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In mediaeval demonology, sabat was the name given to the nocturnal assembly in which demons and sorcerers were thought to celebrate their orgies.
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The Sabians were a sect which arose about 830 and who followed a religion of the ancient Syrians modified by Hellenic influences.
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Sajara is the Rainbow-god of the Songhai people of eastern Mali. He is represented by a forked tree where a white ram is sacrificed to him.
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The Salamanders are elementals evolved in the realm of Fire.
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The Sam was an ancient Egyptian amulet for sexual pleasure.
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In Christian mythology, Santa Claus (corrupted from the Dutch Sante Klaas meaning Saint Nicholas) is the personification of the spirit of Christmas. The name Santa Claus originated in the USA during the late 18th century, in Europe the name Saint Nicholas - the patron saint of Children in the Roman Catholic church - was used, and around the start of the 20th century the term Father Christmas was adopted in Britain, presumably deriving from the term 'Father' being a highly respected teacher or priest of the Christian church. The tradition of hanging up a Christmas stocking on Christmas eve for Santa Claus or Father Christmas to fill with presents, is an old Dutch tradition which soon caught on in Britain.
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In Vedic mythology, Saranyu was the daughter of Tvashtri. She married Vivasvat and bore him twin children, Yama and Yami, the first humans. Then afraid of her husband's dazzling radiance, she hid among the clouds, leaving in her place and exact replica of herself.
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The Scarab was an Egyptian amulet associated with Khepera.
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In Inuit mythology, Sedna (Arnarquagssaq, Nerrivik, Nuliajuk) was the daughter of Anguta and his wife. In some accounts she married a dog, and her father angry at this threw her overboard from a canoe where she sank to the depths and lives still as queen of the monsters and demons of the Underworld.
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In Persian mythology, the Seemurgh was a fabulous bird that could speak all the languages of the world, and was all knowing, being aware of past, present, and future events.
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In Abaluia mythology, Sela was the first woman, created along with the first man, Mwambu, by the creator, Wele so that the sun might have a people to shine for.
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In Hebrew mythology, the Seraphim are heavenly beings who hover over god's throne. They appear as almost human figures with faces, feet and hands, but also have six wings. Their office is to proclaim god's holiness and to purge sin from the prophet with altar coal.
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In Canaanite mythology, Shahar was the god of the dawn, and twin brother of Shalim. He was a son of El and Asherah.
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In Canaanite mythology, Shalim was the god of the dusk. He was the twin brother of Shahar and a son of El and Asherah.
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In Chinese mythology, Shang Te (or Shang Di) was the supreme being. He personified the power which generates life and causes growth.
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In Yoruba mythology, Shango is an earth god. He was the King of Oyo, but because his citizens were dissatisfied with his tyrannical rule he rode off into the forest and rose up into heaven where he became a god of thunder and lightning. He is the god of justice and fair play.
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In Canaanite mythology, Shapash is the sun goddess.
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The Shen was an ancient Egyptian amulet representing the sun's orbit and symbolising eternity.
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In Chinese mythology, Shing-moo was a nature goddess. She was the mother of perfect intelligence, and gave birth to a saviour son through an immaculate conception.
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In Kwakiutl and Bella Coola mythology (north-west Canada) Sisiutl was a water-snake with three heads: snake, human and snake. Its skin was so tough that no knife could pierce it and only a holly-leaf had sufficient magic.
Sisiutl lived in a pool behind the home of the sky-goddess Qamaits, and could be seduced from it down to earth by magic rituals - to help or to harm people depending upon the kind of magic.
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In Hua mythology, Sodza is the great god who lives in heaven and to whom the priests pray for rain.
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In Hua mythology, Sogblen is a god who mediates between priests and Sodza. He carries the priests prayers to Sodza and brings back promises of good crops.
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In Fon mythology, Sogbo is the god of thunder, lightning and fire.
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A solar myth is a personification of the sun. For example the twelve labours of Hercules have been described as an allegorical representation of the sun passing through the twelve signs of the zodiac.
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Solomon's Seal is a talisman comprising two interlaced equilateral triangles one pointing upwards and the other downwards.
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St Alexis is the patron saint of hermits and beggars.
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St Ambrose is the patron saint of bee keepers.
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St Anthony is the patron saint of gravediggers.
St Anthony is the patron saint of swine-herds and pigs.
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St Armand is a patron saint of hoteliers.
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St Avertin is the patron saint of lunatics.
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In Christian mythology, St Barbara was a woman of Nicomedia, in Asia Minor, and was beheaded by her father for having turned Christian, he being immediately thereafter struck dead by lightning. St Barbara is the patron saint of miners, artllerists. She is associated with and invoked in storms.
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St Barbary is the patron saint of arsenals and (formerly) powder magazines, and is also invoked for protection during thunder storms.
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St Benedict is the patron saint of Speleologists.
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St Brigid is the patron saint of dairymaids.
