Tabiti
Origin: Scythian; Sarmatian
Scythian and Sarmatian women may have been the legendary Amazons—mounted, armed women warriors. Tabiti was venerated
by these nomadic cultures who traversed a wide swathe of Europe and Asia on horseback. They left no writing, and very little is now
known about them. Much of what is known is based on interpretation of artifacts, including their incredibly beautiful, finely wrought gold
jewelry in the form of stylized animals. Tabiti is the Lady of the Beasts, guardian of animals. She is a fire goddess, lady of the hearth.
Some scholars theorize that when her people stopped riding, Tabiti went to live in a little hut deep in a Russian birch forest where she
eventually emerged as Baba Yaga.
M anifestation: Tabiti may be a woman or a half-woman, half-snake. She has long hair, possibly flame red.
Iconography: Tabiti is portrayed in the company of beasts.
Planet: Sun
Bird: Raven
Animal: Dog
Element: Fire
See also: Ares; Baba Yaga; Bendis; Lady of the Beasts

T'ai Shan, Lady Of

Princess of the Azure Clouds; Holy Mother; Green Jade Mother; Daughter of Heaven; Daughter of the Mountain
Also known as: Bixia Yuanjin
Origin: China

Bixia Yuanjin, Lady of T'ai Shan, currently among the most popular Taoist goddesses, is the daughter of the Lord of T'ai Shan. She
presides over conception, pregnancy, and childbirth, bestowing fertility to those who are lacking. Women and men make pilgrimages to
her temples to petition for children.
Favored people: The Lady of T'ai Shan is guardian of women. She shows special favor to women who wish to be grandmothers
and thus seek fertility for their children.
M anifestation: A beautiful woman wearing a headdress formed from three birds with outstretched wings; she also manifests as a
fox or a star.
Spirit allies: She is usually accompanied by an entourage of spirits, including the Lady Who Brings Children who always carries a

child, the Fecundity Lady, the Lady Who Favors the Start of Pregnancy, the Princess Who Mysteriously Nourishes and Strengthens the
Shape of the Embryo, the Lady Who Activates Birth, and others. These attendants may also be petitioned for fertility independently,
particularly the Fecundity Lady.
Star: The Lady of T'ai Shan is a small red star within the constellation Leo.
Animal: Fox
Time: The Lady of T'ai Shan, Spirit of Dawn, embodies the birth of each day.
Sacred site: T'ai Shan, in Shantung province, highest and most sacred of China's five sacred mountains, is covered with shrines
and inscriptions. There are sacred paths with shrines and statues of the Daughter of the Mountain. The Lady of T'ai Shan has a great
temple just before the summit.

Feast: The most popular pilgrimage to T'ai Shan is on the eighth day of the fourth month of the Chinese calendar. Although anyone
and everyone may make the pilgrimage, it is traditional for women wishing to become grandmothers to do so on behalf of their fertilitychallenged daughters. This is the traditional ritual; however, the Chinese government has periodically suppressed aspects, such as the
burning of spirit money:
• Devotees eat only a spartan meal in the morning: no flesh, garlic, onions, or alcohol.
• Having rinsed out the mouth, devotees enter the Temple of the Lady, prostrating before her altar.
• Burn incense and spirit money.
• Bow once again before the altar and make your personal plea. The shrine guardian traditionally strikes musical stones to draw the
Lady's attention.
• A cord is passed around the neck of her statue in supplication.
• Those desiring children may remove ex-voto offerings of baby shoes from the altar. If prayers for children are fulfilled, return
these baby shoes or better ones.
Offerings: Incense, flowers, baby shoes, pilgrimage to her mountain, protection of foxes, needy women, and children
See also: Green Jade Mother; T'ai Shan, Lord of and the Glossary entry for Spirit Money

T'ai Shan, Lord Of

Emperor of the Eastern Peak
Origin: China

The Lord of T'ai Shan is the presiding spirit of T'ai Shan in Shantung Province, the tallest and most sacred of China's five sacred
Taoist mountains. (There are also four sacred Buddhist Mountains.) He is the landlord even if his daughter, the Lady of T'ai Shan is the
most beloved and popular spirit associated with the mountain.
The Lord of T'ai Shan married the Jade Emperor's sister, now called the Green Jade Mother. The Jade Emperor is his brother-inlaw. The Jade Emperor and the Green Jade Mother first emerged on T'ai Shan, from whence they ruled Earth. Eventually, she wed the
spirit of the mountain who rose to great prominence. The Lord of T'ai Shan has dominion over life and death. He controls ghosts. After
death, souls journey to Mount T'ai. The Lord of T'ai Shan may or may not be the alter ego of the Taoist King of Hell, who governs the
eighteen levels of Hell. That may or may not be his face on Bank of Hell spirit money notes.
Day: His birthday on the twenty-eigth day of the third month of the Chinese lunar calendar
Sacred site: Dai Temple in Tai'an, gateway city to Mount T'ai. The temple is traditionally a pilgrimage stop on the way up the
mountain.
Offerings: Immense candles; excellent wine; rare, expensive incense; silver and gold foil; lavish feasts featuring whole ducks,

chickens, geese, goats, and pigs
See also: Green Jade Mother; Jade Emperor; Kings of Hell; T'ai Shan, Lady of;and the Glossary entry for Spirit Money

Tamatori-Hime
Origin: Japan

Tamatori-hime, literally "Princess Tamatori" is the ama goddess. Ama are traditional Japanese divers, usually pearl divers but these
deep sea divers famed for their amazing breath control also scour the deep for seafood or other treasures. Ama are almost exclusively
female.
Once upon a time, a Chinese emperor sent a precious jewel as a gift to a Japanese noble. It fell overboard and was lost at sea. This
was a tremendous financial loss as well as a source of humiliation for the emperor. Tamatori-hime, then a mortal pearl diver, determined
to recover the missing jewel.
She dove into the sea and located the gem, however retrieving it was no easy task. Anything that falls into the sea may be interpreted
as tribute for the Dragon Kings of the Sea or at least that's how they interpret it. Ryujin, Japanese King of the Sea, claimed the gem as
his own. When Tamatori-hime attempted to retrieve it, he pursued her. She was fast but no match for the furious dragon.
Just before he caught her, Tamatori-hime recalled a legend: dragons can only take things from the living. They can remove nothing
from a corpse. She plunged her knife into her breast, tucked the precious gem within and floated to the surface. The jewel was delivered
to its proper owner and the kami, so touched by Tamatorihime's self-sacrifice, decided to grant her immortality and welcomed her into
their ranks.
That's the most famous version of her myth but there are variations. In some, Tamatorihime marries a prince and has a child before
she sacrifices her life. She is venerated as an ancestral spirit as well as a goddess.
Favored people: Divers
Iconography: Tamatori-hime and her myth are favorite tattoo topics.
Offerings: Japanese seafood dishes, flowers, incense and tattoos of her image.
See also: Dragon Kings of the Sea; Kami; Ryujin

Tammuz
Also known as: Dumuzi

Inanna-Ishtar took Tammuz, the divine shepherd, as her lover. He quickly became her favorite, and she honored him above all
others. Their love affair is the subject of sacred hymns. Following her resurrection, Inanna-Ishtar was permitted to leave captivity in the
Realm of Death if she sent someone back to replace her. Returning to her palace, she anticipated her reunion with Tammuz, whom she
assumed would be weeping and mourning for her. Instead she discovered him seated on her throne, enjoying the luxuries of her palace.
Any guesses as to who she chose as her replacement?
Tammuz fled but Inanna-Ishtar pursued. He did not wish to die. His devoted sister Gestinanna fought on his behalf, eventually
negotiating a deal in which she serves half his time annually while Tammuz is permitted to return to life.
Tammuz is considered the prototype of the dying and resurrecting grain deity. He is compared to Persephone, a force of nature that
refuses to stay dead, although disappearing into the depths of Earth annually. After his descent into darkness, Inanna-Ishtar wept bitterly
for his loss, beginning the annual sacred ritual of weeping for Tammuz. This ritual was still honored centuries later and had been
incorporated into folk Judaism as the Bible complains. Ezekiel 8:14 recounts the prophet's vision of Jewish women mourning for
Tammuz at the gate of King Solomon's Temple: "He brought me to the entrance of the Gate of the House of the Lord ... and behold!
There sat women weeping for Tammuz".

Tammuz, sometime chthonic spirit, is among those deities invoked in the magic spells of the Magical Papyri of Alexandria.

Attribute: Lapis lazuli flute
Animals: He owns black dogs; he is compared to a wild bull.
Color: Red
Day: Ritual mourning for Tammuz begins annually with the Summer Solstice.
M onth: The Hebrew lunar month Tammuz, named in his honor, corresponding in time to the zodiac sign Cancer; the corresponding
month in the Turkish calendar is Temmouz.
See also: Adonis; Chthonic Spirits; Ereshkigal; Gestinanna; Inanna-Ishtar; Nergal

Tanit

Lady of Carthage; Queen of the Stars; Face of Baal; She Who Nourishes; The Foster Mother; Serpent Lady; Lady of the
Moon and Stars
Origin: Carthage (modern North Africa, centered in Tunisia)

Tanit, the celestial queen, is the goddess of star-gazers and astrologers. A goddess of fertility and abundance, Tanit was the
supreme spirit of Carthage, the North African Phoenician nation now most renowned for its hero Hannibal. Tanit's almost twothousand-year-reign lasted from the ninth century BCE through the Romanconquest, only finally eradicated by Islam, although rumors of
surviving vestiges of her worship among Amazigh (Berber) mountain tribes periodically surface.
Tanit was an international goddess. Her veneration spread to Phoenician colonies in what are now Malta, Sardinia, and Spain.
Septimus Severus (11 April 146–4 February 211 CE), the first Roman Emperor born in North Africa introduced the worship of Tanit to
Rome.
There is debate as to whether Tanit is a Phoenician importation or an indigenous Amazigh (Berber). It's possible that she's both.
Tanit may be an Amazigh goddess who was identified as Astarte by the Phoenicians. Tanit may also be another name for Neith.
• The Romans identified Tanit with Juno Caelestis.
• Tanit may hide behind the mask of Spain's Black Madonna of El Puig.
Favored people: Astrologers, stargazers, Berbers, or those with ties to North Africa
M anifestation: Tanit is a beautiful bejeweled woman. She usually wears long earrings and a necklace.
Iconography: A Punic stele depicts her wearing a triangular garment bearing cornucopias in each hand, from which flow
pomegranates and grapes. A third or fourth century BCE statue found in Ibiza, Spain, portrays her as a crowned, enthroned woman
holding a dove.
Attributes: Full or crescent moon, ears of wheat, cornucopia of fruit
Consort: Ba'al Hammon

Symbol: She is represented by a geometric symbol resembling a circle atop an upward-facing triangle, the two shapes separated by
a horizontal line. Her symbol adorns many Cartha ginian grave markers.
Amulet: The hand-shaped amulet now called a hamsa or Hand of Fatima was once called the Hand of Tanit.

