List of Lithuanian Deities and Nature Spirits

Niina Pekantytär
4 min readJun 30, 2020

Aitvaras — Mythical being. Takes shape of a fiery bird or a snake. Protector spirit and bringer of wealth and prosperity.

Alkas — Lithuanian sacrificial place in nature.

Austėja — Goddess of the bees. Protector of brides and pregnant women.

Aušrinė — Morning star.

Burtai — A spell or a magical incantation.

Burtininkas — Practitioner of magic. Witch, wizard, magician.

Dagotuvės — Autumn Equinox.

Dalia — Giver and taker of material goods. Incarnations: swan, lamb, rock, duck and goose.

Dausos — The residence of the souls after death. Souls travelled to Dausos through Milky Way.

Dievas — God of the skies, light, peace, order, justice and cultural values.

Dimstipatis — God of the hearth. Protector of homes from fire.

Egle — Mythical serpent queen. Human-snake shape shifter. Snake goddess.

Ežerinis — God of lakes.

Gabija — Goddess of home and the hearth-fire.

Gabjaujis — God of covered fire.

Giltinė — Goddess of death. Sister of Laima the goddess of faith. One of the three aspects of the faith goddess.

Gyrates — Protector spirit of the forest.

Gyvatė — Snake goddess.

Ilgės — Ancient feast day honouring the dead. Later known as Vélinés.

Jorė — Feast celebrating the arrival of spring. Later known as Jurginés.

Juratė– Mythical mermaid queen of the Baltic sea.

Kalėdos — Winter Solstice.

Kalvelis — Heavenly smith.

Kaukai — Mystical powers of magic.

Laukpatis — Protector of domestic animals and farmland.

Lauksargis — Protector of arable land.

Laumė — Aspect of Laima and Ragana. Protector of women, children, pregnancy, orphans and lost children. Goddess of faith.

Lazdona — Protector goddess of nuts, nut trees and nut-groves.

Marša — Protector goddess of cows and birthing calves.

Medeina Goddess of the forest.

Mėnuo, Mėnulis — God of the moon.

Miškinis, Girinis — God of the forest. Spirit of the woodlands. (from the Lithuanian words miškas, giria meaning forest).

Pagirinis — God of grass snakes. Ancient Lithuanians kept grass snakes as their pets. Pagirinis protected the home and the hearth-fire.

Pavasario lygė — Spring Equinox.

Perkūnas — God of rain, thunder and justice.

Puškaitis — Incarnation of the earth.

Ragana — Goddess of witchcraft, death and dying nature. In modern LithuanianRagana means a witch.

Rasa — Feast of the summer solstice.

Samboriai — May festival celebrating the end of spring labours and the re-birth of nature.

Saulé — Goddess of the sun, cosmological mother of all deities in the Baltic pantheon.

Siela — The soul of a living person. The lifeforce of the body. It can leave the body temporarily during sleep and forever at the time of death.

Skalsa — The embodiment of plenty, prosperity and good fortune. Skalsa used to be celebrated in harvest time. Their symbol is the horn of plenty.

Stabas — Idol, the image of a deity/spirit.

Žaltys — Sacred serpent. Divine messenger of the gods. It was forbidden to harm or kill snakes in ancient Lithuania.

Žvéryné — Goddess associated with the evening star. Holds power over animals, the hunt and the earth.

Žemyna — Mother earth, goddess of fertility and fruitfulness. The receiver of death and creator of new life.

Véjopatis — Goddess of the wind.

Vélé — Soul of a dead person.

Vélinés — Lithuanian Day of the dead celebration.

Velnias — God of the underworld, the receiver of death. Trickster god.

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Niina Pekantytär
Niina Pekantytär

Written by Niina Pekantytär

Niina is an Illustrator, writer and folklorist. Likes cats, tea, 19th century books and period dramas. Host of the Little Women Podcast.

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