List of fertility deities

Coatlicue, Aztec goddess of fertility, life, death and rebirth

A fertility deity is a god or goddess associated with sex, fertility, pregnancy, and childbirth. In some cases these deities are directly associated with these experiences; in others they are more abstract symbols. Fertility rites may accompany their worship. The following is a list of fertility deities.

African

Ancient Egyptian

Min, ancient Egyptian god of fertility and lettuce
  • Amun, creator-god, associated with fertility
  • Bastet, cat goddess sometimes associated with fertility
  • Bes, household protector god associated with music, dance, and sexual pleasure
  • Hathor, goddess who personified the principles of love, motherhood and joy
  • Heqet, frog-goddess of fertility
  • Heryshaf, god of creation and fertility
  • Isis, goddess of motherhood, magic and fertility
  • Mesenet, goddess of childbirth
  • Min, god of fertility, reproduction, and lettuce
  • Osiris, god of the afterlife, the dead, and the underworld agency that granted all life, including sprouting vegetation and the fertile flooding of the Nile River
  • Renenutet, goddess of the true name, the harvest and fertile fields
  • Sobek, god of the river, warfare and fertility
  • Sopdet, goddess of the fertility of the soil
  • Tawaret, goddess of fertility and childbirth
  • Tefnut, goddess of water and fertility
  • Qetesh, goddess of sacred ecstasy and sexual pleasure

Yoruba

American

  • Atahensic, Iroquois goddess associated with marriage, childbirth, and feminine endeavors
  • Kokopelli, Hopi trickster god associated with fertility, childbirth and agriculture
  • Hanhepi Wi, Lakota goddess associated with the moon, motherhood, family and femininity

Aztec

  • Tonacatecuhtli, god of sustenance (fertility).
  • Tonacacihuatl, goddess of sustenance (fertility).
  • Coatlicue, goddess of fertility, life, death and rebirth.
  • Chimalma, goddess of fertility, life, death and rebirth.
  • Xochitlicue, goddess of fertility, life, death and rebirth.
  • Xochipilli, god of love, art, games, beauty, dance, flowers, maize, fertility, and song.
  • Xochiquetzal, goddess of fertility, beauty, female sexual power, protection of young mothers, pregnancy, childbirth, and women's crafts.
  • Toci, is the "Mother of the Men", see Temazcalteci
  • Temazcalteci, goddess of maternity (fertility).

Inca

  • Mama Killa, the goddess of the moon, the menstrual cycle, and a protector of women
  • Mama Ocllo, mother goddess, associated with fertility
  • Sara Mama, goddess of grain
  • Pacha Kamaq, Creator of the World
  • Pachamama, fertility goddess who presides over planting and harvesting and causes earthquakes

Inuit

  • Akna, goddess of fertility and childbirth
  • Pukkeenegak, goddess of children, pregnancy, childbirth and the making of clothes

Mayan

  • Akna, goddess of motherhood and childbirth
  • Goddess I, goddess of eroticism, female fertility, and marriage
  • Ixchel, jaguar goddess of midwifery and medicine
  • Maximón, god of revenge, death, and fertility
  • Maya maize god, gods of maize
Maximón, Mayan god of revenge, death, and fertility

Muiscan

Vodou

  • Ayida-Weddo, loa of fertility, rainbows and snakes
  • Guédé, family of spirits that embody the powers of death and fertility

Taíno

  • Atabey (goddess), mother goddess of fresh waters and fertility (of people).
  • Yúcahu, masculine spirit of fertility (of crops such as Yucca) along with his mother Atabey who was his feminine counterpart.

Asian

Chinese

Southeast Asian

  • Sowathara, A female figure as symbol of the fertile earth.

Japanese

Indian

Parvati
  • Aditi, goddess of space, consciousness, the past, the future, and fertility
  • Banka-Mundi, goddess of the hunt and fertility
  • Prithvi, goddess of the earth and the fertility form of Bhumi
  • Gayatri, goddess of Vedas and adi shakti with fertility form of Savitri
  • Chandra, lunar god associated with fertility
  • Lajja Gauri, goddess associated with abundance and fertility
  • Manasa, snake goddess associated with fertility and prosperity
  • Matrikas, a group of 7 - 16 goddesses who are associated with fertility and motherly power.
  • Parvati, goddess associated with fertility, marital felicity, devotion to the spouse, asceticism, and power
  • Sinivali, goddess associated with fecundity and easy birth.

