God and Goddess

[Emma Eldritch]

There is nothing wrong with that. I feel choosing which gods or goddess to be close to should be done by instinct and what just feels right.

What if 'what feels right' is considered taboo, or just unwise from personality-clashing standpoints? Like say you have a god and goddess who traditionally hate one another - how would you approach that?

[Sefiru]

What if 'what feels right' is considered taboo, or just unwise from personality-clashing standpoints? Like say you have a god and goddess who traditionally hate one another - how would you approach that?

I often see the phrase 'what feels right' dismissed as being equivalent to 'whatever you want', but if you think about it, that's not what it means.

Note that the phrasing is not 'what feels ... nice, easy, convenient, comfortable, cool or simple'. No, it's what feels right. As in, appropriate. In most cases, holding a ritual with a god and goddess that hate each other wouldn't be appropriate (unless maybe you're doing a battle-of-the-sexes thing).

(As for when,why,and how it is right to break taboos, that is a whole other ball of wax that I lack the brain to expand on right now. But it would make for an interesting thread.)

[Emma Eldritch]

I often see the phrase 'what feels right' dismissed as being equivalent to 'whatever you want', but if you think about it, that's not what it means.

That's an excellent point.

Note that the phrasing is not 'what feels ... nice, easy, convenient, comfortable, cool or simple'. No, it's what feels right. As in, appropriate. In most cases, holding a ritual with a god and goddess that hate each other wouldn't be appropriate (unless maybe you're doing a battle-of-the-sexes thing).

As long as that's what a person means by 'right,' yeah. I've definitely seen people use 'feels right' as a more... "if it makes sense to YOU it doesn't matter" shorthand. Not that that is bad either, mind.

[Castus]

(unless maybe you're doing a battle-of-the-sexes thing).

*sacrifices a lamb and hurls it into a pit of flames*

Welcome to... THE DEITY DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEE



(last edited by Morag to fix quote code.)

[Bluerose31]

What if 'what feels right' is considered taboo, or just unwise from personality-clashing standpoints? Like say you have a god and goddess who traditionally hate one another - how would you approach that?

Interesting and good points. I still feel doing what feels right is a benefit because I think with using our instinct we are able to figure a lot out and find good choices. I think that If I had a god and goddess who traditionally hated one another I would approach that by always doing ritual separately for them, having separate altars and never invoking them together. I would also try and understand why they hated each other and see if there could be some resolution to it.

[moonsong]

There is nothing wrong with that. I feel choosing which gods or goddess to be close to should be done by instinct and what just feels right.

Yes, I think instinct is important. Perhaps most people feel closer to, and more drawn to, a particular deity, often without really understanding why. For me it is Isis. I felt the connection when I first visited Egypt, and it has never faded. I can't explain why, and I've tried so often to understand it, but without success. Perhaps it isn't meant to be understood, but is just something that IS and must be accepted.

[Sorcha]

Do you incorporate both God and Goddess into your practice or do you focus on one or the other?

Both, but not as a pair so much as both male and female deity have places in what I do. My main goddess that I work with currently is Brigid, although I've also had an experience with Cerridwen and have been toying with starting work with one of the "darker" goddesses.

Gods I have a weird relationship, but Gwyn ap Nudd has a definite place somewhere in what I do; I just haven't quite figured out what yet.


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[TheGreenWizard]

Do you incorporate both God and Goddess into your practice or do you focus on one or the other?

Currently, I focus on Dionysus because he contacted me when I was in my Deity meditation. I have a few ideas of which Goddess may be my patron, but I'm still trying to figure that one out. In my most recent full moon working, I paid homage to the Elements, the Goddess & the Moon, and Dionysus. It felt right to me to give offerings and libations to all of them, so until I get the feeling otherwise, I'll stick with this.

[Goddess_Ashtara]

What if 'what feels right' is considered taboo, or just unwise from personality-clashing standpoints? Like say you have a god and goddess who traditionally hate one another - how would you approach that?

Within my pantheon are certain gods who oppose one another and are at constant war with one another, who I worship simultaneously.  To some these gods might represent opposing Forces of human Nature.  Evoking or invoking these Forces together is like bringing opposing sides of my own human Nature into balance.  This is something my spiritual-religious system encourages... just not all the time.  There are times that call for balance, but also there are times where one must embrace some side of human Nature in its entirety. 

There are some periods where gods who have opposed one another no longer do so, or when gods who were not opposing one another begin to do so.  This religion evolves; there are eras within it like chapters within a story, where forces Above and Below and Within might unite or declare war upon one another as the story progresses.  It is not a stagnant spiritual-religious system... nothing is set stone, many things are open to interpretation and one's actions in life may influence the alignment and paths of the deities one embraces.

And to answer the question in this topic, there are many gods and many goddesses.  I worship several gods and several goddesses, some of which have been called "demons" or "angels", or "archangels" or "archdemons".  I worship a supreme God over them all, above all things, and an even more ancient primordial chaos goddess.  Sumerian, Babylonian, and Abrahamic mythology all had significant effects on my own spiritual-religious system, but it is what I choose to make of it.

[Goddess_Ashtara]

What if 'what feels right' is considered taboo, or just unwise from personality-clashing standpoints? Like say you have a god and goddess who traditionally hate one another - how would you approach that?

Another reason why one might evoke or invoke two clashing deities at the same time would be to explore two potentially clashing or contradicting perspectives before making some significant decision moving forward.  It is like the stereotypical angel on one shoulder and demon on the other, except most of the time it has nothing to do with morality or alignment with Heavens or Hells, but about choosing and exploring various paths and possibilities, prioritizing objectives, opening specific doorways and creating specific futures.   

[Goddess_Ashtara]

Another reason why one might evoke or invoke two clashing deities at the same time would be to explore two potentially clashing or contradicting perspectives before making some significant decision moving forward.  It is like the stereotypical angel on one shoulder and demon on the other, except most of the time it has nothing to do with morality or alignment with Heavens or Hells, but about choosing and exploring various paths and possibilities, prioritizing objectives, opening specific doorways and creating specific futures.

Kind of like.. Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera appearing before Paris as he makes his choice moving forward to pursue the love of Helen... over victory in battle and wisdom, and wealth and political power.

[stellaluna]

Do you incorporate both God and Goddess into your practice or do you focus on one or the other?

I never wanted to worship either. When I started my journey on my path, I was focusing more on a spiritual aspect. It didn't stay that way and now I work with the Green Man. I don't have a goddess that I work with. That might change however if I ever figure out the dream I had a few nights ago.