If someone already came to mind, start there — that's often your best guide.
Otherwise, here’s a list to sift through and see who resonates with you most.

✅ Spiritual & Sacred Figures

Jesus of Nazareth
Mary, Mother of Jesus
Mary Magdalene
The Apostle Mark
The Apostle Luke
The Apostle John
The Apostle Thomas
The Apostle Paul
Moses
King Solomon
The Prophet Isaiah
Job
Zoroaster
Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama)
Krishna
Lao Tzu
Confucius
Saint Francis of Assisi
Saint Teresa of Ávila
Saint John of the Cross
Saint Catherine of Siena
Saint Joan of Arc
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Julian of Norwich
Hildegard of Bingen
Meister Eckhart
Augustine of Hippo (†430)
Thomas Aquinas (†1274)
Rumi (†1273)
Hafiz (†1390)

✅ Scientists, Mathematicians, and Inventors

• Isaac Newton (physics, gravity, optics, calculus)

• Galileo Galilei (astronomy, motion, telescopic observation)

• Johannes Kepler (planetary motion, astronomy, mathematics)

• René Descartes (rationalism, analytical geometry, "Cogito ergo sum")

• Carl Friedrich Gauss (mathematics, magnetism, statistics)

• Archimedes (classical physics, geometry, mechanics)

• Euclid (foundational geometry)

• Blaise Pascal (math, probability theory, philosophy — listed earlier, but fits here too)

• Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (microscopy, discovery of microorganisms)

• Gregor Mendel (genetics, heredity, monk-scientist fusion)

• Anders Celsius (temperature scale, astronomy)

• Joseph Fourier (mathematics, thermodynamics, Fourier series)

• Michael Faraday (electricity, magnetism, field theory)

• James Clerk Maxwell (electromagnetic theory — bridge to Einstein)

• Dmitri Mendeleev (periodic table of elements)

• Alessandro Volta (electricity, inventor of the battery)

• Benjamin Franklin (electricity, diplomacy, multidisciplinary thinker)

• Antoine Lavoisier (chemistry, combustion, modern naming of elements)

• Émilie du Châtelet (physics, translation of Newton, overlooked female genius)

• Mary Anning (early paleontology and fossil discovery)

• Ada Lovelace (early computer programming, poetic science)

• Charles Darwin (evolution, biology, human origins — †1882)

  🌊 Atlantean Archetypes & Esoteric Symbols

  • The Atlantean Sage – Humanoid archetype of ancient memory and wisdom

  • Poseidon (Atlantean) – Oceanic deity in regal human form

  • The Crystal Priest/Priestess of Atlantis – Mystical, human-shaped wisdom keeper

  • Thoth – Egyptian deity with ibis head, personified as scribe of cosmic order

    🌀 Archetypal Mentors & Symbols

    • The Oracle of Delphi – Voice of inner truth and divine foresight

    • A Wise Tree – Rooted symbol of patience, memory, and quiet strength

    • The Bodhisattva – Embodiment of compassion and conscious service

    • The Three Wise Men – Bearers of gifts, intuition, and sacred knowledge

    • The Phoenix – Symbol of transformation, rebirth, and inner fire

    • The Shaman – Bridge between worlds, healer of spirit and energy

    • The Prophet – Messenger of vision, warning, and awakening

    • The Healer – Gentle presence of restoration, empathy, and care

    • The Muse – Inspirer of art, expression, and inner fire

    • The Wise Elder – Guide of experience, perspective, and ancestral knowing

    • The Inner Warrior – Strength through purpose, resilience, and quiet power

    • The Pilgrim – Seeker of meaning through journey and devotion

    • The Seer – One who perceives beyond the visible

    • The Silent Monk – Embodiment of stillness, discipline, and inward peace

    • The Sacred Fool – Disruptor of illusions through humor and humility

    • The Water Bearer – Bringer of clarity, renewal, and vision

    • The Fire Keeper – Guardian of vitality, creativity, and sacred passion

    • The Alchemist – Transformer of shadow into wisdom and gold

    • The Inner Child – Source of wonder, play, and emotional truth

✅ Writers, Philosophers, and Visionaries

Plato (†347 BCE)
Aristotle (†322 BCE)
Socrates (†399 BCE)
Pythagoras (†~495 BCE)
Sun Tzu
Thales of Miletus
Diogenes
Marcus Aurelius (†180)
Seneca (†65)
Niccolò Machiavelli (†1527)
Giordano Bruno
Immanuel Kant
Blaise Pascal
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Friedrich Nietzsche
Arthur Schopenhauer
Søren Kierkegaard
Ralph Waldo Emerson (†1882)
Henry David Thoreau (†1862)
Walt Whitman (†1892)
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (†1832)
Voltaire (†1778)
Oscar Wilde (†1900)
Mary Shelley (†1851)
Emily Dickinson (†1886)
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Miguel de Cervantes
Casanova
Hypatia of Alexandria
Queen Elizabeth I
Catherine the Great
Cleopatra
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Sappho
Simón Bolívar
Harriet Tubman (optional — border case for symbolic inclusion)

