recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Not a Cult

People regularly wonder what's the difference between the Kaleidoscopic Path and a cult. Most people aren't well informed of what a cult is or have a hard time differentiating between an alternative religion and a cult. This page will provide examples of why it is different from a cult and signs to watch out for.

## The leader is not infallible

Most cults and even many mainstream religions portray their leaders or founders as infallible and all-knowing. Many of these groups are based around a figure who claims to be descended from divine or the divine in human form and because of this are all-knowing. It is because of this that anyone who questions them or their teachings are deemed as heretics.

The Kaleidoscopic Path encourages questions and free thought including questioning what is preached. It is a core belief of the Kaleidoscopic Path to pursue deeper knowledge and understanding as well as deep discussion. I am not perfect, I make mistakes even my knowledge is limited though I always strive to improve and members are encouraged to do so as well. Members of the Kaleidoscopic Path are encouraged to seek knowledge and to expand their knowledge and beliefs.

## Diversity of Faith

Most cults demand that members follow their teachings exclusively and forbid them from interacting with other beliefs. This is done through isolating individuals from people outside of the cult and

Not only does the Kaleidoscopic Path encourages exploring other beliefs but is also made of beliefs, holidays, practices and deities from other beliefs.

## Social Relationships

Many cults limit the social relationships of their members to only members of the cult. This is often done to isolate individuals and make them more susceptible to the cult.

The Kaleidoscopic Path is against isolation and encourages the development of social relationship with both people inside and outside the organization as well as involvement and volunteering in the local community.
Three Candle Joy Spell

Add a little joy to your life when you need it the most. All you need is:

• 3 orange or yellow candles

• Cedar oil

• A few pinches of rosemary and marjoram

Rub oil on all three candles, and set them up on your altar. Light each one, then sprinkle each of the herbs on the table around the candles. Focus on the heat of the flames, and repeat outloud:

Happiness and joy, come into my life

Away with anger, stress and strife

I am happy, I am free

No more negativity

Hold your hands above the flames to feel their warmth. No need to scorch yourself. Be determined to see the positive side of things, and leave the candles to burn out.
Miach

**Origin:** Ireland

**Classification:** Tuatha Dé Danaan

Miach is the father of healing herbs and the patron of herbalism. He is the son of Dian Cecht and is Airmid’s brother. When Nuada, Ruler of the Tuatha Dé Danaan, lost his hand in battle, he also lost his throne. Only someone with no physical imperfections was allowed to rule. Dian Cecht, Sacred Physician, fitted him with a silver prosthetic hand, but the throne was given to Bres, who proved to be an inadequate ruler. Dian Cecht’s children, Airmid and Miach, determined to heal Nuada so he could reclaim his throne.

They located Nuada’s severed hand, which had been buried, removed the silver prosthetic, and placed the original hand on the stump, chanting an incantation:

> Sinew to sinew;
>
>
> nerve to nerve;
>
>
>
> joint to joint
>
>

In three times three days and nights, Nuada was good as new and fit to reign again. Dian Cecht was unhappy: his children had publicly shown themselves to be greater healers than he. His anger was specifically directed at his son. He challenged him by slicing into Miach’s head with a sword and challenging him to heal. Miach did. Dian Cecht repeated the action, this time slicing deeper. Again, Miach self-regenerated. Three times, Dian Cecht repeated the action; each time Miach was able to heal himself. Finally, Dian Cecht cut open his head and removed the brain, and Miach was dead. After he was buried, 365 healing plants sprang from his grave, one for each day of the year, one for every illness.

**See Also:** Airmid; Dian Cecht; Nuada; Tuatha Dé Danaan

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Nana Buruku

**Also known as:** Nana Bukwu; Buklu; Bukúu

**Origin:** West Africa

One vision of Creation describes life emerging from some primeval swamp. Nana Buruku, ancient mother, presides over that swamp. Lady of marshes, swamps, mud, and clay, she is the primordial mother, the root ancestress. Nana Buruku, like her son Babalu Ayé, appears throughout West Africa and is incorporated into Fon, Yoruba, and Keto pantheons. Thus she is significant to various African Diaspora spiritual traditions. Nana Buruku is an ancient root lwa, eldest of the watery orishas.

Nana Buruku is an old fierce swamp witch, an austere, severe spirit. In Africa, her altars are traditionally maintained outside—she’s considered too volatile to safely bring indoors. She is extremely generous with those she loves. Nana Buruku is a fearless warrior who is petitioned for victory.

Nana Buruku, divine herbalist, presides over medicinal plants and may be petitioned to help discover herbal solutions to health issues. Ask her to empower and enhance herbal remedies. Nana Buruku is present in clay, which also has therapeutic uses. She may be requested to enhance its magical and medicinal powers. Nana Buruku is traditionally believed able to identify and heal illnesses which physicians are unable to locate, treat, or acknowledge. She is invoked for personal fertility but is also a guardian of the dead. If angered, she may cause illnesses characterized by a swollen abdomen. Nana Buruku is syncretized to Saint Anne.

