Indigenous History

The Tree of Life is rooted in each of the Seven Continents and fed by the Oceans & Seas

Indigenous beliefs & Shamanism have roots in every continent and every culture on earth. It predates history and it was passed on through stories. The word Pagan means to “be from nature”. It was from this place of connecting with mankind’s true nature that beliefs and spirituality were born. 

The Dogon say that twin pairs of creator spirits or gods called Nummo hatched from a cosmic egg or star, later identified as Sirius. Other groups also spoke of the universe beginning with an egg. People in both southern and northern Africa believe that the world was formed from the body of an enormous snake, said to span the sky as a rainbow.

The original belief throughout the world began as a “Matriarchal” way to honor “creation” through the archetype of the Mother…Earth Mother & Mother Goddess, etc… The feminine was seen as representing the continuous cycle of creating life, sustaining life, destroying life, and rebirthing life. Fertility cults arose on every continent to honor the life giving aspects of the sacred feminine. The life cycle of a woman was honored as she passed through the seven stages: birth, child, lover, mother, grandmother, death, rebirth. This cycle of life was connected to the moon, the sun and the stars and when a grandmother died her spirit was honored, which gave way to Goddess worship. Early man saw the connection to the lunar cycles and menstruation, the shedding of blood.  Blood sacrifices began as a way to bring harmony to the tribe or person. Woman and blood were seen as conduits to both the Earth Mother and the Mother God. The words Men and Menses originate from this interconnectedness.

As belief systems evolved, female Goddesses were paired with male Gods, which led to the “Golden Age” of creativity, the dawning of civilization. Life was in balance as both the feminine and masculine aspects of creation were honored.  Masculine energy became associated with the Sun, as Feminine energy was associated with the Earth, the Moon and the Stars. Solar and Lunar calendars were created that honored the four aspects of Birth, Life, Death, Rebirth and the balance between male and female.

They believed that everything in the universe was alive with energy and interconnected. The stones, the trees, the animals, the stars, the moon and the sun etc…Indigenous belief or Shamanism honored that connection and used it to bring harmony or balance. Early shamans were present within each tribe as women and men.  They were the visionaries, the medicine men and women who helped their tribe through difficult times, who knew how to read the stars and guide them on their travels.  They had the ability to see in the dark and sense the energy of the land, plants, animals etc. They were believed to be able to contact the ancestor spirits for guidance and assistance during hard times. They were able to communicate with the elements of nature and the universe. It was the shamans who developed stories of Gods and Goddesses and creation myths that still inform our modern cultures. A child who showed any special abilities such as prediction through dreams, sensitivity towards Nature, would be offered as a pupil to the shaman. 

Out of  Africa

Nearly 3 million years ago, ape-like hominids traveled the great plains of Southern Africa. They were gradually replaced by homoerectus about 1 million years ago; homo erectus gave way to homosapiens – or modern man – about 200,000 years ago. They were skilled hunter-gatherers who created rock paintings and engravings to document their world. These early Africans did not use written languages, they had a rich and complex oral tradition, passing myths, legends, and history from generation to generation through the spoken word. 

African mythologies include supernatural beings who influence human life. Some of these beings are powerful deities. Others are lesser spirits, such as the spirits of ancestors.

ALA – The mother goddess, ruler of the underworld, goddess of fertility 

ANANASI – The spider who weaves the world into being.

ANYIEWO – The Great Serpent who comes out after the rain creating a rainbow.

BUKU – A sky god/goddess. Buku created everything, even the other gods.

DANH – The Rainbow Snake who encircles the world, Danh is often portrayed with his tail in his mouth as a symbol of unity and wholeness. The Oroboros.

LEZA – The god of the sun.

MAWU – The great goddess of the moon.

MULUNGU – The concept of a supreme being and creator is nearly universal in Africa. Creator, Molder, Giver of Rain and Sunshine, she/he Who Brings the Seasons, Who Thunders, Ancient of Days, the First, the Limitless, the One You Meet Everywhere, the Firelighter, Great Mother, Greatest of Friends, the Kindly One, the Providence Who Watches All Like the Sun, the Great Spider, the One Beyond All Thanks, the Bow in the Sky, the Angry One, the Inexplicable.

NANAN-BOUCLOU – The original god of the Ewe tribe, both male and female,

NYAME – Name for both the sun god and the moon goddess. Nyame created the three realms, the sky, the earth and the underworld.

They regarded the earth, sun, and moon as gods. In the Congo River region, the forest itself is a deity or mysterious otherworld where spirits dwell. All humans, animals, and plants have spirits, as do elements such as water and fire. Some spirits are helpful, others harmful. Many Africans believe that human spirits exist after death. The spirits sleep during the day and come out at night. The Bushmen of southern Africa say that the dead become stars. Many African groups believe that the spirits of dead ancestors remain near their living descendants to help and protect them as long as these relatives perform certain ceremonies and pay them due respect. Believing that the spirits of chieftains and other important characters offer strong protection.

As tribes moved north due to droughts in the Sahara (middle region) they were forced to up the Nile River Valley, eventually leading to the “Fertile Crescent”.  This was the first time tribes came together and shared culture. Eventually belief systems became “Patriarchal” and religions were formed beginning around 5000 BC based on Gods and Goddesses as the supreme power(s). This led to man feeling separate from the laws of nature, fighting to control and possess it. The Egyptians were very concerned about the “afterlife” and being “judged” by your actions after death. The ancient “cults” of Isis and Osiris are seen as a fertility cult. The Ankh is the symbol of life representing the union of male and female and creation of male and female children.

Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

AMUN/ATUM – RA – Sun God  – Associated as a snake who would shed its skin


ANIBUS – God of the Dead – Book of the Dead


GEB – The Earth God who mates with Nut each morning at dawn until dusk.

HATHOR – Goddess of Love and Joy 


HORUS – God of the Sky, whose eyes are the sun and the moon, Horus of the Horizon, symbolized by the rising and setting sun; Horus the Child, whose frequent depictions as a baby at the breast of his mother Isis; Horus, son of Isis, avenger of Osiris.

ISIS – Goddess of Protection and Magic. Sister to Osiris, Thoth and Set, wife to Osiris and mother to Horus. Isis is seen as the star Sirius, also called Sept.
Sister and Wife to Osiris who brought Osiris back fro the dead when he was embodied in a Tamarisk Tree. She mated with him and Horus was born. Seen as the Goddess of resurrection.

MA’AT – Goddess of Truth, Justice and Harmony, the female counterpart to Thoth 

NEPHTHYS – Sister of Isis, wife of Set, seen as the dark compliment to Isis 

NUT – Goddess of the Sky who Covers the Earth – Mother to Isis, Osiris, Set, Nephthys. Sometimes seen as the Tree of Life or a celestial cow nursing her children.

OSIRIS – God of the Dead, Ruler of the Underworld – Osiris brought civilization to the Egyptians, teaching them the uses of corn and wine, weaving, sculpture, religion, music and law. Set slew Osiris and dismembered the body; but Osiris’s sister and wife, Isis, reassembled the body and brought Osiris back to life. Osiris then retired to the underworld. Osiris is the god of the Nile which rises and falls every year; the god of corn and the vine, which flourish, die, and flourish; the god of the rising and setting sun.

SET – God of Chaos. Set is the god of evil, of drought, of destruction, thunder and storm. Set tore himself from his mother’s womb in his hurry to be born. Every month Set attacks and devours the moon, the sanctuary of Osiris and the gathering place of the souls of the recently dead.


SHU – The God of air

THOTH – God of Writing and Knowledge. Male counterpart to Ma’at. God of wisdom, music, magic, medicine, astronomy, geometry, surveying, art and and writing. Historian, scribe and judge. Thoth helped Isis and Osiris create Horus.

21000 – 15000 BC – Solutrean Culture – Southern France

Fertility Goddess found in lower Austria “Venus of Willendorf”. They were responsible for much of the great Stone Age art of Europe and were the forefathers of the artists who painted the Ice Age Caves of Lascaux.

17,000 – 11,000 BC – Magdalenian Culture – Spain

People lived a semi-settled life surrounded by abundant food. They killed animals with spears, snares, and traps and lived in caves, rock shelters, and tents. Magdalenian stone tools include blades, scrapers, borers, and projectile points. Their bone tools, including needles, were often engraved with animal images. Cave art appears.

16,000 BC – Bon Culture – Tibet

Bön is the indigenous religion of Tibet, which was animistic (believing that nature is pervaded by good and evil spirits) and shamanistic. There are four principal peaceful deities, known as the Four Transcendent Lords.

YUM – Mother

LHA - God

SIPA - Procreator

TONPA - Teacher

10000 BC – Europe - France, Germany, Spain, England, Ireland

An advanced culture emerges as Megalithic structures (Newgrange, Stonehenge) are built for astronomical and ceremonial purposes. Megalithic monuments begin appearing

10,000 BC – Arabia - was a nomadic culture that centered on Moon worship that was both Male and Female. They perfected night travel by following the stars and planets with the “light” of the moon. Day-time travel was nearly impossible most journeys were undertaken at night, the moon was their life-sustainer. Their calendar is based on the movement of the moon

Bedouins – pastoralists who moved their herds from place to place in search of resources and water. They lived in small, tightly-knit hereditary tribes.

