Diety

[Eleventhouznd901]

Hmm probably asked before but here we go..
My question to those is if you actually see dieties as a being? Do you actually believe there is a god or goddess or do you just use a god and goddess form to make it easier for you to associate with a form of energy? The other question is if one was not to see or believe in an actual god or goddess but just an energy or life force would that mean they wernt wiccan?

[mol]

Originally posted by Eleventhouznd901

The other question is if one was not to see or believe in an actual god or goddess but just an energy or life force would that mean they wernt wiccan?

We are all made of energy. Its the basic stuff of life...wouldnt Diety be made of the same stuff?

And welcome home to MW.

[Eleventhouznd901]

Originally posted by mol

We are all made of energy. Its the basic stuff of life...wouldnt Diety be made of the same stuff?



Hmmmm.. I think I see what your trying to say.... sometimes all the answers can be in a question itself..lol

btw thanks for the welcome :)

[ShadowSwift]

I maybe have a kind of a weird view on it -- I got my start in Asatru, and while I still largely consider myself an Asatruar, I have some very heavy pantheist leanings too. Kind of varies from day to day -- sometimes I'm an Asatruar with pantheist overtones, other days I'm a panthiest with an Asatru flavor (Ha! I sound like a wine). So take my opinion with a grain (or maybe a whole shaker, who knows?) of salt.

Look at a flower, for example. Each petal is individual and beautiful in its own right, but together they combine to create an even more beautiful whole. Take any one away, and while it's still a flower, but it's missing something; it's no longer completely whole. That what I believe our godforms, as well as ourselves and everything else in existence do; we're all part of that Wholeness.

(Don't ya just love people who wax poetic and aren't poetic in the least? ;) )

[Sylv]

First of all, welcome to MW, and if you wander over to the Gods and Goddesses forum, you'll find some threads addressing this topic. :) Now on to the questions!

My question to those is if you actually see dieties as a being? Do you actually believe there is a god or goddess or do you just use a god and goddess form to make it easier for you to associate with a form of energy?
I see them as actual beings, who appear to me in a way I culturally identify with. Like, there really are gods/goddesses but they've appeared to more than one culture (hence the common motifs of deity) and I'm just seeing old beings in a new way. However, I don't believe they're omnipotent or omniscent...more like they have some extra senses, so they are able to understand things more clearly and help out more (i.e.-it'd be harder for you to act if you couldn't see). Since they have these other senses, they don't always realize what kind of world I see (extending the blind man analogy, many people who are blind say that their sense of hearing is much sharper), so I have to be careful when I'm asking for things. *g*

The other question is if one was not to see or believe in an actual god or goddess but just an energy or life force would that mean they wernt wiccan?
Hmmm....you'd have to find a Wiccan to ask that of. *looks around* Sorry I can't help you there. :)

[Erincelt]

As usual, I'm just here to represent the Museic take on this... so here we go, yet again..

* Single utlimate force begets "potential"
* "Potential" leads to the "polar whirlpool"
* "polar whirlpool's" extremes achieve awareness of each other: the Eternal Parents
* Eternal Parents beget The Light, or "cosmic consciousness"
* The Light shatters into the many Divine Sparks
* Sparks go through life, eventually return to The Light, and to the Eternal Parents, merging their experiences with theirs.

So.. basically.. we do see the gods as beings, but as beings whose form is energy.. that is.. they are beings -- just as us -- who now "live" as a facet of The God And Goddess. Hope that makes sense? I usually teach in metaphors that involve hand movements and whatnot.. I'm not always real good at coming across in words the right way. :)

(and as always, remember that when I say "we" I am referring to me and my Tradition! :) End Disclaimer.)

[Myrddyn Emrys]

Try thinking of it this way;

The human mind needs something to focus on, to visualize. If you can visualize a being of pure energy, good for you. If you cannot visualize something of a nature that is that foreign to yours, then you have to have some form of template to associate it with, such as a mother or father figure. The mind (the concious one) needs a frame of reference.

Myrddyn Emrys