Guide to the Gods 1.0
Bh... to Bz...
Bhadra
Hindu goddess, attendant of Siva.
Bhaga
Vedic Hindu god of prosperity, good luck and marriage. One of the Adityas, or sons of the goddess Aditi.
Bhagavan
Name for the supreme god in the Indian Bhagavata sect.
Bhagavan
(Bhagwan)
Tutelary god of Bhils and other tribes of north and central India, taken over from the Bhagavan of the Indian Bhagavata sect.
Bhairava
Indian god considered an emanation of the god Shiva. He is depicted with a fierce visage, often riding on a dog, which is his sacred animal.
Bhaisajyaguru
(Chinese Yao-xi; Japanese Yaku-shi)
Buddha of the art of healing.
Bhaisajyaguru
(Sman-bla, Otaci, Yao-shih-fo, Chinese Yao-xi, Japanese Yakushi)
Buddhist-Lamaist (Tibet) physician god. Numbered among the Tibetan medicine buddhas known as sMan-bla.
Bharani
Hindu goddess of misfortune. Daughter of Daksha and conosrt of Candra (Soma).
Bharat Mata
Modern Hindu mother goddess.
Bharati
Minor Hindu goddess of sacrifices. Sometimes given as the consort of Ganesha.
Bhavanavasi
Jain gods of the upper regions of the underworld.
Bhima (1)
Sky and weather god of certain aboriginal peoples of India.
Bhima (2)
Hindu warrior god. One of the heroes of the Mahabharata and a prince of the Pandu family. He is the son of the wind god Vayu, and a brother of Arjuna.
Bhima (3)
Buddhist (Mahayana) attendant of Buddakepala.
Bhrigus
Hindu 'shining ones', born of flames; aerial storm gods who communicate between heaven and earth.
Bhrkuti
Buddhist female deity.
Bhrkuti-Tara
Buddhist-Lamaist mother goddess. A form of Tara (q.v.).
Bhumi
Buddhist (Varyana) deities: 12 personifications of spiritual spheres.
Bhumi Devata
Indian tribal vegetation goddess.
Bhumidevi
Hindu fertility goddess. The second wife of Vishnu (or of his avatara Krishna) and the mother of Naraka.
Bhumiya
Hindu fertility god. Later regarded as a form of Vishnu.
Bhutadarma
Buddhist (Mahayana) demonic god. "Lord of the demons' whose role was to hold the other demons in check.
Bhutamata
Hindu demon goddess. A form of Parvati.
Bhutas
Group of demons in Indian Hinduism.
Bhuvanesvari
Hindu goddess: 1 of 10 mahavidyas.
Bia
"Force". Greek goddess of force, daughter of the Titan Pallas and the underworld goddess Styx. She was the sister of Kratos, the god of strength, as well as of Nike and Zelos. Bia was the constant companion of Zeus. It was she who was made to bind Prometheus as punishment for stealing fire from the gods.
Biegg-Olmai
Lapp wind man. See Olmai.
Bielbog
Slavonic white god, representing the power of good.
Big Heads
Demonic deities of the Iroquois Indians.
Bi-har
Buddhist-Lamaist (Tibet) guardian deity who fends off demons.
Bile
Irish god of death, equivalent to the Celtic gods Bel and Belinos.
Bilwis
(Pilwiz)
Originally a German nature spirit, later conceived as a magician or malevolent spirit.
Bimbo-Gami
Japanese god of poverty.
Binbeal
See Bunjil.
Birdu
Babylonian-Akkadian chthonic underworld god. Consort of Manungal.
Bishamon
(Bisham)
Japanese god of war. One of the Shinto gods of luck. See Shichi-Fukujin.
Blue Jay
Creator god of the Chinook people of the North American Pacific coast. He is something of a trickster figure similar to the figure of Coyote in California.
Bo
God of the Ewe people in Benin. He was a protector of warriors.
Boann
(Boand, Boannan)
"She of the white cattle". Irish goddess of the River Boyne. Wife of the water god Nechtan or of Elcmar, consort of the Dagda, by whom she was the mother of the god Aengus.
Bochica
(Bochicha)
Culture hero of the Muisca (Muyscaya) people of Columbia. He taught them agriculture, building, law and the use of a calendar. After his death he became a god associated with Venus as the morning star.
Bodb
Irish goddess of battle. She prophesied the doom of the Tuatha De Danann after the Battle of Magh Tuireadh (Moytura).
Bodb Dearg
'Bodb the Red', a son of the Dagda who succeeded him as ruler of the gods.
Bodhidharma
Buddhist monk worshipped as a god by Chinese.
Bodhisattva
(Chinese Pu-sa; Japanese Bosatsu)
In Buddhism, the Buddha to be. Literally, a being (sattva) intent on enlightenment (bodhi).
Boe
Son of Odin, avenged death of Baldur by killing Hoder in battle.
Bogatyri
Slavonic mythological heroes.
Bo Hsian
Chinese (Taoist) counterpart of Buddhist Samantabhadra.
