness, victory and the hunt. as far as real world equivalents go, probably the most applicable is The Morrígan, though that aligns more closely with the negative aspects than the positive... you could maybe weave in someone like Artemis in that regard.

animal symbolism for Malkorath is kind of tough since they're made up of a bunch of different types already... a falcon, maybe, or a panther. some kind of swift predator. i do think there's not much chance of anyone associating a weapon with Malkorath other than their own natural weapons though lmfao

Suchebh

Suchebh would be fairly universally considered as a deity of Hedonism, Revelry and Excess - negative depictions might add a few things like Madness and maybe Pain, but i think they'd fare more or less the same otherwise. as such, the real-world equivalent is probably quite obviously Dionysus, with a pinch of Pan thrown in for good measure. maybe if you could combine those two with Zeus/Hera at the same time you'd get the best approximation.

as for what kind of animal symbolism people would use for Suchebh, that's a bit rough... peacocks are kind of obvious. birds of paradise, maybe? something flashy like that. for a weapon, they would want something like Zeus's lightning bolts. for the Drama of it all XD

Twilit

most probably Twilit would be worshipped as a deity of Transformation and Metamorphosis. certain people might associate them with Chaos, but they'd personally be offended by the notion that they bring it anywhere themself, so i guess that'd be an argument for priests to have lmfao. it's much tougher to find a real-world equivalent for them... there's Proteus, an ancient Greek god who constantly changed forms and apparently refused to answer questions honestly, but there's also primordial beings of chaos like Abzu and Tiamat, whose forms were too nebulous to be described and represent anarchy and upheaval, which are probably about the best available.

Twilit will always stay as a moth as far as symbolism is concerned. they also almost certainly wouldn't use any weapons, but i can imagine art depicting them holding bones in the way that someone else might hold a weapon.

thank you for your ask! i sure hope this manages to answer your question XD

[asteroidgalore]

Master List of Posts

this is a work in progress, check back for more other times. last updated Monday, August 28, 2023.

I really appreciate comments with your placement of the asteroid.

First and foremost, about energy/effective energy manipulation.

The Four Esoteric Paths

About Master Posts in General where as the Post itself is the man.

Lilith - The Lilith Asteroids; Ceres as a Wounded Piece of Lilith;

Adonis - Being Brought to Persephone;

Asmodeus - As a Genie; Defined and Relationship with Sarah; Running Away with Lucifer; Tobit 3:16;

ASTEROID THEORIES

Conversion - Conversion or Translation to One's Own;

POSTS ABOUT MISCELLANEOUS GODDESSES

Aphrodite - Caring for son Eros; Parentage;

Athena/Athene - Rape of Cassandra; Rape of Medusa; Sufferer of Depression;

Cassandra - Seeking Sanctuary with Athena;

Gaia - As Wife of Uranus;

Glauke - Strength Compared to Hades;

Freyja - As a Dark Sorceress and Goddess of Love;

Hecate - Venus and Moon Dominant; Linked to Fates; About Disrespect; Nyx as a Competent Mother; Conjunction Functions; On Hecate as a Male; About Sacred Sexuality; A Wounded Hecate; Feast Day of August 13th;

Iris - Wife of Beelzebub;

Ishtar - Protectress of Prostitutes;

Juno - Finding Enchantment in Mild Tangibles;

Medusa - Being Assaulted by Perseus; Children with Neptune;

Pandora - Meaning Gifts;

Psyche - On being turned into a Goddess; Goddess of the Soul;

POSTS ABOUT CERTAIN SUBJECTS

Nurturing - Grief Eating;

Prostitution - Industry; Working Girls; Death and Destruction promised by God; Ishtar's Vengeance Against GOD.

Prioritizing - About Something Urgent; One True Love;

Tools/Objects - Finding Better Search Results; Winchester as a Brand of Bullets;

POSTS ABOUT MUSIC AND THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

Being in Love - With a Stripper;

POSTS ABOUT DISORDER

Personality Disorders - Narcissistic Personality Disorder; Psyche as an Empath; Narcissistic Gas; Masterman;

Complex Post Trauma Disorders - About Being Deprived;

POSTS ABOUT EGYPT

Anubis - As really sexy; As a Masculine Version of Nephthys;

Apophis - Wife Taweret as Daughter of Amun and Mutt; As Epitome of Egypt; On Cruelty; A Warning to Never Praise This Guy; Natural Disasters; After Being Slayed;

Cleopatra - Symbolizing Joy and Dancing; Isis as Inspiration;

Amun-Ra - Different from Osiris;

Queen Hatsheput - As the World's Most Noble Lady;

Horus - Greek Equivalent is Apollo;

Nephthys - Gold as Illumination to Get Out of Depression; Osiris' Downfall; A warning to not Mistake her for Isis; Serket as Nephthys' Daughter; A daughter of Nut; At her worst;

