Personal dieties

[~ Monk ~]

Do any of you have a personal diety? By personal, I mean one that might be based on modern/your own imagery and not mythology...

[ShadowSwift]

Kind of, sort of, but not really. ;)

Borrowing from a bunch of different religions, as well as taking a hefty amount of poetic license, I've come up with a basic pantheon, a basic set of myths, and a few verses here and there for a holy book, and a couple wacko-religion rituals.

... But it's nothing I actually follow myself. I'd like to be a writer someday (I've got an entire manuscript ready to go, but I'm too chicken to send it to publishers, heh. I've been "revising" it [read: letting it sit on my hard drive] for about a year.). The story follows a group of partisans, one of which was an ascetic and member of a doomsday cult. Most of the religious-ish stuff never actually made it into the story, but I like to have background information ready if I need it; some of it, even though it never plays an active role in the plot helped to flesh his character out a bit too.

So now that I feel like a total lame-o... 8O

[Siarlas]

By personal, are you meaning a deity that you follow/talk to/whatever?

If that's the case, for me it's Aine. I don't even know that much about her really. Early last year was when I started looking into the various aspects of paganism and getting back in touch with what I'd lost over the years. After a time I... well.. I don't know how to explain it really... I guess I could say that I became aware of a Triple Goddess figure. I only knew of two Triple Goddess figures, that of Bridget and the Triple Goddess consisting of Cerridwen, Rhiannon and Branwen. But somehow I knew that these were not the ones I was looking for. After a rather lengthy search on the internet, I came across one entry that described a different Triple Goddess. That of Aine. As soon as I started reading it, something inside me said, 'That's the one'. But try as I might, I still have not been able to find much information on her. Even my soon to be Encyclopedia of Gods (which is currently on lay away) only has a small entry on her. "An obscure Celtic goddess" it says... ugh..


I mean one that might be based on modern/your own imagery and not mythology...

I can't even begin to describe her as I can only see a calming... not exactly white, but light colored ... umm... well... light in the vague shape of a woman. And seeing as I've already mentioned that I haven't been able to find anything about her, it can't be said that this is based from mythology.

[Mnemosyne]

To answer your question, no, my personality deity is from mythology. I have not made Her up. However, the way I see her and how others may varies greatly. Thus, my connection with my personal deity is unique.

Hey, where's MW member Sylv? I know that Sylv has been making up a pantheon.

[Sylv]

Here I am! *grin*
Shpongle, I have my own personal deities-fourteen of them. :) They are completely my own, have their own names that according to pantheon.org aren't used by anyone else, their own myths, etc. There was a site someone posted on my DIY myths thread....*digs through Favorites folder*... http://www.telp.com/spirituality/thekashi.htm
This guy has 6 deities, and he's also envisioned a culture they would spring from. On his site he says he's working on his own language! I haven't gone that far (and probably won't), but I love having my own pantheon, which grew out of my own culture and beliefs.
I'm curious-do you have your own deities?

[Pangaia]

I have only patron Dieties of which there are four (Apollo, Hermes, Morpheus & Artemis). They are not "made up" from mythology but are as real as you are to yourself.

If there is one diety I cannot put a "face" to it would be the great Mother, Gaia. Maybe She is the live giving green diety everyone sees Her as. I think of Her as formless but choosing shapes we mortal types are use to seeing....or not seeing.

Be well
PG

[~ Monk ~]

Originally posted by Sylv
Here I am! *grin*
Shpongle, I have my own personal deities-fourteen of them. :) They are completely my own, have their own names that according to pantheon.org aren't used by anyone else, their own myths, etc. There was a site someone posted on my DIY myths thread....*digs through Favorites folder*... http://www.telp.com/spirituality/thekashi.htm
This guy has 6 deities, and he's also envisioned a culture they would spring from. On his site he says he's working on his own language! I haven't gone that far (and probably won't), but I love having my own pantheon, which grew out of my own culture and beliefs.
I'm curious-do you have your own deities?

