Difference between revisions of "Femme"

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How to Fuse

Datsue-Ba

Main article: Datsue-Ba

A Japanese demoness who looks like a hag. She robs the clothes of the dead before they cross the Sanzu River to Yomi, the netherland. The sin of the deaths is determined by the weight of their clothes, much like the role of Anubis in Egyptian myth.

Taraka

Main article: Taraka

In Hindu mythology, Taraka was a female Daitya and the daughter of the yaksa Suketu or the ashura Sunda. She was transformed into a Rakshasi by the sage Agastya and went to live in a forest on the Ganges. She would ravage the country around and had an insatiable lust for blood and carnal desires. Every night she would hunt for male victims and, if she found one that she liked, she would forcibly have sex with him and drain his life energy until he was dead. If she did not like the man, she would simply eat him, starting from his head.

According to the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, the sage Vishvamitra asked Rama to slay Taraka, but he was reluctant to kill a female. Rama decided to deprive Taraka of her ability to do harm by cutting off her arms and his brother Lakshmana cut off her nose and ears. However, Taraka used her powers of sorcery to hurl stones at the brothers and Rama was forced to kill her with an arrow.

Gorgon

Main article: Gorgon

Originally in Greek mythology, the poet Homer speaks of a single Gorgon, whose grim visage is set in the aegis shield of Zeus. The Gorgon is a female monster with sharp fangs, hair of venomous snakes, and sometimes golden wings and brazen claws. Anyone who looks upon the face of the Gorgon is turned instantly to stone. It wasn't until the writings of the poet Hesiod the the number of Gorgons was increased to three. These were; Stheno the mighty, Euryale the far-springer and Medusa the queen. According to Hesiod they were the daughters of the sea god Phorcys and Ceto and lived far in the western ocean. It was later suggested that there were produced by Gaia to aid the Titans against the gods, but were slain by Athena. Of the three Gorgons, only Medusa was ever portrayed as mortal in later tales. While it is true that in the ancient Greek depictions of Gorgons, they were hideous and frightening creatures to behold, more modern and poetic depictions of them are as beautiful maidens, but with hair of living, venomous snakes.

Yomotsu-Shikome

Main article: Yomotsu-Shikome

The Yomotsu-shikome in Japanese mythology are residents of the underworld, or Yomi. In the myth, Izanagi, longing to be with his deceased wife Izanami, attempted to retrieve her from the Yomi. When he saw Izanami's rotten and ugly self, he ran away, and Izanami ordered the Yomotsu-shikome, the "old hags of the Yomi" to chase after him.

Lamia

Main article: Lamia

According to Greek mythology, Lamia was a Libyan royalty who fell in love with Zeus. She fell victim to Hera's jealousy, who turned her into a monster, murdered her children and cursed her so that she could not close her eyes. Consumed by her rage over losing her offspring, she would kidnap little children and drink their blood.

Yaksni

Main article: Yaksni

Originally the yakshinis (or yaksini) were the female counterparts to the yakshas, and were a race of lesser fertility goddesses worshipped by the Dravita people. There were thirty-six known yakshinis who were the attendants of the god of wealth, Kubera, and guarded his sacred treasure. They were depicted as beautiful naked women with wide hips, voluptuous breasts, and narrow waists. It wasn't until the local Dravita beliefs came into conflict with those of Hinduism that the yakshinis became demonised by the later. In Hindu mythology the yakshinis were seen as demonesses that tricked and seduced humans in order to bring about pain and misfortune, although they were still depicted as beautiful naked young women.

Dakini

Main article: Dakini

A dakini is a tantric deity described as an embodiment of enlightened energy that resembles a female.

In each of her various guises, she serves as each of the Three Roots. She may be a human guru, a yidam, or she may be a protector.