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Author Topic: Balancing Pantheons  (Read 2487 times)

Katsura

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Balancing Pantheons
« on: July 24, 2011, 07:36:01 am »
Hi,

I werent sure where to post this topic but thought it may be best to put it here.

For quite a while now ive been finding it difficult to stick to "one" goddess or god.
Im drawn to so many from different pantheons, And i want to stick to one pantheon and keep it simple but i cant help but look at other deities and find myself fascinated by their history, myth, how they were worshipped etc.


I was wondering if any of you worship different deities from different pantheons, How do you make it work? Do you have any advice? I don't want to ignore the names im drawn to but i find it quite overwhelming and don't know where to start.

Shadow

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Re: Balancing Pantheons
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2011, 09:55:30 am »
Quote from: Katsura;7643
Hi,
I was wondering if any of you worship different deities from different pantheons, How do you make it work? Do you have any advice? I don't want to ignore the names im drawn to but i find it quite overwhelming and don't know where to start.


I currently only worship the Greek pantheon but will give you my opinion, for what it is worth.

I think worshipping different pantheons is fine as long as you keep that worship separate and do not try to combine your worship of Zeus with Cerridwen (for example). I would also recommend that you research any Gods you are drawn to in order to understand them within their own pantheon and culture.

caelestisraven

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Re: Balancing Pantheons
« Reply #2 on: July 24, 2011, 11:43:39 am »
Quote from: Katsura;7643
I was wondering if any of you worship different deities from different pantheons, How do you make it work? Do you have any advice? I don't want to ignore the names im drawn to but i find it quite overwhelming and don't know where to start.


I think it depends alot on how you view the deities. Someone who is a hard polytheist vs a soft polytheist would approach it very differently.

I can not speak for a hard polytheist, I view the different deities as more archetypes or aspects. So it is very easy for me to have a large & varying pantheon. I mostly stick within the Greek pantheon just because I seem to be more drawn to it. But if I feel a specific Goddess from a different pantheon's energy is needed I will call upon Her in my ritual. I also have a statue of Bast on my altar even as lately I have felt drawn towards Her.

I think much of it is knowing why you are being drawn to such and such name. Calling upon every deity you can think of during a ritual may very well be overwhelming lol but if you stick with a handful and then call upon different ones for specific rituals or sabbats.

It could be that you are just in seeking mode, where you are not sure what you are drawn to yet and just knowing names and not much more about the deities yet. So maybe taking some time to learn about them all is all you really need.

I do a Goddess of the month thing. Where each month I choose a new Goddess to learn about. I set an altar up dedicated to Her. I learn all I can and then plan a ritual. It satisfies my need to learn all I can I think lol.
 
I think the biggest thing is to listen to yourself. Follow what you are drawn to but make sure to listen and figure out the reason why you are. And be respectful, it is easy to just take a handful of keywords of a description about a specific deity but taking the time to really learn about them in depth makes a huge difference.
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SatSekhem

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Re: Balancing Pantheons
« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2011, 11:54:23 am »
Quote from: Katsura;7643
I was wondering if any of you worship different deities from different pantheons, How do you make it work? Do you have any advice? I don't want to ignore the names im drawn to but i find it quite overwhelming and don't know where to start.

 
I think you'll find that most of us "cross pantheons" when it comes to our worship. I have a theory about this, which I'll share. I honestly believe that there are so many limited amount of people, in the world, who are willing to worship the spirits and gods and otherkin (what have you) that they kind of demand attention from people worshiping in another pantheon. I think this is because they kind of starve if they don't get enough attention, so to speak. So, there will be (f'ex) Loki bopping along with his ten followers and Vishnu will notice this and go, "Hey. I need more attention. Those people are open... I'll just pop in..." And bam! One of those Asatru/Heathens/Eclectics is thwapped on the head by Vishnu.

Anyway, moving back to the topic at hand.

Personally, I've never had to make it work because I've only just started in the combining different pantheons/religious beliefs. I think making it work can be exceptionally difficult, but only if you let it. See, I've recently become very interested in vodou and I was a practicing Kemetic. These two religions, when placed side-by-side do no look or sound anything alike. One of the is highly formalized and the other is kind of a catch-as-catch-can. However, I've found that in picking up vodou, I've been able to rectify a lot of mistaken thoughts/ideas that were bouncing around in my head and making me utterly confused in my Kemetic practices.

I know, however, that this isn't always the case. I think I find it easier because syncretism is part and parcel to the Kemetic belief system. *shrug*

Anyway, advice is as follows: take it one step at a time. If you feel like you're being overwhelmed by all of the gods asking for your attention, then you have every right to tell them that. I would start off small and explain to the other deities that you have chosen to focus on -insert deit/ies here- at this moment in time. Once you're comfortable there, then you can focus on them.