Time: Night
Color: Blue
Planet: Moon
Creatures: Doves, Snakes, Dolphins, FishPlants: Wheat, Figs, Pomegranates
Sacred sites:
• The Tophet, near Tunis—her sanctuary is long rumored to be the site of child sacrifices. However although the burial site was
located, it's impossible to determine how the babies and young children died. An opposing theory suggests that the rumors are
defamation and that the Tophet was a graveyard especially devoted to children who may have died of many causes during this
era of high infant and child mortality.
• The ruins of Tanit's temple at Kerkouane, Tunisia.
• The Church of El Puig, Spain, is built atop her old shrine.
See also: Anat; Astarte; Ba'al; Ba'al Hammon; Black Madonna of Regla; Juno; Neith

Tanuki
Origin: Japan
Classification: Yokai

The Tanuki, also known as the Raccoon Dog or Japanese Badger ( Nyctereutes procyonoides), is usually described as a member
of the canine family that more closely resembles a raccoon. Its genus Nyctereutes means "Night Wanderer," an appropriate name for
the mischievous, shape-shifting spirits also called Tanuki. Tanuki are a type of East Asian mammal and are also a typeof spirit who most
commonly takes the form of that animal.(Other than their form, Tanuki spirits have little in common with the mammal. Information in this
encyclopedia entry refers only to the spirits.)
Tanuki are tricky, gluttonous, and greedy but rarely malevolent. (There's always an exception: Tanuki may be hostile to hunters.
There are occasional tales of Tanuki smothering hunters beneath their huge scrotum.) They are sacred clowns who love sexual humor.
They amuse themselves and others with their huge scrotum: draping it like a robe, using it as an umbrella, and most famously stretching it
out like a drum and beating it. (Take a close look at images of Tanuki beating drums—they may not actually be drums.) Tanuki are
shamanic spirits. Allegedly their drumming pro duces a hypnotic effect.
Tanuki are often classified together with Fox Spirits. They are also skilled shape-shifters but less inclined to possess. Rare cases of
Tanuki possession may be treated at Inari shrines or by Inari shamans.
Tanuki Udon is a hearty noodle soup topped with deep-fried tempura batter, delicious but also an excellent hangover
remedy (hence the association with Tanukis).

What a Tanuki spirit loves most is going out drinking. Tanukis carouse all night. Even when they run out of money, which they do
quickly, they don't wish to end their good times, so they carry around account books or promissory notes with which to run up bar tabs
that they have no intention of ever paying. Magicians, they transform leaves into cash to buy sake. The money transforms back into its
true, worthless form as soon as the Tanuki has left the establishment.
Tanuki are highly skilled at finding others to buy their drinks. They latch on to crowds and steer them toward their favorite bars and
restaurants. Once completely soused, they persuade someone to take them to a noodle shop to buy them food. Images of Tanuki are
kept in bars and restaurants because of the Tanuki's legendary ability to draw a crowd. The Tanuki may never pay a bill, but he will
bring lots of other customers who will.
Tanuki also draw abundance towards individuals. They serve as guardian spirits: in this capacity, their images may be posted at the
front door. A Tanuki is a vigilant guardian spirit in Snake Agent, published in 2005, the first in author Liz Williams' series of Inspector

Chen mystery novels.
Favored people: Restaurateurs; tavern, inn, and bar keepers; noodle shop owners

M anifestation: The Tanuki is its true form, but it can take others as desired. A favorite form is a Buddhist priest. A famous story
involves a Tanuki transformed into a tea kettle.

Iconography: Like Maneki Neko and Nang Kwak, the Tanuki's benevolent powers are accessed through their images. Tanuki
statues are traditionally placed at the entrance of restaurants, bars, and noodle shops to magnetically attract customers. Tanuki statues
come in all sizes—from inches tall to the size of a person. Tanuki animals walk on four legs, but Tanuki spirits are always depicted
upright. The traditional Tanuki statue has a big conical straw hat and a pot belly. Modern statues are sometimes sanitized and no longer
have the huge scrotum or the barely visible itty-bitty penis that characterizes older statues. The scrota are not intended as sexual but as
fun and lucky. (The Tanuki is not a fertility spirit.) Tanuki scrota are called golden balls and attract good luck. A statue without them is
less powerful. Statues of female Tanuki exist but are less common. How will you know she's a girl? Tanuki walk around naked except
for their hats. One look at the genitals reveals all.
Attributes: A rake to sweep up wealth for devotees, an account book for the bar tab, a promissory note that will never be paid, a
cup or drinking gourd (some Tanuki statues have actual cups so offerings may be made directly), a staff to lean on when the Tanuki gets
loaded
Offerings: Sake! More sake! Another round! Tanuki Udon or other Japanese noodle dish if you think your Tanuki needs some
solid food.
See also: Fox Spirits; Inari; Maneki Neko; Nang Kwak; Neko-Mata; Okame; Yokai

Tara (1)
Origin: India
Tara is the preeminent Tibetan Buddhist female spirit, but before she was a Buddhist deity, Tara was an Indian goddess. In India,
Tara is a Tantric goddess, possibly originally a tribal goddess. She is fierce, not serene like Tibet's Tara. Tara roams forests and
battlefields, often in the company of Shiva.
India's Tara is Lady Wisdom. She bestows sacred and mundane knowledge. She instills literary talent and teaches palmistry and
astrology among other skills. Tara protects against danger, disasters, violence, and illness. She performs feats of healing and fulfills all
desires.
M anifestation: Tara is young, small, and although not pregnant has a big belly (considered a sign of power). She wears her
locked, matted long hair in a bun, ornamented with Rudraksha beads and skulls. Eight snakes entwine her body.
Spirit ally: Shiva
Number: Eight
Tree: Rudraksha
Offering: Menstrual blood; incense
See also: Shiva; Tara (2)

Tara (2)

Queen of Compassion; Mother of All Buddhas; The One Who Saves
Also known as: Dolma; Drolma; Do'ma
Classification: Buddha; Bodhisattva; Yidam
Tara is a Buddha, Bodhisattva, and Tibet's preeminent goddess. She is the most beloved member of the Tibetan pantheon, the
miraculous savior who rescues from suffering. Call on Tara when you need assistance right now! She is the goddess of immediate
assistance. Tara vows to carry devotees safely across the oceans of danger.
Tara protects against wind, water, fire, snakes, elephants, vicious spirits, thieves, imprisonment, and the power of kings .

Tara eliminates dangers and disturbance caused by ghosts and spirits, but she doesn't just banish them. She brings the ghosts and
spirits to enlightenment so that they become protectors. They will not be back to bother you because Tara transforms them into
benevolent beings. Tara is a Buddha, a fully realized being who vowed to return to Earth continuously in the form of a female
Bodhisattva. Her name derives from a Sanskrit root word meaning "to traverse" or "to cross over." Tara helps devotees cross over to
immortality and enlightenment. Tara is also related to root words for "star" and "pupil of the eye."
According to legend, the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara gazing down from Heaven was overwhelmed by the endless human suffering he
witnessed. No matter how many people he saved, there were still more. Overwhelmed, in despair, two tears streamed down his face
and transformed into two paths of Tara. The two Taras bolstered his courage, soothed his despair, and encouraged him not to give up
but to persist.
• The peaceful white tear from Avalokitesvara's left eye is White Tara.
• The fierce green tear from Avalokiteshvara's right eye is Green Tara.
Green and White Tara are Avalokitesvara's companions. The two devout Buddhist wives of Songtsen Gampo (died 649), the
Tibetan king who first brought the Dharma to Tibet, are considered avatars of Tara:
• Green Tara is incarnate in Nepalese Princess Brikuti.
• White Tara is incarnate in Chinese Princess Wen-Ch'eng.
Tara brings devotees to spiritual enlightenment. In addition to protecting from danger, she heals all illnesses and provides fertility to
those who wish to conceive.
Sacred images of Tara are known to spontaneously appear on bone, stone, and wood .

M anifestation: Tara has an unlimited number of forms. She appeared to the thirteenth-century Tibetan Buddhist sage Gotsangpa
near the top of the Drolma-La Pass in the form of twenty-one wolves whose paw prints are still visible in the stone.

Iconography: Tara's image is found in virtually every temple and monastery in Buddhist Central Asia. She is a favorite subject of
Tibetan Thangka paintings. Different goals are accomplished by meditating on Tara's various forms. (See below.)
Sacred site: Drolma-La Pass
M antra: This is Tara's basic root mantra: OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SVOHA!(Pronounced: OM TA-RAY TOO TA-RAY
TOO-RAY SO-HA!
) It allegedly promotes longevity, provides healing and removes obstacles from your path.
Offerings: Feed animals, birds, and needy people, especially children (food for people should include fun stuff as well as nutritious:
things like chocolate or candy to give joy and pleasure as well as sustenance.)
See also: Avalokitesvara; Bodhisattva; Bragsrin-mo; Buddha; Khadiravani; Tara (1) and the Glossary entries for Avatar and
Mantra

There are various forms of Tara, each associated with a different color. Officially these are considered different aspects or paths of
one Tara, but in terms of folk religion they may be considered distinct spirits. In some cases (Blue or Red Tara, for instance) these
spirits were originally independent goddesses who are now-identified with Tara. The most popular forms of Tara are Green Tara and
White Tara. (See also: Glossary entries for Identification and Path.)

Tara, Black

The Black Flame; The Camphor Flame
Black Tara may be a wrathful form of Green Tara. She subdues and subjugates evil and vicious spirits, conquering all those who
oppose or obstruct spiritual progress. Black Tara heals all illnesses stemming from spiritual or magical causes. Black Tara bestows
invincible will on her devotees so they are able to achieve all goals, aspirations, and resolutions. This is a comparatively rare form of
Tara.
• Black Tara and Dark Blue Tara are sometimes considered to be the same.
• Black Tara may be Ekajata, the Blue Sky Goddess, at night.
Color: Black or midnight blue
See also: Ekajata; Tara, Blue; Tara, Green

Tara, Blue

Lady with One Braid

Ekajata, fierce Lady of Heaven, was among the Bon Spirits subdued by Padmasambhava. He pierced her right eye and banished
her until she agreed to serve the Dharma. Ekajata as Blue Tara is now considered a form of Tara.
Blue Tara spreads joy and happiness. She transmutes negative emotions into positive. She is the Tara of protection who does more
than just banish enemies: she removes your fear of them, too. Blue Tara clears away obstacles that obstruct her devotees' spiritual (and
other) paths. She is a spirit of opportunity and good fortune. Blue Tara protects secret mantras: her own is known only to initiates.

