recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Mai Dawa

Owner of the Bush; The Bow Man; The Short Man

**Also Known As:** Mai Baka

**Classification:** Bori

Mai Dawa is the head of the eighth house of Bori spirits, the House of Archers and Hunters. Mai Dawa, courageous master hunter, is afraid of nothing. He’s a spirit hunter, not a regular hunter: his prey includes Demons. Mai Dawa’s primary wife is Barhaza, Inna’s younger sister. Details of his parentage are hazy.

The afflictions that Mai Dawa causes and controls include unexplained bleeding. His illness begins as a slight cold but accelerates. The victim develops a head or bronchial cough but eventually coughs up blood. Because it’s a progressive illness, Mai Dawa leaves time for the victim to consult a shamanic healer who can prescribe treatment. Mai Dawa also possesses poison arrows for which no antidote exists.

**Manifestation:** Mai Dawa crouches as he walks, like a hunter stalking prey, hence his epithet, the Short Man. He’s not that short when he stands up straight.

**Attribute:** Bow and arrow

**Colour:** Black

**See Also:** Barhaza; Bori; Inna; Ochossi

## Information Source

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

Lix Tetrax is a Fallen Angel and Demon of the wind. In the Testament of Solomon, Lix Tetrax is summoned to the presence of King Solomon by Beelzebub, at the king’s orders. The Demon appears with his face high in the air and his body crawling like a small snail. He raises up clouds of dust and wind and hurls them at Solomon, who watches, unharmed and in amazement at this display. At last, the king spits on the ground and seals the Demon with his magical ring.

Lix Tetrax claims he is “the direct offspring of the Great One,” perhaps a reference to Beelzebub, the Prince of Demons. He lives in the constellation near the tip of the horn of the Moon when it is in the south. He says he divides men, creates whirlwinds, starts fires, sets fields on fire, and renders households nonfunctional. He is especially busy during the summertime. He slithers into houses at the corners night and day.

He has the power to heal the “day-and-a-half fever” if invoked to do so with the three names of Baltala, Thallal, and Melchal. He is thwarted by the angel Azael. Solomon sentences Lix Tetrax to throw stones up to the workmen at the heights of the Temple of Jerusalem, under construction.

## Information Source

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

Lord of Thunder

**Also Known As:** Lei Gong

**Origin:** China

Lei Shen creates thunder but he has more than weather on his mind. Lei Shen passionately despises wasting food. He aims his thunder bolts at food-wasters. He is an impatient, bad-tempered spirit who does not negotiate.

**Manifestations:** Lei Shen has a blue face, a bird’s beak, bats’ wings, and clawed feet.

**Attributes:** Hammer and drum

## Information Source

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

The Night Watchmen

**Also Known As:** Lases (Etruscan); Lassi

**Origin:** Italy

**Feast:** 23 December, the Larentalia

Lares are guardian spirits. Lares is plural but that’s fitting because they virtually always manifest in pairs. (The singular is Lar.) They are household spirits who protect family, home, land and the family’s property. (Once upon a time, Lares protected family slaves.) The meaning of their name is unknown and their exact nature is also mysterious. Are they protective land spirits who, by extension, became family guardians as more and more houses were built on land or are they protective, benevolent ancestor spirits who, by extension, guarded a family’s entire property including land?

Lares may be the children of Lara and Mercury. They may be paternal ancestors, too. Lares are completely benevolent and never harmful, at least not towards those they protect. Lares are found inside the home, on the property they protect and also at crossroads. They make their home with the family they protect, usually dwelling by the hearth or beside the chimney. Family kept altars to them in their home, usually featuring statues of the Lares. Shrines were also erected at crossroads. These shrines were usually open in all directions so that the Lares could travel as needed.

The Lares and the Manes, spirits of the dead, are entwined: whether or not they are the same or different types of spirits is subject to heated debate. Lara is the mother of the Lares while Mania leads the Manes. However, many believe Mania and Lara to be two names for one spirit, hence the confusion regarding the spirits they rule.

**Manifestation:** Lares usually come in pairs, either in human form or as snakes.

**Iconography:** Lares are usually depicted as two young men with a watch dog; if depicted in serpentine form, then they may be crowned.

**Sacred animal:** Dog; snake

**Altar:** Lares are venerated and propitiated inside at the hearth and outside at crossroads.

**See Also:** Ancestor; Lara; Manes; Mania

## Information Source

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

**Also Known As:** Ono; Rongo

**Classification:** Akua

Lono is a spirit of agriculture, healing, romance, games and sports venerated throughout Polynesia. In Hawaii, he was considered among the four major deities alongside Ku, Kane and Kanaloa. He is a spirit of peace and fertility.

Lono initiated the Makahiki season, the Hawaiian season which was dedicated to him. Makahiki lasted for four consecutive lunar months. Work and war were forbidden. Instead time was devoted to spiritual ritual, feasting and sports.

Lono is manifest in precipitation, weather and natural phenomenon. He is rolling thunder,rainbows, earthquakes, whirlwinds and dark clouds.

