Baltic mythology

This is a list of beings and deities in Baltic mythology and religion, including some additional beings venerated or syncretised in Marnos.

## High gods

* Dievas (Dīvas)- Creator of the Universe, and the God of Law and Order.
	+ He is commonly depicted as a young man clad in silver silk robes or armour, wielding an iron or green sword. Sometimes he disguises himself as an old man to test people, rewarding those who pass his tests with gifts.
	+ He rides on a silver or gold chariot pulled by two horses.
	+ He lives at a large farmstead on a silver mountain, complete with its own gardens and a sauna.
* Perkūnas (Parkūnas) - God of Thunder, the Oak Tree, Fire, Rain, Law, Order, War, Mountains, Creation, and Fertility. King of the Gods. He and Žemyna are husband and wife.
	+ He is often depicted as an angry man with a copper beard, wearing a suit of armour.
	+ He rides on a chariot of stone and fire, or iron, pulled by goats. His weapons include a sword, a double-axe, javelin-like bolts of lightning, and a bow and arrows. He tends to kill wicked people, as the executioner of justice. The constellation of the Great Plough or Great Bear was believed to represent his chariot.
	+ His sacred day is Thursday, which is associated with thunderstorms and weddings.
	+ He has six or eight brothers, and many sons and daughters. Four of his sons represent the seasons and directions, seven symbolise the days of the week, and his three daughters represent hard rain, drizzles, and mist.
	+ Some accounts mention that Saule and Menuo are also his children, watching over the people and reporting their deeds to him.
	+ He lives on high mountains.
	+ His festivals include February 2 (Grauduline), Pelenija (Maslenitsa), the spring equinox (Jore), and June 24 (Perkunas' Day).
	+ Lightning mutants worship him as the source of their powers. He is the national god of the countries of Marnos and Perkunira.
* Žemyna (Samyna) - Goddess of the Earth and Death, and Queen of the Gods. Animals were sacrificed to honour her, and farmers must wait before the first thunderstorm and rain falls before they begin planting seeds.
	+ When people die, she welcomes their souls into the underworld, where they rest and wait for their journey to Dausos.
* Žempatis - God of the Homestead and Land.
* Saulė (Saulai) - Goddess of the Sun.
	+ Her festivals were the summer solstice (Rasa) and winter solstice.
	+ Some fire mutants venerate her as their guardian, and they also honour her by using certain martial arts and dances.
* Mėnuo (Manuo) - God of the Moon. He and Saulė are husband and wife.
	+ For cheating Saule, Perkūnas cut him into half.
	+ They have several children, known as Žvaigždės (stars, planets): Aušra (daughter, dawn), Aušrinė (sometimes her daughter, Venus), Vakarinė (Venus), Indraja (Jupiter), Sėlija (Saturn), Žiezdrė (Mars), and Vaivora (Mercury). Sometimes, Žemyna (Earth) is listed as one of their children, so it might be a different Žemyna.
* Aušrinė (Ausrinai) - Goddess of the Morning Star (or the planet Venus or Jazgathral). She was so beautiful, that Saule was jealous of her.
* Vakarinė (Vakarinai) - Goddess of the Evening Star. She prepares Saule's bed.
* Gabija (Gābija) - Goddess of Fire, the Family, the Home, and the Hearth. As she protected households, they honoured her by keeping the fireplaces clean.
	+ She usually appears as a women dressed in red clothes.
	+ Fire mutants pray to her as their patron deity.
* Velnias (Valnijas) - God of the Underworld, Trade, and Hunting, and Custodian of the Dead and the Treasures of the Earth. Although he is the enemy of Perkūnas, he is not necessarily evil. He also protects the poor and punishes the wicked, but he also plays tricks on people to watch them suffer.
	+ He is a one-eyed elder in grey robes who can shapeshift into any creature he likes.
* Bangpūtys (Banopūtys, Banopoinx) - God of the Seas and Wind. He is two-headed and he has wings.
	+ Has four sons, Rytys, Pietys, Šiaurys and Vakaris (east, south, north, west).
* Vėjopatis (Vajopatis) - The Guardian of Paradise, alongside Auštaras. He blows to oblivion those who are not considered worthy to enter Paradise.
* Auštaras (Austaras) - The God of the Northeast Wind, and the Guardian of Paradise, alongside Vėjopatis. He uses a torch to guide good souls to Paradise.
* Televelis (Tilavälis) - Smith of the Gods, Lord of the Smiths and the Forge.
	+ Similar to how Bujanski worship Svarog, Marnosyn engineers invoke Tilavälis or Perkunas to bless their work.
* Laima (Laima) - Goddess of Fate, Destiny, and Life. Although she is the patron of pregnant women, childbirth, marriage, and death, she also predicts the future of every child, and she cannot alter that prediction.
	+ Her sacred tree is the linden.
	+ Shadow mutants pray to her as their patron deity.
* Dalia (Dalja) - Goddess of Fate and Weaving. She causes people to find or lose things.
* Giltinė (Giltinai) - Goddess of Death, the Reaper who collects souls and brings them to the afterlife.
	+ She appears as an old woman with a blue nose and a poisonous tongue.
	+ Her weapon is the scythe.
	+ Her symbol is the owl.
	+ Some younger artists associate Mithura with her or consider Mithura as one of her servants, as Vozonids often depict the former as a bringer of death. Other artists associate Mithura with Saule, as her power over the stars suggests an association with the Sun and its fires.
* Medeina (Madäna) - Goddess of the Forests and Wild Animals.
	+ Her two forms are a young woman or a she-wolf that leads her own pack of wolves.
	+ When she warns people, she sends a hare to keep them to stop their hunts.
	+ In Marnos, the fox is considered a gift from her. Marnosyns also worship her as the guardian of their soldiers, so they sometimes adopt the fox as a symbol in honour of her.
* Milda - Goddess of Love and Freedom.
* Egle (Iglia) - Goddess of Snakes. She is able to shapeshift into any form she likes.
	+ Her sacred symbol is the spruce tree.
* Veliona (Väliona) - Goddess of the Underworld. She looks after the departed who rest in her court.
* Žaltys (Saltjos) - Serpent God of Home and Health.
	+ His sacred animal is the snake.