Well, that's part of the reason I posted this. I've been feeling a "pull" towards a certain modern image of a God and in many ways it feels very real to me, but at the same time because of the source I'm battling a 'not credible' feeling. I really feel like I shouldn't look at it that way, but part of me does. :crazy: I guess I keep saying to myself, "Who am I to be writing a myth, especially when in a sense I'm borrowing this imagery from someone else?" 8O

[Sylv]

I've been feeling a "pull" towards a certain modern image of a God and in many ways it feels very real to me, but at the same time because of the source I'm battling a 'not credible' feeling.
*nods* I know what you mean. Exactly. It took me quite a bit of time, and a lot of thought, to decide what I thought of my deities as. Were they 'faces' of an unknowable? Figments of my subconscious? The conclusion I ended up coming to was that they were real. I've decided that there are deities, and that the ancients were worshipping them. But all the different deities didn't exist-there are a certain number, who have visited many cultures, and who appear differently to the different ones. Maybe the deities got bored always being seen in the exact same way, I don't know. But I believe that my gods and goddesses really do exist as individuals (not as just facets), but that like all individuals they have more than one layer. I identify with the layer that most fits my values. I'm not sure if that makes any sense, or if it will even help you-there're obviously a lot of people who disagree with me-but that's what I think. :)

"Who am I to be writing a myth, especially when in a sense I'm borrowing this imagery from someone else?"
That's interesting-I didn't have as much a problem with this. I figured if the Greeks could do it, I could do it, lol. The second part is interesting-what imagery are you borrowing? Obviously, I can understand that my myths are influenced by everything I've been exposed to-is that what you mean?
I'm glad there's someone else who is trying to create their own mythology-it's a unique challenge, but I've also found very unique gifts. :D

[Armitage]

I'm not so much creating a mythology, as making myself open to one. Giving a chance for the archetypes and images I have in my head to define themselves rather than try to shove them into roles that, because they're much, much bigger than I'll ever comprehend, will ultimately fall short of being right.

[Agaliha]

:bumpsmili

[Khaelo]

Yay, I'm not alone! :lilangel: This is an old thread; is anyone still here?

The main problem I've had with personal deities is lack of community. The whole "you're not worshipping So-and-So correctly!" debate is moot, but it gets rather lonely. It's especially difficult when I want to talk over some theological or spiritual point with someone, but there's no one who will recognize the deity's name, never mind have insights into his/her character. :( Of course, I wouldn't swear that these entities have never had contact with humanity before. However, the forms which they show me are non-traditional. I don't think I can decide, out of the blue, that ABC is really XYZ classical god just because they have a few attributes in common. The differences are too much to ignore.

The "not credible" feeling was one I had at the very beginning, when I was still breaking away from Christianity. Fortunately, the deities themselves have been a little too obvious to dismiss. :p They definately follow their own plans. The one who dominates my spiritual life now is one whom I thought I would never deal with personally (he was first pointed out to me from afar).

Anyway, there are twelve deities in my pantheon (actually four minipantheons). Some of these are gods I don't know well; they're associates of friendlier faces. :) Several have multiple aspects, multiple names, etc. I've tried making up mythologies on my own, and they don't stick. The gods give mythology tidbits on their own schedule, which is most annoying. :awwman: They're even stingier with ritual. I want that comfort, that knowledge, those resources that people following other gods have. I feel like my practice is somehow deficient without it. But what can you do?

[argento_occhi]

OK, so maybe not quite the same situation, but I have created deities before, personalities, appearances, everything. Some of them are quite scary too. I don't worship them perse, but a couple have hung around a bit, just like my characters do on occasion, too. Just thought I'd share.

Argent

[IvyWitch]

I have my own idea of what the all encompassing Lady/Goddess is like, but I don't create my own gods for worship. I stick with tradition ^.-

[DandelionDame]

By personal, are you meaning a deity that you follow/talk to/whatever?

If that's the case, for me it's Aine. I don't even know that much about her really. Early last year was when I started looking into the various aspects of paganism and getting back in touch with what I'd lost over the years. After a time I... well.. I don't know how to explain it really... I guess I could say that I became aware of a Triple Goddess figure. I only knew of two Triple Goddess figures, that of Bridget and the Triple Goddess consisting of Cerridwen, Rhiannon and Branwen. But somehow I knew that these were not the ones I was looking for. After a rather lengthy search on the internet, I came across one entry that described a different Triple Goddess. That of Aine. As soon as I started reading it, something inside me said, 'That's the one'. But try as I might, I still have not been able to find much information on her. Even my soon to be Encyclopedia of Gods (which is currently on lay away) only has a small entry on her. "An obscure Celtic goddess" it says... ugh..



