In the ancient Near East, Ashur, assuming the role of Enlil (Sumerian) and Marduk (Babylonian), was originally the main god of the city of Ashur, the capital of Assyria.

The Assyrians saw him primarily as a warrior god and believed that he supported them against their enemies.

Ashur is represented as a winged disc enclosing a stretched bow, ready to let fly an arrow...

A winged disc with horns, enclosing four circles revolving round a middle circle; rippling rays fall down from either side of the disc; a circle or wheel, suspended from wings, and enclosing a warrior drawing his bow to discharge an arrow; the same circle; the warrior's bow, however, is carried in his left hand, while the right hand is uplifted as if to bless his worshipers.

Ashur's horned cap was like those of Anu and Enlil. His emblem, like that of Marduk, was the serpent-dragon. He is sometimes shown riding on a snake-dragon. He is pictured on Assyrian monuments, cliff reliefs and cylinder seals...

The popularity of Ashur is due to the military successes of the Assyrian armies; and it follows, with equal necessity, that Ashur, whatever he may originally have been, becomes purely a god of war, from the moment that Assyria enters upon what appeared to be her special mission.

All the titles given to Ashur by the kings may be said to follow from his rôle as the god who presides over the fortunes of the wars.

If he is the 'ruler of all the gods,' and their father, he is so simply by virtue of that same superior strength which makes him the 'law-giver' for mankind, and not because of any ancient traditions, nor as an expression of some nature-myth.

Ashur is the giver of crown and sceptre, and the kings of Assyria are the patesis of the god, his lieutenants. He is the god that embodies the spirit of Assyrian history, and as such he is the most characteristic personage of the Assyrian pantheon—in a certain sense the only characteristic personage.

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Because the qualities of so many other gods were transferred to Ashur, he had little or no clear character or traditions of his own. More than anything, he was a symbol of the people and power of Assyria.

Resources:

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In Slavic/Slavonic folklore, polevik (Singular: Poleviki) are nature spirits, protectors of fields (pole means field)...

A polevik usually hides in corn fields.

It delights in misdirecting travellers, and even cruelly killing drunken farmers and idlers. 

Terrible tales were told around hearth-fires of the Polevik's harsh and blood-thirsty nature, and of the peril a slothful farmer faced...

Despite this, the Polevik received a grudging respect from the farmers for their diligent protection, and paid their fields a small tithe of blood to show the Polevik their connection to the land.

Some of the youngest Polevik have become disaffected with their rustic lifestyle, and have hired out to unscrupulous fae as assassins; a task at which they prove unnervingly adept.

Fortunately, forgoing their bond with the land, they also lose the associated Birthright and Frailty, although this doesn't bother them unduly.

In their eyes, they're just reaping a harvest of a different variety.

Their favourite quote >>"Time to reap the harvest"...

The appearance of the Polevik was described differently in every region.

In Poland, he appears as a deformed dwarf with eyes of dual color and grass instead of hair. He shows up either at noon or sunset and wear either all black or all white suits.

In the northern parts of Russia, she is a female called Poludnisa, ('Poluden' meaning 'noon') and appears as a tall, beautiful girl dressed in white...

A female spirit Poludnitsa walks along the field in white clothes, taking care of the grain. The midday is supposed the time of her reign, when no one should stay in the open field. She chases people from the field, can even scrag them or cut their heads with her hook.

It is said that you can prevent Polevik from coming near your land by placing two eggs and a cockerel at the edge of a field...

Resources:

http://bit.ly/14MLwDM

http://bit.ly/1ejsApI

http://bit.ly/1g231oL

http://bit.ly/1as3jo6

http://bit.ly/1eFGpfP

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Post Image: http://bit.ly/14MO05h

Bradán feasa is a creature figuring in the Fenian Cycle of Irish lore; not to be confused with the Fintan mac Bóchra, who was known as "The Wise" and was once transformed into a salmon.

The Salmon figures prominently in The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn, which recounts the early adventures of Fionn mac Cumhaill.

According to the story, it was an ordinary salmon that ate the nine hazel nuts that fell into the Well of Wisdom (aka Tobar Segais) from nine hazel trees that surrounded the well.

In doing so, the salmon gained all the knowledge in the world. Moreover, the first person to eat of its flesh would, in turn, gain this knowledge.

The poet Finn Eces spent seven years fishing for the salmon. When he finally caught it, he instructed his apprentice, Fionn, to prepare it for him.

Fionn burned his thumb when spattered with a drop of the hot fat from the cooking salmon and immediately sucked on it to ease the pain. Unbeknownst to Fionn, all the wisdom had been concentrated into that one drop, and Fionn had just imbibed it all.

