Liber ab Clementia (Book of Humanity)^329
Mother: Ceto
Animal association: Snake
Three old sisters of Greek lore. Each was
born with gray hair and only one eye and tooth
to share among the three. They were the
guardians of the Gorgons (another set of
three). The sisters’ names are Deino (‘the
dread’), Enyo (‘the horror’), and Pemphredo
(‘the alarm’).Great Spider—God—Africa
Animal association: Spider
Great spider is a term used in Africa to
refer to spiders as a collective and in reference
to gods and goddesses similar to Anansi. See
Anansi.Great Spirit—Male—North America/Central
America/South America
(Also known as Manitou, Manito, Manitoo,
Manitu)
Animal associations: Bison, Eagle (most com-
mon associations)
Generally speaking, Great Spirit is a Na-
tive American creator common to many tribes.
The clearest indication of this is found in the
Algonquin word Manitou which some translate
directly to ‘Great Spirit.’ However, it is also
important to point out that the believe that
Great Spirit is a god who was shared by all
Native Americans is a New Age urban legend
with little basis in fact. If we lump all Native
American traditions into one category, we tend
to miss such information as the Chamacoco
view that the Great Spirit has a wife named
Eschetewuarha. Different tribes had and have
specific customs and specific gods. While there
is absolutely nothing wrong with adopting tra-
ditions from several sources, claiming they
were all practiced by all Native Americans is
rather insulting to any person following one
particular tribe’s traditions. No one person has
the right to dictate the religion and spirituality
of another. So in drawing on Native American
or any cultural source, we should be careful
not to claim that all others followed the ways
we choose to adopt. That which today is gen-
erally called the Native American ‘Great Spirit’is a collective of views under which the mod-
ern interpretation of the Algonquin name have
been placed. Some of the other names that
have been variously translated into Great Spirit
include Alowatsakima (Leni Lenape), Ha Wen
Neyu (Iroquois), and Nagi Tanka (Dakota)Green Lady—Female—Central Europe
(Also known as Mother Nature, Green Jill, Jill
in the Green)
Husband: The Green Man
Rarely mentioned Celtic personification of
the goddess of the woods and foliage. Al-
though the Green Man image has been cited
as being found in ancient architecture, many
of those faces look distinctly feminine and
much of the lore of the green has given yield
to deities such as Mother Nature. As she is
often cited as looking much as we describe
Green Man, it does seem a natural conclusion
that some of those green foliage images with
the face of women are just that, female ver-
sions of the Green Man, or better The Green
Woman.Green Man—Male—Central Europe
(Also known as Father Nature, Green George,
Green Jack, Jack in the Green)
Wife: The Green Lady
Animal associations: Goat, Elk
Plant associations: Bachelor’s Buttons, Pine
Holidays: Spring Equinox, Bealtaine
Celtic personification and god of the woods
and foliage who controls the rain and acts as
patron over livestock of all kinds. His praise
was sung far beyond the Celtic cultures. He is
such a powerful concept that his images sur-
vived the Burning Times intact and can even
be found on the walls and in the architecture
of churches built during the persecution of Pa-
gans by those very churches. He is seen as Fa-
ther Nature.Gronw—Male—Central Europe
Welsh god who had sex with the wife of
Llew Llaw Gyffes and found out why one
should not approach on monofidelity. He met
a rather nasty fate in Llew’s hands.z WB Chap 17.p65 329 7/11/2003, 6:04 PM