Weekly Deity: Crow

Crow is a deity of the Iroquois tribe in North America.  He is a symbol of wisdom, being a wise creature, and also a deity of corn.  Also known as Ga-Gaah, for the sound he makes.

Attributes

Crow appears to the people as a bird, not as an anthropomorphous deity.  He does not change shape or take on human attributes.  He remains a large black crow.

Mythology

This deity is very important to the people.  When Crow came to earth, he brought with him in his ear a grain of corn.   This grain of corn fell out as he flew and was planted by the god Hahgwehdiyu, the good creator deity, in the body of his mother, Atahensic, the earth.  This planted grain soon grew and became the first ear of corn.  The Iroquois then learned how to plant and harvest corn, their staple crop.  At every harvest and every summer when the corn is tall, Crow is allowed to hover over the fields and eat the grubs, and he receives the first share of the corn as thanks.

Light and Dark Sides

Crow is a wise deity, although this does not come across in his myth.  To me, it seems more that the grain of corn in his ear was an accidental happenstance–but then, who would know?  Still, Crow is considered a wise deity by the Iroquois, though it would also be wise to remember some of the other attributes of crows when working with Crow: they like shiny things, and are sometimes braggarts, although in Crow’s case, he has the right to brag since he brought such an important crop to the people.  But keep that bit of arrogance in mind.  Crow can also be seen as partially a fertility god, since he was instrumental in bringing the corn to life and bringing growth to the people.  All in all, he seems like a pretty good deity to work with, neither Light nor Darkbut somewhat neutral.

Weekly Deity: Bragi

19-century version of Bragi and Idunn

Bragi was the Nordic god of skaldic poetry.

Attributes

This god was usually shown with a harp, to mark his association with poetry.  Sometimes he was pictured with his wife.  Often he was shown as a bearded middle-aged or older man with a harp.

Mythology

In Snorri Sturluson’s Edda, Bragi is listed as a son of Odin and the first maker of poetry.  However, this is listed only here, so this relationship is debatable.  His wife is Iðunn, the keeper of apples and a goddess and bestower of eternal youthfulness.

In Nordic culture, poets were very important.  They kept the histories and genealogies of the people, and spread news between areas.  They also provided entertainment in the form of poems and songs in the halls.  Those poems were usually about heroes and/or the deities.

Bragi, and the skaldic poets who followed him, was known to be very eloquent, fluent, and wise. For those interested in this, the word “skald” is related in meaning to the West Germanic counterpart “scop” (pronounced “shop”), which meant a poet.  Skaldic poetry was more courtly in nature, and was not necessarily sung but spoken.  Its content also dealt more with earthly kings than with mythological heroes or the gods.  This is the poetry Bragi was master and originator of.

In the poem “Lokasenna” from Snorri’s Poetic Edda, Bragi is considered something of a coward.  At first he attempts to bar Loki from the hall, but Odin overrides him.  Loki takes offense at Bragi’s attempts and refuses to give a greeting to Bragi, but greets all the others present.  Bragi, in an attempt to make peace, offers Loki his horse, an arm ring, and his sword.  Loki refuses all these gifts and instead accuses Bragi of cowardice and being afraid to fight.  In return, Bragi claims that if they were outside of the hall, he would fight Loki and have his head.  Idunn interferes and holds Bragi back from the fight, and Loki then insults her, calling her sexually loose.  Bragi plays no further part in the story.

In a part of Snorri’s Prose Edda, the story Skáldskaparmál, Bragi and Aegir (god of the sea) have a discussion about the nature of skaldic poetry and what comprises this poetic form.  He also discusses the origin and form of a type of poetic metaphor, called kennings, of which Bragi gives an extensive description and list.

In Snorri’s Edda, there is a record of mortal poets also named Bragi.

Light and Dark Sides

On the one hand, Bragi is eloquent and wise.  He is only hot-tempered when his honor and courage are challenged.  He is the creator of skaldic poetry, and knows his art.  Bragi appears to mostly stand on the sidelines of Nordic mythology and record events, but he is no coward.  In some of the stories, there is a pattern of Bragi being the first to greet gods and heroes when they enter the hall (though it is questionable whether this greeter is actually the deity or a very honored man).  Still, this function of being a greeter at the open door implies welcome and, in conjunction with the open doors, perhaps also a facilitator of new opportunities.  However, that function would be open to interpretation for anyone who works with Bragi.

On his negative side, he can be at times a little irrational.  Considering his response to Loki, he was rather hot-tempered, but he was also pushed beyond what was considered reasonable boundaries in a culture so defined by courage and honor.

Bragi can be seen as a wise older figure who knows the value of speech and poetry, and who knows when the limits have been exceeded.  He can also be seen as the opener of doors or the guardian of the gateways, but remember that this particular interpretation of Bragi’s function is completely subjective to the practitioner.

Weekly Deity: Ecne

Ecne was a Celtic god.  He was one of the Tuatha de Danann and the god of wisdom/knowledge.

Attributes

It is unknown what Ecne looks like.  I couldn’t find this information written or in an image.

Mythology

According to Celtic lore, Ecne was the son of three brothers, each his father: Brian, Iuchar, and Iucharba.  These three brothers were the sons of the goddess Brighid and god Tuireann.  There is some debate, however, about whether the three brothers were born of Brighid or another goddess, Danand, who was the daughter of Tuireann.  Regardless, their father seems set to be Tuireann.  The three sons are often considered to be the three gods of dan, or knowledge.  Thus Ecne is the son of knowledge.

Ecne’s fathers are also notable because they killed Cian, the father of Lugh.

Unfortunately, Ecne does not appear to have his own myths that would tell us what his personality is supposed to be like.

