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Gods and Deities

Introduction

There are “old gods” - that is, the gods who existed before Christianity - for every race and tribe of humans on Earth. A people's gods are a reflection of the people themselves. Many times, some of these gods are depictions of real people who existed in ancient history, whose contributions to the people's survival and success led to mythologization and deification.

When it comes down to it, your ancestral gods know who you are. They are, after all, of your own people, and you carry a connection to them in your very DNA. It really doesn't matter whether you're using the “right” name to commune with or refer to any of your gods. I find it unlikely that a people's true gods are so dependent on semantic accuracy that they cannot be accessed once their names are lost (or change).

With that in mind, this section covers known named gods and goddesses of ancient European folk mythology. You are more than welcome to prefer different names!

Index

Titlesex origindomainmetalherbtool
Berchtaplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigBerchta

Christianization turned Berchta from the loving guardian of children and babies into a child-eating witch of a gruesome nature. This is, of course, false demonization. Otherworldly Oracle notes that in Teutonic mythology, Berchta was the guardian and protector of babies and children.
FGermanicbabies, children, afterlife, weavingsilverbirchkeys, spinner
Notesplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigNotes

Notes
FGermanic, Nordic
Eirplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigEir

According to vikingr.org, Eir is a goddess of healing and folk medicine. She is mentioned several times in Nordic poetry as a skilled physician and goddess of healing, who resides on Lyfjaberg, the “hill of healing.”

She is said to have used the white eirflower in healing rituals.
FNordichealing, medicinecoppereirflowermortar and pestle