recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Charites

**Also known as:** The Graces

**Origin:** Greece

The Charites are attendants of Aphrodite and Hermes but are also venerated independently as spirits of creative inspiration, botanical abundance, moisture, and human fertility. The Charites are:

* Aglaia: “The Wonderful”
* Euphrosyne: “Joy”
* Thalia: “Plenty”

Their parentage is subject to dispute. The Charites may be the daughters of the primeval Pelasgian goddess Eurynome by either Zeus or Kronos. (An obscure myth suggests that Aphrodite was the daughter of Eurynome and Kronos, which would make them her sisters.) Alternatively the Charites are daughters of Nyx and Erebus or Lethe or Hekate and Hermes. Their name derives from a word meaning “to rejoice.” They are joyful, happy, sensuous spirits; their festivals had a reputation for being raucous. The Romans called them Graces, indicating favor and thankfulness (as in saying grace before meals).

**Favored people:** Dancers, young women; those who need joy and beauty

**Manifestations:** The Charites, who manifest as beautiful, graceful, dancing young women, usually appear as a pair or triad.

**Iconography:** Their most familiar image depicts the three Charites standing close together. Two face the viewer while the Charite standing in the center turns her shapely back. The Charites may be naked or clothed. At their shrine in Orchomenos in Boeotia, the Charites were venerated in the form of three uncut stones described as falling from Heaven, presumably meteorites.

**Sacred sites:** Important cult centers included Athens, Arcadia, and the Aegean island of Paros.

**See Also:** Aphrodite; Eurynome; Hekate; Hermes; Kronos; Lethe; Nyx; Persephone

## Information Source

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

**Also known as:** Candelo Sedifé; Papa Candelo

**Classification:** Lwa

**Feast:** 4 November

Candelo is an extremely popular Dominican lwa. Originating on the island of Hispaniola, comprising Haiti and the Dominican Republic, he is now well known throughout the Spanish Caribbean and the United States.

Once upon a time, Candelo may have been an enslaved African forced to labour on a sugar plantation. He was a font of knowledge regarding African religious, spiritual, and mystic traditions; others came to consult him and benefit from his expertise. Candelo also made and sold potent firewater, another reason people flocked to him.

Candelo, now a powerful spirit, no longer enslaved, roams Dominican streets at night, playing dice and cards, and attending cockfights. (Another version suggests that he was never truly enslaved or completely human: his spirit took human form to comfort enslaved Africans and provide spiritual guidance.)

Candelo is an old, wise miracle worker who may theoretically be petitioned for anything, but his specialties involve improved luck, business, and finances. He is invoked to ward off or alleviate poverty. Candelo is a classicist who strongly prefers that rituals be performed carefully and correctly. He has a temper. He is not a spirit for the dabbler or the inexperienced.

Although frequently described as a severe spirit, Candelo has a lively side, too. He loves dancing. He likes the ladies. He enjoys pyrotechnics, too. Because Candelo essentially is fire, it is crucial to be extra cautious with fire safety when honouring or invoking him, as he has a tendency to announce his presence with conflagrations. His friend and compatriot Belié Belcan is syncretized to Michael Archangel. Michael offers protection from fire, and so Belié exerts a balancing effect on Candelo. They are frequently venerated together. (Don’t be careless with candles or flaming alcohol offerings anyway.)

**Favored people:** Candelo protects women and children; he is the patron of cockfighters and those born under fire signs.

**Attribute:** Machete

**Element:** Fire

**Bird:** Rooster

**Colour:** Red

**Plants:** Basil, rue

**Offerings:** Candelo is intensely fiery: offerings of alcohol, like rum or Florida Water, are traditionally set alight. He likes tobacco products such as cigars or cigarettes. Light them for him when presenting.

**See Also:** Belié Belcan; Candelina; Michael Archangel

## Information Source

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

**Classification:** Orisha

Boyuto is the Orisha of Illusion. He has dominion over perception, mirages, hallucinations, vision, second sight, and ESP. Illusions and mirages are his weapons as are blurred vision, double vision, and faulty vision. Boyuto controls optical illusions. When he wishes, he creates mental confusion and disorientation.

On the other hand, Boyuto can bestow the gifts of enhanced night vision, psychic vision, and clairvoyance. As a healing spirit, he has dominion over illnesses associated with sight including cataracts, glaucoma, blindness, or any sort of impaired visions. Healers and physicians who are eye specialists may invoke his assistance, as may mages and sorcerers who depend on the power of illusion and misdirecting the eye.

**Manifestation:** Boyuto manifests as a fisherman.

**Attribute:** Fishing pole

**Spirit ally**: Boyuto is the companion and guardian of Erinle. They may be venerated together.

**See Also:** Erinle; Marichi; Morgan Le Fay; Orisha

## Information Source

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

**Also known as:** Eleutheria; Ilithyia; Genetyllis

**Origin:** Crete

Eileithyia is the ancient goddess of childbirth, midwifery, and birthing pains. Eileithyia is believed to be a Minoan goddess assimilated into the Greek pantheon as Hera’s daughter. She works very closely with Hera and is Hera’s weapon in her struggle to prevent Zeus’ other wives from giving birth and threatening the sovereignty and statues of her own children. Without Eileithyia’s cooperation, labour cannot go well and perhaps cannot occur at all.