Iconography: Blue Tara may be portrayed with up to twelve heads. She wears a necklace of skulls, a tiger skin, and flayed human
skin. She wears the image of Blue Buddha Akshobya in her hair.
Attributes: Arrow, ax, bell, book, bow, chalice, conch, hook, knife, noose, skull cup, staff, sword, and vajra chopper
Spirit ally: Blue Tara sometimes serves Khadiravani.
Color: Blue
Flower: Blue lotus
Animal: Blue wolf
See also: Bon Spirits; Buddha; Ekajata; Khadiravani; Padmasambhava; Palden Lhamo; Tara (1); Tara (2); Vajra

Tara, Green

Also known as: Drolma
Green Tara is the active, dynamic manifestation of Tara. Green Tara is traditionally considered the original Tara. She brings joy and
grants wishes. She eliminates suffering, fear, anxiety, and negative thoughts. She is a healer and provides fertility for devotees. She is the
spirit of compassionate action. She is the miraculous savior who protects and rescues from the eight dangers and disasters:
• Lions and pride
• Elephants and delusion
• Fire and hatred
• Snakes and envy
• Thieves and fanaticism
• Prisons and greed
• Water (floods, storms, drowning) and lust
• Demons and doubt
M anifestation: Green Tara usually manifests as a young girl with dark green skin.
Iconography: Green Tara sits on a lotus throne supported by Nagas. Beyond color, she is distinguished from White Tara as she is
usually portrayed with her right food advanced and poised as if she were just about to rise up.
See also: Nagas; Tara (1); Tara (2); Tara, White

Tara, Orange

The Liberator
Orange Tara is the goddess of liberation. She liberates devotees from desire and negative emotions, which obstruct the path of
enlightenment. Orange Tara provides literal liberation, too. She is invoked by prisoners and those suffering from any kind of
confinement, whether actual or metaphoric. She may be invoked for liberation from hell zones and the prison of your own mind. Orange
Tara is a midwife spirit:
• She liberates the baby from the womb during childbirth.
• She liberates the human soul after death.
Orange Tara is a comparatively rare form of Tara.

Tara, Red

See Kurukulla.

Tara, White

Healing Tara
Also known as: Drolma Karpo

White Tara is beautiful, serene, and peaceful, just like the moon. She offers peace and prosperity, good fortune and sturdy health.
White Tara heals illness, removes obstacles from the paths of devotees, and provides longevity. Meditating on her image is a conduit for
healing and extending the life span. She provides assistance and support during difficult pregnancies.
In Tibet, White Tara is associated with the seventh-century Tang Dynasty Chinese Princess Wen Ch'eng, wife of Tibetan King
Songtsen Gampo.
Iconography: White Tara is portrayed seated on the moon and a lotus rising from a lake. Her moon-white skin radiates an aura of
light. She may have dark blue hair. The full moon forms her aura. Her right hand forms the gesture (mudra) of generosity while her left
holds a lotus.
White Tara has seven eyes: three in her face and one in each palm and sole. The Seven Eyes of Wisdom enable her to see
suffering, pain, anguish and despair in all realms of existence and to heal and eliminate them.

Attribute: Book resting on lotus
Flower: White lotus
M antra: OM TARE TUTARE TURE MAMA AYUR JANA PUNTIN KURU SOHA
White Tara's mantra provides healing, wisdom, longevity, and merit.
See also: Mae Thoranee; Tara (2); Tara, Green

Tara, Yellow

The Treasure Holder
Also known as: Vasudhara; Vasundhara; Basundhara; Yasundhara; Nor-gyun-ma
Yellow Tara is the beautiful, tranquil spirit of abundance, fertility, and prosperity. She is the spirit of increase. Her consort is the lord
of wealth. Yellow Tara is especially popular in Nepal. She is identified with Ganga and Lakshmi.
Yellow Tara bestows seven blessings:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Fertility
Wealth
Longevity
Happiness
Wisdom
Praise
Quality

M anifestation: Yellow Tara may manifest in the form of an extremely beautiful, saffron-robed mountain hermit or a bejeweled
princess in silk (and sometimes a combination).
Iconography: Yellow Tara is portrayed with three faces and six arms. Two faces are red. Her center face is yellow, and her body
is gold. She sits on a white moon and a pink lotus.
Attributes: Gold treasure vase, conch shell
Consort: Vaishravana, Guardian of the North (he may be Jambhala or Kubera)

Color: The spectrum of yellow and gold
M antra: Her mantras include:
• OM TUTTARE TURE PUSHTIM KURU OM (Pronounced: OM TOO-TAH-RAY-TOO-RAY-PUSH-TIMKOO-ROO OM)
• OM VASUDHARE SVOHA (Pronounced: OM VAHSOO-DAH-RAY SO-HA)
See also: Ganga; Jambhala; Kubera; Lakshmi; Oshun; Uma

Taungbyon Brothers

The Two Lords
Also known as: Taungbyon Min Ni Naung
Classification: Nat

In life, the Taungbyon Brothers were carousers, drunks, and seducers. They are now the subject of Myanmar's most beloved
annual Nat Pwe (festival), which is famous for carousing, too. The two brothers, Shwepyingyi and Shwepyingge, are subjects of a
complex myth: The story begins in 1038 C E, when a wealthy merchant from Malabar was shipwrecked off the coast of Myanmar
(Burma). He died, but his two young sons—Abraham and Ibrahim—survived, drifting ashore at Thaton where they were rescued by a
Buddhist monk who raised them in a monastery.
The monk secretly possessed the corpse of a magician/hermit allegedly preserved for medicinal purposes. One day, left unsupervised,
the two brothers ate the corpse and instantly acquired incredible psychic and supernatural powers, which they began to demonstrate—
attracting the king's attention. He ordered the boys captured and brought to him. The older brother, captured via treachery, was killed
and dismembered. His body was placed beneath the king's palace to serve as a supernal guardian, while his intestines were divided into
four parts and buried under the city's walls facing in each direction for the same purpose.
Meanwhile, the younger brother escaped to the forest, where he fell in with thieves sent by Anawratha, King of Pagan, to steal
Buddhist texts from the King of Thaton. The thieves were unable to enter the city because the spirit guardian/older brother would not
admit them. The older brother appeared in the younger brother's dreams and revealed the only possible entrance. The younger brother
stole the texts and took them to Anawratha, who rewarded him by appointing him Flower Officer in charge of gathering flowers from
sacred Mount Popa.
The younger brother fell in love with the spirit of Mount Popa. They had two sons, Shwepyingyi and Shwepyingge. The Flower
Officer eventually fell from royal favor and was killed by the king. The two boys were raised on Mount Popa by their mother. King
Anawratha ordered the boys to go to China to retrieve Buddhist relics. Their mother refused to let them go; the boys refused to leave
their mother. The king sent an officer to force them, but the boys hung him upside-down by his heels over a high cliff until he begged for
mercy. The king sent the officer back with a magic wand, which compelled the spirit mother and her sons to roll down Mount Popa.
The boys were seized, and their mother died of a broken heart. (She is now the Nat, Popa Medaw, Mother of Popa.)
The boys went to China with the officers and returned with relics, including an emerald Buddha. On the way back to Pagan, the white
elephant carrying the relics halted and knelt at Taungbyon Village. The king took this as a sign to build his pagoda there. Each soldier
had to participate by contributing a brick. The brothers, whether slackers or conscious resisters, did not participate. They sat around
playing marbles instead, the upshot being that two bricks were missing from the pagoda.
The supervisor of the building site was the same officer they had hung upside-down. He had never forgiven them, so he took this
opportunity to report them to the king, who ordered the brothers flogged. The brothers escaped but were captured. They were so
powerful that beating had no effect, but they were killed when their testicles were crushed. In death, they transformed into the
Taungbyon Nats, even more powerful carousers. They appeared to King Anawratha and terrorized him into building them a shrine. The
king ordered their annual festival, still the most popular in Myanmar.
The Taungbyon Brothers are served by female shamans who engage in sacred marriages with the brothers as well as by crossdressing male shamans. Channeled via spirit mediums, the brothers heal illness and infertility, reveal the future, and provide prosperity
and gambler's luck.
Attribute: Marbles

Animal: Tiger
Plant: Ferns
M ount: The Taungbyon Brothers ride tigers
Festival: The Taungbyon Festival lasts approximately a week, beginning on the eighth day of the waxing moon of the Burmese
month of Wagaung and lasting until the full moon. This typically occurs in the Western month of August. The festival is held in
Taungbyon Village, approximately twenty miles north of Mandalay. A festival honoring their mother follows shortly afterward, during the
waning moon phase.
Offerings: Liquor, bananas, coconuts, fabric, cash, bouquets of ferns and flowers
See also: Cerridwen; Golden Boy; Nats

Taweret

Mistress of Talismans
Origin: Egypt

Taweret is the hippopotamus goddess of fertility, conception, childbirth, vengeance, and the underworld. In her earliest incarnation,
she was a sky spirit who helped midwife the sun. An extremely ancient spirit, she may be an importation from sub-Saharan Africa.
Evidence based upon archaeological finds in southern Egypt suggests that her images were displayed in households from prehistoric
times. Both feared and revered, Taweret's importance in the official state cult diminished with time, yet she remained an immensely
popular folk goddess. Her popularity remained until the Roman conquest.
Once you know Taweret, she's hard to miss. Her body is comprised of components of the fiercest creatures known to the Egyptians:
a hippopotamus, a crocodile, a lion, and a pregnant woman. Her image was all over ancient Egypt: • Pregnant women wore amulets
bearing her image.
• Images of Taweret and her husband Bes were carved onto beds and headrests to guard sleepers against snakes and scorpions
as well as the night's spiritual dangers.
• Homes had murals featuring Bes and Taweret.
• Vases molded in her distinctive shape were filled with milk, which poured out through her nipples. These were intended to
guarantee conception, facilitate childbirth, and protect mother and baby.
• Her image is engraved on ivory magic wands.
Taweret's image is intended to have two effects. The first is that she is supposed to be terrifying. Would you choose a toy poodle to
be your guard dog? Taweret is essentially the Rottweiler of the spirit world and a pregnant one at that. She is fierce. The protector of
pregnant women and children, one of her main functions is to scare away evil spirits. She needs to be scarier than they are.
The second effect of her image is that you never forget her fertility. Taweret's saggy breasts and huge belly indicate both her present
fertility and her past successes in childbirth. Taweret's form demonstrates that she can conceive, she can bear and she can nurse. She
provides human women with these abilities, too.

M anifestations: Taweret usually manifests as a pregnant hippopotamus standing on her hind legs displaying large, pendulous,
women's breasts. Sometimes her back is that of a crocodile complete with tail, while her arms and legs are those of a lion. In her
avenger aspect, Taweret has the body of a hippo and the head of a lion. She brandishes a dagger and has a crocodile slung over her
shoulder.

