Into the Underworld: Psychopomps and Deities of Death
Death. The prospect of death – the word alone – has stirred fear and discomfort amongst the vast majority of people since mankind first came to understand mortality. Death isn’t simply death, but a time when something meets its end, when a light is dimmed, when a door has closed. Death, whether literal or figurative, plays a role in many magical practices and customs, including (though not limited to) divination, spirit work (in its many forms), ritual work, and spell crafting. It is no surprise then that, as death plays so significant a role in magical practice, there are countless folkloric, religious, and mythological deities, spirits, and figures that are associated with (or represent) death, figures that are often also associated with magic in some form or another. This post will explore some of the many deities, spirits, and figures of death, their roles in the crafts of many magical practitioners, and how death deities and figures are incorporated in different practices associated with spirit work.
DEITY OR PSYCHOPOMP?
You’ll see these terms a lot throughout this post, so allow me to take a moment and explain how they’ll be used and their meaning.
Deity – a god or goddess, a divine being.
Psychopomp – a guider of souls to the afterlife, underworld, or thereafter.
These terms are not mutually exclusive, and you’ll find some of the figures featured in this post are both deity and psychopomp.
PSYCHOPOMPS
Psychopomps can be very useful allies to those whose magical practice requires working with or communicating with spirits or the deceased. Since ancient times there have been rites used to invoke psychopomps to help bring a spirit, ancestor, and sometimes even an underworld god to speak with the magician. While the death deities featured in the post shall all have an introduction of their own, I shall only list some of the psychopomps (along with the place of their origin). This is merely to save time, as this is a lengthier post. Some psychopomps are as follows:
-Amokye (Akan)
-Anguta (Inuit)
-Anubis (Egyptian)
-Azrael (Islamic, Christian)
-the Grim Reaper
-Gwyn ap Nudd (Welsh)
-Hecate (Greek)
-Hermanubis (Graeco-Egyptian)
-Hermes (Greek)
-Kharon (Greek, Etruscan)
-Malakh haMavet (Judaism)
-Michael the Archangel (Christian)
-Mercury (Roman)
-Saint Peter (Catholic)
-Samael (Judaism)
-Santa Muerte (Mexican)
-the Shinigami (Japanese)
-the Valkyries (Norse)
-Vanth (Etruscan)
-Veles (Slavic)
DEATH DEITIES
Would that I could include every deity associated with death. Alas, I can do no such thing in one blog post. I offer up, in the meantime, a variety of deities from cultures around the world. Among these, you’ll find those who serve as death deities, those who are guardians or keepers of the realms of the dead, and those whose stories are intrinsically linked to death.
Death deities play essential roles in the magical practices of many witches, particularly those who also identify with pagan religions. These deities can be important allies and teachers to any witch, but most especially to those who practice any form of spirit work. Becoming a devotee of a death deity can help one grow in their spirit work, as well as aid those who practice various forms of divinatory customs.
DEITIES of the ANCIENT NEAR EAST
Allani
(Hurrian)
The Hurrians were a Bronze Age people of the Near East, inhabiting northern Syria, southeastern Anatolia, and upper Mesopotamia. Allani is the Hurrian goddess associated with fate, and the queen of the underworld. Her name means ‘the Lady.’ It is said that her palace sits at the gate of the Dark Earth, the land of the dead. ‘Dark Earth’ is the Hurrian term for the underworld.
It’s said that Allani was an incredibly beautiful, young goddess who never married, who dressed in blue. Allani is believed to have been one of the primordial Hurrian deities, an earlier generation of the gods than the better-known ancient pantheon. Like the Vanir gods of the Norse pantheons and the Formorians of Irish lore, these primordial or primeval gods were around before the rise of the ‘new’ pantheon and its chief god, Teshub.
In on tale, Allani is invoked (along with Ishara) to protect a family from demons. Allani is often mentioned in tales with Ishara, and the pair of goddesses were often worshipped in tandem, sometimes even with one offering made jointly to the goddesses. That being said, Allani was among the primary Hurrian goddesses, along with Ishara and Šauška.