Sedentary Arabs  – settled the oasis that surround the Arabian desert.

7000 BC – Sumerians - (Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Arabia)

The agricultural revolution had begun to spread from its place of origin on the northern fringes of the Fertile Crescent as Neolithic farmers started filtering into the Fertile Crescent itself. Although this area received insufficient rainfall to support agriculture, it bordered the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Known in ancient days as Mesopotamia (Greek for “between the rivers”), where the two rivers meet is Babylonia.

ANSHAR – Father God of the Sky

ANU – God of the Sky and Stars

CHAOS – The watery world from which we came.

DAGON – God of the waters and fish

ENKI – God of Water, Wisdom and the Arts. Also known as EA 


ENLIL – God of Air and Storms, was thought to have sent the great flood 


ENURTA - God of war

ERESHKIGAL – Goddess of Darkness, Gloom and Death 


INNANNA - Goddess of love, fertility, and war. Also known as Ishtar

ISHTAR – The greatest of all Goddesses. Venus is her star.

KI – Goddess of the Earth

KINGU - husband of Tiamat

KISHU – Mother Goddess of the Earth

KISHAR - Father of earth 


LILITU/Lilith – Storm Goddess of wind

NABU - God of the scribal arts

NANNA – God of the Moon

NAMMU – Goddess of the Sea 


NINHURSAG – Goddess of the Earth, Fertility

SHAMASH - God of the sun and of justice

TIAMET - Mother God of creation, an immense dragon that gave birth to Chaos.

TAMMUZ - God of fertility and spring


UTU – Sun God, God of Justice

6800 BC - Ancient Greece

They were farmers who worshipped a female earth goddess. The mother goddess represented the power of the earth to give birth to the living, to cover over the dead, and to transform death into rebirth in an endless cycle of the seasons. Often, the goddess was associated with earth-symbols like caves and cyclical symbols like the moon or snakes, who emerge from the sacred earth and shed their skins, renewing themselves much as the earth does. 

CHAOS – Is creation, the dark, silent abyss from which all things came into existence.

GAIA - “Mother of all things.” is the Earth goddess.

URANUS – Is the sky god. He is the son of GAIA, who created him without help.

PAN – God of pure, basic instinct. Pan especially loves mountains and wild country. His name is the basis for the belief of “Pantheism”

PANDEMOS – of All the People.

6500 BC – Indus Valley – Pakistan, Afghanistan and Western India 

Early farmers domesticated wheat, cattle and other animals.

DEVI – the Divine Female, is better and universally known as the Mother Goddess. She was the original Trimurti, Creator, Protector and Destroyer.

MAYA – Virgin aspect of the triple Hindu Goddess, symbolized by a Spider, spinner of magic, fate and earthly appearances. The spider’s web was likened to the Wheel of Fate and the spider to the Goddess as a Spinner, sitting at the hub of Her Wheel.

TARA – Primal Goddess of Earth. She vowed to incarnate only as a female. She governs the Underworld, the Earth and the Heavens, birth, death and regeneration, love and war, the seasons, all that lives and grows, the Moon cycles.

5500 BC – Slavic Culture

The Neolithic Cucuteni-Trypillian culture flourished between 5500 BC and 2750 BC in an extensive area that covered parts of contemporary Ukraine, Moldova, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania. Cucuteni-Trypillian figurines have become known popularly as Goddesses. They honored the forces and phenomena of nature. The surrounding world was filled with supernatural beings: gods, goddesses and spirits. It seems that none of the Slavic peoples had any idea of a god as a supreme being ruling the whole world. 

SWIATOWIT - (Indra), the Slavic, Zeus. He was pictured with four faces, hence seeing everything, with a cornucopia in his right hand a sword in his left hand.

PERUN - the god of storms

WELLES - the god of cattle

LADA - the goddess of order and beauty

MARZANNA - the goddess of death

DZIEWANNA - the goddess of spring

RADEGAST - the protector of merchants and guests

In addition, the woods and waters were filled with nymphs, sirens and fauns. 

5000 BC – China

Hunters-gatherers, and farmers. Millet was most likely their first grain cultivated, rice and corn and wheat coming later. Potters and musicians, produced the world’s first wine.

JADE EMPEROR - Considered the supreme sovereign of all Chinese deities, the Jade Emperor is credited for creating mankind from clay. Animals of the Zodiac

XI-WANG MU – Queen Mother of the Jade Emperor 

4000 BC – Harappan and Dravidian cultures – India

Became major trade centers for Lapis Lazuli, cotton, dates and water buffalo.

3500 BC – Xia Dynasty – China

The Three Sovereigns & Five Emperors morally perfected sage-kings who used their magical powers to protect and create peace and harmonious living.

FUXI - The Heavenly Sovereign, created the eight triagrams of the bagua 

NUWA - The Earthly Sovereign

SHENNONG - The Human Sovereign, is credited with the invention of farming, and the introduction of herbs as medicine.

YELLOW EMPEROR - is known as the father of Chinese Medicine is considered the ancestor of the Han. He emerged as a chief deity of Taoism. 

ZHUANXU/GAOYANG - grandson of the Yellow Emperor he made contributions to a unified calendar and astrology            

EMPEROR KU - great grandson of the Yellow Emperor

EMPEROR YAO - the morally perfect sage-king

EMPEROR SHUN - a legendary leader of ancient China

2500 BC – Teutonic Culture – Germany

Tribes emerge from Sweden into Middle Europe and begin to expand South to Middle East 

2340 BC – Akkadians – Iraq

Akkadians migrated north in conflict with the Sumerian city-states, Sargon, conquered Sumer and built an Akkadian empire stretching over most of the Sumerian city-states and extending as far away as Lebanon. Sargon based his empire in the city of Akkad, which became the basis of the name of his people.

SIN - the Moon God (Nanna) as father of both the Sun (Utu or Shamash) and Inanna (Ishtar) the Queen of Heaven.

ANU - the god of the highest heaven

MARDUK - national god of the Babylonians

DAGON – God of the waters and fish

TIAMET - dragon goddess

KINGU - husband of Tiamat

ENLIL - god of weather and storms

NABU - god of the scribal arts

ISHTAR – Queen of heaven goddess of love

EA - god of wisdom

ENURTA - god of war

ANSHAR - father of heaven

SHAMASH - god of the sun and of justice

SHAMS – Sun Goddess

ASHUR - national god of the Assyrians

KISHAR - father of earth

HADAD - the weather god

1900 BC – Amorites – (Old Babylonians) – Iraq 

Like the Akkadians, the Amorites centralized the government over the individual city-states and based their capital in the city of Babylon. The Amorites believed that the monarch was a god and had a divine origin.

MARDUK - had supreme position over the other gods. The Amorites did not believe that life after death held any promise or threat.

1700 BC – Kederites – Iraq, Arabia 

Were in constant conflict with the Assyrians. The Assyrians, Neo-Babylonians, Persians and even the Roman realized the importance of taking control of the commercial routes in northern Arabia

ATARSAMAIN - or the morning star of heaven the counterpart of Ishtar. The tribal league led by the Kedarites was known as “the confederation of Atarsamain, was led by a series of queen-priestesses in Dumah.  

NUHAI (Nuhay) – was the sun-god 

RULDAI (Ruda) – was known as the evening star

1600 BC – Hittites – Turkey

The Hittites spoke a language which included English, German, Greek, Latin, Persian, and the languages of India. Their invasion brought the end of the Old Babylonian empire in Mesopotamia. They adopted the religions of the Old Babylonians continuing the heritage of Sumerian culture. Their empire was large and their primary activity was trade. The Hittites transmitted Mesopotamian thought, law, political structure, economic structure, and ideas around the Mediterranean, from Egypt to Greece. 

1600 BC – Canaanite – Israel/Jordan

These deities are best known because of the hundreds of religious texts dating from the fifteenth and early fourteenth century BC library housed between Ugarit’s two great temples, one dedicated to Baal and the other to Dagon.

Gods & Goddesses  

EL - is a name for “god/lord” in Semitic (Hebrew and Ugaritic) The moon god, El had *three wives, who were also his sisters El – “father of man”.

BAAL - son of El, Ruler of the Universe. “Lord of the Earth” “Lord of Heaven”         

ANATH – Goddess of Love and War, sister and helpmate of the god Baal. “the Virgin” in ancient texts. Anath is on a lion with a lily and a serpent in the other.

ASTARTE – Queen of Heaven, goddess of the evening star Venus and Moon. English word “star” comes from this name. She was called Asherar-yam, lady of the sea, Ishtar and Baalat. Later she became assimilated with the Egyptian deities Isis and Hathor, in Greco-Roman Aphrodite. Crescent moon was her symbol.

ASHERAH – wife of El 

DAGON – God of the waters and fish

MOT – means “death”, and he was Baal’s enemy. He is the god of the dead and all the powers that opposed life and fertility. He was the favorite son of El, and the most prominent enemy of the god Baal. Mot, however, was annually vanquished and killed by Baal’s sister and lover Anath, who thus aided Baal’s resurrection.

RESHEP – a war god represented as a bearded man, brandishing an ax, holding a shield, and wearing a tall, pointed headdress with a goat’s head

SHULMAN - god of health related to the Hebrew word shalom, “peace”

KOSHAR - god of arts and crafts related to the Hebrew kosher, “fit” or “proper”.

