Compiling dark gods, separate from the others, tricksters, taboo God's, etc.

[1137]

So for example and to get us started, these are who I've identified. Please add.


Set - Egypt

Asarte - Semetic/Egyptian

Prometheus - Greek

Mephistopheles - German Romanticism

Quetzalcoatl - Aztec

Innana - Sumerian

Azazel - Semetic

Lilith - Hebrew

Odin - Norse

Coyote - Native American

The Devil - Christian

Ishtar - Babylonian

Ahriman - Persian

Kali - Eastern

Abaddon - Some Gnostic Christians

Lucifer - Roman

Erlik - Turkish

Pomba Gira - Afro-Brazillian

Loki and Children - Norse

Thoth/ Khonsu - Egyptian

Andarta - Celtic

Jiutian Xuannü - Chinese

Sauska - Hittite

Veles - Slavic

Anansi - Akan

Crow - Australian

Daucina - Fijian

Heyoka - Lakota

Huehuecóyotl - Aztec

Kaulu - Hawaiian

Kutkh - Russian

Maui - Polynesian

Nanabozho - Anishinaabe

Monkey King - Chinese


Who else? There must be more.

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

How are you figuring Odin is a "dark" god?

 

[1137]

He violates the rules by practicing female-based magic, he gains the knowledge of the runes and gives them to whom he feels worth, he was separate from the other Gods, etc. They don't have to be necesaarine "dark", like Lucifer is a being of light. But he's associated with those stellar tradition ideals of knowledge, antinomianism, separation, etc.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

And why Odin over other norse examples like Loki, who is a literal trickster god, or figures who will be active in the destruction of Ragnarok such as Surtr (literally 'black' god whose flames will engulf the world.)

 

[Jumi]

Some of pre-Christian Finnish goddesses that are sisters

Loviatar - death and disease
Vammatar - death, misfortune pain and suffering
Kivutar - more pain and suffering, boiling
Kiputyttö (pain girl, literally) - pain caused with rocks
Kalma - decay and smell of it

Don't know if you'd consider them taboo, as they would probably be called to help the conditions also.

 

[1137]

Some of pre-Christian Finnish goddesses that are sisters

Loviatar - death and disease
Vammatar - death, misfortune pain and suffering
Kivutar - more pain and suffering, boiling
Kiputyttö (pain girl, literally) - pain caused with rocks
Kalma - decay and smell of it

Don't know if you'd consider them taboo, as they would probably be called to help the conditions also.

I'll be looking into them, thank you so much!

 

[Liu]

Erlik: Who is Erlik? (and his children)
(Turkic/Mongolian)

Exu, Elegua, Pomba Gira
(Yoruba/Afro-American)

San La Muerte and Santa Muerte
(Afro-American)

Do you want to include any kind of deity that opposes the main deities? Or only those that do so in some specific manner? Because otherwise the list is going to be very long...

For Sumerian/Akkadian mythology for example, we have e.g. Tiamat, Abzu and Kingu on one side, e.g. Enki and Marduk on the other, and each side get venerated by some LHPers, one being "the original gods that represent the subconscious and nature and that have been dethroned by some demiurge" on the other side "the bringer of civilization to humankind and the one who fought against the ruling gods". With such a choice, nigh any deity of the whole mythology would fit your theme.

And in many mythologies there are tons of minor villains (mainly giants in Old Norse, asuras etc. in Hinduism,...), I don't think you want to count them all. And some might also change sides or be neutral.

Well, from the Old Norse one's you might at least want to include Loki's relatives: Gullveig, Fenrir, Hel and Jǫrmungandr (well, he has more, but the rest is more on the side of the main gods or not involved in much anything).

 

[Jainarayan]

Kali - Eastern

Yeaaahhh, uhhh I gotta say no. Her appearance and form are dark blue, her personality is not dark. The name Kālī is grammatically tied to the concepts of color and time, and Shiva himself as his consort by way of names for them. Kāla is the masculine form of the word, and an epithet for Shiva. She is a mother goddess, some say The Mother Goddess. She is fierce only to evil. So I have to say she's not a dark goddess at all.

 

[Jainarayan]

Do you want to include any kind of deity that opposes the main deities? Or only those that do so in some specific manner? Because otherwise the list is going to be very long...

Exactly. Hinduism has the asuras and rakshasas, who are numerous. They are beings very much in opposition to the devas (gods) and often wreak havoc in the universe, making more work for Vishnu to clean up their messes. Though not all rakshasas are evil. Some are actually good and holy (Prahlada), for example. He was such a great devotee of Vishnu his own father tried repeatedly to kill him, with Vishnu finally having had enough of the situation. He killed the father.

