Suggested resources for mythology

[Lula]

For àwọn òrìṣà, Flash of the Spirit by Robert Farris Thompson is a good start that focuses on sacred art, but also provides a great introduction to àwọn òrìṣà's characters. The Altar of My Soul by Marta Moreno Vega is a more organic, personal narrative by a Lukumí cleric which also has a useful summary of information about orichás in a Cuban and Puerto Rican context. Finally, Tales of Yorùbá Gods and Heroes is an eminently readable and clear storybook introduction to àwọn òrìṣà in a West African context.

For the shén, the first few chapters of Journey to the West are excellent. As soon as they actually leave on the journey, though, you can read a chapter or two and then skip to the end, although the chapter about Womanland is worth stopping for. Seriously. I have read the entire thing. It was a mistake.

For the theoi and æsir, D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths and D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths are lavishly illustrated children's books which remain my favorite sources about those two groups (and, in fact, among my favorite books I've ever read, ever). If you have children, please get them these books. Even if your children are now 30.

[Robert Vance]

For the theoi and æsir, D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths and D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths are lavishly illustrated children's books which remain my favorite sources about those two groups (and, in fact, among my favorite books I've ever read, ever). If you have children, please get them these books. Even if your children are now 30.

Those two were some of my first bedtime stories (along with Alexander Lloyd's Book of Three), and look where I ended up.

[TheGraySoul]

Does anyone have any good sources for the Loa or Haitian Vodou?

[Lula]

Does anyone have any good sources for the Loa or Haitian Vodou?

Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn by Karen McCarthy Brown: A great look at what real life is like for a mambo. Similar to The Altar of My Soul, but a bit more scholarly.
Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou by Donald J Cosentino: Visual atlas of vodou.
The Serpent and the Rainbow by Wade Davis: A Harvard botanist goes to Haiti to unravel the mystery of the zombie, and learns way more than he expected.

[Nyrufa]

Does anyone have any good sources for the Loa or Haitian Vodou?

Don't piss off a Haitian priest. They'll throw pufferfish venom in your face and you'll end up getting buried alive!

[Lyrics Of War]

On the topic of Norse + white supremacy, since it was brought up. If you are looking to avoid that then nix anything neo pagan from your research. Pick a few archaeologists to work with. Jesse Byock is at ucla, and does (from what I can tell) a majority of translation work. He also has old Norse text books for sale, as in language learning. Neil price is another solid selection, and has a compilation of essays out called (iirc) the Viking world. Multitude of essays on the Norse world, in all fassets, all written by PhDs.

Again, avoid anything from the metaphysical section. You may have to do some archaeological and history reading to get a full spectrum, as the prose Edda is a biased source.

[Sacerdos]

Does anyone have any good sources for the Loa or Haitian Vodou?

"Divine Horsemen" by Maya Deren is supposed to be a great introduction, although I haven't read it myself yet.

[No One of Consequence]

The Serpent and the Rainbow by Wade Davis: A Harvard botanist goes to Haiti to unravel the mystery of the zombie, and learns way more than he expected.

The Wes Craven movie adaption isn't that bad either.

As for the Greek gods, George O'Connor's Olympians graphic novel series is some of the best work with the characters I've seen in years.

Also, the Overly Sarcastic Productions channel onYouTube. They've done a number of videos covering myths from different cultures.

[trebius]

Does anyone have any suggested resources for Chinese mythology? In particular I'm trying to find more information on TAI SUI XING, god of time and astrology.

[Sacerdos]

Does anyone have any suggested resources for Chinese mythology? In particular I'm trying to find more information on TAI SUI XING, god of time and astrology.

Huh, pretty obscure figure, hard to find much on him. Keith Stevens has written an article all about him (and related deities): "The Celestial Ministry of Time". In: Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society Vol. 40 (2000), pp. 113-154.
Otherwise, I can think of no particular sources on him, though I can tell you what I've picked up from some mentions of him here and there: He was originally the personification of the twelve stars who stand directly opposite to Jupiter throughout the course of its twelve-year-orbit, but later also became associated with the planet Jupiter itself (although its deity is more usually the Star of Luck, Fu Xing). In that function, he is popularly held to be the Celestial Minister of Time, and lords over 60 lesser gods. Generally, he is a god of ill omen and bad luck.

Generally, "resources on Chinese mythology" is a giant field, because there are multiple roots and layers to Chinese mythological tradition, encompassing three or four different religions and a good 3,000 years of contradictory development. Apart from Tai Sui, is there anything that interests you in particular? Older deities, newer deities? Popular deities, Daoist deities, Buddhist deities? That would make it easier to pin down a handful of sources instead of turning this into a three-page essay

[No One of Consequence]

I believe Neil Gaiman has a new book out, Norse Mythology. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I'm sure it'll offer some interesting ideas.

[wyrdhamster]

I'm reading Norse Mythology of Gaiman right now - it's collection of Norse Myths as stories, ordered so you would know what element is from where. But they are mostly just tales. Still, it's good written and right now I'm on Balder's Death in it. It gave me few ideas for Norse Myths CoD cosmology in Nine Realms topic, even.

[No One of Consequence]

Since I mentioned it in another thread, I'll do the same here: Stephen Chow's take on Journey to the West. The first part came out a couple of years ago, and is really good. I think the second part came out this year, but I'm not sure if it's made it to the US yet.

[Nicolas Milioni]

Are tonatiuh and huitzipohctli the same god?

[Watcher]

Are tonatiuh and huitzipohctli the same god?

Nope, but, that confusion is entirely understandable! Griff would be able to explain to you in more detail, but essentially Tonatiuh is the Fifth Sun, and Huitzipochtli carries (I believe, he might just walk with it) the Fifth Sun through the sky.

After the end of the Fourth Sun, the Teotl gathered in Teotihuacan, planning the creation of The Fifth Sun. Tecuciztecatl said that he would be the Fifth Sun, and the Teotl all agreed with this, sending Nanahuatzin to go with him. When the whole ritual situation was organized, and it was time for Tecuciztecatl hesitated to jump into the giant pyre in cowardice, but Nanahuatzin did not, and threw himself into the fire. Because of this, Nanahuatzin became the Fifth Sun, becoming Tonatiuh. Ashamed by this, Tecuciztecatl jumped in afterwards, and became the moon. The Teotl picked up a rabbit and hit the Moon, Nanahuatzin, with it to dim its brightness so that it would not challenge the sun's brightness. (There are other stories explaining the creation of the Moon, it comes up a lot)