Diana/Artemis (Roman/Greek): Goddess of the Hunt and the Moon. She is the self-reliant Maiden, needing no other, and favoured by feminist Wiccans as their ultimate role model.
Persephone (Greek): Demeter’s daughter and Queen of the Underworld. She lives with Hades in the Winter as the Earth sleeps and waits her return in Spring when everything blossoms with joy.
Demeter (Greek): Earth Goddess who presides over grains and harvests, she is Persephone’s mother.
Rhea (Greek): Queen of the Universe and mother of Zeus.
Selene (Greek): Goddess of the Moon.
Aphrodite/Venus (Greek/Roman): Goddess of Love and Fertility.
Hestia (Greek): Goddess of the Home and Hearth, a Fire Goddess.
Hecate (Greek): The ultimate Crone, Goddess of Magick and Patroness of Witchcraft.
Medusa (Greek): Serpent Goddess. Prior to being deified by the Greeks Medusa was known and sacred to the Amazons of Libya. She represents the wisdom that comes with staring Death in the face.
Lilith (Hebrew): Wife of Adam and original inhabitor of Eden. She cursed Adam and went to live by the Red Sea, where she gave birth to 100 children a day. Her myth demonstrates her to be the Great Mother and keeper of the Secrets of Femininity – she is feared by Christians and was erased from the Bible but she is a source of inspiration to Witches.
Kali (Hindu): The Triple Goddess of creation, preservation and destruction, she is most often related to as the Destroyer. She is keeper of the blessings of Life and Death, birth-giver and killer all at once. She is fantastic to invoke when you want to clear out the dross of your life (and one of my favourite Goddess images).
Ishtar (Babylonian): The Great Goddess. All acts of love and voluptuous passion are sacred to her.
Maat (Egyptian): Goddess of Law and Justice – after death she weighs souls in her scales and decides whether they go to Heaven or Hell.
Isis: (Egyptian) Great Goddess and Mother of All – her dark aspect is Nephthys. She is the mother of Horus from her union with Osiris.
Sekhmet (Egyptian): Lioness Goddess, her name means ‘powerful’ and she will protect, guard and bring you success in home life as well as career.
Gods
The Great God/Lord: The Great God/Lord unifies everything as he is the Son/Consort/Lover of the Goddess. Witches and Pagans mostly relate to him as the Horned God, ruler of the Forests and Animals – he is the link between all living things as they manifest in the physical world and the glue that binds the Goddess/Lady’s creations. He provides by hunting and balances the life/death interaction of all life forms.
Lugh (Celtic): Sun God and God of the Arts, his festival is Lammas (Lughnasadh) – the harvest.
Cu Chulainn (Celtic): The Dying God – one that has lived as son, lover and father of the Goddess. He had a dramatic death, being bound to a post so he could keep on fighting when utterly knackered (like Odin and Christ, another God sacrificed on a tree) and so also has an aspect as a warrior God.
Merlyn (Celtic): The Great Magician, Prophet and Enchanter, Merlyn is friend and consort of Morgan Le Fay.
Cernunnos (Celtic): The Horned God – one of the oldest representations of God form. Since prehistoric times there have been images of men wearing animal horns to embody godliness. Cernunnos is Lord of the Untamed, the Primal Forces and Ruler of Animals and Forests.
Bacchus/Dionysus (Roman/Greek): God of Life and Fertility. He is honoured by feasting on food, wine and physical pleasure. His Greek form, as Dionysus, is seriously potent, being the God of divine intoxication and immortality. Bacchus could be seen as a kind of Dean Martin, but Dionysus rocks as a kind of Jim Morrison!
Hades (Greek): Lord of the Underworld who rules alongside Hecate (not in a consort role though). He abducted (but I prefer to think invited) Persephone to live with him in Winter.
Mercury/Hermes (Roman/Greek): The winged Messenger God, he is the guide to the Underworld and represents intelligence, magick, medicine, travel and communication.
Pan (Greek): The hoofed and horned God of the Forest and Earth. Highly sexed (hence the term ‘horny’!) and honours fertility.
Jupiter/Zeus (Roman/Greek): Father of the Sky, he controls lightning and thunder and is also known as the Rain God.
Neptune/Poseidon (Roman/Greek): God of the Sea, Neptune/Poseidon can be invoked to ask for safe journey, and to calm disputes and arguments in relationships.
Ra (Egyptian): God of the Sun and Day, who brings harmony, peace and joy, whilst removing blockages and obstacles.
Osiris (Egyptian): Great God and Isis’s partner, father of Horus. He sacrificed himself so that life could regenerate.
Horus (Egyptian): Child of Light and God of Battle. He seeks to avenge his father’s death.
Set (Egyptian): God of Night and the Seeker of Knowledge beyond what is immediately apparent.
Troth (Egyptian): God of Medicine, science and higher studies. Excellent to contact if you need help with studies or you need to retain knowledge quickly.
Elementals, Angels and Mythical Animals
Elementals
Witches recognize four basic elements – Air, Earth, Fire and Water – and consider them essential in the working of magick, since balancing these elements harmonizes us with nature and our place on this planet. The four elements permeate all: the Four Quarters of our Sacred Circle; the four groupings of astrological signs and our ritual tools – the chalice (water); athame (air); pentacle (earth); wand (fire), as well as the four groups of the Minor Arcana of the Tarot – Cups (water), Pentacles (earth), Swords (air), Wands (fire).
The way the Elementals appear to you usually depends on your own proclivities and magickal tastes, and I relate to them in much the same way as Gods and Goddesses – that is, they are a way a human can relate to a form that is other than itself.
The four elements also have corresponding animal presences that can be utilized in magickal work.
Air: Bird. Seen as intermediaries between Earth and the Heavens, birds carry dreams to the planes where they come true and are believed to understand the mysteries of life and death as they can travel between both realms.
Earth: Cow. The domestication of cattle allowed humans to till the soil and plant crops, stay in one place and build settlements. The cow represents the application of physical work and manifestation on the earth plane – it is a symbol of physical nourishment and sustenance.
Fire: Cat. Famed as the symbol of the Egyptian Goddess, Bast – Goddess of the Sun. Revered as magickal animals and in many ways the ultimate Witch companion, cats are fiercely independent and yet love being with humans. Their nature is assertive and self-reliant and they, therefore, inspire effective action.
Water: Serpent/Snake. Symbolizes life, death and rebirth and is an ancient symbol of Universal Wisdom. It is one of the most recognized religious symbols in the world. The symbol of infinity is the snake looped with its tail in its mouth.
Angels
Angels are generally Judeo/Christian forces but I like recognizing and acknowledging them as they represent the noble qualities of those religions. They can be called on to represent and guard the Quarters when casting Circle.
Raphael: Angel of Air who frees trapped energy.
Uriel: Angel of Earth who grounds and secures all.
Michael: Angel of Fire who wields a mighty sword and encourages swift action.
Gabriel: Angel of Water who nurtures