 

[1137]

Erlik: Who is Erlik? (and his children)
(Turkic/Mongolian)

Exu, Elegua, Pomba Gira
(Yoruba/Afro-American)

San La Muerte and Santa Muerte
(Afro-American)

Do you want to include any kind of deity that opposes the main deities? Or only those that do so in some specific manner? Because otherwise the list is going to be very long...

For Sumerian/Akkadian mythology for example, we have e.g. Tiamat, Abzu and Kingu on one side, e.g. Enki and Marduk on the other, and each side get venerated by some LHPers, one being "the original gods that represent the subconscious and nature and that have been dethroned by some demiurge" on the other side "the bringer of civilization to humankind and the one who fought against the ruling gods". With such a choice, nigh any deity of the whole mythology would fit your theme.

And in many mythologies there are tons of minor villains (mainly giants in Old Norse, asuras etc. in Hinduism,...), I don't think you want to count them all. And some might also change sides or be neutral.

Well, from the Old Norse one's you might at least want to include Loki's relatives: Gullveig, Fenrir, Hel and Jǫrmungandr (well, he has more, but the rest is more on the side of the main gods or not involved in much anything).

Amazing! Thank you! Research for the weekend

Yeaaahhh, uhhh I gotta say no. Her appearance and form are dark blue, her personality is not dark. The name Kālī is grammatically tied to the concepts of color and time, and Shiva himself as his consort by way of names for them. Kāla is the masculine form of the word, and an epithet for Shiva. She is a mother goddess, some say The Mother Goddess. She is fierce only to evil. So I have to say she's not a dark goddess at all.

It was recommended to me by a practitioners, I don't pretend to know much about the east. That said I'm on wiki really wuick:

"death, time, and doomsday and is often associated with sexuality and violence but is also considered a strong mother-figure and symbolic of motherly-love."

That's very much in line with these type of beings.

"She is most often represented in art as a fearful fighting figure with a necklace of heads, skirt of arms, lolling tongue, and brandishing a knife dripping with blood."

Fits.

"Kali’s name derives from the Sanskritmeaning ‘she who is black’ "

Fits.

"As an embodiment of time Kali devours all things, she is irresistibly attractive to mortals and gods, and can also represent (particularly in later traditions) the benevolence of a mother goddess."

Mostly fits.

"Durga became so enraged that her anger burst from her forehead in the form of Kali."

Bursting forth like that is as old as Set and other similar beings, this seems to fit well.

"In another version of the goddess’ birth, Kali appeared when Parvati shed her dark skin which then became Kali, hence one of her names is Kaushika (the Sheath), whilst Parvati is left as Gauri (the Fair One). This story emphasises Kali’s blackness which is symbolic of eternal darkness and which has the potential to both destroy and create"

100% Princess of Darkness

 

[Quintessence]

Pretty much any war god is taboo, as using violence as a method to solve problems in our culture is taboo. That adds several dozen to your list. You'd also need to add any gods associated with debauchery, intoxication, and sex (also cultural taboos), which adds yet more several dozens to the list.

 

[1137]

Pretty much any war god is taboo, as using violence as a method to solve problems in our culture is taboo. That adds several dozen to your list. You'd also need to add any gods associated with debauchery, intoxication, and sex (also cultural taboos), which adds yet more several dozens to the list.

Any favorites?

 

[Holdasown]

Nerthus - Germanic
I have no issue with Woden being labeled dark.

 

[Jainarayan]

...100% Princess of Darkness

However, we can’t take these descriptions at face value. There are many layers and many interpretations. Including the one that tells us that God/dess shows him/herself in a way the believer can relate to.

So in that regard I’ll never be comfortable seeing Kālī as a dark goddess or anything other than a loving and benevolent mother, albeit tough and scary to some.

Also, the name Kālī also has its roots in the word kāla, meaning time. Krishna is also of dark blue or black complexion. Krishna has two meanings: dark, attractive. Krishna is certainly not a dark god. So, names and terms can’t be taken at face value. To the point that a prayer “shuklāmbharadaram vishnum... “ is used by some as a prayer to Vishnu, but to others as a prayer to Ganesha due to the rest of the verses in the prayer.

So, nothing is cut and dry.

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

He violates the rules by practicing female-based magic,

There weren't actually any "rules" broken. The most that we've got is Snorri's suggesting through narrative that it's "unmanly". Which doesn't make sense as criticism coming from Loki, when he disguises as and takes the form of female beings a couple times.

he gains the knowledge of the runes and gives them to whom he feels worth,

A common theme in some Heathen tropes, but no, he doesn't. The most we get is Odin bragging about the runes that he can carve in the Hávamál, but he never tells what those runes are. Neither is there anything to indicate that any runic system of writing were given by Odin, and any divination use of them is quite modern.

he was separate from the other Gods,

No he wasn't.