**Attribute:** Triton shell

**Animal:** Pig

**Plants:** Cultivated plants

**Star:** Sirius

**See Also:** Akua; Kanaloa; Kane; Ku

## Information Source

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

*The Black Prince*

**Also Known As:** Kalu Yaka

**Origin:** Sinhalese (Sri Lanka)

Kalu Kumara is a Demonic Eros; a disease Demon whose favourite target is young girls on the threshold of womanhood although he will also strike older women and sometimes infants and children. He attacks through dreams so pleasurable that his victims may not appreciate that they are being attacked or may not care.

Kalu Kumara manifests to women via ecstatic erotic dreams. His target may wish never to wake from this beautiful rapture, wherein is the problem. Kalu Kumara is a vampire: he doesn’t suck blood nor is he frightening (unless he wishes to be) but he is draining his victim’s life essence. His attacks are accompanied by malaise, wasting, anorexia (not because she’s worried about weight or appearance but because the victim can’t be bothered to eat; she lacks appetite) and the desire to sleep all the time, in hopes of once again receiving a visit. Without shamanic intervention, Kalu Kumara’s dreams may ultimately lead to serious illness and death. Various protective measures are used to control and repel Kalu Kumara. If dream attacks occur, a specially trained shaman can drive him out and prevent his return.

Kalu Kumara may be an embittered spirit. His name literally means “Black Prince”; he is royalty and was a significant deity prior to Sinhalese conversion to Buddhism. Once upon a time, he didn’t have to invade dreams: devotees came to him. Offerings are sometimes made to propitiate him and prevent him from manifesting dangerously. He can sometimes manifest benevolently and has the power to heal illness as well cause it. If he desires, he can bestow fertility rather than death.

**Spirit allies:** Kalu Kumara’s assistants are the spirits known as the Seven Barren Queens who transmit infertility to women. Kalu Kumara may be especially dreaded because where he goes; the Seven Barren Queens tend to follow. They may target women other than Kalu Kumara’s own specific victim.

**See Also:** Eros; Sanni Yakka

## Information Source

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

*Mother of the Sea*

**Also known as:** La Balèn; Ezili Baleine

**Classification:** Lwa

La Baleine the whale is a mysterious, powerful spirit of the sea, invoked for protection, prosperity, and fertility, both creative and procreative. La Baleine travels the length, breadth, and depth of the seven seas; she carries secrets and messages from the depths to the surface. She is usually venerated alongside the mermaid, La Sirène; they are celebrated in the same songs. Their relationship is subject to debate: La Baleine may be La Sirène’s sister, mother, or lover. They may be aspects of each other with La Baleine the more distant, mysterious, elusive aspect. They may also be aspects of Ezili: La Baleine is sometimes called Ezili Baleine.

Unlike most Vodou lwa, who were either born in Haiti or Africa, La Baleine may have arrived via European route. Late medieval European sailors and travelers described a female sea-monster named Balena.

La Sirène and La Baleine may be venerated on an altar together. Lord Agwé, La Sirène’s husband, may be venerated along side.

**Manifestation:** She is a whale.

**Offerings:** Seawater; gifts with marine motifs; offer what a whale would eat, symbolically if not literally: a bowl of goldfish crackers or Chinese dried fish crackers.

### **Visualization**

* Obtain or create an image of a whale’s huge, open, gaping jaw.
* Visualize yourself entering the jaw as if it is sacred space.
* Although this is reminiscent of Jonah and the Whale, be assured that you can come out whenever you choose onto dry land
* La Baleine is a font of secret, hidden mystic and erotic information; explore and see what you experience.
* When your journey is concluded, thank La Baleine and ask her for a gift.

**See Also:** Ezili; La Sirène; Lwa

## Information Source

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

***Bold***

**Pantheon**: Greek / Roman

**Authority**: Marriage

## Information

1. Hestia is the goddess of hearth fire and the presiding spirit of the home, all family matters and peace within the home. She is a benign, gentle goddess and so can be invoked for matters involving children and pets. (Although typically described as a goddess of the hearth, Hestia is technically the goddess of the fire in the hearth: contained, controlled, ritual fire.) She was worshipped at home but every town and city also had its own official sacred hearth where she was tended and venerated.

Hestia is consistently the first of the Olympian spirits invoked. The first part of every sacrifice was offered to her. She bears a reputation as the kindest of all Olympian spirits. She protects the inhabitants of homes, enforces hospitality, and may be invoked for fire safety. She is a benevolent deity, quiet, humble, and modest, but exceptionally powerful. She figures in few myths. Both Apollo and Poseidon sought to marry or at least romance her, but she turned both down, vowing to remain solitary and autonomous. Hestia is so powerful that both these notorious rapists graciously took “no” for an answer.

Hestia is considered both the eldest and youngest of Rhea and Kronos’ children. As the firstborn, she was the first to be swallowed by Kronos and thus the last to be disgorged or reborn.

