Liber ab Clementia (Book of Humanity)^345
Mayan moon goddess and patron of preg-
nant women. She invented the art of weaving
and taught that art to humanity, as did her
lover Itzamna teach in many of the other arts
of community.Ixtlilton—Male—Central America
Aztec god of health, medicine, and heal-
ing magic, especially for children. He is patron
of children, feasting, and games. An example
of the connection between revelry and games
found outside of the Greek pantheon.Izanagi—Male—Far East
Wife: Izanami
‘Man who invites’—Japanese Shinto sky
god, with his wife Izanami, responsible for cre-
ating the island of Japan. When his wife died,
he went to the Underworld to retrieve her. She
would not return, believing she was where Fate
had placed her. Upon his return, he washed
himself to remove anything remaining from the
Underworld. In that cleansing rite, he washed
his left eye. In so doing, he created the Sun
Goddess Amaterasu. He washed his right eye
and in so doing created the moon goddess
Tsuki-Yumi. He blew his nose and in so doing
created the Storm God Susanowa who, with
his falling rain, became god of the oceans.Izanami—Female—Far East
Husband: Izanagi
‘Woman who invites’—Japanese creator.
See Izanagi.Jacy—Male—South America
Brazilian moon god who created all plant
life. One of the three Creators responsible for
the world. The other two were Peruda and
Guaracy.Jagannatha—Male—Near East
Hindu god whose name is often used to ref-
erence Krishna births and from which origi-
nated the term ‘juggernaut’: “Something, such
as a belief or institution, that elicits blind and
destructive devotion or to which people are
ruthlessly sacrificed.” (The American HeritageDictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edi-
tion). The word juggernaut was an offshoot of
the god’s name used to describe a structure
(car or cart) used to transport the new bride
(sacrifice?) of Jagannatha each year. So large
was the structure that it had 16 wheels and took
50 men to move. As the procession traveled
to the temple, devotees hurled themselves to
a certain death under its wheels believing such
a death would favor them in the afterlife. He
is considered the patron of those who wish to
be slaves and while slavery may not sound like
an admirable aspiration, Wicca speaks greatly
of free will and self determination. The story
of Jagannatha thus speaks to us of allowing
those who wish to serve to be afforded the right
to do as they please. Where we might become
angry with the mindless ranting of sidewalk
ministries, those who honestly wish to follow
blindly should be allowed to do just that. In
the words of Aleister Crowley, “The slaves
shall serve.”Jana—Female—Mediterranean
Husband: Janus
Roman moon goddess. She is patron of the
process of change, of walking through door-
ways. With her husband Janus, she is the foun-
dation for the word that is the month of
January.Janus—Male—Mediterranean
(Also known as Ianus)
Wife: Jana
Plant associations: Oak, Olive
Roman oak god who evolved from Dianus
and from whose name we receive January, the
month sacred to Janus. He is the guardian of
transition and doorways who is often depicted
with two faces, one looking forward and the
other looking back.Jehovah—Male—Middle East
(Also known as Yahweh)
‘Lord’ or ‘God’—The name Jehovah has
come to mean either ‘Lord,’ ‘God,’ or ‘Lord
God’ without respect to specific pantheon.
However, the use of this name is a modern usez WB Chap 17.p65 345 7/11/2003, 6:04 PM