I can't even begin to describe her as I can only see a calming... not exactly white, but light colored ... umm... well... light in the vague shape of a woman. And seeing as I've already mentioned that I haven't been able to find anything about her, it can't be said that this is based from mythology. Siarlas, in Lady Gregory's Gods and Fighting Men, there's a little bit about Aine. You can see it at sacred-texts.org here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/gafm/gafm15.htm

[Windsmith]

Several years ago, a couple members of my group felt the call of a Mysterious One who wanted to work with us. We did a group aspecting to meet this Being, figure out who it was and what their message for us was.

I'm not sure who we expected - a Mysterious One one of us had worked with previously, perhaps - but we ended up aspecting a deity who, as we understood our notes later, has little to no experience interacting with humans.

This is a Deity of those who live on society's edges, who use art and community action to create change and break barriers: street marchers, magical activists, drag kings and queens (in fact, whenever anyone could get a picture of this Mysterious One, which wasn't often, we seemed to see a radical drag king). The Deity was fed up and impatient and eager to get a revolution moving now.

No name for this Being was revealed to us. I doubt you'd find a description that matches in any listing of gods and goddesses. But the experience - and the Mysterious One - is very real to those of us who were there (and those of us who were at the ritual 2 months later where we invoked the Deity in our working), and I know that several people who were at that initial aspecting have continued developing this relationship in their personal work.

[Agaliha]

Thanks for sharing, Windsmith. :)


I think the Gods change along with humanity.
I don't see why they would be stuck in ancient times when we are in the 21st century.
I think they are still there, still them, but...what's the word, uhhh... changed.
No matter how much I love ancient history I am not an ancient person, I am modern...with modern thoughts, ideas and understanding. I think the Gods realize that. I can learn and understand all I want about ancient cultures yet I am not part of them-- not in the real sense. I feel like an outsider trying to copy and mimic ways that aren't mine, beliefs that now in modern times seem silly at times, etc. They could have been in a past life, but not now....
So to me the fact that there are Dieties that are Gods and Goddess that come to people in different forms or with different names is not suprising to me.
To some people that link to the ancient past is harder to have, those Dieties may come with a different name to break away from the cultural and historical link. It's not any less of a God or Goddess.
They are not any better or less than all the others. In fact they may be a Traditional Diety in a different form and name, because like I said, historical and cultural things may not get though to some people.

[Poledra]

Belle Terre, I think I love you! I have had the same thoughts for almost a year, and was planning on writing exactly the same thing when I got home this evening.

I agree completely that we do not live in the past. I understand the attraction of recon, I mean, religions that were valid in the past will obviously still resonate with people now due to the fact that we are still human and we still interact with our environment and people around us. However, the world view of the people for whom ancient mythology was current is completely different from ours. Our world view is significantly larger. An ancient Celt/Egyptian/Native American/etc would have no need or desire to understand their world on a planet-wide scale, whereas we do. We need a larger scale. Religions that have been practiced continuously from ancient times, such as Christianity or Judaism have grown and adapted themselves to the fact that our world is larger. Paganism did not have that chance.

I understand that obviously we need to look to the past to understand how people have addressed their world from a more earth-centered direction, but I believe that Paganism is established enough that it can, as a religion, start to look to the present and eventually the future by beginning to adapt itself to new ways of life. Starting in the past is necessary, staying in the past is stagnation, in my opinion. For this reason, I have been trying to draw only inspiration from ancient sources. Drawing mythology directly from ancient sources is hard for me since it involves making associations that didn't necessarily exist in that time, for example, in Egyptian mythology the Nile is the source of all life and is desperately important. I live in Canada, where there is no Nile, so I would have to make a substitution which would make much of the mythology confusing or irrelevant. Same with the desert, and many many other things from all societies in the world. I understand how some people are able to use these stories completely metaphorically, but I prefer my metaphors to also contain aspects of *my* reality. I have therefore been trying to use my world view to bring together my beliefs along with ancient inspiration.

I am a prehistoric archaeologist by training, and understand the relevance of the past as a source to learn about our present. Paganism is using the past, but we must ensure that we are using it to learn about the present and future, not to try to recreate the past.

