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Author Topic: Ways to find your Patrons?  (Read 4753 times)

Geroth

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Ways to find your Patrons?
« on: January 24, 2015, 01:08:22 am »
I have been trying to find my patrons for quite some time. I have read tons of material about gods from many different pantheons but have had no results, nothing has come to me. Is there any way you would recommend to best find out who they are? I have thought about trying meditation. However I respond better to guided meditations and I have yet to find any guided meditations to find your patrons.

Any advice you could give me would be much appreciated. :)

Faemon

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Re: Ways to find your Patrons?
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2015, 02:22:17 am »
Quote from: Geroth;169884
I respond better to guided meditations and I have yet to find any guided meditations to find your patrons.

Any advice you could give me would be much appreciated. :)


There are more than a few Meet Your Spirit Guide guided meditations on YouTube that keep the descriptions vague enough that some deity symbolism has room to come through, too.

It might also depend on what you believe about patron(esse)s. If everybody has them, or not everybody has them, or if those who have them don't have the same one all the time...
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Materialist

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Re: Ways to find your Patrons?
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2015, 10:39:35 am »
Quote from: Geroth;169884

Any advice you could give me would be much appreciated. :)


There are two places where I would start: your lifestyle and where you live. For the first, what things are very important in your life? Those can be used to create deity concepts. For the second, since the fortune of the area you live in provides your job, house and the food you eat, the place itself can be personified as a god.

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Re: Ways to find your Patrons?
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2015, 11:24:23 am »
Quote from: Geroth;169884
Any advice you could give me would be much appreciated. :)

 
My advice: stop trying.

Investigate religions.  Find practices that work for you, that satisfy whatever spiritual needs that you have.  Find systems and structures that help you to be a better person - that encourage you to heal your wounds, that give you limits and strictures that prevent those qualities of your personality that you want better controlled from running rampant, that encourage those parts of your personality that you want to nurture to flower.  Find things that will enable you to be better present in the world, a better contributor to reality, someone who will make things better.

Any power worth honouring will value that.

If you find powers you wish to honour along the way, do so.  You don't need anyone's permission, or some kind of personal tap on the shoulder to set up a shrine, or pour libations, or say "I'm doing this in the name of so-and-so".  I'd suggest starting with those who are relevant to what you are already doing - if you're a student, honour gods of learning; if you're a medical worker, honour gods of healing; if you love to cook, honour gods of food and the hearth.

Cultivate relationships with your local environment.  Is there a tree nearby that gives you a sense of power?  Give it gifts.  Pour out water on its roots.  Learn the ecosystem of where you live - and listen for the lessons it can teach you, spiritually.  Become familiar with the signs of weather, which seasons bring wind, how to know when the world in your immediate area is suffering.  (Don't neglect the human ecosystem!  If you live in a city, you'll have fewer opportunities to plant a garden that encourages local bees and birds and wildlife, and more opportunities to buy a homeless person a sandwich.)

If you find that a particular system works well for you - if being a heathen gives you the right sort of strength, if a druidic revival path settles you and teaches you what you need to know to be at your best in the world, if a form of religious witchcraft heals you best - you might do well cultivating relationships with the powers affiliated with that system and find things there.
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Sarah

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Re: Ways to find your Patrons?
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2015, 11:34:26 am »
Quote from: Darkhawk;169890
My advice: stop trying.

Investigate religions.  Find practices that work for you, that satisfy whatever spiritual needs that you have.  Find systems and structures that help you to be a better person - that encourage you to heal your wounds, that give you limits and strictures that prevent those qualities of your personality that you want better controlled from running rampant, that encourage those parts of your personality that you want to nurture to flower.  Find things that will enable you to be better present in the world, a better contributor to reality, someone who will make things better.

Any power worth honouring will value that.

If you find powers you wish to honour along the way, do so.  You don't need anyone's permission, or some kind of personal tap on the shoulder to set up a shrine, or pour libations, or say "I'm doing this in the name of so-and-so".  I'd suggest starting with those who are relevant to what you are already doing - if you're a student, honour gods of learning; if you're a medical worker, honour gods of healing; if you love to cook, honour gods of food and the hearth.

