Hard polytheists and mixing pantheons

[Willowbark]

I was wondering among those who are hard polytheists (people who believe that the gods are individual beings, not aspects of a singular/dual force/deity), what do you think about mixing pantheons?

Now I'm not talking about having the gods even really interact in any way, shape, or form. I'm more asking about feeling drawn to and working with/worshipping different gods/goddesses that just happen to be from different locations.

[Lucien]

If a deity calls to you or if your drawn to one there should be no issue. As far as i know none of the Divine are in a contest to collect the most followers. I am also drawn to a few different Gods in different pantheons. For example, I am drawn to Loki, Horus, and the Morrigan. As well as the Greek hero's, The arch angels Gabriel, Raphael, and Micheal, and in some respects Lucifer. However, my "Chief Deity" so to speak is Anubis. We've had no qualms about who I'm drawn to or whom i speak with as long as i pay him my due respect (he did "adopt" me after all). The only deity I've ever found to dislike mixing is YHWH. "You shall have no God's before me, for i am a jealous God" rings a bell. Trust me, he can be very cold and distant if you choose to ignore this. Other than that there shouldn't be a problem.

[Garm]

I was wondering among those who are hard polytheists (people who believe that the gods are individual beings, not aspects of a singular/dual force/deity), what do you think about mixing pantheons?

Now I'm not talking about having the gods even really interact in any way, shape, or form. I'm more asking about feeling drawn to and working with/worshipping different gods/goddesses that just happen to be from different locations.


Two things

1 The gods call who they want
2 There is no accounting for taste

[Twinkle]

Meh. Hard polytheism is a relatively new term in the grand scheme of things. Eclectic mixing and matching of different Gods from different cultural pantheons is perhaps an indicator that one believes the Gods to be separate and distinct, no?

[kaosxmage]

Two things

1 The gods call who they want
2 There is no accounting for taste

That's sums it up very well.


Meh. Hard polytheism is a relatively new term in the grand scheme of things. Eclectic mixing and matching of different Gods from different cultural pantheons is perhaps an indicator that one believes the Gods to be separate and distinct, no?

An honest glance through history quickly illustrates that the eclectic mixing and matching of Gods is far more traditional than any static pantheon. I agree that's a good indicator of the belief in divine individuality.

--Kaos

[StarlitNox]

Hera and Merlin don't seem to mind... there's plenty of me to go around >;D However, I'm not sure of how to confirm that with the Gods themselves. Still, they'd probably make it known if they didn't like it for some reason.

[FindingMyself]

I personally have no trouble with it. In the ancient world, the "defeated" culture was always somehow assimilated with the reigning culture, so why not now, in a more peaceful way?

[Lymphaticus]

No problem with it for me. I worship the Norse, Greek, and a handful of Egyptian.

[TuathaSidhe]

I see nothing wrong with it but I don't really do it. I am devoted to Brighid and Airmid, but have had fleeting flirts with Baset, Hecete and Cerridwen. Usually when I need to learn something. But aside from my patroness' it tends to be temporary.

But personally, no I have no issues with it at all.

[CosmicTree]

I agree with the other posts before, that there is nothing wrong with mixing many different Deities from different traditions.

[Russ]

I saw this: If the Ancients mixed them (and they did) why can't we?

So sayth the Pan-Indo-European Neo-Druid who practices Hoodoo, Confucianism and Shinto!

[FindingMyself]

Russ, if you don't mind, I would be very curious to learn how your Shinto practice compares with your Druidic ones, as I've felt attracted to Shinto before as well, but based on what I know of it (both from personal research, and a group project in a world religions class in college in which my group discussed Shinto), it seems like it is somewhat of a Japanese counterpart to what I already do with Druidry - nature worship, honoring the ancestors, honoring the gods (although my view of deity isn't hard polytheist, but soft-polytheist/panentheist).

[Russ]

Russ, if you don't mind, I would be very curious to learn how your Shinto practice compares with your Druidic ones, as I've felt attracted to Shinto before as well, but based on what I know of it (both from personal research, and a group project in a world religions class in college in which my group discussed Shinto), it seems like it is somewhat of a Japanese counterpart to what I already do with Druidry - nature worship, honoring the ancestors, honoring the gods (although my view of deity isn't hard polytheist, but soft-polytheist/panentheist).

Very similar. A member of ADF lived in Japan for a time and when he explained what we do and believe in to a Shinto priest the gentleman said "Oh, so Westerners have there own form of Shinto?"

Indeed it is about honoring nature and the Kami, mind you I am still learning. The Kami are mostly petitioned only for worldly benefits. Pass THE test, get into a good college, get a good job, find a hot girlfriend ect. ect.

I've just started with Shinto but really it's scary how close it is to my ADF Druidry just different god names. I'll post more details later when I gots time.