Eileithyia was venerated by pregnant women and those in labour to provide safety success and to lessen pain. Although comparatively little attention is paid to her in mythology books, she was actually subject of great popular veneration; she had many shrines and was considered an extremely significant deity.

**Favored people:** Midwives

**Iconography:** A woman bearing a torch or with hands upraised, as if beckoning. Some times there is one Eileithyia, but sometimes she is portrayed as a pair of spirits.

**Attribute:** Torch

**Spirit allies:** Eileithyia may be venerated alongside Hera and/or Artemis.

**Sacred site:** The Cave of Eileithyia near Knossos, Crete, is allegedly her birthplace and was an important pilgrimage site; she is associated with caves, in general. Eileithyia was a widely venerated goddess with shrines throughout Greece.

**Offerings:** Ex-votos (milagros) in the shape of breasts; incense; water

**See Also:** Artemis; Hera; Leto; Semele; Zeus

## Information Source

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

*Fair Shape*

**Origin:** Ireland

Conn of the Hundred Battles, King of Ireland, was mourning the death of his beloved wife. Walking by a lonely, desolate shore, he saw a luxuriously dressed, beautiful woman emerge from a tiny boat. When he identified himself, she announced that she wished to marry his son, Art. Conn convinced her to marry him instead. When asked her name, she identified herself as Delvcaem, although later she is discovered to be Becuma, who was banished from the realms of spirits (all of them) for sexual infidelity.

The two are happily wed, but disaster befalls Ireland. Crops fail; people starve; illness stalks the land. Becuma is blamed. The kings of Ireland base their right to rule on their relationship with the goddess of sovereignty. Something is wrong with the relationship between Becuma and Conn. The story is mysterious. It was committed to print by later Christian commentators: there is an emphasis on virginity and sexual fidelity, which may not have existed in the most ancient versions.

Becuma has a contentious relationship with Conn’s son, Art, who despises her. She sends him on a quest to retrieve someone named Delvcaem.

* Does she expect him to die?
* Is she requesting that he return with her alter ego and in the process save Ireland?

It’s unclear. Those who first wrote down the story adamantly considered Becuma the villain of the piece, yet it’s she who ultimately points Art in the right direction to restore life, abundance, and fertility. Delvcaem and Becuma may be alter egos; one may be a goddess of life, the other the spirit of blight. It is also unclear whether Becuma is really named Delvcaem or whether she was trying to steal the other’s identity.

Art’s fairy tale quest to locate and win Delvcaem includes riding out to sea in the same sort of little boat associated with Becuma. Delvcaem lives on an island ruled by her father, King Morgan, and her mother, Dog Head, daughter of the King of the Dog Heads. An oracle has foretold that when her daughters are wooed, she will die, and so Dog Head attempts to brutally block all suitors from approaching the island. Art eventually prevails, returning to Ireland’s royal seat, Tara, with Delvcaem, with whom he has fallen in love.

Delvcaem is described as an amazingly powerful sorceress: when she arrives, Becuma is immediately forced to leave as if the two cannot be in the same place at the same time. Delvcaem weds Art just as Becuma, in the guise of Delvcaem, had wished. Delvcaem is the spirit who presides over taking one’s rightful place. She is a great magician and may be invoked for advice and lessons. Delvcaem is a spirit of fertility, abundance, and true love.

**Manifestation:** She is described as beautiful. Her name means “Fair Shape.” She may or may not look just like Becuma.

**Attribute:** A chalice filled with wine (she has a sister who bears a chalice of poison)

**See Also:** Becuma; Maeve

## Information Source

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

*Lord of Nubia*

**Also known as:** Dedwan

**Origin:** Nubia

Dedun is the Lord of the Nubian Desert. Spirit of incense, wealth, and trade, he epitomizes the great wealth and treasure of ancient Nubia. He protects and sponsors traders in incense and traditional Nubian arts.

**Manifestations:** Usually depicted in human form but sometimes as a lion

**Offering:** Show him you know what fine incense really is. Offer myrrh, among Nubia’s treasures.

## Information Source

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

*The Fingers; The Kids*

**Also known as:** Daktyls

The Dactyls are mysterious metal-working spirits of shamanism, smithcraft, fertility, and magic. Various versions of their origins exist, as well as debates regarding their number. The most famous says that the Dactyls were born when mother goddess Rhea, in the throes of labour pains for Zeus, fell to the ground, plunging her fingers in Earth. The Dactyls, ten iron boys (or five boys and five girls), sprang up where she penetrated Earth. Their very first act was to successfully help Rhea with the childbirth that until then had been going badly.

The sons of the right hand become ironworkers; the sons of her left hand become shamans and magical practitioners. Another version says that the left-hand Dactyls cast spells and the right-hand Dactyls break them. The right hand may be Dactyl brothers; the left hand Dactyl sisters. Alternatively, there may be more or less than ten. There may be twenty on the right hand and thirty-two on the left. There may only be three. Three Dactyls are named:

• Akmon (“Anvil”)

• Damnameneus (literally “the Compeller,” a metaphor for a hammer)

• Kelmis (interpreted as “Knife”)

The Dactyls invented iron smelting. They are spirits of secret metal-working guilds, primordial, phallic spirits concerned with fertility, well-being, healing, and shamanism. They serve as healers and obstetricians and educated Athena in her youth.

