recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Lady of the Waterside

**Origin:** China

The Lady of the Waterside presides over a celestial realm filled with flowers. Each flower is linked to a living woman. Alternately, one might say that, according to this southern Chinese spiritual tradition, each woman has a flower alter-ego, which contains her female power; the essence of her fertility. Flowers and women are psychically, spiritually, magically linked. This realm and the flowers are mystically connected to the birth process. The baby’s body forms in the human realm but their soul-double is cultivated in flower pots in the Flower World. When it’s time to be born, each must cross the treacherous Hundred Flower Bridge so that soul and body are united but luckily they are protected and guided by the Lady of the Waterside. The Lady of the Waterside is the flower goddess who guards this realm of flowers and hence women’s fertility and their unborn children.

**See Also:** Flora

## Information Source

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

**Also Known As:** Lalla Reqya; Lalla Raqya; Lalla Rkia

**Origin:** Morocco

**Classification:** Djinn

Lalla Rekya Bint El Khamar (literally Lady Rekya Daughter of the Red One), is a Queen of Djinn who presides over bathhouses and fresh water springs. Lalla Rekya may be Lalla Mira’s sister. Lalla Rekya rules the Djinn who live in or frequent the hammam (bathhouse; among the Djinn’s favourite haunts). She is a diplomatic, mediating Djinn who maintains spiritual peace. (The hammam is integral to Islam but also to non-Islamic spirits.)

She is a benevolent Djinn who serves as a guardian of women in the hammam. She is invoked for protection by women against any malevolent Djinn lurking in the bathhouse. Lalla Rekya is greeted upon entering the hammam and her protection requested. She is thanked when leaving and bid goodbye. Babies are traditionally brought to the hammam on or near their first birthday and formally introduced to Lalla Rekya amidst celebrating and feasting. An oil lamp with twelve floating wicks is lit in her honor. (Indicating that this is a special occasion; usually she’s given seven wicks.)

Lalla Rekya also heals menstrual and reproductive disorders and is petitioned for fertility.

**Colour:** Red

**Sacred Sites:** Lalla Rekya lives in the bathhouse. All of them. She also presides over a miraculous healing spring named in her honor in Sefrou in the Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Her spring allegedly cures madness and mental illness. An annual festival is held in her honor.

**Offerings:** Lalla Rekya receives offerings at night. Traditional offerings include menara (small clay vessels used as oil lamps) with seven wicks; incense and perfume.

**See Also:** Djinn; Lalla; Lalla Mira

## Information Source

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

Lady Death

**Origin:** Italy

Libitina is the goddess of death, corpses and funerals. She is Holy Death; her name became a synonym for death itself. Roman undertakers who may be understood as her priests were called libitinarii. It is theorized that she was originally a goddess of death and the life force: her name may be related to libido. However, eventually her associations with death became dominant.

Libitina’s sanctuaries were in sacred groves, often located in the centre of those gardens of death, the graveyard. Roman undertakers maintained offices in her temples. Her temple was where you would go to report a death and make funeral arrangements. Everything necessary for a funeral was housed in her sanctuary. Offerings were made to her following a death in the family.

**Favoured People:** Libitina is the matron of undertakers, gravediggers, funeral workers and anyone who earns a living or profits from death.

**Manifestation:** Libitina appears as a looming black-robed, dark winged presence. Her face is generally obscured. She hovers like a vulture or large bird of prey awaiting the precise moment of death.

**Offerings:** Libitina was traditionally given coins and money. Cemetery maintenance and improvement would be an appropriate offering. Legend has it that one gate of the Forum was dedicated to her on behalf of fallen gladiators.

## Information Source

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

**Origin:** Baltic

Laima is the Goddess of Fate and Destiny. She dispenses quality and quantity:

* Laima bestows good luck and bad; happiness and misfortune
* Laima determines the length of one’s life
* She is a goddess of birth and death

Her name is sometimes interpreted as meaning “happiness” but it may derive from an Old Lithuanian word indicating wisdom. Her name is also related to words for luck and fate. She is a particularly powerful goddess; the spirit above other spirits. Laima is the daughter of Zemyna, the Earth Mother. Alternatively, Zemyna and Laima are sisters; daughters of the primordial Mother Zemyna of the Marshes.

Laima supervises the birth process. She decides whether the baby will be born, what sort of mental capacity the child will possess as well as physical attributes. She determines fate and how and when someone will die.

Laima was not worshipped as part of the official state cult; eventually many of her powers were assigned or appropriated by the male spirit, Dievas. Myths sometimes depict the two deities in conflict with Laima generally winning arguments. Perhaps because she was not favoured by rulers but by farmers and peasants, active veneration of Laima survived long after official conversion to Christianity. Seventeenth century Jesuits complained that offerings to Laima were still brought to her pillar stones.

Rituals honouring Laima were also done in the bathhouse: women joined together to sing to Laima and recite ritual poetry. Bathhouse rituals dedicated to Laima were held prior to giving birth with a ritual feast in the bathhouse immediately afterwards. (Bathhouses also traditionally doubled as birthing houses.) Only women took part. The birthing woman made fabric offerings (embroidered towels; vest; sash) to the keeper of the sauna who, once upon a time, may have been Laima’s priestess but post-Christianity still served as her mediator. Rituals involved sacrificing a chicken which had to be killed with a ladle.

