by Jo Howard

Created on: September 20, 2008

There is one complication within Paganism that most new comers feel over their head about: the overabundance of gods and goddesses. Due to the fact that Paganism is built for the worshiper, any god or goddess is available for worship. While I wish I could go over every higher being available, I'm going to have to stick to a few gods, organized by location.

Pagans often overlook Africa, which is a pity because it has an abundance of folklore, magic and gods. One example is Nayame of the Ashanti people. Nayame is the Supreme God that created the earth, the sky, and the Underworld. It is he that also assigns each person his or her destiny.

Across the Atlantic Ocean resides the Aztecs. Their most compassionate god is Quetzalcoatl. He is the feathered serpent, the god of the winds. He is thought to lift the sun out of the dark of night, bringing in the new day. He is also praised as the one who created the calendar for the Azec people.

The Celtic pantheon is a complex world of myth and legend. Among these stories are Nuadhu, god healing and water. This is unique in that it is often considered that healing and water are attributes connected to the female, not the male.

Within the Egyptian pantheon is the very misunderstood god Set (or, as the Greeks called him, Seth). Set is the god of darkness, the desert, storms, warriors, and chaos. Before the unity of Upper and Lower Egypt, Set was a fierce protector of his followers. It was not until Egypt was unified and the myth of Osiris' death spread that Set was labeled the god of evil.

Greek mythology is well known to most, especially those who were subject to American education. So, it comes as no little surprise that Hades is the god of the Underworld, keeper of he dead. To the Romans, he is known as Pluto.

In the Mesopotamian world there was a god that went by the name of Sin. Contrary to the image his name might create, Sin was in fact a god of wisdom who detested all evil spirits. Oddly enough, he was also a moon god, a title that was normally given to goddesses instead of gods.

For the Norse there was Thor, god of thunder, law, and order. Out of all the Norse gods, Thor survived the longest when Christianity swept through the land.

There are certainly more gods than this. A massive book could be written on the gods of the world. This is, however, a start. Each god's description gives you some idea as to what that particular pantheon is like. If a person was to dig deeper, they could certainly use this to their advantage.

Resources:
Pagan Resource Guide - http://waningmoon.com/guide/library/lib0019.shtml
A Small Dictionary of Pagan Gods & Goddesses - http://www.unc.edu/~reddeer/index/god_dess_es.html

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