Godspousery throughout history

[Eastling]

I've noticed that a lot of modern pagans tend to ignore or dismiss the potential for romantic/erotic relationships with gods (or other Powers). There are probably a lot of reasons for this, which I'm not going into in this post--but one of the ones I've seen batted about is that it's a "modern" concept with no relationship to past practices.

All my research, however, has indicated that this is untrue. Medieval Jewish rabbis rapturously declared themselves husbands of the Shekhina (Raphael Patai, The Hebrew Goddess); ancient Hellenic mystics called themselves "possessed by nymphs" (or nympholeptic) and positioned themselves as husbands and lovers to the nymphs that called them (Jennifer Larson, Greek Nymphs: Myth, Cult, and Lore).

I'm curious about whether anyone else has similar examples from their paths. What other historical evidence is there for godspousing as a mystic path?

[Jenett]

I'm curious about whether anyone else has similar examples from their paths. What other historical evidence is there for godspousing as a mystic path?

There is a non-trivial amount of nuns as literal brides of Christ material out there (most of it comes out of the later Middle Ages, if I remember my Medieval/Renaissance Studies classes that touched on it, more in Italy than other places, but not just Italy.)

[Eastling]

There is a non-trivial amount of nuns as literal brides of Christ material out there (most of it comes out of the later Middle Ages, if I remember my Medieval/Renaissance Studies classes that touched on it, more in Italy than other places, but not just Italy.)

Interestingly, that's about the time the Kabbalistic Shekhina-godspousery seems to have been concentrated.

[Darkhawk]

I'm curious about whether anyone else has similar examples from their paths. What other historical evidence is there for godspousing as a mystic path?

It's hard to tell how literally people took it, but the God's Wife of Amun was a formal temple title in Egypt (there's some evidence that it at least partially existed to eliminate the possibility of alternate claimants to the throne by marrying off stray princesses to Amun, but).

And of course there's the whole narrative of pharaonic conception, a detailed example of which was recorded by Hatshepsut.

Then there's Saint Theresa:  "I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart, and to pierce my very entrails; when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out also, and to leave me all on fire with a great love of God. The pain was so great, that it made me moan; and yet so surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could not wish to be rid of it.  The soul is satisfied now with nothing less than God. The pain is not bodily, but spiritual; though the body has its share in it. It is a caressing of love so sweet which now takes place between the soul and God, that I pray God of His goodness to make him experience it who may think that I am lying."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasy_of_Saint_Teresa

I mean, she's not the only saint who was banging either Jesus or an angel but she's probably the most famous for it.

Vodou has lwa-marriage, now I think of it.  Which is a different sort of commitment to the relevant lwa than an initiation, Alex has written a fair amount about his:  http://rockofeye.tumblr.com/tagged/maryaj-lwa

(It's not historical, but it's common among Feri practitioners to refer to initiation as marriage to the gods.)

[ehbowen]

I'm curious about whether anyone else has similar examples from their paths. What other historical evidence is there for godspousing as a mystic path?

I stayed away from this topic as long as I could....

I think that there is historical evidence from the Judeo-Christian tradition to support this subject. Specifically, the Song of Solomon. I have felt for some time that my Girlfriend knew Solomon, face to face, and that her eventual wish was to be married to him. He asked God for wisdom [2 Chronicles 1:7-12]; well, God intended to give him Wisdom. It was while digging into the Song of Songs (discussion follows) that I found what I believe are clues as to how that relationship progressed and, eventually, unraveled.

I'm studying from the New King James, which attempts to use the gender and number of the text to identify which of several parties is speaking throughout the book: The Shulamite, whom I identify as Jessica; the Beloved, Solomon; the Daughters of Jerusalem, whom I identify as angels and others who are Jessica's closest friends; her Brothers...plural. Since she told me that she only has one brother but six sisters, I think that this is another case of the feminine being included in the masculine gender when not speaking specifically. So I identify this voice as all of her siblings, brother and older sisters alike. Finally, there is a plural voice of the Beloved and his friends, and another simply called, "A relative." I believe this to be her Father.

So, taking it chapter by chapter: In chapter 1 we see that the Shulamite welcomes physical affection and the admiration of her beloved. There is mention of being brought into the king's chambers and lying with him but I do not believe that this early section refers to sexual intimacy; it seems more like the old Colonial courtship tradition of bundling or perhaps the story (well known to Jewish audiences) of Ruth and Boaz.