Hestia is venerated beside the hearth, stove, or other major source of fire. There were only twelve thrones on Olympus, so when Dionysus was incorporated into the pantheon, there was no seat for him. No game of musical chairs, argument, or jockeying was necessary: Hestia automatically rose and sat beside the hearth, where she is happiest, giving her throne to Dionysus. Hestia’s fire is never permitted to go out except in ritual. It must then be ritually relit. Offerings may be respectfully placed directly into her flames.

Comic book superheroine Wonder Woman wields a weapon called the Golden Lasso that radiates a magic aura, the Fires of Hestia, which compels those caught within it to be truthful.

**Iconography:** A gracious, regal, modestly dressed mature woman wearing a veil

**Attribute:** Kettle

**Element:** Fire

**Plant:** Vitex agnus-castus

**See Also:** Agni; Amphitrite; Apollo; Dionysus; Gabija; Kronos; Olympian Spirits; Poseidon; Vesta

## Appearance in Modern Media

From Kamihime ProjectFrom Monster StrikeFrom Age of Ishtaria
## Vesta

Vesta is the Roman goddess of domesticity and of the sacred hearth at which dead and living were welcomed. The Vestal Virgins of Rome kept alight the sacred flame in Vesta’s temple and this was rekindled at the New Year, as were household flames. Vesta can be invoked in rituals centred around the element Fire.

## Information Source

A Guide to Occult Power of White Magic by Dr S.P. Bhagat

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

Hidden Company is the name given the discarnate spirits of witches and occult masters serving as spirit guides. They are not dissimilar in function from the Ascended Masters of Theosophy but their orientation and origins are different. The Hidden Company guides and protects those who pursue visionary and magical paths. They are fonts of spiritual and occult wisdom. Members of the Hidden Company may be channeled by mediums or contacted via divination. They also appear in dreams and visions. Because occultists were persecuted and exterminated for millennia, the membership of the Hidden Company is legion. Masters of their field, many can reveal information regarding suppressed or destroyed spiritual traditions and magical arts.

**See Also:** Ascended Masters; Caboclos; Great White Brotherhood

## Information Source

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

**Also Known As:** Tu

**Origin:** Polynesia

Ku is a warrior spirit; Lord of War as well as a spirit of the abundance of the sea. The essence of male generative power; he is a spirit of testosterone. In Hawaiian cosmology, Ku is the essence of masculinity, as Hina epitomizes feminine energy. Ku is among the four major Hawaiian deities alongside Kane, Kanaloa and Lono but was mainly venerated, at least in his warrior form, by the elite. Formal ceremonies were reserved for the nobility and priesthood and were performed under severe taboos. The practice of human sacrifice seems to have been introduced to Hawaii largely by Ku’s priesthood. King Kamehameha worshipped Ku as Lord of War in his eventually successful efforts to unite the Hawaiian Islands under his rule.

Ku has many paths and aspects ranging from brutal and bloodthirsty to nurturing and kind. He is the patron of war, fishing, forests and certain types of agriculture and sorcery.

Ku’s name means “to strike” or “to stand.” He is a versatile, many faceted spirit with concerns other than war. He was also the patron of Hawaii’s master canoe builders and woodworkers, considered a sacred occupation. Ku dwells in deep places: the depths of the forest and the sea.

**Manifestations:** Ku can manifest in any form he likes; he is a master shape-shifter. However, common forms include man, caterpillar and cucumber

**Iconography:** Fierce carved wood tiki statues

**Botanicals:** Breadfruit; coconut; cucumber; ‘Ohi’a lehua tree (Metrosideros collina; M. macropus): images of Ku were traditionally carved from this wood

**Colour:** Red

**Direction:** East

**Sacred animal:** Pig; eel

**Bird:** Hawk

**Planet:** The rising sun

**Time:** The first, second and third days of each month

**See Also:** Akua; Haumea; Hina; Kanaloa; Kane; Kihawahine; Kukauakahi; Ku’ulakai; Lono

## Information Source

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

**Pronounced:** Kah-nay

**Also Known As:** Tane (pronounced Tah-nay)

**Origin:** Polynesia

**Classification:** Akua

Kane is among the most foremost deities of Polynesia. In parts of this far-flung region, he is considered the supreme Creator, sometimes in conjunction with Kanaloa. Kane was lonely and longed for female companionship but there was one problem: women hadn’t yet been invented. Finally, Kane literally took matters into his own hands, forming a woman from moist red beach sand. He breathed life into her and named her Hine-hau-one, “Earth Formed Maiden.” They made love and became the ancestors of humanity.

Kane is considered the Lord of the Akua. He is a spirit of procreation. As Kana loa is the spirit of the sea, so Kane is spirit of land and in particular lord of the forests and its creatures. Birds serve as his messengers.

**Manifestation:** Kane can manifest any way he wishes; however, typical forms include a handsome man, lightning, hailstones, and rainbows.

**Direction:** East (Kane rests in the west and moves towards the east)

**Birds:** Crows; owls

**See Also:** Akua; Hina; Kahoupokane; Kanaloa; Lilinoe; Poliahu; Waiau

## Information Source

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

Heiress of Jangare

**Classification:** Bori

Magajiyar Jangare is the spiritual mother of all devotees of Bori spirits. She is not a spirit to be trifled with: the afflictions she potentially causes include impotence, severe headaches, and pneumonia. However, she is generally a good-natured spirit who is not easily angered. If you like Bori spirits, she probably likes you. Magajiyar Jangare is married to Sarkin Aljan Biddarene, Chief of the Second House of Bori Spirits.