Nana Buruku prefers bamboo knives to those made of iron. Anthropologist and author Lydia Cabrera suggests that this is because she predates the Iron Age.

In Fon cosmology, Nana Buruku may originally have been a hermaphroditic being who independently gave birth to all the deities but was eventually eclipsed by younger spirits.

**Favoured people:** Herbalists, healers, root doctors, potters

**Manifestation:** Nana Buruku appears in the guise of an incredibly old woman and travels in the form of a freshwater snake.

**Attribute:** Nana Buruku carries a special staff constructed from palm fronds and decorated with cowrie shells.

**Sacred sites:** She lives in swamps and earthen mounds.

**Spirit ally:** Her son, Babalu Ayé

**Planet:** Moon

**Creatures:** Snakes, especially pythons

**Tree:** Camwood (Baphianitida), also known as African sandalwood, which is the source of a blood-red dye

**Colors:** Dark blue, black, pink, white

**Stone:** Tourmaline

**Days:** Monday, Saturday

**Numbers:** 7, 9

**Offerings:** Roses, mandrake and other roots, swamp plants

**See Also:** Babalu Ayé; Lwa; Orisha; Oshumare

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Nebaunaubae

**Origin:** Ojibwe

**Classification:** Manitou

The Nebaunaubae, a merman who lives at the bottom of lakes, rivers, and sea, is held responsible for the disappearance of young women. He lures human females toward him, not to kill or consume them but to transform them into mermaid companions. (This female counterpart is called the Nebaunaubaequae.) This is one way of increasing the mer community; however they can reproduce in the standard way too.

If the Nebaunaubae wishes to visit land, he can transform into full human shape. He is able to shift between these forms easily, however if the Nebaunaubae stays on land too long, he will die. He can linger in threshold areas like beaches for longer periods, but he must periodically return to the water. The Nebaunaubae is most likely witnessed after dark or during stormy, overcast days. His eyes are accustomed to dim underwater light, and so the bright lights of the upper world are too harsh and painful for him. A Nebaunaubae wandering around on a sunny day in full human form will likely be wearing dark glasses.

**See Also:** Manitou; Mermaid; Nixies

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Spirit Money

This is traditionally used in Chinese spiritual traditions to propitiate and communicate with spirits. The theory is that by burning special paper, messages are reliably sent to the spirit realm. Thousands of varieties of mystical paper (also called *Joss*, *Fu*, *Paper Horse*, or *Spirit Money paper*, among other names) exist, many very beautiful and magically powerful. Some, although not all, feature images of spirits. Spirit money, which resembles cash bills, is relatively easy to find in stores catering to traditional Asian clientele (or to tourists in Chinatown). Joss paper is also sold among scrapbooking supplies. Some spirits prefer paper offerings in the forms of dresses, cars, or other material goods.

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Pea

(Psium sativum)

Planet: Venus

Element: Water

Energies: Love

Lore:

During the Inquisition, peas were thought to be standard food for“Witches.” They have always been sacred to the Mother Goddess.

Magical uses:

Cook peas with basil, coriander, dill, or marjoram. Cook while visualizing this simple food as a powerful love attractant then eat.
Waning Moon Protection Charm

#### Items needed:

One tsp. each patchouli, sandalwood, and clove, an incense brazier, self-igniting charcoal, and a small white stone inscribed with the following protection sigil:

When the moon is no longer visible, place a piece of charcoal in your brazier and light it. Mix the herbs together and sprinkle them over the glowing coal. As the mixture begins to burn, pass the stone through the smoke, as you chant:

Within this stone

I pass my plight,

Banished forever

From this night.

Take the stone to the nearest body of moving water. Toss the stone in and walk away.
Mesopotamian/Sumerian

The ancient Mesopotamians believed that their deities lived in Heaven, but that a god's statue was a physical embodiment of the god himself. As such, cult statues were given constant care and attention and a set of priests were assigned to tend to them. These priests would clothe the statues and place feasts before them so they could "eat". A deity's temple was believed to be that deity's literal place of residence. The gods had boats, full-sized barges which were normally stored inside their temples and were used to transport their cult statues along waterways during various religious festivals. The gods also had chariots, which were used for transporting their cult statues by land. Sometimes a deity's cult statue would be transported to the location of a battle so that the deity could watch the battle unfold. The major deities of the Mesopotamian pantheon were believed to participate in the "assembly of the gods", through which the gods made all of their decisions. This assembly was seen as a divine counterpart to the semi-democratic legislative system that existed during the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2112 BC – c. 2004 BC).

Information source Wikipedia

## Gods

These are the gods of the Mesopotamian and Sumerian Pantheon.

NabuEnkiIshtar/InannaEreshkigalGilgamesh
Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage involves journeying to a shrine or sacred site associated with a spirit. The concept of the pilgrimage is shared by many spiritual traditions. Pilgrimages are modern - somewhere on Earth *right now*, whenever you are reading this, a mass pilgrimage is taking place - but the concept is ancient, too. According to Egyptian legend, Seth, Spirit of Chaos, chopped his brother Osiris' body into fourteen parts, scattering them along the Nile. Shrines were later built marking the sites where these parts were found: an ancient pilgrimage route involved journeying to each one. According to Jewish legend, when the biblical Caleb was sent to scout out the land of Canaan, he first paid a visit to the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron to request help from the ancestors buried there. Caleb's own tomb is now a pilgrimage site, too.

