Just a quick little update. My grandma’s health has been on the decline for a while now but now she’s been put into hospice care. This has been an extreme weight on my heart and coupled with my job I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to post my art. I’ll try to keep it steady but please forgive me if I go a while without anything. I’m sorry.

Make-Make was actually the first post I redesigned. I wasn’t happy with the first one and felt like it was unfinished, so I added and tweaked a few features. The markings throughout Make-Make’s body are based on the Rapanui’s rock carvings and their body paint. The pattern on his chest and head is specifically based on Make-Make’s symbol that was carved on numerous rocks across Easter island. The structure of his head is modeled after the Tangata Manu carvings as well. The tassels on his legs are based on the similar tassels Rapanui men would wear around their ankles. Despite the post remaining relatively unseen I’m extremely proud of the design I came up with for Make-make, it’s probably one of my favorites.

Make-make, supreme creator god of the Rapa nui (the people of Easter island). Not just a god of creation, Make-make also represented birds and fertility. Despite Make-make’s great cosmological significance and significant worship, like much of the culture of the Rapa nui, many of Make-make’s myths are lost to time. However, one surviving myth tells of the creation of humanity. After the creation of the cosmos, Make-make, gazed at his reflection, creating his first son Haua. Still feeling alone, Make-make made several attempts to create a new species, resulting in many of the different animals across the world. In his final attempt Make-make made man from red earth.

In the small glimpses we’ve had into Rapa nui mythology, Make-make was extremely prevalent. Though theorized to be a mutated and localized version of the Polynesian god Tane, the history of the worship of Make-make or really any other Rapa nui god is still unclear due to the lack conservation efforts taken to preserve and write down their oral culture.

Here’s an older (and slightly unfinished) rendition of my design for the Dagda. I was just scrolling through my photos when I found it, and honestly I’m kinda glad I had it. It’s nice seeing how much I’ve grown as an artist, just looking at janky pose compared to my newer stuff is almost night and day! But I am a little amazed at how well I drew his left arm, I really must’ve locked in when I drew that part lol.

Inanna, the ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, fertility, beauty, and love. Born from the moon god Nanna, Inanna is young and unruly, constantly trespassing onto other god’s domains. However she’s incredibly strong as the other gods feared her mere presence. Inanna held many lovers, however it is known that she doesn’t treat them with the highest respect, sometimes she’s even accused of abusing them. Despite this when her lover Dumuzid had been murdered she personally travelled to the underworld and brought him back to the world of the living. Her most prevalent role came in the epic of Gilgamesh, wherein Gilgamesh rejected Inanna’s proposition for him to become her new consort. Angered by his decision Inanna sent the bull of heaven to attack Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh however was able to kill the bull, but not without losing his closest companion Enkidu.

Inanna is the first of the many names given to the goddess, the name Ishtar was given to her later on by the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Despite her being a goddess of love and being called the queen of heaven, she was never once depicted by her worshipers as a mother goddess, scant few sources even mention her being a mother at all. Her origin traces back to the Semitic goddesses Astarte and Anat, with Inanna’s war and fertility traits most likely being derived from them. Inanna was also conflated with the Arabian Al-lat, an ancient Arabian mother goddess. Her worship was incredibly popular, as she held more titles and stories dedicated to her than any other god in Mesopotamia, she’s even mention in the Bible. Her cult was also very sexually inclusive, as those outside the binary norm found solace in her worship.

Eve, the first woman throughout the Abrahamic faiths. Created from the first man, Adam’s, rib, Eve was created to be a companion for the lonely Adam. The two of them fell in love, with them enjoying the paradise of Eden. One day however a snake spoke to the two, it manipulated the innocent humans to defy God’s will and eat from the tree of knowledge. Because of this Eve and Adam were cast out of Eden. Despite the newfound darkness within their hearts the two stayed together, from their love birthed two children Cain and Able. Cain grew jealous of Able and in a cold fit of envy, murdered him. As punishment Cain was banished forever rejected from his family forced to forever wander without end, for his transgression God cursed Cain with a touch that would wither and kill anything he touched. Despite this tragedy Eve gave birth to many more children, most importantly Seth, the originator of the biblical blood line of kings.

