I found my patron goddess!

[Redfaery]

I recently had the good fortune to find a patron deity - a goddess who has not yet revealed her name to me, but who I am calling by the title Satarupa. I know she's connected to the Hindu goddess Sarasvati, and the Japanese Buddhist goddess Kichijōten, and finally the popular Japanese Goddess Benten. Historically and anthropologically, Kichijōten and Benten are definitely connected, and the latter has many similarities to Sarasvati. Both were ultimately imports from India to Japan, coming with Buddhism via China.

This goddess seems to me to be definitely multifaceted. She answers to the names Sarasvati, and to Kichijōten, and to Benten, and she seems to have taken an interest in my academic pursuits. (Her Sarasvati aspect is very interested in scholarship!)

So I was wanting to hear about others' experiences with patron deities. Do you have one? How did you find him/her? I want to hear the stories!

[Leirion]

So I was wanting to hear about others' experiences with patron deities. Do you have one? How did you find him/her? I want to hear the stories!

I am glad you found someone and things seem to be going well!

I am godowned by a Minoan deity named Zagreus. It is a pretty long story of how we found each other, and honestly pretty far-fetched.

But in another form of his, he found me Elsewhere, where I was in very bad shape. He took me in, and cleaned me up, and started to nurse me back to health. He continues to do so today, almost three years later. I would not be here without him.

So for me, I was not looking for a patron, or anyone, really. It just kind of happened, in that strange kind of Necessity way.

[Redfaery]

 I am godowned by a Minoan deity named Zagreus. It is a pretty long story of how we found each other, and honestly pretty far-fetched.

 
It sounds like you found someone who really looks out for you! Satarupa seems to have been attracted by my scholarly interests. I'm an intensely academic person. A geek, you might say. I study Classical Japan, where her aspect of Kichijoten was popular with lonely monks. I'm preparing to head off to grad school, so my life is gearing up for a big change!

[Leirion]

It sounds like you found someone who really looks out for you!

He definitely does that. He came along and turned my entire world upside-down. He is currently working on showing me the universe is not an inherently hostile or meaningless place. He has his work cut out for him, but nowadays I am genuinely happy and actually want to improve myself and my life, so there is that!

Satarupa seems to have been attracted by my scholarly interests. I'm an intensely academic person. A geek, you might say. I study Classical Japan, where her aspect of Kichijoten was popular with lonely monks. I'm preparing to head off to grad school, so my life is gearing up for a big change!

That is so, so cool! I took a few years of Japanese and work with a couple of Shinto deities. I am excited for you, getting to go to grad school for that! I have debated grad school before, and may eventually do it. I am a geeky, academic type of person, too. Especially when it comes to Religious Studies.

[peacefulpresents]

So I was wanting to hear about others' experiences with patron deities. Do you have one? How did you find him/her? I want to hear the stories!

This is interesting to me.  My patron goddess is Kali and my patron god is Shiva, her consort.  I am not sure why Kali chose me exactly, but I know I feel an overwhelming love and devotion toward Shiva that is energetically very intense.  I think he is so beautiful.

One Halloween, I found myself downloading information about how I needed to heal past mistakes by making specific offerings to a fire, and I was told to get something for Kali.  

That same Halloween, I was overcome with the urge to pray to dress as a dominatrix, and indeed, my friend did dress me in a hot leather outfit, and it was so not me, I chose to invoke Kali to speak through me all night.  And it got very bawdy.  One guy even accused me of sexually harrassing him!  She had me going up to people and saying quite raw things, and later I would discover that they resonated with where the people were at in interesting ways.  And I am normally quite mild-mannered, even shy.
 
That was several years ago, and I just know she is with me.  She has helped me to transform anger into passion and to regain self-respect and personal power.  I also have been getting involved with hospice work and so am learning from death and dying.  I love her, what can I say?  Her energy can be quite intense, and makes some people uncomfortable.

I can appreciate that I have found a romantic partner who resonates with Shiva, because we can do a nice Shiva-Kali thing together.

I like that you have a goddess that is multiple goddesses in one.  I am thinking now about how ancient these practices are and how they have morphed over time.

[Tay Redgrave]

So I was wanting to hear about others' experiences with patron deities. Do you have one? How did you find him/her? I want to hear the stories!

Not sure if patron deity or if I would call him that, but he is kinda important to me and has kinda been an influence on my beliefs and views, so, hehe. I can't exactly ignore that, can I?

I knew about him for a while. I mean, I grew up around Christianity so I knew about God and Satan and all that. However, when I read Anne Rice's Memnoch the Devil, I started to wonder if Satan/Lucifer (I had equated the two at the time. I do not view them as one and the same now.) was as evil as others said, and so I begun to study/learn about and research Lucifer and overtime, grew to admire him and look up to him.

I wanted to worship him but didn't exactly have the guts to at the time. I mean, I was in high school during all this and there was still some ideas of Lucifer being the Devil and all that stuff. So, I ran away a lot when I found myself facing him.