Nut - Children of Nut; Daughters as Protectresses; Isis' Shadow Side Compared to Seth Terrorizing Horus;

Osiris - Husband of Isis, Father of Osiris; Name Meaning;

Sekhem - Alchemy;

POSTS CATEGORIZED BY RELIGIOUS ATTRIBUTION

Hinduism - Kali as a Nurturing Mother and Force of Destruction;

[alatismeni-theitsa]

The whole "Aphrodite was Ishtar" thing is so weird. On one hand, I get it. Syncretism and all that. On the other hand, do we even have any first hand accounts of ancient civilizations believing that a god from their culture was literally the same god from another? Because from what I could find, Indo-European religions do share certain archetypes thanks to them branching off from a single religion, and there were equivalents, but that seemed to be more so for the sake of creating analogues (ex: Herodotus equating the Scythian Queen of the Gods Tabiti to the Hearth Goddess Hestia), convenience, or in worst case scenarios, survival. Sure, we have the Romans to look to, but as I understand it, even Mars was looked at differently than how most of the Greek city-states saw Ares.

Please correct me if I'm wrong on this, though! I am not a historian in any sense of the word!

From what I know, we don't have ancient texts saying something like "They have Ishtar but they call her Aphrodite". The people themselves didn't see them as the same goddess! And we still don't.

That's why the whole thing pisses me off as well because often in western academia the accounts of ancient peoples - and the modern ones in these areas - are respected only when the modern people feel like it.

[namesforwriters]

Mythology Inspired Names: Egyptian (fem)

Amunet ~ Egyptian, meaning "the hidden one."

Amunet is an Ancient Egyptian primodial goddess thought to have existed before the beginning of creation. pronunciation: ahh-muh-net

Anat ~ Egyptian, also spelled "Anant," "Anit," "Anthat."

Associated with war and hunting, she is also a goddess of fertility and sexual love. Pharaoh Ramesses II adopted Anat as his personal guardian in battle. pronunciation: ahh-naht

Astarte ~ Egyptian, also spelled "Attar," "Attart."

Largely a love goddess with some war associations, Ashtart was adopted into Egyptian faith but was originally a Seminitic goddess. Her Greek equivalent is Aphrodite. pronunciation: uhh-star-tee

Besna ~ Egyptian, very similar to "Beset."

A goddess of home security. Of safety of the home and within the home. Potentially another name for "Beset," the female version of the god Bes. pronunciation: bes-nah

Hathor ~ Egyptian, meaning "House of Horus."

A major goddess in the Ancient Egyptian faith, Hathor was associated with many things, including the sky, joy, motherhood, queenship, and dance. Literally the Ancient Egyptian concept of femininity. pronunciation: ha-thor, ha-tor

Hemsut ~ Egyptian, also spelled "Hemuset."

Sometimes a single goddess, sometimes a group of goddesses, all defined as the personification of fate. pronunciation: hem-suut

Heret-Kau ~ Egyptian, meaning "she who is above the spirits."

Very little is known of this goddess, but she is known as an attendant to Isis, as well as the guardian of spirits in the afterlife. pronunciation: hair-et-kaou

Ishtar ~ Egyptian, also seen as "Inanna."

A Mesopotamian goddess as well as Egyptian and Assyrian, she is very similar to Astarte but is also affiliated with political power and divine law. pronunciation: ish-tar, iss-tar

Isis ~ Egyptian, meaning "lady of the throne."

An incredibly important goddess in Egyptian mythology, Isis is the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus, and the Ancient Egyptian goddess of magic. pronunciation: I-sis

Kebehut ~ Egyptian, meaning "cooling water," also spelled "Khebhut."

The daughter of Anubis, she helps souls who have died by giving them water as they wait for the mummification process. pronunciation: keb-eh-hut

Ken ~ Egyptian, also seen as "Kiun."

Not much is known of the goddess Ken, other than that she is a goddess of love. This name is not as overtly Egyptian as most on this list. pronunciation: ken

Ma'at ~ Egyptian, meaning "she who is righteous"

The Ancient Egyptian goddess of order, justice, balance, truth, and harmony. Incredibly important and revered in Ancient Egypt. pronunciation: mah-aht, mai-yaht, may-et, muh-at

Mafdet ~ Egyptian, meaning "to leap, to jump"

The goddess of legal justice known for hunting down and killing dangerous creatures who threaten Ma'at, or balance. Often seen with the head of a cheetah. proununciation: Mahf-det

Mehit ~ Egyptian, meaning "north wind," and "guardian"

An originally Nubian goddess associated with the north wind and the protection of holy places. Also a war goddess. pronunciation: me-het

Meret ~ Egyptian, meaning "she who is beloved"

The Ancient Egyptian goddess of music, singing, dancing, and rejoicing. She maintains cosmic order through music. pronunciation: mehr-eht, mehr-iht

Neith ~ Egyptian, also spelled as "neit," "nit," "net."

