Tethys, Goddess of Magic and Transition

Queen of Two Worlds, Mother of the Gods, Venerable One, Queen of Silver, Lady of the Watersmeet

Tethys is an important, but confusing deity. She is one of the Giants who created humanity, and gave birth to the gods, but when the gods rebelled in the First War, she sided with her children, betrayed her giant kin, and killed her husband Oceanus. She is therefore mother to the gods Llyr and Svarog, but is now also Llyr’s wife and mother to his children. Her priesthood describes her being a split deity having two souls, one who dwells in the Otherworld and is Llyr’s wife Tethys-Selene, and Tethys-Hecate who was his mother and dwells in the mortal world. Now that Llyr is dead or missing, he would be the second husband that she has lost, and some have begun to speculate if she has not killed Llyr herself for mysterious reasons unfathomable to mortals.

She is goddess of the moon and night sky. When she killed her first husband, the giant Oceanus, she tore the heart from his chest and placed it in the heavens so that all giants would know they had lost the war. She presides over the collection of deceased souls and sends them to their rewards or punishments. Her priests explain that the souls of the dead are drawn invisibly into the night sky, where Tethys and her servants collect them over time. As the moon grows brighter and more full, it is said to become filled with these souls. By the time of the new moon, Tethys has released the souls to their final fates in the afterlife.

Tethys is also goddess of freshwater, springs, and wells. Rivers glittering at night are her most sacred places. Bridges, fords, and places where waterways meet and diverge are also holy to her. Running water represents the barrier between the mortal world and the Otherworld, and at such places one might commune with loved ones who have passed over.

She is a goddess of boundaries and transition, whether crossing from one place to another, or moving into a new phase of life. Offerings are made to her upon beginning a new venture or journey, a marriage, or a birth. Although she is said to be split into two souls - one in each world, she is also said to inhabit all the liminal places, that are neither here nor there, neither one thing nor the other.

Her priests maintain her mysterious and otherworldly nature and reveal little about her to the common folk, except to demand offerings of silver to secure her blessings. Poorer folk may bring small effigies that depict in some way the reason they seek her attention. These small statues are then cast into the sacred rivers and pools where Tethys may find them.

Portfolio: Borders, Change, Freshwater, Liminality, Magic, the Moon, Night, Rivers, Souls, Stars, Time, Transition
Domains: Darkness, Magic, Repose, Travel, Water
Subdomains: Moon, Night, Portal, Rites, Rivers, Souls
Anathema: Spells which deny movement or travel (e.g. chains of light, dimensional anchor)
Favored Weapon: Spear
Holy Symbol: Horned Crescent
Associated Animals: Cats, Frogs, Owls
Superstitions: Seek her blessing when you cross a body of water, or you may be called to the moon before your time.
Dwelling: The Tethystarion, Star of Tethys, her magical castle which may appear in the Otherworld, amongst the Aurora Borealis, upon the Moon, or along any river she chooses.