Boldogasszony
(Kisboldogasszony, Nagboldogasszony)
Hungarian virgin goddess, protector of women and children. Later became syncretized with the Virgin Mary after the advent of Christianity among the Hungarians.
Bolla
(Bullar)
In Albanian folklore, a demonic snake-like being.
Bolontiku
(Bolon Ti Ku)
Mayan chthonic underworld gods.
Bolthorn
Norse giant.
Bolverk
A name of Odin.
Bomazi
Ancestral deity of the Bushongo and other peoples of the Congo.
Bombay Kamayan
Hindu local disease goddess of Gaya.
Bona Dea
"The Good Goddess". Roman fertility goddess, otherwise known as Fauna (qv). Her festival was 4 December, when secret rites were held to which only women were admitted. Her consort was Faunus.
Bonchor
Pre-Islamic Berber god of northern Tunisia.
Bonus Eventus
Roman god of success in enterprise.
Boora Pennu
Khond (India) god of light.
Bor
(Borr)
Primordial Norse god; son of Buri, father of Odin, Vili and Ve.
Boreas
Greek god of the north wind. According to Hesiod's Theogony, he was of Thracian origin, the son of Eos and Astraeos. He was the father of many famous horses, including those of Ares and Achilles. Boreas incurred the enmity of the Athenians when he abducted Oreithyia, the daughter of King Erechtheus of Athens, whom he made his wife. He was said to have atoned for this deed by sending a storm which destroyed a Persian fleet on its way to attack Athens. In gratitude, the Athenians built a temple dedicated to him, and held a festival in his honour, the Boreasmos.
Borvo
(Bormanus, Bormo)
"To Boil". Gallic (Celtic France) god of mineral springs and healing. He was known as Bormanus in Provence and Bormanious in Portugal. The Romans identified him with their Apollo.
Bossu
A malevolent Voodoo spirit.
Boyne
Irish river deity. See Boann.
Bragi
Norse god of poetry and eloquence, son of Odin and Gunlod, husband of Idun. Some scholars claim that Bragi was a pseudonym of Odin, others that he is identical with the ninth century Skald (poet) Bragi Boddason, later elevated to the status of a god. Oaths were sworn over the Bragarfull ('cup of Bragi'), and drinks were taken from it in honour of a dead king.
Brahma
Hindu father of gods and men, creator of the universe and first god in the supreme Hindu triad: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva. His consort is usally given as Sarasvati, the goddess of wisdom. His second consort is the milk maid Gayatri. Brahma is usually depicted with four heads facing in the four directions and four hands holding the four Vedas. The four heads are said to have resulted from his desire to see his beautiful daughter, the goddess Satarupa. To foil his incestuous desire, she circled about him, and his head split into four in his efforts to follow her. His sacred animal is the goose. Brahma is now less popular than Vishnu and Shiva, regarded now as the god of knowledge and the progenitor of the Brahmins.
Brahmani
Hindu mother goddess. Considered a Sakti at first, later an astamatara or mother.
Bran
Celtic (Irish and Welsh) hero god (perhaps also a god of poetry and of the underworld). He is the brother of the sea god known to the Irish as Manannan mac Lir and to the Welsh as Manawydan ap Llyr. The raven (or crow) was associated with him, and his name can be taken to mean 'raven', and some scholars take this to mean that he was a god of the underworld. In Irish myth, Bran was said to have sailed to the otherworld, from which voyage he and his men could not return without dying once they set foot on Irish soil, a great deal of time having passed in the world of the living. In Welsh myth, Bran was said to have been killed while leading an invasion of Ireland. Bran was said to have instructed his men to bury his head in the White Mount in London, where it would ward off invasion as long as it remained undisturbed. King Arthur is said to have had the head removed from the site, saying that Britain should be protected by the valour of its people rather than by supernatural means.
Branwen
Welsh goddess (perhaps descended form an earlier Celtic goddess of love). She was the daughter of the sea god Llyr by Iweridd, sister of Bran, and wife of King Matholwch of England.
Brea
Minor Irish god -- a member of the Tuatha De Danann.
Breathmaker
Seminole deity who taught men how to fish and dig wells.
Breg
Irish goddess, wife of the Dagda.
Bres
(Bress)
Irish (Celtic) god of fertility and agriculture, briefly a leader of the Tuatha De Danann and husband of the goddess Brigit. His mother was Eriu, a member of the Tuatha De Danaan, his father Elatha, a prince of the Fomore. He succeeded Nuada as king of Ireland after the former lost a hand at the first battle og Magh Tuireadh. But Bres proved an unworthy ruler, and he was deposed in favor of Nuada once the latter had a temporary silver hand replaced by a real one, making him fit to rule once more. Bres fled into exile and rallied the Fomore against the De Danaan, but the Fomore were defeated at the second battle of Magh Tuireadh. Bres was captured during the battle and his life was spared when he promised to instruct the De Danaan in the art of agriculture.