**Colour:** White

**See Also:** Bori; Sarkin Aljan Biddarene

## Information Source

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

**Also known as:** Ibla

**Origin:** Sicily

Hybla is an indigenous Sicilian spirit, a primordial goddess of the Siculi, the people for whom Sicily is named. She is a goddess of abundance and fertility associated with mud volcanoes and mineral springs. Earthquakes and volcanic activity were understood to indicate Earth’s fertility: her contractions and labor pains. Hybla’s shrines were centres of divination and dream interpretation. Her priests were considered especially skilled dream interpreters. Sicilian women’s mourning societies, banned by early Christians, are believed to have derived from Hybla’s rites. Greek colonists identified Hybla with Hera. The Sicilian city of Ragusa was once called Hybla Heraia. Lower Ragusa is still known as Ragusa Ibla.

**Iconography:** Hybla’s image, often veiled, appears on many Sicilian coins.

**Sacred plant:** Thyme

**Sacred creature:** Bee

**Sacred sites:** Various sites in Sicily were named for Hybla: Hybla Major, Hybla Minor,

Hybla Gereatis on the slopes of Mount Etna, and Hybla Heraia.

* Hybla’s temple on Mount Etna reputedly contained a portal to the Underworld.
* The Hyblaean Mountains of southern Sicily are named in her honour.

**Offerings:** Honey, thermal mud, mineral water

**See Also:** Aetna; Gaia; Hera

## Information Source

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

Lughnasadh is the first harvest—the promise of spring’s planting realized. Sometimes known as the Feast of Bread, Lughnasadh is a time for kneading, baking, slicing, and eating this basic food. Lughnasadh originally marked the first-harvest festivals of earlier European peoples, for whom it didn’t fall on a specific date.

Prepare a few whole-grain loaves on this day if you make your own bread. For something simpler, yet in keeping with the energies at work, make some cornbread.

Other traditional foods include all berries, crab apples, and grains. Barley soup, popcorn, and even beer (due to its ingredients) are also appropriate foods
Kitchen God's Wife

**Origin:** China

Although variations do exist, the most popular version of the Kitchen God’s myth suggests that he was once a mortal man married to an exceptionally kind, patient, virtuous woman. The same, unfortunately, could not be said of him. In some versions, he’s a truly dissolute, irresponsible gambler; in others he merely has a roving eye. In all versions, he willfully abandons a good wife:

* He abandons her for a younger, prettier woman
* He sells her to pay off gambling debts or gain more money with which to gamble
* He wagers her during her a game and loses

When he abandoned his wife, good fortune abandoned him. Again there are different versions, but in all of them, his life takes a downward turn: he loses all his money; the girlfriend leaves him; he may or may not go blind but in any case is reduced to begging.

Eventually, years later, he unknowingly ends up at his former wife’s door. He doesn’t recognize her but she knows him instantly, admits him and treats him with great kindness although she does not identify herself. In all versions of the story, her virtue has been rewarded. She is happy and prosperous. Sometimes she’s happily remarried; in one version, the man who won her gambling fell in love with her and reformed, open to her good influence.

She feeds her ex-husband but it’s his last meal. At some point he recognizes her (sometimes because in her presence, his vision is miraculously restored) and is so humiliated, humbled and ashamed that he knowingly walks into the big, blazing kitchen fire. Little was left of him other than a leg but the Jade Emperor took pity on his soul, maybe because his last emotions were shame and remorse and so he was transformed into the Kitchen God.

Even in death, however, he is not a nice god. He serves as the Jade Emperor’s spy revealing a family’s secrets so that they can be judged. He is open to bribery or is that blackmail? Lack of bribes and propitiation are reflected in his annual report.

The true heroine of the Kitchen God’s myth is the loving, patient, kind woman who demonstrates the powers of a goddess of healing and wealth; a spirit of generosity and virtue. The Kitchen God’s Wife is never quick to point out flaws or misbehavior and perhaps should really be the one presiding over the home. Amy Tan explores this theme in her 1991 novel, The Kitchen God’s Wife.

**Iconography:** No traditional images depicting only the Kitchen God’s nameless wife exist however she often appears together with her husband and may be an ameliorating presence. Kitchen God and wife may once have been joint spirits of the hearth.

**See Also:** Green Jade Mother; Jade Emperor; Kitchen God

## Information Source

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

**Origin:** Morocco

**Classification:** Djinn

Lalla Malika, daughter of a King of Djinn, is beautiful, elegant, flirtatious and coquettish. She likes men, especially married men. Lalla Malika engages in sacred marriages. As her favourite partners are already wed, it’s crucial to negotiate terms with her. Men engaged in marriage with Lalla Malika must receive her permission to continue relations with their wives or other women. Lalla Malika is a good-natured spirit but keep boundaries clear to avoid any unpleasantness.