She is sometimes seen as a variation of the Mesopotamian goddess Ereshkigal, but Allani was also worshipped in Mesopotamia under her Akkadian name, ‘Allatu.’
Ereshkigal
(Mesopotamian)
Ereshkigal – Queen of the Great Earth, Goddess of the Underworld. Ereshkigal ruled in the Underworld, the realm of the dead. There she keeps court with the seven judges of the Underworld (according to some sources, the Anunnaki). She could command the gallûs, the great demons of the Underworld, said to be the offspring of hell.
There were various names for the Mesopotamian Underworld. One Sumerian word was Kur, and Ereshkigal was known as the Goddess of Kur. According to the ancient Sumerian poem ‘Inanna’s Descent to the Underworld,’ Kur is a dark, dreary underground cavern. Life in Kur was described as “a shadowy version of life on earth.” Inanna (goddess of love and war) was Ereshkigal’s sister, and it’s stated in the poem that the goddess Ereskigal ruled in Kur. It’s said in this poem that there are seven gates into the Underworld, and anyone who enters Kur (excluding appointed messengers) can never leave.
The Greeks syncretized Ereshkigal into their own pantheon, conflating her with their Hecate. In the heading of one spell, Hecate is called ‘Hecate Ereschkigal.’ This figure is then invoked in a spell to alleviate the caster’s fear of punishment in the afterlife.
Mot
(Canaanite)
A Canaanite god of dead and lord of the Underworld. Mot (and many other Canaanite and Mesopotamian gods) was worshipped by pre-monotheistic Semitic and Jewish peoples, and was well known and attested to within Phoenician, Egyptian, and Ugarit lore. In Canaanite lore, Mot was the powerful god of death, even death personified, and harnessed ‘all the powers that opposed life and fertility.’ Not only was Mot the lord of the Underworld, where he resides, but he is also seen as the lord of all barren places on earth.
Mot is perhaps best known for the tale in which he slays the god Ba’al (god of rain, sky, fertility, and springs). Mot is often referred to as ‘Death’ itself. In some Hebrew scripture, Mot is featured as the personification of Death, using the words ‘Maweth’ and ‘Mavet.’ Some scholars, taking into account the fact that Hebrew scriptures were re-written to support a monotheistic view and narrative post-Elijah, theorize that some stories within the Hebrew Bible are actually re-worked tales that had once featured Mot, including the Book of Job, which some scholars believe to be a reworking of a tale of struggle between the gods Mot and Ba’al. So, too, do some scholars theorize that the origins of the Passover rite can be found in an ancient ritual invoking Mot to bring about an end to the rainy season (invoking Mot, as Mot famously defeats Ba’al).
Mot is also seen as a possible precursor for Thanatos, as the Greeks syncretized many Canaanite and Mesopotamian deities into their pantheon.
ASIAN DEITIES
Yánwáng
(Chinese, Buddhist)
Yánwáng (also called King Yan, Yan Wang, and Yánluówáng / King Yanluo) is a Chinese god of death and Lord of Diyu – the Underworld of Chinese lore. Yánwáng sits above the Ten Kings of Hell, ruling over them from the Underworld capital of Youdu (‘the Dark Capital’ surrounded by shadow and darkness). Yánwáng also sits as judge over the fates of the departed. Like Hades, Yánwáng is one of the most feared of his pantheon, with many who won’t dare even speak his name.
Of his appearance, it is said that Yánwáng is truly fearsome to behold, with dark red skin, large eyes, and a long, black beard. He is often depicted donning a judge’s cap.
Yánwáng is served by Ox-Head and Horse-Face, two formidable guardians of the gates of Diyu. The pair ‘capture’ the souls of the newly deceased and bring them before Yánwáng for judgement. It is also said that Yánwáng knows the name of all those living, all those who have lived, and all those who shall live, all of these names kept (along with the dates of death for each person) in a book.