**Manifestation:** The Dactyls are of small stature, sometimes described as Dwarves.

**See Also:** Athena; Cabeiri; Hephaestus; Rhea; Zeus

## Information Source

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

*Peace*

**Also known as:** Hag Grid

**Origin:** Norse

**Classification:** Jotun, Frost Giant

Grid is an unusual Frost Giant if only because she’s friendly toward the Aesir spirits. In her most famous myth, she rescues Thor from certain doom. Having been convinced to visit the hostile Jotun, Geirrod, without his magic hammer, belt, and iron gauntlets, Thor stops to spend the night at Grid’s hall. She perceives his danger, although he does not. Grid instructs and cautions Thor, insisting that he take her own pair of iron gloves and her unbreakable shield and girdle of might. Thor survives because of her. She is a goddess of caution and forethought. Grid is the mother of Odin’s son, Vidar, destined to avenge his father at Ragnarok.

**See Also:** Aesir; Jotun; Odin; Thor

## Information Source

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

*The Immutable One*

**Also known as:** Fudo-sama, Fudo, Acala

Fudo Myouou, Lord of Wisdom and Fire, may be the Japanese manifestation of Dainichi Buddha. Emerging as an independent entity in the twelfth century, Fudo protects against danger and disaster. He is invoked against fire and theft. Fudo brings devoteesfinancial prosperity. He banishes evil spirits. Fudo is the guardian spirit of the Year of the Rooster and those people born under that Chinese astrological sign. He Demonstrates wrath by causing sudden blindness.

**Favoured people:** Astrologers

**Iconography:** An elderly man surrounded by fire; a man

**Attributes:** A rope with which to bind evil spirits and a sword to sever ties to the material

**Element:**Fire

**Direction:** West

**Creature:** Dragon

#### **Sacred site:**

A temple atop Mount Okiyama; Fudo Taki, “Fudo’s Waterfall,” on Japan’s Mount Akakura

**See Also:** Buddha

## Appearances in Modern Media

From Tower of SaviorsFrom Shin Megami TenseiFrom Monster StrikeFrom Kamihime Project
## Information Source

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

*The Fierce Virgin*

**Origin:** Romania

Dschuma is a disease demon, a spirit of cholera. She is a harbinger of illness. She only appears when illness and epidemic are imminent. She wanders through the night, naked and wailing. She’s not mourning her victims; she’s crying because she’s cold. She’s a little girl spirit and possesses little empathy. If she’ll put some clothes on and warm up, she may go away and take the threat of epidemic with her. Once she has been spotted, a ritual is immediately required to forestall an epidemic:

* Seven post-menopausal women must spin and sew one single red shirt while maintaining total and complete silence.
* The shirt must be completed in one single night.
* Once complete, the shirt is hung outside as an offering for Dschuma.
* If there’s no cholera outbreak, then you’ll know she’s accepted the offering.

**Manifestations:** Although she usually appears as a fierce young girl, she occasionally takes the form of an elderly, toothless hag.

**Color:** Red

## Information Source

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

**Items**: A clear glass bowl, a one-litre bottle of spring water, silver paint, a sprig of jasmine, moonstone, two white altar candles, gardenia incense and oil, small paintbrush, and usual altar tools.
Use the silver paint to inscribe the following symbol on the outside bottom of the bowl:

Set your altar so the light of the full moon shines directly on it. Fill the bowl with the spring water. Place the bowl and all the other items called for on the altar. Cast your magick circle and then light the altar candles, saying:
Lady, I now invite thee here
As the mother of sacred Earth,
Whose power is beyond compare
When dreams are given birth.
Hold the moonstone and sprig of jasmine in offering as you ask this blessing:
Lady of desire, reflection of light
You are my motion, direction, and second sight.
Mother of creation, the original source,
You are potential, power, the ultimate force.
Grandmother of time, wise one from above,
I summon thee here with honour and love.

Gently place the moonstone and sprig of jasmine in the water. Pick up the bowl and hold it in offering as you say:
I call the brilliant evening star,
The virgin of celestial light.
The gracious goddess from afar,
Great mother of second sight.
Glorious queen of the twilight hour
Wise and vigilant protector,
Thou whose silent power
Is regal and most splendor.
I beckon thee to now descend
Great mystery behind the veil
She who rises time and again
The keeper of the grail.
Set the bowl down. Anoint your forehead with a drop of the water. Extinguish the candles, take up the circle, and carefully place the bowl in a window where the moon will continue to shine on it. Just before sunrise, remove the jasmine and stone. Pour the contents of the bowl into a bottle with a lid, and close tightly. Keep the moonstone with your other magickal tools. Take the jasmine to the nearest river or lake, toss it in the water as you make a wish. Use the moon water to bless and consecrate your circle, or in place of oil to anoint candles and other magickal objects.
El Indio

El Indio (“The Indian”) is an ancestral guardian spirit originally venerated in Mexican Santeria and Espiritismo traditions. Although there are archetypal Indio spirits, this is a class of spirits: each medium, devotee, or spiritualist may have their own unique Indio who serves as spiritual advisor and/or guardian. To some extent El Indio corresponds to Brazilian Caboclo spirits. Mass-produced images of typical Indio figures are available from botanicas and spiritual merchants; however, unique personal images can easily be substituted. Although this class of spirit is very popular in the Spanish Caribbean and is perceived as an ancestor, the image does not portray a native Caribbean or Mexican. Instead, images generally depict an idealized North American Plains Indian dressed in buckskin and frequently wearing a feathered war bonnet.