Lalla Malika expects devotees to be elegant and stylish, too. Male devotees are expected to be well-groomed and clean shaven. She expects them to wear clean clothes and cologne. Is fine cologne beyond the budget? Not a problem: Lalla Malika provides economically and otherwise for her devotees. Lalla Malika is particularly renowned for keeping devotees out of prison.

Although she’s powerful enough to do so, Lalla Malika doesn’t generally engage in harmful attacks on people. What she does is withdraw her presence, leaving a void where once there was joy. Lalla Malika is ritually summoned by the Gnawa and Jilala brotherhoods.

**Favoured People:** Lalla Malika has a soft spot for men, especially charming, handsome, fun, suave, well-groomed men. If they’re married, she likes them even more.

**Manifestation:** Lalla Malika consistently manifests as a happy, laughing, positive spirit. She brings a sense of merriment in her wake. Lalla Malika likes to tickle people. She signals her presence by making people giggle. Lalla Malika speaks French and wears clothing embroidered in gold thread.

**Colour:** Purple, violet; pink, mauve

**Incense:** Oud (agarwood); sandalwood

**Homes:** Lalla Malika lives in armoires and clothes closets. Place altars and offerings there. Fill her closet with beautiful clothing and luxuries.

**Offerings:** Lalla Malika loves perfume! Luxurious, multi-colored garments

**See Also:** Aisha Qandisha; Djinn; Lakshmi; Lalla; Lalla Mira

## Information Source

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

The King of Terrors is among those spirits classified as Holy Death. He is closely related to the Grim Reaper. The King of Terrors is a skeleton bearing weapons. He may be crowned. He is a psychopomp but a fierce, scary one. His name says it all: he does not arrive bearing comfort or platitudes.

The name, King of Terrors, derives from the Book of Job 18: 14: He is torn from the security of his tent and marched before the King of Terrors. Thus the King of Terrors is traditionally depicted driving dead souls before him. His image is carved onto tombstones and as ornamental motifs on medieval churches, most famously at Scotland’s Rosslyn Chapel.

**Attributes:** Arrows; darts; scythe; spear

**See Also:** Ankou; Psychopomps; Santissima Muerte

## Information Source

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

**Also Known As:** Madame La Lune

**Origin:** Haiti

Madame Lalinn is the Kreyol moon goddess: she is the moon herself, the woman in the moon and the spirit essence of the moon. She is a very visible goddess: you’ll find her in the sky at night. Madame Lalinn is invoked to oversee and bless lunar magic. She presides over dream spells and may be petitioned for luck, beauty and fertility. Madame Lalinn will help open the third eye. She is an oracular spirit who presides over scrying: the art of prophesy via gazing into smooth surfaces, usually glass or liquids but moon-gazing may be very effective, too. Madame Lalinn is the matron of magic mirrors and crystal balls.

**Colour:** White

**Time:** Night

**Metal:** Silver

**Mineral:** Mica

**Offerings:** White candles; lunar imagery; silver charms and beads, white cakes, crescent rolls, white rice, bowls of water, mirrors, pearls, mother of pearl, abalone shells

## Moon Water

Make moon water by exposing a bowl of fresh spring water to moonlight. Moonlight infused water has myriad magical uses:

* Place the bowl under your bed to enhance conception
* Bathe in it to enhance beauty
* Bathe magical tools to enhance their powers
* Place a small hand mirror inside the bowl of water face up so as to absorb the moonlight: voila! You have a lunar enhanced magic mirror for scrying
* Add quartz crystals or crystal wands to the water to cleanse and intensify their power

**See Also:** Lady Chang’O, Cybele; Luna; Selene

## Information Source

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

*Visualizations* are guided journeys to the spirits. Visualizations are consciously initiated and are at least begun while awake. (Some people fall into trance states or sleep during the visualizations, but many others do not, remaining conscious for the whole experience.) Visualizations harness the power of the mind to access realms of spirits.

## How to Conduct a Visualization

1. Decide where you wish to travel or who you wish to meet.
2. Familiarize yourself with enough details to envision the process. In other words, where are you most likely to encounter the spirit you seek? At the beach? At the mall? Beneath the ground, in a mountain cave, or high up among the clouds? In order to plot your journey, you must have at least something of a mental map.
3. Choose a time when you have privacy. Ritual space may be prepared: some cast circles or employ spirit-beckoning fragrances.
4. By definition, visualizations are visual. Close your eyes, relax and then visualize yourself as you begin your journey to this spirit. What are you wearing? How do you look? A visualization is the equivalent of a waking dream; *anything* can occur. Journey to the spirit; engage in whatever you came to do (discussion, petition, romance), and then respectfully take your leave.
5. Some schools of thought suggest that you should always ask for a gift from the spirit before returning home. It is not healthy to end a visualization before you see yourself, in your mind's eye, return to your starting point. if you're interrupted, then go back later and complete the journey. Although for some, visualization never progresses beyond pleasant fantasy, it can also be an incredibly profound, spiritual experience, a gateway to the divine.

