Liminal deity
Encyclopedia
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
who presides over thresholds, gates, or doorways; "a crosser of boundaries".
Etymology
The word "liminal", first attested to in English in 1884, comes from the Latin word "limen", meaning "threshold". "Liminality" is a term given currency in twentieth century anthropology by Victor Turner of the University of Chicago.List of liminal deities
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- Greek mythologyGreek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
- HecateHecateHecate or Hekate is a chthonic Greco-Roman goddess associated with magic, witchcraft, necromancy, and crossroads.She is attested in poetry as early as Hesiod's Theogony...
, goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts, crossroads and necromancyNecromancyNecromancy is a claimed form of magic that involves communication with the deceased, either by summoning their spirit in the form of an apparition or raising them bodily, for the purpose of divination, imparting the ability to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge... - HermesHermesHermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...
, god of messengers, omenOmenAn omen is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change...
s, roads, travellers, border crossings, trade, protection of the home, thievery, cunning wiles, and animal husbandry; messenger of the gods and guide of the dead
- Greek mythology
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- HinduismHinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
- GaneshaGaneshaGanesha , also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati , Vinayaka , and Pillaiyar , is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations...
, a messenger of the godsDeva (Hinduism)' is the Sanskrit word for god or deity, its related feminine term is devi. In modern Hinduism, it can be loosely interpreted as any benevolent supernatural beings. The devs in Hinduism, also called Suras, are often juxtaposed to the Asuras, their half brothers. Devs are also the maintainers of...
and goddessesDeviDevī is the Sanskrit word for Goddess, used mostly in Hinduism, its related masculine term is deva. Devi is synonymous with Shakti, the female aspect of the divine, as conceptualized by the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. She is the female counterpart without whom the male aspect, which represents...
who must be propitiated before any of the other deities - PushanPushanPushan is a Vedic solar deity and one of the Adityas. He is the god of meeting. Pushan was responsible for marriages, journeys, roads, and the feeding of cattle. He was a psychopomp, conducting souls to the other world. He protected travelers from bandits and wild beasts, and protected men from...
, solar deitySolar deityA solar deity is a sky deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it, usually by its perceived power and strength. Solar deities and sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms...
and psychopompPsychopompPsychopomps are creatures, spirits, angels, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls to the afterlife. Their role is not to judge the deceased, but simply provide safe passage...
responsible for marriages, journeys, roads, the feeding of cattle, and overseeing the journey of the dead to the afterlife
- Hinduism
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- Korean mythologyKorean mythologyKorean mythology consists of national legends and folk-tales which come from all over the Korean Peninsula. Even within the same ethnic group, myths tend to have slightly different variations...
- JangseungJangseungA jangseung or village guardian is a Korean totem pole usually made of wood. Jangseungs were traditionally placed at the edges of villages to mark for village boundaries and frighten away demons...
, a totem poleTotem poleTotem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...
traditionally placed at the edges of villages to mark for village boundaries and frighten away demons; also worshipped as tutelary deities
- Korean mythology
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- Roman mythologyRoman mythologyRoman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...
- CardeaCardeaCardea or Carda was the ancient Roman goddess of the hinge , Roman doors being hung on pivot hinges. The Augustan poet Ovid conflates her with another archaic goddess named Carna, whose festival was celebrated on the Kalends of June and for whom he gives the alternative name Cranê or Cranea, a nymph...
, goddess of health, thresholds and door hinges and handles - JanusJanus-General:*Janus , the two-faced Roman god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings*Janus , a moon of Saturn*Janus Patera, a shallow volcanic crater on Io, a moon of Jupiter...
, god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings and endings - LimaLima (mythology)In Roman mythology, Lima was the goddess of thresholds . It is possible that she was a female counterpart of Limentinus.-External links:*...
, goddess of thresholds - MercuryMercury (mythology)Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...
, messenger of the gods and guide of the dead; equivalent to the Greek god Hermes - PortunesPortunesIn Roman mythology, Portunes was a god of keys, doors and livestock. He protected the warehouses where grain was stored...
, god of keys, doors and livestock - Terminus, god who protected boundary markers
- TriviaTrivia (mythology)Trivia in Roman mythology was the goddess who "haunted crossroads, graveyards, and was the goddess of sorcery and witchcraft, she wandered about at night and was seen only by the barking of dogs who told of her approach." She was the equivalent of the Greek goddess Hecate, the goddess of...
, goddess of witchcraft, the three-way crossroads, and the harvest moon; equivalent to the Greek goddess Hecate
- Afro-American religionAfro-American religionAfro-American religions are a number of related religions that developed in the Americas among African slaves and their descendants in various countries of Latin America, the Caribbean, and parts of the southern United States...
- ElleguaElleguaIn Yoruba mythology, Ellegua is an Orisha associated with "opening the ways", or crossroads. Often depicted as a child or a small man, he is a playful; a trickster and a strategist amongst the divinities....
, the messenger god and psychopomp in SanteríaSanteríaSantería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....
, Louisiana VoodooLouisiana VoodooLouisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo, describes a set of underground religious practices which originated from the traditions of the African diaspora. It is a cultural form of the Afro-American religions which developed within the French, Spanish, and Creole speaking African American...
, Haitian Voodoo, and CandombléCandombléCandomblé is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion, practised chiefly in Brazil by the "povo de santo" . It originated in the cities of Salvador, the capital of Bahia and Cachoeira, at the time one of the main commercial crossroads for the distribution of products and slave trade to...
- Roman mythology