Pilgrimages may be arranged to coincide with feast days. A pilgrimage to a sacred site associated with a spirit is a very traditional way of repaying spiritual favours.

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
The Mothers

The Mothers are goddesses of birth, fertility, prosperity, abundance, death, and rebirth. Relatively little is now known about them. What knowledge exists is based on interpretation of archaeological evidence. However, based on the sheer prevalence of the Mothers’ images and how widespread they were, clearly the Mothers were once wildly popular throughout pre-Christian Europe. Their veneration seems to date from a very early era. The Mothers were venerated in both Celtic and Teutonic regions and by the rich and poor, men and women alike. At Pesch in the Lower Rhine, over one-hundred-sixty altars dedicated to the Mothers have been discovered, most offered by soldiers.

There may be one, two, or three Mothers. In Aquitaine, two are portrayed, one significantly older than the other, possibly a mother and daughter. The Romans identified the Mothers with the Parcae or Fates.

**Iconography:** The most typical votive image of the Mothers depicts three seated women. The middle one is usually significantly younger than the others. She has long flowing hair while the others wear distinctive headwear, something like a big linen bonnet. All may wear robes. One or more Mothers may expose one breast like a nursing mother. When only one Mother is portrayed, she is typically envisioned seated with something on her lap, usually an egg or a loaf of bread. Sometimes she holds a lap dog.

**Attribute:** The Mothers are depicted with babies, fruit, grain, and big loaves of bread. Other attributes include: horn, spindle, distaff, sphere, box, scroll (interpreted as the Scroll of Destiny), basket of fruit.

**Spirit allies:** The Genii Cucullati.

**Creature:** Lap dog, snake (both animals identified with healing in Celtic regions)

**Feast:** Mothers’ Night traditionally coincided with the winter solstice or the new moon nearest the winter solstice. Ancient Germans considered it the equivalent of New Year’s Eve. According to the monk and historian called the Venerable Bede (circa 672–May 25, 735 CE). Mothers’ Night was the most important Pagan festival in eighth-century Britain and coincided with Christmas Eve. Little information about the holiday survives. Divination was practiced. Dreams experienced on this night were considered prophetic.

**Sacred Sites:** They had shrines throughout the Rhineland, often at healing springs as well as in Aix-les-Bains in France and Chichester and York in England. The Mothers may have been venerated at the site now called Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Some of their shrines were huge temple complexes; others were rustic sanctuaries and domestic altars.

**Offerings:** Fruit, bread, wine, flowers

**See Also:** Bethen; Genius Cucullatus; Maries de la Mer

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Marinette

**Also Known As:** Marinette Bwa-Chèche (Marinette of the Dry Arms)

**Classification:** Lwa

The Haitian Revolution was initiated at a Vodou ceremony at Bois Caiman when a priestess (Mambo) sacrificed a black pig, invoking the lwa, Ezili Dantor, and Ogun. Marinette may be that priestess, now deified and a lwa herself. (She still maintains positive relationships with Dantor and Ogun.) Marinette, a mysterious, solitary lwa, belongs to the Petro and Bizango pantheons.

Marinette had a difficult life. She is a bitter spirit who prefers to be alone. People disappointed her. Rather than being celebrated as a heroine, she was first aggressively pursued by French colonial forces, then denied glory when Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint L’Ouverture banned women from battle front-lines. Even now she is frequently dismissed as an evil spirit while her male contemporaries are lionized. She is a spirit of rage and frustration but also, in her way, a spirit of justice.

She is a controversial spirit. Many insist that she should never be invoked, as she is dangerous and hostile. She is certainly not a spirit for beginners. (You can’t fool her: as a priestess, she can immediately distinguish an adept from a novice.) Marinette is never enshrined or invoked within the home (or inside buildings, period), as it is considered unsafe—she literally burns with rage and has a tendency to burn down buildings while within them, whether intentionally or not.

Marinette is invoked by secret societies as well as experienced initiates and sorcerers to provide disciplinary action against malefactors. She chafes at abuse of power and liberates devotees from bullies and oppression.

* Marinette is the matron of werewolves and loups-garoux.
* Marinette is syncretized to Joan of Arc or the Anima Sola.

**Manifestation:** Marinette is described as left-handed, symbolic of her willingness to work with sorcerers for hire and to fulfill less than ethical requests. Her eyes are red, indicating her state of rage. Her appearance is avian. Her hands and feet may resemble claws.

**Element:** Fire

**Attributes:** Cross, stake

**Colours:** Black, red

**Bird:** Screech owl

**See Also:** Ayizan; Bizango Spirits; Ezili Dantor; Ezili Ge Rouge; Lilith; Loup-Garou; Ogun

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Nike

**Pantheon**: Greek

**Title**: Goddess of Victory

## Smite Lore

It is often said that history is written by the victor. If that is true, then history is shaped by a single Goddess: Nike, the winged warrior.