**Manifestation:** Laima may appear alone or in the company of the Laimos. Her throne is a golden stool. She may manifest as a woman or as any of her sacred creatures. She commonly appears as a bear or cuckoo. In her guise as messenger of death, Laima takes the form of a titmouse.

**Tree:** Linden

**Sacred creatures:** Bear, elk, cuckoo, duck, lamb, owl, swan, titmouse

**Offerings:** Traditionally flowers, flax, hand woven cloth and belts; offerings were traditionally made following successful happy births

**Sacred Sites:** Laima was associated with sacred stones, which marked locations of subterranean wells containing the water of life. Laima sits near these stones on her golden stool spinning the thread of life. There are descriptions of Laima’s stones in the Vilnius region dating to 1836. She was also venerated within traditional bathhouses (similar to Russian bania or Finnish sauna).

**See Also:** Fates; Kikimora; Laimos; Lalla Rekya; Laumès; Zemyna

Information Source

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

**Also Known As:** Tara of the Forest

Khadiravani, Lady of the Acacia Forest, protects from all danger. She removes obstacles from the paths of devotees. She is fearless and is invoked to banish any evil. Khadiravani breaks malicious spells and faces down any malignant spirit or ghost.

Who is she? Khadiravani is now mainly identified with Tara and sometimes called the 22nd Tara; the one who comes after the twenty-one official manifestations. She may be a manifestation of Green Tara and is sometimes called the Emerald Tara, referring both to the precious gem and the green leaves of the forest in which Khadiravani dwells. There is no documentation of this form of Tara before the 9th century; no image crafted before the 10th century has been found. Previously she was a completely independent, unafilliated spirit.

Khadira literally means acacia, among the most popular of Himalayan shamanic plants. It also refers to a widely diffused Tantric manual. There are two theories regarding Khadiravani’s identity; they are not mutually exclusive:

* Khadiravani may be an indigenous Bon spirit eventually identified with Tara
* Khadiravani may be a path of Green Tara who, according to legend, appeared to Buddhist scholar and teacher, Nagarjuna in a Khadira forest in southern India

**Spirit allies:** Khadiravani is frequently accompanied by Marici and Ekajata (Blue Tara)

**Realm:** Khadiravani is associated with actual forests but also presides over a mystical forest paradise, filled with glorious trees (acacia, sandalwood, fig, nutmeg, clove, banyan) and an abundance of creatures, specifically peacocks, parrots, tigers, leopards, bear, deer, jackals and monkeys.

**Attribute:** Blue lotus

**See Also:** Bon Spirits; Ekajata; Lady of the Beasts; Marichi; Tara; Green Tara

## Information Source

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

Brightness; Lightning

Loucetius is a British deity venerated together with the goddess Nemetona at the healing spring sanctuary at Bath. His name seems to be a Latinized form of Lugh and they are presumably the same spirit.

**See Also:** Lugh; Sulis

## Information Source

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

**Pantheon**: Greek

**Title**: Hero Scout, Aeson

**Alignment**: Lawful - Good

## Fate Lore

The son of the king of Iolcos, Aeson, originally called Diomedes, but changed his name to Jason while taken into Chiron's care. As the captain of the Argo, he unfolded many ballads of his adventures.

**Height/Weight:** 181 cm, 76 kg

**Source:** Greek mythology

**Origin:** Greece

「Eh, I'm a Saber? Not a Lancer or a Rider?」

Jason demanded the half-brother of his father Aeson, Pelias, to return the throne he had usurped, but as a condition he was asked for the Golden Fleece.

Then he built a ship, and recruited adventurers from all over Greece. The ship's name was Argo, and the crew was called the Argonauts. At the end of a great adventurer in the boat in which several heroes like Heracles, Caenis, Atalante, Castor, Pollux, or Orpheus, Jason seized the fleece. But at that moment Jason ended up ensnaring and marrying Medea. He did.

……It's not necessary to talk in detail. Envy called hatred, and hatred summoned revenge. Jason was deprived of all his status and honour, and in the instant he tried to hang himself from the Argo's bow, he died out crushed by the ship's prow.

○ **The Requested Golden Fleece: None**

The fleece of golden fur he obtained at the end of his adventure. Quite fluffy and comfortable.

○ **Insight at the Jaws of Death: A**

When falling into a predicament, he can escape by acting as if he was throwing away his life. In terms of insight in moments of crisis, no one can come up with him. However, Jason himself hates this skill with all his heart. After all, insight won't reach him if his life isn't threatened.

○ **Conquering the Distant Sea Routes with Friends: B++**

Fills those who once sailed on the Argo with courage. Somehow gives the sensation of encouraging those who didn't sail. Could be said to be a super-limited subspecies of the Charisma skill.

**『Brilliant Ship that Tears the Heavens』**

**Rank:** B++　**Type:** Anti-Army

**Range:** 1~10　**Maximum number of targets:** 50 people

Astrapste Argo. Reinforcement from the Argo. The heroes that sailed on the ship begin a simultaneous attack. The more righteous is Jason's position in battle, the larger the support from the crew becomes, and the frequency of the attacks will increase too.