I am not sure how I feel about deities period, so really don't know how I feel about "creating" my own deities, but I have felt a little strange about how this idea has been treated. Bringing our religion into a more modern setting does not make it any less "real" or "good". We are not "making up" deities any more than the ancient greeks/celts/egyptians did.

Poledra

[Khaelo]

For example I mentioned the Mother Goddess that have have felt for a long time now, I have tried to find her name in Traditional Goddesses, I've looked in myths for her...but she is not there-- not in the sense of "oh here is this Goddess that came to me, because she acts like this and says this she must be Demeter". Maybe she is Demeter, maybe she is another Traditional Goddess-- I do not know now. At this time I have no indication of that. Maybe for some reason she has given me a different name, maybe how she appears to me is more anomyous then the Greek way, I don't know. She is still the Mother Goddess. She is still the same as the ones everyone honor-- she just as a different name and is slightly different-- Just as I am still BlessedFeathers, even though my name is now Belle Terre. I'm still the same person. I believe the Goddess that calls to me is still the Mother Goddess, I believe she is part of the Source-- has been for a long time.
I came around to accepting the non-traditionalness of my gods from a different place, although there are some notable similarities -- trying to find a match, failing, but still knowing that the entity involved is divine. :)

Having grown up with the Greek myths, and eventually becoming a Classics major, I have no problem connecting to Graeco-Roman culture. A deity-form from another culture has more sacred-aura for me because it's outside my everyday life. Somewhere, I heard that "sacred" comes from a root meaning "separate." That resonates with my experience. The subject needs to be "other" enough to be sacred, but familiar enough to establish a connection. The ironic bit is that my practice is an attempt to take something sacred/separate and integrate it into ordinary life. :crazy: For me, the Classical deities have the right appealing mix of familiarity and alienness. But, as much as I wanted them, they didn't match the deities who found me.

I don't believe in a Source or a single overarching deity of each archetype, for lack of a better term. There are a number of factors feeding into my firm polytheism, but my deities are a major one. It boils down to experience. I tried to match them up to existing forms, and they insisted on their individuality. Some refuse to have anything to do with syncretism (he's not that one, not this one, not the other, and he's getting annoyed at all these names that are not his), some allow it to a limited extant (he's a little like Mars, BUT...), and some play games (Aphrodite? Lucifer? Prometheus? Loki? St. Michael? Buffy the Vampire Slayer?! No, she's just herself, and she's laughing at me again! :hehehe: ). It was the first attitude and the last which drove me to the point of "screw it, they're non-traditional." There's only so much of that you can take before admitting that the entity in question is a different one altogether. :p {Knowing that they are divine involves the definition of deity, which gets offtopic.}

I can no more squish my death/ocean-associated patron into a mold marked Hades or Poseidon than I can assume that Odin is the same as Zeus is the same as Yahweh, etc. With the less certain deities, like kinda-Mars and she-of-a-thousand-faces, I still prefer to use the non-traditional names. I know who answers to the name and form of "Nali." I don't know if "Loki" is familiar, and I'm not inclined to find out by trying to contact him -- better the chaos you know! ;) Even if some members of my pantheon are traditional gods in new guises, they probably have reasons for using new names/forms with me.

All of this comes back to Belle Terre's points: we're not yanking gods out of bodily orifices, and there are reasons we can't go with established deities.

[Darkwater Stone]

Well, that's part of the reason I posted this. I've been feeling a "pull" towards a certain modern image of a God and in many ways it feels very real to me, but at the same time because of the source I'm battling a 'not credible' feeling. I really feel like I shouldn't look at it that way, but part of me does. :crazy: I guess I keep saying to myself, "Who am I to be writing a myth, especially when in a sense I'm borrowing this imagery from someone else?" 8O


Perhaps it isn't a diety calling to you. Have you ever thought it was a spirit? Ancestor? Spirit guide?
Just a thought. I'm not doubting your ideas, just throwing more out there!
:)

[Agaliha]

Perhaps it isn't a diety calling to you. Have you ever thought it was a spirit? Ancestor? Spirit guide?
Just a thought. I'm not doubting your ideas, just throwing more out there!
:)

I think that is first thought that is considered, but as you can see they are not spirits, ancestors or guides-- they are Dieties ;)

Someone brought that up in this thread, with a similar topic:
Page 4 and up on HERE (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=22446&page=4)

