MAAT - Egyptian (Ma’at)

Goddess of Divine Order and Justice. Her Symbol is the Feather.

MACHA (MAAX-ah) - Celtic

One of the morrigan, this crone Goddess of death, strife, and destruction was a cheif of the Red Branch. When she was heavily pregnant, she was forced to race against the fastest horse in Ireland. She completed the course, but dies at the end while giving birth to twins. As her life ended, she cursed all the men to have labor pains so they could not fight. Cuchulain was immune to the curse, but the rest of the men fell under the curse and were defeated by Connacht. Cultivate her to aid you in childbirth, to gain wisdom, to overcome enemies, or to uncover past lives. She corresponds with the Tower tarot card, Belladonna, the waning moon, serpents and apples.

(Queen) MEAVE (Medb, Madb, or Mayv) - Celtic

She was a powerfull Goddess who merged later with a historical figure. Her name means "Intoxicated Woman," and she is known for her long golden hair, iron will, and fiery temper. Invoke her in sex magic, spells for leadership skills, to gain perseverance and stregnth, or to ward off enemies. Pathwork with her to understand your own or your partners feminine power. She corresponds with red, yellow, and purple, and the Star tarot card.

MAIA - Greek

Greek mother of Hermes.

MAIRE NI CIARAGAIN - Celtic

A warrior queen whose legends have been lost.

MANNAN MAC LYR - Celtic

Chief Irish God of the sea. Not a member of the Tuatha de Dannan. A happy-go- lucky gypsy type. Always carried "the Crane Bag", a kind of Magick "horn of plenty". He gave the last 5 Oghams to the Druids (also called the "Crane Bag"). He preferred to roam among the people in disguise and aid their exploits. He could change his shape at will. Despite his antics, he was an extremely powerful God and was usually associated with fertility, rebirth, weather, sailing and Magick. He also had a Magickal ship that moved without sails and was directed by the mind. Linked to the Isle of Man. Direction: East or West (towards the sea).

MARE (MAH-re) - Celtic

She is a horse Goddess. She is also the bringer of Dreams, both good and bad. The english word of Nightmare is derived from her name. Call upon her for dream work, fertility or war. Use her help in banishing nightmares. She corresponds with horses, vervain, oats, white and black.

MARS - Roman (AKA Ares - Greek)

God of War.

MEDUSA - Greek.

The only mortal member of the three Gorgons. Her hair was turned to serpents by Athene because she dared to claim equal beauty with hers. Her gaze turned men to stone.

MELETE - Greek

Boeotian Muse of practice. The other Boeotian Muses were Aoide (Aeode) and Mneme.

MELICERTES - Greek

Greek Palaemon (qv); adopted from the Phoenician Melkart.

MELPOMENE - Greek

Greek Muse of tragedy. Daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Her attributes include the tragic mask and the cothurnus (pl. cothurni), the boots traditionally worn by tragic actors.

MERCURY - Roman (Greek Hermes)

Messenger to the Gods. God of Communication and Trade.

MESE - Greek

In Greek mythology, the Delphic Muse associated with the middle string of the lyre. The other Delphic Muses were Hypate and Nete.

MESHKENT - Egyptian

Goddess of Birth.

MESSBUACHALLO (MESS-boo-HAHL-la) - Celtic

The granddaughter of Eochaid and Edain, a daughter of their only child with Edain Oig. She was fostered by a cow-herder who taught her embroidery. She remained hidden with the herder for fear of her true iddentity being discovered. Later, a king recievesprophecy stating that shewould bear him a male son, tho he didn'tknow of her heritage. A bird from the otherworld was sent to tell her this news, and she went to the king and bore him Conaire Mor. Use her help with fertility and as a general aid to magic.

METIS - Greek

Greek goddess of wisdom. Daughter of Okeanos and Tethys. The first wife of Zeus whom he swallowed when he discovered that she was pregnant, fearing that she might give birth to a son mightier than he. Subsequently, Athena sprang fully armed from the head of Zeus. Metis is thus given as the mother of Athena, although some sources consider that, given the circumstances, she was the daughter of Zeus alone.

MINERVA -Roman. (Athena:Greek)

Wife of Jupiter, forming a triad with his other wife, Juno. Goddess of Crafts and Wisdom

MINIS - Egyptian (Min)

Often Identified with Horus. Protector of Travelers. God of Fertility.

MINOS - Greek

One of the three Greek judges of the underworld, along with Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon. He was originally a king of Crete. His cult involved the worship of bulls or of Minos in the form of a bull.