When the fastest runner bears a golden medal, when a cunning hunter slays the fiercest beast, when the soldiers seize the day, the Faithful of Olympus praise Nike. Without her favour, failure is ensured, and obscurity certain.

Even mighty Zeus, a king among Gods, seeks the favour of Nike. On the smoke strewn fields of antiquity, when the God of Thunder marched against his Titan forebears, Nike fought by his side, her dauntless blade inspiring confidence in her allies as they faced an impossible foe. Without her, all the heavens are left to wonder if Zeus would have carried that day. Had Zeus fallen, the world as it is known would have fallen with him.
Vretiel

Archangel who records all of God’s deeds and who is “swifter in wisdom than the other archangels.” The etymology of “Vretiel” is unknown and unexplained. As an archangel, he resembles Uriel, but as a scribe he is probably derived from Thoth, the Egyptian god of writing and magic and scribe to the god Osiris (and the equivalent of the Greek Hermes).

Vretiel is mentioned in 2 Enoch. In 22:10–11 God instructs him to bring out the books from God’s storehouses and a pen for “speed-writing” and give them to Enoch. Vretiel hurries away to do God’s bidding and returns with the books and pen so that Enoch can record what God wishes him to. Vretiel instructs Enoch for 30 days and 30 nights without ceasing his talking. Enoch writes it down in 366 books.

Vretiel is sometimes identiﬁed as the “man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his side” in Ezekiel 9:2.

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Angels by Rosemary Guiley
Nyx/Nox

1. **Pantheon**: Greek/Roman

**Title**: Goddess of Night

## Smite Lore

###### So fragile is the line between sleep and death, the difference only waking with the dawn. In that darkness she reigns, as the sun sinks below the horizon, as stalkers hunt their prey, as shadows thicken to consume the light. She is primal in a way that even the mightiest of Gods must fear, for she is the Goddess of Night, Nox, and from her was born all the certainties of life.

Friendship and Love, Sunsets and Dreams, these are the Gods of inspiration. Nox is mother to them all. So too is she the mother of misfortune: Doom and Blame, Deceit, Strife, Woe and Death. Nox must love and protect all her children equally, as any mother would. They are her calling and her curse; her greatest pride and deepest shame. It is for her children she has now come to war.

Clothed not in black, but blackness, Nox is rarely seen. She glides between the light, just at the edge of vision. A spectre. Even the God of Thunder is known to fear her, for Nox could steal his whispered breath and send him to a sleep eternal where dreams do not exist and no one ever wakes with the dawn.
Silver

Silver is an important metal in Magic and Alchemy. Silver has long and universal associations with the mysterious and magical powers of the Moon. It appears in nature in a pure state and is an excellent conductor of electromagnetic energy, thus making it a valuable metal. It was prized for its magical properties by the ancient Egyptians and Incas. In folklore silver repels all evil, including spirits and malevolent Spells. In alchemy silver is called Luna or Diana, the Roman goddess of the Moon. In alchemical formulae silver is represented by a crescent moon.
Nandi

**Origin:** India

The name Nandi means “rejoicing.” He is a sacred white bull as well as Shiva’s mount and foremost devotee. They are venerated together. Nandi, the very essence of virility, fertility, strength, and power, is emblematic of male procreative power. His presence radiates this power, which may be transmitted to devotees. Nandi may be a bull, but he’s an accomplished musician and dancer, too.

**Manifestation:** A huge but graceful white humpback bull

**Iconography:** The image of kneeling Nandi is at the entrance of every Shiva temple, where it faces the image of Shiva.

**See Also:** Gajasura; Garuda; Shiva

## Appearance in Modern Media

From Fate Grand OrderFrom Shin Megami Tensei
## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Path

Spirits are sometimes described as having *paths*. Classical mythology sometimes uses the word *aspect* to describe this same phenomenon. A commonly used modern Spanish term is *camino*, meaning "road." Sometimes the word *manifestation* is used, although that word may also indicate the various physical forms in which a spirit appears.

Paths may be understood as facets of one being, different sides of the same personality. Now a human being may have a charming side and a grumpy side, but when it comes to spirits, the subject is more complex, more akin to full-blown multiple personalities. Different paths may involve different appearances and manifestations. Thus, Yoruba love goddess Oshun is almost invariably envisioned as a gorgeous, regal, generous queen. It is how she is virtually *always* encountered. *But* Oshun also very occasionally manifests as the ragged buzzard-mother, poor and decrepit. That manifestation is one of the paths of Oshun.

Paths may be different manifestations of a single spirit as if one spirit had fractured into many distinct personalities, *but* paths may also be understood as closely related spirits or as individual members of a spirit tribe or family. Thus, history records different Ba'als: the Ba'al of Lebanon, Ba'al Peor and Ba'al Zebub, just to name a few. Are they all the same? Are they different local manifestations of the same spirit, different paths of the same spirit? Or are they different members of the Ba'al family? Is the name *Ba'al* being used as a generic name to identify various unrelated but similar spirits whose original names may now be lost? Any or all of these may be true.