* El Indio de la Paz, or the Indian of Peace, serves as a sentinel and guardian. He is commercially portrayed as a man sitting cross-legged, smoking the sacred pipe.
* El Indio Guerrero, or the Warrior Indian, is petitioned for protection and to bolster courage. He may be armed and/or wear a war bonnet. (Alternatively, he just looks fierce.) He is identified as a Native American warrior persistently battling for land, rights, autonomy, and dignity and is a valued spiritual advisor.

**Offerings:** Tobacco, beads, cornmeal; individual spirits will advise regarding preferred offerings.

**See Also:** Black Hawk; Caboclos; Janaina; Jurema; Spirit Guides

## Information Source

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

**Origin:** Italy

Once upon a time, the image of a hunchback represented abundance because the hump on the back was interpreted as a bag so packed and full that it forced the person carrying it to hunch over. That bag of gifts is not dissimilar to the big bag Santa Claus is still depicted carrying.

Gobbo literally means “hunchback” in Italian. (The Italian title of Victor Hugo’s classic is Il Gobbo di Notre Dame.) Gobbo is also the name given to an ancient Italian spirit of abundance, fertility, and the life-force. Although Gobbo is now considered his name, it may originally have been a title or euphemism.

The most ancient manifestations of Gobbo somewhat resemble the Egyptian spirit Bes: he is a small virile man whose presence stimulates prosperity and plenty. He transitioned to Christianity, although his famous virility was toned down. Gobbo appears as an ornamental motif among Gothic churches, in the same manner, if less frequently, as the Green Man. The identity of the treasure Gobbo brings was reinterpreted: in Verona, Italy’s thirteenth-century Gothic Church of Saint Anastasia, Gobbo bears the holy-water font.

A very long time ago, in some societies, human beings with hunchbacks were considered sacred. Centuries later, however, those with hunchbacks would become persecuted or marginalized, the only lingering vestige of their previously higher status other peoples’ annoying desire to rub their backs for good luck. The hump was perceived as bringing luck to others, not necessarily to the person carrying it.

Gobbo’s mischievous trickster nature and powerful libido refused to be stifled: he was eventually identified with imps and minor devils. Gobbo degenerated into a good-luck charm, which is where you’re most likely to find him now. Gobbo decorates automobile rearview mirrors and key chains. The legend says that if you rub his hump, he’ll bring you luck and good fortune, but Gobbo can do more. He breaks the power of the Evil Eye, banishes malevolent forces, and provides fertility, too.

**Iconography:** The modern image of Gobbo usually depicts him as a dapper little man in a dress suit and a black top hat, but variations exist. Sometimes he’s a man from the waist up; a vivid red horn from the waist down. That hybrid image officially combines two amulets: Gobbo and the phallic cornuto (horn), but it actually discreetly returns Gobbo’s own phallus, once prominently displayed à la Priapus.

**Attributes:** Horseshoe; red horn; crowned horn; red pepper; umbrella; various Italian amulets like the Mano Cornuto (horned hand)

**Offerings:** Go ahead and keep Gobbo in your car or pocket, but place another image on an altar and see if he doesn’t do more for you. Feed him espresso; food with peppers; phallic-shaped bread; and lots and lots of Italian liquor (wine, grappa, limoncello).

**See Also:** Bes; Kokopelli

## Information Source

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

**Origin:** Himalayas

Ganga is the goddess of India’s holiest river, the Ganges. She is a spirit of abundance, health, and vigor, bestowing fertility, happiness, health, and material comforts. Ganga, a spirit of incredible power, is the absolute essence of the water of creation.

The Ramayana recounts Ganga’s birth. Her father is Himavat, Lord of the Himalayas. In one legend, Ganga agrees to marry the mortal king Santenu on the condition that he never addresses even the tiniest reproach to her. He observes this stipulation strictly until, witnessing her drown each of their children in the Ganges, he comments upon her strange notion of maternity. Ganga abandons her husband on the spot, although not before informing him that the children she had borne and drowned were actually divinities, forced into mortal birth as punishment. Her act of throwing them into the river actually purified their sins and released them to continue their divine existence.

Ganga soothes mental disturbance and emotional ills. She provides fertility and physical healing. She removes anger and guilt. She heals, cleanses, and purifies those who loathe themselves or are overwhelmed by shame or guilt.

**Manifestations:** Ganga is the Ganges River, but she also manifests as a woman or mermaid. When manifesting as a woman, she is too beautiful to be mistaken for a mortal. Her hair is long and flows in waves. She often wears a belt of pearls. In the Bengal, she is a white-colored woman. She may be depicted with either two or four arms.

**Attributes:** Ganga holds a pitcher and a lotus flower.

**Mount:** Ganga rides the Makara, part fish and part elephant or crocodile.

**Element:** Water, specifically Ganges River water, considered to contain tremendous spiritual powers. Water is carried away in small sealed pots to be placed upon household altars. The full efficacy of the water’s powers, however, is obtained by bathing in it.