Attributes: A torch to drive away demons and purify the atmosphere and also the sa, a protective instrument, actually a stylized life
preserver worn by ancient Nile river travelers. She may hold a knife, for defense and as a midwife's tool.
Consort: Bes

Constellation: Ursa Major and Draco

Sacred sites: Taweret had temples at Thebes, Karnak and at Deir el-Bahri. However, she is predominately a family guardian. Her
primary residences are within people's homes.
Offerings: Beer, incense but mainly Taweret desires home altars and veneration by families.
See also: Ammit; Bes

Tçaridyi

The Burning One
Origin: Transylvanian Roma (Gypsy)

Tçaridyi, the fourth child of Ana and the King of the Loçolico, looks like a little hairy worm. If she can penetrate the human body,
she causes burning fever. She causes puerperal fever in pregnant women. Tçaridyi enjoys tormenting people but rarely kills them.
Tçaridyi can cause and cure infertility in women. She forbids pregnant women or those who would one day like to be pregnant from
eating shellfish. She offers an amulet of protection (from her and from other dangers during pregnancy): a sachet filled with dried crayfish
shells and stag beetles. Tçaridyi is married to her brother Tçulo.
See also: Ana; Loçolico; Tçulo

Tçulo

Potbellied
Origin: Transylvanian Roma (Gypsy)

Tçulo is the third child of Ana and the King of the Loçolico. Melalo gave the king some stag beetles and crayfish to eat. As a result,
Ana gave birth to Tçulo, who resembles a spiky little ball. Tçulo rolls himself up and sneaks inside the human body, where he causes
severe, violent abdominal pains, especially in the lower belly. His specialty and special pleasure is torturing pregnant women. He had so
much fun that he started torturing pregnant spirits too, even his sister Lilyi. Lilyi's husband, Melalo, advised their father that Tçulo was
bored and needed a wife. Tçulo and his wife/sister, Tçaridyi, now sometimes have fun torturing people together. Tçulo and Tçaridyi
really enjoy tormenting people but they rarely cause fatal illness.
See also: Ana; Lilyi; Loçolico; Melalo; Tçaridyi

Telchines
Origin: Rhodes
The Telchines are mysterious, magical spirits who rule the island of Rhodes. Sea spirits, their mother is Thalassa. The Telchines are
magicians, shamans, and smiths. As befitting these occupations, they are discreet spirits, very protective of their secrets, including their
identity. It's not even clear how many Telchines there are: reports vary from four to nine.
The Telchines invented metalworking. They raise storms, control the weather, produce miraculous animated statues and, according to

one myth, forged Poseidon's trident. (They may also have crafted the sickle used to castrate Uranus.) They are credited with producing
the first images of the deities.
According to Greek myth, Poseidon was not swallowed by Kronos. Instead, Rhea rescued him and brought him to Rhodes where he
was raised, guarded, and initiated by the Telchines with the assistance of Kapheira who may or may not be the same spirit as Cabeiro.
Eventually the Telchines left Rhodes. One myth suggests that, being prophetic spirits, they foresaw the Great Flood and abandoned
Rhodes for higher ground. An alternative suggests that Rhea brought them to Crete to help guard Zeus. A third suggestion says that
Zeus feared their power and magic. He had them thrown into Tartarus and gave Rhodes to Apollo.

M anifestation: The Telchines are sometimes described as dwarfs. They are sometimes depicted with canine heads and fish
flippers instead of hands.
See also: Apollo; Cabeiro; Dwarves; Gaia; Kronos; Leucotheia; Poseidon; Rhea; Thalassa

Telesforos
Also known as: Telesphoros; Telesphorus
Origin: Greece

Telesforos is Hygeia's brother and the son of Asklepios. He is the spirit of convalescence, recuperation, and recovery from illness
and injury. Telesforos is a divine child who possesses profound healing powers. He has dominion over sleep and dreams, an important
component of Asklepian healing. Telesforos may appear in dreams to devotees or to perform healing. Telesforos also provides fertility.
Favored people: Telesforos is the guardian of infants.

Iconography: Telesforos is a young barefoot boy wearing a wide cloak with a hood drawn low over his face or a Phrygian cap
similarlyshadowing his face. He resembles the Genius Cucullatus. Some theorize that he is the original Genius Cucullatus or vice versa.
His image is found on many coins.
Spirit ally: Hygeia and Telesforos frequently work and travel together.
See also: Aklepios; Genius Cucullatus; Hygeia

Tellus Mater

Earth Mother
Also known as: Terra Mater
Origin: Italy

Tellus Mater, the Earth Mother, is the great mother without whom nothing grows and nothing could exist. She is the energy that
sparks life. Tellus Mater has dominion over fertility and guards and assists laboring mothers of all species. She was invoked during
ancient marriage ceremonies. Tellus Mater has dominion over earthquakes. Oaths were sworn upon her, as Earth sees and knows all.
Tellus Mater is the source of the words tellurian and telluric.

Favored people: Pregnant women, pregnant animals
M anifestation: Tellus Mater is Earth, but she also appears in the guise of a lush, beautiful woman.
Iconography: A Roman bas-relief depicts Tellus Mater holding two children on her lap while an ox and sheep sleep beneath her
feet. She is flanked by two women, one holding a swan, the other a sea monster.
Spirit allies: Ceres, Vesta
Date: 15 April, her annual feast
Animal: Cow
See also: Ceres; Gaia; Proserpina; Vesta

Tengu
Origin: Japan
Classification: Yokai
Tengu are spirits of the wilderness, guardians of the forest. They are wary, aggressive, protective tricksters. Often described as
mountain goblins, they may be as helpful or dangerous as they please. Tengu are bird spirits who come in two basic forms:
• Karasu Tengu, literally "Crow Tengu," have crow heads on human torsos covered with feathers. Their hands and feet are
tipped with claws, not fingers or toes.
• Yamabushi Tengu , or "Mountain Priest Tengu," have human form with bright red faces. They usually have exceedingly long
beak-like noses.
Tengu are famed shape-shifters and may not appear in their true guise. Tengu are bird spirits even when they no longer look like
birds. They can fly. Like the winged monkeys in the MGM musicalThe Wizard of Oz, Tengu use their flight skills aggressively: they play
tricks, make speedy getaways, survey their territory, and swoop down to snatch people away.
Tengu are pranksters, sometimes maliciously so. They start fires, arguments, and divisiveness. They carry off children, returning them
somewhat stupefied and worse for the wear. Even their lesser pranks have an edge to them and are potentially harmful: they drop house
tiles on people or throw pebbles into windowsat night. Yet, when they wish, they can also be extremely helpful. Historically, Tengu have
been invoked to locate lost children. When children went missing, especially in the mountains, Tengu were summoned to search for
them.
Their origins are mysterious. Tengu are guardians of Kami, but they are not Kami themselves. Who are these wise, rampaging bird
spirits?
• They may be indigenous Japanese spirits.
• According to one myth, Tengu are emanations of Susano'o.
• They may derive from or be related to Chinese T'ien-kou.
• They may derive from or be related to India's Garuda.
• They may be some or all of the above.
Tengu are beings of immense power, skill, and wisdom. Like Susano'o, they control weather. Their weapons include
storms, wind, and whirlwinds.

Regardless of origin, Tengu are pre-Buddhist spirits who aggressively resisted Buddhism. Tengu and Buddhists alike consider them
enemies of the Dharma. Tengu became symbolic of indigenous resistance to Buddhism. They allegedly cause fires in Buddhist temples
and monasteries and play malicious tricks on Buddhist priests. Tengu transform themselves to resemble Buddhist priests, nuns, and
sometimes even Buddhas to fool people, especially real priests. Tengu snatch priests up, carry them off and bind them to the tops of tall
trees and towers.

In the twelfth century, the Buddhist concept of the Tengu Road evolved. The Tengu Road was the special punishment reserved for
hypocritical, false or corrupt Buddhist priests. After death they become Tengu. (This is a Buddhist concept, not a Shinto one.
Traditionally Tengu are spirits, not ghosts or transformed people like Hannya.) Meanwhile, the yamabushi (shamanic mountain priests)
made pilgrimages deep into forested mountains seeking to apprentice with the Tengu. The identities of some Tengu and mountain priests
blur. Tengu sometimes adopt the guise of yamabushi.
Why would the yamabushi seek Tengu? Tengu are profound magicians, occultists, warriors, martial artists, and repositories of secret
esoteric wisdom. They can transfer their powers to those they favor. If they really like someone, they will mentor and tutor them. Tengu
are brilliant martial artists, especially associated with kendo (Japanese fencing) and ninjitsu. They are weapon smiths extraordinaire.
Many legendary heroes and martial artists claim apprenticeship with Tengu.
Tengu are oracular spirits with powers of healing. They can possess people and speak through them. Spirit mediums channel them.
They can also cause illness. They will mercilessly hound those who anger them with nightmares, apparitions, and illusions.
Tengu teach ninjitsu, the martial arts tradition associated with the stealth warriors known as ninjas. Ninjas first emerged
in Japan's mountains to combat samurai overlords. Because of their stealth and mystery, ninjas were rumored to possess
supernatural powers courtesy of their sponsors, the Tengu.

• Tengu may be invoked to provide fire safety.
• Tengu are summoned and communicated with via drumming.
• Tengu allegedly loathe mackerel, and so it may be used as an amulet to keep them away.
Favored people: Shamans, hunters, martial artists, ninjas, those they inexplicably like

M anifestation: Tengu often travel in flocks; they are masters of disguise who can take any form. They enjoy playing tricks and
surprising people.

Iconography: Tengu are frequently portrayed disguised as yamabushi mountain priests. They wear the yamabushi's hexagonal hats
and carry a shaman's feather fan (which, in their hands, becomes a profound magical weapon).
Tree: Cryptomeria, pine, cypress
Bird: Crow
Colors: Black, red

Sacred sites: Tengu are venerated in some mountain shrines. Local festivals are dedicated to them. Their favorite haunts include
forested mountains, groves, and in the vicinity of shrines and temples

Offerings: Tengu like and expect offerings. Offerings appease them and encourage good behavior. Woodcutters who fail to make
offerings before cutting trees encounter unpleasant accidents. Tengu bless hunters with success if they first promise to share their food.
Offerings are traditionally given outside, not too close to buildings. (This may be because of their propensity to start fires.) Tengu like
sake and rice cakes, but they'll have some of whatever you're having. Their favorite treat is allegedly kuhinmochi, skewered rice balls
covered with bean paste and then grilled.
See also: Akiba-Sanjakubo; Amida Buddha; Garuda; Kami; Okame; Sojobo; Susano'o; Tanuki; T'ien-kou

Tenjin
Origin: Japan
Classification: Kami

Tenjin is patron of literature, learning, scholarship, and education. His shrines are visited regularly by students and their parents who
wish to invoke his aid or thank him for favors granted. His shrines are packed prior to important national exams.
Tenjin wasn't always a kami, and he wasn't always benevolent. Once upon a time, Tenjin was Sugawara no Michizane (845–903
CE), a brilliant, successful administrator, poet, and scholar. (His specialty was Chinese literature.) Jealous colleagues conspired against
him at the Heian court (now modern Kyoto). Falsely accused, Sugawara was exiled to the isle of Kyushu, where he died a sad death.
Immediately after his death, Heian was struck by a series of disasters, including storms, fires, and epidemics. In 923, the crown prince
died suddenly. In 930, the Imperial Palace was struck by lightning, killing several of the conspirators who had exiled Sugawara. The
emperor soon died, too.
Tenjin, Sugawara's spirit name, may be interpreted as "Heavenly Spirit," indicating lofty, celestial nature. It can also be
interpreted as "Sky Spirit," indicating his association with storms and thunder.

