solitarywitch

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 9:45 am

Hi!

I wanted to ask what people's views on the Goddess are. Basically, whether you treat a deity from a specific mythology/ religion as your personal Goddess while acknoleding others (and then who is your matron deity), whether you views all Goddesses as aspects of The Goddess, whether you views the Goddess as an aspect of the Great Spirit, whether you're undecided, etc.

My views on the Goddess are: I haven't decided yet on a matron deity, but as soon as I do I'll be counted in the first option.

Witchy one Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Posts: 162 Location: Idaho

I guess everyone has their own opinion and, entitled to it. I have a patron Goddess, at least the one I turn to most often for help and guidence. I think though, that they are all manifestations of The Goddess, just the different forms given to us to help us more easily understand. I'm not sure our minds could even comprehend or communicate with The All Spirit. Something that imense is just beyond our reasoning.

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:32 pm

Kitsune-chan wrote:

Hi!

I wanted to ask what people's views on the Goddess are. Basically, whether you treat a deity from a specific mythology/ religion as your personal Goddess while acknoleding others (and then who is your matron deity), whether you views all Goddesses as aspects of The Goddess, whether you views the Goddess as an aspect of the Great Spirit, whether you're undecided, etc.

My views on the Goddess are: I haven't decided yet on a matron deity, but as soon as I do I'll be counted in the first option.

I have several Goddesses that I am drawn to, but so far, I don't have a patron Goddess. I'm sure we'll find each other eventually. Smile

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:34 am

srry I haven't posted in forever! My PCs busted, so I'm borrowing my brother's and mom's when I can.

ty for replying! I'll try to drop by more often!

Witchy one Joined: 22 May 2008 Posts: 2

Good morning, KC, et al. Please allow me to empart some of my own experience as a Witch and High Priest of many years (I'm even founding my own Trad. at the moment): Now, despite what one may have been lead to believe from a variety of new fangled books on the subject (which shall go namless, LOL!) the relationship between God/dess and WItch-Priest is an inviolable and sacrosant one. Indeed, this relationship is centered upon serving a God/dess usually for the remainder of one's life (our ancient Pagan coevals serve as great examples of this). So, it's more than "choosing" a deity to serve, or of being "drawns" to a deity (again, despite what many new books on the subject might have one believe, usually due to a poor choice of words).

Rather, it is about being CHOSEN, and about hearing the unmistakible CALL to serve a respective God or Goddess (if I may use a brief Catholic analogy, because it's a religiously apt denotation). Now, what do I mean by being "chosen" or "called" to serve a God? Well, some good pointers would be to look for synchronicity (which are defined by physicists as events concurent in space and time that cannot be explained away as mere coincidence!). Perhaps my opwn example might illustrate this point:

I had forgone "choosing" to serve a deity until I was chosen to do so, for the most part because I thought it rude to seemingly choose a deity arbitrarily when a relationship had not been first established--some (including the Gods) my tender this as rude behavior; it's like knocking on some stranger's door and asking them to be your best friend! However, on Lughnasadh Eve of 2002 I recieved an unmistakible call to serve the Irish Earth- (and Sovereign-) Goddess, An Morrighan when She made an unbeckoned appearance in my dreams that night. Of course, it was within the course of my research that I came to find that Lughnasadh is a day thatw as dedicated to Macha: one of the identities of An Morrighan. But, that night will be one that I will remember with fondness for the rest of my life: as I sat outside, reflecting upon the up-coming Sabbat, I looked out onto a cornfield, just across the highway at the back of my home, when someone actually began letting off fire-works!

Since then I have been studying Her, and learning everything I can (a lot that many Pagans don't seem to know; in fact, they have often tended to fight against it!); while I have also been founding a Cult centered around Her worship and praise. Sadly, however, many Pagans have attemted to berrate me, as though She could never have chosen me, because I am possessed of an introverted and somewhat passifistic personality.