A goddess of war, weaving, wisdom, and the cosmos, some stories show Neith as the original creator, who created the universe and all it contains, as well as governs it. pronunciation: nee-ith

Nephthys ~ Egyptian, also seen as "Nebet-Hut."

The goddess of water, mourning, night, darkness, protection, magic, health, and beer, Nephthys is often seen with her sister Isis. pronunciation: Neph-th-ihs, neph-th-ees, neph-t-hees

Pakhet ~ Egyptian, meaning "she who tears open."

One of many Egyptian goddesses of war, Pakhet is most likely a regional goddess. She is also known as the protector of motherhood. pronunciation: pah-kh-eht, peh-kh-eht

Perit ~ Egyptian

Perit is a minor Egyptian goddess. One of the many goddesses of the underworld, she is known for her words, which breathe life and strength into Osiris. pronunciation: pehr-iht

Re ~ Egyptian, meaning "sun," and the female version of "Ra."

The Ancient Egyptian god of the sun, Ra is also the father of many other deities. Specifically associated with the midday sun, when light is at its highest, Ra is one of the most important Egyptian deities. pronunciation: rei, ree

Ren ~ Egyptian, meaning "name."

The Ancient Egyptians believed there were many parts that made up the soul, one of which was the "ren," or the true name. The true name was essential to a soul maintaining its identity after death. pronunciation: rehn

Renenet ~ Egyptian, meaning "she who nurses," "she who fosters."

Renenet is the goddess of nourishment and the harvest. She also protects the pharaoh as they journey into the afterlife. pronunciation: rehn-ehn-eht

Satet ~ Egyptian, meaning "she who pours," also spelled as "satit," "satis," "sati," " setis."

Satet was known for protecting the southern border of Egypt as well as being the personification of the annual Nile flooding. Satet also sought to grant the wishes of those looking for love. pronunciation: sah-tiit, sah-teht

Sekhmet ~ Egyptian, meaning "she who is powerful."

Sekhmet is the goddess of war, fire, healing, medicine, and plague. Often seen with the head of a lioness, Sekhmet is closely associated with Ra. pronunciation: sehk-meht, sehk-muht

Serket ~ Egyptian, meaning "scorpion."

The scorpion goddess of healing, magic, and animals. She is known for helping to heal the venomous bites and stings of animals. pronunciation: ser-k-eht

Seshat ~ Egyptian, meaning "female scribe."

Seshat is largely the female personification of knowledge in Ancient Egypt. She is associated with science, writing, math, architecture, astronomy, wisdom, and building. pronunciation: seh-sh-aht

Shai ~ Egyptian, meaning "fate."

The deification and personification of fate in Ancient Egyptian mythology. Shay has been depicted as both male and female. pronunciation: shah-ee, shy, sh-ai

Tawaret ~ Egyptian, meaning "she who is great."

The goddess of fertility, women, childbirth, and the home. Her symbol was often worn by pregnant women, hoping for Tawaret's help as they brought children into the world. pronunciation: tah-war-eht, tau-reht

Tayt ~ Egyptian, meaning "garment."

The Ancient Egyptian goddess of weaving and fabric and textiles. She is also lightly associated with mummification, as she would help to wrap bodies in linens. pronunciation: tah-heet, tah-eet

Tenenet ~ Egyptian, also spelled "Tjenenet."

She is the goddess of protection, childbirth, and beer. Tenenet specifically protected the uterus during pregnancy. pronunciation: twen-ehn-neht, ten-ehn-neht

These name lists are intended to help writers and artists. There is no expectation of credit, and these lists aren't meant to be the end-all be-all lists of possible names. There are millions out there, and this is just for fun!

If you have a suggestion for a name list, or want to see something specific, feel free to submit a request!

And if you see something that is wrong (a pronunciation, a meaning, an origin), again, feel free to let me know!

[chromegnomes]

a lot is said about how the Greek gods are the divine equivalent of a particularly messy reality show cast, but the Sumerian/Babylonian gods make them look extremely well behaved

Ishtar is literally just the unholy fusion of Aphrodite and Mona-Lisa Saperstein

"Daddy, that mean boy Gilgamesh rejected me and told everyone that I'm a nasty ho that murders all her exes"

"Well, aren't you?"

"YES but you have to give me the Bull of Heaven so I can punish him for saying it. Give me the Bull of Heaven RIGHT NOW or I'm going to literally destroy the world"

[rosemorningstar]

Azura’s real world inspirations can be split between hypothetical Dawn and Dusk Aspects. Note that all of these can be purely coincidental and this is all speculation on my part.