On the contrary, if his position is clearly that of a villain, it will turn into a situation of 『surprisingly, nobody sailed (sabotage)』, and its power will remarkedly drop.
Kshumai

**Origin:** Nooristan (Afghanistan)

Nooristan is a province located in the Hindu Kush mountain range and populated by descendents of Alexander the Greek’s troops. Previously called Kafiristan, (Land of the Nonbelievers or Land of the Infidels), the province was renamed Nooristan, meaning Land of Light or Land of the Enlightened following its forced conversion to Islam in 1895. Previously a traditional Pagan religion was practiced.

Kshumai is among the primary pre-Islamic Nooristani goddesses. She rules rain and precipitation and hence the harvest. Kshumai, a goat goddess, introduced goats to people, which provides them with wool and milk, survival needs in a harsh, remote climate.

Kshumai is a goddess of wild nature. She lives on Tirich Mir, the highest peak in the Hindu Kush, now in northern Pakistan. She manifests to people near lakes by the mountain. Kshumai has her own flock of goats. Tossing her long breasts over her shoulder, she sits down to milk them: to witness Kshumai milking her goats is to receive the blessings of the goddess.

**Manifestation:** Kshumai may manifest as a woman or a wild mountain goat

**Offerings:** Kshumai traditionally receives gifts of the first harvest, especially grapes

## Information Source

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

*Holder of the Oath Ring; The Silent One*

**Also Known As:** Oiler; Ull; Uller; Ullr; Vuldor

**Origin:** Norse

Holler is the Lord of Frost and King of Winter. He is a particularly primordial Norse deity, a mysterious, shadowy spirit. It’s unclear exactly where he sits on the Aesir/Vanir spectrum. Holler may be the son of Sif, the Golden-Tressed One. His father, if any, is unknown, although some suggest that he is of Frost Giant descent. Holler’s name may be related to “glory.” He seems to have been venerated throughout Scandinavia, the Germanic lands, and the British Isles. According to some myths, when Odin goes wandering, he leaves Holler in charge of Asgard.

Holler is a master archer and hunter and a brilliant skier. Holler skis through the heavens, leaving stars in his wake. He controls the Aurora Borealis. Holler is the lord of justice and dueling. Allegedly invoking his name before a duel brings good luck. When he’s not zipping over the snow on his skis, Holler travels in a ship made from bone.

Holler the Hunter has associations with death. His sacred tree, the yew, is a funerary tree, found in graveyards, not least because of its poisonous berries. Holler may have hunted with poisoned arrows. He may be married to Hulda, weather goddess of birth and death. Like her, he is now associated with the Wild Hunt. Post-Christianity, many of his functions seem to have been transferred to Saint Hubert.

**Favoured People:** Holler likes the ladies. Skiers love Holler, and he seems to love them right back.

**Rune:** Ihwaz

**Tree:** Yew. (Holler’s home is Ydalir, Yew Tree Valley.)

**See Also:** Aesir; Hulda; Jotun; Odin; Sif; Vanir; Wild Hunt

## Information Source

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

**Origin:** Hawaii

Lilinoe is among Hawaii’s snow goddesses. She is the younger sister of Poliahu and like her sister, a great rival of volcano goddess Pelé. The sisters are the antithesis of Pelé: spirits of snowy mountains (hence wet mountains) rather than fiery ones. Lilinoe is the spirit of dead and extinguished fires. Her name literally means “fine mist.” She is the spirit of mist and fog, which so often enshroud the mountains with which she is associated.

She serves as Poliahu’s handmaiden and combs out her sister’s long hair daily. Lilinoe married Nana Nu’u, the mortal who survived the primordial flood. He lives in a cave on Mauna Kea, the mountain Lilinoe calls home. She may be venerated alongside her sisters but keep them apart from Pelé or else sparks will fly.

**Sacred Sites:** Mauna Kea and Haleakala (East Maui Volcano)

**Colour:** White

**See Also:** Kahoupokane; Pelé; Poliahu; Waiau

## Information Source

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

Use this spell to win the affections of the one you desire if he or she has not returned your feelings of love.

In an earthenware pot, plant a fresh cutting of ivy (which represents constant and ever growing love).

Braid two lengths of red and green ribbon together.

Wind the ribbon around the pot and tie in a large bow.

Place the potted plant in a window where it will receive sunlight during the day and moonlight at night.

Each time you water the plant, chant the following:

As the ivy does grow
To my true love show.
I shall be his (her) delight
Both day and night.

Be sure to nurture the plant carefully, for as it grows, so will you gain the love of the one you desire.
Hvashang

**Origin:** Tibet

**Classification:** Arhat

Hvashang is one of the two Tibetan additions to the traditional list of sixteen Arhats. He is usually considered the eighteenth Arhat. (Dharmatala is number seventeen.)

Hvashang serves and supports the sixteen Arhats. Unlike them, he was a layperson, not a Buddhist monk. Hvashang is a rotund, cheerful, good-natured spirit often depicted surrounded with children. His image is among those mistaken for the Laughing Buddha.