MITHRA - Persian

Sun God. Bringer of Light. God of Soldiers.

MNEME - Greek

Boeotian Muse of memory. The other Boeotian Muses were Aoide (Aeode) and Melete.

MNEMOSYNE - Greek

Greek goddess of memory. According to Hesiod, mother of the nine Muses by Zeus. One of the Titans. Daughter of Ouranos (heaven) and Gaia (earth).

MOIRA - Greek

Greek divine personification of fate, to whom even the gods were subject.

MOIRAI (Moires, Moirae) - Greek

The Greek Fates. According to Hesiod, the daughters of Zeus and Themis. They were Atropos (the unbending, or the inevitable), Clotho (the spinner), and Lachesis (the caster of lots). As determiners of fate, they had supremacy even over the gods. Clotho spun out the thread of life, Lachesis determined its length, and Atropos cut it, resulting in death. The Romans called them the Parcae.

MOMOS (Momus) - Greek

Greek personification of blame, censure. According to Hesiod, the son of Erebos and Nyx. A god of fault-finding and criticism, he was eventually banished from Olympus for mocking the other gods.

MORGAN - British (Arthurian, 'Of the Sea')

Arthur's half-sister Morgan le Fay; but would seemto be a much older Goddess, possibly the Glastonbury Tor one, for her island is Avalon.

MOROS - Greek

Greek god of destiny.

MORPHEUS - Greek

Greek god of dreams. Son of Hypnos, the god of sleep. His name derives from the Greek morphe (form, shape), and he is responsible for shaping dreams, or giving shape to the beings which inhabit dreams.

MORRIGHAN, THE, MORRIGAN, MORRIGU - Celtic

The Dark aspect of the Celtic Triple Goddess. The "Washer at the Ford" (seem washing bloody laundry prior to battle by those destined to die). The Battle Goddess, also Queen of the Witches and Goddess of Magick. Could appear as a Raven, a beautiful Maiden or an ugly Hag. Marries the Dagdha at Samhain. The Goddess of Death. Direction: North or North-west. Sometimes seen as the triple goddess made up of three Crone goddesses of death, war, and distruction; Badb, Macha, and Nemain. Their collective name means "The Phantom Queen." They were said to fly over battles in the form of a raven or carrion crow. They are a powerful force which people prefer to work with one on one. Call on them for passing over rituals or to overcome enemies. They are also a potent force for the waning moon and banishing magic, however, their collective energy can easily turn violent.

MUSES (Mousai, Moisai, Musae) - Greek

Greek goddess of the arts and sciences. Nine in number. Hesiod was the first to give them individual identities, and gave their parenst as Zeus and Mnemosyne. They included Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (love poetry), Euterpe (lyric poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Polyhymnia (song), Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (comedy), and Urania (astronomy).

NAIADS (Naiades) - Greek

Greek nymphs of freshwater: lakes, rivers, springs and fountains. They were depicted as beautiful women, and believed to be long- lived, but not immortal.

NAPAEAE - Greek

Greek nymphs associated with valleys (Greek nape = dell).

NEHELENNIA - Dutch

She is portayed with a dog and a basket of apples, and she was sometimes described as holding a horn of plenty. A statue of her dating from the first century has been found in Walcheren, on of the islands now forming the Dutch province of Zeeland. On this island was the Temple of Nehellenia. Possible fertillity goddess.

NEMESIS - Greek

Greek goddess of justice and vengeance. She was essentially an abstraction, although she is given as the daughter of Erebos and Nyx. She was responsible for punishing human misconduct and arrogance (hubris). One of the legends associated with her, that of her rape by Zeus in the form of a swan, by whom she subsequently gave birth to Helen, probably refers to a separate goddess who is the deified form of Leda. The cult of Nemesis was particularly prominent at Rhamnus in Attica and at Smyrna.

NEMIAN (NIM-awn) - Celtic

Her name means, "The Venomous One," and she is one of the Morrigan.

NEPHTHYS (Nephythys, Nebthet) - Egyptian

Egyptian goddess of the dead. Sister of Isis, Osiris and Seth. Mother of Anubis by Osiris. Depicted with horns and a solar disc on her head. Her principal sanctuary was at Heliopolis. She guards the corpse of Osiris along with Isis.

NEPTUNE - Roman (AKA Poseidon - Greek)

God of Wisdom.

NEREIDS - Greek

Greek sea nymphs and attendants of Poseidon. Daughters of the sea god Nereus and the Oceanid Doris. The most famous Nereids were Amphitrite and Thetis.

