The terms divinity and divine — uncapitalized, and lacking the definite article — are sometimes used as to denote 'god(s)'(1) or certain other beings and entities which fall short of godhood but lie outside the human realm. These include (by no means an exhaustive list):
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- The multiple gods of pan- and polytheistic faiths (as in the ancient Greek )
- Elementals such as the dragons of traditional Chinese religion and sylphs and salamanders from Celtic traditions
- Anthropomorphized aspects of nature, like the tree and river spirits of Roman mythology
- Animal beings, many of which populate the stories of Native American and Australian Aboriginal tribes
- Conceptual beings like the Muses and Fates of ancient Greek belief
In its most direct form, the operation of transcendent power implies some form of divine intervention. For pan- and polytheistic faiths this usually implies the direct action of one god or another on the course of human events. In Greek legend, for instance, it was Poseidon (god of the sea) who raised the storms which blew Odysseus' craft off course on his return journey, and Japanese tradition holds that a god-sent wind saved them from mongol invasion. Prayers or propitiations are often offered to specific gods of pantheisms to garner favorable interventions in particular enterprises: e.g. safe journeys, success in war, or a season of bountiful crops. Many faiths around the world — from Japanese Shinto and Chinese traditional religion, to certain African practices and the faiths derived from those in the Caribbean, to Native American beliefs — hold that ancestral or household spirits offer daily protection and blessings. In monotheisms divine intervention may take very direct forms: miracles, visions, or intercessions by blessed figures.
Having said this, in short Divinity is who you call God and recognize as the higher power.