When he brought the cooked meal to Finegas, his master saw a fire in the boy's eyes that had not been there before. When asked by Finegas, Fionn first denied that he had eaten of the fish. But when pressed, Fionn admitted his accidental taste.

Throughout the rest of his life, Fionn could access this font of knowledge merely by biting his thumb.

It was this incredible knowledge and wisdom gained from the Salmon of Knowledge that allowed Fionn to become the leader of the Fianna, the famed heroes of Irish folklore.

In Welsh lore, the story of how the poet Taliesin received his wisdom follows a similar pattern...

Similarly the legendary Welsh poet Taliesin claims:

"I have been a blue salmon
I have been a dog
I have been a stag
I have been a roebuck on the mountain
I have been a grain discovered....
I rested nine nights
in her womb, a child
I have been dead, I have been alive.
I am Taliesin...

http://bit.ly/1bj06tY

A very ancient salmon features in the Welsh tale, Culhwch and Olwen, an early Arthurian legend.

Culhwch is given a series of near-impossible tasks by his prospective father-in law, before he can win the hand of his beloved Olwen.

One of the tasks is to find and release Mabon, a divine child who has been imprisoned. After asking a series of wise old beasts, none of whom know the child's whereabouts, Culhwch and Arthur's men are directed to the oldest and wisest of the animals, the Salmon of Llyn Llyw.

The salmon not only tells them where Mabon is, but kindly (and impressively) gives them all a ride on its back to the prison, where they succeed in their mission...

http://bit.ly/192aAYx

Resources:

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Post Image: http://bit.ly/167A0Dn

Nuala is the wife of Finnbheara, king of the Irish fairies,,,

She is thought the most beautiful of all women, with golden hair sweeping to the ground, and is the mother of seventeen sons.

Sometimes she is thought to have a separate residence of her own of Cnoc Sídh Úna [Knocksheogowna]...

It is said Nuala can transform herself in to any shape that she wants, but the one most pleasing to her is that of a young calf (or perhaps lamb). 

Some people say Knocksheogowna means 'the mountain of the fairy-calf' others dispute this and say it means 'Úna's Mountain'.

Nuala is known to have a fondness for all animals particularly young ones.

Note:

It could be possible that Nuala is a diminutive form of Finnguala (modern spellings: Fionnghuala or Fionnuala; literally fionn-ghuala meaning "fair-shoulder"); the daughter of Lir of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

In the legend of the Children of Lir, she was changed into a swan and cursed by her stepmother, Aoife, to wander the lakes and rivers of Ireland, with her brothers Fiachra, Conn and Aodh, for 900 years until saved by the marriage of Lairgren, son of Colman, son of Cobthach, and Deoch, daughter of Finghin, which union broke the curse.

http://bit.ly/189Gh3k

http://bit.ly/16cMKHS

At any rate, Nuala is a somewhat elusive figure, but nevertheless her sidhe dwelling was a very important place in former times, and she is still remembered by local people...

Reources:

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http://bit.ly/18wkNSe

http://bit.ly/1f34BZO

http://bit.ly/19bZ66e

http://bit.ly/1gvvIdN

http://bit.ly/1686GCD

See Tuatha Dé Danann:

http://sco.lt/91bn4D

Bonus:

http://bit.ly/1a1UkJH

http://bit.ly/18wlx9Y

Post Image: http://bit.ly/17I3BWX

Dionysos, Olympian god in Greek folklore, is the son of Zeus and the mortal woman, Semele (daughter of Cadmus of Thebes).

Semele is killed by Zeus' lightning bolts while Dionysus is still in her womb. Dionysus is rescued and undergoes a second birth from Zeus after developing in his thigh.

Zeus then gives the infant to some nymphs to be raised. In another version, one with more explicit religious overtones, Dionysus, also referred to as Zagreus in this account, is the son of Zeus and Persephone, Queen of the Underworld.

Hera gets the Titans to lure the infant with toys, and then they rip him to shreds eating everything but Zagreus' heart, which is saved by either Athena, Rhea, or Demeter.

Zeus remakes his son from the heart and implants him in Semele who bears a new Dionysus Zagreus.

Hence, as in the earlier account, Dionysus is called "twice born." The latter account formed a part of the Orphic religion's religious mythos.

At any rates, Dionysus appears to be of two distinct origins.

On the one hand, Dionysus was the god of wine, agriculture, and fertility of nature, who is also the patron god of the Greek stage.

On the other hand, Dionysus also represents the outstanding features of mystery religions, such as those practiced at Eleusis: ecstasy, personal delivery from the daily world through physical or spiritual intoxication, and initiation into secret rites.

