An archetype is a model of a thing, like a template, upon which all similar things are patterned. It is believed that the human psyche has inherently within it certain ideas or patterns of thought that organize the world based on archetypes. Divine archetypes in Pagan religion refer to Gods and Goddesses who rule over specific realms or share personality traits across pantheons. For example, many different pantheons have a Mother Goddess and a Father God, a God or Goddess of Death and a Sky God or Goddess. These may share certain traits. In fact in ancient times when a group encountered a new culture they looked for their Gods within the new culture's pantheon. The Romans went so far as to cross out the names on temples of Celtic Gods and inscribe them with the names of their own equivalent Gods in some cases!
It is a matter of philosophical debate whether these Gods who share an archetype are the same Gods that simply go by different names in different places or whether these Gods are actually different individuals.
Some examples of divine archetypes include:
- The Dark Goddess and The Dark God
- Goddess Of Springtime
- God/dess Of The Dawn
- God Of The Sea
- Grain God/dess
- God Of War or Battle
- God/dess Of Love
- God Of Prophecy
- Messenger Of The Gods
- God/dess Of The Hunt
- Gods and Goddesses Of The Heavens
- God Of The Underworld
- The Dead or Dying God
- Father God
- King Of The Gods
- Solar Deities
- Crone Goddess
- Earth Mother
- Mother Goddess
- Lunar Deities
How can we improve this section?
You may want to consider adding Crossroads Gods to this list~!