Baal was "Lord of the High Places". So omnipresent was worship of this wild god of the hilltop that his name was carried across prehistoric Europe. The Irish feast Beltain and the Norse god Balder are but two inheritors of this bull-horned deity's potency. Here he is depicted on the Ras Shamra (Syria) stella, wielding thunder-club & lightening bolt spear. Represented as an upright stone or lingam, Baal was consort to Astarte at least 1700 BCE.
Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga guards the Waters of Life. In Slavic oral traditions, Baba Yaga was the old crone of autumn, who lived in the last sheaf of harvested grain. Fittingly, the woman who bound that sheaf would bear a child the next spring, for the old Baba was also guardian of the fountain of the waters of life. She was believed to row her cauldron through the air with a broom, steering with its pestle. This suggests she was the preserver of herbal knowledge and medicinal healing. By the middle ages, legend had transformed her into the traditional fairy tale hag or witch, said to steal and devour children. Baba Yaga proves this rule: The more authentically powerful a goddess is to a people, the more strongly she is reviled by patriarchal propaganda. Thus the wise elder, repository of the tribal knowledge, was diminished into the redundant, valueless spinster.
Bahubali
(The image you see here is a reproduction) Dating from 981 C.E., the original gigantic statue of Bahubali (57 ft. tall, located in Mysore, India), is the largest freestanding statue in the world. It commemorates the Jain saint who first achieved spiritual liberation. Jains believe that all of nature, including stones, is vividly alive, and so practice non-injury toward all life forms. This "divine youth" is a Green Man deity totally absorbed in oneness with nature, his own sacred sexuality intertwined with sprouting vegetation as he radiates a message of peace and compassion. Every 12 years his image is inundated with 1,008 pots of milk and curds, a symbolic "bath of sperm" emphasizing Bahubali's potency in promoting spiritual bliss.
Baphomet
Baphomet's name means Wisdom, Divine Harmony, and is derived from the Arabic "Abufihamat" (Father of Wisdom). Brought to Europe by the 13th century Templars, the mysterious deity Baphomet represents fertility and regeneration. Hands in mudra point out the Gnostic oppositions of Light and Dark, good and Evil. Baphomet incorporates the breasts of a nurturant mother, the caduceus of Divine Union, plus the star and torch of mystical illumination. The Inquisition demonized this unique image of redemptive power to diminish its mystic influence.
Bastet (Bast):
In ancient Egypt Bast was usually represented as a cat or a woman with the head of a domesticated cat. Up until 1000 B.C. she was portrayed as a lioness, however, when she was shown as a lioness, she was associated with sunlight. She was heavily connected with the Moon, and her son Khensu was God of the Moon. Bastet was the Goddess of cats, fire, pregnant women, and of the home. Cats were very important pets in Egyptian society. According to one myth, she was the personification of the soul of Isis. She was also called the "Lady of the East". Bast represented a duality in that she possessed a gentle and fierce side. When docile she was protector of the home, but when she was fierce she was feared in battle. She was identified with the goddess Sekhmet, and they were called the Goddesses of the West (Sekhmet) and the East (Bastet). Both were shown with the heads of lionesses although Bastet was said to wear green, while Sekhmet wore red.
Bes
In ancient Egypt Bes was the patron God and protector of women in childbirth and of newly born children. He was also the god of music and dance, the god of war and slaughter, and a destroying force of nature. Bes was usually depicted as a bearded dwarf with a leonine face and a protruding tongue. (The protruding tongue was a sign of challenge sent to the evildoers that would harm young children). He has a flat nose, bushy eyebrows and hair, and large projecting ears. As a god of music he is sometimes shown playing a harp. As a warrior he wears a short military tunic and holds a shield and a short sword. On some occasions, he was represented as a lion or armed with swords, spears and maces, symbolizing his power and fierceness.