## Information Source

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

**Origin:** Japan

Kishijoten is a spirit of love, beauty and good luck. She is considered to be Bishamon’s sister and so has close connections with the Shichi Fujukin, Japan’s Seven Spirits of Good Luck. Kishijoten is now most famous as the matron goddess of geishas. Those who consider themselves modern geishas may seek Kishijoten’s protection.

**Favoured People:** Singers; dancers; courtesans; children: Kishijoten is invoked by mothers to provide protection for infants and older children.

**See Also:** Bishamon; Shichi Fukujin

## Information Source

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

**Pantheon**: Egyptian

**Title**: Arbiter of the Damned

**Authority**: Wisdom

## Information

Thoth was the Ancient Egyptian god of the Moon, wisdom and learning. He was also the god of time, languages, law and mathematical calculations, who invented the calendar and hieroglyphic writing. He is often depicted with the head of an ibis although he was worshipped as a baboon in Hermopolis. Appeal to him for all matters of magical wisdom, learning, intellectual pursuits, examinations and better time management.

## Smite Lore

Legends tell of a tome of magic, wherein all the secrets of the world can be found, where the spells to change the fabric of reality are written, and where the knowledge to master death is inscribed. The legends understate reality. So powerful is this book that the mere flipping of pages sets Gods on edge.

This lexicon of legerdemain was no product of happenstance. Every incantation, every inflection was carefully crafted by a God beyond comprehension, of wisdom so transcendent, he willed himself into being. He is Thoth, the Scribe of Secrets.

Three great battles there have been, and at each, Thoth was present, aiding the forces of order to triumph over chaos. When Ra faced the world serpent Apep for the final time, Thoth's spells shielded Ra against the reptile. When Osiris was dismembered by his brother Set, Thoth taught Isis the incantations to reassemble him. And when Horus, the child of Isis and Osiris, battled Set once again for control of the Kingdom, Thoth's rituals cleansed the young man of Set's vilest poisons.

All of the secrets, the power, the wisdom of the universe, Thoth has placed into this book. He is the guardian of this knowledge, invoking it only to save the world, to keep it from descending into disorder.
Necromancy

require nocThis literally means "divination via the dead." (Similarly, *cartomancy* is "divination using cards") In other words, the dead are contacted to reveal information about the future and explain the past and present. In twenty-first-century popular culture, *necromancy* is a sensationalized word, sometimes used as a synonym for grave desecration. However, most necromantic rituals require no contact with a corpse or cemetery. If you have ever attempted to consciously dream of a dead loved one, then you have engaged in necromancy. Necromantic rituals include:

* Seances
* Spirit boards, like Ouija boards or similar devices
* Sleeping on a grave, in a crypt, or in a cemetery in order to receive a dream visitation
* Sleeping with a dead loved one's photograph or clothing beneath your pillow in order to receive a dream visitation

Whether actual contact with the dead is required depends upon how a spiritual tradition perceives the dead. The ancient Greeks believed that the longer someone was dead, the harder it became for them to communicate or sympathize with the living; thus some *very* old traditional Greek magic spells attempt to wrest information from the corpse before burial or immediately afterwards. However, this is unusual. Most necromantic rituals involve divination, dreams, or direct requests to souls of the dead or to those spirits who control and commune with them.

## Information Source

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

If you feel that a specific person is out to do you or others harm, this simple spell should stop them in their tracks.

Items needed:

Photograph of the person to be bound, one black candle, one 9” piece of black cord, and a box filled with dirt.

On the night of the waning moon, collect all the required items. Place them on your altar. At the stroke of midnight begin the spell. Light the candle and visualize the subject of your spell as you chant:

Black as night and this dark hour I have the right, I have the power.

Pick up the black cord and tie nine evenly spaced knots in it as you chant:

I bind thee from doing harm, Your evil now I disarm. Bound by knot and cord you remain Until from harm you shall refrain.

Tie the knotted cord around the photo. Place the bound picture in the box and cover it with the dirt.

Extinguish the black candle.

Bury the box in a safe place.

When the individual whose image is resting in the box stops hurting you and others, you may safely take them out of the box and unbind them.
Papa Gede

**Classification:** Gedé

Papa Gedé is the leader of the Gedés, landlord of the cemetery, its spiritual superintendent. Some people use this name to indicate Baron Samedi. Some consider Baron Samedi to be Papa Gedé, leader of the Gedés as he is of the Barons. However Baron Samedi is a very distinct spirit. Once you know him, it’s hard not to recognize him. There is also another spirit called Papa Gedé who does not dress or act like the Baron but plays the shambling buffoon. (He’s not; don’t be fooled. He’s a powerful spirit wearing a guise, but the guise he consistently wears is of a socially disreputable, aggravating bumpkin.) That Papa Gedé is the leader of the Gedés. Whether he reports to Baron Samedi or not is between them. Papa Gedé adores Ezili Freda Dahomey. Sometimes she tolerates him.

