DEITY OF: Knowledge and Medicine/Alchemy. Could also be invoked, to a much lesser extent, as a fertility and family-oriented goddess.
ASSOCIATED WITH:Â Libraries. Places of education/knowledge. Chirurgeons and all other forms of healing. Hospitals. Medicinal herbs and plants. Blood. Books. Ancient tongues. Sudden bursts of inspiration.
SACRED PLANTS:Â Snapdragon. Medicinal plants and herbs in general but especially lavender, yarrow, and daisy. Easter lillies.
SACRED STONES/GEMS:Â Gold, copper and platinum are widely used in chirurgeon and alchemist tools. Anything with amethyst is probably the best when used for an offering. She is also associated with bloodstone, blue lace agate, celestite, and sodalite for their various healing properties.
SACRED ANIMALS:Â First and foremost, the carbuncle--or any form of fox or cat with multiple tails. Statues of the Goddess Lily have depicted her either being protected by a bear, or sat astride a dragon. Very rarely are both animals depicted. To devote a carbuncle summoning in her name is to greatly please this goddess.
ASSOCIATED COLORS:Â Dark reds, purples, white. She also doesnât mind pale or icy blue colors.
ASSOCIATED FOODS:Â Sweets. Macarons are her favored, traditional treat, followed by cakes. She also adores tea and favors black variants among all the others.
ASSOCIATED SCENTS:Â Fresh mountain air. Freshly cut herbs. If the goddess is angered, one can almost swear they smell copper in the air, or taste blood in the back of their throat.Â
ACCEPTED OFFERINGS/WAYS TO HONOR:Â Lily is more of a benevolent or neutral deity. To avoid her wrath, one must not bring harm to knowledge: book burning, wanton and deliberate destruction of places of education and knowledge--these things turn the otherwise kind gaze of this deity baleful, and one would know her wrath directly if it came to it. Take care to handle books and all offerings of knowledge with care, and even better, pass it down to generations after so the knowledge is retained longer. She delights when people enjoy sweets (especially if they are gifts from someone they like!), and is saddened by people wasting food. She is ever watchful over chirurgeons and healers of all sorts, extending her joy when a patient recovers and mourning when a patient has lost their fight. When a patient has died, it can be said that the room suddenly smells faintly of lavender and lillies. Religious healers usually believe that this is the goddess helping to comfort the departed's soul before they are gathered to move on.
As an aside, the Goddess Lily also doubles as a protector of children, especially orphans. A rumor that mills about states that if a child who has recently lost their parents prays at a shrine of hers, they may disappear, only to return hale and healthy adults years and years later....
I was not tagged, but I saw so many other people doing this so I wanted to do it, too! And I did. And I encourage anyone who sees this and does it to tag me in it so I can read your stuff, too! âĽ