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    Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

    Have you ever felt torn between 2 kinds of worship? Two pantheons of Gods with their own different names and rituals?

    I started off a Wiccan some years ago. I worshiped the Triple Goddess, and she still holds a sacred place in my heart. Later on I began researching and eventually worshiping and making offerings to Greek Gods and Goddesses. I still firmly believe that Aphrodite gave me the passion and strength in my heart to ask out my boyfriend, who I'm still with after 4 years. The Titan Gaia has also offered me wisdom and inspiration, as well as Apollo, Hera, Demeter, Persephone and Artemis.

    So for a while I primarily worshiped these deities, but I /sort of/ remained open to other paths. When ever I made offerings, I made them with all Gods in mind.

    Recently I've taken a interest in Norse Paganism (Heathenism). I have a Norse and Germanic background in my family (but really, my family comes from all over Europe). Anyway, I've actually been familiar with the lore and mythology of Norse Paganism since I was little because of the stories my mom would tell me. But recently something's happened.

    A certain Heathen God pretty much just sprang out of the woodwork and made contact with me. My reaction was pretty much "Oh my goodness, what on Earth is happening and why did you make contact with me?" To which he pretty much told me not to question it. So I figured it wasn't my place wonder why. I left him offerings in return for reaching out to me, since he was the very first God to ever do so.

    But now I feel like I'm at a crossroads. I know a lot of Heathens are very protective of their religion and their customs and I'm very much new to it. And I haven't really "let go" of my Greek deities, nor do I really want to. But the Gods and Goddesses of those religions are completely separate beings.

    ugh, I just don't really know what to do. Has anyone else ever felt like this? Where you have two different sets of deities that you both honor and hold in your heart and you feel like you can't chose? Is it wrong to still honor both?
    ‎"Be humble, for you are made of earth. Be noble, for you are made of stars"



    #2
    Re: Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

    I have, and am still, definitely gone through the same exact thing, though I don't worship deities as much because I'm still learning . It's very hard to know whether or not it's right or not, especially when one gets a visit from a certain spirit/God. One such visit lead me to one religion, which I stuck to for a while, but now I'm starting to explore other ones again.
    As I'm currently having the same problem, I can't say whether it's right or wrong. My advice is to ask for help or guidance from your Greek deities, or possibly the God that visited you.
    "Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams - they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do - they all contain truths."
    -Muhammad Ali

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      #3
      Re: Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

      Being eclectic I haven't felt this. I leave offerings and perform rituals to the Goddess and God, being the Earth and the Earths fauna respectively. But I also leave offerings Athena who is in my pantheon. I have recently been contacted by another diety who I'm starting to believe is Norse. Along with that I've been drawn to Ganesha, a Hindu God.

      Basically, everyone has their own ways. You do not have to go buy the books with how or whom you worship. Do as you wish, if it bothers you then stop. If it feels right, then continue.
      By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.
      -Confucius

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        #4
        Re: Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

        I myself have felt very similar, I have always held the norse gods in high regard, but was never really one to call on them for help. I tend toward wights and spirits for my personal work, and revere the gods because they deserve it. Out of nowhere a goddess from a pantheon I had never really worked with made herself known, I tried to reconcile this in my existing pantheon, but well that didn't go too well. So I do get where you are comming from, and its throwing alot of things off for me. (the whole thing was very recent, and was one of the things that prompted me to join the forum in the first place, never asked the question though.) One thing I have really been trying to do is not let what I do and have always done for my existing gods and pantheon to stop in favor of this new presence. This has resuted in a few extra items in odd places and I had never really had the need for an alter (in the traditional sense) before, having one about is awkward, but I can say that alot of things kind of normal out eventually, as reluctant as I am to adopt the eclectic label, or any label for that matter, it applies now. This is up to you though, how you handle it will have to be your own, remember that this deity chose you for some reason or another, so the way you respond has to be your own.
        Sorry if I wasn't very useful, but it is a thing I am still working out for myself.

        http://catcrowsnow.blogspot.com/

        But they were doughnuts of darkness. Evil damned doughnuts, tainted by the spawn of darkness.... Which could obviously only be redeemed by passing through the fiery inferno of my digestive tract.
        ~Jim Butcher

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          #5
          Re: Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

          Reflecting back on my experiences, this IS the first deity that has ever reached out to me, who came to me and told me that I needed a change in my life. He is a deity of change and now that he's visited me I feel a new need to improve myself and change myself for the better.

