Baal originally was probably a storm god, but after the advent of agricultural societies in the middle east, he became a vegetation and fertility god. We all remember the stories of the Bible and the golden calf. Well, Baal is often pictured with bull horns to represent his fertility aspect, and Baal is said to have been the father of a bull calf, who guaranteed his power in his absence. Baal was often away in battle with the forces of Chaos and at one point entered into the underworld to do battle. The bull calf supposedly represented his power, which is why the Bible rales against worship of the Golden Calf. Baal was a diety of the Phonecians who lived on the Mediterranean coast of what is now Lebanon and Israel. His connection with agriculture is furthered by the fact that the peoples of Carthage equated him with Saturnus, the god of seed-sowing.
As we have traveled around the world investigating different aspects of vegetation and fertility gods and their relation with OrishaOko, we find that we return where we stared, in Africa. Min was the true fertility god of the Egyptians. He was considered to be the son of Isis. His sacred animal was the white bull which links him both to Baal and OrishaOko. Like Xipetotec he was also associated with gold and metallurgy and was also considered a god of the mines where gold was found. Gold is the element associated with the Sun, which is the representation of the creative forces of our Solar System and Universe. The sun is what gives life to vegetation and indeed all life here on earth. It is only natural that the gods of fertility and agriculture are connected to this element which also represents the Divine Fire that is present in all of us.