Eve is one of the most important figures in all of the Abrahamic religions. She is given a significant amount of reverence in most denominations, though some cast her in a negative light placing the blame for the fall entirely on her despite there being little to no canonical basis for such radical blame. An idea first recounted in some Kabbalist beliefs was that Eve was Adam’s second wife, the first being Lilith who was cast out and turned into a demon. In Gnosticism she’s seen as the human embodiment of Barbelo, the primordial female principle emanated from the real God, similar to how Adam was said to be in God’s image. In Christian tradition, Eve was said to be the precursor to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, to the point where Mary was said to be the second Eve. Eve is believed to be the Abrahamic version of the divine mother goddess, this is accentuated by her connection to the original Semitic mother Goddess Asherah, the both of them sharing many of their names and roles.

Fomorians, a race of dark demons that came from the sea. Many descriptions of this race have been circulated throughout history, Christian authors state that they were the human survivors of the great flood, while traditional Irish stories state that they had the heads of beasts and dealt with death and plague. They consistently menaced humanity and the Tuatha dé, enslaving them both during their reign. In the beginning, when the Dagda had accidentally slayed his father Donn, his mother Danu wept a great amount of tears in her grief washing away their children: the Tuatha dé dannan. Her tears became the mighty ocean while Donn’s body became the land. Within the depths of the ocean Danu’s grief and rage coalesced to form the Formorians, the disasters and strife that plague the earth given form. From the earth of the mighty Donn rose a mighty tree whose fruit was the human race.

The origin myth above is my own interpretation of the reconstructed cosmogony of the pagan Irish religion. It’s gathered from the origin of humanity, of which the Irish state to be descended from the death god Donn, I interpreted the fomorians as Danu’s own race descended from her, as the fomorians are repeatedly said to be the children of Domnu a god also associated with the sea along with similar etymologies to Danu. (this is just my interpretation and I encourage those interested to do their own research). The Fomorians themselves weren’t all considered to be evil as some of them married and were apart of the Tuatha dé, such is the case for Lugh who was half Fomorian. The Fomorians were depicted as raiders due to the recent Viking attacks on Ireland. In modern scholarship the Fomorians are compared to the Nordic Vanir as races who once battled the gods.

Haua Tu’u Taketake, usually shortened to just Haua, is a Rapanui god and chief companion of the creator Make-make. Haua’s epithet of “Chief of the eggs” illustrates his special connection to both the birds of the island and their eggs. Haua was born shortly after creation, when Make-make looked at his own reflection in the sea, with it taking the shape of Haua. The birds that once called Rapanui home had begun to dwindle due to the over hunting of their eggs. So Haua and Make-make drove the birds to the nearby Motu Iti and Motu Nui. The two then taught the islanders the ceremony of the Tangata-Manu selection, in order to keep peace on the island.

The Tangata-Manu ceremony was a contest held by the Rapanui in order to crown a new Tangata-Manu, translated as ‘bird-man’. The island’s priests would select others of great status to be the contestants of the ceremony. These contestants would then choose another person who would be the one to actually participate in the events, these selected people were called Hopu. Each of the contestant’s Hopus would all swim to Motu Nui and race to find the first Sooty Tern egg laid as the birds recently came back from migration. The Hopu who wins in this race calls out in victory as the other Hopu swim back in defeat. The contestant who choose the winning Hopu would then be crowned the Tangata-Manu with his clan gaining sole ownership over that season’s Sooty Tern eggs, along with being treated as especially holy for the next five months. The modern day Easter egg hunts are derived from this tradition.

I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to create a design I’m super proud of only to realize I can’t actually share it cause it’s a spoiler.

Kasogonagá, a weather goddess of the indigenous Toba people of Argentina. She takes the form of either an ant eater or elephant, being able to transform into whatever form suits her fancy at the moment, but is always clad in a rainbow of colors. She lives in the clouds above, shooting thunderbolts out of her mouth. Many stories of her benevolence have been told. One of which starts with a young man who found Kasogonagá on the ground, she explained that she had accidentally fallen from her cloud and needed help getting back up. The young man helped her make a bonfire, using the smoke given off to rise back into the sky. She thanked the young man, promising him and his family protection and fertile land, with the man becoming her shaman. Her most interesting myths come from her presence in relatively modern events. In the first story six Toba women were captured and sent to a concentration camp, but with the help of Kasogonagá they were able to escape. Another legend tells of how Argentinian police were sent to evict a group of indigenous Toba in a school. However when the Police went inside, Kasogonagá created a powerful lightning storm that trapped them indoors, the storm lasted long enough for the group to block the roads around the school trapping the police. With Kasogonagá’s help the Toba were able to escape the police.

Most people tend to divorce mythology from reality, like the events in fiction. But Mythology is intrinsically tied to reality, often times shifting the religious beliefs along with the flow of time. Kasogonagá greatly illustrates this as during the colonization era of Argentina, the Toba’s religious practices were demonized by the government. The violent tensions between the Toba and the Argentinian government led the Toba to greatly resist the government’s usurpation. These times were reflected into Kasogonagá, with her providing support to the discriminated Toba.

Ogma, Warrior god of language and intelligence. He forms a trinity with his brother the Dagda and Lugh to form the ‘three gods of skill’. Ogma is responsible for the creation of Ogham, the ancient writing system used by the Irish. Wielding a club, Ogma fought in the Tuatha Dé’s battle against the Firbolg, the first humans. However when both the Tuatha Dé and Firbolg were enslaved by the Fomorians Ogma was forced to carry firewood endlessly. When the two factions finally had enough they gathered to discuss a rebellion, the meeting was interrupted by the arrival of the god Lugh who wished to join. Ogma tested him by throwing a giant boulder over the horizon, Lugh responded by catching the stone before throwing it right back to Ogma. In the battle against the Fomorians Ogma slayed a third of their army. After the war Ogma, the Dagda, and Lugh went on a journey to take back the Dagda’s stolen harp.

Ogma is heavily associated with the Gaulish deity Ogmios, as both are warrior gods of language and eloquence. Ogma was referred to by the Roman’s under the name Heracles as a sort of romanization of the deity, trying to associate him with another Roman figure.

John Henry, a freed slave who, like a lot of black men of the time, could only find work in steel driving for the American railway system. Building the railroads was not only an arduous task but also a dangerous one, as workers dying from the conditions was a regular occurrence. Despite this John built the railroad with incredible ease, with one strike he could drive in a steel pike that would take ten men to drive in. Not only was John incredibly powerful, but he was also extremely kind, always doing his best to help others. Because of his qualities he quickly became well known by the railway workers, with them singing of his many deeds. One day while the workers were digging through a mountain, an inventor visited. The inventor paid no mind to the workers, ignoring them on his way to the foreman. He told the foreman that he had a steam powered drill that could replace the workers entirely. The foreman always willing to cut costs and expenses eagerly accepted, suddenly John appeared interrupting the two. In order to save the livelihoods of his coworkers John challenged the inventor to a competition, a race to see who could dig to the other side of the mountain first, John vs the steam drill. The inventor cockily agreed, however as the race began he saw that John cleaved straight through the rock, not only matching the drill but surpassing its speed. John shook the earth as his hammer thundered. The drill couldn’t keep up ultimately shaking itself to pieces, with John surpassing human limits and making his way through the entire mountain, lifting his hammer above his head in victory. But due to the stress put on his body John sadly died. The sound of thunder is attributed to the striking of his hammers.

Originally thought to have only been folklore, John Henry was a real steel driver. He was imprisoned for burglary at age 19, sentenced to 10 years in prison. But the prison leased him out to the railway company, essentially reselling him back into slavery. John Henry is an incredibly important African American icon, becoming a symbol of overcoming adversity and the working classes spirit.

Yam, the ancient Semitic deity of the sea and water. Yam was born of the Divine couple El and Asherah, making him the brother of the main pantheon of deities. Yam’s most important role was that of Baal’s rival. Their rivalry was sparked as the two were competitors for the title of king of the gods. However at first Yam held more influence than Baal, having the favor of both El and Asherah. Yam at the height of his power shows disrespect to the other gods including his father El. Eventually Baal and Yam agreed to a duel in which the loser would pull out of the competition for the king of the gods. Yam eventually gains the upper hand, but with the help or encouragement of his wives Anat and Astarte, Baal is revitalized and defeates Yam.

Yam has been one of the most influential deities to exist. His presence is echoed across a vast majority of Eurasian mythologies. From the myth of Indra fighting Vritra, to Perun fighting Veles, all of them are believed to have stemmed from a memory of Yam’s battle with Baal. Even Tiamat owes her origin to Yam. Yam has even left a trace in monotheistic religions, as the Climate Beast Leviathan of Abrahamic faiths is a direct successor to Yam. Despite Yam being distinctly a Semitic deity, he was also attested in Egyptian myths. In Egypt his rival was Set who was conflated with Yam’s original rival Baal. Yam held many other names and titles, such as Nahar meaning “river”. Yam’s original name however comes from the Ugaritic word for the Sea.

Fionn mac Cumhaill, pronounced Finn Macool, is an Irish folk hero. He became the leader of a warrior band called the Fiana after both defeating its leader and killing a fire spirit with his sword Mac an Luin. He accidentally gained the ability to tap into universal knowledge by sucking his thumb after being burnt by the fish of knowledge. Fionn met his future wife in the form of a deer, noticing that his dogs acted weird around the deer, Fionn was intrigued, bringing the deer back to his home. As soon as they stepped foot onto his land the deer transformed into a woman with Fionn falling in love with her, she confided that an evil Druid transformed her into her deer form. However one day when he was out hunting she was taken once more by the evil druid, never being seen again. When Fionn went out looking for her, he found a young fawn that once again piqued his interest, bringing it back to his home it transformed into a young boy, his son. Fionn isn’t believed to be dead, on the contrary it’s said that he’s in a deep slumber, and once Ireland is threatened he will emerge once more to defend his people.

Fionn’s name come from his light hair, Fionn meaning fair hair. Fionn mac Cumhaill is one of the most prolific and popular culture heroes from Ireland along with Cú chulainn and Lugh. According to some traditions, Fionn is the great grandson of Nuada, the god of hunting. Fionn’s genealogy doesn’t end there as he’s also commonly depicted as the descendant of the Firbolg warriors who fought the Tuatha dé Dannan.

Set, the Egyptian god of the desert, storms, chaos, and foreigners. Set was born from the gods Nut and Geb, and fathered the god of death: Anubis. Once a great warrior god, Set killed his brother Osiris for the throne of the king of the gods. Set desecrated Osiris’ body, scattering the pieces of his brother’s corpse across the earth. Greatly angered by Set’s monstrous act, Horus, Osiris' son, declared war upon Set. They had many competitions and fights, but in the end Horus succeeded in their battle. The ultimate fate of set differs on time period and location. In some myths Horus kills him, in others he’s driven out.

Set was an incredibly important God among the ancient Egyptians. Originally Set was one of the main points of worship within the Egyptian pantheon, especially in upper Egypt. Seen as a great warrior, Set defended Ra’s bark as it traveled through the night, fighting off the great Apophis who desired to consume Ra. As the god of foreigners, Set became intrinsically tied to the gods of other peoples, none more prevalent than the Canaanite Baal. Baal’s influence on Set was so important that many of Baal’s myths were transferred over to Set along with his wives Astarte and Anat, boosting Set’s popularity and synchronizing him with Baal. However after the ancient Egyptian civil war, Set became associated with rebellion. Set’s popularity reached a point of no return as Egypt was continually invaded by rival nations, spurring a new sense of xenophobia, and with Set being a god of foreigners this greatly affected his image. He was no longer seen as the righteous Set he once was, he was now an evil god of chaos whose jealousy built into murderous intent, fully demonizing him.

Kim-un-Kamuy, the Ainu Kamuy of bears and mountains. One of the most revered Kamuy, Kim-un-Kamuy is praised for his strength. However at the beginning of creation another Kamuy who rivaled Kim-un-kamuy’s strength challenged the bear Kamuy. This Kamuy was known as Etaspe-Kamuy, the Kamuy of Sea Lions. The two agreed to settle their rivalry with a race, whoever lost would have their respective species be banished to the sea. Though the race was close, the mighty Bear spirit won, with the Sea lions being banished to the Sea. In spite of their loss, Etaspe-Kamuy will provoke Kim-un-Kamuy by sending his Sea lions onto the shore, while Kim-un-Kamuy will send his bears to push them back into the sea. Another myth describes that when Kim-un-kamuy’s wife and daughter got lost in the mortal world, an Ainu village found them. When Kim-un-Kamuy came to rescue them, the village surprised him with a wonderful feast, a feast so delicious and wonderful that it lured several other Kamuy. At the end of the feast as Kim-un-Kamuy was leaving the village promised him that if any of his family were to be lost in the mortal world again, they’d guide them back to Kim-un-Kamuy with another banquet.

Kim-un-Kamuy is one of, if not, the most well known Ainu Kamuy. His importance among the Hokkaido Ainu is magnified due to the island being a mountainous region, as well as Hokkaido being the home of many brown bears. However the most conversed aspect of the worship of Kim-un-Kamuy is the sending back ritual. The ritual entails an Ainu village adopting an orphaned or abandoned bear cub. For a year the villagers raise the cub, feeding it and treating it with the up most amount of love. After a year passed the villagers then shoot the bear cub to death with arrows. The Cub’s death isn’t seen as cruel or inhumane to the Ainu, as in their belief, the cub’s death sends it back to its originator: Kim-un-Kamuy, in a sense continuing the tradition of the 2nd myth mentioned above.

Designing the Dagada was almost instinctual for me. I already had the design mapped out in my head before I even put it onto paper, not only that but I didn’t even need to tweak the design at all. With fatherhood being a focal point of the Dagda I saw it fit to model him off my own father, his round face, great beard, and bright smile was the epitome of fatherhood to me. I also couldn’t forget the Dagda’s signature club and cauldron, of which I imagine he uses his cauldron as a makeshift holster for his club.

The Dagda, the first born and powerful chief of the Tuatha dé danann, he’s Married to the goddess the Morrigan. The Dagda is a god of many things, such as: fertility, strength, fatherhood, magic, weather, plant life, druidry, wisdom, life and death. To accentuate his many faceted qualities, his title of ‘the Dagda’ means ‘the good god’ attesting his excellence at all things. He may be the true identity of the god Briain, the first son of Donn and Danu. Briain, underestimating his own strength, killing his father in an attempt to free his other siblings from his parent’s embrace. The Dagda was also a major player in the wars against the Firbolg and the Fomorians. The Dagda’s role however wasn’t as great as his brother’s: Nuada. But when Nuada was injured in battle, the Dagda carried him back to safety.

Like most of the Irish Celtic gods, after christianization, the Dagda’s divinity was stripped away, with Christian writers depicting him as a mere sorcerer. But his popularity endured, those same Christian writers immortalized his myths in written form. The Dagda was also commonly conflated with the Norse Odin, The Dagda is also connected to the Vedic god Varuna.

Asherah, the original mother goddess of the early Semitic mythos. She was the wife of the supreme god El. Asherah birthed the Canaanite pantheon, from Baal and Astarte to Yam and Mot, all of them were born from her union with El. Asherah’s origins are unknown, however it’s believed that she was the feminine aspect of El. In one of the few surviving myths, Asherah is shown as Yam’s biggest supporter for the throne of the chief god. Her epithet of ‘Asherah of the sea’ illustrates just how important their relationship was. Despite her support, Yam ultimately loses to Baal for the throne. Asherah in modern abrahamic faiths was reduced to a false idol, with her ‘poles’ being targeted and destroyed.

Asherah is the earliest depiction of the Mother Goddess trope, with her role in Canaan being so influential it affected the religious landscape. The Mother Goddesses became a ubiquitous feature among polytheistic religions, to the point where the absence of one is something to note. Though her name was demonized in modern times, her essence still lives on in her descendants faiths. As Eve from the garden of Eden is proposed to be derived of Asherah. As El was the predecessor of the Abrahamic God, Asherah’s relationship to the omnipotent deity has become a focal point for her. Her legacy may even live on in the feminine aspect of modern god: Shekinah, and the gnostic Aeon: Sophia.