However, to adress a query you posed about how one can have a Patron deity, yet still acknowledge others: it's quite simple. One may believe in the existence of many gods from many pantheons, while centering his or her worship on a single god or goddess. The ancient Greeks and Romans exemplify this beautifully! However, the Celts were far different. They did not have a "pamtheon" as such, that might be analogous to a Greek model. Rather, each tribe had two deities: a tribal chieftain-deity whom may have been personified by the physical chieftain; and who was probably related to a thunder-, solar-, and horned-god as per the Indo-European evidence. However, their respective Goddess was essentially a tribal, territorial, earth-goddesses--it was She (personified by the Queen as Her High Priestess) who aportioned the sovereignty of the tribe onto the next leader. This is why many inter-tribal civil wards were culminated all over the title of chiftain when she chose to divorce the cuurent King in favor of another. But, being King was not always as great as what one might imagine: if the crops failed, or the tribe experienced disaster, the king would be ritually murdered (because he was a sacrificial king!), and deposited onto a bog, which lined many ancient tribal bounderies (hence many of our extent bog mummies). Moreover, many of these same themes can be seen all across the "Celtic" (and, indeed, across the Indo-European) world!

So, this is my "sage advice" on the subject, and I hope you might be able to make some use of it. Ya' know, when I first came to this Path, due to what I was learning from the books I was reading, I never thought I'd see the day that I was a Polyheist! Aye...that seems so long ago.

Take Care,
Wade MacMorrighan

Witchy one Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Posts: 162 Location: Idaho

Thank you for a wonderful explanation. I've never read it put into words any better. My own relationship with diety is a bit odd, I must admit. I have a strong relationship with the Welsh Goddess Rhiannon, this has been so for many moons. I also have a relationship and have been visited in dreams be the Greek God Dyonisus. I have never tried to combine the two, totally different aspects...different pantheons...ect. I totally agree with you though that "we are chosen by Them". I found these choices disconcerting at first but in time have learned to work with both my dieties quite comfortably. I believe that these are the aspects of diety that speak to my spirit most comfortably. Be they different, they are also the same.

Witchy one Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 5

I'm henothiestic, so I think all Gods and Goddesses are aspects of one Great Spirit. People get confused when I say that, but I worship the exact same God as Christians do, it's just I like to worship said Great Spirit in other forms to help me focus on my intent. For example, I tend to talk to Gaia when planting things in the garden, and Bast when dealing with cats.

I also use angel cards, and pray to Tara, the boddhisattva of compassion, especially when I'm finding it hard to show kindness to others.

I think my favourite form of the Great Spirit is probably The Goddess as a whole. Being a girl myself, I find it comforting to talk to a feminine prescence.

Witchy one Joined: 22 May 2008 Posts: 2

Leila May wrote:

I'm henothiestic, so I think all Gods and Goddesses are aspects of one Great Spirit. People get confused when I say that, but I worship the exact same God as Christians do, it's just I like to worship said Great Spirit in other forms to help me focus on my intent. For example, I tend to talk to Gaia when planting things in the garden, and Bast when dealing with cats.

I also use angel cards, and pray to Tara, the boddhisattva of compassion, especially when I'm finding it hard to show kindness to others.

I think my favourite form of the Great Spirit is probably The Goddess as a whole. Being a girl myself, I find it comforting to talk to a feminine prescence.

Leila, I think you are probably employing the term "henotheistic" improperly. It does not refer to a monolithic concept of "all gods are one god, and all goddesses are one goddess", as Dion Fortune put it in her literature--an axiom that has long-since diffused down throogh the ranks of contemporary Paganism. But, henotheism describes something else entirely! I believe that Dictionary.Com defines is best, as "the worship of a particular god, as by a family or tribe, without disbelieving in the existence of others". For example, *I* am henotheistic, because I strictly worship An Morrighan and Her consort, the solar-, thunder- and sky-god, An Daghdha; yet, I acknowledge the existence of every other deity from every other culture! Even the ancient Zoroastrian prophet, Zarathustra was famously henotheistic, for example. The whole "Great Spirit" influence in contemporary Witchcraft can probably be traced back to (in my view) the Fluff Bunny author, Silver RavenWolf!

Take Care,
Wade MacMorrighan

Witchy one Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Posts: 162 Location: Idaho

W.M.- I have been reading your posts with much interest. You seem to have a profound knowledge and a way with words. PLEASE CONTINUE!!!