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    Naming of Deities

    What do people feel about the idea of naming gods? The reason I am asking is that many of the beings I work with don't have names, either because the names they once had are long forgotten, or because they were perhaps never named.

    Where possible I use Celtic names for local deities simply because inscriptions to them left by the Romans while they were here, are all we have left to identify these beings. I say that I worship 'Celtic deities' but I don't really mean that. These deities were here long before the Celts assigned them names. Those people just recognised their presence.

    For now I am speaking to 'the god of...' such as 'the god of the Powburn' and so on, but I'd like to give them names for ease of speaking with them, and because using only titles feels a bit distant. Do you think that would be weird? Or indeed arrogant. I have this belief, left over from my kemetic days I think, that names have power and naming something or someone gives you power over them. So I'm a bit conflicted on this. How have others tackled the issue of not knowing local deities by their names?

    If I were to name them, I'd likely look into modern Celtic languages and try to name them for the thing they are, hoping that the word I go for is at least similar to the words the local Britons might have used.
    夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

    #2
    Re: Naming of Deities

    This is a complicated issue for me, too. The deities that I follow have not revealed their names to me yet, especially the city deity that I follow.
    "All right, new rule: no evil laughter before breakfast." -my mother

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      #3
      Re: Naming of Deities

      There's a big difference between a deity that hasn't fully revealed itself and one who is so ancient (or so new ... this is a whole other discussion about a theory I have) that it's name has been forgotten, even by itself (or doesn't have a name yet). As for giving something a name when it doesn't seem to have one, there are many ways this can be approached.

      Think about various fae and how they got the names that we give them.

      * Actions Taken - Such as the knockers, fae who live in mines and we're so named for the "knocking" sounds they would make to warn miners on impending disaster.

      * Distinctive Apparel - Such as the Red Caps, for their habit of dying and wearing well, red caps.

      * Location - Such as the water horse, obviously because it looks like a horse and lives in the water.

      Also, you can look to many of the Native American gods, and how they are simply known by the forms they take. Coyote, Raven, and so on. If you constantly get the feeling of your deity's presence from a specific very old maple tree or an oak sapling, perhaps simply causing "Grandfather Maple" or "Little Nut" would work, respectively.

      As for the names giving power, I always thought that only knowing something's true name was where the power came from, kind of like in the fairy tale of Rumplestiltskin. From my views, this does make some sense from both a mystical and a scientific approach. Names can be written in runes, runes are sounds, sounds are vibrations, and vibrations affect the world around us. If you get the right combination of vibration, theoretically anything is possible. But in this case, you aren't seeking to control, but to show respect and to be able to quantify a great incomprehensible force in such a way that our little human kinds can understand. On some level, it's like using a nickname for someone who has a name that you can't pronounce no matter how hard you try. You don't want to be rude by murdering their name or simply saying "Hey you", so you come up with something that works.

      I hope this might have helped a little bit.

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        #4
        Re: Naming of Deities

        Ultimately I think that the most important thing to consider in the naming of any deity, should you choose to do so, is that sincere respect is shown in the process. So long as the name is one which is made in manner of respect and reverence towards that deity. As has been stated before, another factor to consider, and which was often the source of the names and titles of deities within many cultures, is the factor of observing the nature or importance of the deity.

        Ultimately I do not think there is "one right way" to go about naming a deity, but the important factor in doing so is that of sincerity and reverence. =3

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          #5
          Re: Naming of Deities

          Originally posted by Jembru View Post
          What do people feel about the idea of naming gods? The reason I am asking is that many of the beings I work with don't have names, either because the names they once had are long forgotten, or because they were perhaps never named.

          If I were to name them, I'd likely look into modern Celtic languages and try to name them for the thing they are, hoping that the word I go for is at least similar to the words the local Britons might have used.
          I don't think it would be weird or arrogant. Before I was came into the named awareness of one of my deities, I simply called her Grandmother. I still call her Grandmother.

          I left the last sentence because this is how some deities are actually named in other cultures (ok, at least mine). For example, Triglav - literal translation: Three Heads. Three-headed deity who sees past, present, future, and is named after the three-peaked mountain Triglav.

          Nothing wrong with naming a deity after their representation. As long as it's done honorably and respectfully.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Naming of Deities

            Originally posted by Jembru View Post
            What do people feel about the idea of naming gods? The reason I am asking is that many of the beings I work with don't have names, either because the names they once had are long forgotten, or because they were perhaps never named.

            Where possible I use Celtic names for local deities simply because inscriptions to them left by the Romans while they were here, are all we have left to identify these beings. I say that I worship 'Celtic deities' but I don't really mean that. These deities were here long before the Celts assigned them names. Those people just recognised their presence.

            For now I am speaking to 'the god of...' such as 'the god of the Powburn' and so on, but I'd like to give them names for ease of speaking with them, and because using only titles feels a bit distant. Do you think that would be weird? Or indeed arrogant. I have this belief, left over from my kemetic days I think, that names have power and naming something or someone gives you power over them. So I'm a bit conflicted on this. How have others tackled the issue of not knowing local deities by their names?

            If I were to name them, I'd likely look into modern Celtic languages and try to name them for the thing they are, hoping that the word I go for is at least similar to the words the local Britons might have used.

            Well...if they are genius loci type deities (what I like to call l'esprit du lieu, after the 2008 Quebec declaration of the ICOMOS, which I like), I'd say it doesn't matter what you call them, it matters that you heard them. I use the Nerieds and other minor nature dieties for this quite often. But Minion 1.0 has had her own pantheon since she was 4the etymology of the word whale).

            So basically, I think its totally fine.
            Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
            sigpic

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              #7
              Re: Naming of Deities

              Thanks for the replies here. Some really good ideas to think about. I especially like the idea of naming them for their specific characteristics.

              I've come to feel that the powburn has more than one deity attached to it, yet they're all very similar. I'm going to look into folklore from elsewhere and see if there is anything similar I can draw from. I know the powburn used to be so large that ships once sailed down it. So it was surely important to the settlers who lived on it's banks. I've spent some time down by the part of the powburn that surfaces, just speaking to the gods. That's how I came to feel that refering to a singular god, as I had been doing until now, doesn't feel right anymore. I get a good feeling from them, but also a sadness. I definitely intend to know them better.

              Originally posted by thalassa View Post
              Well...if they are genius loci type deities (what I like to call l'esprit du lieu, after the 2008 Quebec declaration of the ICOMOS, which I like), I'd say it doesn't matter what you call them, it matters that you heard them. I use the Nerieds and other minor nature dieties for this quite often. But Minion 1.0 has had her own pantheon since she was 4, its changed a bit over the past 4 years (some have left and others remain, though her interpretation and experience of them has changed. Mama O’shen looks very much like Oshun (but still has a dolphin daughter that isn't accurate to Oshun), Mr. Neptune, Luna (instead of Mother Moon), H’sheth, and G’geegle have been joined by some more traditional deities, and we now have Moria, (maybe a dryad?) of the woods nearby (interestingly these woods are packed with mulberry and the Greek word for mulberry tree is Morias), and Hoowallis (a whale-like spirit of the "deep, deep ocean"...interestingly we later found out the etymology of the word whale).

              So basically, I think its totally fine.
              I remember you talking about your daughter's pantheon here before. It's really fascinating. If I do get names for these beings, I'll do some digging myself and see if I can find some kind of lexicographical connection.
              夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

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