If you have business in the cemetery, especially of a magical nature, it may be best to propitiate Papa Gedé. If you are planning any sort of expedition or excavation (digging for graveyard dirt; taking cemetery rocks, communing with the dead, raising the dead), it might be wise to give him a heads-up. He is the custodian of the graveyard: if you seek information regarding someone who has passed over, Papa Gedé has it.

**Manifestation:** Papa Gedé speaks with a nasal voice.

**Offerings:** He does not particularly like fire, but he does like cigarettes, which he may smoke two at a time. Bring him a pack and something to drink.

**See Also:** Baron Samedi; Ezili Freda Dahomey; Gedés

## Information Source

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

*She Who Shows Herself in the Golden Moon*

**Origin:** Mashona (Zimbabwe)

If you see the reflection of the moon shining golden on the surface of a lake, then you’ve seen Jezanna, Spirit of Abundance and Fertility. She has the power to increase cattle, crops and children (or prevent their increase, as she will.) Her most famous myth recalls her rejection of human sacrifice.

**Planet:** Moon, especially a big golden full moon

**Sacred animal:** Cow

## Information Source

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

If you feel the one you love is not responding as he or she should, use this spell to get things going. You will need a flat container of finely grained sand (please do not use cat litter). Several hours before you plan to perform this spell, freeze a fresh red rose in a container filled with water.

Begin this spell by writing your lover’s name in the sand and then draw the following symbols around it:

Take the iced rose and place it in the centre of the sand, so that it covers your lover’s name. As the ice melts, so will your lover’s heart. Keep the rose next to your bed as a symbol of eternal love.
Nabu

**Also known as :** Nebo, Naboo

Nabu is the Babylonian lord of wisdom and writing, introduced to Mesopotamia by the Amorites, a powerful Western Semitic nation. Nabu originally served as Marduk’s scribe, but they were incorporated into the Babylonian pantheon as father (Marduk) and son (Nabu). Nabu is the official spokesman for the Babylonian pantheon and eventually became the Assyrian Empire’s primary deity.

Nabu engraves each person’s destiny on the tablets of sacred record. He is the ultimate editor of the Babylonian equivalent of the Book of Life. Although fate is decreed by the deities, Nabu has authorization to increase or diminish anyone’s life span. His name may be related to the Hebrew word navi, meaning “prophet.”

References to Nabu in the Bible (Isaiah 46:1 and Jeremiah 48:1) indicate his prominence in the Babylonian pantheon and his fame throughout the Middle East.

**Iconography:** Statues depict him as a dignified bearded man wearing a horned cap

**Attribute:** Clay writing tablet, a writing stylus, a wedge (for cuneiform writing)

**Mount:** Winged dragon

**Planet:** Mercury

**Sacred site:** The center of his veneration was in Borsippa on the Euphrates River, now in modern Iraq. His temple in Babylon (Iraq) has been restored. Semiramis built Nabu a temple in Nimrud (Calah), now near Mosul, modern Iraq.

**See Also:** Mari; Nisaba; Semiramis

## Information Source

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

**Pantheon**: Greek

**Title**: Horror of the Deep

## Smite Lore

Ancient poems warn of a narrow channel of water so treacherous that death touches all who approach. Sailors must choose to risk their ship, travelling close to the monstrous whirlpool Charybdis, or instead hug the rocky shoals where dwells a creature some say is made from the nightmares of all men.

Scylla, they call her, Horror of the Sea. No ship that dares sail in her waters goes unscathed. Those that cling to survival whisper panicked tales of enormous black tentacles tipped with slavering hound heads ravaging whole ships to splinters with pitiless precision. Though it’s her laughter, they say, that’s most horrible; child-like, delighting in blood-soaked murder as men are dragged into the dark abyss.

Poets have tried to romanticize this beast, to provide some humanity to her monstrosity. They write she was once a beautiful Naiad, wronged by a jealous priestess and transformed. Yet the old poems say she was born this way, beget by gods full of jealousy and loathing; dropped into the sea to terrorize mankind.
Lantukh

The lantukh is a kind of Jewish house spirit, sometimes described as an imp, hobgoblin, sprite or little Demon. There are male and female lantukhs. They live in corners of homes: behind the stove, in the basement, sometimes in wood sheds, usually one per home. The Lantukh is usually emotionally attached to the house: it may love, actively dislike or be neutral towards the people with whom it lives.

The lantukh can be a prankster. It may amuse itself by frightening people but it rarely causes harm. The lantukh may become very attached to the people with whom it lives and may consider him or herself as part of the family. If so, then the lantukh will work diligently to help and protect them. Author Isaac Bashevis Singer tells the story of a lantukh who cared for a bed-ridden widow and her blind daughter. Every night, the lantukh went out to find food and chop wood for the household.

If the lantukh doesn’t like the family, it will just play tricks. If it really can’t stand them, it may attempt to force them from the home by ever-escalating tricks. They are generally not malicious or harmful, though. Lantukh may derive from Lutin. A lantukh appears in S. Ansky’s 1904 epic, Ashmeday.

