Too many Deities, not enough time?

[troll maiden]

Recently I've been exploring other deities other than my usual three; Bast, Sekhmet and Demeter. There are some I've been drawn to (Quanyin and Janus), and others that have been prodding me (Morrigan).

All the Deities interest me, the myths about Quanyin even made me cry a little! I also prayed to Janus to help me have a smooth transition into my new job. I also can't forget to mention how much Morrigan is helping me at the moment.

Ok, so you're probably wondering what's to worry about? Well... I wonder if I'm spreading myself too thin with my devotion.

I guess I'm wondering how many Deities are too many? Any thoughts on this would be greatly welcomed!

[Heliocoptero]

I guess I'm wondering how many Deities are too many? Any thoughts on this would be greatly welcomed!

Sometimes it's not an issue of how many, but how you worship them. It may be an issue of prioritizing so some deities are worshipped on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis, where as others are given a feast once or twice a year. It's the easiest way of accommodating a large pantheon.

[Materialist]

Ok, so you're probably wondering what's to worry about? Well... I wonder if I'm spreading myself too thin with my devotion.

I guess I'm wondering how many Deities are too many? Any thoughts on this would be greatly welcomed!

I guess that depends on your level of piety. There was a Roman named Arnobius, who prayed at every sacred rock, tree, spring-you name it-not to mention all the shrines to the gods along the road, that he came across. The butt of some jokes, to be sure, but he shows that some pagans were truly religious fanatics.

You don't have to revere them all every day, you know.

[Darkhawk]

I guess I'm wondering how many Deities are too many? Any thoughts on this would be greatly welcomed!

 
How many friends are too many?

Rather depends on the sorts of friends, what sorts of commitments are involved with them, how much time and energy you want to spend with each one, what their expectations and needs from you are, right?

[Lokabrenna]

How many friends are too many?

Rather depends on the sorts of friends, what sorts of commitments are involved with them, how much time and energy you want to spend with each one, what their expectations and needs from you are, right?

 
Pretty much this.

I would also add that I have friends on Facebook with 30+ altars around their homes, so I think you're okay.

[Jack]

Pretty much this.

I would also add that I have friends on Facebook with 30+ altars around their homes, so I think you're okay.

I have to admit I sort of envy people with that much space.

Too many deities, to me, would be whatever number of deities makes you feel overwhelmed or harried, or when you find yourself putting off housework or hobbies or even paid work because you need to CELEBRATE ALL THE FESTIVALS!

[troll maiden]

I guess I'm wondering how many Deities are too many? Any thoughts on this would be greatly welcomed!

 
Thank you everyone for your feedback, it's given me some stuff to mull over and think about.

I think Janus would be best served if i honour him at the beginning of things. Thinking about it meditating on Quanyin and her deeds helps to relax me when I'm becoming inflexible with others. As for the Morrigan she is a fantastic source of strength and resilience.

[PhantomQueen]

Recently I've been exploring other deities other than my usual three; Bast, Sekhmet and Demeter. There are some I've been drawn to (Quanyin and Janus), and others that have been prodding me (Morrigan).

I guess I'm wondering how many Deities are too many? Any thoughts on this would be greatly welcomed!

 
It would also depend on how much time the deities want to spend with you.  For me, it seem like the Morrigan is front row centre.  Then there are a couple others that have popped in once in awhile like 'guest speakers' to help out.  Fortunately for me, the others haven't said 'your arse is mine!'  as I don't feel like the Morrigan would be too amused... Nor my cat Louis for neglecting him his cuddle time!

[KayeMacArthur]

I guess I'm wondering how many Deities are too many? Any thoughts on this would be greatly welcomed!

 
Honestly, it depends. You can say you have "too many" if you're stressing out about how much devotion and worship you're giving them. Sometimes you might need to put someone on a "back burner" for a bit and concentrate on other aspects of your life, religiously or otherwise.

Currently, I work with eight gods semi-regularly and a couple of others on occasion. There are others who flit in and out of my life and/or are seeming to wait for my attention to focus on them. It'll vary.

There are many things you can do, though, if you find yourself getting a little bogged down with working with them or for them (depending on how you view the deity-devotee relationship). One of the easiest things I've found is associating certain days with certain deities. For example, I associate Anubis, my patron deity, with Monday. It's the beginning of the week and Monday, or Moon-day, has lunar associations, same as Anubis. So I focus on him more those days. Tuesdays are for Hekate and Persephone, so I adjust my schedule a bit for them and do activities in honor and devotion for them.

But you can also structure it with those gods who are foremost in your practice - you mentioned Bast, Demeter, and Sekhmet - and you honor them most frequently or before the others who have drawn your attention.

There are other ways, too, I'm sure. It just depends on how you can fit it into your schedule. You could also look into devoting activities to them. For example, I like to dedicate my Wednesday writings to Odin since that's Woden/Odin's day and he has links to language and writing.