[AlAskendir]

Well, that's part of the reason I posted this. I've been feeling a "pull" towards a certain modern image of a God and in many ways it feels very real to me, but at the same time because of the source I'm battling a 'not credible' feeling. I really feel like I shouldn't look at it that way, but part of me does. :crazy: I guess I keep saying to myself, "Who am I to be writing a myth, especially when in a sense I'm borrowing this imagery from someone else?" 8O

Who are you not to? Modeling and myth-making are some of humans most basic ways of understanding and doing things. to quote a very wise man (Danny Kay) "Plagiarize! Plagiarize! Remember why the Goddess made your eyes! Only - - remember to call it research!"

Are you publishing this and claiming sole creatorship?
If not, then create away!
If so, then give credit where its due and file off all the serial numbers!!!

[WanderingSoul]

None of you are alone...
I have run across the same problem too, even among the most eclectic of company. Many people are afraid of using their imaginations these days, and although the old myths are extremely useful, we need to be able to adapt and change to our environments. We are no longer in the world of the ancients, and therefore our beliefs have drastically changed.
But aside from that fact, we must redefine the nature of deities in general. No matter how much we try to see it otherwise, two people worshipping the same deity will see it at least a little bit differently. Nobody REALLY worshippes the same entity, because they experience the entity with a different "body", personality, influence, etc....
If we look at the most basic spiritual experiences, they are rooted in ancient practices before language in the Neolithic (i.e. "caveman") era. Animism, the belief that all things, whether we think they are animate or inanimate, contain a basic soul or spirit. It is this essential idea that formed the basis of shamanism, and the kind of societal structures therein.
And it is in these kind of environments, either through exposure to extreme pain or pleasure, psychoactives, or communal ritual, that the first spiritual entities were created. So to any that say the gods we create in the 21st century are "fake", and that we are blasphemous, remind them that all gods were heretical at some point

[Poledra]

Hear, hear Wandering Soul!! I agree wholeheartedly with most of your post. I just want to point out a small historical inaccuracy in your post.



If we look at the most basic spiritual experiences, they are rooted in ancient practices before language in the Neolithic (i.e. "caveman") era. Animism, the belief that all things, whether we think they are animate or inanimate, contain a basic soul or spirit. It is this essential idea that formed the basis of shamanism, and the kind of societal structures therein.
And it is in these kind of environments, either through exposure to extreme pain or pleasure, psychoactives, or communal ritual, that the first spiritual entities were created. So to any that say the gods we create in the 21st century are "fake", and that we are blasphemous, remind them that all gods were heretical at some point


The Neolithic period (actually my focus for my master's) is not the so-called caveman period. In the neolithic period, people were beginning agriculture and sedentary villages. The era of cavepaintings came significantly before that during the Palaeolithic period. And, be careful talking about what people of these times believed around a historian since it is all speculation with no real hard proof.

However, I truly agree with the sentiment of your post. Brilliant!!

Poledra

[WanderingSoul]

Thank you for the educated critique, and the correction is much appreciated. The essential idea that I was trying to obtain was that the Archetypes of the gods and goddesses of antiquity were formed in the Neolithic and Paleolithic times before the formation of consistent language and writing. But yes, there is definitely a distinction, and the change from a hunter gatherer lifestyle to that or an agricultural one, changed the perspective of the ancients and allowed them to more consistently measure the passage of time, and the reoccurence of certain seasonal events.

[Poledra]

I believe that archetypes are more human constants rather than being something that was "created" with changes in culture. They are things that are built into us due to the fact that we are social creatures. I think cultural changes have affected the way we apply those archetypes to our lives and the way in which we perceive them, but they have ultimately stayed the same since we became "human".

Poledra

[WanderingSoul]

I definitely agree. And in the context of godforms and other spiritual entities, the underlying archetypes change along with the cultures that they originated.

[AlAskendir]

Do any of you have a personal diety? By personal, I mean one that might be based on modern/your own imagery and not mythology...

Yes! And it isn't even a Fad diety like weight-watchers!

Sorry, I know I'm not supposed to pick on typo-s....

Yes, I have several Personal Deities (in my own sense of the phrase), but in your sense, I also have Kharkadahn, the God of unicorns (or is the Unicorn of the Gods?), and Herald of Magic.

