How did you all go about searching for your gods/goddesses when you first started in Wicca? Do you exclusively pray to those chosen or do you pray to various dieties depending on the type of ritual you're doing?
How did you all go about searching for your gods/goddesses when you first started in Wicca? Do you exclusively pray to those chosen or do you pray to various dieties depending on the type of ritual you're doing?
(user formerly known as beckly_freckly)
You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.
I'm not Wiccan, but I can say that I researched different paths and beliefs for a long time before I settled into paganism. My suggestion would be to research different pantheons and see which deities interest you, and research more from there which would be a good fit for you.
“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” -- Bruce Lee
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My deities came to me. I started out being a Celtic Wiccan, then moved to Norse Wicca, then finally found my true path in Egyptian Wicca. Lord Anubis came to me when I was still afraid of the dark. I was in my late 20s (yeah still afraid) and I decided to overcome that fear. He came to me in the dark and calmed me and I knew I found my personal god. About two months ago, Bast came to me in a dream and I found my personal goddess. I might take time if you are searching. If you are drawn to a particular path and look at a list of gods and goddesses, a name might jump out at you and that might be one calling to you. Just keep open.
Anubisa
Dedicated and devoted to Lord Anubis and Lady Bast. A follower of the path of Egyptian Wicca.
I am not Wiccan either, but I think I have a little to offer also. I agree about reading up on and researching the deities of other pantheons. You may find deities you would never think of to fit into Wicca. There was a thread at another site talking about worshiping Hindu deities in Wicca. The answer was "why not?" If Shiva and Devi, or Vishnu and Lakshmi, or any God and Goddess pair of the Hindu pantheon resonates with you, go for it. Realize of course you are not practicing Hinduism, and should not ascribe attributes or characteristics that are not traditionally associated with those deities. You might consider an Aesir or Vanir pair such as Freyr and Freyja, Odin and Frigga, Thor and Sif. You might mix and match a God/Goddess pair within a pantheon also if something about each of those resonates with you. There is an Indian saying that loosely translates as "everyone sees God(dess) in their own way".
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I didn't see your post, but that sounds like what I was getting at... adopting deities from other pantheons into Wiccan practiceOriginally Posted by anubisa
śivāya vishnu rūpaya śivaḥ rūpaya vishnave
śivasya hridayam viṣṇur viṣṇoscha hridayam śivaḥ
So...I'm no longer Wiccan, but I once was...and I'm going to give two answers--one from the Wiccan (non-eclectic, more-or-less "Traditional") perspective of my specific coven training (about 15 years ago), and one from a more eclectic former Wiccan perspective.
1) The Lord and Lady are deities of Wicca...one might even argue that they are (or have become) *the* deities of Wicca. They have specific personas, and a specific role in Wiccan mythology, even if one takes a more or less soft-polytheistic but duotheistic view of "all godesses are facets of the Lady, all gods are facets of the Lord" POV (as many Wiccans do). Depending on your tradition, they may (probably) have oath bound names which may differ from group to group. But either way, They are specific deities in their own right (this is part of many issues BTW and other tradition-specific Wiccans have with eclectic Wicca), with specific roles in terms of the Wheel of the Year (which is basically the Wiccan liturgy, and not just a fancy stand-in name for 8 days many Pagans like to celebrate). The traditional view of Them is as the Triple Goddess and the Horned God, that can be expressed in conjunction with (or through) the deities of other pantheons. With that being said, obviously, different people feel more or less comfortable with deities or different aspects of a deity (depending on your POV on the matter)--Kali vs Green Tara or Ares vs Apollo, etc...choosing to worship with other deities in a personal practice is something different than in a group tradition.
At the end of the day, are you worshipping a goddess and a god among many (from whatever mythos), or are you worshipping Them in that guise (or the idea of them as expressed by those deities)? Because, if its the latter--it really doesn't matter, and if its the former...is it really Wicca (opinions on this will vary)?
2) Wiccan ritual is a structure that works with many different pantheons and theological perspectices. And ultimately it is about experience, not dogma. What do you feel when you do ritual? Where do you have the most authentic experience--with deities that you've chosen (or been chosen by), or with dieties that match what you are doing? This is a deeply personal question with deeply personal and variable answers...there is no correct preference.
If this is a matter of not knowing where to start, I'd start with the Lord and Lady...if they want you to worship them in a certain way, they will let you know. Or, if someone else wants your interest, they will let you know. But you can't have a practice without practicing, and its through doing that you have the experiences that inform your theology. Although, because I love book recommendations, I highly recommend reading Janet and Steward Farrar's A Witches Bible, The Witches God, and The Witches Goddess.
“You have never answered but you did not need to. If I stand at the ocean I can hear you with your thousand voices. Sometimes you shout, hilarious laughter that taunts all questions. Other nights you are silent as death, a mirror in which the stars show themselves. Then I think you want to tell me something, but you never do. Of course I know I have written letters to no-one. But what if I find a trident tomorrow?" ~~Letters to Poseidon, Cees Nooteboom
“We still carry this primal relationship to the Earth within our consciousness, even if we have long forgotten it. It is a primal recognition of the wonder, beauty, and divine nature of the Earth. It is a felt reverence for all that exists. Once we bring this foundational quality into our consciousness, we will be able to respond to our present man-made crisis from a place of balance, in which our actions will be grounded in an attitude of respect for all of life. This is the nature of real sustainability.”
~~Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
"We are the offspring of history, and must establish our own paths in this most diverse and interesting of conceivable universes--one indifferent to our suffering, and therefore offering us maximal freedom to thrive, or to fail, in our own chosen way."
~~Stephen Jay Gould, Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
"Humans are not rational creatures. Now, logic and rationality are very helpful tools, but there’s also a place for embracing our subjectivity and thinking symbolically. Sometimes what our so-called higher thinking can’t or won’t see, our older, more primitive intuition will." John Beckett
Pagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
Thank you all so much
(user formerly known as beckly_freckly)
You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.
I'm not a wiccan. But I looked into many religions and faiths all over the world till I eventually came up with my own belief system and developed my own rituals. I believe our planet is alive and she is or Goddess. She gives us all we need to live and it should be our job to protect and take care of her just like she does for us. Which is why I worship the earth, respect all living organisms, and try to protect our forests.
I, personally, only pray to my chosen god and goddess. I researched Celtic deities, an found the two I connected the most with.
I've read quite a bit of material from other saying that they pray to specific gods and goddesses. I've also seen some ritual magic that calls on specific dieties depending on what the ritual is for or about.
(user formerly known as beckly_freckly)
You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.
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