Feri Tradition and 'hard' polytheism?

[David19]

This is something i've been wondering recently, but is the Feri Tradition 'hard' polytheistic, in seeing the gods as individuals, or do they see the gods as 'aspects' of a god.

I've always assumed, that in the Feri Tradition, the Star Goddess is considered something beyond the universe/multiverse, and that all the gods come from her, but that they are still individuals (e.g. like Yahweh and Zeus would be different individuals, Isis, Aphrodite, etc).

But, in Purple's thread, 'Mixing recon with witchcraft', SoulFire said this:


Well, they're considered real spirit beings, if that's what you mean, but Victor wasn't a hard polytheist. For example, to him Isis IS the Star Goddess, but so is Kali, while Mari (the full Moon aspect of the Goddess in Feri) is the closest in terms of fecundity. Victor explained it using this analogy: There are three phases of the moon, but only one moon. Similarly, Nimue ("Maiden"), Mari, and Anna (old woman) are the same Goddess--and each can act independently as well.

Some lines of Feri have canonized 7 named deities as our "pantheon". Some people seem to think we have no other Gods. I've even heard some teachers declare that if a certain deity is not part of this group of 7, they are not "Feri". But I disagree, for as Victor said, we "don't have a set pantheon, but we do deal with groups of gods. It depends on whom we need to deal with. We deal with the gods of the trees, the gods of the rivers, the gods of the rocks, our own personal god.... The thing is that 'pantheon' means many or all of the gods, from the Greek."

So, i'm a bit confused as to how the gods are seen, as 'aspects' or 'all gods are one', or as individuals.

Thanks for any help :).

[SoulFire]

This is something i've been wondering recently, but is the Feri Tradition 'hard' polytheistic, in seeing the gods as individuals, or do they see the gods as 'aspects' of a god.

I've always assumed, that in the Feri Tradition, the Star Goddess is considered something beyond the universe/multiverse, and that all the gods come from her, but that they are still individuals (e.g. like Yahweh and Zeus would be different individuals, Isis, Aphrodite, etc).

But, in Purple's thread, 'Mixing recon with witchcraft', SoulFire said this:



So, i'm a bit confused as to how the gods are seen, as 'aspects' or 'all gods are one', or as individuals.

Thanks for any help :).

Speaking as a direct initiate of Cora and Victor, and a member of their last coven, as well as being their publisher, I think I can answer this. ;) (In fact, I thought I had.) According to Victor, "[T]o think of the Star Goddess as just the chief head of the Feri Pantheon is not right... God was first worshipped as the Mother and the dual Father/Son in one. Just like you have the proton in the center of the hydrogen atom and the electron going around it. It's just as simple as that." This describes the deity structure we use in Mandorla: that of a Trinity consisting of the Star Goddess and the Divine Twins. (Other lines use the lemniscate.) Victor once told my partner that female and male are "two halves of the same power", and in magical workings we several times heard him invoke "Father-Mother God".

It is true enough that the Star Goddess is seen as the Creatrix, and all the Gods were birthed from her. Victor usually referred to her as "God Herself", "Holy Mother", or "Holy Isis" (and by other names as well). As I said before, he was not a "hard" polythesist, though he was a polytheist. He taught, for example, that the Maiden, Mother and Crone are different forms of the same Goddess, as I explained using his analogy of the different moon phases, but they also have their own individuality. Just as the Triune Soul (3-in-1) is made up of three parts, but each can act separately as well. I don't how simple I can make this. One thing that Pagans seem to have difficulty grasping is paradox. Feri is not about hard-and-fast rules.

To give another example, Victor related Krom to Pan and Priapus. To him, they are the same God, called by different names among various cultures. You are free to disagree as you wish, but this was Victor's viewpoint.

To sum up, Victor was a polytheist--he worshipped all the Gods, not just one or two or seven. The fact that he did not draw a strict line between the Goddess and God, or the Twins (who can act separately or as one), but saw the God as the male potency of the Goddess, as well as being her son and other half, should be a clue that he was not a hard polytheist. This is even in Cora's book. For that matter, the seven lemniscate deities are not strictly separate, but are "reflections" or manifestations of the Star Goddess; they cycle in and out, eternally. They are individual, but they are also part of her. Feri paradox. I suggest reviewing Valerie Walker's Feri FAQ (http://wiggage.com/witch/feriFAQ.8.html); read the sections on the Star Goddess and the Divine Twins and the lemniscate Gods.

I hope this helps clarify the Feri Gods for you. I noticed that you asked this same question back in July '05, and Panther offered a similar explanation (which was very good, btw), in his own words.

B*B
SF

Edit: P.S. PM me if you have any further questions, and I'll try to answer them.

[~Owl~]

I've been meaning to get SoulFire to "out" himself here, and only now that he's been cornered has he.
There. The cat is finally out of the bag. Can we please drop this now?

[SoulFire]

I've been meaning to get SoulFire to "out" himself here, and only now that he's been cornered has he.
There. The cat is finally out of the bag. Can we please drop this now?

Don't mind her, David. She's just upset because somebody dropped a house on her sister. :hehehehe:

[~Owl~]

Oh bite me. I dare ya....;)