[AlAskendir]

...... Some of these are gods I don't know well; they're associates of friendlier faces. :) Several have multiple aspects, multiple names, etc. I've tried making up mythologies on my own, and they don't stick. The gods give mythology tidbits on their own schedule, which is most annoying. :awwman:

I was once tasked with discovering more about Hecate, but evidentally I am not quite respectful enough for Her, or something, She would never give me a straight answer (maybe it's 'cause I'm bi). So I started asking other Gods about her, and whoah boy did Hermes dish! I got a whole automatic-writing myth out of it in which Hera exiled Hecate to Hades' realms for giving aide and comfort to Europa just after Zeus'd had his way with her, and Hera had changed her into something. This is also where I discovered that Hermes and Hecate had a daughter (Circe), and I actually managed to research and track that down on the internet.

To make a long story short (I know, too late!! lol), don't ask these gods about themselves, ask them about the other ones!

[Cyzarine]

I have patron and 1 personal deity. My personal deity is myself. If we are scared beings as the rest of earth is, why not honor yourself.

[Agaliha]

I still find this idea really interesting. I keep wondering if I can never find the "right" deity because I'm looking in the wrong place-- ie ancient times.
I'll have to think about this more.

I found this site: How to Create Your Own Religion (http://www.wikihow.com/Create-Your-Own-Religion) as far as I know, it's not a joke. Might help anyone interested in person deities, myths and paths. And: How to Create a Your Own Religion in 10 Easy Steps (http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Your-Own-Religion-in-10-Easy-Steps) (and if it is a joke, they do have a nice outline)

ETA: The more I keep reading about the beginnings of religion the more I begin to think all deities at some point or another were created.
I'm reading When God Was a Woman (Harvest/Hbj Book) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/015696158X/sr=8-1/qid=1148776722/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7064989-6930340?%5Fencoding=UTF8) by Merlin Stone right now and it mentioned how Goddess worship started out as honoring of the female ancestors. That over time they became goddesses and it just exploded from there. Anyway, I recommend the book, it's really interesting and goes though tons of cultures and stuff.
Plus, I find it telling that there are deities for everything that humans saw and felt-- they just seem to be reflections of their world. I really don't think there was a Goddess that protected fishermen, ship and ports until that aspects of that culture came into existance and they needed one. ::shrug::

[Agaliha]

_inabox_ I just saw this thread again along with my deleted posts. After some consideration I thought I'd repost what I wrote more than a year and a half ago. It might help someone out...or not. I don't know. No reason to be embarrased...I mean I've seen/heard of ideas even more out there than this.
:2G:



October 19th, 2005, 12:52 AM
Yeah, someone to talk to!
I have not done this yet, I think I will give it a try.
...but I have been feeling dieties that I think are from the traditional pantheons...but aren't. So I go though this endless rise and fall of happiness and sadness, faith and crisis of faith. Happiness because I get excited about a Diety calling to me, I research and interact as best I can and sadness due to the fact that I never feel that closeness and it all just....fades away. I know there are Gods, it's just every traditional diety I have come in contact with...doesn't feel right to me.
There is this Mother Goddess that keeps calling to me, she is not of any pantheon that I know. I have searched and could not find her anywere. I thought I was going crazy, I thought it was all in my head. Which made me question myself even more. It wasn't until I stumbled onto this thread that I realized other people do the same thing as I was considering doing-- giving life and name to my unknown Goddess, "creating" her.
I believe all Gods- monothiestic and polythiestic are part of the Source-- I see all the dieties as aspects and manifestations of the Source. Maybe the Source is showing me another aspect that others do not know about, I don't see why that is impossible. I think the Source as billions of manifestations and aspects. Maybe one of those has been calling to me. I've had dreams and things that make me wonder. So after lots of mediation, journaling and such I hope that she will guide my hand as I put to words who she is.
I also think that all the Gods and mythologies started somewhere with someone, I think they were divinely inspired, but created none the less. This has always been a problem for me-- I tried to look at the myths as something that floated from the sky all shiney and written by a divine hand...But I can't. I can't help but think there were people that had a hand in their creation, where did they get their ideas? From the Divine? Sure, maybe. From themselves? Sure, maybe-- could have been divinely inspired, or simply there to represent aspects of nature, life and people [father, mother, warrior, crone, trickster]...
That doesn't make them any less real. I same would go for those who have their own personal dieties.
And I too worry about people making fun of my for doing this, for thinking I am psycho, for saying I am wrong, and everything like that. I only mentioned it on MW because people for the most part are friendly and it's anomyous [more so than RL].