It is believed that Yánwáng is the product of religious syncretism, having been born from the Hindu lore of the god Yama. Buddhism having come from Hinduism, so, too, did Yánwáng evolve from Hindu lore. That being said, the evolution of Yánwáng has grown into a being with a character all his own, different from Yama and the Hindu tales in many ways. Yánwáng is an incredibly important Buddhist god, venerated by many, particularly in Vietnam, Japan, Korea, China, and Tibet.
Yama
(Indian, Hindu, Buddhist)
Yama is a Hindu god of dharma and death, and lord of the Underworld. It’s taught in the Vedas that Yama became the lord of the Underworld after his death, as his was the first death. In Hindu lore, it’s believed that the deceased enter (if the proper funeral rites are administered) a realm called Pitrloka or Pitr Loka, which is ‘the world of dead ancestors.’ The word ‘pitrs’ is said to mean ‘forefathers.’ Thus, Yama is also called Lord of the Pitrs, as his role as a god of death makes him a keeper of these ancestors.
Yama is usually depicted with pointed fangs and dark gray or black skin. He also has four arms and wears (or is surrounded by) a garland of flames. He is usually portrayed riding a water buffalo and holding a sword and mace, along with a noose or rope.
Yama resides in Yamaloka, where he sits as judge to determine the fate of wrongdoers. He is also a Lokapala, a sacred guardian, of the southern direction. In some Hindu and Buddhist lore, it is said to rule over Naraka, an underworld realm of punishment and torment for wrongdoers. Some tales, rather, specify that Yama dictates which realm of Naraka each soul is to be sent to. He may also determine that a soul doesn’t belong in Naraka at all and may send them to Svarga (a heaven-like paradise) instead.
BALTIC DEITIES
Kalma
(Finnish)
Kalma is the Finnish goddess of death. Indeed, death is so closely linked with Kalma that one Finnish word for a cemetery is kalmisto, and her own name Kalma means ‘the stench of corpses.’ She is said to visit graveyards and burial grounds. She is one of the daughters of the god Tuoni (the personification of darkness) and Tunetar (ruler of Tuonela, the Finnish Underworld) – her sister Loviatar is also a goddess of death. Many sources tell that Kalma resides in Tuonela with her mother.
It is said that Kalma is often (if not always) accompanied by ‘a dog-like monster who guards the gates of Tuonela.’ This dog-like creature is called Surma, which means ‘death.’
Tuonetar
(Finnish)
Tuonetar is the Queen of the Underworld (Tuonela) in Finnish lore. She is also the mother of Kalma, the Finnish goddess of death, and the wife of Tuoni, the Lord of the Underworld and personification of darkness. In Kalevala, it’s explained that only Tuonetar’s children are allowed to leave the Underworld and roam in the land of the living.
Tuonetar is also skilled in magical craft. In Kalevala, it is told that Tuonetar works magic on the demigod Väinämöinen, whom she uses her magic wand against to put to sleep.
CELTIC DEITIES
Arawn
(Welsh)
Arawn is the Welsh king of the Otherworld realm Annwn. As attested to in the First Branch of the Mabinogi, Arawn is the keeper of the cŵn annwn (‘hounds of Annwn’), the spectral hounds of Annwn.
As Wales became Christianized, Arawn became demonized, and the Otherworld of Annwn came to be interpreted as ‘hell.’ This led to a change of role for Arawn, who went from being King of Annwn to Lord of the Damned. Welsh lore surrounding the wild hunt-esque flight of the cŵn annwn was also Christianized, the later versions warning that the hounds rode through the skies to ‘capture human souls’ and to ‘chase the souls of the damned to Annwn.’ Arawn was then said to be the keeper of these damned souls.