The “Dawn” aspect is what i’d say became of the basis for her original appearance in Daggerfall. At that time, she was simply a goddess of vanity and egotism, though I’d argue she was also associated with at least dawn at that time through her “crimson gate” and summoning date being 21st of First Seed(more on that later). To me, there’s an obvious inspiration of Aphrodite immediately apparent, but I think it goes even deeper that it might appear on the surface. Perhaps the bulk of these inspirations didn’t come until later, but I think Azura finds inspiration from two of Aphrodite’s theorized origins as well.

The first is the one most obviously tied to Azura. Inanna is the Sumerian goddess of Love and War. She is heavily associated with Venus aka the Morning Star and is also known as the Queen of Heaven. Some important symbols of hers are the eight-pointed star, a rosette, and a lion. Inanna’s cult would have her become known as Ishtar, Ashtart, Astarte, and eventually Aphrodite as it moved from place to place. Even her associated planet would take the name of her Roman equivalent Venus. Her sphere of influence would also change though, as she lost pretty much all ties to War instead becoming strictly tied to Love and Beauty. Although, she would later regain her ties to the heavens as Aphrodite Ourania.

The second origin is one that’s more theoretical than the first with less evidence overall. It’s that Aphrodite at some time split from Eos, the Greek dawn goddess with both being part of the long lineage of a proto-indo-European dawn goddess called Hewsos. This is notable because other deities within this lineage also lay claim to spring with one recognizable name being Eostre/Ostara. This lines up with Azura’s summoning day being the tamrielic equivalent to the first day of spring: the 21st of First Seed aka March.

Azura combines these two origins to create an Aphrodite that adds influence that she lost over time and mixes in spheres her relative goddesses would later gain.

Her later associations with magic, prophecy, and fate would come from a third inspiration of Hecate. Hecate’s influence on Azura are what I’d call her “Dusk” aspect. Boundaries and transition, Magic and the Moon(s). None of these were in Daggerfall (aside from the aforementioned “Crimson Gate”) but would become central to Azura in later games. I’d say this Dusk aspect is best shown in Khajiit lore and is solidly Azurah in contrast to Azura as explored before.

Like Azurah, Hecate was said to hold domain over liminality and thresholds (The rim of all holes). Hecate was also pictured with keys that could unlock the boundaries between worlds which Azurah has a direct nod to in Khajiit mythos. Azurah has also taken the triple body form which can be directly seen in ESO in the Ashen Scar door. Another interesting aspect is that, as well as having three bodies, Hecate was also part of a triple-deity group of the moon with Luna/Selene and Diana/Artemis. This is notable because Azurah herself holds power over the three moons of Nirn.

Another interesting aspect is that Hecate is associated with the underworld and protecting mortals from harmful spirits. Azurah accomplishes both of these. She maintains the lunar lattice to protect Nirn from adversarial spirits and sends her champions into the Void to redeem the Dro’mathra. She also acts as an arbiter of dead Khajiit in this aspect.

I don’t really have a closing or final thesis for this I just thought it was interesting lol. If there’s three Azura’s like there’s three Hecates, maybe the third Azura is just the mixture of both aspects in balance? Idk.

[salah-with-sadie]

Exploring Religious Syncretism

As-Salam-u-Alaikum wa-rahmatullahi wa-barakatuh (“Peace be unto you and so may the mercy of Allah and his Blessings”)!

Religious syncretism is the practice of blending two or more religious beliefs. This phenomenon has occurred throughout history and has given us a plethora of diverse religious beliefs, rituals, and customs. Religious syncretism often occurs from assimilation and conquest. However, its origins are not always born from negative events; syncretism also comes from cultural exchange, trade, and other peaceful interactions between different religious communities.

The Ancient Origins of Religious Syncretism:

One of the oldest examples of religious syncretism is that of Ishtar. Ishtar was an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of fertility, love, and war. There is a list, known as the “Ishtar Tablet” which lists the names of other goddesses that are syncretic equivalents to Ishtar. Syncretic examples of Ishtar include Innana, Astarte (who is mentioned in the Old Testament and is my cat’s middle name), and Aphrodite.

Key Examples of Religious Syncretism:

Interpretatio Graeca/Interpretatio Romana: Ancient Greece would often try to identify foreign deities by using their own pantheon. Rome would do this same practice, especially with the Celtic pantheon. For example, Sirona is the name of a Celtic goddess. However, she was often paired with Apollo “Apollini et Si/ronae.”

Ancient Egyptian Religion: Syncretism was frequent in ancient Egypt. The god Amun and the god Ra were combined into Amun-Ra. Ancient Egypt would also combine their gods or goddesses with those of neighboring civilizations. For example, Osiris would be combined with Helios or Zeus. Whether the combination is due to religious similarities or political gain is up to historians.

