There is a negative connotation on Trickster deities, that need not be there. The result of this mindset is due to the influence of the devil and Christianity. Trickster deities such as Veles, Hermes, Reynard, Prometheus, Odin, Loki, Puck, and more. They master magic, invent alphabets, find and bring back gifts for the gods and their people. Puck is a romantic and will matchmake lovers who catch his eye, Loki brought back Gullinbursti, Mjolnir and other great gifts that the gods use, Prometheus gave man fire and crafts, Hermes the alphabet and much more. The "Trickster" category is a broad and complex one, that is more of a means to simplify a deity than to outright explain it. None of these deities as tricky as they may be, are evil. Most were in fact beloved by their own people and still are. They are teachers, guardians, romantics, and helpfully cunning. To allow "Trickster" to be a negative is to ignore 10's of thousands of a years of history for less than 2000.-TLK

A little info on Slavic god Veles and his magic. Veles is the main god from the pagan pantheon of my Slavic ancestors that I most resonate with. Although I often look up at the stars and dream of the endless universe, I’ve always been more earthbound. I never understood those who wish to break away from the earthly realm in order to fly away to some abstract spiritual realm or heaven. To me earth is a spiritual realm, and it can be a heaven if humanity wanted to make it so, but unfortunately due to the fact that modern humans operate from a low-based consciousness, and ruled by evil and greed they continue to create hell on earth. The places that are still pure, sacred and divine are the areas still untouched by humans, still wild and untamed. All of the areas covered by modern civilization, and urban cities are hellish to me. That’s why I’m longing for the old ways, when humans still lived according to the laws of nature, in-tuned with Mother Earth, and aligned with her cycles.

https://youtu.be/ApISfsOAbjE

The death of Ophelia by Sarah Bernhardt.

Visiting the Museum of Antiquaties in the town of Leiden provides a good opportunity to have a closer look at altars dedicated to the goddess Nehalennia. It is actually the largest collection of Nehalennia-altars and they are beautifuly displayed. But it is also a nice opportunity to hang out with your heathen friends🙂. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xW-D4pgLW8

Head of Vajrapani-Herakles, protector of Buddha-from Gandhara [Pakistan] terracotta ca. 4th-5th c. AD- at Gandur Foundation for Art, Geneva

Buddhism expansion in C. Asia fused with Hellenistic influences into a Greco-Buddhism iconography, Herakles was adopted to represent Vajrapāni. @GreekLeague

Greco-Buddhism is the term given to refer to the cultural syncretism of Hellenistic and Buddhist culture in ancient Bactria and the India between the 4th century BC and 5th century CE. The style gave rise after the invasion of Bactria (present-day Afghanistan) and the Indus Valley by the Greek armies of Alexander the Great, and flourished under the subsequent Indo-Greek Kingdom and the Kushan Dynasty, who incorporated the Greek Alphabet and other aspects of Hellenistic culture into their own society. The result was an interesting combination of Greek artistic elements in the local Buddhist art. It is generally believed that the first anthropomorphic images of the Buddha emerged during the Greco-Buddhist period in the 1st century CE.

Picture: A reliquary known as the “Bimaran Casket.” The Buddha, pictured in the center, is depicted in a contrapposto pose. He is surrounded by two deities, Brahma and Śakra, inside Greco-Roman style arched niches. From Hadda, Afghanistan, 1st century CE @GreekLeague

Scholars credit many stylistic elements of the image of the Buddha, such as his halo, stylistic curls, and top bun style to Greco-Roman artistic influence. Interestingly, many standing images of the Buddha at this time also depict him in a Greek contrapposto. Many deities from the Hellenistic pantheon were also adopted into Buddhist religion. The most notable examples are the deities, Heracles, Tyche, and Boreas, who eventually became associated with the Buddhist deities, Vajrapani, Hariti, and Oado respectively. Aspects of Greco-Buddhism managed to filter into Buddhist art within the Indian subcontinent and Eastern Asia as the religion started to spread eastward. Greco-Buddhism is one of the greatest examples of long distance cultural and artistic exchange in the ancient world, spanning between two continents and adapting elements from countless different cultures, most notably, Greco-Roman, Persian, and Hindu.

Picture: Gandhara head of a man with lion, in Greco-Buddhist style, 305 BC - AD 450 @GreekLeague

Greco-Buddhism particularly flourished in the ancient region of Gandhara which encompassed the land around the border of Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan. Excavations in the archaeological site of Hadda, located near the Kyber Pass in Afghanistan, recovered over 23,000 examples of Greco-Buddhist art. Many of these sites, unfortunately, were destroyed or heavily damaged through looting and vandalization by the Taliban in the 1990s. The artifacts that have survived are a testament of a very rich and diverse cultural syncretism.

Picture: A Greco-Buddhist sculpture of the Thinking Bodhisattva from the Hadda region in Afghanistan. 4th–6th century CE, Gandharan culture @GreekLeague