**See Also:** Arhat; Buddha; Dharmatala; Hotei

## Information Source

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

**Also Known As:** Ishkhara

**Pronounced:** Ish-hara; the second “h” is hard and guttural.

In Western Asia, scorpions are traditional symbols of romance, their sting analogous to Cupid’s arrows. Ishhara is Mesopotamia’s ancient erotic scorpion goddess of love. There are various theories as to her true identity:

* Ishhara may be a path of Inanna-Ishtar.
* Ishhara may be the original Ishtar before she merged with Inanna.
* Ishhara may be a completely unique, independent spirit whose identity was subsumed by Inanna-Ishtar.

According to the Babylonian version of the zodiac, Ishhara may be viewed in the sky as the constellation Scorpio, zodiac sign of sex and the reproductive organs. Ishhara has dominion over the various issues associated with the zodiac sign, Scorpio, and the astrological Eighth House. Ishhara was invoked for protection, love, romance, and in erotic rites. She was extremely popular in the region that is now modern Syria and Turkey, where she was sometimes considered the wife of the important deity Dagon.

**Iconography:** Images of scorpions remain very popular among traditional North African and Middle Eastern henna artisans for whom the animal represents fierce protection and erotic love.

**Sacred animals:** Scorpions, snakes

**See also:** Inanna-Ishtar; Selket

## Information Source

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

Kami are the indigenous spirits of Japan and the basis of the Shinto religion. The word kami encompasses a very wide variety of spirit beings as well as host of mysterious, mystical powers, energies and forces.

There is an infinite number of kami. The sacred text, the Kojiki says that there are eight million kami but this may be a symbolic number, interpreted as truly meaning innumerable. (Eight is a sacred number in Shinto cosmology.)

Kami animate everything in the universe: every object; thing; formation has a kami. There are kami of places, cities, villages, neighbourhoods. Look around you: if you can see something, it probably has a kami. There are elemental kami and kami of the crossroads. Because of the kami, everything in the entire universe is sacred and animated with profound potentially benevolent, mystical energy. After death, human souls may re-emerge as kami. Ancestral kami are venerated at household shrines.

The name Shinto, translated as Way of the Spirits, derives from two Chinese words: Shen (spirit) and Tao (way). Shinto has no one individual founder. Features recognizable as Shinto religion can be documented as far back as the late pre-historic era, circa 300 BCE to 300 CE. In 1871, Shinto was established as Japan’s state religion and the word Shinto as a name for this spiritual system derives from this period.

Kami are divided into two branches:

* Earthly kami (Kunitsukami)
* Celestial kami (Amatsukami)

Kami may be used as an honorific title or classification for any sacred being and so some Taoist and Buddhist spirits, now so well integrated into Japanese spirituality, are the equivalent of honorary kami, as for example Jizo or Hotei.

Only six kami are honored with the title Okami (“Great Kami”). Five are celestial kami: Amaterasu; Izanagi; Izanami; Michikaeshi and Sashikuni. Only one is an Earthly kami: Sarutahiko.

Kami are traditionally petitioned for health, fertility, success, prosperity, academic achievement,abundance and protection. In general, domestic offerings are made to the kami early in the day, usually in the morning (although clearly this ultimately depends on individual kami and devotee).

## Information Source

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

Libera is the feminine counterpart of Liber. She is the goddess of libido; spirit of irrepressible female vitality. Liber guards seed; Libera makes sure that seed is planted in a fertile, nurturing environment. The relationship between Liber and Libera is not entirely clear. She may be his:

* Sister
* Wife
* Daughter
* Some or all of the above

In their most ancient manifestations, Liber and Libera may have been the Italian equivalent of sacred yang and yin energy. Eventually Liber was considered to be the spouse of Ceres with Libera as their daughter. Under Greek and Roman influence, Libera became identified with Persephone. (The logic being that if Ceres is identified with Demeter; then her daughter must be Persephone.) Liber and Libera were also identified with Dionysus and Ariadne. Less is now known about Libera than Liber possibly because no matter how offended later Christian commentators were by Liber’s phallic processions, Libera’s, which displayed vaginal images, must have been even more shocking.

One version of their myth suggests that Liber died when Libera conceived. Liber was reborn as her child and in the process Libera became Ceres, the Corn Mother. Liber is the corn, eternally born, cut down and born again.

**Iconography:** Statues of Libera sometimes depict her as Persephone or Ariadne. She may also be represented by cleft stones or images of female genitalia.

**Attribute:** Vulva

**Sacred day:** 17 March, the Liberalia

**Offerings:** Vulva shaped candles

**See Also:** Ariadne; Ceres; Dionysus; Liber; Persephone

## Information Source

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

**Also Known As:** Yu Huang Da Di

**Origin:** China

The Jade Emperor is the spirit at the very pinnacle of the Chinese pantheon, the celestial emperor, ruler of the world. As perhaps befitting someone so high up, he is a distant, remote figure. Taoism envisions Heaven as a bureaucracy; the Jade Emperor its chief official. The Jade Emperor is the boss. He has final say in all matters. He is the organizer of the universe. However, once he had organized order from the prior chaos, he left the mundane matters of everyday life in the charge of lesser spirits.

The Jade Emperor is the divine equivalent of China’s Emperor, ruling over lesser deities in the same way that the Emperor rules over local leaders. The Jade Emperor keeps track of each human life on Earth via a broad bureaucratic network of lesser spirits, as for instance, the Kitchen God.

