-V-
Valkyrja (Valkyries) -
"Chooser of the Fallen" (i.e., the slain). Norse War
Goddesses. Battle virgins, women trained in battle and war magic who
would enter the fray with the warriors. They have raven and swan forms, choose
among the slain and bring fertility to the earth.
Vanir (Van) - The
race of Norse Gods corresponding to the fertility, prosperity, eroticism
functions. They tend on the whole to be more gentle and concerned with matters
of nature and fertility than the Ćsir.
Vár - Norse Goddess of
awareness. Var personifies an idealized concept of truth and honesty.
Goddess of love-vows, she listens to (and punishes those who break) agreements
between men and women. New married couples say her name when they take each
other's hands.
Vayu - "The One Who
Moves Through The Sky". Hindu air and wind god who was an ally of
the storm gods who were known as the Maruts ("crushers").
Vasilisa - the Wise Not
divine as such, she is the princess figure in one version of the Koshchei
cycle. Her tale relates that she was transformed by her father into the
semblance of a frog. She encounters Prince Ivan as he searches for his
destiny, and induces him to marry her, whereupon she aids him in several
clever ways. At length, though, he burns (out of ignorance) her frog-skin
(while she is in human form). This compels her to flee, and she is captured by
Koshchei. Ivan rescues her in a series of actions brought about by various
animal familiars of his.
Vé - Norse God.
Odin's brother, "holiness"; alternately, one of Odin's names (Odin-Vili-Vé).
Venus - (blooming
nature) Roman Goddess of beauty and sexual love, and in many important
respects similar to the Hellenic Aphrodite. In the Roman view, She was the
daughter of Jupiter and Dione, and like so many Roman Divinities, she had
considerable authority and influence in agrarian concerns, in her case gardens
and flowering
plants.
Vertumnus - The Consort of
Pomona, He is the Patron of gardeners and cultivated ground; He also has a
general authority over orderly change, as in the progress of the seasons.
Based on an earlier Etruscan Deity.
Vesper - The evening star.
Perhaps a son of Aurora.
Vesta - A
household Guardian of primary importance, She is the Goddess of fire as a
controlled thing, and of the hearth. Her Temple in Rome was considered one of
the chief props of the State, its continuity guaranteeing the health of the
republica. It contained an eternal flame, and was administered by a company of
priestesses sworn to virginity. No male could enter the sanctuary, not even
the Pontifex Maximus.
Vidar - Norse God, son of Odin and the Giantess Grid. Known as the
silent As, he is a source of support to Gods in danger.
Virbius - Italian God
of outcasts and outlaws. Guardian of Sanctuaries
Vishnu - Lord Vishnu
is the aspect of the Hindu Trinity (along with Brahma and Shiva) which
represents the preservation and sustenance of the universe. Associated
with the element fire, health, love, compassion, and kindness.
Volos - (Hair) East
Slavonic God of cattle, and one of the eight primary deities. Later he also
became known as a God of wealth. He was a patron of the people, as opposed to
Perun's association with the Prince and his troops. During the harvest,
peasants sacrificed to him an unmowed strip that was called "the beard of
Volos". Volos is also considered a patron of poetry and eloquence.
Astrally, He had a connection to the Pleiades, which bears His name in
Russian; Volosyni. Nevertheless, he also seems to have associations with chthonic
forces and the Other (sepulchral) world.
Vulcan - Originally
an Etruscan God, Vulcan came to be recognized as a primary patron of Smiths,
mechanics, and craftsmen. As such, he was often combined with Hephaestus
and, like him (and so many other Aryan Smithy Gods), was lame. Also like
Hephaestus, He was not highly honored, owing to the very deeply felt Classic
Mediterranean contempt for manual craft and labor.
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