Did you choose your Pantheon?

[SatAset]

Interesting. Do you honor them the same way, in the same place? Or are they completey seperate processes, wholly unrelated to each other?

They each have their own shrines and I honor them separately.  I do different work for each of them, and sometimes, that Work overlaps.  Writing is one of those that I do for all of them.

[Cailte]

Assuming most of you weren't born into the religion your currently practice, how did you find your gods? Was it a long thought, heavily researched decision, or just a logical "what else?" If you are eclectic, how do you juggle systems of deities from so many different cultures?

While Thor became part of my life fairly early on, I continued in Wicca for several years after.  Then during a time of some mental unrest, I left that and explored various different traditions, including Norse.

Irish-Celt grabbed hold of me, however, and didn't let go.  A while after that Brighid came into my life, Thor left and was replaced by Oghma - it was an amiable parting, but Thor realized that my concentration on the Celtic kind of precluded him being a close partner as he had.

So it's kind of 50/50 - I chose a path, and the Pantheon came after

[MoonCrone]

Assuming most of you weren't born into the religion your currently practice, how did you find your gods? Was it a long thought, heavily researched decision, or just a logical "what else?" If you are eclectic, how do you juggle systems of deities from so many different cultures?

 
I was born into it.  
Raised on a path I guess you could roughly call wizecraft, my family traditionally considered the Earth to be our Sacred She or Great Mother.

I got drawn into Kemet and Stregheria through friends at school,
and drawn into Greek, Aztec, Incan and Mayan beliefs by fellow students at college.

I am drawn now into the Celtic/Druid path because I have met some wonderful folks who live that way and tell me I have what it takes to become a Bard.

I know some folks say mixing paths doesn't work, but for me, it has.

[spoOk]

Assuming most of you weren't born into the religion your currently practice, how did you find your gods? Was it a long thought, heavily researched decision, or just a logical "what else?" If you are eclectic, how do you juggle systems of deities from so many different cultures?

 
I started out on my own with no learned framework,worshiping the moon.
then I found out from various sources that there really was an official witchy worship system out there and began reading up on pagan related things etc.
I years later sought out a dark moon deity to turn to "when the moon turned away" and for a few yrs was working with helle and despite all the effort I put in,felt no reply or connection from her at all,but I had chose her based on a dream I'd had,so I looked up other similar deitys then did a ritual asking who it might be,(one of the three) if it wasn't helle after all and got a distinct DUH! kinda reply from Hecate. I had been avoiding her for years due to the folks I knew who DID worship her were flakey feminist hippie vegan Wicca etc. and I am so very not,do it didn't appeal. but I've since worked my way through thos first impressions.
somewhere between Hecate and the moon ,there is eshu and or legba.
having occurred as a result of my magic studies and gant interest in hoodoo.
which is really interesting considering it's all red and hot fiery loud boisterous male sunny and totally an opposite energy to all my lunar related worship.

so no pantheon really.

[PhantomQueen]

Assuming most of you weren't born into the religion your currently practice, how did you find your gods? Was it a long thought, heavily researched decision, or just a logical "what else?" If you are eclectic, how do you juggle systems of deities from so many different cultures?

 
I knew I was 'different' when I was little.  Brighid was the first one that came to me in my late teens/early 20's, but I didn't really do anything about it at the time-I got in to spiritualism instead.  Morrigan came to me a few years ago and now I've got someone new come to me-not sure for how long , but it's nice getting to know someone new

[Neteruhemta RaShuGeb]

Assuming most of you weren't born into the religion your currently practice, how did you find your gods? Was it a long thought, heavily researched decision, or just a logical "what else?" If you are eclectic, how do you juggle systems of deities from so many different cultures?

 
I was fascinated (soon to be obsessed) by the Egyptian deities when I was seven years old. I grew up not knowing that there were many religions outside of the monotheistic faiths. I had a troubled time in high school and had a string of dreams that I regarded as an overactive imagination (the logical part of me). It wasn't until college (which was saturated with a variety of different people) that I found Pagans and Wiccans and told asked some of them about my experience and they told me  that it happened that way for a reason and I should look in to it. I'm one of the lucky ones I think. I found my "family" before I found my path.

[Queen of Wands]

Assuming most of you weren't born into the religion your currently practice, how did you find your gods? Was it a long thought, heavily researched decision, or just a logical "what else?" If you are eclectic, how do you juggle systems of deities from so many different cultures?