Aside from being the King of Annwn, Arawn is said to be gifted in the magical arts. His skill in battle magic is attested to in ‘Cad Goddeu,’ in which Arawn summons an army and blesses them with various magical protections and boons. Arawn is also associated with the season of autumn, with dogs (due to his keeping of the cŵn annwn), and with hunting. The cŵn annwn travel and hunt with Arawn. It’s actually through the Christianization of Welsh and British lore that Arawn comes to be associated with death, as Annwn is never said to be an Otherworld for the souls of the deceased. Rather, it’s previously depicted as a paradisical kingdom, and Arawn simply as its ruler. However, Arawn has now come to be seen as a Lord of the Underworld, rather than a Lord of an Otherworld. Likewise, the cŵn annwn have gone from simply being spectral hunting hounds to being hellhounds and harvesters of souls.
Donn
(Irish)
Donn is an Irish god of the Dead. His Otherworld realm of Tech Duinn is said to be (in Airne Fíngein) a resting or gathering place for the souls of the deceased. Aside from being associated with death, Donn is also associated with stormy weather, thunder, and lightning.
Some lore depicts Donn as an ancestral god, from whom the Gaels descended and to whom the souls of the Gael would return upon death. Other lore described Donn as a spectral or phantom horseman upon a white steed, who could sometimes be encountered in the dark of night. It’s through his depiction as this horseman that Donn’s association with thunder and lightning come about, as they were believed to be a sign that Donn was riding through the skies on his horse.
Tech Duinn is believed by many to be Bull Rock, which sits (along with Cow Rock and Calf Rock off the western point of Dursey Island, an island found at the southwestern tip of the Beara Peninsula.
The Morrígan
(Irish)
Irish battle goddess, goddess of war, of fate, and of death, the Morrígan is one of the most known names of Irish lore, as well as one of the most mysterious and feared goddesses. In the Lebor Gabála Éremm (‘the Book of the Taking of Ireland’), the Morrígan is counted among the Tuatha dé Danann (‘the Tribe of the Goddess Danu’) – a powerful pantheon of Irish deities. Known as the Great Queen and the Phantom Queen, the Morrígan is also a guardian goddess associated with Ireland and the earth, and a goddess of prophecy with great wisdom and magical prowess. Her skills in magic and her association with death and shadow have called many practitioners of witchcraft to her feet.
The Morrígan’s link with death is said to come mostly from her association with war. It’s said that she would decide the fates of those in battle, and some tales speak of the Morrígan flying in the form of a crow over a battle, serving as an omen of who would win and who would fall. The Morrígan was also known to aid her chosen side or warrior in battle. Some tales say that those who should fall in battle may have a vision of the Morrígan washing their bloodied clothes, sealing their fates.
EGYPTIAN DEITIES
Anubis
Anubis – Counter of Hearts, Lord of the Mummy Wrapping, Lord of the Necropolis, Master of Secrets. Before Osiris came to be chiefly associated with the role of Egyptian god of the dead, Anubis held this place. Anubis is one of the oldest gods of the Egyptian pantheon and, perhaps, one of the best known of the Egyptian gods throughout the world. He’s certainly one of the most easily recognized, with his human body bearing the head and tail of a jackal.
The jackal is an animal that has long been associated with death, as it said that they would be seen prowling burial sites, where they would scavenge from the shallower graves they could dig up. It makes sense then that Anubis would have the head and tail of a jackal, cementing his role as a god of death.
After Osiris’ rise in popularity, Anubis was changed from being the god of the dead and lord of the underworld to being the god of funerary rites (specifically of mummification and embalming) and guardian of burial sites, which led to his being seen as a psychopomp, a shepherd for the souls of the dead from the realm of the living into the afterlife. According to Egyptian lore, Anubis embalmed the body of Osiris after Osiris’ murder. The process of this embalming and mummification was later called the Opening of the Mouth, a ritual believed to preserve the deceased so that they would enter the afterlife as they were in life.
