| Pagan Gods | |
|---|---|
| Type | Pagan Gods |
| Lore Origin | Universal Folklore Traditions |
| Seasons | S1, S2, S3, S5, S7, S8 |
| Kill Method | Specific Rituals & Spells, Evergreen Stake |
Pagan gods in the Supernatural universe are real beings who once held enormous power, sustained by the belief and sacrifice of their worshippers. As organized religion — particularly Christianity — spread across the world, worship of these older deities declined, and with it their power. Most pagan gods now exist in a diminished state, lurking in the margins of the modern world, sustained by small pockets of worshippers or by taking the sacrifices they need by force.
Variety & Abilities
The show has featured pagan gods from numerous traditions: the Vanir (Norse), Veritas (Roman goddess of truth), Chronos (Greek titan of time), Osiris (Egyptian), Plutus (Greek god of wealth), Vesta (Roman goddess of the hearth), Artemis (Greek), Calliope (Greek muse), and many others. A notable episode, "Hammer of the Gods" (Season 5, Episode 19), gathered multiple pagan deities — Baldur, Kali, Ganesh, Odin, Baron Samedi, Mercury, and Zao Shen — in a single meeting to discuss the Judeo-Christian Apocalypse threatening their world.
Abilities vary enormously depending on the deity's domain and remaining power. Chronos could control and travel through time. Veritas could compel anyone to speak the truth. The Vanir required a yearly sacrifice to maintain the prosperity of a community. In general, pagan gods are significantly more powerful than most monsters but less powerful than archangels.
In Supernatural
The standout pagan god storyline is "Hammer of the Gods," where various deities gathered at a luxury hotel to debate whether to fight against the Judeo-Christian Apocalypse or flee. The episode portrayed the pagan gods as beings legitimately concerned about being rendered obsolete by the Abrahamic endgame. Lucifer arrived and killed most of them with startling ease, demonstrating the power gap between pagan deities and archangels. Gabriel (who had been hiding as the trickster god Loki for centuries) attempted to confront Lucifer and was killed.
Earlier seasons featured pagan gods in more self-contained stories: a Vanir demanded annual sacrifices from a small town in "Scarecrow" (Season 1), the winter solstice gods Madge and Edward Carrigan were revealed as Hold Nickar and his wife in "A Very Supernatural Christmas" (Season 3), and the Egyptian god Osiris put Dean on trial for his sins in "Defending Your Life" (Season 7).
Real-World Folklore
Supernatural treats pagan gods as literal beings, which raises fascinating questions about the show's theological framework. In this universe, all mythological pantheons existed simultaneously and all were "real" — they were just a different category of supernatural being than the Judeo-Christian God, who operates on a fundamentally higher level. This positions the show's cosmology somewhat like Neil Gaiman's American Gods, where belief is a form of power and deities compete for relevance.
Weaknesses
Weaknesses are specific to each deity and often tied to their mythology. Many can be killed with stakes made of specific sacred wood (evergreen for some European gods). Some require the destruction of a sacred object or totem. As a class, they are vulnerable to angelic and archangelic power. The Colt can presumably kill most of them. Their diminished state means they are generally less durable than they would have been at the height of their worship.