Results for "guardian"
50 entries found.
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreChinese guardian lions石獅 (shíshī)
Stone lion pairs placed at entrances to ward off harm and welcome fortuneCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreSphinx
A mythical hybrid with a human head and lion body, serving as guardian or riddler in Egyptian and Greek traditions.Being · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇷 FranceLady of the LakeDame du Lac
A water spirit who raises knights and captures wizards in Arthurian talesFigure · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreLeshyлеший
A forest spirit from Slavic folklore who guards the woods and misleads travelers.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomGlaistig
A Scottish shape-shifting spirit linked to cattle, deer, and haunted castles.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreYakshiniयक्षिणी
Some guard, some haunt: female nature spirits of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain loreBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMedusaΜέδουσα
A mortal Greek monster whose gaze turns onlookers to stoneFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHecateἙκάτη
A Greek goddess of magic, crossroads, and the moon, often shown in three forms.Being · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreLamassu𒀭𒆗 (dlamma)
A Mesopotamian guardian spirit, a winged bull with a human head, set to watch the gatesBeing · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreHoly well
A water source revered for healing and ritual across pagan and Christian traditionsTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreMenshen門神
Guardian figures pasted to doors in Chinese folk religion to protect homes from evil.Belief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanTengu天狗
Japanese mountain spirits that evolved from ominous birds into protective forest guardians.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreWind Horseརླུང་རྟ་
An East and Central Asian symbol of the soul, luck, and vital energyBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇧🇯 Benin and 3 moreZangbeto
A masked night-guardian tradition among the Ogu people of West AfricaTradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreJangseung장승
Wooden or stone poles that guard Korean villages and temples from evil spiritsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇺🇸 United StatesHawaiian religion
The traditional spiritual practices of the Indigenous people of Hawaiʻi, centered on deities and ancestral guardians.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreDuende
A humanoid spirit of Iberian and Latin American folklore, ranging from household pranksters to forest guardians.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇹🇭 Thailand and 7 moreSpirit house
A small roofed shrine that shelters a place's protective spiritCharm · Protection Living
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreDísdísir
Female spirits of fate and protection in Norse traditionBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDruiddruides
A learned priestly class of the ancient Celts in Gaul and BritainTradition · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBhairavaभैरव
A fierce manifestation of Shiva and a Buddhist protector deity worshipped across South and East Asia.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 IndiaNechung Oracleགནས་ཆུང་ཏ་བླ་མ
The official prophetic medium and spiritual advisor to Tibet's Dalai LamaOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇲🇲 MyanmarNatနတ်
Spirits venerated in Myanmar alongside Buddhism, including deified humans and nature guardians.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaNyi Roro KidulRatu Laut Selatan
The spirit queen of Java's southern coast and guardian of the Indian OceanBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇳🇿 New ZealandTaniwha
Supernatural beings of Māori lore, acting as guardians or dangerous predators in water and earthBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇸 IcelandFylgja
A Nordic guardian spirit that shadows a person and their fateBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreCurupira
A backwards-footed forest guardian from Brazilian indigenous myth who punishes loggers and misleads travelers.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇷 Greece and 3 moreHellhound
A mythological canine that guards the underworld or serves demonic forces across global folkloreBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomBlack dog
A spectral hound from English folklore that signals death or guards the living.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreChurch grim
A guardian spirit of Christian churchyards, often appearing as a black dog or lamb.Being · Protection Historical
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreYakshaयक्ष (Sanskrit), ยักษ์ (Thai)
Nature spirits and guardian deities in South and Southeast Asian traditionsBeing · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreDydko
A Polish folk creature evolved from a Slavic house demon into a night-time scarecrow.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇪🇬 EgyptKitab al-Kanuzكتاب الكنوز
A lost Arabic treasure guide linked to Zerzura and the SphinxText · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreMakaraमकर
A legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology and a symbol of water and thresholdsBeing · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreTutelary deity
A guardian spirit or god assigned to protect a specific place, person, or group.Being · Protection Living
🇮🇷 IranFravashi
A personal spirit in Zoroastrian belief that guides the living and protects the dead.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇷🇺 RussiaGolden apple
A mythical fruit that sparks quests, wars, and linguistic confusion across culturesFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaSnow Lionགངས་སེང་གེ་
A celestial mountain guardian of Tibet embodying fearlessness, bliss, and the DharmaBeing · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 IndiaKirtimukhaकीर्तिमुख
A swallowing face motif in Hindu and Buddhist temple architecture across South and Southeast AsiaBeing · Protection · Cleansing and purification Historical
🇲🇲 Myanmar and 5 moreChintheခြင်္သေ့
A stylized lion statue that guards Buddhist temples in Myanmar and across Asia.Being · Protection Living
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 2 moreLaumaLaumė
A Baltic fairy-like spirit of the sky, weather, and newborn children.Being · Protection · Healing Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreQianliyan千里眼
A Chinese sea and door god with clairvoyant sight, guardian of the sea goddess MazuBeing · Protection Living
🇨🇳 ChinaDenglong蹬龙
A Chinese mythical beast with mixed animal traits, often guarding imperial sites.Being · Protection · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreTerritorial spirit
A belief that demons or angels rule over specific lands and nations.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇪🇪 EstoniaThe Dragon of the NorthPõhja konn
A legendary frog-like monster from Estonian folklore, later reimagined as a cultural guardian.Figure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇸🇪 SwedenRå
Guardian spirits of nature in Scandinavian folkloreBeing · Protection Legendary
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMinoan Genius
A composite creature from Bronze Age Crete, often shown as a libation bearer or sacrificial attendant.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇮🇩 IndonesiaBarongᬩᬭᭀᬂ
A lion-like spirit king of Bali who battles the witch queen Rangda in dance and mythBeing · Protection Living
🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreHaltija
A supernatural guardian of a specific place or animal species in Finnish and Baltic Finnic mythologyBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 1 moreManaia
A composite guardian spirit in Māori art and beliefBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Lady of the Lake: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
- Lauma: Raki_Man, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sphinx: Ipipipourax, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Taniwha: Pseudopanax at en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Curupira: Sturm, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hellhound: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
- Church grim: Inès Lee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Brownie: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Leshy: Γραφέας, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yaksha: Gunkarta ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yakshini: Brihaspati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Medusa: Caravaggio, Public domain, source
- Hecate: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
- Lamassu: Daderot, CC0, source
- Holy well: The Speckled Bird, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Menshen: Taiwankengo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wind Horse: Clemensmarabu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chinese guardian lions: Pvt pauline, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Zangbeto: Grete Howard, CC BY 3.0, source
- Jangseung: Yoshiaki Sano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hawaiian religion: Jacques Arago, Public domain, source
- Duende: René Mayorga, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Spirit house: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dís: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source
- Druid: Bernard de Montfaucon, Public domain, source
- Bhairava: Saankav, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nechung Oracle: Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0, source
- Nat: Emily Khine, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Makara: Subbhashinee S, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fravashi: Hooman Mallahzadeh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Golden apple: Guido Reni, Public domain, source
- Snow Lion: John Hill, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kirtimukha: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Chinthe: Wagaung, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Qianliyan: 玄史生, CC0, source
- Denglong: Shizhao, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- The Dragon of the North: Ivo Kruusamägi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Barong: Skha, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Minoan Genius: Zde, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nyi Roro Kidul: Gunawan Kartapranata, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Manaia: Sarang, Public domain, source