**Animals:** Doves, goats, pigs

**Sacred sites:** Ganga is present in every drop of Ganges River water; however, temples have been raised alongside Ganges riverbanks. Millions of devotees are on her banks at all times. Principal centres of worship include:

* Gengotri (the source of the river)
* Haridwar (where the Ganges meets the plains)
* Allahabad (where the Ganges joins the Yamuna River)
* The holy city of Varanasi (Benares)
* Sagara Island, where the Ganges flows into the Bay of Bengal
* Lake Ganga (Ganga Talao) in Mauritius, the largest Hindu pilgrimage outside India

**Time:** Bathing fairs are held in honor of Ganga’s birthday each spring. Every twelve years, a great festival is held in Haridwar to coincide with Jupiter entering Aquarius.

**Offerings:** Pilgrims launch small boats made of leaves bearing marigold petals dipped into clarified butter (ghee) and set alight.

**See Also:** Apsaras; Shiva; Vishnu

## Information Source

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

*The Smoky One*

**Origin:** India

She’s called “the Smoky One” because Dhumavati is surrounded by the apocalyptic smoke of the burning universe. Dhumavati is the goddess as widow. She is the matron goddess of beggars; lepers; the ailing and miserable; people who are sick and not getting better. She is the guardian of those who are abandoned, overlooked, forgotten, and marginalized; those who see their future and see no hope. She is the lady of widows, orphans, and inconvenient, needy, unpleasant relatives.

Dhumavati is an angry, raging, resentful goddess. She’s not afraid of the apocalypse because life as it exists holds no hope. If she expresses your deepest emotions, then she may be your goddess, too. Dhumavati is a clever, quickwitted, quick-tempered, volatile spirit, an expert on the arts of survival. She’s popularly petitioned during wartime or disasters for help surviving and even thriving. (Someone inevitably benefits from disasters; Dhumavati is petitioned by devotees so that they’ll be that someone.)

If you are desperate and really down-and-out, request her assistance. If you’d like to avoid that state, propitiate her and pay her off. Dhumavati is acquisitive and hungry: never forget or delay her offerings. Dhumavati evokes the power of poverty, defeat, and despair. Is she invoked for cursing? You bet.

**Manifestation:** She’s not a sweet, charming old lady; she’s a raging, angry, unpleasant hag. Dhumavati is old, tall, and very thin. She has very few teeth left; perhaps one reason why she’s always hungry. She’s always thirsty, too.

**Attribute:** Winnowing fan

**Consort:** He’s dead. She’s a widow.

**Sacred bird:** Carrion crows

**Mount:** Crows pull her chariot.

**Sacred sites:** Dhumavati haunts ruins, old battlefields, bombed-out markets, and other scenes of devastation.

**Offerings:** Make sure they’re consistent. She’s acquisitive, resentful, and always feels like she’s being shortchanged. Light incense for her, but give her food and drink, too. Give her whatever you’re having because if you don’t she’ll think you’re hoarding the good stuff.

## Information Source

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

*Queen of Dust*

**Origin:** India

Chandi, goddess of birth and death, is a tribal and village goddess partially incorporated into the Hindu pantheon. She is venerated alongside Kali and the Dakinis. Chandi bestows both good fortune and disaster. She is an oracular, prophetic spirit, petitioned for safety, romance, and fertility. She banishes malevolent spirits. Chandi is invoked in love spells, particularly those involving footprints. Dust taken from a person’s footprint is believed able to magically influence them, hence Chandi’s title, the Queen of Dust.

Chandi displays different aspects of herself in different locales, thus she is sometimes described as “Chandi of the River” or “Chandi of the Grove.” Among her other powers, she is a disease spirit: healing and causing eye ailments and cholera. She’s held responsible for illnesses of cattle and propitiated for their health.

**Iconography:** In tribal context, Chandi is venerated in the form of round black stones. The stones may be seated on a throne and/or have a woman’s face painted on them. In Hindu context, she appears in the form of a four- or more armed woman wearing a red sari and adorned with a garland of skulls.

**Attribute:** A water pitcher for purposes of scrying and divination

**Mount:** Lion

**See Also:** Dakini; Kali; Kybele

## Information Source

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

**Origin:** Andes Mountains

Apus are spirits of Andean mountain peaks. An Apu is simultaneously:

* The sacred spirit of a mountain
* The mountain itself
* The spirit who lives atop the mountain

Paradoxically, the Apu is inseparable from the mountain even though the spirit itself is completely mobile and perfectly capable of travelling far. Apu literally means “lord.” Female Apus are addressed as “Mama.” Most are male, but some are female, including Mama Simona of Cuzco; Mama Putukusi of Machu Pichu; and Mama Veronica (Quechua name: Wakay Willca) near Cuzco. Theoretically every mountain peak in the Andes has its own Apu, but the most famous are the twelve associated with Cuzco:

* Apu Ausangate
* Apu Salkanaty
* Mama Simona
* Apu Pikol
* Apu Manuel Pinta
* Apu Wanakauri
* Apu Pachatusan
* Apu Pijchu
* Apu Saqsaywaman
* Apu Wiraqochan
* Apu Pukin
* Apu Senq’a

**Manifestation:** Apus frequently take the form of mischievous, playful, but helpful children. For instance, Apu Ausangate, considered the most powerful Apu of Cuzco, manifests as a blond, fair-skinned child wearing white clothes and riding a white horse. Don’t let their chosen form fool you: they are ancient and powerful spirits.

