Sky deity


A sky deity is a deity associated with the sky, and are a common feature of polytheistic religions. The sky often has great religious significance.
The daytime sky deities are typically distinct from the nighttime ones. Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature reflects this by separating the category of "Sky-god" from that of "Star-god". In mythology, nighttime gods are usually known as night deities and gods of stars simply as star gods. Both of these categories are included here since they relate to the sky. Luminary deities are included as well since the sun and moon are located in the sky. Some religions may also have a deity or personification of the day, distinct from the god of the day lit sky, to complement the deity or personification of the night.
Daytime gods and nighttime gods are frequently deities of an "upper world" or "celestial world" opposed to the earth and a "netherworld". Within Greek mythology, Uranus was the primordial sky god, who was ultimately succeeded by Zeus, who ruled the celestial realm atop Mount Olympus. In contrast to the celestial Olympians was the chthonic deity Hades, who ruled the underworld, and Poseidon, who ruled the sea.
Any masculine sky god is often also king of the gods, taking the position of patriarch within a pantheon. Such king gods are collectively categorized as "sky father" deities, with a polarity between sky and earth often being expressed by pairing a "sky father" god with an "earth mother" goddess. A main sky goddess is often the queen of the gods and may be an air/sky goddess in her own right, though she usually has other functions as well with "sky" not being her main. In antiquity, several sky goddesses in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Near East were called Queen of Heaven.
Gods may rule the sky as a pair. The following is a list of sky deities in various polytheistic traditions arranged mostly by language family, which is typically a better indicator of relatedness than geography.

African

Central African

Central Asian

Turkic and Mongolic

Chinese

  • Yu Huang Dadi-Jade Emperor
  • Ziwei Dadi-polestar emperor
  • Changsheng Dadi-longevity emperor
  • Qinghua Dadi-azure-illustrious emperor
  • Taiji Tianhuang Dadi-ultimate heaven emperor
  • Chang'e, moon goddess who lives with the moon rabbit
  • Shang Di, the celestial emperor
  • Tian or Heaven
  • Xihe, sun goddess
  • Zhinü, weaver of the clouds
  • Xian, Taoist spirits associated with the sky and ''tian''

    Japanese

  • Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and the universe, ancestor of the emperors of Japan, and the most important deity in Shintoism.
  • Amenominakanushi, heavenly ancestral god.
  • Izanagi, creator of Japan and sky father.
  • Izanami, creator goddess of Japan with her husband; starts off as a sky goddess, but after she dies becomes a death/underworld/chthonic goddess.
  • Marici, Buddhist goddess of the heavens.
  • Tsukuyomi, god of the moon and brother of Amaterasu.

    Korean

  • Hwanin, sky god.
  • Hwanung, son of Hwanin.

    Thai

  • Phaya Thaen, the king of heaven, the protagonist in a Rocket Festival

    Vietnamese

  • Ông Trời, sky god in Vietnamese indigenous religion
  • Ông Tử Vi, king of the stars
  • Mẫu Cửu Trùng Thiên, she is the daughter of Ông Trời, the sister of the Mẫu Thượng Thiên, Mặt Trời, Mặt Trăng and also a goddess who rules the sky
  • Mẫu Thượng Thiên, she is the daughter of Ông Trời and also one of the rulers of the sky
  • Pháp Vân, cloud goddess
  • Thần Mặt Trời, goddess of the sun, daughter of Ông Trời
  • Thần Mặt Trăng, goddess of the moon, daughter of Ông Trời
  • Hằng Nga, the goddess who lives on the moon with uncle Cuội and Moon Rabbit

    Western Asian

  • Asherah, sky goddess and consort of El; after the rise of Yahweh, she may have become Yahweh's consort before she was demonized and the Israelite religion became monotheistic
  • Baalshamin, "Lord of the Heavens"
  • El, original sky god and sky father of the Semitic speakers

    Iranian

  • Asmān, god of sky
  • Māh, god of the moon
  • Ohrmazd, sky father, the Great God
  • Tīštar, god of Sirius star and Rainfall.
  • Xwarxšēd, god of the sun

    The Americas

Haitian

  • Badessy, Vodou loa associated with the sky.

    Incan

  • Chaska Coyllur, goddess of beauty, flowers and young maidens. Personification of planet Venus.
  • Chuqui Chinchay, incarnation of various stars and meteorological phenomena.
  • Coyllur, goddess of all the stars.
  • Illapa, god of the sky, atmospheric phenomena and war.
  • Inti, god of the Sun.
  • Kon, god of the wind and rain.
  • Kuychi, god of rainbows.
  • Pachakamaq, creator and sustainer god of all the universe.
  • Mama Killa, goddess of the Moon.
  • Viracocha, heavenly father and god creator of all that exists.

    Inuit

  • Anguta, sky father and psychopomp.
  • Ataksak, goddess of the sky.
  • Negafook, god of weather systems.
  • Torngarsuk, god of the sky.

    Iroquoian

  • Atahensic, Iroquois sky goddess who fell to Earth at the time of creation.

    Lakota

  • Anpao wichapi, the Morning Star spirit, bringer of knowledge and new beginnings
  • Han, the spirit of night, representative of ignorance
  • Wanbli Gleska, the Spotted Eagle spirit, usually regarded as Wakan Thanka
  • Hanwi, the moon spirit of knowledge, feminine power, sometimes considered to be the wife of Wi
  • Mahpiya Oyate, the Cloud People, also known as the Wichapi Oyate
  • Wohpe, the spirit of meteors or falling stars, also the spirit of beauty, love, wishes, dreams, and prophecy
  • Wakinyan, thunder spirit usually taking the form of a bird
  • Wi, the sun spirit responsible for bringing light and wisdom to the Lakota oyate
  • Wichapi oyate, the Star People, each having respective powers however they usually represent knowledge to some degree
  • Wichapi Hinhpaya, the Fallen Star, the son of Wichapi owáŋžila and Tapun Sa Win
  • Wichapi owáŋžila, the Resting Star or Polaris, the widower of Tapun Sa Win

    Lencans

  • Itanipuca, sky father and god of celestial bodies
  • Icelca, god of time and seasons

    Mayan

  • Cabaguil, god of the sky.
  • Hunab Ku, sky father.
  • Tzacol, sky god and creator deity.

    Puebloans

  • Ápoyan Ta'chu, sky father in Zuni mythology

    Taíno mythology

  • Yaya, supreme god in Taíno mythology

    Uto-Aztecan

  • Citlalincue, goddess of the Milky Way
  • Cipactonal, god of the daytime
  • Oxomoco, goddess of nighttime
  • Centzonmimixcoa, 400 gods of the northern stars
  • Centzonhuitznahua, 400 gods of the southern stars
  • Coyolxauhqui, goddess of the Moon
  • Meztli, goddess of the Moon
  • Tonatiuh, god of the Sun
  • Tianquiztli, star goddesses
  • Citlaltonac, god of male stars
  • Citlalmina, goddess of female stars
  • Citlaxonecuilli, goddess of Ursa Major
  • Eototo, Hopi head kachina and sky father

    Australian

  • Altjira, Arrernte creator and sky god.
  • Baiame, southeast Australian creator and sky god.
  • Bila, cannibalistic sun goddess.
  • Binbeal, god of rainbows.
  • Bunjil, Kulin creator and sky god.
  • Daramulum, one-legged emu sky god.
  • Numakulla, a pair of creator and sky gods.
  • Rainbow Serpent, creator god in many Aboriginal cultures associated with water, rain, and rainbows, though it also has a chthonic connection.

    Burmese

  • Akathaso, the spirits of the sky

    Etruscan

  • Ani, primordial god of the sky identified with the Greek Uranus and Roman Caelus
  • Tinia, god of the sky

    European

Albanian