impatient finding name of god/dess w/ certain attributes

[Mishka]

I've been trying to read about the aspects/personalities of the different gods and goddesses. There are so many and I'm trying to narrow my search down but keep slamming into brick walls. :collapse: So blame it on my ADD or just that I'm a busy Mom but here's what I'm trying to learn about:

different god/desses of the night sky, stars, cosmos, heavens (whichever you prefer to call it, not necessarily including the moon, but can) and also god/dess of powerful weather (storms, tornadoes, hurricanes). Is there a site that lists attributes first or God of ____________?

Hard to explain why, would you settle for a simple "connection"? Just narrowing the search would help.

[Kaliel]

Well generally when talking of storms, you don't really have ladies. You have Zeus, the god of thunder, and then you also have Neptune, the god of the Ocean. (I'm thinking hurricanes here for weather connection.) You also have father winter . . . For ladies that would have anything to do with weather, would be mother nature, her name is Tea, but she has more to do with the balance of nature, not of storms.

Let's see here, ladies of the night sky . . . I'd probably say Isis, though it's probably not in the texts, I personally relate Isis with the night sky. I'm thinking of the pyramids and how they mathematically corresponded with the stars in the sky.

I hope that helps!

[Pure Ahimsa]

I know Zeus has a thunderbolt that he slams down onto the Earth, does that count as powerful weather? Heh

Selene and Artemis are associated with the Moon. Apollo and Helios are associated with the Sun. Maybe search those? Heh, don't know much, sorry. :(

I hope you find your Gods. :)

[Khuinaset]

I've been trying to read about the aspects/personalities of the different gods and goddesses. There are so many and I'm trying to narrow my search down but keep slamming into brick walls. :collapse: So blame it on my ADD or just that I'm a busy Mom but here's what I'm trying to learn about:

different god/desses of the night sky, stars, cosmos, heavens (whichever you prefer to call it, not necessarily including the moon, but can) and also god/dess of powerful weather (storms, tornadoes, hurricanes). Is there a site that lists attributes first or God of ____________?

Hard to explain why, would you settle for a simple "connection"? Just narrowing the search would help.

You might want to check out Nut of the Egyptian pantheon, and Aset(Isis), could also be connected to the stars through Sopdet and Wesir's star(forgot what it's called). She's a solar diety as well, if you mean the heavens in general and not the night sky. As are Bast and Sekhmet, and Nefertem as well. Can't forget Ra either ;) Or Heru'ur...or Heru-sa-Aset for that matter. Come to think of it, there's a LOT of solar gods in Kemet.

Set's a big one for storms and lightnings as well, and Djehuti(Thoth), Khnum, and...grr...another Kemetic god...portrayed as younger...are all connected to the moon I believe.

[John_Mischief]

try searching one or more of those terms in the pantheon.org search engine.

[Mishka]

try searching one or more of those terms in the pantheon.org search engine.


That site was very helpful. Astraeus, [Mycenaean Greece] God of the Night Sky, father of the stars and the four winds.

[nightstream]

This doesn't seem to correspond so well with the night sky, but for me, when I think storms, I think Manannan. When we had extreme flooding in our area last fall, I'd been researching info on him at the time, and my boyfriend kept asking me how I'd managed to annoy him that badly :P

[semi]

Oya is the female orisha associated with the lightning bolt, cyclones, and storms. Yemeya is the orisha of the ocean so hurricanes would be more applicable to her.

[Prickle]

Nyx is a goddess of the night sky as is Nuit.

Inanna/Ishtar was called the "Morning and Evening Star" refering to the planet Venus.

The Queen of Heaven was an epithet used for several goddesses including Inanna, Ishtar, Ashtoreth, Isis, among others.

And there's the Wiccan mother goddess who is the earth, moon and stars . . . "Hear the words of the Star Goddess, the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven, whose body encircles the universe . . ."

[Mishka]

So really, there are many choices because each culture/religion would have their own "represntative", if you will, since each culture had their own stories of how the earth began and how the cosmos work.

So another question is, do you choose the one that most "speaks" to you to study and include in worship or prayers(meditation, rituals) or do you attatch yourself one way or the other to the god/dess that is the representative of a particular culture/religion you prefer (connect) with? Is it a hodge podge of different gods from various cultures or is it different based on your philosophy and personal interests? Do you find that when you think of so many gods that represent the same natural forces you begin to think of them as all connected or as one god with many names?



Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought him back. -Stephen Wright

[Prickle]

Personally, I think there are many gods but certain ones who have made appearances in many different cultures.

For a broad example, "mother earth" whether she is called Gaia, Nerthus or Terra...there's only one earth. So perhaps there's one of each god/dess of the earth, sea, sky, love, war, birth, death . . .

But I also believe in the Genius Locii, the spirits of the land, who come to represent certain locations or certain events that are limited to a specific place or tribe.

So in the short of it I believe there are universal gods and local gods, but I don't believe they're all facets of one uber god. Of course my opinion is just one of many.

Although there are folks who are able to make it work, using a mish mash of gods and cultures often just leads to confusion and frustration. Those who are able to do it have usually taken a great deal of time and study to form a coherent system.

If you have an affinity for a certain culture, study that culture and their gods. You may not feel the need to pick just one, you may want to honor them all or it may lead you somewhere else.

Or you may want to try asking if one will come forward and talk to you during meditation or a dream and there's no reason why you can't simply refer to them as Lady of the Storms or Lord of the Sky until you understand them better or they tell you their names (if they do).

Just keep studying and go along for the ride for a while. There's really no rush to "pick" a god/dess to honor. I think if you stress over it you're not likely to make the best decision and ultimately I think the gods pick you, anyway. In any event, it can take time, years even. Relax a bit :)

[HorseCrow]

My advice would be to read up on the gods and goddesses that interest you the most. If there are some that seem to pop up in your life more than others- take a closer look at them. Take your time doing this- rushing will not get you anywhere. The god and/or goddess that is your patron, will come to you in time, if you listen and pay attention to what happens around you.

[Mishka]

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I'm not in a rush to worship a different god/dess than I do now, it's just that those particular natural forces speak to me, not so much a particular god/dess from a certain culture. When I look at the ocean I am reminded of the stories of Poseidon, when I look at the stars I remember the stories of some of the constellations. I do see the oneness of humanity and our search for the divine when I listen or read these stories. I just needed a place to start with looking for stories about the natural forces that speak to me. Hope that makes sense. I'm only on my first cup of coffee. :caffeine:

[nightstream]

I know how you feel... I'm kind of in the same situation. I'm just started to get to know the gods that I connect with through my own instincts and the natural world around me, and they don't seem to be corresponding with any historical gods or cultures. That's part of their beauty, to me - they live in my life and my world first in my mind, rather than in myth, and that immediacy is beautiful, but I still feel kind of out on a limb in my approach to them.
I'm not much help, just someone else in a similar situation... it's kind of reassuring to hear from someone else about this, though :)

Mmmmmm.... coffeeee.... :javaswim:

[Mishka]

I have felt very alone in my beliefs. Leaving christianity with the last two years in christianized Judaism, to Reform Judaism (without converting :0) to a more ecclectic appreciation of different faiths and philosophies...I've definitely felt like a quirk in the world of the faithful. This is the only place where no one seems to mind.

oh man, I'm more backslidden than I thought!
(that was meant to be sarcastic in case you missed my humor)

[Ruhiel]

Arianrhod is also associated with the Moon and the Milky Way...