GODS GODS GODS

So many different beliefs, which path to take, how to decide?

The good news is, there’s no need to worry, plenty of Gods to go around and apparently they all teach the truth.

Greek Gods

Chinese Gods

Celtic Gods

Norse Gods

Slavic Gods

Oceanic Gods

Native American Gods

Wait, there’s more…

In an effort to assist, here are some other God choices to choose from…

Agdistis or Angdistis

Ah Puch

Ahura Mazda

Alberich

Allah

Amaterasu

An

Anansi

Anat

Andvari

Anshar

Anu

Aphrodite

Apollo

Apsu

Ares

Artemis

Asclepius

Athena

Athirat

Athtart

Atlas

Baal

Ba Xian

Bacchus

Balder

Bast

Bellona

Bergelmir

Bes

Bixia Yuanjin

Bragi

Brahma

Brigit

Camaxtli

Ceres

Ceridwen

Cernunnos

Chac

Chalchiuhtlicue

Charun

Chemosh

Cheng-huang

Cybele

Dagon

Damkina (Dumkina)

Davlin

Dawn

Demeter

Diana

Di Cang

Dionysus

Ea

El

Enki

Enlil

Eos

Epona

Ereskigal

Farbauti

Fenrir

Forseti

Fortuna

Freya

Freyr

Frigg

Gaia

Ganesha

Ganga

Garuda

Gauri

Geb

Geong Si

Guanyin

Hades

Hanuman

Hathor

Hecate (Hekate)

Helios

Heng-o (Chang-o)

Hephaestus

Hera

Hermes

Hestia

Hod

Hoderi

Hoori

Horus

Hotei

Huitzilopochtli

Hsi-Wang-Mu

Hygeia

Inanna

Inti

Iris

Ishtar

Isis

Ixtab

Izanaki

Izanami

Jesus

Juno

Jupiter

Juturna

Kagutsuchi

Kartikeya

Khepri

Ki

Kingu

Kinich Ahau

Kishar

Krishna

Kuan-yin

Kukulcan

Kvasir

Lakshmi

Leto
Liza

Loki

Lugh

Luna

Magna Mater

Maia

Marduk

Mars

Mazu

Medb

Mercury

Mimir

Minerva

Mithras

Morrigan

Mot

Mummu

Muses

Nammu

Nanna

Nanna (Norse)

Nanse

Neith

Nemesis

Nephthys

Neptune

Nergal

Ninazu

Ninhurzag

Nintu

Ninurta

Njord

Nugua

Nut

Odin

Ohkuninushi

Ohyamatsumi

Orgelmir

Osiris

Ostara

Pan

Parvati

Phaethon

Phoebe

Phoebus Apollo

Pilumnus

Poseidon

Quetzalcoatl

Rama

Re

Rhea

Sabazius

Sarasvati

Selene

Shiva

Seshat

Seti (Set)

Shamash

Shapsu

Shen Yi

Shiva

Shu

Si-Wang-Mu

Sin

Sirona

Sol

Surya

Susanoh

Tawaret

Tefnut

Tezcatlipoca

Thanatos

Thor

Thoth

Tiamat

Tlaloc

Tianhou

Tonatiuh

Toyo-Uke-Bime

Tyche

Tyr

Utu

Uzume

Vediovis

Venus

Vesta

Vishnu

Volturnus

Vulcan

Xipe

Xi Wang-mu

Xochipilli

Xochiquetzal

Yam

Yarikh

Yhwh

Ymir

Yu-huang

Yum Kimil

Zeus

Oh, by the way...

It’s Already Here

Christmas Trees Candles and Lights

Going back to Anglo-Saxon pagan tradition of origin, first references of lighting the Yule log are rooted in 12th-century Germany. 

By the 17th century, Christians had melded pagan mythos with their own. 

The practice of the Yule log had evolved into lighting small candles on the iconic Christmas tree.

Christmas lights actually started out just as candles. 

These candles were attached to the tree using wax or pins. 

The practice began in Germany during the 17th century and over the next 200 or so years; it became an established practice in Germany and began to spread out into other countries of Eastern Europe.

Throughout history, candles have been used to ward off darkness and evil.

The first use of candles in December was during the Roman Saturnalia festival, where tall tapers of wax were offered to Saturn as a symbol of his light and also given as a gift to guests.

The Pagans also used candles during their Yule festivities, with candlelight and bonfires being used to welcome the nights beginning to get lighter.

As Christianity became more widespread, candles were put in the front windows of houses in order to guide Jesus as he went from house to house on Christmas Eve, wait, isn’t that Santa’s job?

Even though families would use candles to light up their Christmas trees, this practice was dangerous and led to many home fires. 

Edward H. Johnson put the very first string of electric Christmas tree lights together in 1882. 

He hand-wired 80 red, white and blue light bulbs and wound them around his Christmas tree. 

Not only was the tree illuminated with electricity and candles would soon be history.

And now these days, there are so many varieties of Christmas lights to choose from.

Yule Breakfast Bread

INGREDIENTS

For the bread

1 (2 1/4 teaspoons) packet active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1/2 cup warm milk

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon cardamom powder

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

For the cranberry-almond filling

3/4 cup dried cranberries or cherries, soaked in 1/2 cup brandy or other liqueur

6 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature

1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 cup finely chopped blanched almonds

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon peel

1 tablespoon almond extract

For the sugar glaze

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 tablespoon cardamom powder

INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare the dough

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water and let it foam up for a minute or two. Blend in the milk, sugar, butter, salt, cardamom, eggs and lemon peel. Stir in two cups of the flour, one cup at a time. Beat for 2 minutes. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until you have a soft, workable dough — you might not need to use all the flour.

Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, 5 to 10 minutes. Add more flour if needed to prevent sticking. Place in a lightly oiled mixing bowl large enough to accommodate dough when doubled in size. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Prepare the cranberry-almond filling

Drain the dried fruit from the liqueur and reserve the liqueur for another use. In a small bowl, combine the drained fruit with remaining filling ingredients. Cover and refrigerate.

Shape the dough

When dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured board, kneading just enough to release any air bubbles. Roll the dough into a 9x30-inch rectangle. Crumble the filling over the dough to within 1 inch of the edges. Starting along a long side, tightly roll up the dough, pinching edge against loaf to seal. With a sharp knife, cut roll in half lengthwise. Carefully turn the halves so the cut sides are facing up, and then loosely twist the halves around each other, keeping cut sides up. (See photos above for step-by-step instructions.)

Line a baking sheet with parchment or non-stick baking mat. Carefully transfer the rope to the baking sheet and shape into a wreath, pinching the ends together to seal. Let it rise, uncovered, in a warm place until puffy, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the wreath until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. While the wreath is baking, stir together the ingredients for the glaze and set aside.

When wreath is done, transfer to a cooling rack by picking up the sides of the parchment and then sliding the parchment out from underneath. Cool for a few minutes then drizzle the glaze over the warm wreath. Serve with extra butter if you're feeling decadent.