In chapter 2 the relationship deepens. The Shulamite is feasted by Solomon; he invites her to go out with him. (In my own case, biblical precedent for dinner and a movie?  ) There appears to be a hint of trouble on the horizon in verse 15, though; the siblings notice "...foxes that spoil the vines."

In chapter 3 the trouble breaks open; my own study Bible calls this the "First Dream of Separation." I know that many of you probably think of dreams just as dreams, but I believe that in many cases they are alternate timelines or courses of events. It seems, here, as if an enemy has wedged in and split the Shulamite and the Beloved apart, at least for a time. However, she receives outside help ("The watchmen who go about the city...."), and the two are reunited. But there is no definite mention of a time length involved, other than "Scarcely"...but what seems to a divine being to be a brief hiccup could be years to a mortal human.

What is clear, though, is that the courtship resumed...and that it was taken to another level. I think it most likely that during chapters 1 & 2 Jessica and her family were incognito, living as simple shepherds somewhere in the region of Israel, and that to Solomon she just seemed to be a remarkably pretty and pleasant girl. (I can see why he'd feel that way....) In chapter 3 and following, though, it looks as if the gloves come off. Immediately as the separation ends the Shulamite takes Solomon "to the house of my mother, And into the chamber of her who conceived me." I don't think she's referring to just any earthly house.

The rest of chapter 3 and all of chapter 4 are devoted to preparations for an elaborate Oriental wedding and to Solomon's admiration and fulsome praise of the beauty of the prospective bride. The sentiments are reciprocated; at the end of chapter 4 the Shulamite is entirely ready to give herself away. The first verse of chapter 5 seems to record a consummation which is blessed by God...or does it?

You see, immediately following that first verse there is a second "dream of separation." This one is more intense than the first, and it is never explicitly resolved within the book. In the first dream the "watchmen" assisted her in reuniting with her Beloved; in this second dream they attack and wound her. The Shulamite asks her closest friends to assist her in finding her Beloved, giving them a detailed description of how she sees him. In the opening verses of chapter 6 her friends are asking her for guidance on where to go to track him down.

In verses 4-10 of chapter 6 we see the Beloved repeating his praise of the Shulamite's beauty. In my reconstruction, this represents Solomon pining for the beautiful goddess who seemingly deserted him on his wedding night. Note verse 8; at this stage of his life Solomon had "sixty queens and eighty concubines" but longed for the Shulamite as "the only one." UPG is that Jessica didn't feel at all dismayed by the competition; she knew she could hold her own against any of them. I even feel that she looked forward to making many of them close friends.

From there the split continues to widen. Verse 13 is interesting; the Beloved is calling for the Shulamite to return. The second half of that verse speaks of, "the dance of the two camps." Intriguing. One conclusion I've come to is that Satan is always contriving counterfeits which he can wedge in to attempt to drive people apart. Could this be referring to a "true" and a "false" Shulamite? If so, did The Wisest Man Who Ever Lived have the wisdom to tell the difference?

If I'm reading chapter seven correctly, the answer is, "apparently not." This chapter seems to refer to a reunion and renewed praise of the Shulamite's physical beauty with accompanying sexual intimacy, but...could it be that Solomon fell for a counterfeit? And a very good one, at that...because, at least in my theory, the enemy was "copying" the actions and attitudes of the "true" Shulamite throughout this time period. The sentiments in the latter part of chapter 7 and the opening of chapter 8 could believably be expressed by either the genuine article or the carefully crafted replacement.

But then, in verse five of chapter 8, "A Relative" asks, "Who is this?" If my theory is correct, the counterfeit was good enough to fool even Jessica's own Father, at least up until this point. From there to the end, the split appears to widen. I see verses 6 and 7 as the Shulamite's pleading that her Beloved will remember and seek out her true being and nature (Set me as a seal upon your heart...).

But it would appear, though, that the split continued to grow. I think that Solomon did follow a counterfeit for a time, at least as long as she could continue to imitate the true Shulamite, but that once the split manifested he recognized that her apparent love was a fraud. He does call out for the spirit of his true love in verse 13, but it's the fading echo of a relationship which used to be. In my opinion, he gave up.