Anubis also attended the rite known as ‘the Weighing of the Heart,’ in which Anubis would perform (or, in some sources, oversee) a literal weighing (using magical scales) to decide the fate of souls, to see who was fit to enter the underworld.
Anubis became favored by Egyptian necromancers and practitioners of magic. The god would be invoked in spells and spirit work, asked to fetch a spirit, an ancestor, or even a god from the underworld and bring them to the worker.
Anubis was always incredibly popular, worshipped and revered by many. The Greeks also worshipped him, likening him to fellow psychopomp god Hermes (and putting the two together to form the Graeco-Egyptian psychopomp god Hermanubis).
Nephthys
Nephthys (also called Nebet-Het) is an Egyptian goddess associated with funerary rites and embalming, mourning, protection, magic, darkness and night, weaving (particularly the weaving of bandages) and the dead.
Her likeness is featured in many tombs, for Nephthys came to be seen as a protector of the dead. This is due to her attending the mummification of Osiris, which was carried out by Nephthys’ son, Anubis. Along with her sister, the goddess Isis, Nephthys was seen as a symbol of mourning, serving as a ‘wailing woman.’ The wailing women are mourners, lamenters for the dead and played an integral part in Egyptian funerary customs. As a wailing woman, Nephthys (along with her sister) came to be associated with the kite, a bird with a notably shrill call.
Osiris
Osiris – the Mighty One; god of death, resurrection, and the afterlife. Osiris became among the most prominent of Egyptian gods, from whom the tradition of mummification is believed to have hailed. Osiris serves also as a judge of the dead, deciding who among the dead is to be reincarnated.
Osiris was murdered at the hands of his brother, the god Set. He was revived for a time by the magic of his wife (and sister), Isis. However, he was no long ‘alive’ and therefore couldn’t remain in the land of the living. This is how Osiris came to rule in the Underworld.
Osiris was a widely loved and worshipped god, with a number of annual ceremonies dedicated to Osiris performed annually. Many of these rites centered around rebirth and resurrection symbolism, and others focused on mourning, with a solemn atmosphere as offerings were made to Osiris.
Osiris is most commonly portrayed in a partially mummified state, with his body tightly wrapped but his head, which bears a particular crown called an atef, exposed. The flesh of his face is usually green, gray, or black, believed to be a symbol of his association with death and decay.
GREEK DEITIES
Hades
One of the most famous (and most feared) gods of the Greek pantheon, Hades rules as King of the Underworld and God of the Dead. His name became synonymous with his underworld realm, said to be a place of mist and gloom. Seen as a merciless, powerful, and terrifying god, the Greeks believed that speaking the name Hades (which is thought to mean ‘the unseen one’) would summon the god they so feared or would bring misfortune, or even death, upon them or their house. Due to this, they called him a variety of other names and epithets when speaking of him, including klymenos (‘the notorious’), Plouton (‘wealthy’), and agesilaos (‘the one who leads people away’).
Hades kept court in the Underworld, where he was the head of a minor pantheon of chthonic (meaning ‘relating to or inhabiting the underworld’) deities. His palace was called the House of Hades. Hades ruled in the Underworld with his queen, Persephone, as attested in one of the most famous tales featuring Hades – the story of Hades and Persephone.
Though Hades wasn’t depicted as often as other gods (due to his being considered so scary that artists avoided crafting his likeness), when Hades was depicted, he was often shown as a young, bearded man with dark hair. As keeper of the keys of the underworld, many depictions feature Hades holding keys to the gates of the underworld. Others feature the black steeds that pull his chariot or Cerberus, the famous three-headed dog of the underworld in Greek lore.
Hades was not widely worshipped by ancient Greeks, though funerary rites would sometimes feature a sacrifice or offering to Hades (though those making these offerings would turn their faces away whilst doing so), in hopes of ensuring the soul of the departed would gain passage into the Underworld. Though there were few temples dedicated to Hades, there was a sacred site called the Nekromanteion (meaning ‘Oracle of the Dead’) – ‘a temple of necromancy devoted to Hades and Persephone.’ The site was believed to be on or near an entrance to the Underworld There, folk would gather in hopes to communicate with their ancestors.
Hades is also associated with snakes and owls (particularly screech owls), who are believed by many to be his earthly vessels or symbols of the god.
Thanatos
Thanatos was the personification of death. So feared and loathed was Thanatos, that there is no evidence of there having been any cult dedicated to his worship. Thanatos represented the inevitable end which the Greeks so dreaded, the deaths they could not escape. A portion of an Orphic Hymn contains an invocation of Thanatos that I think captures the feeling of unavoidable dread many of the Greeks may have felt regarding Thanatos, and it reads –
Hear me, O Death, whose empire unconfin'd
extends to mortal tribes of ev'ry kind.
On thee, the portion of our time depends,
whose absence lengthens life, whose presence ends.
Thanatos was described as being stone-hearted and pitiless, and ‘hateful even to deathless gods.’ Later portrayals show Thanatos as a large, frightening man with long, unkempt hair. Earlier depictions, however, feature a younger man with wings.
Thanatos resided ‘beyond the earth’ in the Underworld realm of Nyx (his mother), the personification of night. Thanatos neither served as a psychopomp to the souls of the dead (that was Hermes), nor as a lord in the Underworld (that was Hades). Rather, he was the embodiment of death itself.
IGBO DEITIES
Ala
In Ọdịnanị/Ọ̀dị̀nàlà – a traditional religious and cultural practice of Nigeria’s Igbo people – Ala is the mother of all Arusi, the goddess of and symbol of earth (whose name means ground, earth, or land), goddess of mortality, judge of mortals, goddess of fertility, goddess of creativity and inspiration, and keeper of the ancestors and ruler of the underworld. She holds the highest rank amongst the Arusi (deities and spirits revered in Odinani), all of whom hail from Ala. Though there is another Igbo death deity (Ogbúnàbàlị̀), Ala’s association with death cannot be denied.
It is taught that Ala is the guardian of all deceased ancestors, whose souls are kept in the underworld where Ala holds them in her sacred womb. Ancestral veneration is an integral aspect in Odinani, making Ala’s role as the keeper of the souls of the ancestors most important. It’s said that the ancestors, under Ala’s guardianship, serve as protectors of the Igbo communities. Ancestral shrines are kept in many Igbo communities.
Ala is said to be the most worshipped Arusi, and ‘almost every’ Igbo village has an íhú Ala – a shrine dedicated to Ala. Veneration of Ala is also marked during the Iwa-ji ceremony at the beginning of the yearly New Yam Festival of the Igbo, during which yams are offered to the Arushi and the ancestors.
Ogbunabali
Ogbunabali is a god of death and the act of dying in Odinani, though not at all in the same way in which Ala is associated with death and the dead. Ogbunabali’s name means ‘night killer,’ and it is said that Ogbunabali kill his victims in the night. Some sources say that Ogbunabali’s victims are randomly chosen, though he also takes the lives of criminals, wrongdoers, and the unjust.
Note: Odinani and veneration of the Arusi are closed practices of the Igbo people of Nigeria and diasporic Igbo peoples. I share this limited information about Ala and Ogbunabali for purely academic reasons and in the hopes that members of the Igbo diaspora who may be seeking to reconnect to the traditional beliefs and practices of the Igbo people might find inclusion here and might find a starting point with which to launch their research. I wholeheartedly discourage the practice of Odinani by non-Igbo peoples, or the ‘borrowing’ and stealing from Odinani.
NORSE DEITIES
Hel
Hel is the Norse goddess of death, ruler over the realm of Hel in Niflheim (called the “Halls of Hel” in Völuspá). According to Gylfaginning, it was the god Odin who appointed Hel to her station as the goddess of death and to her seat in the kingdom of Hel, where she ‘rules over vast mansions with many servants.’ In the text, it’s explained that Odin sent the gods to find the children of the god Loki (the children being Hel, Jörmungandr, and Fenrir) due to his concern over prophecies surrounding the children, for he’s come to understand that much trouble can come from these three siblings. So, Odin separated the three children and cast them far and wide – Hel he casts into Niflheim, granting her authority there and leaving her with the responsibility that she must “administer board and lodging to those sent to her, and that is those who die of sickness or old age.” Later sources came to depict the realm of Hel as also a place for murderers, criminals, and the unjust, though this may have been due to Christianization of Norse lore.
As for her appearance, it is said that Hel’s visage is split in two – half being ‘flesh-hued’ and half being blue (though many depictions feature half of her being as that of a corpse or a skeleton instead of being blue).
NORTH AMERICAN FIGURES
Santa Muerte
(Mexican, Central American)
Santa Muerte (or Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte – Our Lady of Holy Death) is a folk saint in Mexican folk Catholicism and Mexican lore (as well as in lore from other Central American areas). Some see Santa Muerte as a deity, some see her as a spirit, some see her as a personification of death, and some see her as something else still yet. In whatever way one may choose to categorize Santa Muerte, there is no doubting her strong connection with death and the dead.
Also associated with protection an healing, Santa Muerte is seen as a psychopomp, one who ensures a safe journey into the afterlife for the souls of the departed. She has become a guardian and protector figure for many members of the LGBTQ+ community members of Mexico, who seek her protection from violence and homophobic or transphobic hatred. She is also called (among many other names) Santisma Muerte, la Huesuda (‘the Bony Lady’), and Señora de las Sombras (‘Lady of Shadows’),
Early depictions of Santa Muerte sometimes featured a male figure instead of the more commonly seen female figure. Nowadays, Santa Muerte is easily recognizable – a skeletal woman dressed in long robes, usually holding a scythe and sometimes holding a globe or the earth, though she can also be found holding an hourglass, a set of scales, or a lamp/candle. Sometimes, she is depicted with an owl upon her shoulder or arm. Some also view the owl as Santa Muerte’s earthly messenger.
ROMAN DEITIES
Trigger Warning: mentions of rape
Dea Tacita
Dea Tacita –Goddess of the Dead. Also known as Dea Muta (‘the Silent Goddess’) and Muta Tacita, and also seen as being the true identity of the naiad figure Larunda. As attested in Ovid’s ‘Fasti,’ Larunda “betrays” Jupiter by warning the nymph Juturna that Jupiter planned to rape her. To punish Larunda for revealing his evil intent, Jupiter rips out Larunda’s tongue and has Mercury cast Larunda to the gates of the Underworld. Mercury rapes Larunda as he conducts this awful business.
Aside from being associated with the dead and the land of spirits, Dea Tacita is, as Larunda, seen by many as a protector of women, who can be invoked to bring pain, suffering, destruction, and vengeance upon men who have wronged women. Fasti includes a passage that tells of a rite used to invoke Dea Tacita, calling upon her to seal up hostile mouths and unfriendly tongues.
Dis Pater
Seen as the equivalent of Hades, Dis Pater (also known by Orcus, Plato, and Rex Infernus) is the Roman God of the Infernal Regions – the Underworld. He is also associated with agriculture and mineral wealth. He came to be linked with death and the underworld due to his role as a god of mineral wealth and mineral extraction, as the gems and metals associated with him came from underground. Over time, this underground association became an Underworld association, and Dis Pater came to be the God of the Dead.
Dis Pater rules the Underworld and lords over the spirits of the dead. His wife, Proserpina (the Roman equivalent of Persephone) serves as Queen of the Underworld.
SLAVIC DEITIES
Morana
Known as Mora (Bulgarian), Morana (Czech, Slovac), Morè (Lithunaian), Marzanna (Polish), and Marena (Russian), Morana is a prominent Slavic goddess of winter, cold and frost, of agriculture, and of death. She is also associated with dreams and magic.