Then after:



October 19th, 2005

I have my own idea of what the all encompassing Lady/Goddess is like, but I don't create my own gods for worship. I stick with tradition ^.-

I just wanted to say that the people that have untraditional Dieties aren't creating them in the sense of *poof* out of nowhere, they have come to them just as any other Diety would.
For example I mentioned the Mother Goddess that have have felt for a long time now, I have tried to find her name in Traditional Goddesses, I've looked in myths for her...but she is not there-- not in the sense of "oh here is this Goddess that came to me, because she acts like this and says this she must be Demeter". Maybe she is Demeter, maybe she is another Traditional Goddess-- I do not know now. At this time I have no indication of that. Maybe for some reason she has given me a different name, maybe how she appears to me is more anomyous then the Greek way, I don't know. She is still the Mother Goddess. She is still the same as the ones everyone honor-- she just as a different name and is slightly different-- Just as I am still BlessedFeathers, even though my name is now Belle Terre. I'm still the same person. I believe the Goddess that calls to me is still the Mother Goddess, I believe she is part of the Source-- has been for a long time.
I'm not sitting there say "Oh, it would be cool to have a Goddess of Lightening that is a cheetah and really quick and is a warrioress." Also I am not saying She is Makaktioo from Planet v159 in the 20th Galaxy. That's not what's happening. And I'm not doing that, I don't think the others that have untraditional dieties are either.
I don't see why every diety must be identifiable to the Traditional ones. It's not saying the Traditional ones aren't real, it's not saying they aren't there. It's just saying for me, there is a Goddess that I cannot link back to a Traditional one's name. Maybe that explains why when I find a Goddess that I suspect is the one, I never feel that closeness. Maybe it is Demeter and she knows that I have no affinity for ancient Greece, why then would she come to me in a way and in a form that I would not be receptive to? Maybe then that is why they come in non-traditional forms.
And I am not forgetting all the Traditional Dieties or anything like that. I'm not abandoning them for my "own" and saying to hell with the others. They are still there, I still see them as part of the Source, as important. It's just for me at this time of my life, I am having problems feeling that connection with them-- maybe that is why the Mother Goddess came to me in a non-traditional way.
I just wanted to clairfy that. I am not pulling this Goddess out of mt a$$ here, she is real to me--just as real as all the others. And in time, maybe I will come to know that she is [Tradtional Goddess' name] all along.
I also just remembered Sylvia Browne in one of her books mentions something. Now Sylvia is Gnostic, not New Age or Pagan. She calls the Mother God [Goddess] AZNA. Why not Sophia? Why not another traditional name? Well Azna is the name the Mother Goddess gave to Sylvia to call her. Does that Make her any less of a Mother Goddess? No. She is still the same, just was a different name.
See:
....And we encourage you to make the Mother God, Azna, a part of your daily chats with God. In fact, She is the one who adores to receive your love, and will take an active role in helping you through life. When you need help of the Highest Order, turn your prayers to Azna....
[http://www.sylvia.org/home/prayer.cfm] (http://www.sylvia.org/home/prayer.cfm])
And:
So, what about the name Azna? Well, it sounds like Astarte of the Old Testament, but my spirit guide says Azna is the name She is known by on the Other Side. I don’t think the name really matters, but for this time and writing, we’ll use the name Azna or Mother God whenever we refer to Her.
...
In fact, She takes on many different roles and appears to us in many different ways.
...
A mother praying in a chapel for the life of her dying son saw a lady dressed in white and wearing a mantle. The lady put her hands out and said to the mother, “Go back to your son, he is fine,” and surely he was. She says Mary visited her, and I’m convinced that she did. Here again, what does it matter what we call her?
[http://www.mysticpopmagazine.com/paststories.htm] (http://www.mysticpopmagazine.com/paststories.htm])

The Gods work in mysterious ways, who knows why they come to others differently.


Some of this still applies actually _inabox_
Oh and I used Sylvia Browne as an example, not because I think she's great (I've even more skeptical of her now that I ever was), but because that was the first example I could think of. :lol: