List of nature deities

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The Dryad by Evelyn De Morgan, depicting a Greek dryad or tree nymph

In nature worship, a nature deity is a deity in charge of forces of nature such as water deity, vegetation deity, sky deity, solar deity, fire deity or any other naturally occurring phenomena such as death deity or fertility deity. Accepted in panentheism, pantheism, deism, polytheism, animism, totemism, shamanism and paganism the deity embodies natural forces and can have characteristics of the mother goddess, Mother Nature or lord of the animals.

African mythology

  • Aja, Yoruba orisha, patron of the forest, the animals within it and herbal healers

Arabian mythology

Aztec mythology

  • Xochipilli, god of art, games, beauty, dance, flowers, maize and song
  • Xochiquetzal, goddess of fertility, beauty, female sexual power, protection of young mothers, of pregnancy, childbirth, vegetation, flowers and the crafts of women

Baltic mythology

Celtic mythology

  • Abnoba, Gaulish goddess associated with forests and rivers
  • Artio, Gaulish bear goddess of the wilderness
  • Arduinna, goddess of the Ardennes forest region, represented as a huntress
  • Cernunnos, horned god associated with horned male animals, produce and fertility
  • Druantia, goddess associated with trees
  • Nantosuelta, Gaulish goddess of nature, the earth, fire, and fertility
  • Sucellus, god of agriculture, forests and alcoholic drinks
  • Viridios, god of vegetation, rebirth and agriculture, possibly cognate with the Green Man

Chinese mythology

Twelve Deities of Flowers

  • Qu Yuan, God of the Orchid
  • Lin Bu, God of the Plum Blossom
  • Pi Rixui, God of the Peach Blossom
  • Ouyang Xiu, God of the Peony (Paeonia suffruticosa)
  • Su Dongpo, God of the Peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall)
  • Jiang Yan, God of the Pomegranate
  • Zhou Dunyi, God of the Lotus
  • Yan Wanli, God of the Crape Myrtle Flower
  • Hong Shi, God of the Osmanthus
  • Fan Cheng, God of the Hibiscus
  • Tao Qian, God of the Chrysanthemum
  • Gao Sisun, God of the Paperwhite

Egyptian mythology

  • Ash, god of the oasis and the vineyards of the western Nile Delta

English mythology

  • Churnmilk Peg or Churn Milk Peg, a faerie hag who was guardian of the hazelnut thickets. Her task was to prevent naughty children from collecting the nuts before they were ripe.[1]

Etruscan mythology

Finnish mythology

  • Lempo, god of wilderness and archery
  • Tapio, god and ruler of forests
  • Mielikki, goddess of forests and the hunt. Wife of Tapio.

Greek mythology

  • Actaeon, The horned god of the wilderness, wild animals, the hunt and especially male Animals and the stags
  • Antheia, goddess of flowers and flowery wreaths
  • Anthousai, flower nymphs
  • Artemis, goddess of the hunt, the dark, moon, the light, wild animals, nature, wilderness, childbirth, virginity, fertility, young girls and health and plague in women and childhood. also known as "the shadows of the night"
  • Charites, goddesses of charm, human creativity, and fertility
  • Chloris, goddess of flowers and the spring
  • Cybele, Phrygian goddess of the fertile earth and wild animals
  • Demeter, goddess of the harvest, crops, the fertility of the earth, grains and the seasons
  • Dionysus, god of wine, revelry, vegetation, pleasure and festivity. Roman equivalent is Bacchus.[2]
  • Dryads, tree and forest nymphs
  • Druses, male tree and forest spirits
  • Epimeliades, nymphs of highland pastures and protectors of sheep flocks
  • Gaea, the goddess of the earth and its personification. She is also the primal mother goddess.
  • Hamadryades, oak tree dryades
  • Hegemone, goddess of plants, specifically making them bloom and bear fruit as they were supposed to
  • Horae, goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time
  • Meliae, nymphs of honey and the ash tree
  • Nymphs, nature spirits, little fairy-like creture
  • Nymphuses, male nature spirits/Male Nymphs
  • Naiades, fresh water nymphs
  • Oceanides, salt water nymphs
  • Oreades, mountain nymphs
  • Pan, god of shepherds, flocks, mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music
  • Physis, primeval goddess of nature
  • Rhea, goddess of fertility, motherhood and the mountain wilds
  • Satyrs, rustic nature spirits
  • Satyresses, female rustic nature spirits

Hinduism

  • Aranyani, goddess of the forests and the animals that dwell within it

Inca mythology

  • Pachamama, fertility goddess who presides over planting, harvesting and earthquakes

Japanese mythology

Māori mythology

  • Papa, personification of the earth
  • Ruaumoko, god of volcanoes and seasons

Maya mythology

  • Yum Caax, god of agriculture, wild plants and animals

Mesopotamian mythology

  • Abu, minor Sumerian god of plants
  • Damu, Sumerian god of vegetation and rebirth
  • Emesh, Sumerian god of vegetation
  • Kishar, Akkadian goddess representing the earth
  • Ningal, Sumerian goddess of reeds
  • Ninhursag, Sumerian mother goddess associated with the earth and fertility
  • Ningikuga, Sumerian goddess of reeds and marshes
  • Ninsar, Sumerian goddess of plants
  • Ua-Ildak, Babylonian and Akkadian goddess responsible for pastures and poplar trees

Micronesian mythology

Native American mythology

Nordic folklore

Norse mythology

  • Jörð, personification of the earth. She is the Icelandic version of Fjörgyn, and the mother of Thor
  • Idun or Ithunn, the goddess of spring who guarded the apples that kept the gods eternally young; wife of the god Bragi[3]
  • Fjörgyn, the female personification of the earth. She is also the mother of the goddess Frigg and, very rarely, mother of Thor
  • Freyja, goddess of fertility, gold, death, love, beauty, war and magic
  • Freyr, god of fertility, rain, sunlight, life and summer
  • Skadi, goddess of mountains, skiing, winter, archery and hunting

Germanic mythology

Roman mythology

  • Bacchus - god of wine, nature, pleasure and festivity; equivalent to the Greek god Dionysus
  • Ceres, goddess of growing plants and motherly relationships; equivalent to the Greek goddess Demeter
  • Diana, goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness and the moon; equivalent to the Greek goddess Artemis
  • Faunus, horned god of the forest, plains and fields
  • Feronia, goddess associated with wildlife, fertility, health and abundance
  • Flora, goddess of flowers and the spring; equivalent to the Greek goddess Chloris
  • Fufluns, god of plant life, happiness and health and growth in all things
  • Liber, cognate for Bacchus/Dionysus
  • Nemestrinus, god of the forests and woods
  • Ops, goddess of fertility and the earth
  • Pilumnus, nature god who ensured children grew properly and stayed healthy
  • Pomona, goddess of fruit trees, gardens and orchards
  • Silvanus, tutelary spirit or deity of woods and fields and protector of forests
  • Terra, primeval goddess personifying the earth; equivalent to the Greek goddess Gaea

Slavic mythology

  • Berstuk, evil Wendish god of the forest
  • Jarilo, god of vegetation, fertility, spring, war and harvest
  • Porewit, god of the woods, who protected lost voyagers and punished those who mistreated the forest
  • Porvata, Polish god of the woods
  • Siliniez, Polish god of the woods for whom moss was sacred
  • Tawals, Polish blessing-bringing god of the meadows and fields
  • Veles, god of earth, waters and the underworld

Turco-Mongol

  • Yer Tanrı, is the goddess of earth in Turkic mythology. Also known as Yer Ana.

Vodou

  • Grand Bois, loa associated with trees, plants and herbs
  • L'inglesou, loa who lives in the wild areas of Haiti and kills anyone who offends him
  • Loco, loa associated with healers and plants, especially trees

References

  1. Bradford Rambling and Social Club, Yorkshire
  2. Walter Burkert, (1985) Greek Religion, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-36280-2.
  3. World English Dictionary