Bishamon
Bishamon was the Buddhist blue god of the north. He was a god of missionary zeal. One of the Seven Gods of Luck (Shichi-Fukujin) of Japan. As Bishamon-tenno he was always ready to battle those who opposed Buddhism. Bishamon was one of the four Shinto spirits associated with the four points of the compass.
Blodeuwedd
Blodeuwedd is the Welsh Maiden Goddess, revered on Avalon as the Goddess of new beginnings, independence and empowerment. The name "Blodeuwedd" means "Flower Face", which refers to Her Flower origins as well as her association with the owl....which in Wales, still bears Her name: Blodeuwedd. Blodeuwedd is part of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogion, the tale of Math son of Mathonwy. Blodeuwedd is made of Nine Flowers by the great magicians Math and Gwydion, to be the Bride of Llew, the Welsh Sun God. She chooses another lover, who attempts to slay Her husband, but Llew instead turns into an Eagle. Llew is found and restored by Gwydion, who transforms Blodeuwedd into an Owl as punishment.
Brahma (The Creator)
Called the Grandfather of the Worlds, Brahma is the First Person of the Hindu trinity and is depicted in standing posture with four faces, witnessing the totality of his created universes. It was Brahma's request of Durga-devi that led to creation of the earth, and he always carries a water bowl filled with life-giving Ganges water, symbol of creative fertility. He is the god of wisdom, the bearer of the Vedas, and the consort of Sarasvati.
Branwen
Branwen is a goddess of love and beauty. She is sometimes referred to as "Lady of the Lake". She is the main character in the second of the Four branches of the Mabinogi, (the tale of Branwen ferch Llyr). Branwen is the sister of Bran the Blessed and Manannan mac Lir, daughter of Lir, and she was married off to the Irish king Matholwch. While in Britan Matholwch was offended, and upon returning to Eire with Branwen he began to treat her terribly. Due to a war between her husband and brother in which her brother died, Branwen died of a broken heart.
Brigid
Brigid is a deity who can be found in many different cultures. She known as Brigantia in England, Bride in Scotland, and Brigandu in Wales and France. She is thought to be the same goddess who was worshipped at Bath in ancient Britain as well as the patroness of countless springs and wells in Ireland. The Romans saw Brigit their own favored goddess Minerva, or Pallas Athene, the maiden aspect of Athena. Brigid, also known as Brigit or Brighid, gave the Irish their language, and she was credited with originating Ogham and with the keening for the dead. The Irish Banshees that wail for the deaths of men are said to embody part of Brigid's soul. It is said that Brigid had the aide of her two sisters, who also went by the name of Brigid. One sister was in charge of poetry and inspiration, and is the sister that is said to have created the Ogham alphabet. The second sister ruled over the healing arts, herb crafts, and midwifery, and she is the sister who bestowed fertility, brought life to the Earth every spring, and guarded children. The third sister held sway over the fires of the hearth, smithies, and other similar crafts, and she would be the sister who would forge and carry her spear into battle.
Brigid was honored as the Celtic Goddess of Smithcraft, Healing, Inspiration, Springs, and Queenship. Brigit was brought into the Christian era in Ireland as the beloved "St. Brigit", who became a patron of students. A fire goddess, her name means bright one. Her festival of Imbolc (Candlemas), is the Celtic first day of spring and marks the lengthening of daylight. Brigit was served by a female priesthood at Kildare. Her name derives from her worship by the pre-Christian Brigantes. Brigid also shares attributes with the ancient Greek triple goddess Hecate. She is Ruler, Bringer of Prosperity; her two sisters display the alchemical sword and tongs of blacksmithing and the twin serpents connoting medical skill. Her Irish consort was the Dagda. As a Goddess of herbalism, midwifery and healing She was in charge of Water as well as Fire. Her connections to healing connect her to waters, as does her cauldron of inspiration. It is for this reason that Celtic countries, particularly Ireland, are filled with springs and wells baring the name of Brigid. Offerings to Brigid, such as coins or rings, were cast into these wells (leading to the modern tradition of making a wish and casting a penny into a fountain) to bring luck and the lady's blessing.
