Visualizing your deity

[Philosophia]

How do you visualize your deity? Do you view them as human, energy, or something entirely different? If you don't visualize your deity, why not? Do you consider it disrespectful? Or something else entirely?

[MonSno_LeeDra]

In some ways this is a very difficult question to answer. Not difficult from not knowing them but in that they take so many different forms depending upon what I am doing at the time.

In Dream Time they have always appeared human formed. Hecate as a young woman bathed in a radiant glow or aura. Artemis is always in the form of a young woman or girl whose predominate feature is her eyes. Bast also human but always as the cat headed persona.

Most times the human form but also as the detached voice, yet always female. The voice that appears to originate next to me but with no visible body I can see. Yet I also never have a sense to look only that they are there. Like someone walking next to you that you never turn to look at yet you always feel them.

In vision many times they appear as an energy presence. Sometimes visible as a shifting distortion in the area that never quite takes form. Yet the same voice except you can tell it comes from the shifting distortion in the air. The distortion almost like a mirage as it takes a vague outline but at the same time no outline.

Upon my third eye it is usually in the form of an avatar or symbol. With Artemis it is always the image of a deer, at times a stag other times un unantlered deer. Bast will often be the imagery of a cat though much larger than a normal house cat. Almost a ferral look about it. Hecate apperas as twin torches or a large black dog. When as the dog it also has an audible componet of dogs howling as if far off and getting closer.

At times it seem's as if it maybe any combination of forms. Like I frequently speak to Artemis when troubled, usually ending up in the woods. While there I will see or imagine I see the shape of a young woman formed in the tree's or look up and see her image in the clouds overhead. Sometimes it's like a touch upon my skin that is the wind or rain yet is so different that it automatically brings her to the forefront of my mind.

Similar things occur with Hecate and Bast.

Sekor and the Huntsman are different to me though. Sekor is always eyes no matter where it is at. The huntsman is always the leader of the hunt type figure. Often atired in some sort of woodland outfit and wild looking. Sometimes antlered yet always heavy of beard and giant in stature. Almost nordic looking but not quite.

The huntsman is not one for many words, usually very direct and abrupt in mannerisms.

[Toki Wartooth]

Ooh. Who/what is in your avatar/icon?


How do you visualize your deity? Do you view them as human, energy, or something entirely different? If you don't visualize your deity, why not? Do you consider it disrespectful? Or something else entirely?

I often visualize deities as human-looking. I have statues of Apollo and Mercury, and going along with many depictions of them in statuary and such, they look human. But, I do see/feel them also as things like the Sun and its light, or the wind and fresh air.

[TheWomanMonster]

Mine are human.
Sometimes appearing in animal form in dreams.

[MeriBast]

following an egyptian path my deities tend to show up as themselves or as the animals some of them are associated with.
its not disrespectful imo to see your deity. it is much easier for me to speak with mine face to face.

[Sequoia]

My God is a feeling, deep within my soul. She is the color blue. She is love. She is acceptance. She is the Divine energy of the Universe itself.

I don't usually use a physical representation of her, nor do I really feel I need one. Hence my mental "image" of her is that of a sensation, the feeling of God. The color blue.

If that makes any kind of sense at all.

:)

[Brightshores]

How do you visualize your deity? Do you view them as human, energy, or something entirely different?

For me - all of the above, depending on the context. They can be an image, a feeling, a breath of wind, a sunbeam, a sound, or a dream....

[Torey]

I visualize my deities as they have appeared to me in Shamanic journey. If I have never experienced a deity in journey before, then I tend to just imagine them by their general description or their sacred animal.

[Cunae]

My deities have been over-depicted so I prefer to think of them as breath and thought.

[Toki Wartooth]

My deities have been over-depicted so I prefer to think of them as breath and thought.

May I ask what you consider over-depiction, and why you consider it a negative thing? (I'm inferring from your statement. If I misinterpreted, please let me know.)

I guess for me it's something quite different because I don't see any deities I work with as commonly depicted. I've seen Mercury and/or his caduceus in various places, and I'm pretty happy to see them. (Well, it's a bit scary to see ambulances, but it at least means the EMTs and all are working.)

[Caitlin.ann]

I visualize them as human pretty much all the time, however I can feel their presence/energy in the natural world around me if that makes sense. I can hear their voices in my mind and associate the energy and human figures in my mind though..kind of like one triggers the other.