His Chinese name technically translates as “Superior Emperor.” The reference to jade is a metaphor: jade is perceived as the most perfect, precious substance. The Jade Emperor is believed to have once been a prince in ancient China, deified after death. Since approximately the eighth century, he has been regarded as the Emperor of all Spirits. Emperors of the Sung Dynasty (960–1279 CE) encouraged this spiritual tradition in order to strengthen and legitimize their own imperial authority.

**Time:** Between the twenty-fourth day of the final month of the Chinese lunar calendar and New Year’s Day, all spirits must visit the Jade Emperor in order to present their annual report.

**See Also:** Green Jade Mother; Xi Wangmu; Kitchen God; Kwan Kung; Lady Horsehead; Lieu Hanh; T’ai Shan, Lord of; Weaving Maiden

## Information Source

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

*Queen of the Sea*

**Also Known As:** Dona Janaina (literally Lady Janaina)

**Origin:** Brazil

**Classification:** Mermaid

Janaina is a beautiful Brazilian mermaid. She is not a killer mermaid but a benevolent one who protects people who fish, as well as travelers on the sea. She responds to petitions from the person in need as well as from others on their behalf. (So if you’re worried about someone on a boat, you can invoke Janaina’s aid from dry land.)

Janaina is often identified with Iemanja, and their names may be used interchangeably but they are not exactly the same. Iemanja manifests in different forms; Janaina is consistently a mermaid. The name Janaina may be used to describe Iemanja when she manifests in mermaid form but not necessarily in other forms. Although the two spirits are now deeply intertwined, they were initially two distinct spirits, with Janaina an indigenous Brazilian mermaid. She is often evoked in songs of Capoeira (Afro-Brazilian dance/martial art/spiritual tradition).

**Manifestation:** A beautiful, bejeweled mermaid with long hair and a blue fish tail

**Iconography:** Usually as a mermaid; her name is sometimes attached to the image of the Stella Maris, which depicts a woman rising from the sea.

**Colour:** Blue

**Offerings:** Flowers (place them on an altar or on the shore; toss them nicely into the sea); combs; mirrors; gifts evoking the sea

**See Also:** Dandalunda; Mermaid; Stella Maris; Yemaya

## Information Source

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

**Also known as**: Cwn Annwn

**Origin:** Wales

These are the spectral hounds associated with Annwn, the Welsh Otherworld. They belong to Arawn, Lord of Annwn. Sometimes he sends the pack out alone, but they also travel with him, especially in his guise as leader of the Wild Hunt. The dogs may also be accompanied by Matilda of the Night. The hounds leave Annwn for various reasons:

* To foretell or announce death
* To retrieve or escort souls to Annwn
* To reveal (or consume) corpses

Post-Christianity, the hounds of Annwn were reclassified as hell hounds, but Annwn is more accurately described as a paradise. It is not a realm of punishment. Some believe that hearing the hounds bay is a harbinger of death. The hounds serve as psychopomps, accompanying, protecting, and guiding dead souls to Annwn.

**Manifestation:**In the First Branch of the Mabinogi, the hounds are described as shining white with red ears. Other sources described them as small, speckled greyish-red dogs.

**See also:** Arawn; Matilda of the Night; Psychopomp; Wild Hunt

## Information Source

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

*Ho, the Fairy Lady*

**Also Known As:** Ho Sin-Ko; Hosinko

Ho Hsien-Ko, one of the Eight Immortals, was a seventh-century CE shopkeeper’s daughter from Hunan. She was born with six golden hairs marking her as a unique and blessed child. When she was a little girl, she met what is described as “an eccentric” who gave her a magical peach. She ate it and was never hungry again, nor did she require food. Furthermore, she developed clairvoyant powers and was able to reveal people’s fortunes. A shrine was built for her, and Ho Hsien-Ko was worshipped as a living goddess.

When she was about fourteen years old, a Fairy appeared in her dream and showed her how to eat Cloud Mother Powder, made of moonbeams and powdered mother-of-pearl, a diet alleged to produce immortality. The dream was so vivid that Ho Hsien-Ko followed the Fairy’s directions. She discovered that she could fly. She wandered the hills alone, flying up into the mountains to gather fruits, mushrooms, and other treats for her parents. Once she got lost in the woods where she was threatened by a Demon, but Lu Tung-pin arrived with his magical sword to rescue her. Her parents loathed her wandering ways and strange behavior. A marriage was arranged for her, but on her wedding night, only a poem and her shoes could be found. Ho Hsien-Ko had disappeared.

Eventually a Taoist monk came to her parent’s house requesting her shoes, and her parents learned that she was in residence in a monastery. She had stopped eating entirely and spoke so profoundly no one could understand her. News of this strange young adept travelled to the royal court. Ho Hsien-Ko was summoned to the court of Empress Wu (625–705 CE). She began the journey with the palace guards sent to escort her (to ensure her arrival), but Ho Hsien-Ko disappeared en route, vanishing from the middle of the road, right before their eyes.

She reemerged as one of the Eight Immortals and has periodically been encountered in different times and places, sometimes in company with the goddess Ma Gu.

* Ho Hsien-Ko is invoked to assist with domestic issues.
* She is the matron of those who sometimes long to disappear.

