what gods and goddesses are there?

[louise_holm]

i can't find anythig about the actual gods and goddesses and i need to find one to worship because i am wanting to become a serious wiccan can you tell me about your gods/goddesses?

[louise_holm]

oops sorry i forgot i already had a thread on this!! sorry!

[Paracelsus]

Whoa, slow down - you "need" to become a serious Wiccan? I would aim to be a frivolous and facaetious one, rather than a serious one...

As to the Goddesses and Gods, it is a bit more complicated than you seem to think -
There are lots of different ways of thinking about them - many people here are what might be described as "soft polytheists" - which means that they believe that there is one Goddess, and one God, who can be worshipped through any of the Goddess or God forms that have been worshipped by the ancients - for example, they would think of "The Goddess" - who can be approached as Diana, or Danu, or, well, any Goddess. This is a fairly typical Wiccan view (although Wiccans don't have to subscribe to this point of view).
Some people here are "Hard Polytheists" - which means that they believe that there are lots of different Gods and Goddesses who all have separate, independent existences - so if you worship the Goddess Saraswati, then you are just worshipping Saraswati, not any "general idea of Goddess-ness".
You'll find others here too - Monotheists, who believe that there is one, and only one spiritual force behind the unvierse, although they may refer to this as "The Goddess", which is all rather confusing.

The thing that makes all this so terribly difficult is that there isn't a right way - I can't tell you what to believe, or who to worship, because you are you, and I don't know what you actually think - do you see what I mean? It is not that there is a right way for Wiccans or Pagans to think, and a bunch of ways that are wrong - but that there are a whole spectrum of Right Ways - you have to find your own, that is, after all, the point.

The other thing that makes it difficult is that you are trying to establish your own relationship with the divine - so this is hard work, like making a friend. You know that your friends all relate to each other in a unique way, (a) might be a complete bitch to you, but all sweentess and light to (b). Human friendship isn't just "Plug and play", and the Gods are the same - you can't just copy what someone else does (although you can learn from their examples).

I suggest that what you do is some serious reading (yeah, sorry, there isn't an alternative). As you live in Scotland, pick two deities that are pretty broad, and related to Celtic Ideas - I would suggest that you find out about the Goddess DANU, and the God CERNUNNOS. There is lots of information out there on the Internet, so you won't have to go to a library or anything (although beware of anyone who tells you that "this is THE right way" to do anything). Read, and find out about them, discover what people believe about them, or myths and stories - this is like the first bit of a friendship, when you are sounding that person out - are they someone that you want to know? Draw pictures of what you think they look like (it doesn't matter if, like me, you're crap at drawing - it is the drawing that counts). Use those pictures to focus your thinking, and make yourself a collection of things that you associate with them. Get some deer's antlers for Cernunnos, or a stone with a hole in for Danu (and soon, I hope, you'll understand why those might be significant). Spend some time every day (early in the morning is good), just sitting quietly in front of those pictures and things - light a candle if you want, or some incense. Wear something special then too - a particular item of clothing, or a necklace that is special to you, anything that you can do to make yourself feel more special while you are doing it.

When you think that you know a bit about them, try praying to them - not with written down prayers, but with your own ideas and desires. If you approach the gods with love and devotion, they will respond, and then that relationship will begin to grow.

While you are doing all this, keep reading. There are lots of good books on "Wicca for beginners". You'll learn to do some of the things that Wiccans do, like casting a circle for example, and you'll learn about some of the traditional tools. Don't rush out and buy an "Instant Wiccan kit" - an old kitchen knife from your grandmother's kitchen will make a much better athame than some expensive piece of tat. Maybe you'll find it in a junk shop. Those kinds of books will help you move on from there in terms of practice. The thing to remember with these books is that they are like recipes - when you are learning to cook, a recipe book is useful, but once you understand the principles, you can leave them behind. They are also like recipe books in that it is the doing that counts, not the reading. You can read a recipe book until the cows come home, but it won't make you a cook! Do the exercises that the books suggest, and be disciplined about it, you can build the biggest collection of books in the world, but without practice, you'll never get anywhere - it is much better to do one really simple and easy exercise every day.

I hope that this is of some help
Blessed be

[louise_holm]

ok thankyou i wasn't sure because i didn't actually know that there are sof and hard polythiests i'm just wanting to worship one god/dess i have an idea of a god or goddess with something to do with a spider because it was really strange today loads of floating strands of webs flying about and there was one on a bit of wood i picked up. and thats weird because i was looking at goddesses and was thinking about Danu as well!