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Author Topic: What Does Your Deities Assosciations mean to you?  (Read 2674 times)

Keiyaku

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What Does Your Deities Assosciations mean to you?
« on: March 12, 2012, 11:06:19 pm »
We all know some things. Zeus is god of the sky, Gaea goddess of earth, Thor rules thunder. But the gods are more than "Pray to Him for money, Her for children, and Her to ward off Death"

Do your deities manifest interest outside of their traditional roles? Athena is an intellectual, but is She intrigued by, say, camping?

Or, have you seen anyone take a deity's role too far? For example, one of my patrons, Cernunnos, is known for being a symbol of masculine sexuality. To some of the people I have seen worshipping Him, they treat His sex aspect as the be-all-end-all of the Horned Lord. I have no doubt that to some He manifests this way, but to me He always stemmed liked a powerful, quiet, introspective old man and teacher than a half-stag super rapist.

So how important are your deity's associations to you? I always thought of them more as interests. I am interested in a lot of things, such as healing. So I always thought of Brigida, patroness of smiths, poets, and healers, to be more like a person interested in healing people. She is more than just smashing hot metal with a hammer then healing the burns you get.
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SatSekhem

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Re: What Does Your Deities Assosciations mean to you?
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2012, 08:57:51 pm »
Quote from: Emrys;45687
Or, have you seen anyone take a deity's role too far?

I wouldn't say that I've seen anyone take a deity's role too far, but I can say that a lot of people don't quite understand certain aspects of a deity. F'ex, Sekhmet is my lady. She's the goddess of destruction, but she has other aspects, too. She's about health, she's all about justice, and she's got a whole lot of associations with the desert. But people stop looking when they see that she's a "destructive" goddess. Just because she tried to destroy humankind once doesn't mean she's this evil god who only plots for ways to make our lives miserable.

I've seen the same issues with Sutekh, Loki, and various other trickster or destroyer deities. It's just a matter of people only see this one facet when gods are more like us: lots of layers.

Quote from: Emrys
So how important are your deity's associations to you?

In reality, not very important. Sure, I go to her when I think I need help with healing. And whenever I dream of her, she's in the desert. So I suppose on some level, the associations she has are important. However, when it comes to my personal practice, none of these things have any bearing. She's just the goddess who owns my heart.
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Juniperberry

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Re: What Does Your Deities Assosciations mean to you?
« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2012, 12:33:33 pm »
Quote from: Emrys;45687



So how important are your deity's associations to you? I always thought of them more as interests.



I don't consider their associations to be interests but functions. Thor doesn't rule over thunder as much as he's the manifested personality of the thunderstorm. It can't be an interest because it's actually what he is.

Basically, he isn't a man-god that was assigned thunderstorms. He's the thunderstorm that was assigned god status.

The basics of the function take on a deeper cultural meaning and broaden the influence in society, but always within function. Always attached to the core being of the deity.
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Re: What Does Your Deities Assosciations mean to you?
« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2012, 01:02:01 pm »
Quote from: Juniperberry;45853
I don't consider their associations to be interests but functions. Thor doesn't rule over thunder as much as he's the manifested personality of the thunderstorm. It can't be an interest because it's actually what he is.

Basically, he isn't a man-god that was assigned thunderstorms. He's the thunderstorm that was assigned god status.

The basics of the function take on a deeper cultural meaning and broaden the influence in society, but always within function. Always attached to the core being of the deity.


This is pretty much how I view my deities. So their associations are critical.

Some gods have taken on additional associations that I never imagined but that now I can't imagine them without. A good example: Chronos, god of time. He started in my mind as little more than a glorified timekeeper, given major god status by default. But he kept popping up in myth after myth, setting things right. It turns out he's also a god of balance, of judges and a sense of the just order of things.

As for "evil" gods, I find them the most interesting, and rehabilitating their reps is one of my great passions. The goddess of death and her father, Night, god of the unknown, are frightening entities at a glance, but are far more complex than a simplistic characterization as "evil," even though some of their actions may read that way sometimes. Night in particular is a scary schemer, but--to borrow a pop culture reference--he turns out to be more like Harry Potter's Prof. Snape than anything else.
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Mandi

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Re: What Does Your Deities Assosciations mean to you?
« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2012, 07:55:10 pm »
Quote from: Emrys;45687


So how important are your deity's associations to you?


Mine? Very. My patron deity is Demeter, and I felt connected to her even before I decided to take the Wiccan path. She and I have a lot in common, related to our children. I won't get too into it, but I lost my daughter in a similar way she lost Persephone. I feel like Demeter is the only one who understands. My sorrow grew so strong sometimes that I felt like I could have caused a winter myself.

But all of that being said, - logically - she represents that part of me in a powerful way, and she's more of a symbol than a 'real' being to me, if you know what I mean. But as I said, that's the logical side of me talking. She feels very real to me, like a mother, someone who has been where I've been and can guide me.

Poseidon appeared to me in a dream a couple of nights ago. It was strange, because I've never even thought of him. I had to Google it to make sure he was actually a real historical deity and not a name my brain made up haha. I'm looking into it, and I'm struggling to feel a connection, but he must have appeared for a reason.

/Long speech over. Haha

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Re: What Does Your Deities Assosciations mean to you?
« Reply #5 on: March 20, 2012, 03:53:08 pm »
Quote from: Emrys;45687
I have no doubt that to some He manifests this way, but to me He always stemmed liked a powerful, quiet, introspective old man and teacher than a half-stag super rapist.


Rapist? Super rapist? *raises brow* I would argue that celebrating male sexuality does not, in most cases, equal rapist.

At any rate, the Gods to me are like anyone else. The common associations help you to get to know what sort of person they are, but they can be much more nuanced like that, like any other person.

I mean, if I had to give 3-5 keywords to describe myself, I'd choose: Wiccan, Trekkie, reader, crocheter. But that doesn't tell you what sort of Wiccan I am, what Trek is my favorite, or what I like to read. Nor does it tell you I own cats, what sort of work I do, my favorite flower, what languages I can speak, etc.

So tables that list common correspondences for Gods get some of the info right, but you're only going to learn the details if you can really get to know those deities. Therefore, the associations mean a starting point to me, an opening gambit... "Oh, hey, Manannan.... you like the ocean, right? I had this amazing time watching the waves on a beach in Rio once..."

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