Brhaspati
(Brihaspati, Bramanaspati)
Hindu Vedic god, intermediary between humans and the other gods, to whom he transmits the prayers of the humans. He is also an astral god associated with the planet Jupiter.
Briareus
(Aegeon)
In Greek mythology, a giant with fifty head and a hundred hands.
Brigantia
Celtic (British) goddess of the rivers Braint and Brent, which were named after her, and a tutelary goddess of the Brigantes in Yorkshire. She was also a pastoral goddess associated with flocks and cattle. During the Roman occupation she was associated with the Roman goddess Caelestis as Caelestis Brigantia.
Brigindo
Name of the Celtic goddess Brigit in eastern France.
Brigit
(Brigid, Brigindo)
Celtic goddess of healing, fertility, and patroness of smiths. In Ireland she was known as the daughter of the Dagda and wife of the god Bres. Also known in Gaul and Britain, her festival was that of Imbolc on February 1. Giraldus Cambrensis, a medieval Welsh chronicler, wrote that in his day a fire was maintained at her sanctuary at Kildare, Ireland. Her worship continued after Christianization in the form of St. Brigit or St. Bride.
Brigitte
Haitian goddess, protects graves in cemeteries marked with the cross.
Britannia
Romano-Celtic (British) tutelary goddess.
Britomartis
"Sweet Maid". Virgin huntress goddess of Crete whose cult later merged with that of Artemis. Daughter of Zeus and Carme. King Minos fell in love with her and pursued her until she jumped from a cliff overlooking the sea. In some accounts she survived the fall and was rescued by fishermen, in others she died and it was her corpse that the fishermen retrieved in their nets. In either case she was made immortal by Artemis in reward for her chastity. She was also known as Dictynna (from diktyon = "net"), in token of her retrieval in the fishermen's nets. In Aegina she was associated with Aphaea, a goddess of local importance.
Bromios
See Dionysus.
Brownie
A benevolent Scottish goblin similar to continental elves and kobolds.
Buadza
Gan (Ghana, West Africa) god of the wind.
Bubona
Roman goddess of horses and cattle. She was the counterpart of the Celtic goddess Epona.
Buchis
Egyptian holy bull of Hermonthis, the living image of the god Month. He had a white body and a black head.
Buddha
(Chinese Fo; Japanese Butsu)
In Buddhism, the designation of one who has achieved enlightenment. Also the historical Buddha, Gautama Sakyamuni (or Siddhartha), who lived c. 563-479 BC. Three Buddhas are said to have preceded Sakyamuni, and the the future fifth Buddha is known as Maitreya. In Hinduism the Buddha is considered to be an avatara of Vishnu.
Buddhabodhiprabhavasita
Buddhist goddess: 1 of 12 vasitas.
Buddhakapala
Buddhist (Mahayana) god: an emanation of Aksobhya.
Buddhalocana
Buddhist (Shingon) female buddha. See Locana.
Buddhi (1)
Hindu minor goddess.
Buddhi (2)
Jain minor goddess.
Budha (1)
Indian (Hindu) astral god associated with the planet Mercury. He was the son of Soma (Candra) and either Tara or Rohini.
Budha (2)
Buddhist astral god, the personification of the planet Mercury.
Buga
The supreme god of the Siberian Tungus people. He created the first two humans out of iron, fire, water and earth.
Bugid Y Aiba
God of war in Puerto Rico and Haiti.
Buk
Nuer (Sudan) river goddess.
Buku
West African sky-god.
Bukura e dheut
Beneficent fairy-like being of Albanian folklore.
Bukuri e qiellit
Albanian name for the Christian God.
Bulaing
Creator goddess of the the Karadjeri people of Australia.
Buluc Chabtan
(God F)
Mayan god of war. Associated with human sacrifice.
Buluga
(Puluga)
Supreme god and creator of the Andaman Islanders.
Bumba
Supreme god and creator of the Boshongo, a Bantu people of southern Africa. Racked with stomach pain, he vomited up the earth, sun, moon and all living creatures, the last of whom was mankind.
Bunjil
Supreme god and creator of the Kulin amd Wurunjerri peoples of Australia. According to the Wurunjerri he created mankind, according to the Kulin he taught people the arts of life. Later he was said to have left the earth for an abode in the sky.
Bunosi
Melanesian culture god.
Buri
(Bur)
Primeval being of Germanic myth. Formed from a salty block of ice, Buri was the father of Bor, who in turn fathered the gods Odin, Vili and Ve.
Burijas
(Burijash, Buriyas)
War god (storm god?) of the Iranian Kassites, who conquered Babylonia in the sixteenth century BC.
Burkhat
Buriat creator.
Bussumarus
Continental Celtic god, identified with the Roman Jupiter.
Butcho
Buddhist goddess.
Buto
(Edjo, Udjo, Wadjet, Wadjit)
Tutelary goddess of Lower Egypt.
Byelobog
(Bielbog)
Slavonic white god. See Bielbog.
Byelun
"The white one". A Slavonic deity similar to Bielbog.
Byggvir and Beyla
Minor Norse god and goddess.
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