Or, you can just go all in and start a melting pot of religious beliefs. It's entirely up to you how you want to handle it. I would, however, talk to the gods in question. If they don't take no for an answer, ignoring them may not be an easy option. However, as someone who has managed to ignore Sekhmet for years at a time (willingly and otherwise), I may not be the best person to be giving advice in that regard. :o
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monsnoleedra

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Re: Balancing Pantheons
« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2011, 12:45:46 pm »
Quote from: Katsura;7643
.. I was wondering if any of you worship different deities from different pantheons, How do you make it work? Do you have any advice? I don't want to ignore the names im drawn to but i find it quite overwhelming and don't know where to start.


For me personaly I find its more than just a pantheon question (s) that has to be addressed.  For instance I am sworn to Artemis yet I also follow Pahket and Bastet from the Egyptian pantheon.  So I am dealing with an Anatolian perspective, a Greek perspective and a Egyptian perspective of all three.

Then I also have to consider time frame and period of observance I am looking at.  For Artemis under her Anatolain persona it predates the Trojan War and to a degree pre-Olympian Greece.  Yet Bast (various periods and kingdoms though especially Lower Kingdom) and Pahket (Middle Kingdom period) became known to me because of the influx of Greek's into Egypt and into the area's where those two Egyptian goddesses were associated by the Greeks to Artemis.

Looking at the period changes the way each was seen.  For instance Bastet was a solar goddess of war and lion headed in the early period.  Became a cat headed goddess with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.  Became a moon goddess with the arrival of the Greek influence and association to Artemis.  Pahket much of the same except she hailed from the region between Bastet and Sehkmet so is believed to exhabit traits of both, ie cat burial ground at her temple at Benni Hassen for example.

To use Hekate as an example I see her more in her Anatolian (Lagina) persona as a tri-realm goddess.  A bit in her persona as a titaness beneath the Olympian pantheon of later Greece, post Trojan War.  Yet have a very difficult time seeing her in the persona Rome attributed to her or even the later hag/crone goddess of witches that arose in later midevil times and Shakespearian applications.

Yet I have no issue's for the most part in looking at her in her Artemis-Hekate persona and Hekate-Artemis persona.  Yet the Selene-Artemis-Hekate persona just defies me and refuses to take hold as a viable projection.

So to me pantheon is something to consider but one also has to look to the period of thier influence.  I know some Hellenist that recognize Hekate in her Olympian influnce but refuse to acknowledge or consider her Anatolain pre-Olympian persona and influence. Yet one is derived from the influence of the earlier period and importance of the god / goddess in question or consideration.

HOwever, many who hold to pantheon never do consider time period or persona held in a specific time period within the greater duration of a given pantheon's hold.

hpsmacy

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Re: Balancing Pantheons
« Reply #5 on: June 17, 2014, 03:14:06 am »
Quote from: Katsura;7643
Hi,

I werent sure where to post this topic but thought it may be best to put it here.

For quite a while now ive been finding it difficult to stick to "one" goddess or god.
Im drawn to so many from different pantheons, And i want to stick to one pantheon and keep it simple but i cant help but look at other deities and find myself fascinated by their history, myth, how they were worshipped etc.


I was wondering if any of you worship different deities from different pantheons, How do you make it work? Do you have any advice? I don't want to ignore the names im drawn to but i find it quite overwhelming and don't know where to start.

 


I am a hard polytheist, so like others have said before in the conversation, I would view things differently than a soft polytheist.
I have crossed pantheons, and i think what matters is that you choose- carefully- which deities you place under which importance. I have Brigid and Hades and Persephone as my top priority. They are my Protector and my Patrons. But I still take into consideration that Hecate, Artemis, Apollo, Cerridwen, Thanatos, and Isis are in my life. not necessarily in that order.
I generally keep a journal. and instead of writing 'dear diary' i write 'dear hecate...' or whomever i feel like talking to. It's weird balancing three pantheons, but instead of trying to 'balance' and make sure everyone gets EQUAL attention, make sure everyone gets the FAIR amount of attention. That way your patron doesn't think he's only just as important as the deity you talk to on full moons.
-Macy.

veggiewolf

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Re: Balancing Pantheons
« Reply #6 on: June 17, 2014, 10:48:54 am »
Quote from: hpsmacy;150264
I am a hard polytheist, so like others have said before in the conversation, I would view things differently than a soft polytheist.
I have crossed pantheons, and i think what matters is that you choose- carefully- which deities you place under which importance. I have Brigid and Hades and Persephone as my top priority. They are my Protector and my Patrons. But I still take into consideration that Hecate, Artemis, Apollo, Cerridwen, Thanatos, and Isis are in my life. not necessarily in that order.
I generally keep a journal. and instead of writing 'dear diary' i write 'dear hecate...' or whomever i feel like talking to. It's weird balancing three pantheons, but instead of trying to 'balance' and make sure everyone gets EQUAL attention, make sure everyone gets the FAIR amount of attention. That way your patron doesn't think he's only just as important as the deity you talk to on full moons.
-Macy.

 
Hi Macy,

Just so you're aware, the OP (original poster) hasn't been active on TC since 2012.

Thanks!

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