And also figured whatever I wanted from that path, I could probably get elsewhere and worked with other deities but truth be told, thing's didn't feel that satisfying. It kind of felt wrong? Especially when I kept feeling drawn to Lucifer (and also Luciferianism) and still wanted to so badly worship Lucifer.

I wasn't so scared anymore to do so either at that point. Working with other deities kind of helped me get over that fear, haha. Especially when one of those deities I worked with had his own stigma attached to him so, heh.

And so eventually Lucifer kind of crept up and uh, yeah. I'm still kind of getting into things and sort of out of the 'weaning in' period but in some way, it kind of feels like I'm not totally a newb at any of this at all? I probably feel like that because a) the being I currently am working with, I have some history with and b) said being has also sort of been teaching me as I've learned about him over the years? He's been the foundation of a lot of my beliefs so, uh, yeah.

-slides out of thread now-

[Redfaery]

This is interesting to me.  My patron goddess is Kali and my patron god is Shiva, her consort.  I am not sure why Kali chose me exactly, but I know I feel an overwhelming love and devotion toward Shiva that is energetically very intense.  I think he is so beautiful.

One Halloween, I found myself downloading information about how I needed to heal past mistakes by making specific offerings to a fire, and I was told to get something for Kali.  

That same Halloween, I was overcome with the urge to pray to dress as a dominatrix, and indeed, my friend did dress me in a hot leather outfit, and it was so not me, I chose to invoke Kali to speak through me all night.  And it got very bawdy.  One guy even accused me of sexually harrassing him!  She had me going up to people and saying quite raw things, and later I would discover that they resonated with where the people were at in interesting ways.  And I am normally quite mild-mannered, even shy.
 
That was several years ago, and I just know she is with me.  She has helped me to transform anger into passion and to regain self-respect and personal power.  I also have been getting involved with hospice work and so am learning from death and dying.  I love her, what can I say?  Her energy can be quite intense, and makes some people uncomfortable.

I can appreciate that I have found a romantic partner who resonates with Shiva, because we can do a nice Shiva-Kali thing together.

I like that you have a goddess that is multiple goddesses in one.  I am thinking now about how ancient these practices are and how they have morphed over time.

Wow. I'm familiar with Hindu religion (almost said "mythology," but that's not right, is it? It's a living tradition, and it's true!) and with Kali, of course. Satarupa is a title I call my goddess by. It seems to have been originally used for the first female creation in the cosmos, which is appropriate for me.

I see this is/was your first post. I really hope you jump right in!

My goddess is very interested in academics, but also creativity, and she really likes pretty things. She's a luck bringer to me, but also a very personal guardian. I actually managed to successfully invoke her the other day. Well, maybe "evoke" would be better; she's usually "there." She always has at least her eye on me!

[HarpingHawke]

My goddess is very interested in academics, but also creativity, and she really likes pretty things. She's a luck bringer to me, but also a very personal guardian. I actually managed to successfully invoke her the other day. Well, maybe "evoke" would be better; she's usually "there." She always has at least her eye on me!

The fact that she always has her eye on you is pretty awesome! I know some people who'd really appreciate that. Lucky you!
Congratulations on finding a goddess that connects with you so well. :

[GuidedRaven]

So I was wanting to hear about others' experiences with patron deities. Do you have one? How did you find him/her? I want to hear the stories!

 
I recently found my (newer) Patron Goddess as well It is Freya. Previously, before her, I was connected to Hecate and Diana, though we drifted apart and I lost touch with them, though I know it was for the best.

Well, I hadn't had a Patron Goddess for awhile and felt a pull, like I needed to search. And for me, what had worked in the past, was I'd look at a long list of Goddess names online and scroll with my eyes closed, or scroll until I felt something.

Well, I was originally doing some research on the God Odin, and clicked on a link that went to a list of the Norse Pantheon. I scrolled past the Gods and was looking down the Goddess list and stopped at Freya and I was overcome with this overwhelming emotion I can't explain, but it filled me and I started uncontrollably tearing up and just, ugh, it was amazing.

I did some research on her, read up about what she resembled, some background history, etc. And later I mediated and spoke with her. She had a funny sense of humor and she truly felt like home. It was so nice to speak with her, it just, felt like home is the only way I can put it. I get all teary now, tears of joy of course!

It's great that you found your Patron Goddess! I'm happy for you

[Redfaery]

I recently found my (newer) Patron Goddess as well It is Freya.

 
Freya seems like an interesting character, so to speak. I know she is the leader of the Valkyries and associated with cats.

I finally managed to pinpoint my goddess's identity. She's the Indian Sarasvati. I think I was so confused because Sarasvati has been carried all over Asia by Buddhism, and has been given lots of different names everywhere. Even in India, she has quite a history. She's not just Hindu; she was taken up by Buddhists and Jains as well, and she's quite popular in Japan as Benten, one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune.