Hi, this is an interior page of the Spells & WitchCraft site. It's about Pagan gods and godessess.

Are the Gods and Goddess real? 
That depends on how you define reality. 
Do they live on Mount Olympus or Sinai ?  Not likely.  Just the same, they are as real as your Being right now as you read this. 
Let me explain.

In Wicca, and Paganism in general, each of the Goddess and Gods represents an ideal, something we can as humans relate to, something to strive after.

Above the individual Gods and Goddesses are the overall principles of male and female polarity.  Nothing happens in the Universe without this flow of Energy between polarities. 

Above even this personification is the Universal Power.  It’s very difficult to focus on this Power, however, so we've created human-like deities to focus on. 

Know that in this way we are focusing on the Powers above all.  Nor is it odd that Gods and Goddesses should resemble us, at least superficially.  We, as far as we know, are the crown of creation.  And though we have a long way to go to attain Nirvana I don’t see any other creatures edging us out to take the Cup, whatever it turns out to be. 

Then how does invoking a  Goddesses or Gods differ from praying in mainstream religion? 
Only in one all-important way.  Mainstream religions teach the faithful to beg for favors, literally prostrate themselves at the feet of God.  We, as children of the Universe, have the right to influence reality in whatever way we choose.  This is not to say we will always succeed.  But we have the right to seek our own satisfaction. 

That reminds me of one of my mother’s favorite movies, George Burns and John Denver in Oh God.  The part she always likes to remind me of is when Denver asks Burns (god) to prove he’s god and make it rain, Burns makes it rain inside the car.  Denver, alarmed, asks why it isn’t raining over there (outside the car).  Burns says, “Those people didn’t want it to rain.”   Ha Ha.

As silly as that is, it illustrates an important point, that your power to alter reality in your favor will sometimes be a hard sell against other people’s desire to have it their way.   This is an essential truth we must understand to do magyc in conjunction with the Power of Gods and Goddesses, at least metaphorically.

An  example from the all too real world comes from a friend of mine when she was trying to influence the outcome of the 2004 presidential elections.  She willed John Kerry to win but while she was in the process she felt the overwhelming opposition of millions of Right Wing Christians praying for Bush to win.   Now, I believe it’s far more powerful to will a chance in reality than to beg for it but that’s not to say there’s no power in prayer.  It’s just a different way to get a result.   That, by the way, is one of the main reasons to join a coven: strength in numbers.

Generally, Gods and Goddess form a pantheon for the same reason.  There are pantheons for Celtic, Roman, Egyptian, Greek, Native American, Nordic, Mayan, and African to name a few. If you join a particular group they will probably have a favorite pantheon.  But as a solitary you can make your own choices for yourself and for when you are not with the group.  It doesn't really matter which Gods and Goddesses you pick; a true Pagan will always be able to recognize their personal God or Goddesses in the Gods and Goddesses of other Pagan peoples.  This is as true today as it was a thousand years ago. 

By all means, use the persona of the Gods and Goddesses to facilitate your workings but know in the back of your head that you are actually directing a much higher Power.  What matters is how you relate to the God or Goddesses persona.  How he or she works with you, metaphorically speaking.

So.  Without further adieu, here are the pictures of  Goddesses with a brief bio.  Followed by pictures of Gods.  Each picture links to its full sized version.  

 

Aphrodite Greek Goddess of love and passion: sexual rapture.
Born from the sea daughter of the severed member of Uranus
Her counterparts are: Venus; Roman; Ishtar: Mesopotamia and Ashtart
of the Middle East.  She is also known as Cytherea

 

Aradia: Strega; Queen of the Witches, daughter of the Roman Goddess Diana and Lucifer.  Call on her when you need protection. Takes the form of a cat.

Arianrhod: Welsh: Goddess of the heavens and reincarnation.
Call on her to contact the ancestors.

Artemis: Greek; Goddess of the Moon.  She is also the Celtic Goddess Artio, the Bear Goddess.
Call on Artio to provide inspiration for artistic projects.

Astarte: Greek; Ancient Fertility Goddess

 

Bast; Egyptian; Bast or Bastet is the Goddess of Protection, often taking the form of a cat.

 

 

Brigid; Celtic; She is the often the Mother in the Triple Goddess.
 

Ceres: Roman; Harvest God
Here pictured with Bacchus.
She turned a a man into a newt for mocking Her. 
Perhaps for her tiny little head.
It's where the whole newt thing started.
Oops, shouldn't have said that.
She might turn me into a newtette!
 

Cerridwen: Welsh; Goddess of the Moon and Harvest. 
She is often seen as part of the Triple Goddess.

Demeter: The Greek Goddess Demeter represents fertility and motherhood.  Shown here rescuing her daughter Persephone
from the underworld.

 

Diana: Roman;
Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt
She is the mistress of wild things
protector of the young and vulnerable

 

Dryads: Greek; Spirit of the Trees.
Celtic as Flidais; spirit of the woodlands
who commands the animals.

Flora: Roman; Goddess of Spring,
flowers and beauty and plenty on the earth

 

 

Epona: Celtic and Roman; the Horse Goddess
Riannon in Britain and Macha in Erie
One of the only Celtic deity to have a
place in the Roman pantheon.