In 942, Sugawara possessed a spirit medium and announced that he was responsible for the disasters. In 955, a Shinto priest's child
announced that Sugawara was now Deity of Disasters and Chief of the Thunder Demons. Major attempts were now made to placate
Sugawaraand forestall further disaster:
• His order of exile was burned.
• Sugawara as Tenjin was enrolled in the official imperial roll of spirits as a deity of the highest rank under the name Tenjin.
• A major shrine was dedicated to him, still among Kyoto's most important Shinto shrines.
It took a little while for him to calm down, but Tenjin responded positively, especially when scholars, poets, and academics adopted
him as their personal patron.
Tenjin assists researchers seeking divine assistance.
Favored people: students, professors, academics, researchers, authors

Sacred site: Kitano Temmangu shrine, also known as the Kitano-jinja, in Kyoto is his primary shrine but there may be as many as
fourteen-thousand Tenjin shrines throughout Japan, which produce amulets for academic success and luck. (Tenjin shrines are called
Tenman-gu.)
Tree: Ume (Prunus mume) the Japanese Apricot or Plum
Festival: The Tenjin Matsuri in Osaka held at the end of July
See also: Goryo; Kami

Tenma
Origin: Tibet

The Tenma are twelve guardian goddesses who appear in the entourage of Palden Lhamo. The Tenma are ancient Tibetan Bon
spirits who were defeated, one by one, by Padmasambhava who bound them with a sacred oath. The Tenma are now sworn guardians
of the Dharma. They are mountain goddesses: six are guardian spirits of specific perilous, narrow mountain ledges. The
Tenma are divided into three groups:
• Dumo Chenmo (Great Female Demons)
• Nojin Chenmo (Great Female Malignant Ones)
• Menmo Chenmo (Great Medicine Consorts)
Each Tenma has a personal history and individual personality. They are not uniform and can be distinguished from one another. Each
has a secret name usually indicating where she lives. The Tenma are served by oracular priestesses.
Shamans channel the Tenma who provide oracles via ritual possession.
Iconography: They are portrayed alongside Palden Lhamo.

Offerings: Water in a beautiful vessel, dice crafted from conch shells, peacock feathers, bronze mirror, crystal
See also: Bon Spirits; Padmasambhava; Palden Lhamo; Tara, Blue

Tethys

Mistress of the Sea
Origin: Greece
Tethys is a primeval sea goddess. She and her consort, Oceanos, have multitudes of children. Three thousand of her sons are river
deities. The Nereids are her granddaughters. Tethys is a goddess of fertility but also an oracular spirit. The Etruscans had an oracular
shrine dedicated to her.
Tethys is the name given a primeval sea: What is now the Black Sea is considered a residual basin of the primeval Central European
Tethys Sea, which existed from the end of the Paleozoic era to the Middle Tertiary period. Due to earthquakes in the Triassic period,
the Tethys Sea was divided into a series of basins.
See also: Nereid; Oceanos; Thetis

Tezcatlipoca

The Smoking Mirror; Lord of Magic
Origin: Mexico

Tezcatlipoca means "Smoking Mirror." He is a spirit of magic and chaos, an omniscient, all-knowing, all-powerful somewhat
dangerous figure who sees everything in his obsidian mirror. Tezcatlipoca is a divine sorcerer. He is now most famous as the rival of his
brother, Quetzalcoatl, the Plumed Serpent, whose fall from grace was maneuvered by Tezcatlipoca's smoke and mirrors.
Christian missionaries perceived the tragic Quetzalcoatl as a Christ-figure. They identified his opponent Tezcatlipoca, the unrepentant
sorcerer, as Satan. Much Aztec mythology was destroyed. In many of Tezcatlipoca's surviving myths, he appears threatening and
malevolent. It is unclear whether this was always the case or whether his malevolence was emphasized by storytellers.
Tezcatlipoca is Lord of the Crossroads. He presides over the ancient magical art of nahualism, the complex, intense soul relationship
between people and animal allies, characterized by transformation. He is a very complex spirit: a destroyer and a creator. His
relationship with Quetzalcoatl may be likened to that between Egyptian rival deities Set and Horus. They balance each other.
Tezcatlipoca brings disaster but also good fortune, prosperity, and fertility. He is Quetzalcoatl's partner in creation of this world.
Tezcatlipoca is the master of subterfuge; the ruler of illusion and sleight of hand, especially when these skills are needed for survival,
not just for tricks.
Favored people: Shamans, magicians, witches, sorcerers, occultists, mirror gazers

M anifestation: Tezcatlipoca may be missing one foot. He may limp. He is a shape-shifter. Favored forms include coyote, jaguar,
monkey, owl, and skunk.
Attribute: Obsidian mirror
Consort: Xochiquetzal
Time: Night, especially midnight

Element: Water
M aterial: Obsidian, black volcanic glass used to create ritual knives and magic mirrors
Bird: Turkey
Creature: Jaguar, his nahual
Constellation: Ursa Major (What we see as a bear, the Aztecs understood as a jaguar.)
Flower: Morning glories

Sacred sites: Tezcatlipoca favors the temescal, the traditional Aztec bathhouse. He lives within the Earth's core in a mirrored realm
inhabited by jaguars.
See also: Quetzalcoatl; Xochipilli; Xochiquetzal

Thagya Min

The Spirit King
Also known as: Thagya Nat

Thagya Min is the Nat king and the guardian Nat of Buddhism. He presides over the Thirty-Seven Official Nats and keeps them in
line. Thagya Min is Indra in disguise, filtered through the pantheon of Indian Buddhism. (See also:Indra.) King Anawratha (ruled 1044–
1077) declared Thagya Min head of the Nat pantheon. (Whether Nats not included among the official thirty-seven are impressed with
this declaration is subject to debate.)
Thagya Min keeps track of all human actions. Every year, he records the names of thosewho perform good deeds in a book made of
gold leaves. He has another book made of dog skin in which he records the names of evil-doers. Complaints and requests for justice
may be addressed to Thagya Min. He occasionally gives devotees gifts of amazing spirit-horses.
Thagya Min may be venerated alongside the Buddha.
Offering: Devotees traditionally light a candle for Thagya Min daily.
See also: Buddha; Nats; Nats, Thirty-Seven

Thalassa
Also known as: Thalatta
Origin: Greece
Thalassa, a primeval sea spirit, is the essence of the sea itself. Thalassa literally means "sea." She is the presiding goddess of the
Mediterranean, but the oceans know no boundaries. Thalassa is the mother of fish and all sea creatures. She may be the mother of the
Telchines.
• Thalassa is the presiding spirit of Thalassotherapy, the therapeutic use of sea water prescribed for a wide variety of medical and
cosmetic uses. She may be invoked to enhance its powers.
• The Romans called her Mare (as in marine or mariner).
M anifestation: Thalassa is the sea, but she also manifests as a beautiful naked woman swathed in seaweed. She has wild hair and

crabclaw horns.
Attribute: Oar
Consort: Pontus
Element: Water
Sacred site: The Mediterranean Sea
Offerings: Seashells; found crab shells and claws; chalices of salt water; crystals
See also: Amphitrite; Mari (2); Telchines; Tethys

Thanatos
Origin: Greece

Thanatos is an ancient lord of death. He may be the son of Nyx alone or her son with Erebus. Hypnos, Lord of Sleep, is Thanatos'
twin brother. Hypnos and Thanatos live together and are constant companions. Thanatos has a reputation of being coldhearted and
merciless, but he is associated almost exclusively with peaceful death. (His sisters, the Keres, handle violent death.) Thanatos is a
psychopomp who escorts dead souls to their new home. Unlike many other psychopomps who are mere escorts, Thanatos actually
delivers the coup de grâce. Thanatos derives from an older pantheon than the Olympians and may originally have ruled a realm of death.
In the context of Olympian myth, he is Hades' auxiliary.
Thanatos may be invoked by those who seek painless, peaceful death.
M anifestation: Euripides described Thanatos walking among people, robed in black and carrying a sword.

Iconography: Thanatos is depicted as a winged young man, a winged bearded older man, or a winged serpent. Hypnos and
Thanatos are frequently portrayed together.
Attribute: Sword, inverted torch
Color: Black
Flower: Poppies
Creatures: Snake, butterfly
Offerings: Poppies; black candles; images of his sacred creatures
See also: Charon; Hades; Hypnos; Keres; Nyx; Olympian Spirits; Psychopomp

Themis
Origin: Greece
Classification: Titan

Themis is the spirit of Earth's wisdom. Her name may mean "steadfast." She is a goddess of justice, righteousness, and sacred
knowledge. Themis may be an independent goddess or an avatar of Gaia. She is sometimes described as Gaia's soul. Themis, a

prophetess, manifests the inherent oracular powers of Earth. She is the spirit of order and the social instinct that enables people to form
communities. Themis presides over what is right and just, not necessarily what is legal.
Themis is the daughter of Gaia and Uranus. Depending on whether one counts Dione, Themis may be Zeus' first wife. The Horae and
Moirae (the Hours and Fates) are sometimes described as their daughters.
Themis and Zeus seem to have parted amicably. She is the presiding secretary of the Olympian pantheon. Themis is the goddess who
convenes and dissolves their meetings. Zeus cannot convene them. When he wishes to meet, he requests that Themis call meetings to
order. She also presides over Olympian feasts and social gatherings. If you need to communicate with the entire pantheon or a
substantial percentage, rather than invoking each spirit individually, Themis may be requested to convene them for you.
Iconography: Themis is portrayed seated beside Zeus advising him or gazing into a pan of water so that she can divine the future.
See also: Dione; Gaia; Horae; Moirae; Olympian Spirits; Prometheus; Zeus;and the Glossary entry for Avatar

Thetis
Origin: Greece
Classification: Nereid
Thetis is the great goddess of the Aegean Sea. She is now most famous as Achilles' mother, but she is an exceptionally powerful
goddess in her own right. A surviving fragment of an archaic hymn suggests that once upon a time, Thetis was worshipped as creator of
the universe as well as goddess of the sea. She is credited with saving Zeus from an attempted coup staged by Hera and Poseidon. Her
foster-sons are famous, too. She raised Hephaestus and Dionysus in her home under the sea.
Thetis is gorgeous, brilliant, and benevolent. Poseidon and Zeus both wished to marry her until Themis (Zeus' ex-wife) foretold that
Thetis was destined to bear a son greater than his father. In response to this prophecy, Zeus forced Thetis to marry Peleus—mortal son
of his own son Aeacus and Endaïs, Chiron's daughter. The tale of her marriage is the tale of her taming (at least temporarily). Peleus
was instructed to hold fast to her while she transformed into a series of terrifying forms in her desperate attempt to escape. She doesn't
seem to let him hamper her style—Thetis has liaisons with deities and mortals as she chooses.
Thetis, who adores dancing, is described as "silver-footed".