Light and Dark Sides

Because Ecne has no legends of his own, nor does he seem to be a player in other myths, we don’t know what his Light or Dark sides are like.  We can only guess that he would be a Light deity since he is a god of wisdom, and in general wisdom is placed on the Light side of the scale.  Wisdom itself is neither good nor bad, but a tool, so lacking any further information we could say Ecne is a neutral deity, which may be closer to his personality anyway.

Weekly Deity: Athena

Image taken from Google Image search

I chose Athena as the first goddess in my weekly review because she is probably my all-time favorite.  Something about her speaks to me and she has been a favorite since I first began reading mythology as a child.

Athena (also spelled Athene) is a Greek goddess of war, wisdom, and crafts.  In Rome her equivalent was Minerva.  She is also called Pallas Athena and Athena Parthenos among the Greeks.

Attributes

Athena’s attributes (the items she is normally portrayed with in art) include a helm on her head, a spear in hand, and either a shield or an aegis or both.  An aegis is a breastplate, and Athena’s is actually Zeus’ aegis that he had given to her.  At times the shield or the aegis or both are portrayed as having a Gorgon’s head on it, which was actually a symbol of protection to begin with and only later is associated with the ability to frighten or terrorize.  Owls and snakes are sacred to Athena, and she is often shown with one or both.  When in her aspect as a war goddess, the snake is sometimes shown twined around her spear or on her shield, but in her aspect of a craft and wisdom goddess, the owl is often with her instead of the snake.

Myths

Some of her myths include the myth of Erectheus/Erichthonius, her birth, Medusa, Tiresias, naming of Athens, and the myth with Arachne.  Athena is the child of Zeus and Metis (a Titaness whose name meant something like “wisdom” or “cunning wisdom”).  The myth goes that Zeus swallowed his pregnant wife Metis to forestall any possibility of her producing a son that could supplant him the way he had supplanted his father Ouranos.  But since Metis was already pregnant with Athena, she had to be born at some point.  Metis crafted her daughter clothing and weapons, but the hammering of the metal was too much for Zeus to bear.  Zeus was in so much pain from this torture that he asked Hephaestos to crack open his skull and relieve the pain.  Hephaestos took up his hammer and cracked Zeus’ head open, and from the crack Athena emerged, fully grown and carrying her armor.

Image taken from Google Image search

Probably the well-known myth of Athena is the story of Arachne (whose name means “Spider”).  A young woman named Arachne boasted that her weaving was as good as or better than the weaving of the goddess Athena.  Athena heard this boast and decided to approach the girl first in the guise of an old woman.  The disguised goddess warned Arachne about challenging the gods, but Arachne ignored the warning and wished she could have a weaving contest with Athena herself.  The goddess revealed herself and took up the contest.  The best tapestry would win the contest, and both worked hard to make their tapestry the best.  Athena’s tapestry portrayed her victory over Poseidon in winning Athens.  Arachne’s tapestry depicted the infidelities of the gods, namely Zeus.  While Athena admitted that Arachne’s tapestry was indeed flawess, she was outraged that Arachne would choose such a subject.  So Athena destroyed Arachne’s tapestry and loom.  Arachne was so distraught and shamed that she hung herself.  Some version of the myth say that Athena then took pity on the girl and turned her into a spider to live again as a weaver.

Athena and Poseidon, the sea-god and Athena’s uncle, had a dispute about the naming of the city of Athens.  When neither would give way, they agreed that each would give the Athenians a gift, and the best gift would win.  The Athenians gathered to decide outside the city walls.  Poseidon struck the ground and caused a spring to well up, giving the Athenians a water source.  But the water was salty and not very good for drinking or growing.  Athena instead offered them an olive tree, which would bring them oil, wood, wealth, and food.  The Athenians accepted the olive tree and the patronage of Athena.

For more information on mythology, I suggest taking a look at Encyclopedia Mythica.

Light side

On her light side, Athena is courageous, wise, intelligent, and artistic and crafty.  She is the embodiment of an intelligent and strong female leader who not only has all the womanly arts but is able to move in a man’s world as well. Athena is the spirit of wise leadership.  In her aspect as the goddess of wisdom, she is also a representative of what the Greeks call “sophia,” or wisdom, and thus divine wisdom and knowledge.  With this divine wisdom she has the ability to inspire humans to their craft, their studies, or to battle.  As a virgin goddess, she is not a motherly figure, but rather a protector of the home and family.  She also can act as a guide or a counselor, but she can only advise from afar, as she was for Odysseus in Homer’s “The Odyssey” and as judge of Orestes in Aeschylus’ Oresteia.

Dark side

Like all deities, Athena has a dark side as well.  She is proud, as in the Arachne myth when Arachne grows boastful and stings Athena’s pride with her weaving.  Athena is a goddess of the Mind, and this can create the problem of being too rational and detached.  While she is the goddess of craftsmen, her inspiration of their arts does not come from the heart or a passion for the craft, but from a cool and reasoning part of the mind that takes functions from numbers and logic instead of passion.  Weaving, for example, is a craft that must be plotted and planned, and perfection can only be mastered with a great deal of practice.  She is an intellectual, and while this quality can be a great thing, it can also be highly negative by turning the person too far inward into themselves–an introspective outlook.  Athena can be see as cool, stubborn, and detached.

An interesting website I came across in my search was this one: Warrior Archetype.  It has more information on the qualities of Athena as warrior, virgin, and intellectual.

Personally, I like Athena a great deal.  I think there are many things to admire in her, and she is the goddess I felt an attraction to first and longest.  Her courage and wisdom inspire me.  However, like all things, her dark side is just as interesting and just as valid as her light side.