Christmas Trees: Anyone familiar with the Gospels will tell you it never mentions evergreen trees or ornaments or even Santa Clause. However, these are iconic aspects of Christmas season. The Christmas tree finds its roots in pagan religious practices. The evergreen being a symbol of life in a dark, lifeless time.

Challenges and Controversies: 

Critics of religious syncretism claim that it raises questions about authenticity, purity, and the preservation of traditional practices. Some religious purists may view syncretic movements as heretical or impure, leading to tensions within religious communities, even going so far as saying religious holidays are “fake” if they are touched by syncretism.

The Significance of Religious Syncretism:

Despite the critics, religious syncretism is still incorporated into most of today’s societies, religious or not. It’s clear in the examples given, but also in the names of the days of the week (Norse paganism), names of some of the months (Roman paganism), the workday/weekend schedule, etc. Ignoring thinks simply because they have been affected by syncretism is, in my opinion, silly.

For those of us trying to find some divine meaning in our lives, syncretism can show us the overlap of everyone’s beliefs. Personally, I always hated the idea that there is only one, chosen group of people that have had the truth revealed to them. The Qur’an tells us the names and stories of some of the prophets, but not all of them. Messengers have been sent to all ends of the Earth, to all people. Their messages just get lost in time and change into different religious beliefs (almost like a giant game of telephone). In my opinion, by seeing the reoccurring themes throughout religions, such is flood stories or “golden rules” that are prevalent in many belief systems, syncretism is just one of the many tools we can use to find the “truth.” Additionally, I personally see syncretism as a way for people to see how their beliefs are not so different from others.

Conclusion:

In a world characterized by globalization and cultural exchange, religious syncretism continues to shape the spiritual landscape, offering a glimpse into the rich tapestry of human belief and practice. By embracing diversity and dialogue, we can appreciate the beauty and complexity of syncretic traditions, fostering mutual understanding and respect across religious boundaries.

[fountainsofcyprus]

30 Days of Deity Devotion ( Aphrodite ) - Day 17

How does this deity relate to other gods and other pantheons? The most obvious association one can do with Aphrodite is to the Roman goddess Venus, which is considered by a lot to be her equivalent. She’s not the only goddess that is associated with her, or thought to relate to her though, since common themes of her worship can be found across many other pantheons.

One I’ve already mentioned briefly is Ishtar, Babylonian goddess of war, love and fertility. Their cult sites overlap in some places, and so do their roles, so it’s obvious that they would become associated to one another at some point. We could also mention Astarte, who has been associated with both of them and plays a very similar role to them.

Pretty much, the second a female deity has similar aspects to Aphrodite, it’s almost certain that a link has been done at some point. You can see that with Freyja.

A common thing you can see throughout these associations, the theme of love and war together is quite common. It’s quite interesting, and I’d be curious to know where it comes from.

[hexandbalances]

I had a friend say that Hecate and Ishtar are actually the same goddess. In your research do you find this to be false or have you ever heard of this comparison? If so how would you prove this person wrong?

First: I apologize, I don’t know when this came through. I did not receive a notification from Tumblr.

To your question, the TLDR upfront: Academically, I have no evidence to suggest they are the same or even all that similar. I have not heard of this claim before this question. I don't think "proving them wrong" is fruitful.

To explain:

Hekate is often compared to dark goddesses (such as Morana, Lilith, Kali, etc) but that doesn’t mean they are the same being. “Equivalence” in this context means “similar” or “performing the same function” - it does not mean they are the same entity. This is a distinction that often is often lost when we talk about the religion of ancient cultures - and especially those cultures that interacted with and influenced each other. Religion is fluid, not static, and the stories and characterization change over time. Syncretism of similar deities (such as the Greek and Egyptian Isis and Dionysus) can occur between cultures that have a great deal of activity with each other over a long period of time - to which we have ample evidence thereof. Moreover, human belief tends to "rhyme"; we see and generate similar themes in response to our environment, the way we live, and who we interact with. This creates such phenomenon as multiple cultures with chthonic earth mother-goddesses (and their later displacement by sky father-gods of invading peoples). It's not unreasonable for us to create or recognize similar patterns in different places. However, just as we wouldn’t claim that the Greek Demeter is the same as the Nordic Sif because they both hold domain over wheat, so too should we resist consolidating every goddess with a similar aspect. It diminishes and strips away Her cultural and historical context in the process. This is monolithic thinking.