Are all the different spirits named Ezili (there are many) one and the same, are they sisters, or are they just separate distinct spirits bearing the same name? There is no one right answer; people have been debating and arguing these points for millennia and will continue to do so.

Paths are not fixed or static; they change and evolve. A path that lacks relevance to a spirit or its devotees may become dormant. Likewise, new paths are continuously born. Sometimes when an exceptionally charismatic human being dies, he or she emerges as a path of a deity. The person is understood as expressing the power of the spirit or even as merging with that spirit. (Or possibly, the person may be considered an *avatar* of the spirit.) Examples:

* The path of Ogou Dessalines evokes Haitian emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
* The path of Simbi Makaya evokes Haitian revolutionary leader and shaman Makaya.

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Undine

Swiss alchemist Paracelsus (1493–24 September 1541) organized a system of elemental spirits. He named the elemental spirits of water Undines. Undines live in sources of freshwater (pools, springs, waterfalls, lakes) and may be composed of the element. They are described as having lovely voices. They are vague spirits, elemental beings, lacking true personalities. Hans Christian Andersen’s concept of mermaids—who lack souls and unless loved by a man are destined to dissolve into foam—is heavily based on Paracelsus. Undines emerge from foam and dissolve back into foam.

There is also a theory that each human being is assigned a water elemental, an Undine, at birth, who presides over the individual’s bodily fluids including blood, urine, and lymph. These spirits care for us, but we care for them, too. The Undine is symbiotically attached to the human. If bodily fluids are abused, dangerous substances introduced into the bloodstream, let’s say, then the Undine is weakened. If weakened, it can no longer protect the human’s health at its previous full capacity. This type of Undine communicates with its host person via dreams.

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Salamander

A lizardlike amphibian that likes to live in moist places. In mythology the salamander is a poisonous creature that is able to live in fire. Pliny said that the salamander “seeks the hottest fire to breed in, but quenches it with the extreme frigidity of its body.” In Alchemy the salamander is a symbol of the Prima Materia. In the alchemical process, it plays the role of helping the substance under transformation to give up its secret fire, which will help the Philosopher's Stone claim its final power, as this alchemical verse describes: [The Salamander] is caught and pierced So that it dies and yields up its life with its blood. But this, too, happens for its good; For from its blood it wins immortal life, And then death has no more power over it. An emblem of the salamander in fire appears in Atalanta fugiens (1618) by Michael Maier. “As the Salamander lives in the Fire so does the Stone,” says Maier. The salamander symbolizes Sulphur and the Secret of the Fire. The Secret Fire, corporified as Salt, is the hidden Sulphur that is the “Philosophic Tincture.”
Seven Day Love Spell

#### One red candle at least 8” long, seven pieces of paper measuring 3” x 1”, one pen, one knife.

Write the name of the one you desire on each piece of paper. Fold each piece lengthwise twice, so that you have seven pieces of paper 3” long and about 1/4” wide. Using the knife, cut six equally spaced notches into the red candle.

Begin this spell seven days before the full moon. Take one of the pieces of folded paper and light one end with a match. Light the candle with the flame from the burning paper. Allow the paper to burn up completely in the candle’s flame. As you do this, chant:

By the powers of earth and heaven,

[Insert name] turn to me, turn to me, by seven.

Allow the candle to burn down to the first notch. Repeat the spell each day until the full moon. On the night of the full moon, light the paper, and the candle from the paper, as before, only this time, chant the following:

O lovely lady of the moon,

Grant to me this special boon.

That the one I love shall love only me,

This is what I seek, So Mote It Be.

Stay with the candle until it burns out. The one you love will only have eyes for you.
Quintessence

The Quintessence (quinta essentia) is the fifth Element. Quintessence is a psychic spiritual energy that is superior to the other four elements of earth, air, fire, and water. It can bind the other elements together or dissolve them. According to Pythagoras, the quintessence was the equivalent of the soul. Paracelsus said the quintessence permeates and ensouls the body, enabling it to become a living being.

In Alchemy, the quintessence was held to heal any disease or condition and to rejuvenate the body. It was important in the process for transmuting base metals to gold and silver. The First Book of the Secrets of Nature or the Fifth Essence, a spurious work attributed to Raymond Lully, describes the quintessence’s alleged miraculous and adaptive powers:

It preserves the body from corruption, strengthens the basic constitution (elementativa), pristine youth is restored by it, it unifies the spirit, dissolves the crudities, solidifies that which is loose, loosens the solid, fattens the lean, weakens the fat, cools the inflamed, heats up the cold, dries the humid, humidifies the dry; in what way soever, one and the same thing can perform contrary operations, the sole act of one thing is diversified according to the nature of the recipient, just as the heat of the sun has contrary effects, for it dries the mud and liquifies the wax.