 

I tried initially choosing my own deities...Artemis was kind to me (I was a seven year old girl, of course she was kind) but she knew that I confused her with another and kept quiet. Others, like Bast, were willing to be there now and again, giving me what I needed but never coming when I wanted her (so like a cat!). Only the ones who found me are always there for the journey.

As for deities of different cultures, I find that they often have similarities---a goddess who travels to the underworld, one of wisdom, love and beauty, a virgin firetender...the hard part is defining each incarnation (more alike than different though).

[SatAset]

I've looked at Neos Alexandria (NA) too, as a Kemetic/Hellenic syncreticism, but it's not really my thing. It needs moar Roman in there, because Isis keeps calling me to Her Roman worship, not Her Greek worship, so I've ended up with this Graeco-Roman Egyptian syncretic thing I'm meant to be figuring out. I look at NA more as an example of how I might syncretise this path, more than 'this is a path I should practice'. Though I'm still a long way from being done.

Have you looked at Nova Roma?  http://www.novaroma.org/

They do include Isis worship within the Roman context there.  Perhaps that can help you?

[Nyktelios]

Assuming most of you weren't born into the religion your currently practice, how did you find your gods? Was it a long thought, heavily researched decision, or just a logical "what else?" If you are eclectic, how do you juggle systems of deities from so many different cultures?

 
I don't really remember, to be honest. I know when I first started studying the Cunningham and Ravenwolf-esque Wicca, I looked into Celtic deities because that was what was popular in that crowd. While it was interesting and I liked a few Irish deities, I didn't feel much of a connection to the Celts. I had always been interested in ancient Greece since I was young, so I went in that direction, but overall didn't feel very in tune with many of the gods. I used Gaia and Ouranos as my names for the goddess and god because of the sky father and earth mother theme, but it wasn't until I stumbled across good information on Aphrodite that I really knew I had found a deity with whom I felt a connection, and found out she wasn't the ditzy love goddess like I had seen on Xena as a kid. Dionysus soon followed as the male god I felt really connected with, and he and Aphrodite complement each other well. Over time I incorporated more of the Greek gods into my practice.

I had always loved Egyptian culture as well, although it seemed so exotic and different, it was hard for me to relate to as a newbie. The more I studied it, the more I understood it and related to it, so I incorporated Hathor, Isis, and Osiris into my practice, along with the household gods Bes and Taweret.

Somewhere along the way, Freyja came knocking at my door. This was when I sort of had a Feri mentor online who was a follower of Celtic and Norse deities, so I started feeling the presence of the Dagda, Morrigan, Freyja, and Odin in my life (I didn't know those were the exact gods she followed until I mentioned to her I was sensing these gods I had no relationship with before). It was a very strange experience, and Freyja was really the only one who I've had a long-term relationship with, though I feel the Dagda and the Morrigan on the rare occasion.

So some gods I found through studying cultures I was interested in, and some gods found me through other people I was in contact with. Finding your gods can happen in many different ways.

[SkylarB]

...how did you find your gods? Was it a long thought, heavily researched decision, or just a logical "what else?" If you are eclectic, how do you juggle systems of deities from so many different cultures?

This is a great question and I've enjoyed reading everyone's responses!

I am going through this right now. I've been practicing eclectic Wicca off and on for about 20 years now, but always struggled with connecting to deity. I started out with just reaching out to Mother Earth and Sky Father, and the Moon Goddess and Sun God. Then, whenever I saw a reference to Quan Yin, I'd feel a little spark. But I also knew that she wasn't may main Goddess. She's more like the friend that is there to hold my hand or let me put my head on her shoulder and cry. And she  helps me show compassion and keep my aggravation at bay when my son's ADHD is out of control.

In the past year, I've finally felt a connection with specific Deity. I've been drawn to Bridgit. I have this picture of her I printed off the internet and framed and I'd look at it every morning during my daily devotionals during the month around Imbolc . I learned a lot from her during that time. She is definitely very prominent in my life.