🌿 Indigenous Wisdom Figures

• María Sabina – Mazatec curandera of sacred mushroom healing

• White Buffalo Calf Woman – Sacred Lakota figure of peace and prophecy

• Black Elk – Lakota visionary and spiritual bridge

• Tecumseh – Shawnee leader with a spiritual mission

• Quetzalcoatl – Feathered serpent deity in human form (depict as priest-philosopher)

• Don Juan (Toltec Nagual) – Archetype of the Toltec spiritual teacher

• The Toltec Seer – Visionary guide grounded in energetic mastery

• The Andean Paqo – Human ceremonial wisdom-keeper from the Andes

• The Aboriginal Elder – Personification of Dreamtime knowledge and ancestral grounding

• Pocahontas - Matoaka

🇮🇳 India – Positive Figures & Deities

• Patanjali – Sage of the Yoga Sutras

• Ganesha – Elephant-headed remover of obstacles (visually iconic)

• Saraswati – Goddess of wisdom and arts (humanoid form)

• Hanuman – Devotional monkey god of strength and loyalty

• Rama – Archetype of ideal leadership and virtue

• Lakshmi – Abundance and grace in feminine form

• Adi Shankara – Philosopher and teacher of non-duality

• Kabir – Mystical poet and spiritual unifier

• Mirabai – Bhakti poet and symbol of divine love

🥋 Martial Artists & Warriors of Philosophy

• Miyamoto Musashi – Zen warrior and author

• Bodhidharma – Monk associated with martial and meditative training

• The Shaolin Monk – Archetype of physical and spiritual harmony

• The Samurai Mentor – Embodiment of loyalty and inner silence

• Yagyū Munenori – Master of sword and inner clarity

• The Inner Warrior – Symbolic but visually portrayable archetype

  🧿 Kabbalists

  • Isaac Luria – Mystic of soul repair and divine structure

  • Abraham Abulafia – Seer of letters, breath, and ecstatic union

  • Moses de León – Visionary voice behind the Zohar

  • Anthropomorphic Tree of Life – Living map of divine balance

  • The Sephirot Architect – Designer of sacred inner structure

  • The Kabbalistic Scribe – Guardian of encoded spiritual insight

✅ Renaissance Artists & Polymaths

• Michelangelo Buonarroti (sculpture, painting, architecture)

• Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio) (purity of form, harmony, grace)

• Donatello (early master of sculpture, realism, emotion)

• Sandro Botticelli (myth, beauty, humanism)

• Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (color, sensuality, power)

• Albrecht Dürer (German Renaissance, symbolism, engraving)

• Giotto di Bondone (proto-Renaissance, emotional realism)

• Giorgione (mystery, landscape, allegory)

• Fra Angelico (sacred art, mystical devotion)

• Artemisia Gentileschi (Baroque/Renaissance border, female strength, biblical heroines)

• Sofonisba Anguissola (female Renaissance painter, elegance, self-portraiture)

• Piero della Francesca (geometry, perspective, divine composition)

• Andrea del Verrocchio (sculptor, mentor to da Vinci)

• Masaccio (pioneer of perspective, naturalism)

✅ Other Great Artists (Pre-1905)

• Francisco Goya (emotion, horror, truth-telling in art)

• Rembrandt van Rijn (psychological depth, light and shadow)

• Hieronymus Bosch (symbolism, surrealism, moral allegory)

• Peter Paul Rubens (myth, motion, richness)

• Diego Velázquez (court painter, reality and illusion)

• El Greco (spiritual intensity, elongated figures, mysticism)

• Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (neoclassicism, purity, romanticism)

• Édouard Manet (pre-Impressionism, transition to modernity)

• Claude Monet (Impressionism, light and mood)

• Vincent van Gogh (emotion, spirituality, color — †1890)

• Paul Gauguin (symbolism, color, mysticism)

• William Blake (poet, painter, visionary)

• James McNeill Whistler (aestheticism, simplicity, tone)

• Mary Cassatt (Impressionist, maternal imagery, soft power)

• John Singer Sargent (portraiture, elegance, light)

• J.M.W. Turner (atmosphere, nature, emotional sublime)

• Eugène Delacroix (romanticism, rebellion, drama)

  🧠 Psychologists & Inner Explorers

  • William James – Consciousness and spiritual pragmatism

  • Pierre Janet – Subconscious and trauma pioneer

  • Franz Mesmer – Hypnosis and energetic influence

  • Émile Coué – Positive autosuggestion and mental programming

  • Jean-Martin Charcot – Mind-body insight and neurology

  • The Shadow Sage (Jung-inspired) – Human mentor figure guiding shadow integration

  🜁 Hermetic Guides & Alchemical Sages

  • Hermes Trismegistus – Master of divine correspondence and hidden laws

  • Thoth – Scribe of cosmic wisdom and sacred language

  • Zosimos of Panopolis – Early alchemist of inner transformation

  • The Magician Archetype – Channeler of will and universal energy

  • The Alchemist – Seeker of spiritual gold through elemental mastery

  • The Crystal Priest/Priestess – Atlantean light bearer and initiator

  • The Atlantean Sage – Keeper of forgotten wisdom and ancient memory