Numerous recipes for miraculous medicines were written with the quintessence as a key ingredient. The quintessence is associated with the Anima Mundi, the Prima Materia, the Pentacle and the Pentagram, and the Rose.
Soy

(Glycine max)

Planet: Moon

Element: Earth

Energies: Protections, psychic awareness, spirituality

Lore:

We know soy in two forms: soy sauce and tofu. While soy sauce has always enjoyed popularity in the West as a flavouring for Chinese food, tofu is only now gaining ground as a nutritious alternative to meat. It is especially popular with vegetarians. The Chinese have eaten soybeans for at least 2,000 years and the Japanese for 1,000.

People in both cultures usually eat them in the form of tofu. In Japan, two deities, Ebisu and Daikotu, are involved in the old-style preparation of tofu. Symbols of these deities are burned into the side of the wooden boxes used to measure the soybeans to be processed into tofu. This blesses them with the energies of Ebisu and Daikotu.

Throughout Japan, fried tofu is an acceptable offering at the inami, agricultural shrines that dot the countryside. These shrines are dedicated to agricultural deities.

On the Japanese New Year, handfuls of roasted soybeans are scattered onto the floor in homes and temples. These “beans of good fortune” are then thrown through an open window to the chant of “Out with evil; in with good fortune!”

In the 1600s, the Emperor Nintoku established the Women’s Mass for Needles. In this ceremony, a cake of tofu is situated on the household altar. Women push all the needles which have been bent or broken in the past year into the cake of tofu. This is done to give the needles—thought to be the spirits of people whose bodies have been sacrificed in service—a gentle resting place.

### Magical uses:

Add soy sauce or tofu to protective diets. Soy sauce is ideal for this due to its extreme saltiness (though too much is, of course, hazardous togood health). For protection, stirfry tofu with onions and other vegetables of similar energies. Tofu is also eaten for psychic awareness (particularly if one is searching for alternatives to meat), and to induce spirituality.
Stheno

**Pantheon**: Greek

**Alignment**: Chaotic - Good

## Fate Lore

The oldest of the Gorgon Sisters that appear in Greek Mythology. A goddess born as a perfected "image (idol)", "the ideal woman" - the embodiment of men's longing. A woman of loveliness, who is almost like elegance and refinement given shape. Has two younger sisters, Euryale and Medusa.

**Height/Weight:** 134cm ・ 30kg?

**Source:** Greek Mythology

**Region:** Europe

According to her, the weight is "*the same as I (Euryale)*".

No matter what kind of gentleman one may be, he will praise and flatter her. Although endowed with elegance and refinement, if one were to get to the core of her character, it is also possible to say that she is an extremely lazy person. Exceedingly coldhearted towards a trivial party. To the point of making the watchdog of the underworld (Tartarus) shudder.

In regards to the little sister (Medusa), she will come together with the other self (Euryale) and end up tormenting her at every opportunity, but actually really likes her. --I love you. From the bottom of my heart. Even after death.

**Goddess' Essence: EX**

A Personal Skill that expresses being a perfected goddess from birth. A composite Skill that comprises the Skill Divinity. Repels all mental interferences, the body does not grow and the figure does not change no matter how much calories are absorbed.

**Goddess's Smile**

**Rank:** B

**Type:** Anti-Unit

Smile of the Stheno. The glamour of a goddess that captivated many brave men. A languorous glance becomes a blade, a charming whisper becomes poison.
Fugen

*The One Who Is All Pervadingly Good*

**Also known as:** Henkitsu

**Classification:** Bodhisattva; Bosatsu

Fugen is the Japanese manifestation of Samant-abhadra, the Great Conduct Bodhisattva. He teaches that actions and conduct are equally important as thought and meditation. Fugen encourages devotees to diligently dedicate themselves to Buddhism. Fugen protects those who teach and uphold the Dharma.

**Favoured people:** Fugen is the guardian of those born in the Years of the Snake and Dragon.

**Spirit allies:** Fugen and Manjusri are often venerated together as emblematic of wisdom and action.

**Attributes:** Lotus

**Direction:** Southeast

**Vehicle:** A six-tusked white elephant

**See Also:** Bodhisattva; Bosatsu; Manjusri

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Selene/Luna

**Pantheon**: Greek

**Authority**: Moon

## Information

Selene is the Greek goddess specially associated with the full moon, sometimes forming a triplicity with Diana and Hecate, the twin sister of Helios the Sun God. Selene rises from the sea in her chariot drawn by white horses at night and rides high in the sky in her full moon.

At the time of the full moon, she is invoked by women for fertility and by all who seek the power of intuition and inspiration.

## Luna

###### **Origin:** Italy

Luna is the presiding spirit of the moon, personification of all its powers and forces. There was originally very little myth associated with her however she was eventually identified with the Greek lunar spirit, Selene who does have an extensive mythology. The two names are now used somewhat synonymously: Luna is described as “the Roman name for Selene.” Children’s mythology books frequently combine Luna’s name and Selene’s myths.

Luna’s powers affect women, fertility and the sea. She may be invoked to intensify or ameliorate lunar forces or petitioned for favour when astrological lunar phases are inauspicious.