NEREUS - Greek

Greek god of the sea. Son of Pontos and Gaia. Father of the Nereids by the Oceanid Doris. He was believed to live with the Nereids in the depths of the Aegean Sea. Homer referred to him as the "Old Man of the Sea". He was noted for his wisdom, his skill in prophecy, and for the ability to change his own shape. Herakles forced Nereus to divulge the location of the golden apples of the Hesperides by wrestling with Nereus in his many forms.

NETE - Greek

Delphic Muse of the low not of the lyre. The other Delphic Muses were Hypate and Mese.

NICNEVEN - Scotland

"Divine", "Brilliant". Witch Goddess. Said to ride through the night with her followers at Samhain. Tradition places her night according to the old (Julian) calendar, on 10 November. During the Middle Ages she was called Dame Habonde, Abundia, Satia, Bensozie, Zobiana, and Herodiana.

NIGHT - Greek

See Nyx.

NIKE - Greek

Greek goddess of victory. First mentioned in Hesiod's Theogony. Daughter of the giant Pallas and the underworld river Styx. She seems originally to have been an attribute of Zeus or Athena (e.g.: Athena Nike), in which capacity she was wingless and often depicted as a small figure held in the hand of either deity. As an independent deity, she was depicted as winged and bearing the laurel wreath which was delivered to the victor in a competition, whether in war, sport, artistic contests or any other endeavour. However, she was never entirely independent, as she remained the personification of victory delivered by Zeus or Athena. She was known to the Romans as Victoria.

NIMUE - British (Arthurian)

Thomas Mallory's name for the Lady of the Lake.

NOTOS (Notus) - Greek

Greek god of the south wind. In Greece, the south wind blows mainly in the autumn. Son of Astraeus and Eos. Brother of the other Winds (qv). Known to the Romans as Auster.

NUADA - Celtic

The King and battle leader of the Tuatha de Dannan, Possessor of the Magick Sword of Findias, Lost his sword hand in the First Battle of Moytura, against the Fir Bolgs, stepped down from the Kingship (because the King could nave no blemish) even though he was outfitted with a Magickal hand of silver. He eventually had his hand Magickally restored to lead the Tuatha de Dannans against the Fomors in the second Battle of Moy Tura. In this battle he was physically killed so he returned the Lands of the Sidhe. Direction: East.

NYMPHS - Greek

In Greek mythology, a minor class of female nature deities. They were usually associated with the fertile aspects of nature and with water. They were believed to be long-lived but not immortal. They were generally considered to be beneficent rather than destructive, and well disposed toward humans. The nymphs were commonly grouped into an array of subtypes: Oceanids (nymphs of the ocean), Nereids (sea nymphs), Naiads (freshwater nymphs), Dryads or Hamadryads (associated with forests and trees, particularly oak trees), Oreads (mountain nymphs), Napaeae (nymphs of valleys), among others. See also the entries under the individual subtypes.

NYX (Nux, Nox) - Greek

"Night". Greek goddess of night. Often regarded as little more than a personification of the night, particularly in Greek cosmogony. Also regarded as a primordial goddess derived from Chaos. Her power was said to be great, overwhelming even Zeus. She was the mother of a number of primordial gods or entities, such as Hemera (day), Aither (light, or heaven), Hypnos (sleep), and Thanatos (death).

OCEANIDS - Greek

See Okeanides.

OCEANUS - Greek

See Okeanos.

ODIN - Norse (Also known as Great Father, Othin, Voden, Votan, Woden, Wotan, Wuotan)