**Gifts**: Small stones resembling animals or plants are sacred gifts from the Apus and may be used to bring whatever the stone resembles into your life. (Resemblance may be enhanced by carving.) These gifts are not limited to one person: they may be given to others or passed down through generations of a family. They may also be purchased at Andean pilgrimage sites. Modern versions of these amulets include miniature trucks, tools, and even passports.

**Ritual**: Travel to the Apus to request their blessings and protection.

**Offerings:** Coca leaves; libations of water and alcoholic beverages

## Information Source

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

**Origin:** Greece

Dione, water goddess of fertility and divination, is a shadowy figure in Greek mythology: she’s Zeus’ first wife. Dione and Zeus presided over the Oracle of Dodona in northwestern Greece, described by Herodotus as the oldest Hellenic oracle. Scholars now believe it to be pre-Hellenic and prehistoric. Although Zeus and Dione were venerated there together as a couple, some theorize that Dione was there first, only later joined by Zeus.

Dione is the wife left behind. It’s theorized that the Hellenic people first emerged in the Dodona region. Zeus then led them through Greece, from Thessaly on to Athens and Crete. Dione stayed behind in Dodona while Zeus married other goddesses, most notably Hera.

Dione is a water spirit. She presided over the freshwater springs at Dodona while Zeus delivered oracles from its oak groves. Although Dodona is now almost universally described solely as Zeus’ oracle, Dione delivered prophesies, too.

There are different versions of her parentage:

* Hesiod describes Dione as a daughter of Oceanus.
* Followers of Orpheus said Dione was a daughter of Uranus.

Although the most famous myth regarding Aphrodite’s origins describes her as a dramatically conceived daughter of Uranus, other myths describe her as the daughter of Zeus and Dione. In Homer’s Iliad, when Aphrodite is wounded on the battlefield, she runs to Dione for comfort, sinking onto her lap. Aphrodite was sometimes called Dione, and it’s possible that Dione herself may lurk beneath some aspects of Aphrodite.

**Bird:** Dove

**See Also:** Aphrodite; Hera; Leto; Themis; Zeus

## Information Source

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

(Anthriscus cerefolium)

Planet: Mercury

Element: Air

Energies: Weight Loss

### Lore:

Folk magicians once boiled chervil with pennyroyal. The resulting brew was thought to cause its drinker to see double.

The plant was named cerefolium to honour its ancient use in festivities directed to Ceres, the goddess of grain and vegetation.

In earlier, rougher times, many died from combat wounds due to infection. In the 1500s, wounded men were given chervil juice to drink. If they kept it down the chervil predicted that they would live. If they “cast it up,” the wound was mortal.

Magical uses:

Chervil can be hard to find, but is well worth seeking, especially as it can be of help when trying to lose weight. Juice a bit of this plant every day, visualize, and drink to maintain or to regain your desired figure. For added power, eat in a salad with chickweed.
Dandalunda

**Also known as:** Ndanda Lunda

**Origin:** Bantu

Ndanda Lunda literally means “Lady of the Lunda.” (The Lunda are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group now resident in Angola, Congo, and Zambia.) A spirit of water, the moon, love, beauty, childbirth, and fertility, she is sometimes classified as a Simbi spirit.

Ndanda Lunda traveled to Brazil with enslaved devotees where her name evolved into Dandalunda. She is venerated among the Bantu paths of Candomblé. Candomblé, however, is dominated by Yoruba traditions, and so Dandalunda is often identified with orixas, especially sea spirit Iemanja (Yemaya). She has lost her distinct identity somewhat; Dandalunda is sometimes described as just another name for Iemanja, and many use the name Dandalunda to refer to Iemanja. In Africa, Ndanda Lunda was associated with all kinds of water, fresh as well as salt, and hence she is sometimes identified with the freshwater orixa Oxum, too.

The 2001 hit song “Dandalunda” by Brazilian singer Margareth Menezes has become the unofficial anthem of Carnival in Salvador de Bahia, home of Candomblé.

**Planet:** Moon

**Element:** Water

**See Also:** Iemanja; Orisba; Osbun; Simbi

## Information Source

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

*The Horse Necked One*

Hayagriva is a primordial horse spirit too powerful to fade away:

* Hayagriva was incorporated into the Hindu pantheon as an avatar of Vishnu.
* Buddhism considers him a wrathful manifestation of Avalokitesvara.
* Hayagriva is one of the Eight Dharma Protectors.

Hayagriva is a fierce, protective guardian and healer. He is the guardian of sacred texts. Hayagriva heals all illnesses, especially ailments that manifest on the skin including the once-dreaded leprosy. He is invoked to banish all evil spirits.

Hayagriva has never lost his powerful association with horses and is especially venerated by Tibetan horse dealers.