Cultivate relationships with your local environment.  Is there a tree nearby that gives you a sense of power?  Give it gifts.  Pour out water on its roots.  Learn the ecosystem of where you live - and listen for the lessons it can teach you, spiritually.  Become familiar with the signs of weather, which seasons bring wind, how to know when the world in your immediate area is suffering.  (Don't neglect the human ecosystem!  If you live in a city, you'll have fewer opportunities to plant a garden that encourages local bees and birds and wildlife, and more opportunities to buy a homeless person a sandwich.)

If you find that a particular system works well for you - if being a heathen gives you the right sort of strength, if a druidic revival path settles you and teaches you what you need to know to be at your best in the world, if a form of religious witchcraft heals you best - you might do well cultivating relationships with the powers affiliated with that system and find things there.

 
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Chabas

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Re: Ways to find your Patrons?
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2015, 11:50:55 am »
Quote from: Geroth;169884
I have been trying to find my patrons for quite some time. I have read tons of material about gods from many different pantheons but have had no results, nothing has come to me. Is there any way you would recommend to best find out who they are? I have thought about trying meditation. However I respond better to guided meditations and I have yet to find any guided meditations to find your patrons.

Any advice you could give me would be much appreciated. :)

 
Well, what kind of patronate are you looking for, and what are you looking to get out of it.

I mean, a lot of people will talk about their patron as a personal type of relationship with active mutual interaction. Those kinds of relationships are RARE. Most people don't have that type of relationship with any deity. I don't. The closest I get is my relationship with Sekhmet, who I believe nudged me towards Kemeticism because I am USEFUL there, and kind of went "ok kid, good luck!" and wandered off. I recognize Her hand in my thinking and my way of looking at things, but I don't have personal contact with her.

There's also the traditional sense of patron deity as the deity in whose domain your profession or interests fall. In THAT way, I mainly recognize Taweret, as a goddess of the home, and Djehuti, as god in charge of my scholarly work. These aren't personal relationships in any way, but they're important. I have a small Taweret statue in my kitchen, and a small image of Djehuti by my desk at work. These are valuable to me, because they are daily reminders of why I'm doing what I'm doing. When I am grumpy about the daily drudgery of cleaning the kitchen, Taweret reminds me that feeding my family and keeping my house clean and in order are also part of the daily work of ma'at, and not just something pointless to get out of the way.

Pagans tend to talk a lot about the first kind of patronate, because it's hip and interesting and special, but honestly, from where I stand... In my life, I think that the second kind of patronate, the reminder of the value of the daily activities in my life, is probably more valuable, and far more likely to actually fulfill a spiritual *need*.

--Chabas

Geroth

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Re: Ways to find your Patrons?
« Reply #6 on: January 25, 2015, 09:03:32 pm »
Quote from: Darkhawk;169890
My advice: stop trying.

Investigate religions.  Find practices that work for you, that satisfy whatever spiritual needs that you have.  Find systems and structures that help you to be a better person - that encourage you to heal your wounds, that give you limits and strictures that prevent those qualities of your personality that you want better controlled from running rampant, that encourage those parts of your personality that you want to nurture to flower.  Find things that will enable you to be better present in the world, a better contributor to reality, someone who will make things better.

Any power worth honouring will value that.

If you find powers you wish to honour along the way, do so.  You don't need anyone's permission, or some kind of personal tap on the shoulder to set up a shrine, or pour libations, or say "I'm doing this in the name of so-and-so".  I'd suggest starting with those who are relevant to what you are already doing - if you're a student, honour gods of learning; if you're a medical worker, honour gods of healing; if you love to cook, honour gods of food and the hearth.

Cultivate relationships with your local environment.  Is there a tree nearby that gives you a sense of power?  Give it gifts.  Pour out water on its roots.  Learn the ecosystem of where you live - and listen for the lessons it can teach you, spiritually.  Become familiar with the signs of weather, which seasons bring wind, how to know when the world in your immediate area is suffering.  (Don't neglect the human ecosystem!  If you live in a city, you'll have fewer opportunities to plant a garden that encourages local bees and birds and wildlife, and more opportunities to buy a homeless person a sandwich.)

If you find that a particular system works well for you - if being a heathen gives you the right sort of strength, if a druidic revival path settles you and teaches you what you need to know to be at your best in the world, if a form of religious witchcraft heals you best - you might do well cultivating relationships with the powers affiliated with that system and find things there.


