List of nature deities


In religion, a nature deity is a deity in charge of forces of nature, such as water, biological processes, or weather. These deities can also govern natural features such as mountains, trees, or volcanoes. Accepted in animism, pantheism, panentheism, polytheism, deism, totemism, shamanism, Taoism, Hinduism, and paganism, the nature deity can embody a number of archetypes including mother goddess, Mother Nature, or lord of the animals.

African

Akan mythology">Akan religion">Akan mythology

[Aztec mythology]

[Chinese mythology]

Arab mythology">Arabian mythology">Arab mythology

[Baltic mythology]

  • Medeina, Lithuanian goddess of forests, trees, and animals
  • Zemes māte, goddess of the earth

    [Celtic mythology]

  • Abnoba, Gaulish goddess associated with forests and rivers
  • Artio, Gaulish bear goddess of the wilderness
  • Arduinna, goddess of the Ardennes forest region
  • Cernunnos, god associated with horned male animals, produce, and fertility
  • Druantia, hypothetical Gallic tree goddess proposed by Robert Graves in his 1948 study The White Goddess; popular with Neopagans.
  • Nantosuelta, Gaulish goddess of nature, the earth, fire, and fertility
  • Sucellus, god of agriculture, forests, and alcoholic drinks
  • Viridios, god of vegetation, rebirth, and agriculture, possibly cognate with the Green Man
  • Sínann, Irish goddess, embodiment of the River Shannon, the longest river on Ireland, and a goddess of wisdom

    [English mythology]

  • Apple Tree Man, the spirit of the oldest apple tree in an orchard
  • Churnmilk Peg, female guardian spirit of unripe nut thickets
  • Melsh Dick is the male counterpart to Churnmilk Peg

    [Etruscan mythology]

  • Fufluns, god of plant life, happiness, wine, health, and growth in all things
  • Selvans, god of the woodlands
  • Artumes, goddess of the hunt, woodlands, the night, and the wild

    [Finnish mythology]

  • Lempo, god of wilderness and archery
  • Tapio, god and ruler of forests
  • Mielikki, goddess of forests and the hunt. Wife of Tapio.

    [Georgian mythology]

  • Dali, goddess of mountain animals such as ibex and deer

    [Germanic mythology]

  • Ēostre or Ostara, the goddess of spring
  • Fjörgyn, the female personification of the earth. She is also the mother of the goddess Frigg and, very rarely, mother of Thor
  • Freyja, goddess of fertility, gold, death, love, beauty, war and magic
  • Freyr, god of fertility, rain, sunlight, life and summer
  • Iðunn the goddess of spring who guards the apples that keep the gods eternally young; wife of the god Bragi
  • Jörð, personification of the earth and the mother of Thor
  • Nerthus, goddess of the earth, called by the Romans Terra Mater
  • Njörð, god of the sea, fishing, and fertility
  • Rán, goddess of the sea, storms, and death
  • Skaði, goddess of mountains, skiing, winter, archery and hunting
  • Sif, goddess of earth, fertility, and the harvest
  • Thor, god of thunder, lightning, weather, oak trees, and fertility
  • Ullr, god of hunting, archery, skiing, and mountains

    [Germanic folklore]

  • Nøkken, male water spirit
  • Elf, beautiful, fairy-like creature that lives in the forest and streams

    [Greek mythology]

  • Anthousai, flower nymphs
  • Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and fertility
  • Apollo, god of the sun, light, healing, poetry and music, and archery
  • Aristaeus, god of shepherds, cheesemaking, beekeeping, honey, honey-mead, olive growing, oil milling, medicinal herbs, hunting, and the Etesian winds
  • Artemis, goddess of the hunt, the dark, the light, the moon, wild animals, nature, wilderness, childbirth, virginity, fertility, young girls, and health and plague in women and childhood
  • Aurae, nymphs of the breezes
  • Chloris, goddess of flowers
  • Cronus, god of the harvest
  • Cybele, Phrygian goddess of the fertile earth and wild animals
  • Demeter, goddess of the harvest, crops, the fertility of the earth, grains, and the seasons
  • Dionysus, god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, madness, and festivity. The Roman equivalent is Bacchus.
  • Dryads, tree and forest nymphs
  • Epimeliades, nymphs of highland pastures and protectors of sheep flocks
  • Gaia, primal mother goddess and goddess of the earth and its personification
  • Hamadryades, oak tree dryads
  • Hegemone, goddess of plants, specifically making them bloom and bear fruit as they were supposed to
  • Helios, Titan-god of the sun
  • Horae, goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time
  • Meliae, nymphs of honey and the ash tree
  • Nymphs, nature spirits
  • Naiades, fresh water nymphs
  • Nereids, salt-water nymphs
  • Nyx, Primordial goddess and personification of night
  • Oceanides, fresh water nymphs
  • Oreades, mountain nymphs
  • Oxylus, god of forests & mountains
  • Pan, god of shepherds, flocks, mountain wilds, and rustic music
  • Persephone, goddess of spring growth
  • Physis, primeval goddess of nature
  • Rhea, goddess of fertility, motherhood, and the mountain wilds
  • Satyrs, rustic nature spirits
  • Selene, Titan-goddess of the moon

    Greek rustic deities

Mari">Mari Native Religion">Mari

  • Mlande, god of the earth
  • Mlande-Ava, goddess of the earth

    [Nordic folklore]

  • Rå, Skogsrå, Hulder, beautiful, female forest spirits

    [Roman mythology]

  • Bacchus – god of wine, nature, pleasure and festivity; equivalent to the Greek god Dionysus
  • Ceres, goddess of growing plants and motherly relationships; equivalent to the Greek goddess Demeter
  • Diana, goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness and the moon; equivalent to the Greek goddess Artemis
  • Faunus, horned god of the forest, plains and fields
  • Feronia, goddess associated with wildlife, fertility, health and abundance
  • Flora, goddess of flowers and the spring; equivalent to the Greek goddess Chloris
  • Fufluns, god of plant life, happiness and health and growth in all things
  • Liber, cognate for Bacchus/Dionysus
  • Nemestrinus, god of the forests and woods
  • Ops, goddess of fertility and the earth
  • Pilumnus, nature god who ensured children grew properly and stayed healthy
  • Pomona, goddess of fruit trees, gardens and orchards
  • Silvanus, tutelary spirit or deity of woods and fields and protector of forests
  • Terra, primeval goddess personifying the earth; equivalent to the Greek goddess Gaia

    [Slavic mythology]

  • Berstuk, evil Wendish god of the forest
  • Jarilo, god of vegetation, fertility, spring, war and harvest
  • Leshy, a tutelary deity of the forests.
  • Porewit, god of the woods, who protected lost voyagers and punished those who mistreated the forest
  • Veles, god of earth, waters and the underworld
  • Mokosh, East-Slavic goddess of nature

    Oceanian

[Māori mythology]