**Manifestations:** There are believed to be 108 forms of Hayagriva. He drives away demons by neighing like a horse.

**Iconography:** Hayagriva is identified by a small horse’s head, which surmounts his primary head (it sometimes resembles a hair ornament). His image often appears on phurpa daggers as well as on amulets intended to ward off harmful spirits.

**Attribute:** Phurbu (also known as phurpa), the triangular ritual dagger used to exorcise evil spirits. A true phurpa contains the essence of Hayagriva.

**Animal:** Hayagriva is the patron of horses. His mantra requests the protection of all horses.

**Consort:** Marichi

**Offerings:** Cooked oats (as for a horse)

**See Also:** Avalokitesvara; Bon Spirits; Eight Dharma Protectors; Marichi

## Information Source

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

**Also known as:** Klermezine Klermeil; Klèmezin; Saint Claire; Clairmezine Clairmeille

**Classification:** Lwa

Clairmesine is a beautiful, sweet-voiced, dancing mermaid. She travels in the entourage of Ezili Freda Dahomey and may be her sister. Clairmesine may also be Vodou Saint Claire. The glowing monstrance with which Saint Claire is traditionally portrayed was understood by Vodouistes as a picture of the moon. Clairmesine is a moon-gazer; she dances among the moonbeams. She is very psychic. She and Saint Nicholas are sometimes considered to be the parents of the divine twins, the Marassa.

**Iconography:** Images of Roman Catholic Saint Claire are used to represent Clairmesine, but images of mermaids may be subsituted.

**Element:** Water

**Planet:** Moon

**Colors:** Blue and white

**See Also:** Ezili Freda Dahomey; Lwa; Marassa; Mermaid; Syncretism

## Information Source

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

Snatch Bat; Death Bat

**Pantheon**: Mayan

**Title**: Deadly God of Bats

**Also known as**: Zotz

Long before Dracula, there was Camazotz, spirit of death in the form of a bat. Camazotz is the servant of the Lord of Death. He leads the nightly arrival of twilight, the time when bats emerge from their caves.

Camazotz first appears on the stage of history among the Zapotec of Oaxaca, Mexico, but was incorporated into the pantheon of the Quiché Maya of Guatemala. In the Mayan sacred text, the Popul Vuh, Camazotz decapitates the hero, Hunahpu.

His name literally translates as “snatch bat,” and archaeologists suggest that Camazotz is a sacred vampire. He is identified with various species, including the common vampire (Desmodus rotundus) or the false vampire (Vampyrum spectrum), the largest Western Hemisphere bat. Some now connect Camazotz with recent fossils of a giant vampire bat (Desmodus draculae) or the chupacabra.

**Favoured people:** Bat and vampire lovers

**Manifestations:** Camazotz may have a bat’s head on a human male body, or he may manifest as a really big bat. Because his nose is described as being like a flint knife, there is some speculation that he is a leaf-nosed bat, as for example, the false vampire (Vampyrum spectrum).

## Smite Lore

In darkness he lurks. Patient as the night in all its silence. For beneath his inverted perch scampers prey. Whether beast, mortal, or God matters not, only satisfying the unquenchable thrum in his veins for the boiling blood of another creature. But there is never enough. There will never be enough. So Camazotz, bat-god, whose bestial form matches that of his nocturnal servants, lurks in the darkness, waiting only to feed.

Once before, when the hero twins, Xbalanque and Hunahpu ventured to the Xibalba, stumbling blindly into the blackness of his cave, did Camazotz defeat a God. Finding themselves surrounded by a swarm of leathery bats, screeching and flapping with frenzied glee, the hero twins cowered and hid, hoping for dawn to light their way out. Patient, as always, Camazotz waited. Hunahpu, unable to hold out, lifted his head from concealment to check for light. Camazotz leapt, sliding through the blackness like a dagger through skin, and snatched Hunahpu's head from his neck. Victorious, he presented his prize as trophy to the other underworld Gods. However, come the morning light, Xbalanque fashioned a new head for his brother from a gourd and the two escaped while Camazotz was away.

## Appearances in Modern Media

From SmiteFrom Shin Megami TenseiFrom Age of Ishtaria
## Information Source

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

**Also known as:** Chokaro (Japanese); Zhang Guolao

**Origin:** China

Chang Kuo Lao, one of the Eight Immortals, was a seventh- or eighth-century CE Taoist hermit. He developed a brilliant reputation as an alchemist, and so the emperor sought to have him in his service. He ordered Chang Kuo Lao to appear at the royal court. Chang Kuo did not wish to give up his wanderings. (Alternatively he objected to serving a corrupt government.) He ignored the first summons but after the second, he vanished, reemerging as one of the Eight Immortals.

He is a brilliant occultist with vast magical knowledge. He may be consulted for healing, advice, and instruction.

**Favored people:** Chang Kuo Lao is traditionally the patron of blind fortune-tellers.

**Iconography:** Chang Kuo is portrayed riding backward on his white mule.

**Attribute:** The yuku, or fish drum, a musical instrument formed from a bamboo tube, one end of which is covered by snake skin

**Animal:**A magical white mule, which carries Chang Kuo Lao amazing distances but when not needed can be folded up like paper and carried in his wallet; whenever Chang Kuo Lao next needs his mule, he squirts water on the wallet and the mule reappears.