          With my previous deities, they sort of influenced me and gave me inspiration that I drew from what they symbolized and represented. Their lore and stories.

          I feel much more of a grounded, physical connection with this deity.
          ‎"Be humble, for you are made of earth. Be noble, for you are made of stars"


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            #6
            Re: Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

            Pantheon mixing can go one of three ways.

            1) very, very well.

            2) horrifically bad and I start wondering if you think the Divine is a mall where you're picking out fashionable gods for the year.

            3) soft polytheism.

            Long as you avoid the option in the middle, you should be okay. Just progress with care and respect for (and research into) both traditions.
            Last edited by MaskedOne; 06 Oct 2012, 05:32.
            life itself was a lightsaber in his hands; even in the face of treachery and death and hopes gone cold, he burned like a candle in the darkness. Like a star shining in the black eternity of space.

            Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

            "But those men who know anything at all about the Light also know that there is a fierceness to its power, like the bare sword of the law, or the white burning of the sun." Suddenly his voice sounded to Will very strong, and very Welsh. "At the very heart, that is. Other things, like humanity, and mercy, and charity, that most good men hold more precious than all else, they do not come first for the Light. Oh, sometimes they are there; often, indeed. But in the very long run the concern of you people is with the absolute good, ahead of all else..."

            John Rowlands, The Grey King by Susan Cooper

            "You come from the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve", said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth; be content."

            Aslan, Prince Caspian by CS Lewis


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              #7
              Re: Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

              Originally posted by ConsultingTrickster View Post
              Have you ever felt torn between 2 kinds of worship? Two pantheons of Gods with their own different names and rituals?
              Well I view it like this: Do what you like. If you know yourself and know youre genuinely making a sincere effort in your neopaganism no criticism should reasonably matter.

              Id be critically self aware of what youre doing though.

              But believe me with the people you meet in the US anything they accuse you of they are being accused of by the people they claim a sense of kinship with in Europe. Its a fact of life that who and what you are will never be enough for some people. If you like who you are and what you do. Enjoy it and tell the begrudgers to jump in a river.

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                #8
                Re: Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

                Yeahh. I feel like maybe the best thing to do is take a step back, reflect some more, do my research, listen to my heart.

                And THEN, when I'm sure that I'm really ready, I'll make up my mind as to what I what spiritual path to follow.

                Because I don't want to rush into anything. And I most certainly don't want treat the Divine with any disrespect. I want to do what really feels right to me, while honoring and respecting my deities properly.
                ‎"Be humble, for you are made of earth. Be noble, for you are made of stars"


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                  #9
                  Re: Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

                  You don't necessarily need to choose one over another. Synthesis isn't a bad thing, and if you're a solitary practitioner, then it doesn't matter what other people's opinions are on the matter. It's a decision that is solely between you and your higher powers.

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                    #10
                    Re: Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

                    I think our faith is an every growing, every evolving part of ourselves. It will grow until the day we cease to be in this world.

                    It also sounds like you sought out your greek gods. You took favor with them and they you. But this norse God sought out you. I think we can work with many aspects and through many different deities. (personally I think its a collective, each diety is more of a piece of a whole, with holding certain aspects of that whole.) But the very fact you say that the norse God is the first one to ever spring out at you... I think that should be what you let lead your path.

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                      #11
                      Re: Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

                      Who's the Heathen god who reached out?

                      I don't see any reason why you can't do two pantheons, as long as you take care with it. Heathen values are very different from ancient Greek values - the deities are also very different. Heathen values have an aspect on morality, for example courage, loyalty, and trust are important virtues. Greek religions and Greek gods (in my view!) do not have the same moral ideals. The emphasis is more on ritual rather than living the best lifestyle.

                      So before you go and start mixing, find your moral ground. Because the minute you start mixing pantheons you begin mixing cultures. And unless you have your own cultural base upon which you can stand, I don't see the point of being a pagan (not to be mean or anything ). But in my mind you can't worship someone like Poseidon (jealous, greedy, mean) and worship a goddess like Sunna (life-giving, caring). It doesn't equate. If you're worshiping opposites, then you become divided - this is why pagan people usually venerate one or a handful of gods rather than the whole pantheon.

                      Good luck
                      "Wealth is as swift | as a winking eye
                      Of friends the falsest it is."

                      Havamal, 74

                      "The wolf that lies idle | shall win little meat,
                      Or the sleeping man success."

                      Havamal, 58

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                        #12
                        Re: Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

                        I tear myself between pantheons. My chiefmost patron god and goddess are Greek, but I also worship Cernunnos, and honour several gods from British and Gaulish pantheons. The way I see it, the "pantheons" are cultural constructions just as much as they are associations between gods. So, I don't see them as a hard-and-fast barrier to my worshipping or venerating deities from across different cultures. Depending on one's path, that is. I'm a Wiccan, which is a very modern pagan religion and isn't at all a reconstruction of any past culture; so the cultural mores of the Greeks or Northern Germanic tribes aren't particularly relevant to my path. The gods that call to me are.

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                          #13
                          Re: Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

                          I love this thread!

                          I've had that experience, and don't rule out that I might go through it again.

                          I've also participated in this discussion many times over the years, and have run across a lot of people who issue angry warnings about mixing pantheons, and accuse people of dishonoring deities and religions.

                          While I have come to appreciate those aspects, I also appreciate how important a stage of spiritual growth and awakening this experience is for many of us.

                          Questioning, trying new things, feeling called are all common experiences in areas of our life. A sort of adolescent "coming of age" type of thing. A huge opportunity, albeit awkward. I think awareness during the process is likely to render the most from the experience.

                          Awareness allows us to explore and honor and grow, while cockiness blinds us and makes us confrontational.

                          If someone, upon hearing what you are experiencing, tells you you are doing it wrong...try not to let your ego get defensive and angry, try to ask why they feel that way, and to consider their response.

                          If you feel fear, or confidence, or faith or doubt...sit with those feelings and ask yourself why, where are they coming from.

                          If it's awkward, allow it to be awkward for awhile. If it feels right, accept the blessing and gifts it has to offer.

                          It felt very weird for me, when I felt a deity was reaching out to me, because it was foreign to my experience. It took a lot of acceptance and openess for me to not reject the experience out of hand, but to allow it to lead me to fresh exploration.

                          Staying in discussion with people on their experiences, just as this thread is doing, really helped me get the most from the experience, because it helped me not get too cocky or defensive. Because it helped me stay open to various aspects, when the impatient insecure part of me wanted to come to a decision, wrap it all up and put a label on it.

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                            #14
                            Re: Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

                            Interesting. I never came across this issue or worry before. Then again, I'm on the solitary path, so I just follow the few Gods and Goddesses that spoke to me first... Two Greek, one Egyptian, and one Roman. Almost sounds like a set up for a bad bar joke... but this works for me and they don't seem to conflict. And I'm very much a "whatever works" type of person. ^_^
                            My everyday wacky blog

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                              #15
                              Re: Mixed beliefs and inner confusion.

                              Originally posted by MaskedOne View Post
                              Pantheon mixing can go one of three ways.

                              1) very, very well.

                              2) horrifically bad and I start wondering if you think the Divine is a mall where you're picking out fashionable gods for the year.

                              3) soft polytheism.

                              Long as you avoid the option in the middle, you should be okay. Just progress with care and respect for (and research into) both traditions.
                              I have mostly ended with number 3 and a heavier leaning toward universalism than I realised...
                              http://catcrowsnow.blogspot.com/

                              But they were doughnuts of darkness. Evil damned doughnuts, tainted by the spawn of darkness.... Which could obviously only be redeemed by passing through the fiery inferno of my digestive tract.
                              ~Jim Butcher

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