**Manifestation:** The lantukh resembles a little imp or goblin; they’re about the size of toddlers but can make themselves invisible at will

**Animal:** Lantukh adore crickets: they bring them food and protect them.

**See Also:** Ashmodai; Demon; Kikimora; Kobold; Lutin

## Information Source

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

Janguli is an ancient snake goddess venerated by shamanic tribes in the region of Northern India and Nepal. Janguli, Mistress of Snakes, protects against snakebite and all poison. Too powerful to ignore and too valuable to Demonize, she has since been absorbed into the Hindu and Buddhist pantheons:

* She is sometimes considered a Tantric form of White Tara, thus making her a Bodhisattva or Buddha.
* She is sometimes counted among the Mahavidyas, Hinduism’s Wisdom Goddesses.

Janguli’s image is believed to provide protection from snakes. Amulets bearing her name or image are believed to help protect against poison, including food poisoning.

**Manifestation:** She may appear as a woman holding a white snake, or she may be a woman from the waist up and a white snake below. She is intensely linked to white snakes; there will be one with her somehow. Alternatively, a white snake may be sufficient to indicate her presence. She may also appear in her iconographic form.

**Iconography:** Janguli is depicted in Buddhist and Hindu images as having three faces and six arms. Buddhist images show her forming the mudra of protection. She wears a snake crown or a snake may wreathe her head.

**Attribute:** Lotus, veena (musical instrument)

**Colour:** White

**Sacred creatures:** Snakes and peacocks, both of which serve as her mount

**Offerings:** Images of snakes and peacocks, peacock feathers (used in Himalayan traditional medicine to heal snakebite)

Janguli bears a close resemblance to Benten and Sarasvati. Some perceive them to be the same spirit operating under different names; others just perceive them as closely related soul-sister-spirits.

**See Also:** Benten; Bodhisattva; Buddha; Lady White; Sarasvati; White Tara

## Information Source

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

*Maui of a Thousand Tricks; Maui the Wise; The Super-Super Man*

**Origin:** Polynesia

Maui, trickster hero, is a beloved magician spirit renowned throughout Polynesia. Maui of a thousand tricks is subject of a thousand tales. He helped the creator deities complete the world and personally brought many gifts to humanity, sometimes challenging the authority of the deities in order to do so. Maui famously snared the sun in the sky, but he also controlled the winds, arranged the stars, and stole fire for people. Maui fished up the Hawaiian Islands and New Zealand’s North Island, too.

There are different versions of his origins. He may have two divine parents or just one. His mother is usually Hina. Chants, invocations, and magic spells attributed to Maui are repeated by devotees in the belief that they strengthen and empower.

**Manifestation:** A skilled, tricky, inventive shape-shifter

**Attributes:** Canoe, hook

**Constellation:** Scorpio (in Hawaiian astrology: Maui’s fishing hook)

**Sacred Sites:** Places throughout Polynesia are associated with him. For example, he snared the sun from Maui’s Mount Haleakala.

**See Also:** Hina

## Appearance in Modern Media

From SmiteFrom Disney MirrorverseFrom Shin Megami Tensei
## Information Source

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

(Pucium miliacaeum)

Planet: Jupiter

Element: Earth

Energies: Money

Lore:

In ancient China, grains of millet were used as a unit of measure: ten millet grains placed end to end constituted one inch, one hundred grains was the measurement of one foot, and so on.

Magical uses:

If you find it difficult to enjoy this grain, visualize millet as compact, concentrated money energy before eating. An old German custom:
eat millet on the first day of the year to bring riches into your life.
Mimir

**Origin:** Norse

Mimir is a lord of wisdom. He is the keeper of a well at the base of Ygdrassil, the World Tree. He stands halfway immersed within the well. (Alternatively, his severed head guards the well.) The well is a source and repository of hidden wisdom. Drinking from it bestows the gift of prophecy. Odin wanted the wisdom and gifts that the well bestowed, but unable to steal it from Mimir, he struck a deal: Odin sacrificed one eye to drink from the well.

Mimir may or may not be Odin’s uncle, brother of his mother, Bestla. He is an Aesir spirit, sent as a hostage to the Vanir to ensure peace between the two pantheons. The Vanir sent Freyr, Freya, and Njord, three of their most significant spirits, to the Aesir. Angered because they felt that the Aesir had not sent equally powerful hostages, they beheaded Mimir and sent his head to Odin. Odin used herbs to preserve Mimir’s head and prevent it from decaying, and then chanted spells over the head to magically activate it. Odin consults with Mimir’s head before the final apocalyptic battle of Ragnarok.

There are different reports as to what’s exactly in the Well of Mimir: water or mead? After Odin hung for nine days on the World Tree, Mimir revived him with a drink of mead. Mimir drinks mead every morning.

Mimir himself is a font of wisdom. He is accessed via dreams, visualizations, and shamanic journeys.

**Manifestation:** Mimir is a speaking oracular head.

**See Also:** Aesir; Angerboda; Bran; Freya; Freyr; Maeve; Njord; Odin; Vanir

## Appearance in Modern Media

From God of WarFrom DislyteFrom Monster StrikeFrom Force of Will
## Information Source

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