Scholars have long suspected that the god known as Dionysus is in fact a fusion of a local Greek nature god, and another more potent god imported rather late in Greek pre-history from Phrygia (the central area of modern day Turkey) or Thrace...

It does seem clear that Dionysus, at least the Phrygian Dionysus, was a late arrival in the Greek world...

Briefly, Dionysus returns to Thebes, his putative birthplace, where his cousin Pentheus is king. He has returned to punish the women of Thebes for denying that he was a god and born of a god. Pentheus is enraged at the worship of Dionysus and forbids it, but he cannot stop the women, including his mother Agave, or even the elder statesmen of the kingdom from swarming to the wilds to join the Maenads (a term given to women under the ecstatic spell of Dionysus) in worship.

Dionysus lures Pentheus to the wilds where he is killed by the Maenads and then mutilated by Agave...

Dionysus is depicted as either an older bearded god or a pretty effeminate, long-haired youth.

His attributes included the thyrsos (a pine-cone tipped staff), drinking cup, leopard and fruiting vine.

Dionysus was usually accompanied by a troop of Satyrs and Mainades (female devotees or nymphs)...

Writers often contrast Dionysus with his half-brother Apollo. Where Apollo personifies the cerebral aspects of mankind, Dionysus represents the libido and gratification...

Resources:

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See Hera:

http://sco.lt/62EIHx

See Persephone:

http://sco.lt/99nIMD

See Apollon:

http://sco.lt/8aFV5N

See Rhea:
http://sco.lt/4j2aeH

See Demeter:

http://sco.lt/7JiyNV

See Satyr:

http://sco.lt/61Ovjt

Post Image: http://bit.ly/18gFnUI

Shoten is esoteric Japanese Buddhism's version of the Indian elephant-headed god Gaṇeśa or Vināyaka.

Shoten is the patron of enterprise, who removes obstacles and vouchsafes wisdom...

As in India he came to be thought of as the son of Śiva, or Daijizaiten in Japan.

The cult of Shoten was brought to Japan from China and Tantric Buddhism by the founder of the Shingon sect early in the ninth century and was also taken up by the Tendai sect.

Shoten is depicted as a double figure: a powerful male god in an embrace with a gentle goddess or bodhisattva.

The connection between this dual image and the embracing Śiva and his śakti is obvious.

In both cases the embrace has symbolic importance, conveying wholeness.

Shoten also signifies the union of the individual with the Buddha...

With Enlightenment the two images become one...

It is said that the single-bodied version of Shoten may have two, four or six arms and is yellowish-red in colour...

Resources:

http://bit.ly/16mUEWa

http://bit.ly/1b7WKel

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See Gaṇeśa:

http://sco.lt/6uLnVp

Post Image: http://bit.ly/16mWTbU

In Celtic/Gaul folklore, Belisama is goddess...

She is connected with lakes and rivers, fire, crafts and light.

Belisama was identified with Minerva/Athena and has been compared with Brigid.

Her association with Athena and Minerva also brought her recognition as a Goddess of wisdom, as shown by the frequent depiction of a serpent at her side...

She has been claimed to be the consort of Belenus, with whom she shared certain attributes.

A Latin inscription from Saint-Lizier, Aquitania (in antiquity, Consoranni) associates her with Minerva.

The exact meaning of her name is uncertain, but one possible interpretation is "Very Strong", "Summer Bright", "Most Shining One", or "‘Most Mighty Queen"...

In terms of crafts, Belisama has inspired a good deal of creative writing from the poems of Richard Dugdale (the Bard of Ribblesdale 1849), James Flockhart’s ‘The River’ (1854), Gerard Manley Hopkins’ ‘Ribblesdale’ (1876) and John Heath-Stubb’s ‘The Green Man’s Last will and Testament’ – ‘the cruel nymphs / Of the northern streams, Peg Towler of the Tees / And Jenny Greenteeth of the Ribble, / Sisters of Belisama, the very fair one’ (1973).

http://bit.ly/13EqEBJ

Interconnectedness of air
and trees and layers of sun lacerate
the holes in your being, crucifying,
peeling back skin,
exposing deep, dark secrets,
a succession of broken blossoms
falling from open hands,
words spilling from your mouth,
their meaning drowned in the coruscating
diamond rush of
tears crushed from eyes
dazzled by the numinous wonder
of Belisama

©Doreen Hopwood, 24th April 2010

http://bit.ly/16sQ3g1

More:

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See Brigid:

http://sco.lt/7d23Wr

See Minerva:

http://sco.lt/8z6JqD

Post Image: http://bit.ly/16sSfnX

Wepwawet, whose name means “opener of the way” and is believed a standard that led armies to battle and “opens the way” to king of the champion of royalty, is originally a war god from Ancient Upper Egypt...