M anifestation: Thetis is a beautiful woman or mermaid.
Creatures: Snakes, lions
M ount: Hippocampus
Altar: Decorate her altar with marine motifs: nets, shells, and anchors. Images of Achilles and Hephaestus, whom she adores, will
please her too.

See also: Achilles; Aiakos; Dionysus; Eris; Hephaestus; Hera; Mermaid; Nereid; Poseidon; Proteus; Tethys; Themis; Zeus

Thien Y A Na
Origin: Cham
Thien Y A Na may be the ancient creator goddess of Champa, or she may be a deified queen. According to legend, the goddess

Thien Y A Na was once queen of the ancient kingdom of Champa, located in what is now southern and central Vietnam. Her husband,
the king, was killed during conflicts with the Vietnamese.
To avoid capture, Thien Y A Na threw herself from a cliff but, as luck would have it, a passing Chinese prince happened to be sailing
by. He rescued Thien Y A Na, fell in love with her, and decided to marry her. The wedding was scheduled to be held on the boat. At
the very last moment, Thien Y A Na could not go through with the marriage. She threw herself from the boat, and this time her suicide
attempt was successful.
Her drowned body caught on a log of sandalwood and floated back to Champa, where it was discovered on the beach, still fragrant,
beautiful, and recognizable. Her subjects erected a shrine for her where her corpse washed ashore. Reports soon arose of Thien Y A
Na calming winds and waves and saving seagoers.
Many ethnic Cham people believe that Cham spirits are claimed by Vietnamese people who then venerate them via traditional
Vietnamese rituals. Spirits' names may be adjusted to sound more Vietnamese, thus Thien Y A Na may or may not be the same spirit as
Ba Chua
Xu. She certainly has the same volatile temperament when it comes to reneged promises, disrespect, and theft. Be sure to fulfill all
vows in a timely manner.
Favored people: Those who ply their living from the sea (traders, travelers, fishers)
Sacred site: Her early-seventeenth-century temple on Hon Ba Island, Vietnam
Offerings: Flowers, incense, candles
See also: Ba Chua Kho; Ba Chua Xu; Ma Zu

Thor

Drum Beater
Also known as: Donar; Thunar
Origin: Norse

Thor, Lord of Thunder, may be the best-loved of all Norse deities. He is the defender of the Aesir pantheon and the vigilant
protector of his devotees. Thor is something of a big lug, but he is consistent, predictable and dependable—as opposed to brilliant but
volatile Odin, who can make even his dearest devotees a little nervous.
Odin was the spirit patron of the elite and esoteric (heroes, rulers, shamans, magicians), but Thor was the lord of the masses. He
protects everyone because that's what he does: he is a protector. He is the protector of homes, communities, land, laws, and civilization.
Thor guards against disaster and chaos. (Does he come into conflict with Loki, spirit of chaos? You bet.) In Germany, Thor in his guise
as Donar was considered guardian of love, marriage, and families. Thor assists travelers and protects the dead.
Thor has power over Earth's fertility and abundance. He controls the quantity of rain, making sure there's just the right amount. He
isthe spirit of the oak forests, which once spread across Europe. He hallows sacred places, events, and crucial magical workings by
striking with his hammer. Making the sign of Thor's hammer (in the same manner that Christians make the sign of the cross) allegedly
banishes many spirits, especially Jotuns.
He manifests to people in dreams.
• Thor is invoked to protect against fire and lightning.
• Thor is a giant killer: invoke his aid if someone bigger than you is picking on you, be it spirit, human, corporate, commercial, or
bureaucracy.
Saint Boniface cut down Thor's sacred oak near what is now Fritzler, Germany, and challenged the deity to strike him
down with lightning. Boniface used the wood from the tree to build a cross and chapel. Frisians killed him in 755.

M anifestation: Thor is a huge, good-hearted, rough-hewn, red-haired and -bearded man with fiery eyes.
Iconography: As Thor is guardian of the dead, the image of his hammer is carved onto memorial stones.
Attributes: His iron hammer named Mjollnir, iron-clad gloves
Consort: Sif
Day: Thursday (literally "Thor's Day")
Trees: Oak, mountain ash, hazel
Plants: Thor's Beard, also known as the house-leek ( Sempervirum tectorum) protects against malicious spirits; mistletoe called
Donnerbesen ("thunder broom" or "Donar's broom") in Old German but later Christianized toTeufelbesen or "Devil's broom."
M etal: Iron
Color: Red
Element: Fire
Amulet: Miniature Thor's hammers are worn as a pendant similar to wearing a Christian cross or a Wiccan pentacle.
Rune: Thurisaz, the rune of force and will
Animal: goat (but bulls were once sacrificed to him)
M ount: Thor drives a wagon pulled by goats.
Sacred site: Thor was venerated in sacred groves, including one near Dublin.
Realm: Thor presides over his hall, Bilskirnir, which he shares with Sif and their children. It is a huge hall with over five hundred
rooms. Thralls, a class of slaves, entered Thor's hall after death and were feted and entertained.
Offerings: Thor has a massive appetite. He loves to drink and wins all drinking competitions. Offer him Thor's Hammer brand
vodka, but Thor will probably accept most offerings if given with respect and a sincere heart.
Thor is a prominent member of the Viking Court in the Venezuelan spiritual tradition of Maria Lionza, where he goes
under the nickname Mr. Barbaro.

See also: Aesir; Barbaro, Mr.; Jotun; Loki; Maria Lionza; Odin; Perkunas; Shango; Sif
Thoth
Lord of Divine Words; Lord of Books
Also known as: Tehuti; Djehuti

Origin: Egypt
Thoth is primeval: he is from before Creation. In some Egyptian myths, Thoth is the supreme creator. He created himself by speaking
his own name. Even when he is not supreme creator, Thoth still does his fair share of creating. Thoth invented writing, gambling, stargazing, engineering, geometry, botany, medicine, mathematics, and magic spells. He is the founder of alchemy and is the author,
according to Egyptian myth, of the world's very first book called
The Book of Thoth , a collection of magic spells and rituals so

powerful that it had to be hidden away.
Thoth taught veneration of the spirits. He invented rules of sacrifice and composed hymns and prayers. Thoth is credited with writing
some of the Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day.
Thoth is Ra's right-hand man. Without Thoth, Isis and her siblings would never have been born. Thoth may have taught Osiris the arts
of civilization that Osiris then taught to humanity. Thoth, a master magician, taught Isis everything he knew. She is perhaps the only one
who surpasses his magical knowledge, although, according to myth, even Isis still needs his assistance and advice once in a while.
Thoth is kind, benevolent, patient, wise, and generous. He is what is considered a "cool" deity; he calms and soothes impassioned
situations. In one legend, only Thoth can safely subdue a rampaging goddess threatening to destroy Earth.
As befitting a shaman, Thoth lives in many realms at once:
• He travels among the living, teaching his magical skills.
• He serves as the official scribe in the Hall of the Dead.
• He rides in the solar barque beside Ra and thus lives in the realm of spirits.
The English name, Thoth, is based on the Greek pronunciation of the Egyptian
Tehuti. His name is related to Egyptian words
indicating "moon," "measure," "ibis," and "crystal."
• The Greeks identified Thoth with Hermes and Hermes Trismegistus.
• In Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods, Mr. Ibis runs a funeral parlor with his partner Mr. Jacquel.
Favored people: Scribes, secretaries, authors, magicians, shamans, sorcerers, witches, alchemists, occultists, librarians
M anifestation: In his guise as patron of scribes, Thoth has an ibis' head. As a master magician, he manifests as a baboon.
Although ibis and baboon are his most common forms, Thoth is a master shape-shifter. He could be anything or anyone.
Attribute: Ink pot, palette, ankh, scepter
Consorts: Ma'at and Seshet are identified as Thoth's wives.
Spirit allies: Hathor, Ma'at, Isis, Seshet
Planet: Moon
Days: Thoth rules the equinoxes
Bird: Ibis
Animal: Baboon
Color: White
Sacred sites: His primary shrine was in Khemennu (renamed Hermopolis by Greeks); he also had an important shrine in the holy
city Abydos as well as others throughout Egypt.
See also: Anubis; Hathor; Hermes; Isis; Ma'at; Obatala; Osiris; Seshet; Sekhmet; Set;
Identification

and the Glossary entry for

Thyone
Lady of Inspired Frenzy; Ecstatically Raging
Origin: Greece

Thyone is the goddess who presides over the Dionysian Mysteries, known in Rome as the Bacchanalia. Thyone is the name given to
Semele after she was brought to Olympus from Hades by her son, Dionysus. Coincidentally, when Dionysus was in hiding as an infant,
one of his wet-nurses was also named Thyone. It's possible that this was Semele incognito (in the same manner that baby Moses was

secretly given to his true mother to nurse after his rescue by Pharaoh's daughter).
See also: Dionysus; Hades; Semele; Zemele

Tien Hau
Tien Hau, a Chinese title meaning "Empress of Heaven," usually refers to the goddess Ma Zu.
See also: Ma Zu

Tien- Kou

Origin: China

T'ien-kou literally translates as "Celestial Dog" and refers to two different but possibly related things:
• T'ien-kou are shooting stars.
• T'ien-kou are dreaded dog-shaped mountain demons.
T'ien-kou the spirits first emerged from the sky amidst thunder and lightning. They may or may not be the shooting stars or may
possibly be something that arrived with them. If T'ien-kou were first appearing now, instead of thousands of years ago, they'd be
considered malignant space aliens. Instead they're meteor demons. T'ien-kou are dangerous, unpleasant spirits. They kidnap and eat
children. T'ien-kou are vengeful spirits who will nurse a grudge. They harm those who harm them.
Tengu and T'ien-Kou are not identical but have many resemblances, not least their name. Whether or not they are the
same species of spirit has been fodder for centuries of great debate.

M anifestation: Although they're called celestial dogs, T'ien-Kou resemble birds. They possess birds' beaks, wings, and claws,
but they have tangled, matted hair like a human. They are master shape-shifters who can transform into any form, including that of
humans.
See also: Extra-terrestrials; Tengu

Titan
Origin: Greece
The Titans are a pantheon of Greek spirits who preceded the Olympian spirits. They are the good-looking children of Gaia and
Uranus, who refused to be ruled by the Olympians and so war ensued. The war between the Titans and the Olympians is called the
Titanomachie. The war, waged in Thessaly, lasted for ten years. The Olympians finally won when Gaia promised Zeus victory if he
would free the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires from their captivity in the abyssal pit of Tartarus. (They are the less attractive children of
Gaia and Uranus. Uranus was appalled by their looks and locked them away in Tartarus.) After their defeat, most of the Titans were
either locked up in Tartarus or sent into exile to an island far away. Either way the Hecatoncheires have been charged to guard
them.
The Titanesses, the Lady Titans, were generally spared.

The fate of the Titans, cast down into the depths, should have given pause to whoever named the great ship Titanic. The
Titans are also memorialized in the name given to titanium, a metallic element of exceptional strength used in the production
of steel.

Sacred site: Mount Othrys is to the Titans as Mount Olympus is to the Olympians.
See also: Atlas; Gaia; Hekate; Oceanus; Prometheus; Styx; Zeus

Titania

Titania is the name given the Fairy queen in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream but is also found in Ovid as an
alternative name for the goddess Diana. Flower Fairies serve as her attendants. Titania is the Fairy credited with giving the Fairy Flag to
the Chief of Clan MacLeod of the Isle of Skye in the thirteenth century. Since her stage debut with Shakespeare, Titania has made
frequent appearances in popular culture including in books, paintings, and video games.
Titania and Mab are battling Fairy queens in Mike Carey and John Bolton's graphic novel, God Save the Queen (Vertigo
Comics).

Consort: Oberon
See also: Diana; Fairy, Flower; Fairy Queen; Mab; Oberon

Tlaloc

The Provider
Origin: Mexico
Tlaloc, pre-Aztec Lord of Rain and Lightning, is extremely old. He may be the oldest deity of the Central Mexico pantheon. He
lives in mountain caves filled with treasure. Condition and quantity of rain indicates whether Tlaloc is feeling generous or stingy. Tlaloc
stole corn from Quetzalcoatl and has owned it ever since.
Tlaloc rules Tlalocan, a realm of death. He receives those souls who died of drown ing, lightning, or any diseases specifically
associated with rain deities.
M anifestation: He may manifest as an old man or a child. Tlaloc may have big jaguar teeth or snake fangs. Speculation suggests
that he may be part jaguar. Thunder may be his roar.
Consort: Xochiquetzal; Chalchihuitlicue
Color: Green
Plant: Chia
Creatures: Frog, Ahuizotl

Stone: Jade
Offerings: Marine- or water-themed offerings; offer huge quantities of incense so that the smoke mimics clouds.
See also: Ahuizotl; Chalchihuitlicue; Quetzal-coatl; Xochipilli; Xochiquetzal

Tlazolteotl

Eater of Filth; Goddess of Garbage; Lady of Confessions
Origin: Mexico

Tlazolteotl is the spirit of magic, healing, love, sex, desire, cleansing, and garbage. As goddess of filth, Tlazolteotl cleanses
individuals and Earth of spiritual debris, sin, and shame. Tlazolteotl is credited with invention of the Aztec sweat bathhouse, the temescal.
Favored people: Female healers, midwives, witches, and weavers
Iconography: A famous statue of Tlazolteotl portrays her as a naked, squatting woman grimacing in labor: this image appears as
the stolen idol in Raiders of the Lost Ark . Other traditional images show her riding on a broomstick, naked except for a peaked hat
made of bark.
Attribute: Broom
Birds: Owls, ravens, vultures
Color: Turquoise
Creatures: Bats, snakes

Tommyknockers
Origin: United States
Cornish miners immigrated to the United States in the nineteenth century, initially working en masse in Pennsylvania's coal mines and
then, following the Gold Rush, moving farther west. Skilled, experienced miners, they were much sought after by mine owners. The
indigenous spirits of Cornwall's tin mines—the Knockers—were left behind, but the Cornish men were sensitive and soon gained
knowledge of the spirits of these new mines, whom they dubbed Tommyknockers. (If they have other names, they're unknown.)
• Tommyknockers may always have been subterranean spirits.
• They may be souls of dead miners who now haunt the mines.
Tommyknockers are unpredictable. They may be helpful—warning miners of danger—or they may cause trouble or even death.
Tommyknockers are sometimes blamed for fatal accidents in the mines.
The Tommyknockers' name derives from the characteristic noise they make. Whether that noise is benevolent is subject to
interpretation:
• Knocking may indicate the location of a rich lode or vein.
• Knocking may be a warning that a collapse or cave-in is imminent.
• Knocking may be a harbinger of doom, indicating a Tommyknocker in a bad mood.
Many miners traditionally left offerings for the Tommyknockers in the hopes that this would persuade them to serve as watchmen and
guardians. Tommyknockers might serve as a guardian angel, or conversely, they might tease and torment a man. It is considered bad
manners to enter a mine for the first time without asking permission of the Tommyknockers.

M anifestations: Tommyknockers are little men about the size of toddlers. They traditionally dress in miners' clothes and are
sometimes described as appearing greenish. Tommyknockers may appear in dreams or visions but rarely, if ever, physically leave mines.
If you do not enter the mine, you will not encounter a Tommyknocker. (The few legends of Tommyknockers leaving mines involves their
visiting miners, old compatriots.)
Home: Mines—working mines as well as abandoned or ghost mines.
Offerings: Food and beverages left in mines. Tommyknockers are sometimes blamed for missing miners' tools, so perhaps it's best
to give them their own.
Although it shares their name, the Stephen King novel Tommyknockers has little to do with mine spirits.

See also: Dwarves; Kobold; Knockers

T'ou Chen Niang Niang

Lady of the Thousand Flowers
Origin: China

The reference to the thousand flowers may sound romantic, but T'ou Chen Niang Niang is a spirit of smallpox. The red flowers she
owns are smallpox pustules. Unlike other smallpox spirits who also serve other functions, T'ou Chen Niang Niang is almost exclusively
associated with this disease. She is interested in little else. She transmits smallpox but can also guarantee a patient's recovery.
T'ou Chen Niang Niang loves to travel; her presence is manifest in the smallpox she spreads. She is petitioned to travel elsewhere
and stay far away. Should she arrive, however, magical steps are then taken:
• Burn incense and substantial quantities of spirit money (available from feng shui suppliers and in stores carrying Chinese spiritual
goods) in her honor. Offer her cooling foods.
• Petition her extremely politely (she's touchy and gets offended easily) to oversee the patient's recovery.
• Should the patient survive: Place T'ou Chen Niang Niang's image on a paper boat or chair; then place these on a paper phoenix.
Burn all on a bed of straw to bid the Lady of the Thousand Flowers farewell.
Should the patient die, do whatever you want to do with her offerings. T'ou Chen Niang Niang is then traditionally cursed off the
premises.
M anifestation: T'ou Chen Niang Niang travels accompanied by two servants.
See also: Babalu Ayé; Daruma; Sitala and the Glossary entry for Spirit Money

Toyotama-Hime

The Luminous Jewel; Princess of the Dragon Palace; Dragon Princess of the Sea
Also known as: Otohime; Toyotamahime; Toyotama-hime-no-mikoto
Toyotama-hime (literally "Princess Toyotama") is a dragon princess, the daughter of Ryujin, Dragon King of the Sea. She married
Hikoho-hodemi no Mikoto (also known as Hoori), youngest of Konohana and Ninigi's sons. He lived with her in a palace beneath the

sea for three years but then became homesick. Although pregnant, Toyotama-hime returned to Earth with him. She made him swear not
to watch her while she was giving birth but to give her privacy. He broke his promise: she transformed into a dragon in labor, her true
form.
According to the Ryugu Fellowship, a Shinto sect also known as the Dragon Princess cult, Toyotama-hime is humanity's
true savior. They believe their founder, the shaman Fujita Himiko, to be an avatar of Toyotama-hime .

Angered by this betrayal, Toyotama-hime abandoned Hoori and returned to the sea, where she remains. She sent her sister
Tamayori-hime to raise and guard her son. Aunt and nephew eventually married. Their child became Emperor Jimmu, first emperor of
Japan.
M anifestation: Toyotama-hime is a transformer who can appear in the guise of a beautiful woman, a dragon, a turtle, and perhaps
other forms as well.
Creatures: Turtle and dragon

Sacred sites: Sites where Toyotama is venerated include the Otonashi Shrine in Otanashi, Ito City, renowned for providing fertility
and safe, successful childbirth and the Itsukushima shrine near Hiroshima, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996.
See also: Dragon Kings of the Sea; Dragon Queens; Konohana; Melusine; Okuninushi; Ryujin

Triton
Origin: Greece
Triton, the son of Amphitrite and Poseidon. lives at the bottom of the sea in his mother's golden palace. Triton is a wise, oracular
spirit. He commands violent storms and has the reputation of being a violent lover toward both women and young men. Triton is
considered a very erotic spirit. Hekate is among his many lovers.
The word triton is sometimes synonymous with merman.

M anifestation: Triton is a merman with long hair, but he is also a shape-shifter.
Spirit ally: Triton often accompanies his father, Poseidon.
Attribute: Conch shell used as a horn
See also: Amphitrite; Hekate; Poseidon

Tsukiyomi

His Augustness; Moon Night Possessor
Full name: Tsukiyomi no Mikoto

Classification: Kami
After the primordial mother Izanami died while giving birth to the fire kami, her brother/lover/ alter ego Izanagi traveled to Yomi, the
realm of death after her. As he didn't yet comprehend death—a new concept—he expected to find Izanami as she was when she was
alive. Instead he fled from her rotting corpse. Izanagi was defiled by contact with death and so upon reaching safety, he ritually bathed
to purify himself. Tsukiyomi emerged when Izanagi bathed his right eye. Amaterasu emerged from the left eye, and Susano'o from
Izanagi's nose. They are the Three Noble Children. Izanagi proclaimed Tsukiyomi to be the ruler of night. (Another myth suggests that
Izanagi created Amaterasu from a hand-mirror held in his left hand and Tsukiyomi from a hand-mirror held in his right hand.)
Time: Night
Planet: Moon
Rituals: Moon-watching rituals (Tsukimachi) are traditionally held on the fifteenth, seventeenth, nineteenth, and twenty-third of the
first, fifth, and ninth lunar months. Offerings are given in conjunction.

