Mixing It Up - Create New Deities For Fantasy Worlds

Going along with our theme for the month, I just had to share this fantastic deity dress-up magnet set someone sent me. The idea is that you can mix and match the assorted looks between a range of religious figures, and it looks like so much fun.

Most fantasy that has any reference to religion usually takes one that we are at least somewhat familiar with and gives it a few twists, our might blend a few features from two or more diverse belief systems. Sometimes it's a completely new concept with only the barest of universal reference points. Jacqueline Carey's world of Terre d'Ange bears a strong resemblance to old Europe, but the demi-god Elua strays quite a bit from our version of Jesus. C.E. Murphy's series, The Walker Papers, link Native American and Celtic religion based on shamanic connections shared by the two distinct paths.

These are just off the top of my head, and there are many more examples. It's often done in a very subtle way, but looking at these magnets I can't help but think it would be incredibly entertaining to take a blatant approach. Let's slap Ganesha's head on Horus's body and see what happens, shall we? How would the Flying Spaghetti Monster (yes, it's in there) wield Zeus's lightning bolt?

What wild deity combo would you like to see? Or let us know which novels you think have the perfect unique blend of multiple religions or beliefs.

Cheers!
Ella