MELQART - God of Tyre, King of the Underworld. Son of Baal. Protector of  the Universe symbolized the annual cycle of vegetation and was associated with  the female deity Astarte in her role as the maternal goddess. He was also known as Baal, Adon, Eshmun, and Thasian.

SHEKINAH
 – the God-Who-Dwells-Within. She is often depicted as a bird or dove.

TANIT - Chief Goddess of Carthage equivalent of Astarte.

YAMM – Prince of the sea

YAHWEH – (YHWH) – Appeared to Abraham asking him to recognize him as one and only God – “I Am That I AM”

1500 BC – Iran

Zoroaster, the Prophet of Persia claims that Ahura Mazda is the one supreme god who created seven archangels, called the Amesha Spentas. Persian mythology is a battle of good and evil. Each person chooses to follow the truth or lie.

AHURA MAZDA - God of light, truth, and goodness.

AHRIMAN - God of darkness, lies, and evil, created only destructive things

AHURANI - Goddess who watches over rainfall as well as standing water. Her name means “She who belongs to Ahura”.

ALLATUM - Goddess of the underworld in early Iranian mythology.

AMERETAT – Feminine Amesha Spentas. The fifth month is dedicated to her.

ANAHITA – Goddess, patroness of women, goddess of war. “the immaculate one”. 

ANGRA MAINYU – God of darkness and anger.

AMESHA SPENTAS - The name of the seven divine (“beneficent immortals”)

DAENA - Goddess whose name means “that which was revealed”.

DAEVAS – Seven demons of Angra Mainyu, also known as Ahriman.            

HAOMA - A deified plant whose sap was drunk during sacrifices.

MITHRA - God of light who maintains the cosmic order. Son of Ahura Mazda.  A god associated with war, sun, and law. Animal is a bull.

RASHNU - Divine angel of justice and last judgement            

SPENTA MAINYU – God of life and the personification of the good and the light. He is the twin brother of Angra Mainyu (Ahriman),            

VORUSHKASHA – Goddess of the world ocean. Also, the heavenly lake whose waters supply the world and in the middle of which grows the Tree of Life.

ZURVAN - The primordial god in Persian religion, and the god of infinite time and space. Zurvan is the father of Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu.  

1300 BC – Aramaeans – Syrians

HADAD - the storm-god

ALAHA - the sky-god

ATHARGATIS - the moon goddess

HUBAL – the spirit god Hubal is derived from the Semitic word Hu, which  means  ‘He’ or ‘He is’ with the suffix El. Aramaic word, meaning vapor or spirit.

Phrygians – Turkey – 1200 BC

The Phrygians lived in the Southern Balkans, and established their kingdom at Gordium. They had their own indo-european language and adopted the Phoenician alphabet. They had two legendary Kings.

GORDIAS – legendary King

MIDAS - legendary king with the “Golden Touch”.

CYBELE (Rhea) – The Great Mother Goddess, Mountain Mother. The Magna Mater, Mother Earth. She was depicted wearing a long belted robe with a cylindrical crown sitting on a throne or riding a chariot with two lions at each side. She was also associated with the Lunar Bull. Her sacred tree was the Pine. She was worshipped by Egyptians, Greeks and Romans until Christianity deemed  her as a Pagan God.

SANGARIUS – The  river God who is the son of Oceanus, Grandfather to Attis.

SABAZIOUS – The Great Father God, Sky God, who is depicted riding a horse.

ATTIS – Adopted son of Cybele – who castrated himself in ecstasy and died of  his wounds and then ressurected as a Pine tree. A resurrection cult was created.

1100 BC – Phoenicians – worshipped a triad of deities, each having different names and attributes depending upon the city in which they were worshipped, although their basic nature remained the same. They developed an alphabet and way of writing

El/AL – Protector of the universe. His name evolved into ”Elah,”, “Elahona,” “Eli,” “Elohim” “Elyon” “Elijiah” “Allah”- God Most High

BAAL - Symbolized the annual cycle of vegetation

ASTARTE – The combined heavenly mother and earth mother.

WANAX - the God of the local Cypriots called “the Lord”

ADONIS - Adon. the Semitic word for master or ‘lord’ “ai” means ‘my’,  Adonai translates as ‘my lord’;the meaning of Baal, is also ‘lord’ or ‘master’. His mother was Astarte his lover was also Astarte, while his father is Phoenix, father of the Phoenicians.

SHEKINAH - The Shekinah appeared to Moses in the burning bush. The Shekinah also descended in the pillar of smoke that guided the Israelites through the desert. The Shekinah rested on Mount Sinai

1000 BC – SABEANS – Himyarites or Yemenites

Lived a sedentary way of life in the lush climate of southern Arabia. Its most lucrative export was frankincense and myrrh

AMM - a moon god worshipped in ancient Qataban/Yemen

TA’LAB - worshipped in Sheba was also a moon God. 

DHU’L-HALASA - an oracle God in the form of a white stone

1000 BC – Myceneans

Greek-speaking warriors brought clashes between the feminine Earth Goddess cults and the masculine Sky God invaders.  Homer wrote the great epics, the Iliad, the story of the siege of Troy, and the Odyssey, the tale of Ulysses’s wanderings.

ADONIS – is Adon, which means Lord.

ATLAS – Atlas fought with the other Titans supporting Cronus against Zeus.

APHRODITE – The goddess of love and beauty.

APOLLO – God of light, prophecy, music, medicine, flocks and herds, the divine archer, a pastoral god. Wise, beautiful, all-knowing, ever just, ever young. Sometimes seen as Adonis.

ARES – God of war father of Romulus and Remus.

ARTEMIS/PARTHENOS – Fertility goddess, patron of maidens, goddess of childbirth. She is the moon, as her brother Apollo is the sun.

ATHENA – Goddess of wisdom, architects sculptors, weavers, oxen and horses.

COEUS – Titan of Intelligence.

CRONUS – Was the ruling Titan who came to power by castrating his Father Uranus.

DEMETER – Goddess earth mother who was the oldest of the gods. Demeter’s festivals, held twice a year at Eleusis, possibly named after the Sumerian God  EL. Demeter began  the Eleusinian Mystery Schools.

DIONYSIUS - God of religious ecstasy and wine, accompanied by satyrs and nymphs.

EPIMETHEUS – He accepted the gift of Pandora from Zeus, which lead to evil.

ERIS – The dark sister of Eros. Goddess of chaos and discord.

EROS – God of love in all its broadest senses.

HADES – God of wealth and the underworld.

HEPHAESTUS – The lame blacksmith god, patron of metalworkers, god of fire.

HERA – Wife of Zeus. At first a sky goddess, Hera later embodied womanliness.

HERMES - The messenger of the gods, the god of eloquence, the god of luck.

HELIOS – The sun

HYPERION – Is the Titan of light, the father of the sun, the moon, and the dawn.

MNEMOSYNE – Was the Titan of memory and the mother of the muses.

OCEANUS - is the unending stream of water encircling the world.

PHEOBE – Titan of the Moon.

PSYCHE – The Goddess of the soul, mortal wife of Eros the God of love.

RHEA – Wife of Cronus who tricked him into swallowing a rock, saving Zeus.

SELENE – The Moon Goddess

PROMETHEUS – Titan of forethought and he was able to foretell the future.

PLEIADES - Seven stars in the cluster, and named them after the Pleiades, the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, the daughter of Oceanus. Their names were Electra, Maia, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno, Sterope, and Merope. Maia.

PERSEPHONE – Queen of the underworld, who also fell in love with  Adonis

POSEIDON – God of the sea and earthquakes, his fits of rage manifest as storms.

SOPHIA – Goddess wisdom. Gradually the word came to denote general wisdom and especially wisdom about human affairs

THEMIS – Titan of justice and order. Mother of the Fates and the Seasons.

ZEUS – The ruler of the Olympian gods, god of the sky, thunder, and lightening

800 BC – Edomites – an Arab culture in Southern Sinai.

The Nabateans had a close relationship with the Edomites as they claim female lineage from Ishmael.

KAUSH/QAUSH – The Moon God of the older Edomites seen with a star and crescent moon

WADD – Moon God of love and friendship. Snakes were sacred to Wadd

717 BC – Assyrians -  Syria

The Assyrians – Samaritans seem to have adopted the same tolerance towards other religions, which allowed the Jewish faith to persist even after the Jewish state of Palestine was destroyed by the Assyrians. The Assyrians were Semitic people living in the northern Mesopotamia. They invented  the division of the circle into 360 degrees.  They were among the first to invent longitude and latitude in geographical navigation. 

605 BC – Chaldeans - Arabia

The Chaldean Book of Numbers was created as they worshipped the stars – or “regents.” Sabeanism was the religion of the ancient Chaldees. They offered worship to the solar, lunar, and planetary gods and rulers, regarding the stars and other celestial bodies as their respective symbols, astrologers and diviners.

ILU (EL/AL) – Supreme Being

AD – (Adonis) The primordial seed, the unrevealed. Another name for “Lord”

EN – SOPH - No-thing. The void. The beginning. Feminine

ANU – Anu was the earliest god of the city of Erech

ANATA – Feminine counterpart to Anu

BEL (BAAL) – “Lord of the World,” father of the gods

BELTA – Feminine counterpart to Bel

HEA – Hea was the maker of fate, Lord of the Deep, God of Wisdom and esoteric Knowledge, and Lord of the city of Eridu.

DAVKINA – Feminine counterpart to Hea

MYLITTA - Virgin the female principle the Great Mother, called also Ishtar.

MITHRA - The Great father Sun-god, was called “Triple” embodied the trinity of (Anu, Bel, Hea). Sometimes referred to as AD (Adoni) – Lord

600 BC – Nabataeans – were tent-dwelling shepherds in Arabia

Capitol city was Petra where they worshipped the moon along with planets and constellations of the zodiac. They carved standing stones called a Baetyl – literally meaning “house of God”. Traded spices.

DUSHARA - God of Heaven (Zeus). “Lord of the Mountain” His named derives from the Shara – the land southeast of Petra.

Al-‘UZZ’A/AL-LAT – Goddess Earth, Stars, Moon (Aphrodite/Venus/Ishtar)

AL-QAUM - Was the god of war and the night.                      

IFRIT – is a class of djinn (genie), noted for their strength and cunning. An ifrit is an enormous winged creature of fire, either male or female, who lives underground and frequents ruins. Ifrits live in a society structured along ancient Arab tribal lines, complete with kings, tribes, and clans. They generally marry one another, but they can also marry humans.           

JINN -  is a supernatural creature which possesses free will, and can be either good or evil. In some cases, evil genies are said to lead humans astray.

GHOUL - is a desert-dwelling, shapeshifting demon that can assume the guise of an animal, especially a hyena

600 BC – Roman Gods and Godesses

TERA MATER (Gaia) (Cybelle) – Earth Mother. Tellus is one of the very oldest gods, dating back to the time before the Roman religion was formalized.

ANGERONA – Goddess of secrecy.

ATTIS – A god of vegetation, similar to Tammuz and Adonis. Attis castrated himself under a pine tree and was resurrected as a pine tree. Attis’ priests were eunuchs.

BELLONA – War goddess. Bellona’s priests were recruited from the gladiators.

FAUNA – Goddess of fertility. Fauna’s festival was open only to women.

FAUNUS – God of crops and herds. An oracle.

FEBRUUS - The Etruscan god of the underworld, later associated with Dis Pater, the Latin equivalent of Hades. The month of the dead, February, is named after him.

FIDES – God of faithfulness.

FLORA – Goddess of flowers and blooming plants. Festivals in April and May.

FORTUNA – Goddess of fate and chance.

GENIUS – A guardian who protects both individuals and homes.

JANUS – Guardian of entrances and exits, the opener of all things who looked inward as well as outward, custodian of the universe. Janus’ two-faced image signifies both past and future wisdom. The month of January is named after him.

LAR – God of the house, a cheerful and beautiful youth.

MITHRAS – The Sun god who dies and rises again, god of vegetation, born from stone. A Roman version of a Persian god. Especially popular among soldiers, often seen killing a bull. The worship of Mithras emphasized correct behavior in this world, which was the only way to win favor with god in the next. Celebrated on Dec 25^th during Saturnalia.

OPS – Goddess of the harvest. Identified with the Greek goddess RHEA.

QUIRINIAS – One of the highest gods of ancient Rome, every bit as important as Mars or Jupiter, yet almost nothing is known today of Quirinias or his worship.

VESTA – “The Shining One.” Goddess of domestic life and the hearth. The Vestal Virgins, chosen only from the nobility, tended a sacred fire which was the symbol of the hearth of the nation. A strict vow of chastity was imposed on the Virgins.

559 BC – Assyrians – Syria

Cyrus had conquered all of Persia and Babylon, he probably was one of the greatest conqueror in human history. He believed that his religious duty was to bring about the promises of Zoroastrianism through active warfare. If the universe was an epic struggle between the forces of Ahura-Mazda and the forces of evil. Cyrus would bring Zoroastrianism to all the peoples he conquered; he would not force them to become Zoroastrian, though. Zoroastrianism recognized that all the gods worshipped by other peoples were really not gods; some were underlings of Ahura-Mazda and some were servants of Ahriman. Cyrus saw as his mission the tearing down of religions for evil gods and the shoring up of religions of gods allied with Ahura-Mazda. As one aspect of the religious eclecticism of Zoroastrianism and Cyrus’s intentions, the conquest of Babylon led to the immediate freeing of the Hebrews who had been exiled in Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. Cyrus claimed to have been visited in a dream by Yahweh, the god of the Hebrews. Aligned with Ahura-Mazda, Yahweh demanded to be worshipped in the land of Judah; Cyrus freed the Hebrews with the specific intent that they reintroduce the proper worship of Yahweh in the Temple at Jerusalem.

552 BC – Harranians – Arabia

Followed a complex system of astral worships involving the sun, moon and seven major planets. 

SIN - the Moon God and Goddess as father and mother of both the Moon and  the Sun was the central astral deity.

525 – Quraysh tribe - Arabia 

Occupies Mecca and places a black stone from Yemen within it. They also worship the moon as God/Goddess as they were interchangeable.

ALLAT/ALLAH - triple God/Goddess. Each aspect of the trinity corresponds to a phase of the moon. Q’re, the crescent or waxing moon considered the  maiden. Is thought to be the original stone diety called the Ka’bah and was served by seven priestesses. Her worshippers circled the holy stone seven times – once for each of the seven planets (Astarte, Baalat)

AL-‘UZZ’A - full moon, the mother aspect “The Mightiest One” or “The strong” (Venus) who was one of the three chief goddesses of Mecca, Arabs call upon her for protection and victory before any war. Al-Uzza Moon Goddess of the  Zodiac carries a moon staff. (Asherah/Aphrodite)

AL-MANA - waning moon, wise goddess of fate, prophecy & divination. (Anath)

MANAF - The statue of Munaf was caressed by women, but when they had their periods they were not allowed near it. (Possibly seen as the New Moon)

BANAT/ALLAH – Combined name of Gods/Goddesses (phases of moon)

500 BC – Shinto Culture - Japan

Shinto is an ancient Japanese religion that was originally a mix of nature worship, fertility cults, divination techniques, hero worship, and shamanism. Shinto = kami way – “the way of the gods.” The basic belief of Shinto is that the gods or spirit is found in all living things. Gods, or “kami” are found to reside in beautiful, sacred places like waterfalls, and ancient forests.

AJI-SUKI-TAKA-HI-KONE - One of several thunder gods.

AMA-NO-UZUME - Fertility goddess. A companion of Ninigi.

AMATERASU - Sun goddess, ruler of the heavens.

AMATSU MIKABOSHI - God of evil

BENZAITEN - Goddess of love, one of the gods of happiness.

BISHAMON - God of happiness and war, a strange combination.

CHIMATA-NO-KAMI - God of crossroads, highways and footpaths.

HO-MASUBI - Fire god. His birth killed the creator goddess Izanami

IZANAGI and IZANAMI Creator god and goddess.

KAWA-NO-KAMI - God of rivers.

NAI-NO-KAMI - God of earthquakes.

NINIGI - Grandson of Amaterasu, sent to rule the earth.

O-KUNI-NUSHI - God of sorcery and medicine.

SENGEN-SAMA- Goddess of the sacred mountain of Fujiyama.

SHINE-TSU-HIKO - God of the wind.

SUSA-NO-WO - God of storms, snakes and farming. 

500 BC – Celtic and Norse Culture

Language/alphabet known as “Ogham” was engraved in stones. The alphabet is based on trees, who are seen as the elders ancestors. Eventually the Celtic peoples were forced North into England, Ireland and Scotland as Roman influence and Christianity deem them “pagan”. This alphabet became a “code” for people to communicate in secret as the Romans invaded.  Inscriptions were often carved in trees. Druids are the “priestly/healer/shaman” class of the Celtic culture.  Druid means “Oakwise” and the Oak was the wisest of the ancestor spirit trees. A Druid is also seen as a Celtic Shaman.

ANU – Mother Earth Goddess,

ARIANRHOD - High Fruitful Mother, Celtic name for the Aurora Borealis.

BABD CATHA – Goddess of war

BRANWYN - Goddess of love, sexuality and the sea

BRIGHID – Christians made Brighid a Christian saint.

CERRIDWEN - Moon Goddess, Goddess of Dark Prophecy, Underworld            

CERNUNNOS - born at the Winter Solstice, marries the Goddess Beltane and dies at the Summer Solstice. He is the dark aspect of the Green Man, together they represent birth, life, death, rebirth.

DAGDA – God of the Earth and all father. He mates with Morrigan on Samhain. Celtic New Year, he is the father of Brighid.

DANU – The Mother Goddess of Dagda, Creation Goddess.

DIS PATER - Originally a god of death and the underworld,

DONN - Queen of the Heavens, moon Goddess of air & sea, rules over the dead

EPONA - Horse goddess.

EOSTRE - Goddess of Spring, Rebirth, Fertility and New Beginnings

LUGH - Sun God, God of War, Mastery, Magic and Good Harvest

MORRIGAN - A triad of war goddesses,

MYRRDIN – Celtic Shaman, Druid

OGMA – God of scholars, he invented the runic language of the Druids.

GREEN MAN – God of the woods, life energy and fertility.

WHITE LADY – Goddess of death and destruction.

FREYA - Goddess of Love, Beauty, War, Magic and Wisdom 


FREYR - God of Fertility and Success 


FRIGGA - Goddess Mother of All, Protector of Children 


HEL - Goddess of the Dead and the Afterlife 


LOKI - God of Fire, Trickster God 


ODIN - God of all Men, Father of all Gods 


SKADI - Goddess of Winter and Hunting 


THOR - God of Sky and Thunder 


TYR - God of War and Law

VOLVA –  Women who had prophetic gifts. They visited homes, practiced divination and foretold children’s destinies. 

250 BC – Later Roman Gods and Goddesses

CYBELE (Rhea, Gaia. Hera, Juno) – The Great Mother Goddess, Mountain Mother. Mother Earth. She was also associated with the Lunar Bull.

DIANA (Artemis) – Triple Goddess – Lunar Virgin, Mother, Huntress

JUNO (Hera, Cybele) – Queen of the Gods. June is named after her.

JUPITER (Zeus) – carries a thunderbolt and his animal is the Eagle.

LUNA – Goddess of the Moon and Lunar cycles Diana, Artemis, Selene etc…

MARS (Ares) – regarded as the father of the Roman people because he was the father of Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome.

MERCURY (Hermes/Thoth) – The messenger of the gods. The symbols of Mercury are the caduceus (a staff with two intertwined snakes) He was also known as the Greek God Hermes (evening star) and Apollo (morning star)           

MINERVA (Athena) – Goddess of Wisdom, Learning, the Arts, Sciences, Medicine, Dyeing, Trade, and War. Honored at the spring equinox.

NEPTUNE (Poseidon) – God of the Sea. The trident is Neptune’s symbol.

PLUTO (Hades) –The God of the underworld and all of its riches. Pluto is also the god of the dead, terminally ill, and those wounded in battle.

SOL (Mithras) – The Sun, Sol Invictus” The Sun god who dies and rises again, god of vegetation, born from stone. A Persian god. Especially popular among soldiers, often seen killing a bull (Cybele). Celebrated on Dec 25^th

SATURN (Cronus) – The Roman God of Harvest and Agriculture. The Saturnalia began December 17 and lasted for seven days.A harvest-home or winter solstice celebration marked by carnival, exchange of gifts, feasting and no work.

URANUS (Uranus) – Original Sky God who creates the other Gods with Terra

VENUS (Aphrodite) – Goddess of love and beauty.

VESTA (Hestia) – Goddess of the Fire (both sacred and domestic) and the Hearth.

VULCAN (Hephaestus) – God of Fire, Blacksmiths and Craftsmanship.

31 BC – Roman Empire – All that was a part of Hellenistic Greece

Octavian, also known as Augustus Ceasar, defeated the rulers of Egypt, Anthony and Cleopatra (the last Pharoah) and ended the Hellenistic Era. The fall of Cleopatra is considered the pivotal moment that defines the end of Ancient Greece and Egypt.

There was a gradual movement toward the need for a unified Religion they tried to instill in the minds of their “people” that the Emperors themselves were Gods associated with the Sun and its planets. The people hung onto their  beliefs which began to conflict with Roman authority.

CYBELE – She resurrected the God Attis from death into a Pine Tree. Her festival would have taken place during the summer solstice.

ISIS – Egyptian Mother Goddess ISIS – Goddess of Protection and Magic. Isis is seen as the star Sirius, also called Sept.
Sister and Wife to Osiris who brought Osiris back fro the dead when he was embodied in a Tamarisk Tree. Seen as the Goddess of resurrection.

MITHRAS – “Sol Invictus” The Sun god who dies and rises again, god of Vegetation, born from stone. A Roman version of a Persian god. The worship of Mithras emphasized correct behavior in this world, which was the only way to win favor with god in the next. Celebrated on Dec 25^th at the end of Saturnalia.

SATURN (Cronus) – The Roman God of Harvest and Agriculture. Saturn was  worshiped in a winter festival called the Saturnalia and his name was used for the day of the week, Saturday. The Saturnalia started about December 17 and lasted for seven days. A harvest-home or winter solstice celebration marked by carnival, exchange of gifts, feasting, and a cessation of all public works.

YAHWEH - The people of Judah revolted against Roman rule as they believed that they should not be forced to worship any other God than Yahweh.

Australia & the Pacific Islands

Australia

BUNJIL – A sky god. Made men out of clay while his brother, Bat, made women out of water. To mankind Bunjil gave tools, weapons and religious ceremony.

DARAMULUN – A sky god, a hero. There are many tales of his adventures. Daramulun is usually portrayed with a mouth full of quartz and a huge phallus, carrying a stone axe.

DREAM TIME – The period of creation when the gods brought the world and all living creatures into being.

GIDJA – Moon god. In the Dream Time

GREAT RAINBOW SNAKE – The great giver of life who lives in a deep pool, stretches across the sky and shines with water drops, quartz and mother of pearl. In the Dream Time, the Great Rainbow Snake created all the waterways and all living creatures.   The Great Rainbow Snake is the greatest of all the gods, and no wise man will dare offend him. Many pools are sacred to him and must not be contaminated with blood.

WONDJINA – The primordial beings of the great Dream Time, who created the world. They are shown in rock paintings with halos and no mouths, their eyes and noses joined.

YALUNGUR – Eaglehawk defeated the terrible ogress and became the first woman.

Micronesia

ALULUEI – God of knowledge and navigation. Aluluei has two faces, one to see where he is going, the other to see where he has been. Aluluei makes his home on sandbars.

NAREAU – Actually two gods, Old Spider and Young Spider. Old Spider created the world from a seashell, but the heavens and the earth were not properly separated, so Young Spider enlisted the aid of Riiki, the eel, to fix the problem. They then created the sun, moon and stars, and a great tree from which came the race of men.

OLIFAT – A trickster. Olifat invented the custom of tattooing. Olifat loves pranks and is constantly spoiling food, ruining fishing trips and seducing men’s wives.

New Zealand

IO – Supreme being of the Maori, master of all the other gods

Polynesia

HINA – Goddess of darkness, who brought death to humankind by slaying the god Maui..

MAUI – A trickster & hero god. His death brought death to the world.

KUKLIKIMOKU – God of war, his is the crested feather helmet of the Hawaiians.

PELE – Goddess of volcanic fire and sorcery. Pele lives in Mt. Kilauea in Hawaii.

QAT – Creator god. Qat was born when his mother, a stone, suddenly exploded.

TAWHAKI – God of thunder and lightening. Noble and handsome.

TU – “Tu of the Angry Face,” “Tu the Man Eater,” “Tu the Lover of War,”

Solomon Islands

AGUNUA – Serpent god. All other gods are only an aspect of Agunua.

Tahiti

RUA – The Abyss. God of craftsmen. Rua invented wood carving.

North America

While some populations walked across the “land bridge” of the Bering Strait and down the ice-free corridor into western Canada, others migrated to the Americas by walking or boating along the now submerged continental shelves of North, Central, and South America. Another group came via boat from Europe, namely the Solutreans who lived in what is now France. Together they formed the clovis culture.

11,500 BC – Clovis Culture

The earliest inhabitants of North America are named after a site in New Mexico where, in the 1930s, large stone spear points were found in direct association with mammoth bones. Clovis hunters left their stone points and butchered animal bones at kill sites scattered across much of North America. The Clovis Culture appeared about years ago and spread across the great plains of Northern America, into the Mississippi Valley, the southwestern regions of the US, and into the eastern woodlands of North America.

8000 BC – Clovis culture abruptly vanished from the archaeological record. Their disapperance coincides with the mass extinction of Ice Age big-game animals.

3000 BC – Early North Americans started moving away from mainly egalitarian social systems to extremely complex, often highly stratified, socio-political systems; shifting from nomadic to sedentary settlements and living in large, permanent villages and towns. They experimented with a variety of indigenous North American plants, some of which would be domesticated in the following period; engaging in a wide range of environmental management practices, including the use of fire; manufacturing pottery; engaging in long distance trade.

1200 BC – In what is now the southwestern US, the Anasazi “Ancient Ones” erected multi-room, multi-storied apartment complexes, built roads to connect their towns and cities with each other, and engaged in long-distance trading with the mighty empires of Mesoamerica. In the southwestern region similar agricultural societies were emerging. Maize agriculture reached this area from Mexico.

1000 BC – large settlements of contiguous dwellings called pueblos became the rule with clusters of rooms serving as homes for separate families or lineages. Woodhenge was created.

950 BC – three innovations took hold in the Eastern Woodlands: pottery manufacture, deliberate cultivation of native plants, and burials under funerary mounds.

200 BC – the focus of power shifted to the Mississippi Valley with the rise of the Mississippian tradition, fostered in part by the introduction and widespread cultivation of maize & beans from the Southwest. People engaged in full-time agriculture, lived in cities of 10,000+ people, and elevated their leaders both architecturally and socially.

600 AD – the ancient city of Cahokia was created near St. Louis. It was built as a living embodiment of gods and goddesses who lived on top of giant earthen mounds which soared several hundreds of feet into the air. Powerful chiefdoms arose in the midwestern and southeastern Pueblo culture.

850 AD – Cahokia is largest city in North America.

1492 – As the America’s were “discovered” by Europeans seeking freedom and riches in the “New World”, the indigenous peoples were labeled as “heathens” and “Indians”. They were called Heathens because they did not practice Christianity and were seen as savage. The name Indian was given to them by Christopher Columbus when he landed in the Bahamas looking for a short cut to India. Explorers, settlers and colonists soon saw the Native peoples as obstacles to controlling the “New World” and subsequent bloody wars broke out for the next 400 years. The stories and culture of this diverse culture were destroyed and are just now being reclaimed.

1622 – The first war between the colonists of Virgina and the Powhaten began

1838 – Trail of Tears – Cherokees forced from their ancestral land to Oklahoma

1879 – Carlisle Boarding School for Indians established to “deindianize” young natives

1890 – Ghost Dancers go to Wounded Knee for protection – all are slaughtered

1890 – Sitting Bull was set up and murdered to make an example to stop Ghost Dancing

1890 – Black Elk witnessed the wounded knee massacre and began praying for peace

Far Northwest Coastal – Inuit/Eskimo, Tlingit, Chinook, Makah

Chinook Creation Story

Coyote and Eagle went to the land of the dead to bring back their dead wives. On reaching the land of the dead, they found a meeting lodge lit only by the moon which lay on the floor. Every night an old woman would swallow the moon and the dead would appear in the meeting lodge. Recognizing their wives among the spirits of the dead, the two gods devised a plan. The next day, after the old woman had vomited up the moon and the dead had disappeared, Coyote built a huge wooden box and placed in it leaves of every kind of plant. Coyote and Eagle then killed the old woman, and Coyote donned her clothes. When the time came, Coyote swallowed the moon. The dead appeared, but Eagle had place the box outside the exit. When Coyote vomited up the moon, the dead filed out and were trapped in the box. Coyote pleaded to be allowed to carry the box, and Eagle gave it to him. But Coyote couldn’t wait to see his wife and opened the box. The spirits of the dead rose up like a cloud and disappeared to the west. So it is that people must die forever, not like the plants which die in winter and are green again in a season.

Inuit

ANGUTA – Gatherer of the dead, carries them to the underworld, they sleep for a year.

ANINGAN – The moon, brother to the sun whom Moon chases across the sky.

IRDLIRVIRISISSONG – The demon cousin of the moon.

SEDNA – Goddess of the sea and the creatures of the sea.

SUN – A beautiful young maiden carrying a torch who is chased through the sky by her brother Aningan, the moon. The planet Jupiter is the mother of the sun and very dangerous to magicians. If they are careless, she will devour their livers.

TEKKEITSERKTOCK – The earth god, master of hunting to whom all deer belong.

TORNGASAK - The good spirit, representing everything in good nature.

Northwest/Pacific Coast – Pomo, Wintum, Yaudanchi

Yaudanchi creation story

Everything was water except a very small piece of ground. On this were the eagle and the coyote. Then the turtle swam to them. They sent it to dive for the earth at the bottom of the water. The turtle barely succeeded in reaching the bottom and touching it with its foot. When it came up again, all the earth seemed washed out. Coyote looked closely at its nails. At last he found a grain of earth. Then he and the eagle took this and laid it down. From it they made the earth as large as it is. From the earth they also made six men and six women. They sent these out in pairs in different directions and the people separated. After a time the eagle sent the coyote to see what the people were doing. Coyote came back and said: “They are doing something bad. They are eating the earth. One side is already gone.” The eagle said: ” That is bad. Let us make something for them to eat. Let us send the dove to find something.” The dove went out. It found a single grain of meal. The eagle and coyote put this down on the ground. Then the earth became covered with seeds and fruit. Now they told the people to eat these. When the seeds were dry and ripe the people gathered them. Then the people increased and spread all over. But the water is still under the world.

Pomo

COYOTE - created the human race and stole the sun to keep them warm.

Wintun Creation story

The Creator who lived in Olelpanti (Heaven) with two old women. When the first people destroyed the world with fire, Olelbis sent wind and rain to quench the flames, and repaired the earth. Olelbis intended men to live forever. When they grew old, they were to climb to heaven and join Olelbis in paradise. Olelbis set two vultures to the task of building a ladder to Olelpanti for men to ascend, but Coyote persuaded them to stop work.

Southwest – Apache, Hopi, Navaho, Zuni, Rio Grande Pueblo

Apache Creation Story

Supernatural beings called Gahe dwell inside mountains. Thye can sometimes be heard dancing and beating drums. Because they can heal and drive away disease, they are worshipped. In the ritual dances of the Chiricahua Apache masked dancers painted a different color for each point of the compass represent all the Gahe except the Grey One. The Grey One, though he appears as a clown, is really the mightiest of all the Gahe.

Hopi

KACHINAS – Nature spirits which inhabit and control everything

Navajo Creation Story

In the beginning, First Man and First Woman ascended from the underworld together with Coyote, leading the people through trials and tribulations into the surface world which became their home. Deciding that the sky was too empty with only Sun and Moon, First Man, First Woman and Coyote gathered up glittering stones and placed them in the sky to serve as stars.

LOKI/COYOTE – The creator and teacher of men

ESTANATLEHI - First Woman’s adopted daughter. To punish mankind for pride, First Man and First Woman sent a plague of monsters to kill and devour them. The time came when First Woman repented of the evils she and First Man had visited upon men, and she sought a means for their deliverance. First Woman discovered the infant Estanatlehi lying on the ground near First Woman’s mountain, and took her in. The infant Estanatlehi grew to adulthood in four days. Making love with the Sun, she gave birth to the Twin Brothers who after many adventures slew the monsters.

NAGENATZANI – Elder Twin Brother.

THOBADESTCHIN – Youngest Twin Brother.

Pueblo Creation story

The Supreme God, the Creator of All. Before the creation there was only Awonawilona; all else was darkness and emptiness. Both male and female, Awonawilona created everything from himself and taking form became the maker of light, the Sun.

Zuni

COYOTE - is a hero who set forth the laws by which men may live in peace.

Northeast – Iroquois (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Senenca, Tuscarora)

Iroquois Creation story

Long before the world was created there was an island, floating in the sky, upon which the Sky People lived. They lived quietly and happily. No one ever died or was born or experienced sadness. However one day one of the Sky Women realized she was going to give birth to twins. She told her husband, who flew into a rage. In the center of the island there was a tree which gave light to the entire island since the sun hadn’t been created yet. He tore up this tree, creating a huge hole in the middle of the island. Curiously, the woman peered into the hole. Far below she could see the waters that covered the earth. At that moment her husband pushed her. She fell through the hole, tumbling towards the waters below. Water animals already existed on the earth, so far below the floating island two birds saw the Sky Woman fall. Just before she reached the waters they caught her on their backs and brought her to the other animals. Determined to help the woman they dove into the water to get mud from the bottom of the seas. One after another the animals tried and failed. Finally, Little Toad tried and when he reappeared his mouth was full of mud. The animals took it and spread it on the back of Big Turtle. The mud began to grow and grow and grow until it became the size of North America. Then the woman stepped onto the land. She sprinkled dust into the air and created stars. Then she created the moon and sun. The Sky Woman gave birth to twin sons. She named one Sapling. He grew to be kind and gentle. She named the other Flint and his heart was as cold as his name. They grew quickly and began filling the earth with their creations. Sapling created what is good. He made animals that are useful to humans. He made rivers that went two ways and into these he put fish without bones. He made plants that people could eat easily. If he was able to do all the work himself there would be no suffering. Flint destroyed much of Sapling’s work and created all that is bad. He made the rivers flow only in one direction. He put bones in fish and thorns on berry bushes. He created winter, but Sapling gave it life so that it could move to give way to Spring. He created monsters which his brother drove beneath the Earth. Eventually Sapling and Flint decided to fight till one conquered the other. Neither was able to win at first, but finally Flint was beaten. Because he was a god Flint could not die, so he was forced to live on Big Turtle’s back. Occasionally his anger is felt in the form of a volcano.

Great Lakes – Algonquin, Ojibwe/Chippewa, Powhatan, Cree, Potawatomi

Algonquin creation story

The Creator Force. Gluskap created the plains, the food plants, the animals and the human race from the body of the Mother Earth. His rival was his wolf brother Malsum, who made rocks, thickets and poisonous animals. After a long struggle Gluskap killed Malsum and drove his evil magic under the earth.

KITCKI MANITOU – The Great Spirit, the Supreme Being. The Uncreated, the Father of Life, God of the Winds.

MICHABO – The Great Hare. A trickster. A shape-shifter. Creator of men, the earth, deer, water and fish. Michabo drives away cannibal spirits. In the House of Dawn, Michabo is host to the souls of good men, feeding them succulent fruits and fish.

NOKOMIS – “Grandmother.” The Sacred Earth Mother. Nurtures all living things.

Southeast – Cherokee, Seminoles, Muscogee-Creek, Chichasaw, Choitan

Cherokee Creration Story

When the Earth begun there was just water. All the animals lived above it and the sky was beginning to become crowded. They were all curious about what was beneath the water and one day Dayuni’si, the water beetle, volunteered to explore it. He went everywhere across the surface but he couldn’t find any solid ground. He then dived below the surface to the bottom and all he found was mud. This began to enlarge in size and spread outwards until it became the Earth as we know it. After all this had happened, one of the animals attached this new land to the sky with four strings. Just after the Earth was formed, it was flat and soft so the animals decided to send a bird down to see if it had dried. They eventually returned to the animals with a result. The land was still to wet so they sent the great Buzzard from Galun’lati to prepare it for them. The buzzard flew down and by the time that he reached the Cherokee land he was so tired that his wings began to hit the ground. Wherever they hit the ground a mountain or valley formed. The Cherokee land still remains the same today with all the land forms that the Buzzard formed. The animals then decided that it was too dark, so they made the sun and put it on the path in which it still runs today. The animals could then admire the newly created Earth around them.

ASGAYA GIGAGEI – The Red Man or Woman evoked in spells to cure the ill.

KANATI – First Man. He lives with his wife Selu (“Corn”) in the east where the sun rises, and their sons, the Twin Thunder Boys, live in the west.

OCASTA – “Stonecoat.” The name comes from his coat which was made of pieces of flint. Equally good and evil, Ocasta was one of the Creator’s helpers. Ocasta created witches and drifted from village to village stirring up turmoil. Some women trapped Ocasta, pinning him to the ground with a stick through his heart. The men cremated the dying Ocasta, who while burning on his funeral pyre taught them songs and dances for hunting, fighting wars and healing. Some of the men were granted great power and became the first medicine men.

SELU - First Woman. Created corn in secret by rubbing her belly. Her sons, the Twin Thunder Boys, killed her when they spied upon her and decided she was a witch.

SUN – A goddess. When Sun’s daughter was bitten by a snake and taken to the Ghost Country, Sun hid herself in grief. The world was ever dark, and Sun’s tears became a flood. At last the Cherokee sent their young men and women to heal Sun’s grief, which they did with singing and dancing.

TWIN THUNDER BOYS – The sons of Kanati and Selu. The Twin Thunder Boys live in the west. When thunder sounds, the boys are playing ball

Plains – Sauk, Fox, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Sioux, Blackfeet, Pawnee, Commanche

Pawnee creation story

Pawnee legend – When told to abandon hunting and settle down to farming, they replied: “You ask me to plow the ground! Shall I take a knife and tear my mother’s bosom? Then when I die she will not take me to her bosom to rest. You ask me to dig for stone! Shall I dig under her skin for her bones? Then when I die I cannot enter her body to be born again. You ask me to cut grass and make hay and sell it, and be rich like white men! But how dare I cut off my mother’s hair? It is a bad law and my people cannot obey it.” 

ATIRA – The Earth, Sacred Mother of every living creature.

COYOTE – Trickster who brought death into the world

EVENING STAR – The mother goddess who guards the West

MORNING STAR – A protector god who leads the sun upward in the East.

NORTH STAR – The creator god who lives in the North.

PAH – Moon goddess of the night.

SHAKURA – Sun god of the day.

Sun Dance is for Shakura’s sake. Young warriors attached themselves to tall poles with strips of hide which were tied to sharp stakes. The stakes were driven through the skin and flesh on the chest. The young brave would then support his entire weight with the hide ropes as he slowly circled the pole following the       sun’s movement in the sky. This lasted until the sun went down or the stakes ripped out of the brave’s flesh.

SOUTH STAR – Goddess of the underworld.

TIRAWA-ATIUS – The Power Above, creator of the heavens and the earth.

Shakura the Sun was assigned to provide light and heat. Pah the Moon was assigned the night, and Tirwara-Atius placed the Evening Star, the Mother of All Things in the west. The Morning Star he set to guard the east. After the gods had raised dry land from the watery chaos, Tirawa Atius told Sun and Moon to make love, and they gave birth to a son. He then told Evening and Morning Star to make love, and they gave birth to a daughter. So the human race was made. All would have been well if Coyote had not stolen a sack of storms from Lightening. Opening the sack, Coyote loosed the storms and so brought death into the world.

Sioux/Osage – Montana

COYOTE - Created the horse.

WACHABE – Black Bear. A guardian. Symbol of long life, strength and courage.

Central America

1500 BC – Olmecs and Maya Culture – Southern Mexico to Guatemala 

The ancient Olmec civilization is believed to have been centered around the southern Gulf Coast of Mexico area further south east than the heart of the Aztec empire. The Olmecs carved stone, jade, and the volcanic rock basalt used for the great stone heads.  

They began to worship a serpent as God of Light. Temple mounds, jaguars, many gods, and perhaps even human sacrifice were used by the Olmec society.  The jaguar is a common figure in Olmec and Mayan religion – especially combined with a snake or human child. They believed each individual has an animal spirit. Some believe that the sun was a part of their worshipping along with the jaguar. The jaguar was a very important figure it was referred to as a nahual, which is an animal that is so closely related to a certain man, that if the animal dies, the man will also die. The nahual can be the animal form of a God. Jaguars were the shamans of the animal world, the alter ego of the shaman. There are also many depictions of an Olmec God who was half jaguar, half serpent.

It is believed that the Olmecs were a “mother culture” which directly gave rise to all subsequent major civilizations and this is how Shamanism first spread. The Olmecs are said to have been ancestors of the Jaquar. The Olmecs and Myans believed that the Jaquar was a rain deity and fertility diety. The Jaquar was chosen because they believed it was the most powerful and feared animal. They also believed that the Jaquar was an Avatar of the living and the dead. The men would sacrifice blood to the jaguar, wear masks, dance, and crack whips to imitate the sound of thunder. This ritual was done in May. They also made offerings of jade figures to the jaguar.

300 AD - Maya culture began around as an offshoot of the Olmec civilization. The central Mexican city of Teotihucan traded with the Maya and its influence can clearly be seen in some Maya sites, such as Tikal. In fact, the collapse of Teotihucan in the sixth century had a notable effect on the Maya, causing a virtual standstill of new construction for several decades. Culturally the area is divided into three sections: the northern, central and southern regions. The earliest evidence of the Maya civilization is found in the southern region. At Izapa carvings depict gods that were the precursors of the Classic deities and at Kaminaljuyú glyphs on stelea foreshadow the Maya writing system. The area was clearly influenced by the Olmec.
The central region includes the southern lowlands, from Tabasco in the Northwest to Belize and Guatemala’s Motagua River region in the southeast. Here is where the Classic Maya flourished, along the Usumacinta River and throughout the Petén.
The northern region, which encompasses the northern lowlands, was populated by the Maya in the Late Classic period, when influence from central Mexico created a hybrid Maya/Toltec culture, and was home to the Maya well into the Post-Classic period.

Mayan calendar – the Long Count, the Tzolkin (divine lunar calendar), and the Haab (civil sun calendar). Of these, only the Haab has a direct relationship to the length of the year. The Tzolk’in Calendar = 260 day which is called the “Sacred Round” calendar. The Haab is based on 365 days which begins on the winter solstice. Both combine 20 day names or trecena with 13 numbers or veintena days  (The numbers mulitplies together = 260 which is equal to the length of pregnancy) By combining the Tzolik’in and Haab you create a synchronized cycle that lasts 52 Haabs or 52 solar years. Because the two calendars were based on 260 days and 365 days respectively, the whole cycle would repeat itself every 52 Haab’ years exactly. The third calendar is the Long Count  and it tracks solar years in increments called Baktuns which equals 5125 solar years. This calendar identifies a date by counting the number of days from the Mayan creation date of August 11, 3114BC. This long count ends on December 21, 2012

Toltec and Mayan Gods and Goddesses

FIRST MOTHER – The First Mother, the Moon Goddess, was born six years before the First Father. Also known as the Maize God and the Plumed or Feathered Serpent.

HUNAHPU and XBALANQUE – Hero Twins overcame the forces of death, paving the way for the conception of humans. They are usually shown wearing red and white cloth headbands, a symbol of Maya rulership. The face of Hunahpu serves as a glyph for the day name ahau, meaning king. The Patrons of Writing The Hero Twins had two older brothers who were jealous of the twins and did everything they could to make their younger brothers’ lives difficult. The Hero Twins changed their brothers into monkeys and they became the patron gods of scribes.

 MAIZE GOD – Like the Sun God, the Maize God is associated with life and death. He follows the path across the sky, descends into the Underworld, is reborn, and returns to the Sky World. The Maya elite practiced changing the shape of their offsprings’ skulls to resemble the Maize God’s elongated head by tying two boards front and back against the infant’s head.

BACABS – The gods of the four points of the compass, who hold up the sky – seasons.

HUNAB KU – The Great God without Form, existing only in spirit. The chief god.

HURAKAN – God of thunderstorms his name gave us the word “hurricane.”

ITZAM-YEH - the Celestial Bird. Also known as the Serpent Bird and Seven-Macaw, Itzam-Yeh is associated with the four corners of the world. He also marked the four corners of the temple, thereby establishing the sacred mountain’s summit.

ITZAMNA - Lord of the Heavens “Lizard House”, is a high-ranking god who was the first shaman and diviner; the word itz can mean shaman, a person who could open the portals to the spirit world. The Maya elite considered him an ancient form of the omnipotent, supreme deity. Kings and shamans contacted Itzamná to plead with him to open the way so sacred nourishment would flow into the world to sustain humanity. He is also the inventor of writing and the patron of learning and the sciences.

K’AWIL - the god of sustenance K’awil is associated with royal power, which originates with the gods. He often appears on sceptres clasped by rulers during ritual ceremonies and when they ascend to the throne.

KINICH AHAU - Jaguar Sun God. Almighty God the Sun dwells in the highest levels of heaven. When he traces the path of the sun across the sky in the daytime. When the sun falls into the West Door and enters the Underworld, he becomes the Jaguar God.

KUKULCAN – The Feathered Serpent god.

IX CHEL - Lady Rainbow Wife to the high god Itzamná, she oversees weaving, medicine, and childbirth. Like the First Mother, she is a moon goddess, who is depicted sitting in a moon sign holding a rabbit.

IXTAB – Goddess who rules paradise and serves food & drink under the Yaxche tree.

CHAC - the Rain God and Cosmic Monster a dragon-like monster with a crocodilian head and deer ears. He marks the path between the natural and supernatural worlds. Chacs were placed at the four corners of the world to bring rain by shedding their blood.

CAMAZOTZ – Bat god, demon of the underworld.

WITZ - is the symbol of the living mountain. Images of this creature were placed on temples to transform them into sacred, living mountains. He is depicted with a zoomorphic face, a huge gaping mouth, and a stepped cleft in the centre of his forehead. The open mouth became the entry into the mountain.

900 AD Toltecs – Mexico

They built the city of Tollan located fifty miles north of Mexico City. According to sources, the Toltecs were one of the first to use and become experts in using copper and gold for their work. They were also masters at building temples and pyrymids for their gods.

In the darkness and chaos before Creation, the female Earth Monster swam in the waters of the earth devouring all that she saw. When the gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca decided to impose form upon the Earth, they changed themselves into serpents and struggled with the Earth Monster until they broke her in two. Coatlicue’s lower part then rose to form the heavens and her upper part descended to form the earth. Coatlicue has an endless, ravenous appetite for human hearts and will not bear fruit unless given human blood

Toltec Gods and Goddesses

CHALCHIHUITLCUE – Goddess of storms and water.

COATLICUE – Primordial Earth Goddess.

CINTEOTL – The corn god, the giver of food, god of fertility and regeneration.         

EUEUCOYOTL – The Old Coyote associated with gaiety and sex.

ITZCOLIUHQUI - God of darkness and destruction.

ITZPAPALOTL – Goddess of darkness and destruction

QUETZALCOATL – The Feathered Serpent. The Precious Twin who lifts the sun out of darkness, god of the winds and the breath of life, First Lord of the Toltecs. Lawgiver, civilizer, creator of the calender. Demons tempted Quetzalcoatl constantly to commit murder and human sacrifice, but his love was too great for him to succumb. To atone for great sins, Quetzcoatl threw himself onto a funeral pyre, where his ashes rose to the heavens as a flock of birds carrying his heart to the star Venus.

TEZCATLIPOCA – The Prince of This World, the Mirror that Smokes, the Shadow.            

TLALOC - Lord of all sources of water, clouds, rain, lightening, mountain springs.

TLAZOLTEOTL – The goddess of four forms – the phases of the moon, The lover of Quetzalcoatl. The Wild Woman who takes risks, The Great Priestess who consumes the sins of mankind; The old crone, persecutor and destroyer of youth.

TONATIUH – God of the Sun.

XIPE TOTEC – Lord of the Spring, god of newly planted seed.

XIUHTECUHTLI – Lord of fire, Lord of the Pole Star, pivot of the universe.

XOLOTL – Bringer of misfortune. The evil aspect of the star Venus.

1180 AD Aztecs – Mexico 

The Aztecs departed from the North in the early 12th century and arrived in the area now known as Mexico around the year of 1180. They settled by Lake Texcoco, they established the great city of Tenochitlan. At first the Aztecs were weak and could not stand up to their dominant neighbors. With the powerful chief Itzcoatle and a great alliance with neighboring states they overcame their threatening rivals. This inspired the Aztecs with a new respect from their allies and gave off the message that they were a tribe to be reckoned with. They worshipped hundreds of gods and goddesses, each of whom ruled one or more human activities or aspects of nature. The people had many agricultural gods because their culture was based heavily on farming; also they included natural elements and ancestor-heroes. They believed that the balance of the natural world, the processes that make life possible and that the destiny of people depended on the will of these gods. While some deities were benevolent, others had terrifying characteristics.

The Aztecs thought that the power of the gods should be acknowledged and thanks given to them, so as to avoid the catastrophes that their rage or indifference could cause. For this reason, the monumental ceremonial centers were built and there were so many religious rites. The existence of the gods and their goodwill were maintained by offering up the most valuable human possession, life. This then, was the origin of human sacrifice and the ritual of bearing intense physical pain, which believers intentionally caused themselves.

Aztec Gods and Goddesses

Ometecuhtli (father) & Omecihuatl (mother) – represented the primordial forces of nature and duality, and were the parents of many of the other major gods. Sometimes they are called husband and wife, but they were really considered two sides of the same dualistic god.  They were sometimes shown as a half man, half woman figure

QUETZALCOATL - was an important deity, since he had been the creator of humans. However, he wasn’t the first to create them.  The world had been created four times before, and destroyed by infighting each time.  Quetzalcoatl retrieved the bones of humans from the underworld and added his blood to bring them to life.

HUITZILPOCHTLI  - was a warrior sun god, requiring blood sacrifice to help him win the battle against darkness. This was not always in the form of human sacrifice – sometimes ritual blood letting was used.  However, sacrificed warriors were thought to rise and fight with Huitzilopochtli, so sacrifices increased in frequency.

IXPE TOTEC – was the god of the seasons, renewal, and growing things.  He was also the patron of gold workers. He flayed himself to give humanity food, and was shown as wearing a flayed human skin. His festival was celebrated on the spring equinox, and required the flaying of victims to produce a skin.  The priests would wear these skins for twenty days after the sacrifice, and they were thought to have magical and curative properties. One of the Aztec gods of the four directions – he was west.

TLALOC - the god of rain and water, was associated with life giving and sustenance and fertility, as well as springs, mountains and caves. 

OMETEOTL- Both male and female, light and dark, positive and negative, yes and no. Ometoetol occupies Omeyocan, the highest of the Aztecs’ thirteen heavens, and the four heavens immediately below Omeyocan are a mystery.

South America

People were living in Chile at least 12,500 years ago and perhaps as much as 30,000 – plus years ago.

1200 AD – Incan – Peru 

Between 1200 and 1535 AD, the Inca population lived in the part of South America extending from the Equator to the Pacific coast of Chile. The beginning of the Inca rule started with the conquest of the Moche Culture in Peru. The Inca were warriors with a strong and powerful army. Because of the fierceness of their army and their hierarchical organization, they became the largest Native American society. The height of their reign in the 15th century came to a brutal end in 1535 when the Spanish conquistadors took over their territory. The highest point in an Inca village was reserved for religious purposes. This point was the closest to the sun, which represented their major god, Inti, the Sun God. The six major gods of the Inca represent the moon, sun, earth, thunder/lightning and the sea. Pachamama is the earth god, who is the mother of all humans. The Inca had shamans who believed in animal spirits living on earth. Heaven was depicted by the condor, the underworld by the anaconda, and the brother who resided on earth was the puma. The Sun Temple, located in Machu Picchu, Peru, was a religious calendar that marked the winter and summer solstices.

Incan Gods and Goddesses

INTI – Sun god. Every day Inti soars across the sky to the west into the sea, and swims under the earth back to the east.

KAMI & KERI – were born into the sky world as the sons of the jaguar Oka and a woman created by magic. Their mother was killed by Mero, the jaguar’s mother, and in revenge, Kami and Keri burned her and themselves up in a great fire. Bringing themselves back to life, they came to earth as human beings separated the heavens from the earth, stole fire from the eyes of Fox, and made the rivers with water stolen from the Great Snake. After teaching humans how to live together, their work was done, and they climbed to a mountain peak where they disappeared.

KONIRA WIRAKOCHA - This is the trickster god. He wanders around dressed as an impoverished traveler. With a single word he could create fields and terraced hillsides.

MAMA QUILLA – Goddess of the moon.

MANCO CAPAC – The son of Inti, also a solar god. The youngest of four brothers, Manco Capac defied the eldest brother who greedily demanded all of creation for himself. Sealing the eldest brother forever in a cave, he murdered another and frightened the third into fleeing, never to be seen again. Thus gaining power over the world, Manco Capac founded the city of Cuzco and was worshipped as the Son of the Sun.

CHILQUI ILLAPA - The thunder god. This was the god the Inca worshiped for rain.

PACHACAMAC - God of the earth. Considered the creator god

SUPAI – Supai was the god of death and greed.

VIRACOCHA – The creation god from which all life and all other gods came. Literally Sea-Foam. The Creator. The teacher of the world.

UKU PACHA - the past and interior world

PACHA - the present world

HANAN PACHA - the future and superior world

HAUSCAR – God of the Underworld

* This information has been accumulated through a lifetime of reading and searching. The dates and sequence of events may not be exact as much of what is contained in this document was lost, destroyed, discredited or changed through time.

My hope is to offer you a way of seeing the progression of time and culture that has influenced our hearts and minds. Please feel free to share this with friends and family. May we come together as one. 

Created with love, Laural Virtues Wauters