For the past nine months all I have done is read and research. I have investigated numerous Pagan spiritual paths, from Wicca to Germanic Heathenry to Kemeticism and everything in between. I've also investigated Hinduism, Gnostic Christianity, Buddhism and Taoism. None of the paths I have investigated stood out to me in terms of practices, neither did any of the gods call me, it's been very frustrating.

The thing is, despite all the books I have read I am completely oblivious to working with and communing with deities. I've heard the message that the "gods choose you" so I have prayed for guidance on who my deities are and tried to look out for signs, dreams and synchronicity but nothing has come to me.

Some people have said that I should do a ritual, call out to the universe and all of the gods and goddesses for my patrons to reveal themselves to me. Others however have said that it's not a good idea, as you can attract deities that are not your patrons.

Others have warned me however that having patrons in your life is not an easy thing and everything is not suddenly made easier for you if anything, everything gets much harder and there are struggles to overcome.

Darkhawk

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Re: Ways to find your Patrons?
« Reply #7 on: January 25, 2015, 09:26:38 pm »
Quote from: Geroth;169999
The thing is, despite all the books I have read I am completely oblivious to working with and communing with deities.


Which is why pursuing meaningful practice is useful.

"Working with and communing with deities" is a really minor part of most religion, overall.
as the water grinds the stone
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Geroth

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Re: Ways to find your Patrons?
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2015, 10:36:39 pm »
Quote from: Darkhawk;170000
Which is why pursuing meaningful practice is useful.

"Working with and communing with deities" is a really minor part of most religion, overall.


I have searched for meaningful practice and have yet to find it but I shall keep trying but I am fast running out of ideas. I even did a few rituals that I have read in books and ones I had found online from various traditions to see how they felt. Some felt awkward to perform, some felt completely wrong for me, others I didn't feel a connection to at all. I have yet to find a practice that felt "meaningful" to me at all.

Sarah

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Re: Ways to find your Patrons?
« Reply #9 on: January 25, 2015, 11:15:17 pm »
Quote from: Geroth;170003
I have searched for meaningful practice and have yet to find it but I shall keep trying but I am fast running out of ideas. I even did a few rituals that I have read in books and ones I had found online from various traditions to see how they felt. Some felt awkward to perform, some felt completely wrong for me, others I didn't feel a connection to at all. I have yet to find a practice that felt "meaningful" to me at all.

 
What things in your life do you find meaningful? Start there. Also read Darkhawks post upthread again about all the things you can be doing that are not overtly "religious"

Also many many people approach gods and say hi, theres nothing wrong with that, as long as you are respectful about it if it doesn't work out what has been lost?

For myself? I approached gods entirely on a level of self interest, because i thought my life was a shape that made sense  to have them in it and because i thought i had much  to learn from them.  Although i don't think of any of the gods I engage with as my Patron
Knowing when to use a shovel is what being a witch is all about. Nanny Ogg, Witches Abroad

Freesia

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Re: Ways to find your Patrons?
« Reply #10 on: January 25, 2015, 11:44:24 pm »
Quote from: Geroth;169999
For the past nine months all I have done is read and research. I have investigated numerous Pagan spiritual paths, from Wicca to Germanic Heathenry to Kemeticism and everything in between. I've also investigated Hinduism, Gnostic Christianity, Buddhism and Taoism. None of the paths I have investigated stood out to me in terms of practices, neither did any of the gods call me, it's been very frustrating.

The thing is, despite all the books I have read I am completely oblivious to working with and communing with deities. I've heard the message that the "gods choose you" so I have prayed for guidance on who my deities are and tried to look out for signs, dreams and synchronicity but nothing has come to me.

Some people have said that I should do a ritual, call out to the universe and all of the gods and goddesses for my patrons to reveal themselves to me. Others however have said that it's not a good idea, as you can attract deities that are not your patrons.

Others have warned me however that having patrons in your life is not an easy thing and everything is not suddenly made easier for you if anything, everything gets much harder and there are struggles to overcome.

 
I understand your struggle. I have been seeking for ten years. Developing a spirituality is not an easy process. I suggest that you begin with the Ancestors if you really need to focus your energy on honoring Spirit-energy.

I say something like: "I light this candle for those who walked before me and gave me life." You can say whatever you like. Speaking out loud sets your intention otherwise you'd just be lighting a candle. Same goes with giving offerings.  

