Liminal deity
A liminal deity is a god or goddess in mythology who presides over thresholds, gates, or doorways; "a crosser of boundaries".[1]
Etymology
The word "liminal", first attested to in English in 1884, comes from the Latin word "limen", meaning "threshold".[2] "Liminality" is a term given currency in twentieth century anthropology by Victor Turner of the University of Chicago.
List of liminal deities
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- Hecate, goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts, crossroads and necromancy
- Hermes, god of messengers, omens, roads, travellers, border crossings, trade, protection of the home, thievery, cunning wiles, and animal husbandry; messenger of the gods and guide of the dead[3]
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- Chen Wenlong, God of City Walls in Fuzhou
- Fan Zeng, God of City Walls in Hezhou and He county
- Guan Ying, God of City Walls in Longxing, Gan, Yuan, Jiang, Ji, Jianchang, Linjiang, Nanchang and Nankang
- Huang Xie, God of City Walls in Suzhou
- Huo Guang, Yu Bo and Chen Huacheng, Gods of City Walls in Shanghai
- Ji Shun, God of City Walls in Zhengzhou, Zhenjiang, Qingyuan, Ningguo, Taiping, Xiangyang, Xingyuan, Fuzhou, Nanan and Huating
- Jian Yi, God of City Walls in Tanghongzhou
- Jiao Ming, God of City Walls in Ezhou
- Liu Zhongyuan, God of City Walls in Liuzhou
- Pang Yu, God of City Walls in Xiaoxing
- Qu Tan, God of City Walls in Taizhou
- Shen Sheng, God of City Walls in Wuzhou
- Su Jian, God of City Walls in Yongzhou
- Te Xuan, God of City Walls in Jinan
- Wen Tianxiang, God of City Walls in Huangzhou
- Xiao He, God of City Walls in Gu
- Yang Jianshan, God of City Walls in Beijing
- Yao Yichung, God of City Walls in Xingguojun
- Ying Bu, God of City Walls in Zhenzhou and Liuhe
- Ying Zhixu, God of City Walls in Yunzhou
- Zhou Ke, God of City Walls in Jiangyin
- Zhu Yigui, God of City Walls in Xiaonanmen
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- Ganesha, a messenger of the gods and goddesses who must be propitiated before any of the other deities[4]
- Pushan, solar deity and psychopomp responsible for marriages, journeys, roads, the feeding of cattle, and overseeing the journey of the dead to the afterlife
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- Jangseung, a totem pole traditionally placed at the edges of villages to mark for village boundaries and frighten away demons; also worshipped as tutelary deities
- Munshin, Korean deity of the door. He was considered one of the most powerful of the house gods (Gashin), especially in Jeju Island.
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- Cardea, goddess of health, thresholds and door hinges and handles
- Forculus, Lima, and Limentinus, minor deities of thresholds or doorways; see indigitamenta
- Janus, dual-faced god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings and endings, for whom January is named
- Mercury, messenger of the gods and guide of the dead; equivalent to the Greek god Hermes
- Portunes, god of keys, doors and livestock
- Terminus, god who protected boundary markers
- Trivia, goddess of witchcraft, the three-way crossroads, and the harvest moon; equivalent to the Greek goddess Hecate
- Ellegua, the messenger god and psychopomp in Santería, Louisiana Voodoo, Haitian Voodoo, and Candomblé
See also
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Look up liminal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Notes
- ↑ "THE GREEK PANTHEON: HERMES". English Mythology Class Notes. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
- ↑ Harper, Douglas. "Online Etymology Dictionary". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
- ↑ Palmer, Richard E. "The Liminality of Hermes and the Meaning of Hermeneutics". The Liminality of Hermes and the Meaning of Hermeneutics. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
- ↑ Jenkins, Stephen. "GANESHA". Retrieved 10 October 2011.