But then, I would question what similarity is being drawn between the two in question, exactly? Ishtar/Inanna (as they became syncretized during the reign of Sargon of Akkad) was an Akkadian (modern day Iraq) sex-cult goddess of war. Characteristically she has more in common with the Greek Aphrodite (though I would not consider them the same). Her worship can be attested between roughly 3000 BCE to 1600 BCE. The earliest record of Hekate is in Hesiod's Theogony in C 8 BCE, and up until at least the post-Christian Chaldean Oracles (C 2 or 3 CE) and her influence spanned primarily Greece, Rome, and Anatolia (modern day Turkey). There isn’t a great deal of overlap, and no suggestion of syncretism between Hekate and Ishtar. 

For my small part of research, the claim seems to stem from a tenuous echo of Inanna's descent into the underworld to retrieve her lover, Tammuz, with Hekate’s escorting Persephone to and from Hades. This, and Hekate’s association with the moon and childbirth (not sexual love/fertility; "fertility" being a loaded term flung haphazardly at just about any female deity), just as Diane/Artemis has an association with the moon and childbirth (both virgin goddesses Hecate and Diane appearing on the Pergamon tablet) is, again, tenuously compared to Inanna/Ishtar's aspect of the moon and "fertility" (sexual love and the fecundity of dates, specifically). However, Inanna/Ishtar is more extensively associated with the planet Venus (perceived then as a star) than with the moon - she formed a triad with Shamash (the sun god) and Sin (the moon god). Her symbol is an eight pointed star. Ishtar/Inanna is primarily a goddess residing in the heavens (what the Greeks would call ouranic) while Hekate is most often associated with earth/underworld (chthonic). I have found no significant similarities. Essentially: what is their claim, exactly, and what is their evidence to support it?

Finally, are they arguing this from a position of intuition/faith, or from a position of academic study? If their claim is academic they must have proof thereof and have scrutinized their sources. But it is utterly fruitless to argue that there is no, or little, or controversial, evidence to support a claim if they feel it is spiritually correct. Intuitively, I associate Hekate with Baba Yaga. There is no historical evidence linking them together, it simply seems right to me. What is intuitively true for me may not be spiritually true for someone else and visa versa; arguing the point will only inspire zeal and tension. And, ultimately, question whether or not zeal is what's motivating you to "prove them wrong." Are you reacting from a place of academic rigor (in which case you should be prepared to have that challenged and altered to new/better evidence) or are you reacting from a place of differing religious belief? Which scenario makes it appropriate for you to “debunk” your friend? And, if it’s not really the belief but their attitude that is causing rancor, evaluate that.

[yamayuandadu]

Hey yama, I wanted to ask what you think are the biggest examples of misinformation OSP has spread in their myth videos?

Well, the Ishtar section of the underworld myths vid comes to mind, it's a nightmare: 1. calls Ishtar's Descent "four thousand years old" and "Babylonian." It's probably around 3000 years old, and soundly Assyrian, with no copies known from Babylonia. Now, Inanna's Descent - that one IS around 4000 years old and Babylonian (oldest copies come from the Isin-Larsa period). 2. claims Epic of Gilgamesh forms a "backstory" of this myth which applies a very modern popcultural notion of continuity (and it doesn't even work well tbh since Epic of Gilgamesh pretty clearly presents Tammuz as already dead) 3. i would personally not call a derivative of technically genderless beings made out fingernail dirt from the Sumerian original " lgbt representation"; that is not the term used in the vid but i do not like to use a certain word which starts with q because it's closest equivalent in my native language has... incredibly unsavory implications i'd rather not discuss. This is not the fault of the vid itself but it also created the false notion common online (relatively speaking) that Ahushunamir was "the frist nonbinary person" on record or whatever which, putting aside what I said above, strikes me as dubious because you have the likes of Shaushka and Ninsianna, who by modern standards imo count as genderfluid, in Ur III period records already, and also have the bonus of being major, popular deities and not Fingernail Dirt Expandable Artificial Beings (note we sadly cannot really extrapolate this into assuming acceptance for similar gender expression in everyday life, otherwise we'd have to assume most women in ancient Mesopotamia were literate, since most goddesses are described as literate) The Aphrodite vid is also bad: 1. "Astarte is also Ishtar" is simply not true. Ashtart is attested in Mari independently from Ishtar in Akkad in the 3rd millennium BCE (I think I got a confirmation from W. G. Lambert's old review of Penglasse's book?). The names are cognate, sure, but this is like saying "Zeus is Tyr" ultimately. 2. Lies about the Kumarbi myth in many, many ways at once: a) Kumarbi is HURRIAN, not Hittite. The myth was TRANSLATED into Hittite but so was Gilgamesh and a story about El and Athirat, does not make them "Hittite" myths in origin. b) the myth is not about "birth of Ishtar," it's about the birth of Teshub. Now, Hurrian Shaushka IS the sister of Teshub, and Song of Silver does imply her (or their, since Shaushka proudly shows up both among gods and goddesses on the Yazilikaya reliefs and, as remarked by Hurrian texts themselves, possessed "male attributes" and "female attributes" at once, despite usually being referred to as a goddess) father is also Kumarbi, but we have no account of her birth. Shaushka was regarded as analogous to Ishtar - "Ishtar of Nineveh" or "Ishtar of Subartu" - but so were other goddesses. Does not make them the same as Ishtar. While the gender non-conforming ventures and interest in love and war are shared between both, Shaushka lacks Ishtar's astral aspect but has a healing role which Ishtar lacks, for instance. I remember seeing people point out the Dionysus takes in their vids are... quite something so that surely qualifies too.