Latey, I've been noticing another presence... and I've been having these feelings that another Goddess is reaching out to me. The same type of feeling, like a "ping" or an "ah-ha" feeling when I see a certain word or image. For example, for the past year I've been thinking about what my animal guide might be, just looking for signs, etc... and the owl has been coming up most often. And, as I browse around Pagan-y websites, the name Arianrhod always catches my eye as a beautiful name. Just a few days ago, I was looking for a specific Jessica Galbreth image of the Goddess and God together that I printed and framed and now have hanging above my altar. (I wanted to share the image with an online friend)  I came across a few of her other paintings and kept stopping at Arianrhod. I clicked on it to open a picture and was instantly drawn in. I then stumbled across a little information about Arianrhod and felt like I had been hit with an energy bolt... Like a virtual slap on the head! LOL! A "Dahhh!!!" I only read about 1 paragraph and I know this is who has been around me! She sometimes turns into an owl, and one of her son's is named Tyler (if I read correct, I read it so fast and in such a blur!) My oldest son's name is Tyler! And a few other aspects of her just rang with me...  So, I'm going to set out to start learning more about her.

Since I've been looking for  years for the perfect Goddess and God altar statues, I found a statue of Arianrhod that is one of the most beautiful Goddess statues I've seen.. and I take my attraction to her image as another sign that she is bringing me to her. I know I have to have that statue, so I'm now saving up for it!

As for the God, I always knew it was the horned god (I love the above poster who called him the "horned guy"! He is the only God image I feel I can connect with and it just seems so right. Like he's my father and my brother and my friend all at the same time and I'm so comfortable with him.  I didn't know his name at first, but now I know he's Cernunnos.

Here's the link to the picture of the Goddess and God I currently have above my altar, if anyone is interested! http://www.therealm.ca/cernunnos-jessica-galbreth-11x17-art-print.html

And here is the Arianrhod statue I'm going to buy, if anyone is interested: http://www.therealm.ca/arianrhod-goddess-jessica-galbreth-figurine.html

[SunflowerP]

... and one of her son's is named Tyler (if I read correct, I read it so fast and in such a blur!)

 
I hope this doesn't harsh your squee, but you did misread it - the son you're probably thinking of is Dylan.  (The other one is Llew.)

Sunflower

[SkylarB]

I hope this doesn't harsh your squee, but you did misread it - the son you're probably thinking of is Dylan.  (The other one is Llew.)

Sunflower

Thanks for reminding me, Sunflower! Yes, I was wrong. It was that my neighbor could never remember my son's real name, and always called him Dylan. That was the connection I was thinking of. I read that after I posted. I'm going to start learning more about her when I get some spare time, and have bookmarked a few sites I want to go back to.  And there were a couple other "connections" but I can't think of them now. And I just keep seeing her name everywhere, even in places I wouldn't expect it to be.

[Jezebel]

Assuming most of you weren't born into the religion your currently practice, how did you find your gods? Was it a long thought, heavily researched decision, or just a logical "what else?" If you are eclectic, how do you juggle systems of deities from so many different cultures?

 
I have a post about my pantheon choice on my blog - http://templedoors.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/pbp-p-pantheon.html

[asdfghjkl]

Assuming most of you weren't born into the religion your currently practice, how did you find your gods? Was it a long thought, heavily researched decision, or just a logical "what else?" If you are eclectic, how do you juggle systems of deities from so many different cultures?

 
I've really, really tried. For the last one or two years I've followed the Germanic gods in one way or another. I just decided once day that since I have some ancestors from Holland and Germany that it was only logical to do so. Then about a month ago Brighid comes a knockin'. Which I should have anticipated, given that I have pretty much an equal amount of ancestors from Scotland/Wales (if that even matters). Anyway, now I feel like I need to get to know her "family" too. So I suppose I am semi-eclectic, but not by conscious choice. I suppose the gods work in mysterious ways.

[iulla]

Assuming most of you weren't born into the religion your currently practice, how did you find your gods? Was it a long thought, heavily researched decision, or just a logical "what else?" If you are eclectic, how do you juggle systems of deities from so many different cultures?

Growing up, my religion was completely different than what it is now.  Well, I shouldn't say completely different: both have "Roman" in the title, hahaha.  I was baptised as a Roman Catholic, and now I'm a Roman Reconstructionist.

I did a ton of research before I took the step forward and chose my path.  I've always felt a strong interest in ancient Greece and Rome, so when I started looking into paganism I looked into reconstructionism of the religions of those cultures.
I also looked into Norse/Germanic and Celtic reconstructionism, since my ancestors are from those areas.  I thought that might help a bit, but...I felt absolutely no pull towards them at all.  

Roman Reconstructionism was the one that kept drawing me back, and I think it's safe to say that it's here to stay.