Gods Of Gambling: Deities And Their Contribution

Hermes is a name you might be familiar with. With winged sandals and a little round hat, he is the Greek God’s messenger and escorts to the Underworld. Hermes is the Greek Lord of Gambling, who was prayed to before participating in a gambling game.

Hermes has been dubbed as such because of his status as a sly trickster and his desire to outwit the other gods.

He is known as the guardian of human heralds, but he is often portrayed as a charlatan, capable of outmanoeuvring other deities for the sake of humanity or personal gain.

Lakshmi is the name that people call when they require a little luck in the casino. She is the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity. She has been worshipped for over two thousand years by three separate sects! In honour of this Hindu goddess, the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika is celebrated with the 5-day festival, Diwali. Many people assemble during this time to bet and, of course, hope for a lucky winning hand.

Thoth is best known as being the God of art, wisdom, language, knowledge, magic, poetry, judgement, science and has almost the same powers as Hermes. This Egyptian deity is usually represented with a man’s body and an ibis bird’s head. He is also the deity responsible for the invention of writing.

Some consider Thoth to be the Egyptian equivalent of Hermes since the two have several parallels. There is a Temple of Thoth in Khemenu, also known as Hermopolis, which was devoted to both Hermes and Thoth!

Then there’s Gefion, the Norse deity of unmarried women. Gefion is a goddess associated with the Danish territory of Zealand, the popular Danish king Skjöldr, the mythical Swedish ruler Gylphi, and investing, wisdom, and virginity, as per Norse mythology. Gefion was the fourth goddess of the Æsir, after Eir, Frigg, and Sága, according to the Literary Edda.

The next name on our list is Dazbog, a major deity in Slavic mythology who is mentioned in a number of mediaeval manuscripts. Dazbog was a Sun, Flame, and Rain god. He was regarded as a “giving-god” and was called an ancestral god, a traditional function of a culture hero stereotype in mythologies. The most accurate literal translation of Dabog is “dispenser of fortune.”

Mercury, the Roman God of fortune and financial reward, is another god associated with Hermes. Mercury, the gods’ and goddesses’ fleet-footed messenger, is Jupiter’s son. He is the deity of traders, passengers, and merchandise transporters and the guardian of thieves and frauds, per the Roman religion.

Gad was a pan-Semic deity of luck who is often described in the Book of Isaiah in the bible. He was generally represented as a male but was sometimes regarded as a female. The shortness of his given name Gad (which means wealth and happiness), reveals nothing about his personality and identity. Assuming that Gad arose as a personification, devotion to this God has been regarded as a relatively recent religious practice.

Nohoilpi is also known as the Great Gambler. Nohoilpi, who was always cloaked in legend, liked to play games and was really competitive at them, as shown by the fact that he always won.

Every gambler wants to carry a lucky charm, so he wore a large turquoise talisman. He’d go around challenging others to games he was certain he would win. Nohoipili then won houses of families at some point and had enslaved many poor people. The gods then granted a common man exceptional gambling ability in order for him to defeat Nohoilpi and free all those enslaved. The citizens were freed, and Nohoipili was sent into the sky.

Nezha is a cheeky Chinese deity of luck and gambling. He is expected to announce lottery winning numbers.

The Jade Emperor sent Nezha to his mother’s womb to fight the demons on Earth. His mother carried him for 3 and 1/2 years old before having given birth to a blob of flesh.

His father, believing it to be a demon, charged the ball and cut it in half. Nezha appeared, not as a crying baby, but as a talking walking boy!

Tyche was the tutelary deity who ruled wealth and prosperity and was particularly revered and worshipped during the Hellenistic period. She was so beloved that Greek cities developed their own Tychai or popular variations of the original Tyche. This practice was replicated in Roman art iconography and still survived into the Christian era, often occurring in the empire’s most important cities.

Fortuna, Tyche’s Roman counterpart, is a goddess who is said to be in charge of fortune and wealth. She is usually depicted with a wheel of fortune and a horn of plenty, all of which spin and offer fate and luck directions.

Macuilxochitl is the Aztec God of gambling. He is among five gods who reflect overindulgence and excess. In Aztec culture, the digit five even reflects this sense of abundance.

Macuilxochitl means “five flowers” in the literal sense. Macuilxochitl, also identified as Xochipilli or the “Flower Prince,” is a multifaceted deity. This deity is in charge of some of life’s most beautiful and imaginative pleasures. This God is synonymous with music, dance, drawing, poetry, feasts, gaming, and of course, gambling.

Goddess Nortia, also recognized Etruscan (her Latin name), was known for her control over fate, opportunity, and time. Nortia is mentioned alongside other goddesses of destiny and chance, such as Sors and Tyche, Martianus Capella, who is affiliated with Fortuna.

St. Cajetan was a well-known defender of gamblers who also aided the unemployed, players, and paper controllers. He was also the co-founder of the Theatines and lived from 1480 to 1547. He had also seen hunger and pestilence. He was a religious reformer and Catholic priest. Saint Cajetan’s feast occasion is August 7th.

The Seven Lucky Gods are said to deliver good luck in Japanese mythology and are often depicted in netsuke, drawings, and sculptures. Jurōjin, the character of one of these gods, is said to be modelled on a historical character. People honoured this group of gods due to the value of the number 7 in Japan, which is a well-known emblem of good fortune.