So far I have two deities, Babianabena the goddess of nighttime sky, and Abababidoa goddess of the daytime sky. Neither of them actually exists but people worship them with everyday prayers whispered into the wind and small offerings left in high places.
Ooh, that's cool! My world has a jungle goddess named Khetaa, who is 50 feet tall when erm… 'fully assembled'. She prefers to have each part of her body transform into a plant/natural formation in her home jungle so that she can feel like a part of it. Her skin is so dark that it's almost black, and is rough like cracked bark. A green glow emits from the cracks in it, and her irises are multicolored, several different vibrant colors marbled together. She is bald, and all sorts of divine forms of jungle wildlife live on her.
Neato. My main character's people believe in Elaehi, the Mother. I took a page outta Catholicism so she is everywhere in a sense and made everything. She is depicted as being youthful, multi-eyed, and wearing multicolored robes.
On my main character's home planet, there's a cathedral-like cavern where Elaehi's Spirit is always present and people came to meditate and feel in tune with their Mother.
Most systems actually believe in her, they just have different names for her.
P.S. Khetaa sounds really cool @TopazWyrmlet~. How do you pronounce her name?
Since cults count as religions, I'm gonna talk about a cult in my Pokemon fanfiction.
The Prism Cult are the true main antagonists in AMJ. They worship Necrozma and wish for a world of beauty. They murder anyone they deem "ugly". What that means is they kill anyone who doesn't look beautiful to them or don't follow their methods. If you are loyal to them, they might spare you. They hold grudges easily and don't let go of them.
Flowerfur, Lover of Seliph, that's really cool!
Love yours, @The Lavender Owl! Is she ever angry, vengeful? Is she prejudiced against certain races etc.?
Also, Khetaa is pronounces KEH-tah, thanks for your comment!
I'm not sure at this point. I'm thinking of creating a Spirit that represents the opposite of Elaehi.
Like a Satanic version?
Kind of.
That's cool! I like your diversity :)
Okay, Cancri is a child of Elaehi that grew jealous of Elaehi and demanded to be equal to her (which was impossible because they were as different as mud and whipped cream). Elaehi had calmly explained this to Cancri, but Cancri rebelled againist her, forming fiends of Chaos. Elaehi, saddened, was forced to banish them to an formless existence.
I have two: Maerimé and Martyria. They're like light and darkness, so people worships Maerimé for being the light and They??? (neither of them have gender) left their will wrote on a strange language (since neither of them can speak people's common tongue, but both of them understand worship when they see it). Martyria feels very jealous and starts to leave pieces of his own soul into unborn childs to make worshipers/servants.
But, in fact, both of them are powerful magicians came from another dimension.
I just wanna know if it sounds stupid or kind of cool.
And, I just want to tell, your ideas are great.
A pantheon of twenty-one deities who are simultaneously in competition and harmony with each other for all eternity. They get kind of angry when a mortal worships one of their current rivals instead of them, but will not kill anyone who does so…just plague them with curses and misfortune.
Five main gods/goddesses, but the main goddess is Risyn, the Goddess of the Moon, medicine, and the peaceful afterlife.
For the most part, my people worship one of three deities, Jaleh, Oghena, and Lidum. Jaleh is the god of nature and the hunt, Oghena is the goddess of society and protection, and Lidum is the deity (genderfluid) of progress and magic.
In one of my projects (a fantasy), rather than deities, each country (some are monarchies, some are republics, etc.) has a patron saint. Either male or female depending on the country, they also have massive influence over how the country is run, i.e. whether a male or female leader is preferred, as well as it's culture e.g. clothing, food, daily life. I have not yet thought of names of any of these saints but they play a huge role in this story.
In my other WIP, which is another fantasy but heavily inspired by East and South East Asia, I currently have one deity named Sadamu, she is also known as the dragon queen as she can switch from human to dragon form. I wouldn't say she was a goddess per se but she is heavily influential and worshipped by many in this world's religion.
I like to have layers of deities.
So, you've got the deities that people actively pray to and consider as gods (the Abrahamic god, Hindu gods, Egyptian gods, etc.). I tend to steal these from actual human culture rather than creating my own. I consider these to be just very powerful beings in my stories. But they're flawed and have their own personalities, like humans. They generally look like people, and some can shape-shift.