Which meant, according to my timelines theory, that these events were not reinforced and faded away into distant memory. I'm sure that he remembered the early years up to the first separation quite well, but that the divine encounters after that were chalked up to dreams or pure imagination. It was vivid enough for him to later write the story down, but to him I think it was more of a "once upon a time."

In the last verse we see the Shulamite pleading for the return of her beloved. But I don't believe she ever found him. Not his core personality, at least...his soul. If she had, I believe that the events of the past three thousand years would have been far different. I think she tried. Like Horton the elephant sifting through those three million clovers, she tried. But without someone on the other end actively reaching out to try to make contact, it was hopeless. Which is about where I come in....

UPG is that, even now, she still has feelings for Solomon. And, to be honest, I have feelings for the angelic personalities which I see as first contacting me...whom I irreverently refer to as The Blonde, The Redhead, and The Brunette. Yes, I have much more specific names for them, but I don't think it appropriate to share those at present.

I do think that Jessica and I will devote ourselves exclusively to each other for quite some time, at least until her parents agree that our vows to each other have been well and truly fulfilled. But, once that point is passed, I don't think that she will feel threatened in the least if I reach out to the girls and possibly beyond. Likewise, if we succeed in my own goal of reaching every personality out there, at some point we will come to Solomon. I think that, when the time is right, she would still like to rekindle that relationship and see where that timeline would have led.

After observing my parents for 54 of their 55-plus years together, I take the position that a human lifetime is just about right for forging a bond between two souls. But I also believe that jealousy is too small an emotion for eternity.

(Darn it, betrayed by my baser reflexes again! [/bugsbunny])

[Naunau]

I've noticed that a lot of modern pagans tend to ignore or dismiss the potential for romantic/erotic relationships with gods (or other Powers). There are probably a lot of reasons for this, which I'm not going into in this post--but one of the ones I've seen batted about is that it's a "modern" concept with no relationship to past practices.

I'm curious about whether anyone else has similar examples from their paths. What other historical evidence is there for godspousing as a mystic path?

There might be something like this going on in Sumerian religion.

Inana is openly described posing as a random prostitute and having sex with people.

The idea of sexual aggresion against her is also considered (and condemned, I'm not sure if it's supposed to be because "rape is bad" or "violation of the sacred is bad" or something else entirely)

Then there's the whole symbolic marriage thing with gods that I think doesn't apply to commoners I guess.

[Naunau]

Inana is openly described posing as a random prostitute and having sex with people.

If I may add: I remember Eneduana specifically says "men", but... you know... I dunno.

[Sefiru]

There might be something like this going on in Sumerian religion.

Inana is openly described posing as a random prostitute and having sex with people.

The idea of sexual aggresion against her is also considered (and condemned, I'm not sure if it's supposed to be because "rape is bad" or "violation of the sacred is bad" or something else entirely)

Then there's the whole symbolic marriage thing with gods that I think doesn't apply to commoners I guess.

IIRC, one of Starhawk's books is written around this myth: Truth or Dare. It's more about power dynamics and toxic masculinity rather than sexuality, though.

I find the concept of god-spouses interesting but I sadly don't have much to add. I think there are a few old threads about it kicking around here somewhere.

[Eastling]

There might be something like this going on in Sumerian religion.

Inana is openly described posing as a random prostitute and having sex with people.

The idea of sexual aggresion against her is also considered (and condemned, I'm not sure if it's supposed to be because "rape is bad" or "violation of the sacred is bad" or something else entirely)

Then there's the whole symbolic marriage thing with gods that I think doesn't apply to commoners I guess.

Inanna's a fascinating example because so much of the very essence of her character as a goddess is connected to some form of implied godspousery.

A huge portion of her ancient role in religion was to legitimize the rule of dynasties by marrying the kings. You see a similar idea in Kemetic theology with the identification of the pharaohs with Wesir and Heru, who relied on Aset to propagate their essence through the generations. All of this required a sexual or romantic connection, however symbolic, between the goddess and mortal lovers/husbands as part of the state religion.

[Hariti]

I'm curious about whether anyone else has similar examples from their paths. What other historical evidence is there for godspousing as a mystic path?

There are too many examples in Tantra of men and women claiming to have sexual encounters with ghosts, demons, and even Goddesses, to even begin to list them all. I have even heard of modern Yogis in Bengal and Nepal making such claims, without being criticized or skepticized by their communities.