Honoring deities who aren't your patron.

[NiDara]

While I know there are several people out there with patrons, many others obviously don't and that's fine. I am curious if there's anyone out there that honors a god or goddess simply because they admire them. If so, what do you do to honor/ pay your respects to him/her? Does the deity in question respond sometimes? Has it ever led to anything more?

[Louisvillian]

While I know there are several people out there with patrons, many others obviously don't and that's fine. I am curious if there's anyone out there that honours a god or goddess simply because they admire them.

My patrons are Hekate and Cernunnos. I practise Wicca under the interpretation of it being focused on the agricultural cycle and on rustic magic. My patrons are traditionally associated with animals, the wilderness, magic, and rustic life.

I honour other deities, but my reasons for doing so are a bit more complex than just "admiration". The deities in question-- Demeter, Dionysos, Pan, and Kore--are somewhat intertwined in that they are all rustic, pastoral, or agricultural gods. So, you can see, their veneration is intimately tied into the veneration I conduct in my Wiccan rituals towards my patron god and goddess.

[Leirion]

While I know there are several people out there with patrons, many others obviously don't and that's fine. I am curious if there's anyone out there that honors a god or goddess simply because they admire them. If so, what do you do to honor/ pay your respects to him/her? Does the deity in question respond sometimes? Has it ever led to anything more?

 
There are definitely gods and goddesses that I am interested in and I guess you could say admire. Often, what they stand for interests me, or their stories, or how they relate to the world or other deities.

But as a general rule, I try not to reach out to the gods I have not had previous contact with (as in, I wait until they approach me first).

This is not something I would tell others to do, it is just how I work because, invariably, I will get a reply from them and I will not always like it. That happened when I did try to reach out to a god first. (Well, not technically a god, but I consider him one - Morpheus). I have not interacted with him since.

Also, I tend to interact with entities frequently enough without looking for more to add to my plate. And, usually, am I interested in a deity it is usually for a reason and they wind up showing up sooner or later, anyways.

[Sophia C]

While I know there are several people out there with patrons, many others obviously don't and that's fine. I am curious if there's anyone out there that honors a god or goddess simply because they admire them. If so, what do you do to honor/ pay your respects to him/her? Does the deity in question respond sometimes? Has it ever led to anything more?

I'm not a fan of the concept of patrons, personally. I have four household gods whom I honour daily, and there are others that I honour semi-regularly or seasonally, depending on the connection I have with them. Occasionally I'll give an offering to a deity I've never approached before - sometimes they respond, sometimes they don't.

[veggiewolf]

While I know there are several people out there with patrons, many others obviously don't and that's fine. I am curious if there's anyone out there that honors a god or goddess simply because they admire them. If so, what do you do to honor/ pay your respects to him/her? Does the deity in question respond sometimes? Has it ever led to anything more?

 
Yes, but for me it doesn't quite work in the way you describe above.

I belong to three deities, each in a different way, but I don't consider any of them a patron.  One owns me body and soul, another is happy to kick my ass all around the town if I go off track, and the third...well, I've not quite figured out how deep the relationship goes.

I also worship and work for three others and, of those three, one showed up out of the blue announcing I'd always been working for her, and another developed a relationship with me after my son left for college.  The third I started venerating and giving offerings to because I thought she was amazing, and she also fits into my main pantheon in a significant way.  After a year of this, I was backed into a corner to do work for her as well.

[Varian]

While I know there are several people out there with patrons, many others obviously don't and that's fine. I am curious if there's anyone out there that honors a god or goddess simply because they admire them. If so, what do you do to honor/ pay your respects to him/her? Does the deity in question respond sometimes? Has it ever led to anything more?

 
There are three Gods that I work with regularly (and I'm still trying to figure out a system to balance giving them equal time).  There are others I work with every once in a while, or pray to for specific things.

[Cabal]

I'm not a fan of the concept of patrons, personally. I have four household gods whom I honour daily, and there are others that I honour semi-regularly or seasonally, depending on the connection I have with them. Occasionally I'll give an offering to a deity I've never approached before - sometimes they respond, sometimes they don't.

I almost go with the same approach. I have 4 household Gods I honor on a daily basis, but I also give offerings to Brythonic deities as a whole as well.

[Rayne]

While I know there are several people out there with patrons, many others obviously don't and that's fine. I am curious if there's anyone out there that honors a god or goddess simply because they admire them. If so, what do you do to honor/ pay your respects to him/her? Does the deity in question respond sometimes? Has it ever led to anything more?

I have my patron team....chief butt kickers.

But I do honor deities I have no direct relationship with. Sometimes, it is me trying to cultivate attributes in myself that align with that deity so I offer my respect and an offering.

In one case, this resulted in a response, but it usually hasn't. And that response resulted in a working relationship.

[Vovk]

While I know there are several people out there with patrons, many others obviously don't and that's fine. I am curious if there's anyone out there that honors a god or goddess simply because they admire them. If so, what do you do to honor/ pay your respects to him/her? Does the deity in question respond sometimes? Has it ever led to anything more?

I've managed quite well without knowing who my patron is. That being said, I honour several gods and there have been few hitches along the way.

[PhantomQueen]

While I know there are several people out there with patrons, many others obviously don't and that's fine. I am curious if there's anyone out there that honors a god or goddess simply because they admire them. If so, what do you do to honor/ pay your respects to him/her? Does the deity in question respond sometimes? Has it ever led to anything more?

 
I've had Sekhmet come to me as well as Shiva.  As Morrigan is the 'One and Only' for me for the longest time, I was at a loss on how to deal with it.  It's worked out that I'm with Morrigan first and foremost yet I do give offerings and respect to the other two.  I have separate shrines for all of them.  I wasn't sure if I'd be able to split myself between both Morrigan and Sekhmet and still give the quality relationship for both, so it's working well for me so far

[Darkhawk]

I am curious if there's anyone out there that honors a god or goddess simply because they admire them.

I would genuinely be surprised if this wasn't one of the most common ways of interacting with the divine, worldwide.  (If not the, but 'this is the appropriate god to bring this trouble to, and so I am dealing with that one' may beat it out.)

[RandallS]

I would genuinely be surprised if this wasn't one of the most common ways of interacting with the divine, worldwide.  (If not the, but 'this is the appropriate god to bring this trouble to, and so I am dealing with that one' may beat it out.)

I suspect the second is the most common, but I doubt there is any way to prove it.

[Hearth Keeper]

I've had Hecate appear to me in dreams before, with a message to an Atheist friend, who admired Her.  I simply revealed the message as a dream that my friend thought was interesting, not as a command to listen, or whatever.  I wanted it to appear as an interesting dream, not some "crackpot" idea.

When my son was born, She started appearing to me, but not asking me to follow Her, but just letting me know that She was watching over my son.  I did the research and do admire Her.  In giving thanks for Her protection, I built a shrine consisting of nine dimes, a serpent, a boar, a bat, a candle, and an offering bowl that I filled with various oils/foods/plants which are sacred to Her on Dark Moons and the last day of every month.  After I built the shrine and all that, She stopped appearing to me, but I could still feel Her presence around my kid.  I recently dismantled Her shrine, due to my inability to give offerings, but Her energy is still here.

Although I still add to Her virtual shrine on Pinterest.  I also have an e-shrine dedicated to Hera on that site, too.  I don't follow Her, but there are aspects that I do admire.