**Attributes:** Lotus, fly whisk, basket filled with herbs and wild fruits, large bamboo ladle containing peaches and mushrooms of immortality

**See Also:** Bao Gu; Eight Immortals; Lu Tungpin; Ma Gu

## Information Source

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

**Also Known As:** Mae Phra Posop; Mae Phosop

**Origin:** Thailand

Once upon a time, rice required no labor or cultivation. All you had to do was gather it. Yesteryear’s rice was far superior to our own: each grain was silver, fragrant, and five times larger than a human fist. Unfortunately, one day, a bad-tempered widow husking rice roughly smashed a grain with a piece of wood. The rice shattered and splintered, the pieces radiating out in all directions, one landing in Mae Posop’s lap.

Mae Posop is the rice mother, inherent in every single grain of rice. Furious at this disrespect, she levied a curse that prevented rice from growing for one thousand years. People began to starve, and other deities attempted to coax Mae Posop into releasing rice. She finally agreed but only with the following stipulations:

* Rice is now smaller, the size of the offending splinters, not the original grain.
* Rice must be cultivated with labor.
* All due respect must be given rice and Mae Posop.

Mae Posop is the mother of the rice crop. When rice plants begin to seed, that means she is pregnant. Women traditionally place offerings in a bamboo basket, similar to giving gifts at a baby shower. In addition to her standard offerings, Mae Posop is given gifts that pregnant women are perceived as craving, like sour fruits. Baskets are brought to the rice fields where women chant for her.

She is generous and fertile but tense and skittish. She panics easily. Any sudden shock or disturbance may cause her to flee. From the time of seeding until the harvest, no men are permitted in the rice fields. Loud noises and morbid or scary discussions of death or Demons are forbidden. Failure of the rice crop is perceived as miscarriage.

As Thailand has become increasingly urban and rice farmers have moved to cities, Mae Posop may have evolved into Nang Kwak.

**Manifestation:** Mae Posop is a beautiful woman with long dark hair. She wears a tiara and a sarong with a golden belt.

**Attributes:** A sheaf of rice stalks in her right hand and a bag of wealth in her left

**Offerings:** Flowers, perfume, combs, mirrors, sarongs, desserts

**See Also:** Mae Nak; Nang Kwak

## Information Source

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

**Pantheon**: Mesoamerican

**Title**: Horrific God of Decay

## Smite Lore

Buried beneath the crust of the world descends the cruel hells of torment. The topmost of which are realms of torture and vile inhumanities, home to denizens of darkness and malice. Yet, further into the black below, at the inkiest recesses can be found the horrific ninth hell. Here dwells a deity of true evil, gloating over each corpse he’s claimed with macabre glee, and relishing the moment more of these lesser souls are his. He is Ah Puch, the mightiest lord of the ninth hell.

When night falls, Ah Puch roams the land, crowned by a wreath of human eyes, gruesome skull face bared for all to witness, accompanied by the shriek of ghostly owls. All that live are his for the taking. If Ah Puch finds a human in the night, he kills and drags the unfortunate into endless oblivion. Only those already wracked by his servants, those caught in gut-wrenching wailing, moans of agony, and fits of mania are safe from his touch.
La Lechusa

**Also known As:** La Lechuza

La Lechusa, an owl spirit, haunts the Mexico-United States borderlands. Lechusa literally means owl. There may be one Lechusa or many. Traditional Lechusa myths describe nocturnal attacks on men. Attacks are not random: La Lechusa punishes the unfaithful. Her usual targets are men out drinking, carousing or canoodling instead of being home with those to whom they’ve sworn their troth. In some ways, La Lechusa resembles Lilith whose name also refers to owls.

La Lechusa may be a primordial owl spirit. However other theories suggest that La Lechusa names ghosts of women who died brokenhearted due to a cheating lover or husband. Alternatively, she is a resentful, jealous ghost; angry that her spouse has remarried or found new love and seeking revenge.

La Lechusa is not obscure but is the subject of many alleged sightings and experiences. The story has degenerated in recent years into a horror tale: La Lechusa is now a shape shifting witch out to cause indiscriminate harm, similar to ancient striges, shape-shifting malefic witches. If these witches exist, they are not the same as the supernatural Lechusa. Horror-story Lechusa resembles Bloody Mary: people summon her, allegedly to cast spells on their behalf, but perhaps just to see whether she exists. If they summon her wrong, she attacks them.

Owls are silent hunters. Lechusa is the master of the surprise attack. However, she usually signals her presence via scratching noises on the roof or by particularly eerie hooting sounds. The spell that protects against La Lechusa is extremely similar to the notorious aiguillette, the binding spell intended to ensure a man’s fidelity:

1. Form seven knots in a ribbon, cord or rope (basically whatever you have at hand.)
2. Say a prayer as you form each knot, similar to praying over rosary beads
3. Do not stop until all seven knots are complete and seven heartfelt prayers have been said: it is crucial to maintain total focus for this protection spell to work.

**Manifestation:** La Lechusa is a great white owl. How great? Some descriptions say she’s the size of a woman. Sometimes La Lechusa is completely owl. Sometimes she’s half-owl and half-woman and sometimes she’s described as an owl with a woman’s face.

**See Also:** Bloody Mary; Ghost; Lilith; Vila

## Information Source

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

**Also Known As:** Liber Pater (essentially Papa Liber)

**Origin:** Italy; Rome

**Feast:** 17 March

Liber is the primordial spirit of libido and vitality. He is the essence of life; male procreative energy. Liber is the spirit of irrepressible fertility, invoked to stimulate agricultural abundance. At his most primordial stage, Liber was partnered with his female counterpart, Libera, the yin to his yang. He was then partnered with Ceres, spirit of grain. Liber protects all kinds of seeds: plants as well as sperm. Eventually Liber was identified with Dionysus. The name Liber is sometimes used to indicate Dionysus but they were originally distinct spirits.

Liber was served by older priestesses. His festival the Liberalia celebrated boys who had crossed the threshold into manhood. At the Liberalia, boys removed clothing identifying them as children and donned the toga virilis, official men’s clothing marking them as Roman citizens. The festival incorporated processions in which a huge wooden phallus was carried through fields and streets; repelling the Evil Eye and beaming fertility energy to women, animals and land. At procession’s end, a matron deemed exceptionally virtuous was chosen to place a wreath over the phallus.

Games held in Liber’s honour were wild and raucous, as befitting his nature. By the Roman poet Ovid’s day (43 BCE-circa 17CE), the games were suppressed in favour of a calmer joint celebration with Ceres on 19 April. Liber’s games were briefly revived in the 4th century until the abolition of Pagan religion. Saint Augustine wrote disapprovingly of Liber’s phallic processions.

**Attribute:** Phallus

**Sacred day:** 17 March (the Liberalia)

**Plant:** Ivy

**Offerings:** His traditional offering was a cake called a libia formed from honey and olive oil; phallic imagery; fruits and vegetables; packets of seeds

Liber, Libera and Ceres form the Aventine Triad named for Rome’s Aventine Hill. This was a rustic part of the city; the deities worshipped here were beloved by the masses as opposed to official government deities. It was also a centre for Mystery and fertility traditions.

**See Also:** Ceres; Dionysus; Libera

## Appearance in Modern Media

From Kamihime ProjectFrom Age of Ishtaria
## Information Source

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

**Also Known As:** Red Tara; Kurukulle

**Origin:** Himalayas

**Classification:** Dakini; Bodhisattva

Kurukulla is a spirit of love, beauty, wealth and desire, now most famous for her sponsorship of spells and rituals of domination and control. Kurukulla began her incarnation as a popular tribal goddess, later incorporated into the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon as Red Tara. Kurukulla is the Spirit of Subjugation. Kurukulla is invoked when building monasteries or when beginning any new enterprise in order to subjugate any malevolent force, spirit, Demonic or human, which might pose obstacles.

* Kurukulla tames and controls the spirit world.
* She provides protection against malicious spirits and all harm
* Kurukulla helps devotees achieve their desires
* Kurukulla delivers cash, power and lovers
* Kurukulla is petitioned for wisdom and academic success
* She is invoked by Tantric practitioners

At her most primal, Kurukulla presides over menstrual power. Kurukulla is the Scarlet Woman. Menstrual blood is considered the single most powerful magical ingredient, able to enforce a woman’s will (perhaps one reason why menstruating women are traditionally kept under lock and key). Menstrual blood banishes evil spirits and provides spiritual protection. One drop of a woman’s menstrual blood allegedly causes others to love her forever. Kurukulla epitomizes and transmits this power. She may be invoked to bless and further menstrual magic spells and rituals.

**Manifestation:** Kurukulla is a blissfully joyous scarlet woman with disheveled hair.

**Iconography:** Kurukulla is depicted dancing naked amidst flames. Her red body radiates light. She has one face, three eyes and four arms. She sometimes wears a long red scarf, a crown of five skulls and a necklace of fifty freshly severed heads. A tiger-skin skirt emphasizes her fearlessness and wild nature. Luxurious Tibetan images of Kurukulla are crafted from gold on red vermillion.

**Attributes:** Flower bow and arrow; noose of flowers; hook (The hook symbolizes her power to attract, obtain and influence; the noose Demonstrates her ability to bind all to her will and desire)

**Spirit allies:** Kurukulla is attended by two Dakinis

**Colour:** Red

Kurukulla is intensely identified with the color red. Written petitions should be written in red: red ink, vermillion, menstrual blood or blood pricked from one’s right ring finger.

**Flowers:** Red utpala flowers (red lotus)

**Mantra (short form):** OM KURU KULEE KRIY SO HA!

**See Also:** Bodhisattva; Bon Spirits; Dakini; Jahi; Gorgon; Tara; Mantra

## Information Source

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

**Classification:** Bori

Malam Alhaji is the chief of the third house of Bori spirits, the House of Koranic Scholars. Alhaji literally means that he has made the pilgrimage (the Hajj) to Mecca. He is the younger brother of Sarkin Aljan Suleimanu.

The affliction Malam Alhaji controls is chronic coughing. He presides over a method of healing, which involves writing Koranic verses onto a slate. Water poured over them absorbs the sanctity of the text and is then consumed.