Carries two ravens upon his shoulder to tell him of mans destiny, All Father, Giver of written language (runes). Originally a god of death, whose range later came to encompass magic (especially runic magic), battle (giving victory by choosing who should die), poetry, the fury of the berserk-warrior, and, at least in part, the authority of the ruler descended from the gods (he is the most frequent father of royal lines - including, according to Anglo-Saxon genealogies, the current royal house of England). In the Prose Edda (written two hundred years after the conversion of Iceland), he is shown as the chief of the gods, but historical accounts of Germanic religion do not necessarily support this; it is likelier that Snorri was modeling the Norse pantheon somewhat on the Classical. Odin won the runes by hanging on a tree for nine days and nights, wounded with his own spear. He gave up one of his eyes for a drink from the Well of Mímir "Memory"). He won the mead of poetry by seducing the giant-maid Gunnlod who had been set to keep it, then asking for a drink and draining all three cauldrons. To his chosen ones, he gives victory, inspiration, magic, madness, and death when he sees fit. He is seen as especially a god of wisdom, a patron of poets, thinkers, and singers. Of all the gods, Odin is the one who seems to take the most active part in the affairs of humans, and the one who appears most often in the writings of the Germanic peoples. Odin usually appears as a graybearded man, tall and thin, with a blue-black cloak and an eyepatch or wide-brimmed hat tilted to hide his missing eye. His weapon is the casting spear Gungnir, with which he dooms his chosen ones to die in battle. He has two wolves, Geri and Freki (both names mean "the Greedy"); two ravens, Huginn ("the Thoughtful" or "the Bold") and Muninn ("the Mindful" or "the Desirous"); and a gray, eight-legged horse called Sleipnir ("Slipper"). He is the husband of Frigga and the father of many gods and human heroes. As the leader of the Wild Hunt, he also brings fruitfulness to the fields. Odin is assisted by the valkyries ("Choosers of the Slain") who work his will on the battlefield, bringing the bravest warriors to Valhall ("Hall of the Slain"), where they ready their strength against the coming of Ragnarok. It is said that "Odin will help you if he feels like it", and it is true that he is a stern tester of his children, and often seems rather capricious. However, even when he seems cruel, his purpose is always clear: to strengthen the hosts of the gods for the last battle so that life and knowledge can be preserved and the new world born after the old is destroyed. In the late Viking Age poem Eiríksmál, Bragi asks Odin, "Why did you take victory from him (Erik Bloodaxe), if he seemed the bravest to you?" and Odin answers, "Because of that which no one knows (that is, the time of Ragnarok): the Gray Wolf gapes ever at the dwellings of the gods." Odin is a god of foresight, careful weaving of plots, and long-term agendas.

Odras - Celtic

This girl refused to let her cow be mated with Slemauir, the Smooth, the famous bull belonging to the Morrigan. So they took the cow away and she followed them to the underworld where they turned her into a pool of water to purify newcommers to the land. Odras' tale teaches us that we cannot cheat death. When her livelihood (cow) was taken, she died (return to elements) tho she tried to fight the Death Goddesses. Use her to learn about inevitable cycles of time rather than fighting them. (This does not mean that we shouldn't fight for life, but rather that we should be wise as to realize where the fight must end.)

OGMA - Celtic

The "Sun Faced" One, so called because he was a God of Wisdom and of speech. He invented the Oghams and was also a great Warrior. Sometimes associated with the Greek Herakles. Also Irish God of music, spells, the arts and eloquence. Direction: East.

OKEANIDES (Oceanids) - Greek

Minor Greek sea goddesses, or sea nymphs. Daughters of Okeanos and Tethys. Also the name given to the river gods said to be the offspring of Okeanos.

OKEANOS (Oceanus) - Greek

Greek god who personified the waters surrounding the earth. In Hesiod's Theogony, he is the son of Ouranos (heaven) and Gaia (earth). Consort of Tethys. Father of the Okeanides. His name later came to be associated with the Atlantic Ocean.

ONAUGH or OONA (OU-nah) - Celtic

She was the faery wife of the Tuatha leader Finvarra. She tolerated his cheating with a mortal woman and seemed asexual herself.

ONEIROI - Greek

"Dreams". Minor Greek deities considered to be the source or active agents of dreams. Children of Hypnos or Nyx. Their names were Ikelos (Phobetor), Morpheus and Phantasos.

OREADS (Oreades) - Greek

Greek nymphs of mountains and caves.

OSIRIS - Egyptian

God of Re-birth; the Sacrificed God. Icon of Reincarnation, resurrected annually by Isis.

OURANOS (Uranus) - Greek

"Heaven" or "Sky". Greek god of the heavens or of the sky. According to Hesiod's Theogony, Ouranos was one of the first 'children' of Gaia, along with the Mountains and the Sea. He then became Gaia's consort, which union produced the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Hekatoncheiroi. Ouranos hurled his offspring into the underworld (Tartaros) and kept them imprisoned there, either out of hatred or of fear. At the urging of Gaia, Kronos castrated Ouranos with a sickle (thus separating heaven and earth) and overthrew him. The blood of Ouranos fell to earth (Gaia), giving rise to the Giants, the Erinyes and the Meliai (ash-tree nymphs). Kronos threw his severed testicles fell the sea, where, according to some versions, they gave rise to the goddess Aphrodite.