Sacred site: He is worshipped at Japan's Ise shrine, whose primary deity is Amaterasu. Tsukiyomi and Ukemochi are venerated in
Ise's Outer Shrine. He also has a shrine at Gassan ("Mountain of the Moon") in Yamagata Prefecture as well as the Wakamiya Shrine
in Kyoto.
See also: Amaterasu; Izanami; Izanagi; Kami; Susano'o; Ukemochi

Tsukumogami
Origin: Japan
Classification: Yokai
Tsukumogami are ordinary household objects and appliances that become animated on their one-hundredth birthday. Look around.
Tsukumogami could be anything. They are generally benevolent, even pleasant spirits unless they were mistreated. They will pursue
vengeance against those who were rough or careless with them. Objects that were thrown away or broken may search out their
malefactors. The character Ren from the Japanese anme series Hell Girl (Jigoku Shouju) is a fictional example of a Tsukumogami.
See also: Mononoke; Yokai

Tuatha Dé Danaan
Origin: Ireland

The Tuatha Dé Danaan are the spirits who inhabited Ireland before the arrival of the Gaels (Milesians). Their name means the
"Children of Danu," their divine, ancestral mother. (She may or may not be the goddess of the Danube River.) Their adventures are
chronicled in the Book of Invasions, an epic compiled in the twelfth century from much earlier oral sources. As its title suggests, the
Book of Invasions describes the successive mythic invasions of Ireland. The Tuatha Dé Danaan are the fifth invaders. They ruled Ireland
until they too were displaced.
The Milesians negotiated peace with the Tuatha Dé Danaan: people now reside on the upper surface of the land while the Tuatha Dé
Danaan rule beneath. The dispossessed Tuatha Dé created their own world, an underground Otherworld parallel to our own. The
Tuatha Dé inhabit Fairy mounds, barrows, and hills. Their realm is parallel to ours with connecting portals. The Gaelic word for barrow
is Sidhe. The Tuatha Dé Danaan evolved into Sidhe. They are the prototypical magical Fairies.
See also: Aine; Airmid; Angus mac Og; Becuma; Blathnat; Boann; Dagda, the; Dian Cecht; Lugh; Manannan; Ogma;

Sidhe

Tündér
Origin: Hungary

Tündér are charming, beautiful, and benevolent Fairies. Their name seems to be related to words meaning "appearing" and
"disappearing." Tündér are virtually exclusively female. They are fabulously wealthy, living on remote mountaintops in fabulous castles
surrounded by beautiful gardens. Hungarian fairy tales describe Tündér protecting orphans and saving the destitute with gifts of the
priceless pearls that they wear in their hair. They adore dancing and music. Tündér will dance the night away under the moonlight. They
have powerful magical powers and own magical jewels and herbs with which they cast spells. Their body fluids, including tears, milk,
and saliva, have magical properties and are tools of enchantment.
Tündér are not just the stuff of fairy tales. Testimony from Hungarian witch trials indicates that these spirits were once intensely
venerated. Individual Tündér are known by name. The most famous is Tündér Ilona ("Fairy Helen"). Others include Tündér Maros,
Dame Rampson, and Dame Vénétur.
Celestial: The Milky Way is their path and dance floor; the forked part of the Milky Way is called in Hungarian
forduloja, meaning "where the Tündér turn around."

tündérek

See also: Fairy; Keshalyi

Tuonetar
Origin: Finland
Tuonetar is queen of the Finnish realm of death, Tuonela, which she rules with her husband, Tuoni who may also be her father.
Tuonetar may be Louhi's sister. Tuonela is divided from the land of the living by a long black river called Manala. This watery threshold
between life and death may be reached by walking through forests and thickets for three times seven days. The border is patrolled by
Surma, a fierce guard dog with a snake for a tail. Tuoni and Tuonetar's daughters, including Kalma, Lady of Death and Loviatar, Lady
of Pain, linger near the river. They provide escort service for the dead and may be persuaded to admit living shamans who only wish to
visit.
The trick is not really entering Tuonela but leaving: Tuonetar has the reputation of being a kindly, generous hostess. She greets those
who enter her realm with a tankard of what may first appear to be a welcoming drink but really contains frogs, worms and insects that
feast on the dead. Those who drink her brew will never leave Tuonela.
Bird: Swan
Time: Night
See also: Kalma; Mania; Swan Goddesses; Veliona

Turan

The Mistress
Also known as: Turanna

Origin: Etruscan
Turan is the Etruscan goddess of love, joy, and prosperity. Her name may derive from a root verb meaning "to give."The Greeks
and Romans identified Turan with Aphrodite and Venus.
M anifestation: Turan is a young, winged woman.
Iconography: Turan wears very little clothing but lots of jewelry. Her image appears frequently on Etruscan bronze hand mirrors.
Consort: Maris (the Etruscan name for Mars), but she also had a torrid romance with Heracle (Etruscan Heracles).
Birds: Doves, black swans
See also: Aphrodite; Heracles; Mars; Venus and the Glossary entry for Identification

Twenty-One Divisions
Also known as: Twenty-One Nations (Haiti)

Twenty-One Divisions is the variant of Vodou practiced in the Dominican Republic, also known as Vodo Dominicano. Spirits (lwa)
are divided into twenty-one groups or divisions, hence the name. Included among these groups are the Division Rada, Division Petwo,
and Division Gedé. Individual spirits belong to the different divisions.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic share one island but their histories and cultures are different. The Dominican Republic remained
under Spanish rule. Twenty-One Divisions incorporates strong Santeria and Espiritismo Influences.
See also: Anaisa Pyé; Belié Belcan; Candelina;Candelo; Gedés; Lubana; Metresili; Petro; Rada; Sili Kenwa

Tylwyth Teg
Origin: Wales

Tylwyth Teg means the "Fair Family," but this may be a euphemism for these Welsh Fairies.
Tylwyth Teg live in organized societies ruled by a king, Gwyn ap Knudd. There are both male and female Tylwyth Teg. They typically
dress in green, although the king's court allegedly wears blue and red silk.
Tylwyth Teg prefer to live in remote locations: wooded areas in the mountains or lonely islands within lakes or off the Welsh coast.
They are nocturnal, emerging at night to make music and dance in the moonlight in Fairy rings. They adore music and have been accused
of kidnapping particularly skilled human musicians so that they will be forced to stay and play for them.
A human caught within a Fairy ring is obliged to dance with the Tylwyth Teg for a year and a day, although carrying a rowan twig
grants you free passage through their territory. Plow through one of their Fairy rings, even by accident, and be cursed for life. Tylwyth
Teg may intermarry with humans; however, marriage is almost always accompanied by various restrictions and taboos, which the human
must never betray.
They dislike salt and iron and are among the Fairies accused of stealing children and leaving changelings behind.
M anifestation: Tylwyth Teg may be translated as "the beautiful people." They are usually described as resembling humans but
manifesting in various sizes. Some are humansized, some approximately the height of a man's knee, while others are tiny. They are,
however, renowned shape-shifters.
Offering: Their mainstay meal is milk with saffron.
See also: Fairy; Sidhe

Typhon
Also known as: Typhaon, Typhos
Origin: Greece

Kronos was mightier than Uranus. Zeus was mightier than Kronos. Why does that analogy stop right there? Why doesn't Zeus have
a son who is more powerful than him? That's what Hera wanted to know, too. Hera descended from Mount Olympus down to Earth.
She slapped Earth with her open palms and invoked Gaia and the Titans to give her a child who would be greater than Zeus. She felt an
Earth tremor and interpreted this to mean that her petition had been heard and would be successful.
Hera separated from Zeus for one year. She had sex with no one. She moved into her temple, where she gave birth to Typhon. She
brought him to Delphi so that Gaia and the Python could care for him. An alternative myth suggests that Typhon is Gaia's youngest son.
The goddesses waited until Typhon had come into his power. Gaia then sent Typhon to attack Zeus. As Typhon ripped up Mount
Etna to hurl at Zeus, Zeus zapped him with a lightning bolt. The mountain fell back, pinning Typhon beneath. Trapped, he now lives
within Sicily's Mount Etna.

M anifestation: Typhon, a man above the waist, is so tall he bumps his head against the stars. One arm extends to the sunset, the
other to the sunrise. Two snakes emerge below his waist, similar to a double-tailed mermaid. One hundred snakes' heads emerge from
his shoulders. Typhon can talk like a person, hiss like asnake, and bay like a hound. He breathes fire when he feels like it.
Sacred site: Typhon remains trapped beneath Mount Etna. He is responsible for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
See also: Adriano; Apollo; Echidna; Etna; Gaia; Hera; Kronos; Metis; Thetis; Titan; Zeus

Tyr

Master of the Temple
Also known as: Tir; Tiu; Ziu; Tiwar; Tiwaz; Teiwaz; Tiw
Origin: Norse

Tyr is the one-handed lord of the sky, war, justice, and self-sacrifice. He is among the most ancient Norse deities. He may originally
have been the head of the Aesir spirits before Odin assumed that role. Tyr sacrificed his hand to the Fenris Wolf in order to maintain
cosmic order.
• Tyr is invoked for justice and legal matters.
• The Romans identified him with Mars.
Day: Tuesday (literally Tyr's Day)
Attribute: Arrow, spear
Plant: Flowering spurge
Rune: Teiwaz
Number: Seventeen
Sacred site: Tyr is venerated in groves
See also: Aesir; Mars: Odin

Tzitzimime
Also known as: Tzitzimitl (singular)
Origin: Mexico
Tzitzimime are female star spirits who linger at crossroads. Star Demons of Darkness, they are feared spirits who attack people
during solar eclipses.
M anifestation: They usually appear in the guise of a female skeleton wearing a shell-fringe skirt.
Creature: Spider
See also: Itzpapalotl; Santissima Muerte

Tzu Ku

The Lavatory Lady; Goddess of the Toilet
Origin: China
Tzu Ku is queen of the outhouse and pigpen. She is theoretically the lady of the modern bathroom too, except that it's not exactly
the same. Her traditional domains are freestanding buildings similar to a little shrine building, albeit degraded.
Tzu Ku is a brilliant oracular spirit. She knows the unknown. Once she was a beautiful woman from Shou Yang named Ho Mei who
married an actor in approximately 685 C E. The governor of Shou Yang desired Ho Mei. He arranged to have her husband killed and
Ho Mei taken into his house as a concubine. His first wife was jealous. On the fifteenth day of the first month of the Chinese year, she
had Ho Mei killed while in the toilet. When Ho Mei arrived in Heaven, Hsi Wang Mu, the Western Mother, appointed her Tzu Ku, the
Lavatory Princess. Tzu Ku revealed her history to a famous Chinese poet via a spirit medium.
Although called goddess of the lavatory, she really has little to do with bathrooms or anything that usually goes on there. Instead, Tzu
Ku is a divination goddess. She presides over a traditional Chinese method of fortune-telling and spirit communication called sand-tray
divination, an ancestor of the modern spirit board. Sand or ashes are spread on a planchette or winnowing board. Tzu Ku sends
messages using hair sticks or chopsticks as writing implements in the sand or ashes, similar to automatic writing or the planchette on a
ouija board.
• Mothers invoke Tzu Ku's blessings for their daughters' happiness and marriage.
Favored people: Women, fortune-tellers, diviners, shamans, spirit mediums
Iconography: Tzu Ku's image is kept in the bathroom or pigpen. Figures made from straw and grass are used to represent her.
Animal: Pig
Days: Women honor Tzu Ku at the very beginning of the Chinese lunar New Year and at the anniversary of her death on the
fifteenth day of the first month.
See also: Ceres and the Glossary entry for Spirit Board