The Goddess Brigid had always kept a shrine at Kildare,Ireland, with a perpetual flame tended by nineteen virgin priestesses called "Daughters of the Flame". (The number nineteen is significant for the are nineteen years in the Celtic Great Year when the color and lunar calendars coincide) No male was ever allowed to come near it; nor did those women ever consort with men. Even their food and other supplies were brought to them by women of the nearby village. When Catholicism took over in Ireland, the shrine became a convent and the priestesses became nuns but the same traditions were held and the eternal flame was kept burning. Their tradition was that each day a different priestess/nun was in charge of the sacred fire and on the 20th day of each cycle, the fire was miraculously tended by Brigid Herself. For over a thousand years, the sacred flame was tended by nuns, and no one knows how long before that it had been tended by the priestesses. In 1220 CE, a Bishop became angered by the no-males policy of the Abbey of St. Brigit of Kildare. He insisted that nuns were subordinate to priests and therefore must open their abbey and submit themselves to inspection by a priest. When they refused and asked for another Abbess or other female official to perform any inspections, the Bishop was incensed. He admonished them to obediance and then decreed that the keeping of the eternal flame was a Pagan custom and ordered the sacred flame to be extinguished.
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama was Buddha's real name. He was the son of King Kapilvastu of Northern India, and at age 29 he left family and friends to seek enlightenment. Observing the life processes of birth, sickness, old age and death, he realized that nothing on earth is stable. His search for truth led him away from his kingdom and civilization. After six years of deep meditation in which he reached nirvana, he returned with a message of love, nonviolence, and brotherhood for all. He is often shown seated on a lotus blossom, and this is taken as a symbol of the nature of life; rooted in the mud of this world but able to produce the blossom of enlightenment. Long ears on some statues of Buddha and other Buddhist representations symbolizes the constant listening to the cries of humankind. Depictions of the Buddha can roughly be divided into two types: The northern (China, Japan, etc.) show him full-bodied, while the southern (Thailand and surrounding areas) show him slender, even emaciated.
Bunzi
Woyo rain goddess of Zaire, who manifests as a rainbow colored snake and is invoked for plentiful rains and harvests.
Baba Yaga guards the Waters of Life. In Slavic oral traditions, Baba Yaga was the old crone of autumn, who lived in the last sheaf of harvested grain. Fittingly, the woman who bound that sheaf would bear a child the next spring, for the old Baba was also guardian of the fountain of the waters of life. She was believed to row her cauldron through the air with a broom, steering with its pestle. This suggests she was the preserver of herbal knowledge and medicinal healing. By the middle ages, legend had transformed her into the traditional fairy tale hag or witch, said to steal and devour children. Baba Yaga proves this rule: The more authentically powerful a goddess is to a people, the more strongly she is reviled by patriarchal propaganda. Thus the wise elder, repository of the tribal knowledge, was diminished into the redundant, valueless spinster.
Brigid is a deity who can be found in many different cultures. She known as Brigantia in England, Bride in Scotland, and Brigandu in Wales and France. She is thought to be the same goddess who was worshipped at Bath in ancient Britain as well as the patroness of countless springs and wells in Ireland. The Romans saw Brigit their own favored goddess Minerva, or Pallas Athene, the maiden aspect of Athena. Brigid, also known as Brigit or Brighid, gave the Irish their language, and she was credited with originating Ogham and with the keening for the dead. The Irish Banshees that wail for the deaths of men are said to embody part of Brigid's soul. It is said that Brigid had the aide of her two sisters, who also went by the name of Brigid. One sister was in charge of poetry and inspiration, and is the sister that is said to have created the Ogham alphabet. The second sister ruled over the healing arts, herb crafts, and midwifery, and she is the sister who bestowed fertility, brought life to the Earth every spring, and guarded children. The third sister held sway over the fires of the hearth, smithies, and other similar crafts, and she would be the sister who would forge and carry her spear into battle.
