Keeping your word with the gods

[Mountain Cat]

...

And thanks for taking the time to reply. It's been very helpful for me.

[Juniperberry]

No, I doubt it's you. It's very likely me. I don't communicate with people very often (plus the autism/adhd) so I get on the wrong track and go off on wrong tangents or misunderstand often. Sorry.

I have dyslexia, which causes me to do something very similar. Ha! We're on the same page in more ways than one.

You read it right. The seven week thing was Loki and I didn't get the impression you were warning me away at all. I did get the impression you were counseling that I work through the aftermath. I think I'm going to have to go re-read my reply to you. I can word things very oddly at times and often make little sense. Apologies. :/

No need to apologize. I was just second guessing myself. I have a hard time reading word for word so I tend to skim posts. Some connections between words were throwing me off is all.

The other, original deity is Odin, who also freaks me out and I was just ready to accept a 'call' from him when Loki showed up. So. I was confused and scared and I think I rambled on a lot.

Maybe I just need some chocolate.

Odin and Loki might go hand in hand. Bobthesane reminded me some time ago that Odin is known for being a god of madness after all. I conflate them sometimes, because their lines can be really blurred. They're supposedly blood brothers right?

There's folklore that Odin marks his worshippers by claiming them through Ordeal. It makes sense with the einherjar folklore... betraying his favored warriors by having them fall in battle to serve in Valhalla. Some people interpret the Baldr myth similarly, thinking that Odin used Loki to slay the favored son. All of that betrayal involves tricks, which probably would lead to some sort of trickster power.


[As to the roadwork god, I think I may have confused you with HarpingHawke. ]

[Jainarayan]

...But generally when that kind of presence takes a direct interest in you, maybe there's something there that you need to embrace and work with to bring you to a healthier and more whole place. ...

Agree with this I do. I feel that's what happened with Thórr and me. There are a lot of things I need to work on, mostly involving courage and personal strength, and fighting my own Jörmungandr as it were. So I think Thórr grabbed me, for my own good, since I was floundering. Lately I've been less than diligent in my promises and progress. I feel he's leaving me alone to work things out and come to my senses. The Gods do things like that.

[Mountain Cat]

I have dyslexia, which causes me to do something very similar. Ha! We're on the same page in more ways than one.


No need to apologize. I was just second guessing myself. I have a hard time reading word for word so I tend to skim posts. Some connections between words were throwing me off is all.

I'm pretty used to having no one understand me. I try very hard when it's in written form but that's often full of fail too.

Odin and Loki might go hand in hand. Bobthesane reminded me some time ago that Odin is known for being a god of madness after all. I conflate them sometimes, because their lines can be really blurred. They're supposedly blood brothers right?

There's folklore that Odin marks his worshippers by claiming them through Ordeal. It makes sense with the einherjar folklore... betraying his favored warriors by having them fall in battle to serve in Valhalla. Some people interpret the Baldr myth similarly, thinking that Odin used Loki to slay the favored son. All of that betrayal involves tricks, which probably would lead to some sort of trickster power.

 
I had forgotten about Odin being associated with madness. And a very interesting interpretation of the Baldr story. I'd never considered that. Really, I have a lot of re-reading to to do reacquaint myself with the lore. Which I'm just starting to do. (any helpful suggestions appreciated!)

[Laveth]

On this part, I'm glad to try and help.

Pretty much, think of it the same way you might say you 'worked with' a human being - a general term encompassing a wide range of interactions.

You might work with another person at a job, on a volunteer activity, for a personal project. It might be something that lasts for an hour or two, or for years. It might be something that's very pragmatic - let's get this this thing done - or much more emotionally intimate. Sometimes it's several of those things at different points in your interactions.

The same thing is true of interactions with deities. A lot of people (myself included) use the term because there isn't another handy one that has a range of things. With a deity, it might include prayer or formal (or informal) ritual, it might include meditation, it might include divination, it might include being attentive to signs, symbols, or other things like that. It might include doing specific tasks in the world that are related to that deity (either directly or in directly.)

And because ongoing relationships - with people, and with deities - are complicated, that's a lot to spell out every time. Hence 'worked with'.

It's also a phrase that works well for people who do things like formal ritual and people who don't, or people whose relationship with a given deity is more service and less 'worship and honour' even though those things may also be part of what they do. In my own case, I work with M'lady (and on her behalf) a lot of the time, but I do formal ritual worship or honouring activities much less frequently.

 
This explains what I was referring to very well.