**Sacred days:** Roman festivals honoring Luna were held on 31 March, 24 August and 29 August

**Sacred Sites:** Luna: Earth’s moon bears her name. On the Earthly realm, Luna had a temple on the Aventine Hill and another on the Palatine dedicated to Luna Noctiluca “Luna Who Shines By Night”

**See Also:** Madame Lalinn; Liber

## Appearance in Modern Media

From Age of IshtariaFrom Kamihime ProjectFrom Monster Strike
## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Mpungu

**Origin:** Congolese

A Mpungu is a Congolese spirit. The plural is Kimpungulu. These spirits form the pantheon of the Afro-Cuban spiritual tradition, Palo. The term Nkisi is sometimes used as a synonym for Mpungu, but technically a Nkisi is an object that contains a Mpungu.

**See Also:** Lucero; Nkisi

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Minona

**ORIGIN:** Fon (Benin, formerly Dahomey)

Minona, powerful spirit of magic, lives deep within the forest. She presides over women and the home. Minona is either the mother or the sister of Legba, with whom she is closely associated. Minona can be a bit of a trickster, too.

* Minona grants personal fertility to women.
* She bestows and enhances agricultural fertility.
* She teaches women every type of magic plus divination via palm kernels.

**Favoured People:** Women

**Attribute:** Spindle

**Sacred site:** Minona lacks official shrines. Instead, women create personal shrines in their homes.

**Offering:** Fruit, flowers, efforts to preserve African rainforests

**See Also:** Eshu Elegbara; Legba

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Nats

**Origin:** Burma (Myanmar)

The term Nat indicates “power” and names a vast variety of Burmese deities, including ancestral spirits and those of rivers, trees, snakes and other creatures. Many of the most famous and widely venerated Nats are the souls of people who died tragic or violent deaths. Technically, countless Nats exist, with more emerging daily.

Centuries of attempts to tame Nats (and their devotees) have never been completely successful. Thirty-seven Buddhist Nats were officially designated as acceptable for worship. All other Nats are considered disreputable (as are their devotees by extension), especially those that hew to indigenous shamanic and animist traditions and do not acknowledge the superiority of Buddhism. (Thirty-Seven Nats.) The Thirty-Seven Nats are called the Inner Nats because they are permitted into the Buddhist pagoda precinct. All others are called Outer Nats.

Nats are involved in all facets of human life. They are invoked:

* For protection
* To prevent and heal illness
* At every stage of the agricultural cycle
* To fulfill desires

Individual Nats demonstrate their own unique personalities, but generally Nats protect those who feed them. If not appeased and propitiated, many are volatile, fast-tempered, and sometimes mean-spirited beings.

Nats are honored with small private rituals but also celebrated with huge public festivals featuring singers, musicians, and shamans. A festival for Nats is known as a Pwe. Nats engage in voluntary ritual possession of shamans. As in other spiritual traditions, individual shamans may possess a specific repertoire of spirits whom they channel.

**Sacred site:** Although individual Nats are associated with different locales, the spiritual home of Nat veneration is the extinct volcano Mount Popa (“Flower Mountain”), also known as Mahagiri (“Great Mountain”), approximately thirty miles southeast of Pagan, now designated a national park. A partially covered staircase ascends to the top.

Images and music from a Nat Pwe may be witnessed on the 2004 DVD Nat Pwe: Burma’s Carnival of Spirit Soul.

**Offerings:** In terms of devotion by individuals, the standard offering is one coconut and two bunches of bananas. An individual seeking to offer something more substantial can make a pilgrimage or sponsor a Pwe. Nats love loud, lively music and vivid colors, so these are integral to rituals and Pwes. Food is served to Nats, they consume the spiritual essence via the aroma; the food itself is generally eaten by participants and devotees.

**See Also:** Koumyoumin; Mahagiri Nats; Thirty-Seven Nats; Taungbyon Brothers; Youkhazou

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Persephone/Proserpina/Kore

**Pantheon**: Greek

**Title:** Queen of the Underworld

**Authority**: Power

## Information

Persephone is the Greek maiden goddess of transformation, daughter of Demeter and goddess of spring and flowers. She was abducted by Hades, God of the Underworld, and became Queen of the Underworld for the winter months, returning to the Earth as the light-bringer in spring and so representing the cycle of death and rebirth. She is especially powerful in rituals by or for young women, especially those who have suffered loss or abuse, and also for mother-daughter relationships.

She is sometimes regarded as a symbol of grain. Proserpina, daughter of Ceres, is the Roman form of Persephone.

## Smite Lore

Persephone is the Goddess of Vegetation and the Harvest. Daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the other gods often felt fit to decide her fate for her. Demeter enrolled her in helping with her Mysteries while Zeus took it upon himself to give her away. Hades, her husband to be, came up from the underworld and took her away. Demeter, saddened by the loss of her daughter and helper, wept and refused to continue bringing life to the earth. Cornered by a dying world, Zeus forced Hades and Persephone to part.