 

[Jumi]

I'll be looking into them, thank you so much!

I suppose I could translate a bit on the names:
Vammatar, vamma in modern times means injury, -tar is a female suffix
Kivutar, kipu means pain, same -tar as earlier
Kalma , graveyards are sometimes called kalmisto coming from kalma

There's also Surma, which literally means killing. I'm not sure if you would call it a god though, comparatively more like the hound of hades.

 

[1137]

Set - Egypt

Asarte - Semetic/Egyptian

Prometheus - Greek

Mephistopheles - German Romanticism

Quetzalcoatl - Aztec

Innana - Sumerian

Azazel - Semetic

Lilith - Hebrew

Odin - Norse

Coyote - Native American

The Devil - Christian

Ishtar - Babylonian

Ahriman - Persian

Kali - Hindu

Abaddon - Some Gnostic Christians

Lucifer - Roman

Erlik - Turkish

Pomba Gira - Afro-Brazillian

Loki and Children - Norse

Thoth/ Khonsu - Egyptian

Andarta - Celtic

Jiutian Xuannü - Chinese

Sauska - Hittite

Veles - Slavic

Anansi - Akan

Crow - Australian

Daucina - Fijian

Heyoka - Lakota

Huehuecóyotl - Aztec

Kaulu - Hawaiian

Kutkh - Russian

Maui - Polynesian

Nanabozho - Anishinaabe

Monkey King - Chinese

 

[Liu]

Good summary - but why count Loki's children but not his spouse Gullveig? She seems to fit the role much better (Hel, yah sure, but Fenrir and Jǫrmungandr are basically mindless monsters, and his other three children (two generic guys, one of who was transformed by the Æsir into a wolf and ate the other one; and Odin's horse Sleipnir) fit much less). Also regarding the rest of those from my list that you didn't include, I guess you just didn't get around to investigate them yet? Because otherwise I don't understand your reasoning.

In any case, some more ideas:

Samyaza (Semitic) - the "original" rebelling angel and bringer of knowledge to humankind

Shiva (Hindu) - if you count Kali...

And pretty much any demon from the Grimoire tradition.

 

[Holdasown]

Good summary - but why count Loki's children but not his spouse Gullveig? .

I am aware of Loki being married to Angrboda and Sigyn but not Gullveig.

 

[Liu]

I am aware of Loki being married to Angrboda and Sigyn but not Gullveig.

I normally tend to subscribe to the equation of Angrboda and Gullveig. Admittedly, it's not fully certain (there is even the other theory that Gullveig would be Freyja instead), but considering that Fenrir and the other monsters that originate from Loki (i.e. presumably Hel and Jǫrmungandr) were begotten by him eating Angrboda's burnt heart, and how Gullveig was burnt thrice, it seems not too farfetched to me to assume a connection between the two. I also read some other arguments for the equation in "Gullveigabók" by some anticosmic Satanist named Vexior, but they are quite spread through the whole book and I don't remember them all - mostly circumstantial evidence, admittedly, but in the sum it convinced me.

(I also presented that same argument a while ago here:

I see.
I've encountered other interpretations. Angrboda was burnt, Loki ate her heart, and he got pregnant from it and gave birth to a wolf. So I'd at least understand what it says in Hyndluljóð:

Ol vlf Loki
vid Angrbodu
enn Sleipni gat
vid Suadilfara.
eitt þotti skars
allra feiknazst
þat var brodur fra
Byleistz komit.

Loki af hiarta
lindi brendu
fann hann haalfsuidinn
hugstein komu
vard Loptr kuidugr
af konu illri
þadan er aa folldu
flagd huert komit.
Hér hefr upp Hyndluljóð – heimskringla.no

http://www.heimskringla.no/wiki/Hér_hefr_upp_Hyndluljóð

Since there are reasons to believe that she's the same as Gullveig who was burnt three times, it can be expected that also the other two children he had with her were birthed by him in that same manner. But I admit that there is a degree of uncertaintly regarding these matters.

Sure, to be on the save side, exegesis-wise, it would probably be better to refer to Loki's mistress as Angrboda.
Thanks for pointing that out, as I said, since I treat the two as the same I sometimes forget which verses relate to which one.

If the equation of Gullveig and Angrboda should be false, Gullveig nevertheless would be a relative of Loki as the mother (or at least foster-mother) of his grandchildren that she had together with Fenrir:
"Austr sat in aldna
í Járnviði
ok fœddi þar
Fenris kindir"
(at least as long as "the old one from Ironwood" refers to her)