In much Slavic lore, Morana is a personification of winter itself. It’s said that she slumbers or dies with the coming of spring, to be reborn again and return in the winter. Effigies of Morana are paraded to rivers and drowned in a winter rite to hasten the coming of spring. It is taught that the drowning of the effigies is symbolic of Morana’s descent and return to the Underworld, where she shall stay until winter’s return.
SOURCES & FURTHER READING:
‘A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology’ – Leick, Gwendolyn
‘A History of the Jewish People’ – Sasson, Ben; Hillel, Haim
‘An Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures’ – Briggs, Katharine M.
‘the Anatolian Fate-Goddesses and their Different Traditions’ – Archi, Alfonso
‘the Ancient Roman Afterlife: Di Manes, Belief, and the Cult of the Dead’ – King, Charles
‘Aspects of the Goddess Nephthys, Especially During the Graeco-Roman Period in Egypt’ – Lévai, Jessica
‘Cad Goddeau’ – a medieval Welsh poem; 14th-century manuscript the ‘Book of Taliesin’
‘Canaanite Myths & Legends’ – Gibson, John C.
‘the Celtic Myths: A Guide to the Ancient Gods and Legends’ – Aldhouse-Green, Miranda
‘Chinese Culture: Folklores, Festivals, Deities’ – Eng, Khoo Boo
‘the Dancing Lares and the Serpent in the Garden: Religion at the Roman Street Corner’ – Flower, Harriet I.
‘Death is Women’s Work: Santa Muerte, a Folk Saint and Her Female Followers’ – Kingsbury, Kate
‘Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint’ – Chesnut, R. Andrew
‘the Dictionary of Classical Mythology’ – Grimal
Dis Pater | Underworld, Underworld God, Roman Mythology | Britannica
‘Druids, Gods, & Heroes from Celtic Mythology’ – Ross, Anne
‘the Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt’ – Studwick, Helen
‘the Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore’ – Morgan, Patricia
‘the Encyclopedia of Death and the Human Experience’ – Bryant, Clifton D.
‘the Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines’ – Morgan, Patricia
‘the Encyclopedia of Russian & Slavic Myth & Legend’ – Dixon-Kennedy, Mike
‘Fasti’ – Ovid
‘Finnish Legends for English Children’ - Eivind, R.
‘Fragments from a Catabasis Ritual in a Greek Magical Papyrus’ – Betz, Hans Dieter
‘Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships, and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources’ -Asher-Greve, Julia M. & Westenholz, Joan G.
‘The Gods and Goddesses of Canaan’ – Spar, Ira
Hades – Mythopedia
‘Iliad’ – Homer
the Irish Pagan School
‘Kalevala’ – Elias Lönnrot
‘Lebor Gabála Érenn’
‘the Mabinogion’ – from ‘Peniarth manuscript’
‘Mordid Magic: Death Spirituality and Culture from Around the World’ – Prower, Tomás
Osiris – Mythopedia
‘the Prose Edda’
‘Rethinking the Halls of Hades’ – Wiseman, J.
Roman religion - Veneration, Objects, Rituals | Britannica
‘the Sacred Isle: Belief and Religion in pre-Christian Ireland’ – Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí
‘Santa Muerte: the Fastest Growing New Religious Movement in the Americas’ (archived lecture) – Chestnut, R. Andrew
‘the Song of the Sea and the Subversion of Canaanite Myth: A Missional Reading’ – Russell, Brian D.
‘Sumerian Mythology: A Study of Spiritual and Literary achievement in the Third Millenium B.C.’ – Kramer, Samuel Noah
‘Theogony’ - Hesiod
‘Unterwelt, Unterweltsgottheiten C. In Anatoilien’ – Wilhelm, Gernot
‘Völupsá’
Indian Myth and Legend: Chapter III. Yama, the First Man, and King of the Dead