Wepwawet is also originally known as the funerary deity who portrayed as a jackal headed man with soldier dress and carrying weapons in his hand.

Sometimes, he was also depicted as a wolf or a jackal.

Wepwawet can appear sometimes as a wolf standing at the prow of a solar-boat.

Some interpret that Wepwawet was seen as a scout, going out to clear routes for the army to proceed forward.

One inscription from the Sinai states that Wepwawet “opens the way” to king Sekhemkhet’s victory…

In the later Egyptian funerary context, Wepwawet assists at the Opening of the mouth ceremony and guides the deceased into the netherworld.

Most significantly, in later pyramid texts, Upuaut is called "Ra" who has gone up from the horizon, perhaps as the "opener" of the sky.

Note that Ra or Re is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty he had become major in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the midday sun.
The meaning of the name is uncertain, but it is thought that if not a word for 'sun' it may be a variant of or linked to words meaning 'creative power'.http://bit.ly/163fZ5Z

An other text was briefly circulated claiming that Wepwawet was born at the sanctuary of Wadjet, a location in the heart of Lower Egypt.

Consequently, Wepwawet, who had hitherto been the standard of Upper Egypt alone, formed an integral part of royal rituals, symbolising the unification of Egypt.

Eventually, his identity merged into that of Anubis, and so when Anubis, the god of the dead in the Ogdoad belief system, was displaced by Osiris (Ausare), the god of the dead in the Ennead, Wepwawet, more accurately Anubis, became considered Isis' (Aset's) adopted son (his real mother being said to be Nephthys (Nebt-het), the father being Osiris)...

http://bit.ly/17hKRfc

More:

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See Anubis:

http://sco.lt/7tx6Nl

See Ra:

http://sco.lt/6FFhTd

See Nephthys :

http://sco.lt/5ceFmr

Image adapted from: http://bit.ly/16JFebJ

In Japanese folklore, Hachiman is the Japanese syncretic patron for archery and war, incorporating elements from both Shinto and Buddhism.

His name means Eight Banners/Banderoles.

Hachiman is commonly regarded as the deification of Ōjin, the 15th emperor of Japan.

Throughout the centuries, Hachiman has been a symbol of security...

Hachiman has also been credited with safeguarding all past emperors of Japan by defending their honor and fighting off enemies.

Hachiman was seen not just as a god of proactive, offensive war but also as the protector of children and as the deity of the general prosperity that was thought to come from military strength.

He might also be said to embody the concept known as “peace through strength”.

The god of war was said to have a high regard for the Minamoto ( aka Genji) Clan, one of the warring factions in the Japanese epic known as The Heike Monogatari.

By some accounts Hachiman was really the father of the early Minamoto hero Yoshi-Iye and offered that hero divine assistance during his campaigns against Ainu tribes.

http://bit.ly/16crkxM

Throughout Japan’s history the story of Hachiman has taken root so deeply that the popularity of his cult is shared by rich and poor alike...

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The doves are Hachiman's symbolic animals and his messengers!!...

More:

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Image adapted from: http://bit.ly/1cOxLMI

An ancient Roman goddess of springs, wells, aqueducts and fountains...

Juturna was most notably recognised on the banks of the river Numicius, which flowed near the city of Lavinium, founded by the Trojan hero Aeneas after he settled in Italy.

She is a patron of protection against fire.

Juturna’s name is derived from the Latin word juvare which means “to help.”

Jaturna is sister of Castor and Pollux, with whom she often appears...

http://bit.ly/17Ca6Jm

According to some legends, Juturna was the sister of Turnus, king of the Rutuli people, and fought with her brother against Aeneas for the love of Lavinia. She supported Turnus against Aeneas by giving him his sword after he dropped it in battle, as well as taking him away from the battle when it seemed he would be killed...

In her own story, Juturna was very beautiful, and became the love interest of Jupiter, who transformed her into a water nymph, and reign over small bodies of water.

Some relations say Juturna was the wife of Janus, one of the oldest Roman gods, and by him the mother of Fons, the Roman god of springs.

She also gave her name to a well near the Vesta-temple of the Forum Romanum, called the Lacus Juturnae. The water from this well was used for the state-offerings...

It is said that the water from her spring has healing properties...

More:

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See Jove:

http://sco.lt/4wH33p

Post Image: http://bit.ly/1cRWtg0

In Chinese folklores, Zhong Kui is a supernatual being who exorcises ghosts and evil spirits.