## Gods

* Akmuo - God of stone and strength
* Ašvieniai - Two brothers who pull the chariot of Saule across the sky. Small horse-like tips are carved on the roofs of traditional houses to invoke their protection.
* Austeja - Goddess of bees and honey
* Autrimpas - God of the open sea, crops, and cereals.
* Budtė - Goddess of wisdom
* Gardaitis - God of the wind and storms, and protector of ships.
* Javinė - Goddess of the grain in barns
* Kriukis - God of smiths.
* Kruonis - Goddess of time.
	+ Time-travellers often pray to her for her protection.
* Kupolė - Goddess of springtime vegetation and flowers.
* Ragutis - God of guests and beer. His wife is Ragutiene.
	+ They are honoured at the autumn equinox.
* Ratainyčia (Ratainyxios) - God of horses and chariots.
* Vaiva - Goddess of the rainbow.
* Boba - Elderly Goddess of winter.
* Nijole - Goddess of the underworld.
* Ragana - Goddess of magic, regeneration, and change.
	+ Another popular patroness for shadow mutants.
	+ However, she is only available for women. Men may worship her, but they must take extra cautions to avoid angering the goddess. Every time anyone prays to Ragana, they must calmly introduce themselves and be gentle, as how they would approach a queen.
	+ Her worshippers must not expect much from Ragana, and they must be very careful with her. They must not interrupt her if she is busy doing some work.
	+ She is worshipped by her priestesses, who conduct ceremonies to her on hills.
* Rasa - Goddess of the summer and dews.
* Velnias - The Trickster. Not necessarily a demon, but still harmful.

## Beings

* Laumė (Laumai) - A beautiful fairy from the forests or the sky. A protectress of children, mothers and the newborn, workers, orphans, and the lost.
	+ Laumės tend to wear blue and white dresses.
	+ Laumės usually appear in groups of three, and they like to dance in circles. They also like to visit bodies of water, especially on the full moon; however, they avoided iron.
	+ Laumės are also associated with rainbows.
	+ Some Laumės are dangerous and savage, preferring to choke men to death before eating their meat.
* Laukų dvasios (Laukon Dvaisos) - forest spirits or wights.
* Nykštukas (Nixtukos) - gnomes and earth wights who watch over the house and the underworld.
* Kaukas - dwarves and earth wights. They like to eat potatoes.
* Undines (Undina) - water wights.
* Žiburinis (Sibrinis) - shining skeletal spirits that wander in forests.
* Vėlės (Vailas) - souls of the deceased or ancestors.
* Slogutis - nightmares that represent pain and fear.

## Locations

* Dausos - Paradise. It is a golden city atop a great mountain: within its walls it is always day, while its surroundings are covered in perpetual night.

## Religious concepts

* diävas, divas (pl. diävai, divai) - a god
* alka - a shrine or temple, sacred field
* aukuras, ugnio, ugnė - sacred fire
* daina - hymn
* sutartines - a hymn sung in a chorus
* vaidilo (pl. vaidiloi) - priest
* vaidiluta (pl. vaidilutai) - priestess
* darna - harmony
* dora - morality, righteousness, virtue, well-being, good behaviour and mindset
* rimo - peace. Often used to salute or greet a god during prayers.
	+ One popular sutartines hymn: "Rimo, rimo, tuto; rimo, rimo, tuto; sutarjella, sutarjella." (Peace, peace, strength; peace, peace, strength; may there be harmony and harmony therefore.)
* tuto - strength.
* sutarjella, sutarjolla - in accordance.
* sielos, siolos - the soul's connection to nature.
* svente, svantas - sacred day, festival

## Additional Marnosyn characters

### Syncretised Norse deities

* Votinos, Otinos, Autnas - Odin, god of knowledge, death, rulers, the outcasts, magic, and healing.
* Vrixa - Frigg, consort of Odin
* Tormas - Thor
* Sil - Sif
* Hatjolos - Heimdall
* Baltris - Baldr
* Vrixon - Freyr
* Vrojas - Freyja
* Ulliris - God of hunters and wild animals. Worshipped by the people that live at eastern Marnos.

### Others

* giltiludia, giltudia - maiden spirits who serve as Giltine's servants. When Giltine is busy collecting certain souls, her giltiludia spectres bring other souls to the afterlife as soon as they die. They appear as young women with black robes, white skin and hair, red lips, and scythes, and sometimes with the wings of an owl.

## See also

* Marnosyn folklore
* Hindu divine beings
* Slavic mythology
* Gauvajut mythology

## External links

* An alphabet of Romuva terms and names
* Lithuanian mythological people and creatures
* Pagan symbols in Lithuania