European

Baltic

  • Laima, goddess of luck and fate, associated with childbirth, pregnancy, marriage, and death
  • Saulė, solar goddess of life and fertility, warmth and health

Celtic

  • Brigid, Irish goddess associated with fertility
  • Cernunnos, horned god associated with fertility
  • Damara, fertility goddess worshipped in Britain
  • Damona, Gaulish fertility goddess
  • Epona, goddess of horses and fertility
  • Hooded Spirits, a group of deities theorised to be fertility spirits
  • Nantosuelta, goddess of nature, the earth, fire, and fertility
  • Onuava, goddess of fertility
  • Rosmerta, Gallo-Roman goddess of fertility and abundance

Etruscan

  • Fufluns, god of plant life, happiness and health and growth in all things
  • Thesan, goddess of the dawn, associated with the generation of life
  • Turan, goddess of love, fertility and vitality

Finno-Ugric

  • Äkräs, Finnish god of fertility
  • Rauni or Raun, Finnish-Estonian goddess of fertility
  • Peko or Pellon-Pekko, Karelian-Seto god of fertility
  • Metsik, West Estonian spirit of fertility
  • Šun-Šočõnava, Mari goddess of fertility and birth.
  • Mu-Kyldyśin, Udmurt god of fertility and earth.
  • Zarni-Ań, Komi goddess of fertility, represented by a golden woman.
  • Babba or Aranyanya, Hungarian goddess fertility, represented by a golden woman.
  • Kalteš-Ekwa, Ob-Ugric goddess of fertility, represented by a golden woman.

Germanic

  • Nerthus, earth goddess associated with fertility
  • Freyr, a fertility god.
  • Freyja, a goddess of fertility, and sister of the above god.
  • Ēostre, fertility goddess, and origin of the Easter holiday

Greek

  • Aphaea, local goddess associated with fertility and the agricultural cycle
  • Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty and sexuality
  • Aphroditus, god of male and female unity, fertility, and the moon
  • Artemis, goddess of the hunt, the moon, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity, fertility, young girls and health and disease in women
  • Cybele, Phrygian Earth Mother goddess who embodies the fertile earth
  • Demeter, goddess of agriculture and the fertility of the earth
  • Dionysus, god of wine and festivity, associated with fertility
  • Eros, god of sexual love, fertility and beauty
    Priapus, Greek god of fertility, gardens and male genitalia
  • Gaia, Earth Mother and goddess of the fertile earth
  • Hera, goddess of the air, marriage, women, women's fertility, childbirth, heirs, kings and empires
  • Ilithyia, (also called Eileithyia) goddess of childbirth and midwifery, likely of Minoan or earlier origin.
  • Pan, god of shepherds, flocks, mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music; associated with fertility
  • Phanes, primeval deity of procreation and the generation of new life
  • Priapus, rustic god of fertility, protection of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia
  • Rhea, goddess of fertility, motherhood and the mountain wilds
  • Tychon, a daemon imagined as a boy

Roman

  • Bona Dea, goddess of fertility, healing, virginity, and women
  • Candelifera, goddess of childbirth
  • Carmenta, goddess of childbirth and prophecy
  • Ceres, goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships; equated with the Greek goddess Demeter
  • Diana, goddess of the hunt, wilderness, the moon and childbirth; equivalent to the Greek Artemis
  • *Domidicus, the god who leads the bride home
  • *Domitius, the god who installs the bride
  • Fascinus, embodiment of the divine phallus
  • Fecunditas, goddess of fertility
  • Feronia, goddess associated with fertility and abundance
  • Flora, goddess of flowers and spring
  • Inuus, god of sexual intercourse
  • *Jugatinus, the god who joins the pair in marriage
  • Juno, goddess of marriage and childbirth; equivalent to the Greek goddess Hera
  • Liber, god of viniculture, wine and male fertility, equivalent to Greek Dionysus; in archaic Lavinium, a phallic deity
  • Libera, goddess of female fertility and the earth
  • Lucina, goddess of childbirth
  • Mars, god initially associated with fertility and vegetation, but later associated with warfare and the Greek god Ares
  • *Manturna, the goddess who kept the bride at home
  • Mutunus Tutunus, phallic marriage deity associated with the Greek god Priapus
  • Ops, fertility and earth-goddess
  • Partula, goddess of childbirth, who determined the duration of each pregnancy
  • *Pertuda, goddess who enables penetration
Venus, Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility
  • Picumnus, god of fertility, agriculture, matrimony, infants and children
  • *Prema, goddess who holds the bride down on the bed
  • Robigus, fertility god who protects crops against disease
  • *Subigus, the god who subdues the bride to the husband's will
  • Terra, earth goddess associated with marriage, motherhood, pregnant women, and pregnant animals; equivalent to the Greek Gaia
  • Venus, goddess of love, beauty and fertility, equivalent to the Greek goddess Aphrodite
  • *Virginiensis, the goddess who unties the girdle of the bride

Sami

  • Beiwe, goddess of fertility and sanity
  • Rana Niejta, goddess of spring and fertility

Slavic

  • Dzydzilelya, Polish goddess of love, marriage, sexuality and fertility
  • Jarilo, god of fertility, spring, the harvest and war
  • Kostroma, goddess of fertility
  • Radegast, West Slavic god of hospitality, fertility, and crops, associated with war and the sun
  • Siebog, god of love and marriage
  • Svetovid, god of war, fertility and abundance
  • Zeme, goddess of the earth, associated with fertility
  • Živa, goddess of love and fertility

Norse

  • Freyja, goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, gold. Also a war/death goddess. Taught Odin seiðr magic.
  • Freyr, god associated with farming, weather and fertility
  • Frigg, goddess associated with prophecy, marriage and childbirth
  • Gefjun, goddess of ploughing and possibly fertility
  • Odin The allfather. God of war, wisdom and seiðr (magic)
  • Thor, god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind.

Near East

Inanna, Sumerian goddess of sexual love, fertility and warfare

Mesopotamian

Iranian

  • Anahita: or Anahit, the divinity of "the Waters" and hence associated with fertility, healing, beauty and wisdom.
  • Spenta Armaiti: or Sandaramet, female divinity associated with earth and Mother Nature.
  • Ashi: a divinity of fertility and fortune.[2]

Arabian

Armenian

  • Anahit, goddess of fertility, birth, beauty and water
  • Aramazd, creator-god and source of the Earth's fertility

Canaanite

Hittite

Hurrian

Turco-Mongol

  • Umay, goddess of fertility and virginity

Ugaritic

Oceanian

Hawaiian

  • Haumea, goddess of fertility, childbirth, and incest
  • Kamapua'a, demi-god of fertility
  • Laka, patron of the hula dance and god of fertility
  • Lono, god associated with fertility, agriculture, rainfall, and music
  • Nuakea, goddess of lactation

Indigenous Australian

Rainbow Serpent, Australian creator god and god of rain and fertility

See also

References

  1. ↑ Liu, Peng (2016). ""Conceal my Body so that I can Protect the State": The Making of the Mysterious Woman in Daoism and Water Margin". Ming Studies. 74: 48–71. doi:10.1080/0147037X.2016.1228876.
  2. ↑ Taheri, Sadreddin (2014). "Goddesses in Iranian Culture and Mythology". Tehran: Roshangaran va Motale’at-e Zanan Publications.
  3. ↑ Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad (1955). Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah - The Life of Muhammad Translated by A. Guillaume. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 38.
  4. ↑ Al-Kalbi, Hisham (1952). Kitab Al-Asnam Translated by Nabih Amin Faris. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 17.
  5. ↑ Rice, Edward (May 1978). Eastern Definitions: A Short Encyclopedia of Religions of the Orient. New York: Doubleday. p. 433. ISBN 9780385085632.
  6. ↑ Place Settings. Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved on 2015-08-06.
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