**See Also:** Eight Immortals

## Information Source

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

**Pronounced:** Do-en-day (or, if spoken quickly, dwen-day)

In Spain and Portugal, the word Duende refers to spirits like goblins or sprites. Like the English term goblin, Duende is a vague term. A Duende may be any kind of small spirit. In general, they are associated with wild nature, very like a sprite, although the word is sometimes also used to indicate small household helper spirits, like a brownie or lutin. They are mischievous and sometimes have a wicked sense of humor but are generally not harmful (although there are exceptions).

In parts of Latin America, however, the term Duende refers to a more specific type of spirit. Duendes are tiny ghosts: souls of fetuses and unbaptized infants. They are hungry, persistent, nagging ghosts. It is difficult to reason with them or propitiate them because they do not speak or comprehend: they just yearn and crave.

The most dangerous Duendes are souls of undesired, discarded newborn infants who have been killed (suffocated, strangled, drowned, whatever) or just abandoned and left for dead. Duendes haunt sources of fresh water—rivers, streams, or springs—but they usually try to rejoin the families into which they had anticipated being born. It is unclear whether they are angry and intend to cause harm or whether their presence alone is sufficiently toxic. They are potentially harmful, especially to living siblings who are often the only ones able to see them. Duendes should be professionally exorcised, but because many are the result of secret pregnancies, they are left to cause illness and harm.

**See also:** Lutin

## Information Source

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

Fallen angels are angels who fall from God’s grace and are punished by banishment from heaven, becoming Demons.

The three versions of the book of Enoch associate fallen angels with the Watchers, 200 angels who descend from heaven to cohabitate with women and corrupt humanity and are severely punished by God. 2 Enoch speaks of four grades of fallen angels:

1. Satanail, the prince of the fallen one. Satanail was once a high angel who thought he could be greater than God and thus was cast out of heaven on the second day of creation. He is imprisoned in the fifth heaven.

2. The Watchers, who also are imprisoned in the fifth heaven, dejected and silent.

3. The apostate angels, the followers of Satanail who plotted with him and turned away from God’s commandments. They are imprisoned in the second heaven, a place of “darkness greater than earthly darkness.” There they hang under guard, waiting for the “measureless judgment.” The fallen angels are dark in appearance, and they weep unceasingly. They ask Enoch to pray for them.

4. Angels—possibly some of the Watchers—who are sentenced to be imprisoned “under the earth.”

In Christianity, Lucifer is the arrogant, prideful angel cast out of heaven, mentioned briefly in Isaiah as “Son of the Morning” or “Morning Star.” One-third of the heavenly host fell with him—133,306,668 angels, according to lore. They fell for nine days. Theologians have posited that a portion of each of the nine orders of angels fell; some said the fallen ones compose a tenth order. The fallen angels become Demons who seek to ruin men’s souls, a view reinforced by the influential theologian St. Thomas Aquinas. Lucifer later became identified with Satan.

## Information Source

The Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology – Written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley
Eggplant

(Solanum melogena var. esculentum)

Planet: Jupiter

Element: Earth

Energies: Spirituality, money

### Magical uses:

These natives of China were originally small, egg-shaped and white, unlike our massive purple specimens. Eat cooked eggplants to increase spirituality. If you’re fine in this department, visualize increased money while dining on the vegetable.

Many people dislike the strong taste of eggplant. If you happen to be one of them, you’ll be happy to hear that you don’t even have to eat this purplish food to benefit from its energies.

To manifest additional money in your life, split an eggplant into two equal pieces. Place a one-dollar bill between the pieces, tie them together, bury them in the earth, and never dig them up. Money will come to you (but you’ll be out a buck).
Erichtonios

**Origin:** Greece

Erichtonios is Athena’s serpent son. Hephaestus is generally considered to be his father. Various myths explain the circumstances of Erichtonios’ conception:

* Having married Athena, Hephaestus leads her to the bridal chamber to consummate their union. At the crucial moment, Athena vanishes. Hephaestus ejaculates on the ground from whence Erichtonios emerges.
* Hephaestus, lusting for Athena, pursues her and tries to assault her, but she escapes, leaving him to ejaculate on the ground, from whence Erichtonios emerges.
* Hephaestus rubs up against Athena and ejaculates on her leg. She wipes away the semen with some wool, from which Erichtonios emerges.
* Hephaestus and Athena secretly marry and conceive Erichtonios the old-fashioned way. Athena gives birth to him secretly, but his serpentine appearance reveals her own secret, suppressed snake identity. It is not sufficient to abandon this baby; he must be hidden along with his mother’s true identity.

Athena put Erichtonios in a round, covered basket or chest, which she gave to the three Aglaurides sisters to guard, forbidding them to look within. Of course, they peeked and then threw themselves from the Acropolis to their deaths.

The festival of Chalkeia celebrated Athena and Hephaestus’ nuptials, complete with a bridal ritual. Nine months later, the Panathenaea enacted the Mysteries of Erichtonios, his birth. As a Mystery spirit, little clear information survives about him.

The famous statue of Athene Parthenos (“Athena the Virgin”) featured a serpent behind her shield, allegedly a portrait of Erichtonios.

**See Also:** Aglaurides; Aglauros; Athena; Gaia; Hephaestus; Metis

## Information Source

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