[tomakeitbeautifultolive]

Daenerys and Jon | Venus and Mars

Venus, the goddess of: Love. Fertility. Prosperity. Victory. Desire. Beauty.

Epithets: The Mother. The Victorious. The Freedwoman. The Lucky. The Purifier. The Changer of Hearts.

Venusian deities include: Aphrodite, Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Astoreth, Asherah

In ancient Babylonia, Venus was known as the ‘divine lady’ and the ‘illumination of heaven’. As the evening star, Venus appears after sunset in the night sky, disappearing for several days before re-emerging as a morning star on the sun's opposite side. The unique path of Venus through the sky has given rise to many prominent myths spanning cultures throughout history. The morning aspect of Venus was designated ‘Lucifer’* by the ancient Romans, literally translating to 'Light-Bringer', a figure presented in poetry as the herald of dawn. Venus has associations with sweet-smelling flowers such as roses and myrtle. The circle-and-cross symbol for Venus, like the Ankh, may represent life or sexual reproduction, and denotes the female sex.

*While the latin word for morning star, Lucifer, has since been applied to the allegorical fall of Satan, it's important to note that another allegorical Venusian figure, Jesus Christ, is also referred to as ‘the bright morning star’ and ‘tu verus mundi lucifer’, or, ‘the true light-bringer of the world’.

Mars, the god of: War. Spring. Virility. Valor. Fertility. Agriculture.

Epithets: The Father. The Protector. The Avenger. The Venerable. The Healer. The Peacekeeper.

Martian deities include: Ares, Nergal, Laran, Maris, Lenus, Mangala

In ancient Mesopotamia, Mars was seen as a ‘star of judgment’ and the ‘fate of the dead’. In Roman art and literature, the wolf appears as a sacred animal or symbol of Mars. In one depiction of Mars on the Altar of Peace, he can be seen alongside a wolf, holding a spear wreathed with a garland of laurel, symbolizing peace gained through martial victory. Often, Mars is depicted as nude, representing his fearlessness in battle. Similar to Venus, Mars takes a notable retrograde path through the night sky—appearing to move backward and further east each night before continuing west. The symbol of Mars depicts a sword and shield, used to denote the male sex, as well as the element of iron.

(Venus and Mars by Geraldine Arata)

While Venus represents the watery female essence, and her male counterpart, Mars, represents the fiery male essence, attributes of both deities can be found in Daenerys and Jon alike—from the warlike aspects of Mars to the path Venus takes through the sky and its association with ‘lightbringing’.

The journey that Daenerys takes seems to correspond with the planet's movements through the heavens:

“To go north, you must journey south, to reach the west you must go east. To go forward you must go back and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow.”

Venus rises first in the summer sky as the evening star, plunging into the darkness during winter to rise again on the sun’s opposite side as the morning star to herald the sun.

Jon is, likewise, experiencing the path of the planet Venus in an allegorical sense—descending to the underworld only to rise again through resurrection.

Similarly, when it comes to Azor Ahai, we see Daenerys filling the prophecy literally:

“When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone.”

In Jon's case, he fits the prophecy figuratively:

After his first two swords shatter (Rhaenys and Aegon), Azor Ahai (Rhaegar) plunges his sword (phallus) into a willing (consenting) Nissa Nissa (Lyanna), whose cries of anguish and ecstasy crack the moon (her womb). Her blood, soul, strength, and courage went into the steel (her baby), and thereafter, Lightbringer (Jon) was never cold to the touch, but warm as Nissa Nissa (his mother) had been warm.

Jon even describes himself as a sword:

     I am the sword in the darkness

And while it is still mere speculation that his true name is also Aegon Targaryen in the books (though there are arguments to be made), bearing such a name would give him further association to Mars and his shield:

Aegis is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, depicted as an animal skin or shield

Targe means shield in late Old English

Aryan borrowed from the Sanskrit word ā́rya/ari- meaning attached, faithful, devoted kinsman

     The shield that guards the realms of men

As for Daenerys, her name might literally translate to ‘light lady’ or ‘lady of light’:

Dae (alternate spelling of 'day’), of American origin, means ‘light and hope’

Nerys means ‘lady’ in Old Welsh

     I am the light that brings the dawn

According to director Alan Taylor, George R.R. Martin confirmed during the filming of season one of Game of Thrones, that:

“It really is all about Dany and Jon.”