Then we have our primordials, as I call them. They are more ideas than gods. Death, Love, Hatred, Pain, etc. The Grim Reaper falls here, and often appears as a character in my stories. They are the embodiment of their name. Death is Death. He does…Death stuff. He doesn't feel, per se. None of them really feel as people feel. They're simpler. They do have a level of extreme power, but they're not omnipotent. They are only powerful in their field. Their look embodies what they are. They change with the times as they are interpreted.
Then I sometimes, I include the Greater Deity. The one that is actually God. I sort-of consider it the God of Imagination. I haven't come up with a definite look for this one. In my mind, I sometimes picture it as an Angel from Welcome to Night Vale. And sometimes as a child, dreaming. It doesn't have a personality from our standards. It predates such ideas. But it's really fun to write, as I love writing unusual characters.
Manė is the god of the moon in the story I'm writing, taken from the Norwegian word for moon.
I don't really have any backstory so if anyone could help me out that would be great!
Solspiritus is the the god in general,they control everything. Often drawn in different symbolism for different situations that they are prayed to.
One of my religions has dual deities, Salakna (meaning sky or freedom) and Sanat (earth.) They emerged from a Namekna (a type of bulbous plant) bulb at the beginning of time. Once they came into existence, they began a dance that created the universe and all in it. But they started to lose themselves, and began releasing so much power they started destroying their creations. So they created a barrier to separate themselves. Now, Salakna wanders the universe by herself, creating planets for Sanat to inhabit and create life on. They say the oceans are made up of Salakna’s tears, and the mountains are Sanat’s attempts to reach his love.
Another religion has a solitary god called Alekling. He created the universe and everything in it, but the power he released tainted him and he needed to cleanse himself of sin. So he knealt by the Waenel tree and sipped the dew from its leaves to purify himself. As it ran through him, it burned the stains off him, but it hurt so much he couldn’t stand it. So he went into a deep trance, one that’s lasted millennia, as the universe is constantly drawing on his energy to create more. His followers consist of criminals and sinners who want to start anew. They drink of the Waenel dew and go into isolation, some for weeks, some for years, until they can hear Alekling whisper the secrets of the universe to them.
I havent decided if my dieties are truly 'real' or not, but it doesnt really matter, because they are deeply connected to the Magic of the Realm which was banished to the edge of the world by the 2 human races of the realm long ago.
In the beginning there was only Maker. Maker controls the natural order and all life and death is controlled by her. She is depicted by either a golden tree or a golden woman. All living things are considered her children She gave powers to her first five children, who transcended into godhood.
Alitheus is the God of Chaos. He is represented as a dragon, and demons carry out his bidding on the mortal realm
Mirnas is the God of the moon and dreams. He is represented as a man with many eyes, and spirits carry out his bidding.
Batan is the God of the home, and the city (music, art, beauty). She is represented as a tall, thin woman with 4 arms. Spirits carry out her bidding.
Amortus is God of the Sea, Wisdom, and Justice. He is represented as a man with scales. Spirits carry out his bidding
Thian is God of the Sun and Sky. He is represented as a man with wings, one black and scaly, one white and feathered. He is a trickster god who steals Amortus'water (rain) and Alitheus' demon souls. Both spirits and demons do his bidding.
I’m writing about creatures who are very similar to cats, and their goddess is called the Star Kat. They believe that when they die, if they cant make it into the Star Lands(heaven) they are reincarnated again and again until they live a life of good. Because of this, they try to forget the bad parts of history, rather then remember them and learn from them. I gotta say, you guys have all made some interesting religions.
@Darkblossom Is your religion based off StarClan from Warriors? It seems very similar. Why is the head deity a goddess rather than a god? Are the Star Lands named after her? (I've asked these last two questions to help you flesh out your religion, as virtually every feature in a religion has a symbolic reason behind it)
I am obsessed with warriors, but it isn’t supposed to be based off that. That comment about her being a goddess and not a god is somewhat offensive, but i see what you mean. The Spirit Kats believe that she is kind of like the mother of the world, and their culture would definitely point to her being a goddess. And, that’s how she appears to them in visions. The Star Lands are named so because, they live on clouds and above the clouds are stars, so that is the logic(kind of).
I wasn't trying to suggest that the head deity has to be male, and I apologise for any offence caused. I meant to be referring to symbolism, and the genders (as well as personality, role etc.) of deities can be important for a culture. I like how the Spirit Kats view reincarnation, I've never seen that idea before
Keep it up, I think you've got an interesting religion here
It’s ok, i wasn’t offended. I got what you where trying to say:)