Gods and Goddesses of Darkness

Apollo
Greek god of the sun, light, music, song, medicine, and healing. Patron of herdsmen.

Apollo's mother Leto was forced to run from Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus. She went to the Island of Delos and delivered her two children- the twins, Apollo and Artemis.

Though the god of light, Apollo had a dark side. Under the name of Carneios, he is seen as a god of death. He and Artemis slew all of their mother Leto's children when Niobe, their grandmother, claimed all of Leto's children were more beautiful than the gods.

Apollo was worshipped at the oracle of Delphi, where a priestess who give forth his predictions. The Greeks believed that the egyptian God Heru and Apollo were the same deities. He is the twin brother of Artemis. Apollo's minor associations include black magic, blessing, justice, divination, oracles, prophecy, creativity, fertility, productivity, success.

Athena
Greek Goddess of war and wisdom. She is the daughter of Zeus, born by springing forth fully grown from his forehead. It is believed that she was conceived to carry out deeds that Zeus could not do but would want to.

Her name, "Pallas Athene", is representative of her dual nature. She can be seen as "Pallas", goddess of storms, courage, strength, battle, war, chivalry, and victory. She can also be "Athene", the goddess of peace, beauty, wisdom, creativity, education, science, and the arts.

She was responsible for teaching mortals natal care and healing. She also invented the flute, created the olive tree, and showed men how to train horses.

Athena is the patron of craftsmen and the protector of cities. Her animal symbols are the cock, snake, owl, and olive tree.

I begin to sing of Pallas Athena, the glorious Goddess, bright-eyed,
inventive, unbending of heart,
pure virgin, saviour of cities,
courageous, Tritogeneia. Wise Zeus himself bore her
from his awful head, arrayed in warlike arms
of flashing gold, and awe seized all the gods as they gazed.
But Athena sprang quickly from the immortal head
and stood before Zeus who holds the aegis,
shaking a sharp spear: great Olympus began to reel horribly
at the might of the bright-eyed Goddess,
and earth round about cried fearfully,
and the sea was moved and tossed with dark waves,
while foam burst forth suddenly:
the bright Son of Hyperion stopped his swift-footed horses a long while,
until the maiden Pallas Athena had stripped the heavenly armour from her immortal shoulders.
And wise Zeus was glad.
And so hail to you, daughter of Zeus who holds the aegis!

-Homeric Hmyn #28

Brighid
Celtic (Irish). One of the triple goddesses of the Celtic pantheon. She is the daughter of The Dagda, the deity of the Tuatha de Danaan, one of the most ancient people of Northern Europe. Some say there are actually three Brigits; one is in charge of poetry and inspiration; one is in charge of midwifery and healing, and the last is in charge of crafts and smiths.

She probably began as a sun goddess. According to legend, she was born at sunrise and a tower of flame beamed from her head.

As goddess of fire and water, she is immortalized by many wells and springs. Most important of her monuments, though, was a shrine at Kildare where there was a perpetual flame burning for Brigit. It was tended by nineteen virgins called the Daughters of the Flame. They would not talk to men, nor could men come near the shrine.

When Christianity began its onset, so loved was Brigit that she was made a saint. However, the upkeep on her flame was considered pagan by the church and it was extinguished out of more than a thousand years of burning. St. Brigit remains one of the most popular Irish saints today, along with Saint Patrick.

Identical to Juno, Queen of Heaven. Symbolizes human potential. Also known as Brigit, Brigid, Brigindo, Bride.

Dark the bitter winter,
cutting its sharpness,
but Bride's mantle
brings spring to Ireland.

-Translated from Gaelic text.

Glooskap
An Algonquin Indian god, his name means "The Liar" but is spoke with the utmost respect. Symbolizes speed, wisdom, heroicism, cunning.

Glooskap worked long and hard to make the lives of men better and more joyful, but no matter what evils he destroyed, new evils were always springing up. So, eventually he decided to return to his home land. But before he did, he would give men a chance (for seven years) to make wishes. If they were good, he would grant them. But he would punish those who made evil or unwise requests.

One day, four Indians arrived at his home to make their wishes. The first said his heart was black and a demon of anger would often arise within him. He asked for his heart to be cleaned.

The second said he was poor, and wished for fortune and fine things.

The third said the people of his tribe thought little of him, and he wished to gain honor and respect.

The fourth man was very proud and conceited. He puffed his chest out and stood on his tiptoes and said, "I wish to be taller and bigger than any man, and live many ages."

Glooskap gave each man a little box and instructed them not to open the box until they got home. The first three rushed home and opened their boxes, finding a sweet-smelling ointment within. They rubbed it on their bodies, and their wishes came true. The fourth got his wish granted as well. He did not obey Glooskap and wait until he got home, but instead stopped in the forest and rubbed himself with the balm from his box. He found himself growing taller and bigger; at the same time he became dark and stiff, until at last he became a pine tree. He was the tallest tree in the forest, and lived for many ages.

Hecate
"Goddess of the Witches", "Goddess of the Dark Moon". The original incarnation of the holy trinity, the crone aspect of the triple goddess. She was warped by the coming and spread of Christianity into a demonic, evil monster to obscure her importance in healing and love magic. She symbolizes blessing, cursing, luck, divination, the moon, oracles, prophecy, magical empowerment, mutation, healing, wisdom, women's mysteries.

Kali
Hindu black earth mother. It is said that she induces fear in anyone who looks upon her, so grim is her appearance. She is a dark, destructive aspect of the goddess, and is known for giving life and then taking it away again. She often eats her own children for sustainance. She is worshipped primarily by assassins. She symbolizes the moon, protection, divination, creation, necromancy, combat.

There is no light, nor any motion.
There is no mass, nor any sound.
Still, in the lampless heart of the ocean,
Fasten me down and hold me drowned
Within thy womb, within thy thought,
Where there is naught-
where there is naught!

-Aleister Crowley, "Kali" (excerpt)

Set
Egyptian god of darkness and evil. Known for murdering his brother, but was also revered as a protector of Egypt. Set was one of the earliest Egyptian deities, a god of the night often identified with the northern stars. He was variously hailed as a source of strength, and a protector, especially from the serpent Apep.

Within Egyptian theology, there are conflicting opinions regarding Set's strength and warlike resolution. At first, pictures of a god with two heads- that of Set, as the god of darkness, and that of his brother Horus, god of light, appeared. At first this was a symbol of harmony, the union of polarities. However, later, it was regarded as a symbol of the conflict between dark and light. Set is depicted as being untamed and wild looking with white skin and fiery red hair. He is symbolized by barren wastelands and deserts. Also known as Seth, Seti.

Ti-Tsang Wang
Chinese god of mercy. Wandering in the caverns of Hell, a lost soul might encounter Ti-Tsang Wang, who will do all he can to help the soul escape hell and even to put an end to his eternal round of death and rebirth.

Long ago, Ti-Tsang Wang renounced Nirvana so that he could search the dark regions of Hell for souls to save from the kings of the ten underworlds. Once a priest of Brahma (Hinduism), he converted to Buddhism and himself became a Buddha with special authority over the souls of the dead.