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St Cecilia is the patron saint of singers.
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The St Christopher is a Christian amulet comprising an image of the saint, Christopher, and providing protection to the wearer while travelling.
St Christopher was a martyr of the early church, beheaded in Asia Minor, according to tradition in the year 250. The Eastern Church celebrates his festival on the 9th of May, the Western on the 25th of July.
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St Claude is the patron saint of sculptors.
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St Clement is the patron saint of tanners. His symbol is a pot and his day November the 23rd.
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St Crispin is the patron saint of cobblers (shoemakers).
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St David is the patron saint of Wales.
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St Dorothea is the patron saint of florists.
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St Dunstan is the patron saint of goldsmiths.
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St Elizabeth is the patron saint of queens.
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St Eloi is the patron saint of artists and smiths.
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St Fiacre is the patron saint of taxi-drivers.
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St Florian is the patron saint of mercers.
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St Gabriel is the patron saint of broadcasters.
St Gabriel is the patron saint of diplomats.
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St George is the patron saint of syphilitics.
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St Giles is the patron saint of horses.
St Giles is the patron saint of cripples and beggars.
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St Goodman (St Gutman) is a patron saint of tailors.
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St Homobonus is a patron saint of tailors.
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St Honoratus is the patron saint of bakers.
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St James is a patron saint of pilgrims and the patron saint of Spain. His symbol is the cockle.
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St Jerome is the patron saint of librarians.
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St John Bosco is the patron saint of editors.
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St Joseph is the patron saint of wine growers.
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St Julien is a patron saint of hoteliers.
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St Louis is the patron saint of barbers.
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St Luke is the patron saint of artists. His day is October the 18th.
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St Martha is the patron saint of good housewives.
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St Mary Magdalene is the patron saint of penitents.
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St Mathurin is the patron saint of fools and idiots.
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St Matthew is the patron saint of tax collectors.
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St Mennas is a patron saint of pilgrims
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St Nicholas is the patron saint of children. St Nicholas was the Roman pontiff Nicholas I also known as Nicholas The Great, who was pontiff from 858 to 867 and who excommunicated Photius of Constantinople, causing the separation of the Eastern and Western Christian Churches. Adopted as the personification of the spirit of Christmas, his Dutch name was corrupted in the USA during the 18th century into the modern 'Santa Claus'.
St Nicholas, as Father Christmas or Santa Claus is first mentioned in the poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' by Clement Clarke Moore, published in 1822. In this poem the description of St Nicholas as we know him today is first made, and not as many believe by a 1920's Coca-Cola advertisement! In the poem St Nicholas is described as: 'a little old driver, so lively and quick ... dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot...a bundle of toys he had flung on his back, and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack. His eyes - how they twinkled! his dimples how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, and the beard of his chin was as white as the snow; the stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath; he had a broad face and a little round belly, that shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf.' The poem also describes how he drives a sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeer, and how he visits houses via the chimney and fills stocking left out by the children full of toys.
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St Pancras is a patron saint of children.
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St Paul is the patron saint of preachers and tentmakers.
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St Peter is the patron saint of fishermen and fishmongers.
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St Piran is a patron saint of tanners.
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St Roche is the patron saint of invalids.
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St Sebastian is the patron saint of pin makers and of archers.
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St Severus is the patron saint of fullers.
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St Stephen is the patron saint of bricklayers.
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St Thomas is the patron saint of architects.
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St Venerius is the patron saint of lighthouse keepers.
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St Vincent is the patron saint of drunkards.
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Wt Wilfrid is the patron saint of bakers.
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St Winifred is the patron saint of virgins.
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St Yves is the patron saint of lawyers.
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St Zita is the patron saint of domestic servants.
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In mediaeval Christian mythology, Succubae were female demons who were supposed to seduce and have sexual intercourse with men while they slept.
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In folk-lore, Succubus were female spirits who seduced men and had intercourse with them whilst they slept.
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In Sri Lankan mythology, Sumana is a god of the sun.
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In Slavic mythology Svyatogor was a hero who fought monsters, notably the demon Nightingale, a bird-headed human whose weapons were hurricanes. After Christianity he became called Ilya Muromets, one of the bogatiri and in this form he is accredited with building the cathedral at Kiev.
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The swastika is an ancient religious symbol and amulet for good luck, dating from Neolithic times, and occurring in ancient Greek and Egyptian art. It has the form of an equal armed cross with the ends of the arms all bending in the same direction at right angles. It was introduced into Europe in the 16th century and used extensively in Christian art. It was adopted by Hitler and the Nazi part as their symbol during the 1930's and subsequently lost popular appeal.
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In Rosicrucian mythology, a sylph is a fairy-like being holding an intermediate place between the material and immaterial and inhabiting the air.
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The Sylphs are elementals evolved in the realm of Air.
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In Guarani mythology, Sypave was the first woman, the mother of the whole human race and the wife of Rupave.
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Abbreviations
Mythology