[Sakurako]

If I step outside right now and run my bare feet through the grass or pick a flower from the cherry blossom tree that blooms in my yard she is there.

[VioletJadeWolf]

I envision the Goddess I've studied the most, Gaia, as being the earth itself: she's the grass, the water bodies, the trees, the animals, everything.

[David19]

When I'm imagining a God in my head, I see them in human form, like when I was a worshipper of Ereshkigal, I used to picture her as quite a strong-looking, powerful, and beautiful woman (think Cordelia (http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTIzMjM0MTkzOF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNzI0NjEz._V1._CR64,0,356,356_SS80_.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3901921792/nm0474520&usg=__sueEtrK7Lp0BGY_5iYKViowsJ8Y=&h=80&w=80&sz=3&hl=en&start=16&tbnid=FxoHirQmIhiHrM:&tbnh=74&tbnw=74&prev=/images%3Fq%3DCordelia%2Band%2BThe%2BBeast%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den) from season 4 of Angel/). I do it for any God I want to get closer too or worship, like I used to picture Athena in human form (like how she is depicted in Classical Art), same for Hecate, Set, Apollo, or any God really.

When I was Wiccan, I tended to kind of just feel the presence of an energy for The Goddess, it's kind of hard to explain.

[Burning Angel]

A combination of things: Human form, animal form, a mental swirl (not literally...you know) of imagery, thoughts, impressions, and voices...sometimes I lay awake at night communicating with a disembodied voice, which manifests itself to my mind's eye as any number of concepts it wishes to communicate...it's a fluid, dynamic method of communication, and all the gods and goddesses I have known use it :)

By Shining Star And Burning Sword,
~Jon~ :boing:

[CuddleFish]

I see Brigid in my mind as a woman, somewhat larger than life. I feel her as warmth around me, sometimes even holding me when times are really tough. Sometimes she is a presence lending support or even just there.

The Morigan has come to me as three ravens, but is usually more felt than seen.

The Horned One appears to me in humanoid form and also a presence, or sometimes sounds, like bird calls. He is harder for me to explain. I feel him inspire projects, I feel him protecting me, I feel him urging me on to explore nature and my connections with it. He and Brigid have appeared to me together and as Brigid lights a creative fire, he will fan it and add ideas.

I'm a rather emotional type person, I often think in feelings, so it can be hard to put into words what I experience. I hope that made sense! :weirdsmil

[Agaliha]

If you don't visualize your deity, why not? Do you consider it disrespectful? Or something else entirely?

In Islam it's a major no-no to give a form to Allah (swt), much like it is in Judaism. It's also an impossibility. Anything and everything we could imagine He is, He isn't. In the Qur'an is says: "Nothing is like Him in any way," [42:11]. He isn't even bound by gender, but "he" is used for simplicity. He has no resemblance to any of His creations, He's transcendent. How we understand Him is through His divine attributes, the 99 names of God (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_names_of_God). He is the Most Merciful, The Light, The Guide, etc. Yet His true nature is a mystery, these Beautiful Names are merely ways to help people understand the understandable. Allah (swt) also doesn't reveal Himself to people, though if I remember correctly He did to Moses...but that's about it, I think. Basically, we connect to Him via His attributes, prayer, worship, etc without having an image to focus on...He's not cold and distant to His worshippers, just unimaginable.

[XxBluexHeartxX]

I'm not that good at visualization yet :S so the main way i communicate with Kali is through thought. I don't dream much either, well i don't remember them, so i can't get messages very much that way :S

Need to work on getting more ways of communication ._.

[Siwan]

I see my deities in humaniod form just because they know i'm a visual person and they think it's best for me. I like to know what i'm looking at while worshiping. I blame my disfunctional brain.

However Dewi does come to me in dragon form once, when I needed the strength to be strong. (then again, when's he's human I usually see him like in the image.)

[aluokaloo]

I let them show me what they look like first. its pretty much visualizing what your best friend looks like even though you haven't seen em for a couple weeks. Fenris is a giant wolf. Most of them are human and I usually see the Egyptian Gods as beings with mostly human form with some animal body parts thrown in.

[meowmeow]

The one that's had the biggest personal impact on my life is Aphrodite..

I pretty much imagine her as a pretty girl with long blonde hair. n_n And seashells.

[*oonagh*]

everything that exists is diety to me. so, all i need do is look.