If you need to know about the Medieval period in Britain, Celtic culture, fairy lore, Egyptian mythology, Italian or Mexican superstitions/traditions, witchcraft of any sort, omens in different cultures, or simply what it's like to grow up with a big immigrant family, I'm your gal. Ask away, friends.
give me everything you know on mythological creatures, spirits, beasts, everything like that.
Oh buddy alright.
Let's start with dragons. There's going to be differences from Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. In eastern Asia you have the Lungs, great water spirits that bless rain and create big bodies of water. They can take the shape of snakes, turtles, and other semi-aquatic animals. They have no wings for the most part, do not breathe fire, have big manes, and are revered and respected creatures. Their eggs are usually big pearls and they're almost always depicted with steam coming from around them. They come from the mountains, bring peace and wisdom, and are not to be messed with unless you want great natural disasters to befall your land. You have different variations on these dragons from country to country, and even city to city depending on the tales that are told there.
The European Dragons are much different. They're big, mean, winged beasts that steal treasure and farm animals. Traditionally slain by knights and saints, it's seen as a holy endeavor to kill them. They kill and breathe fire, causing damage to villages, and are all around not something you'd want to see flying ahead. They usually have no fur and instead are depicted as muscular scaled serpents. These range from Drakes, to Wyverns, to Lindworms, whatever. They're all seen as the same monstens, even though there are differences in appearance.
The dragons in middle and southern Africa are the biggest usually. Winged, reclusive, and they usually don't breathe anything. They carry away and feed off of elephants, sheep, and other livestock. While not seen as saintlike to kill them, they are not revered either.
In the southern parts of the Americas (this is before the Europeans came and changed the idea of dragons to theirs) there were legends of feathered serpents that rule over royalty and sacrifice. The most famous being Quetzalcoatl, the bird snake, and sometimes a sun god (other times that's Kinich Ahau, etc, most of these stories vary like I said) among the Mayans and Aztecs. When Mexico was claimed as their land, it was because they saw a sign from the sun god, sometimes said to be Quetzalcoatl. An eagle killing a snake on a cactus. In the northern parts there are tales of ice dragons, a mixture between a feathered serpent and a wyvern, but that breathes ice.
Phoenixes are sometimes considered dragons, sometimes not, but I'll include them here. They're birds that cannot die or reproduce. When they do die, they come back with fire. Their tears heal, their song kills, and no one can agree on what they look like but yeah they're fire bird spirits of regeneration that's basically it.
You still here? Yes? Wow, okay. Let's move onto the stone protector beings. You have Gargoyles, grotesquely carved bat-like monsters that are originally from France. These are guardian beings that were carved into buildings. They drain sewage and rain water out of the building, along with negative spirits. At night it's sometimes said that they come to life only to freeze again in the sun.
Then there are Golems. These things are created by a wizard out of mud or other earthen substances to do the wizard's bidding and protect them from attackers.
These are the only two I can think of so on we go.
Gnomes, Trolls, Elves, and Dwarfs are all tricky because they appear in almost every fantasy thing, but they are always so drastically different in every fantasy thing. You have your Norse versions, your fairy tale versions, your Tolkien versions, your D'n'D versions, your front of the cookie box versions, your garden decoration versions, etc, etc, etc. I think the one thing that's almost always agreed upon for them is Gnomes are small and bearded, Trolls are buff and rocky, Elves are helpful and or nature spirits, and Dwarfs are stout and like to build stuff. If you want to know more about any one specific kind of those, I'd be glad to help with that, but I'm not typing all that out and you ain't reading it.
Fairies are the same way so once again, ask specifically and you shall receive great detail.
Now let's cover Wizards, Witches, Warlocks, Sorcery, Alchemy, and Necromancy. Wizards, traditionally male, deal with magic that centers around knowledge and wisdom. Witches, traditionally female, center around nature magic. Warlocks are usually male and a cross between the two. Sorcery is the art of controlling the spirit. Alchemy is the art of controlling the elements. Necromancy is the art of controlling death. There are different ways to go about all of this depending on culture, but once again, that's a lot to type unless I know a specific culture to talk about.
Ghosts, Zombies, Vampires, Werewolves, and Poltergeists. Ghosts are the disembodied spirit of a person that can't move onto the afterlife for some reason, but they are connected to a place. Zombies are an infected body with no spirit. Vampires differ depending on culture. Werewolves the same. Poltergeists are disembodied spirits that can't move on, but they are usually connected to a child instead of a place.
Let me know if I didn't cover anything you wanted to know about, and if you have any specific questions that'd be great.
Can you tell me about general omens of success/wealth/victory in as many cultures as you can?
Oh my gosh I'm so sorry for the wait, I've been busy with holidays and NaNoWriMo.
Alright well this is a bit of a tricky one, since omens are usually negatives, but I do know a few off the top of my head.
In some parts of Mexican culture:
If you hear a street vendor whistling a song you like, it means wealth might be coming your way.
If you're about to enter a new community, and you see an umbilical cord in the dirt next to a tree, it means that the community you are about to enter into is a very successful one.
Making and hanging up Ojos de Dios (eyes of God, tiny stick crosses with colorful yarn in a swirl pattern) is sure to bring your family to safety and victory, is is also a ward against Ojos de Mal (evil eyes, which you know are around because a baby will become inconsolable).
In Italy and Greece, laurel leaves (sometimes called bay leaves) are symbols of winning and victory due to the old legend that the greek/roman god Apollo blessed them with his powers.
That's all I got, sorry. Like I said, omens usually have bad connotations.
All good! Thanks so much.
You're very welcome! Good luck with whatever project you're working on!