**Manifestation:** He is envisioned as a dignified, elderly gentleman. Unlike other Bori spirits, he doesn’t dance, even during possession rituals. Instead he sits, fingers his rosary, and writes Koranic verses on a slate.

It is important to note that although Malam Alhaji is described as a Muslim scholar, he is not a Muslim spirit. Malam Alhaji is a Bori spirit. Participants in Bori understand him as a Muslim, but conventional Islam does not accept or condone Bori traditions and rituals. The paradox is that if Malam Alhaji was truly the conservative Muslim he is portrayed as being, he would not participate in Bori but would condemn it.

**Colour:** White

**Tree:** Baobab

**See Also:** Arziki; Bori; Mai Gizo; Nakada; Sarkin Aljan Suleimanu

## Information Source

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

Lalla is a Berber word, which literally means Lady. It is an honorific, a term of respect, for women in Morocco. It is used for human women but is also the most widespread term of address for female spirits, common to both Muslims and Jews. The same term is used to address female Muslim saints, female Jewish saints, female Djinn or other female spirits. These spirits are virtually always addressed with the honorific and so Lalla has become part of their names.

## Information Source

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

**Classification:** Aumakua

Kua, King of Kona’s shark spirits is an important Aumakua, an ancestral spirit. A gigantic red shark, Kua led a posse of sharks from Tahiti to their new home in Hawaiian waters. He had sex with a woman on the beach at Ka’u on the big island of Hawaii (believed to be where Polynesians first landed on Hawaii). She gave birth to twins: a boy shark and a human girl just like Daddy and Mommy. She placed her shark son in the water. To this day, many descendents of her daughter have rough patches of skin resembling shark skin on their lower legs. Those possessing that physical attribute, even if not of Hawaiian descent, may possess an affinity with shark spirits.

**See Also:** Aumakua; Ka’ahu Pahau; Kamohoali’i; Merrow

## Information Source

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

**Also Known As:** Ceres

The Keres are a band of fierce, frightening female justice spirits. They are the entourage and servants of the goddess Car. The Keres administer punishment and justice but not gently. They are vampiric spirits who leave death in their wake. They cause plagues and epidemics and drag bodies from battlefields. Greek myth describes the Keres as Car’s sisters. She is the eldest. They are also described as the daughters of Nyx.

**Manifestation:** The Keres are described as dressed in red: whether this is red fabric or whether their clothes are stained red with blood is subject to interpretation. Homer called them the hounds of Hades. Whether this was meant literally—whether like Hekate, they actually manifest as dogs is unknown but possible.

Although their names are similar, the Keres are not identical to the Italian grain goddess whose entry is found under Ceres.

**See Also:** Car; Erinyes; Hades; Hecate

## Information Source

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

*Old, Old Coyote*

**Origin:** Aztec

Huehuecoyotl is a trickster spirit, Aztec lord of dance, music, and carnal delight. He can be a generous patron and is invoked for rescue by those who have incurred the wrath of other spirits. He protects his devotees during battle and other dangers. He can reverse or ameliorate a sad destiny or unfavourable horoscope. However, he is a prankster with a low threshold of boredom. Sometimes he stirs up (serious) trouble just to keep himself entertained.

Huehuecoyotl loves a good party and has been known to throw some himself. Throw a party in his honor with lots of music and dancing to get into his good graces. He may be a trickster, but he’s a divine one who also possesses tremendous esoteric knowledge. He signals his displeasure by causing wasting ailments, especially of the genitalia. He may be invoked to heal these ailments, too.

**Favoured People:** Artisans; artists; feather workers; dancers; musicians; courtesans; harlots; sex workers; story tellers; women who work fine embroidery and needlework; those people who can keep him consistently entertained

**Manifestation:** Huehuecoyotl has a coyote head atop a man’s body.

**Emblem:** Drum

**Number:** 4 (He is the guardian spirit of the fourth day of the month in the Aztec calendar.)

## Information Source

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

The Bright One of the Skillful Hand

**Origin:** Celtic; Wales

Lleu Llaw Gyffes, the divine warrior, is the Welsh path of the Celtic spirit, Lugh. Lleu Llaw Gyffes is the subject of a complex, mysterious myth, which begins with his surprise birth to the lunar goddess, Arianrhod. She is not a nurturing, welcoming mother but subjects him to harsh taboos, which restrict his power and growth. She denies him a name, weapons and a wife: three rites of passage required for a man of this culture.

The myth portrays Arianrhod in an unflattering light unless one interprets it in the context of an older lunar goddess desperately attempting to maintain her own power in the face of a tricky, skillful, brash, aggressive solar spirit. Lugh was among the most significant Gaulish deities. His Welsh and Irish myths describe his entry into their societies, the relationships he forms with some pre-existing local spirits and the resistence with which other spirits greet him.

Lleu Llaw is a master magician. He is clever and crafty, in all senses of that word. He is invoked to find solutions for insoluble situations and for victory when the odds are against you. In myth, Lleu Llaw does not have a lot of luck with women. His mother, Arianrhod, seems to wish he would just go away. His wife, Blodeuwedd, plots to kill him. It’s likely that he’s a better ally for men.

**Sacred bird:** Eagle; raven

**Sacred tree:** Oak

**See Also:** Arianrhod; Blodeuwedd; Loucetius; Lugh

## Information Source

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