totemism

Shrine of the household deities lares in Pompeii, showing the offering altar and a niche for votive images

Household Deity

Household Deity A household deity ( or Household gods) is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit into two types; firstly, a specific deity – typically a goddess –...

New Mexico Land Healing Nature Shamanic Altar

Nature Worship

Nature Worship Nature worship is any of a variety of religious, spiritual and devotional practices that focus on the worship of the nature spirits considered to be behind the natural phenomena visible throughout nature. A nature deity can be in charge of nature, a place, a biotope, the biosphere, the cosmos, or the universe. Nature worship is often considered the primitive...

Totem Pole Indian Native Culture Symbol Wood

Totemism

Totemism Totemism is an aspect of religious belief centered upon the veneration of sacred objects called totems. Totemism is derived from the term “ototeman” in the Ojibwe language, meaning “brother-sister kin”.  A totem is any animal, plant, or other object, natural or supernatural, which provides deeply symbolic meaning for a person...

Tengri in Old Turkic script

Tengrism

What Is Tengrism? Tengrism, also known as Tengriism, Tenggerism, or Tengrianism, is a Central Asian religion characterized by shamanism, animism, totemism, polytheism, and monotheism, and ancestor worship. It was the prevailing religion of the Turks, Mongols, Hungarians, Bulgars, Xiongnu, and, possibly, the Huns, and the religion of the several medieval states: Göktürk Khaganate, Western Turkic...

Totem poles and houses at 'Ksan, near Hazelton, British Columbia.

Totem Pole

Totem Pole Totem poles are monumental carvings, a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually made from large trees, mostly western red cedar, by First Nations and indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest coast including northern Northwest Coast Haida,...