But just as both characters encompass the role of Lightbringer, Daenerys and Jon, together, represent the complementary opposites of Venus and Mars: Love and war. Water (ice) and fire. Female and male.​

Born of Venus (Aphrodite) and Mars (Ares):

Concordia (Harmonia), who represents social, marital, and political agreement.

Twins Formido (Deimos) and Pavor (Phobos), who represent dread in the midst of battle and the personification of the fear brought by war, respectively.

Cupid (Eros), who represents desire, love, attraction and affection.

Thus, the union of Venus and Mars:

Inspires fear and dread in battle

Creates ideal social concord

Begets love

A Dream of Spring

“People know an ending—but not the ending.” —George R.R. Martin

Spring marks the end of winter. It is associated with renewal, rebirth, rejuvenation, regrowth, and resurrection. March, the month in which spring arrives in the Northern Hemisphere, was named for the Roman god Mars, the god of Spring. The second month of spring, April, or Aphrilis, was sacred to the goddess Venus—its name perhaps derrived from equivalent Greek goddess Aphrodite.

Venus, as the ‘light-bringer’ appears most brightly in the December sky, signalling a phase of rebirth, where winter comes to an end, or spring. To the ancient Greeks, the planet Venus was known as Phosphorus, or ‘bringer of light’. The morning star also went by another name, Heosphorus, meaning ‘dawn-bringer’.

Dawn is described as:

"The first appearance of daylight in the morning; daybreak; sunrise”

However, dawn has another definition that might suggest further positive connotations:

“The beginning or rise of anything; advent: the dawn of civilization"

Art commissioned by @dragonanddirewolf​​

“It was only when a great warrior arose with his blazing sword Lightbringer that the darkness was put to rout, and light and love returned once more to the world.“

[the-clever-cupboard]

Correspondence: April

Number of Days: 30

Latin Name: Aprilis

Anglo-Saxon Name: Eostremonath, "Month of Eostre"

Frankish Name: Ostaramanoth, "Month of Ostara

Word Origin: the term “April” comes from the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, whose Roman equivalent is the Goddess Venus. Others say the name April comes from the God Aper or Aprus. Others say it is derived from the Latin word “aperire”, which means “to open”. This corresponds to the blooming flowers of spring, which were sacred to the Goddess Aphrodite. Historical names for April include the Anglo-Saxon name “Eastermonath” named after the Goddess Eostre ruler of spring, the Irish word “Aibrean” or “Giblean”, the Astru name “Ostara”, and the Frankish name “Ostarmonath”.

Traditions and Folklore: April 1st is a modern tradition called April Fool’s Day when people play pranks on each other. No one really knows how this tradition came about, but it has been in practice for hundreds of years. There is also a day in April called “Cuckoo Day”, which varies from year to year. This is when the first Cuckoo bird is seen, which signifies the beginning of spring. The same is true with the return of swallows, though there isn’t a designated day to celebrate them. In Victorian England, the first day of April was called “Daffodil Day”, and many would go outside and pick blooming daffodils. There are also several important dates for Christians in April. Holy Thursday was the day of the Last Supper, Good Friday is the day Jesus was put to death, and Easter Day was the day Jesus rose again from death. The Greek Goddess Aphrodite and her Roman equivalent Venus were the goddesses of love, beauty, passion, and procreation. It is said that Aphrodite was born when Zeus cut off Cronos’ genitals and flung them into the sea. Aphrodite then emerged out of the sea foam, where she was laid into a sea shell and washed ashore in April.

Moon: Hare, Wind, Growing, Pink, Sprouting Grass, Egg, Fish

Zodiac: Aries, Taurus

Incense/Herbs: Bay, Grass, Daisies, Bergamot, Patchouli, Pine, Basil, Comfrey, Chives, Dragon's Blood, Allspice, Fennel, Frankincense, Musk, Mimosa

Element: Fire, Earth

Color: Pale Yellow, Pink, Violet, Pale Green, Gold. Brown

Stone: Diamond, Quartz, White Sapphire, Emerald, Crystalline Kyanite

Flowers: Daisy, Sweet Pea, Rose

Spirits: Plant Fairies

Animals: Bear, Wolf

Bird: Hawk, Magpie

Tree: Hazel, Bay, Pine

Energy: Fertility, Creativity, Openings, Opportunities, Prosperity, Transformation, Banishing Bad Habits, Gaining Confidence

Deities: Aphrodite, Venus, Hathor, Ishtar, Kali, Rhiannon, Ceres, Bast

Holidays: Passover, Beltane Eve, Walpurgisnaucht, Easter, April Fool's Day, Arbor Day