Take it slowly and get into the habit of establishing a practice before devoting yourself to a deity or pantheon. If you need to focus on a God-personification you can make a donation to the Earth Mother, Sky Father, Sanctuary, Sun and Moon. The names are not as important as the energy they represent/personify.

DavidMcCann

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Re: Ways to find your Patrons?
« Reply #11 on: January 26, 2015, 01:00:51 pm »
Quote from: Geroth;169999
I have investigated numerous Pagan spiritual paths, from Wicca to Germanic Heathenry to Kemeticism and everything in between. I've also investigated Hinduism, Gnostic Christianity, Buddhism and Taoism.

So, lets do a bit of elimination!

1. Do you believe in reincarnation? If not, Hinduism and Buddhism are out.
2. Do you feel that life is suffering and that being incarnate is a bad thing? If not, Buddhism and Gnosticism are out.
3. Do you believe in a Supreme Being? If so, Buddhism and Heathenry are out.
4. Do you feel magic is important? If so, Wicca is a good choice, although you can practice magic in any religion (well, not in the "ranting proddy" variety of Christianity!)

Also, religions have a cultural background, particularly ethnic ones. Look at the art of the Greeks, Indians, and Egyptians; read the myths of the Norse, Greeks, and Indians; look at the Nine Noble Truths of Heathens, the Delphic Maxims of the Hellenes, the Maxims of Ptahhotep for Egypt. How do you react — emotionally, not intellectually — what's your gut feeling?

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Re: Ways to find your Patrons?
« Reply #12 on: January 26, 2015, 03:42:06 pm »
Quote from: Geroth;169999
For the past nine months all I have done is read and research. I have investigated numerous Pagan spiritual paths, from Wicca to Germanic Heathenry to Kemeticism and everything in between. I've also investigated Hinduism, Gnostic Christianity, Buddhism and Taoism. None of the paths I have investigated stood out to me in terms of practices, neither did any of the gods call me, it's been very frustrating.

 

Well, then maybe what you need to do is [responsibly] create your own path. Darkhawk has a great article on eclecticism floating around somewhere--I can't seem to find it, or I'd post a link. Anybody have time to find it, please?

Just beware that creating a coherent spiritual path is a TON of work. I could devote a decade solely to divination in the path I'm creating for myself--the rest of it will take a lifetime or more. :eek: It's worth it, but it's incredibly hard.

And also, if you decide to keep looking for an already-created path, just remember to not oversimplify things. Using the example of Buddhism (correct me if I'm wrong, resident Buddhist and Buddhist-influenced practicioners), boiling down a philosophy to a sentence such as "Buddhists believe the world is only suffering" can't capture the philosophy and thus misrepresents it. So beware of elevator pitches and taglines.
« Last Edit: January 26, 2015, 03:44:32 pm by HarpingHawke »
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Darkhawk

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Re: Ways to find your Patrons?
« Reply #13 on: January 26, 2015, 04:19:06 pm »
Quote from: HarpingHawke;170024
Well, then maybe what you need to do is [responsibly] create your own path. Darkhawk has a great article on eclecticism floating around somewhere--I can't seem to find it, or I'd post a link. Anybody have time to find it, please?

 
http://www.ecauldron.net/eclecticism.php

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Re: Ways to find your Patrons?
« Reply #14 on: January 26, 2015, 07:57:33 pm »
Quote from: DavidMcCann;170019
So, lets do a bit of elimination!

1. Do you believe in reincarnation? If not, Hinduism and Buddhism are out.
2. Do you feel that life is suffering and that being incarnate is a bad thing? If not, Buddhism and Gnosticism are out.
3. Do you believe in a Supreme Being? If so, Buddhism and Heathenry are out.
4. Do you feel magic is important? If so, Wicca is a good choice, although you can practice magic in any religion (well, not in the "ranting proddy" variety of Christianity!)

Also, religions have a cultural background, particularly ethnic ones. Look at the art of the Greeks, Indians, and Egyptians; read the myths of the Norse, Greeks, and Indians; look at the Nine Noble Truths of Heathens, the Delphic Maxims of the Hellenes, the Maxims of Ptahhotep for Egypt. How do you react — emotionally, not intellectually — what's your gut feeling?

If you wait to be invited in by a god, you might strike lucky, but you might be dead first!

 
Seldom have I seen so many oversimplifications, misleading stereotypes, and just plain errors of fact, in just a dozen or so lines.

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