As legend has it, he lived in Zhongnan Mountain in the early Tang Dynasty.

He was born with a panther-like head, ring-like eyes, an iron face and curly whiskers.

Though very ugly, he was a profoundly learned and talented figure.

As a man of integrity, he always upheld justice and feared no evil or mischievous being.

Traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings, and reputedly able to command 80,000 demons, his image is often painted on household gates as a guardian spirit, as well as in places of business where high-value goods are involved...

Zhong Kui belongs to the Gui Xian (a classification of demons) because he committed suicide when he failed to reach the first place in the exams. His attribute is a sword with which he wards off poisonous animals such as snakes and scorpions...

In 712 when Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty ascended the throne, Zhong Kui went to Chang'an to take the imperial civil examination. Impressed by Zhong's five poems entitled Holding Banquets in Yingzhou, the chief examiner praised him as a prodigy and enrolled him top of all examinees.

During the palace examination, however, a treacherous minister named Lu Qi judged Zhong Kui by the appearance, and repeatedly spoke ill of him before the emperor.

As a result, Zhong Kui failed to claim championship in the exam. Infuriated, he bumped his head against a pillar in the palace and thus killed himself.

The entire court was shocked.

Then Emperor Dezong issued an imperial edict, conferring upon Zhong Kui the title of Demon Queller who traveled all over the world to kill the evil and expel the wicked.

In addition, the official title of Number One Scholar was also buried with him.

More:

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Post Image: http://bit.ly/1dDObpZ

Tantamount to ectoplasmic Shōki was spotted recently:
http://bit.ly/18bJqhA

Tanit is the  chief goddess of Carthage, equivalent of Astarte.

Carthage was a city of the Phoenician colony in northern Africa, not far from the modern city of Tunis in Tunisia. Carthage, the Roman rendition of the Phoenician name Karthadasht, which means "New Town"...

Although she seems to have had some connection with the heavens, she was also a 'virginal' mother goddess, and fertility symbols often accompany representations of her.

She is also a ptron for war, moon, love, and the stars. 

Some authors controversially advocate that the nameTanit might be the title for Astarte...

She was probably the consort of Baal Hammon (or Amon), the chief god of Carthage, and was often given the attribute "face of Baal."

Tanit's symbols include the dove, grapes, the fruit of the pomegranate, and the moon. 

Her image is the triangle.

She is represented under different forms, sometimes as a naked woman with her pressing against her breast to symbolize fertility or as usually depicted as a beautiful bejeweled woman wearing a triangular garment bearing cornucopias in each hand... 

Tanit was also known on Malta, Sardinia, and in Spain. It is said that Phoenician colonists brought Astarte and Tanit with them to Iberia...

More:

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http://bit.ly/6INXGJ

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http://bit.ly/18oswfM

See Gaia:

http://bit.ly/Mxt7Be

See the Elder Mother:

http://bit.ly/Npd8sO

See Hebat:

http://sco.lt/8Nv2Bd

See Uttu:

http://sco.lt/5ArJGD

See Hestia:

http://sco.lt/8Ufy8P

See Minerva:

http://sco.lt/8z6JqD

Post Image: http://bit.ly/14I5inn

Mielikki is the wife, or the daughter-in-law, of Tapio and as such the Lady of the Forest (Tapiola/Mehtola) in the Finnish epic based on the Karelian folklore...

The word Mielikki can be derived to the Finnish word meaning Favourable or Luck.

Sometimes Mielikki was also called The Sharer Maid, Osatyttö according to the way she, unpredictably, shared the game (Emon viljat ) to the hunters—when they left for hunting the daily food like hares, birds or fur animals like squirrel etc. The king Tapio was for the big game only, like bear and elk...

Mielikki is known as a skillful healer who heals the paws of animals who have escaped traps, helps chicks that have fallen from their nests and treats the wounds of wood grouses after their mating displays...

She knows well the healing herbs and will also help humans if they know well enough to ask her for it...

Her symbol is a white unicorn on a green field.  Her totem is the bear...

So, when you dismantle your Yule tree, keep a jar full of its needles handy. Burn these throughout the year to banish frosty feelings or to warm up a chilly relationship. The pine smoke, being from a woodland tree, also draws Mielikki’s attention to any pressing needs you may have...

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Padmasambhava is one of the most important characters of Tibetan Buddhism.

Sometimes called 'the second Buddha,' he is credited for the diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet in the eighth and ninth centuries.

As such, Padmasambhava is a peerless guru in the Tibetan tradition, with the vidyādhara’s control over lifespan, who became revered in Tibet when Emperor Trisongdetsen invited him, by which time he had already been a living legend in India for many centuries...

Padmasambhava is the master of Buddhist tantra who is credited with bring Vajrayana to Tibet and Bhutan.

He is said to have been born as an eight-year- old from a lotus flower, to have overpowered and converted demons, and to have lived to be more than one thousand years old...

It is said that in order to propagate and spread the teachings of the Dharma in general, and particularly the secret mantra and Dzogchen teachings, he appears to every being of the three thousand billion world systems in a form to benefit them according to their personal karmic vision.

In this way Guru Padmasambhava has countless unimaginable biographies, one biography for each being.

So forth were the enlightened activities performed for the sake of sentient beings by Guru Padmasambhava’s eight manifestations which are as follows:

Padmavajra, Vajra of the Lotus, severed the roots of the five poison.

Padmaraja, King of the Lotus, provided mundane and ultimate benefits to sentient beings.

Padmasambhava, the Lotus-born, blessed beings endowed with faith.

Dorje Droled tamed the Yakshas and haughty beings.

Suryaprabha, the Rays of the Sun, taught the essence of secret mantra.

Sakyasimha, the Lion of Sakyas, guided beings towards the path of liberation.

Simhanada, Roar of the Lion, defeated the outside aggressors of non-Buddhists.

And Dhimanvaruchi, the Supremely Wise Love, showered the teaching of sutra and mantra.

The results of Guru Padmasambhava’s activities include the attainment of liberation by his twenty-five disciples and eighty other disciples who attained rainbow body.

In addition, three million disciples achieved stability in tantric generation stage practice, one hundred thousand disciples showed signs of accomplishment, ninety thousand disciples achieved the uncontaminated Illusory Body, and eighty million disciples had some attainment.

Having accomplished these great activities, knowing his personal beings to be tamed on Earth were exhausted, he departed for the South-western universe of the magical cannibals, to help the beings there and to protect Earth from their harm.

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Hidden Treasures?

Guru Rinpoche's knowledge of efficient practices of tantric secrets gave him supernatural powers according to the legends.

Being convinced that tantric Buddhism could degenerate in the future, he buried his wisdom and knowledge as secret books and other treasures at unknown places like in mountain caves so that future generations might find them one day.

It is said that Guru Rinpoche left Tibet one day towards the 'Tibetan-Nepalese border region in the Himalayan mountains and simply disappeared.

The legend says that he rode on a sun ray towards heaven...

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Resources:

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Armazi was the the chief god in Georgian pantheon, whose idol (image) was in the figure of a soldier, made of gold, clothed in copper and golden armor, having shoulder pieces and eyes made from emeralds and beryl stones, and holding in his hand a sword which revolved in his grasp...

According to Georgian chronicles the idol of Armazi was 30 meters high, erected on the hill in Mtskheta of the kingdom of Kartli (located in the eastern Georgia and referred to Caucasian Iberia by the Greeks and Romans) personification of which is expected to be a clue to formulation of religious orientation of pre-Christian Georgia....

Originally, the name Armazi is usually taken to derive from that of the deity Ahura Mazdā, who as Armazi was the chief god of the pagan Iberian pantheon; “Armaz-tsikhe” means “citadel of Armazi” and is reflected in the Greco-Roman name Armastika or Harmozika... 

Although the question raised in the thesis about the connection of Armazi with the Iranian Ahura Mazda has been widely shared and accepted by specialists, his definition doesn’t give a full picture of religious beliefs practiced in pre-Christian Georgia unless other divinities – Ainina/Danina(Danana) and Zaden are studied...

[While examining the cult of the supreme god Armazi, the main determinant of the religious (Zoroastrian) orientation of the kingdom of Kartli, my attention was drawn to the evidence given in the LNino, which is pointer to the path I think we must follow in order to come closer to personification of Ainina/Danana-Danina, of whom, as noted above, nothing is known except their names.

In this writing St Nino is referred to as the “daughter of Armazi”: appealing to the saint to heal the sick Persian magus Khuara. King Mirian addresses her thus: “….through God’s mighty power you’re skilled in healing, you’re the daughter of Armazi”.

As a final result of the examination and definition of the supreme divinity, the origin of Armazi from the Iranian Ahura Mazda has been proved through a comparative study of Aramazd, the supreme divinity of pre-Christian Armenia, which became a bridging link between Armazi and Ahura Mazda.]

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It is said that Armazi was also a thunder god and perhaps a moon god, as well...

When Saint Nino(Hio-Mghvime, icon 17-18 century), the enlightener of Georgia, entered Mtskheta, the capital city of the Kartli Kingdom, she witnessed the celebration of Armazi and began praying.  

By the Grace of God the idol was burnt by lightning.  

At the place where Armazi was originally erected, was later built Jvari Monastery in the VI-VII centuries...

Resources:

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See Thor:

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Image adapted from: http://bit.ly/176rQhk

All roads to Hell lead down, whether it be from Asgard, Midgard or Jotunheim...

Not only dead men are to be found there, but in Hell there also dwell the phantoms of gods and giants...

The sinners from Midgard are nor excluded, especially oath-breakers, murderers and those who have been disloyal...

In Norse folklore, Hel [(meaning "to bury," and "grave")] is a giantess and goddess, who presides over Helheim; the realm of the dead or the World of Darkness (Niflheim), where she receives a portion of the dead...

Hel is the youngest child of the trickister god Loki and the giantess Angrboda. She is the sister of the wolf Fenrir and the world serpent Jormungand...

The gods had abducted Hel and her brothers from Angrboda's hall.

They cast her in the underworld, into which she distributes those who are send to her; the wicked and those who died of sickness or old age.

Her hall in Helheim is called Eljudnir, home of the dead. Her manservant is Ganglati and her maidservant is Ganglot (which both can be translated as "tardy").

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However,  mention is made in an early poem of the nine worlds of Niflheim. It was said that those who fell in battle did not go to Hel but to the god Odin, in Valhalla, the hall of the slain...

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She is usually described as a horrible hag, half alive and half dead, with a gloomy and grim expression.

Her face and body are those of a living woman, but her thighs and legs are those of a corpse, mottled and moldering...

She is cold, aloof and indifferent to the suffering of her constituents (as evidenced by her role in the saga of Balder's death, among others)...

Hel is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson.

In addition, she is mentioned in poems recorded in Heimskringla and Egils saga that date from the 9th and 10th centuries, respectively.

An episode in the Latin work Gesta Danorum, written in the 12th century by Saxo Grammaticus, is generally considered to refer to Hel, and Hel may appear on various Migration Period bracteates....

Resources:

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See Loki:

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See Odin:

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See Fenrir:

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See Jormungand:

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In the ancient Near East, Ashur, assuming the role of Enlil (Sumerian) and Marduk (Babylonian), was originally the main god of the city of Ashur, the capital of Assyria.

The Assyrians saw him primarily as a warrior god and believed that he supported them against their enemies.

Ashur is represented as a winged disc enclosing a stretched bow, ready to let fly an arrow...

A winged disc with horns, enclosing four circles revolving round a middle circle; rippling rays fall down from either side of the disc; a circle or wheel, suspended from wings, and enclosing a warrior drawing his bow to discharge an arrow; the same circle; the warrior's bow, however, is carried in his left hand, while the right hand is uplifted as if to bless his worshipers.

Ashur's horned cap was like those of Anu and Enlil. His emblem, like that of Marduk, was the serpent-dragon. He is sometimes shown riding on a snake-dragon. He is pictured on Assyrian monuments, cliff reliefs and cylinder seals...

The popularity of Ashur is due to the military successes of the Assyrian armies; and it follows, with equal necessity, that Ashur, whatever he may originally have been, becomes purely a god of war, from the moment that Assyria enters upon what appeared to be her special mission.

All the titles given to Ashur by the kings may be said to follow from his rôle as the god who presides over the fortunes of the wars.

If he is the 'ruler of all the gods,' and their father, he is so simply by virtue of that same superior strength which makes him the 'law-giver' for mankind, and not because of any ancient traditions, nor as an expression of some nature-myth.

Ashur is the giver of crown and sceptre, and the kings of Assyria are the patesis of the god, his lieutenants. He is the god that embodies the spirit of Assyrian history, and as such he is the most characteristic personage of the Assyrian pantheon—in a certain sense the only characteristic personage.

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Because the qualities of so many other gods were transferred to Ashur, he had little or no clear character or traditions of his own. More than anything, he was a symbol of the people and power of Assyria.

Resources:

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In Slavic/Slavonic folklore, polevik (Singular: Poleviki) are nature spirits, protectors of fields (pole means field)...

A polevik usually hides in corn fields.

It delights in misdirecting travellers, and even cruelly killing drunken farmers and idlers. 

Terrible tales were told around hearth-fires of the Polevik's harsh and blood-thirsty nature, and of the peril a slothful farmer faced...

Despite this, the Polevik received a grudging respect from the farmers for their diligent protection, and paid their fields a small tithe of blood to show the Polevik their connection to the land.

Some of the youngest Polevik have become disaffected with their rustic lifestyle, and have hired out to unscrupulous fae as assassins; a task at which they prove unnervingly adept.

Fortunately, forgoing their bond with the land, they also lose the associated Birthright and Frailty, although this doesn't bother them unduly.

In their eyes, they're just reaping a harvest of a different variety.

Their favourite quote >>"Time to reap the harvest"...

The appearance of the Polevik was described differently in every region.

In Poland, he appears as a deformed dwarf with eyes of dual color and grass instead of hair. He shows up either at noon or sunset and wear either all black or all white suits.

In the northern parts of Russia, she is a female called Poludnisa, ('Poluden' meaning 'noon') and appears as a tall, beautiful girl dressed in white...

A female spirit Poludnitsa walks along the field in white clothes, taking care of the grain. The midday is supposed the time of her reign, when no one should stay in the open field. She chases people from the field, can even scrag them or cut their heads with her hook.

It is said that you can prevent Polevik from coming near your land by placing two eggs and a cockerel at the edge of a field...

Resources:

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Bradán feasa is a creature figuring in the Fenian Cycle of Irish lore; not to be confused with the Fintan mac Bóchra, who was known as "The Wise" and was once transformed into a salmon.

The Salmon figures prominently in The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn, which recounts the early adventures of Fionn mac Cumhaill.

According to the story, it was an ordinary salmon that ate the nine hazel nuts that fell into the Well of Wisdom (aka Tobar Segais) from nine hazel trees that surrounded the well.

In doing so, the salmon gained all the knowledge in the world. Moreover, the first person to eat of its flesh would, in turn, gain this knowledge.

The poet Finn Eces spent seven years fishing for the salmon. When he finally caught it, he instructed his apprentice, Fionn, to prepare it for him.

Fionn burned his thumb when spattered with a drop of the hot fat from the cooking salmon and immediately sucked on it to ease the pain. Unbeknownst to Fionn, all the wisdom had been concentrated into that one drop, and Fionn had just imbibed it all.

When he brought the cooked meal to Finegas, his master saw a fire in the boy's eyes that had not been there before. When asked by Finegas, Fionn first denied that he had eaten of the fish. But when pressed, Fionn admitted his accidental taste.

Throughout the rest of his life, Fionn could access this font of knowledge merely by biting his thumb.

It was this incredible knowledge and wisdom gained from the Salmon of Knowledge that allowed Fionn to become the leader of the Fianna, the famed heroes of Irish folklore.

In Welsh lore, the story of how the poet Taliesin received his wisdom follows a similar pattern...

Similarly the legendary Welsh poet Taliesin claims:

"I have been a blue salmon
I have been a dog
I have been a stag
I have been a roebuck on the mountain
I have been a grain discovered....
I rested nine nights
in her womb, a child
I have been dead, I have been alive.
I am Taliesin...

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A very ancient salmon features in the Welsh tale, Culhwch and Olwen, an early Arthurian legend.

Culhwch is given a series of near-impossible tasks by his prospective father-in law, before he can win the hand of his beloved Olwen.

One of the tasks is to find and release Mabon, a divine child who has been imprisoned. After asking a series of wise old beasts, none of whom know the child's whereabouts, Culhwch and Arthur's men are directed to the oldest and wisest of the animals, the Salmon of Llyn Llyw.

The salmon not only tells them where Mabon is, but kindly (and impressively) gives them all a ride on its back to the prison, where they succeed in their mission...

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Resources:

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Nuala is the wife of Finnbheara, king of the Irish fairies,,,

She is thought the most beautiful of all women, with golden hair sweeping to the ground, and is the mother of seventeen sons.

Sometimes she is thought to have a separate residence of her own of Cnoc Sídh Úna [Knocksheogowna]...

It is said Nuala can transform herself in to any shape that she wants, but the one most pleasing to her is that of a young calf (or perhaps lamb). 

Some people say Knocksheogowna means 'the mountain of the fairy-calf' others dispute this and say it means 'Úna's Mountain'.

Nuala is known to have a fondness for all animals particularly young ones.

Note:

It could be possible that Nuala is a diminutive form of Finnguala (modern spellings: Fionnghuala or Fionnuala; literally fionn-ghuala meaning "fair-shoulder"); the daughter of Lir of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

In the legend of the Children of Lir, she was changed into a swan and cursed by her stepmother, Aoife, to wander the lakes and rivers of Ireland, with her brothers Fiachra, Conn and Aodh, for 900 years until saved by the marriage of Lairgren, son of Colman, son of Cobthach, and Deoch, daughter of Finghin, which union broke the curse.

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At any rate, Nuala is a somewhat elusive figure, but nevertheless her sidhe dwelling was a very important place in former times, and she is still remembered by local people...

Reources:

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See Tuatha Dé Danann:

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Bonus:

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