Before leaving the underworld Hades offered her a seed of a Pomegranate grown in the underworld. Persephone was clever. She understood what was being offered. Those who eat the food of the underworld are bound to it and must return. Hades was offering her a choice. A choice she was happy to accept. Every six months Persephone leaves the underworld, soothing Demeter's grief and bringing life back to the world.

## Kore

*The Maiden*

**Also Known As:** Core

**Origin:** Greece

Kore is not a name but a title, usually indicating Persephone, especially in her aspect as the eternally youthful Goddess of Spring. Kore was venerated amongst Mystery Traditions and thus little is really known or understood. It is possible that some paths of Kore do not refer to Persephone but to the primordial goddess, Car. (Or perhaps Persephone’s roots lie in the mysterious and ancient Car.)

Kore is a spirit of birth and resurrection. Veneration of Kore was integral to the Eleusinian Mysteries. She was venerated amongst Gnostic Mysteries too, sometimes independently of her mother, Demeter. In the early centuries of the Common Era, Kore was venerated in Alexandriaas the self-generating virginal mother. Her festival, the Koreion, celebrated by both Christian and non-Christian Gnostics, honored the annual birth of Aeon, the Divine Child. Images of virginal Kore with her Divine Child may survive amongst some Black Madonnas.

**Colour:** Black

**Feast:** The Koreion, 6 January, eventually assimilated to the Feast of the Epiphany

**See Also:** Black Madonna; Car; Demeter; Persephone
Meness

**Also known as:** Menuo; Menulis

**Origin:** Baltic

Meness is lord of the moon and guardian of the dead. He is also a chthonic spirit of Earth. It was believed that the old waning moon lived underground, while the young new moon lived in the sky. Meness is invoked for health and good fortune. Always address Meness as if he were a prince.

Meness is closely associated with Saulé, Goddess of the Sun to whom he was once married. Meness is fickle, changeable, like the moon—the marriage ended when he fell in love with Ausriné, but he still hangs around the silver gates of Saulé’s palace, flirting with her daughters.

**Manifestation:** Meness is the moon. He wears a cloak of starry night.

**Mount:** Meness’ chariot is drawn by gray horses.

**See Also:** Ausriné; Chthonic Spirit; Saulé

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Mephitis

**Also Known As:** Mefitis; Mefite

**Origin:** Italy

Sometimes healing springs smell foul; that’s the abode of Mephitis, Goddess of Fumes. She presides over noxious vapors and healing. Mephitis has dominion over emanations, especially those that smell foul or that have some sort of profound effect on the body. Thus she presides over poisonous gas and sulfur springs. Mephitis specifically protects against malaria, once a serious health problem in Italy before its many swamps were drained. She is also petitioned to avert bad smells from sewers. Lakes and grottoes associated with Mephitis may be gates to the Underworld. She is a threshold spirit who lingers between realms.

Mephitis was an Italian goddess, possibly originally Sabine or Samnite, whom the Romans inherited. She was widely venerated throughout southern Italy. A fourth-century BCE wooden statue identified as Mephitis was found near Benevento, later famous for its witchcraft traditions. Mephitis is now an obscure goddess, but her name is firmly entrenched in modern vocabulary:

* Mephitic is a synonym for malodorous.
* Mephites are lakes, grottoes, or other sources of water that exude poisonous or noxious vapors or steam.
* Mephitis mephitis is the scientific classification assigned to skunks.

Mephitis is petitioned to protect against negative effects of these emissions. She is also invoked to reap their healing benefits where applicable.

**Sacred site:** Mephitis had a temple near Ampsanctus on the Appian Way. The temple precinct included a cave that gave off suffocating vapors. She also had a shrine in Lucania in southern Italy.

**See Also:** Diana; Palici

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes
Matuta

**Also Known As:** Mater Matuta

**Origin:** Rome

Mater Matuta is the goddess of the dawn light but also has dominion over infants and sea travel. Her festival incorporated elaborate theatrical rituals enacted by Roman ladies of status in precisely this order:

* A slave woman brought into Matuta’s temple was then driven out with slaps and blows.
* The women carried their sisters’ children in their arms to receive Matuta’s blessings.

Exactly what these rituals meant to the Romans is now unclear, but the first part is often interpreted as a reenactment of Dawn vanquishing malefic nocturnal spirits. The second part may represent Matuta’s nurturing the sun, who is not her child but a relative. Alternatively it’s a reminder to entrust your children to family, not to strangers or slaves. This was a women’s Mystery tradition. There may have been an accompanying myth that is now unknown. (See the Glossary entry for Mystery.)

Matuta is invoked to protect your sister’s children. An aunt must perform the invocation, not the mother.

**Favoured People:** Newborn babies whom she protects. Obviously, others may petition on their behalf.

**Feast:** 11 June, the Matralia; before revision of the calendar, this was very close to the Summer Solstice.

**Spirit ally:** Fortuna shares the same feast day. The two goddesses had temples next door to each other in the Forum Boarium.

**Sacred Sites:** Harbors and ports where she also possessed shrines

**Offerings:** Cakes, traditionally baked in terra cotta; flowers

**See Also:** Bona Dea; Fortuna

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes