Thou shalt have many Gods

Written by thehouseofvines

I am really appreciative for the feedback folks gave me concerning the tentative Starry Ram pantheon. I have modified the list so that it more clearly reflects the relationships that these divinities have with Dionysos, removed the entries that reflected their different aspects or epithets, and added some further entries to reflect sources I’ve got concerning their presence in the region. This is still a work in progress but better reflects what the Starry Ram is becoming.

A = Ally
E = Enemy
F = Friends & Family
U = Uncertain

Abaddōn [E]
Agrat bat Maḥalat [U]
Allāt [U]
Amalek [E]
ʿĂnāṯ [A]
The Ancestral Mothers [A]
The Angels [A]
Aphroditē [F]
Apollon [F]
Artemis [F]
ʾĂšērāh [F]
ʾAšmedai [F]
Asklepios [A]
Atargatis [A]
Athenē [F]
ʿAṯtart [A]
Aži Dahâka [E]
Baʿal [A]
Ba’alat Gebal [A]
Baḡdānā [E]
Beliar [E]
Belzebul [E]
The Bene ʾĔlōhīm [A]
Bes [A]
Bethēl [A]
The Charaktēres [A]
Chokmah [F]
Dagon [A]
The Daimōnes [U]
Deber [E]
Dhū-Šarā [A]
The Egrēgoroi [E]
Eišeth Zēnunīm [E]
Ēl ʻElyōn [A]
The ʾĔlōhīm [A]
Enki [A]
The Ephesia Grammata [A]
Gabriēl [A]
The Gigantes [E]
Hathor [F]
The Hebraika Grammata [A]
The Hellēnika Grammata [A]
Hera [F]
Heraklēs [F]
Hermēs [F]
Horus [A]
Hygeia [A]
Khnum [A]
Korē [F]
Lamaštu [E]
Legiōn [E]
The Lilīm [E]
Lilith [E]
Mār [A]
Mārāh [A]
Masṭēmā [E]
The Mazzikin [E]
Melqart [A]
The Mevakkaltas [E]
Michaēl [A]
Mōt [U]
Nabû [A]
Naamah [E]
Nanay [A]
Nemesōth [E]
The Nephilim [E]
Nsyt [E]
The Nymphai [A/F]
Nysa [F]
Pakeidas [A]
The Patriarchs [A]
Qeteb [E]
Qōs [A]
Raphaēl [A]
The Rephaim [E]
Rešep̄ [A]
The Ruḥot [U]
Samaēl [E]
Šamaš [A]
The Se’irim [F]
Sekhmet [A]
The Šedim [U]
Šemyāzā [E]
Seth [A]
Šezbeth [E]
Tammūz [A]
The Theoi Patrōoi [A]
The Theoi Sōtēres [A]
The Titans [E/A]
Tychē [A]
Typhōn [E]
Uriēl [A]
Yarikh [A]
Yahweh [F]
Zarnay [E]
Zeus [F]

15 thoughts on “Thou shalt have many Gods”

  2. So a quick question: it appears that Ashmedai has a very complex nature (both in Judaism and in the Starry Ram). Am I to understand that he is going to be venerated in the Starry Ram pantheon? Or at the very least engaged with? What will that look like?

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    1. ʾAšmedai is the reason Agrat bat Maḥalat is classed as “Uncertain,” and a couple of the imprecations I’d composed against her got shelved. He loves his mother very much and is fiercely protective of her (without deluding himself — or others — about who or what she is.) He showed up during a Shabbos rite our household was celebrating. We negotiated using the Tanakh for bibliomancy, his requests were very reasonable, and in the months since he has upheld his end of the bargain impeccably and without deceit. I do not normally advocate making compacts with demons or meddling in the occult, but ʾAšmedai is a very charming fellow (provided you don’t do something stupid like take an unprovoked run at his mother or interrupt his Torah-study.)

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      1. Is it possible that he will function similarly to Pazuzu in the Mesopotamian pantheon? As in, a demon who is honored to keep other demons at bay due to his high position among their race? And what are we to make of stories involving him and Solomon’s interactions? Did he throw Solomon 400 miles away out of revenge for having been taken captive or was he always going to do that? What’s the origin of his piety? If he is devoted to Yahweh then why not become an angel? It’s my understanding that not only does he study Torah but he actually tries to live by it. For instance, when Solomon was trying to capture him using wine, Ashmedai reminded himself of verses against overly indulging in wine. This is oddly temperate of an entity said to be a demon of wrath, lust, and gambling. What exactly is going on with him?

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        1. I love the Solomon stories, especially the one where ʾAšmedai sleeps with the wives and mother of Solomon while they are menstruating, and that is how the elders finally realize that their king has been replaced by the demon. All the other weird shit he’s been doing? Naw, that’s fine. But sex with menstruating women? Ha! Only a demon would do that.

          Incidentally, ʾAšmedai is not the only Torah-studying demon. The halakha of Rav Yusef (Joseph) the demon are cited several times in the Babylonian Talmud:

          https://www.academia.edu/35669737/2016_Rav_Joseph_the_Demon_in_the_Rabbinic_Academy_in_Babylonia_Another_Connection_between_the_Babylonian_Talmud_and_the_Magic_Bowls_?nav_from=7101179b-40e0-4751-885f-3619f30ef849

          Which often consist of him ratting out his own kind; for instance he informs us that if we drink an even number of cups of wine at a gathering we’ll be subject to harassment from demons on our way home, but if it’s odd we’re fine. (Sounds kinda Pythagorean.) But, if you want to conceal how you acquired this knowledge, introducing yourself as “Joseph the Demon” probably isn’t the best way to do that, even if you preface the admission with the honorific Rabbi. Especially if you’re having sex with the women of the village on their periods, the elders will eventually figure it out.

          I don’t think that this is necessarily going to come up for most members of the Starry Ram, unless they happen to be chosen as Hymnōdai who walk the White Way, in which case part of their curriculum will involve studying Jewish monster-hunting methods:

          https://jewishmonsterhunting.com/

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          1. You know, the more I learn about Judaism, the more I find American expressions of Christianity to be so bizarre in their lack of nuance. I have zero clue how any of these people think their tradition is any actual continuation of Judaism (aside from the fact that they know nothing about Judaism which allows them to weaponize their ignorance and make up whatever the fuck they want)

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            1. Supersessionism is the worst; except, maybe, when they appropriate elements they think are part of Judaism. For instance I saw a Messianic Jewish televangelist once; if you sent him a love gift he would send you a paper prayer shawl. It was about the size of a place mat. I’m not sure how you were supposed to use it, except maybe by putting it on your head.

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                1. Ah, but the holy place mat amplified your prayers because it had Jesus’ name in Hebrew, making it easier for God to hear them. How could you not want that?!?

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                    3. I was making fun of something that John Lennon said in an interview; basically that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. While Revolver is a pretty decent album I doubt it’s come close to saving as many people as the Galilean.

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                    4. As long as no impressionable young people read JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye you should be safe from assassination attempts.

                      Wait… Didn’t I read that in high school?… Oh no…

                      *sounds of struggle can be heard*

                      I… can’t… fight it… SANNION WATCH OUT

                      *gunshot*

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