 

 

Eos Goddess of Dawn:  brother of Helios sister of Selene
mother of the Evening Star, Eosphorus.
Eostra to the Celts and Aurora to the Romans,
She is the Goddess of Passion and Desire, as many
gods and mortals sought her love including:
Orion, Cephalus, Astaeus, Tithonus, who she turned
into a grasshopper when she lost her desire for him

 

Fortuna: Roman; Goddess of Fate. 
If you need your luck changed she is the one to call upon.

Freya: Norse Moon Goddess and leader of the Valkyries.

 

 

 

Hathor: Egyptian; Goddess of cunning and beauty. 
Protector of women.
The Mirror of Hathor is an important magyc tool

 

Hecate: Greek; Moon Goddess of wisdom.
Often portrayed as the Crone in the Trinity

Hera: Greek Protector of marriage and of wives wronged.
here pictured with Zeus 

Hestia: Greek; Goddess of home and hearth.

Inanna: Sumerian; ancient fertility Goddess

Isis: Egyptian; the collective form of the Egyptian Triple Goddesses. 
Mother Goddess and bringer of life

Lilith: Hebrew;
Adam’s first wife
who is said to have turned into a demoness and flew away. 

 

 

 

Maat: Egyptian; Goddess of Justice and the Divine Order
pictured here with Isis. She's Theis to the Greeks and Lustitia to the Romans, Justicia to the the rest of us.

 

Morgan: Celtic; Goddess of War and Magyc. 
In some versions she is mated with the Merlin,
others she is the Lady of the Lake, others the sister of Arthur
Collectively in the Triple Goddess as Morrigan

 

The Muses: Greek Goddesses of Inspiration. 
 Summon the Muses for creative task such as music, poetry, painting, sculpting, etc.

Nephtys: Egyptian; Goddess of sisters and midwifes,
and fond of surprises.

 

Norns: Celtic; the collective name of the three sisters of fate. 
Another excellent source of good fortune.

 

Nuit: Egyptian; the crown of the heavens, Sky Mother. 
Copulates with Geb to make the world turn.

 

Persephone: Greek; Goddess of Spring and Healing
Goddess of the Underworld her return to the earth
signifies the beginning of spring.   In her underworld
role she advocates for the souls of the dead.
 

Selene: Greek; Goddess of the Moon and logic. 
Call on her when you have a problem to solve.

 

Venus: Roman; Goddess of Love and passion

 

 

 

 

Vesta: Roman; Goddess of Fire protector of home and hearth

 

 

 

 

And the Gods . . .

Amon Re (Ra) Egyptian; Sun God
Greek as Helios.
Celtic as Lugh

Adonis: Greek; lover of Aphrodite.

Anubis: Egyptian; protector of Isis and home and family,
later son of Re (Ra) later son of Osiris

Apollo: Greek and Roman; Sun God

 

Cernunnos: Celtic and Roman; the Horned God of the Hunt

Dionysus: Greek ; Bacchus: Roman;
God of Wine as a social catalyst,
civilization, harmony and justice.  His divine groupies are the Maenads, wild women who pursued Dionysus dancing and carrying on, the first witches, eating the raw flesh of animals.  You go grrrl!

Dagda Celtic; the good God of male competence.

Eros: Greek; the God of love and passion

 

 

Horus: Egyptian; The all seeing eye of Horus.
Call him when you seek to know and understand the truth.

Hymen: Greek Marriage protector and guardian of fidelity.   
Call on Hymen when a relationship is on need of rekindling.
Here Cupid rekindles the torch of Hymen. 

 

Jesus the Christ: Considered by Christians to be their personal savior but in reality a Pagan deity.  (see Jesus the Pagan)

 

 

Lucifer: Strega; Mate of Diana
and father of Aradia. 
God of the Sun and Light,
later vilified by Christianity
as the fallen angel, the devil.

 

 

Odin: Norse; Lord of the Norse pantheon, mate of Freya.

 

Osiris: Egyptian; counterpart of Isis.  Symbolizes power of death. 
Call on Isis and Osiris in situations of great need.

 

Pan: Greek; God of Nature, the Greek Horned God. 
Passion, and partying.
Here with Daphnis 

Poseidon: Greek; God of the Sea

 

Ptah: Egyptian; represents the male facility for competence and craftsmanship.  Call on Ptah when you are doing a project. 

Thor: Norse; Thunder God, Celtic as Taranis

 

 

 

Thoth; Egyptian; God of Reincarnation. 
Moon God.  Bringer of Wisdom.

 

And last but not least,
a picture of  Zeus with
one of his many groupies

 

 

 

A number of visitors have commented on the quality of the Gods and Goddesses here. Unfortunately, the quality of any online image is severely limited by bandwidth--especially to someone on dial-up. But here's a link to several inexpensive picture books that have exquisite images of not only the deities pictured here but almost any you can name. I have several of my favorites framed for my altar and my home. Click here: Pictures of Gods & Goddesses

I hope you enjoyed this brief presentation of many of the most popular Gods and Goddesses.   In addition, it's been stated that an acolyte should avoid mixing pantheons.  For instance a God from the Norse pantheon and a Goddess from a Greek or Roman pantheon.  I don't know about that but it is important to understand the unique aspects of each God and Goddess.  For instance, Diana might be invoked for a love spell that might fall flat unless you are aware that Diana always picks her lovers and does so on the sly, outwardly espousing chastity.  Hera too is a Goddess to evoke carefully.  While she is the patron of  marriage, she is also a vengeful wife who punishes the illicit affairs of her husband Zeus in a horrific manner.  Zeus often had her chained to Mount Olympus because she was so wrathful. 

 

so may it be  
               Reni

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