Deity Dedications

So are you dedicated to any particular deity? If so, who? How did you find out? Did you dedicate to them on your own or with a coven?

I'm about to choose (or they are about to choose me) a God or Goddess to dedicate for my priestess initiation and I keep moving back and forth from different goddesses (We can each have up to 3 deities to dedicate to at our ordinations)
So far I really feel a connection to Oya, Hathor, Athena (or Neith) and Hermes.
Also with the issue of Orixas in a neopagan coven can be tricky, as alot of folks get upset when you don't have godparents working with you.


So what is your experience?

Oh and this is the coven if you want more info: cayacoven.org

 

I am Thunor's thayn...Wyrd brought it to being.

To you I would recommend working in a particular pantheon first,
gods are like pokemon cards.

 

I have worked in different pantheons, but now I'm at the point where I need to dedicate specifically to a diety. The worship (or dedication if you feel) of Gods/Goddesses of different pantheons is common place in our coven. If I look at my geneology I have ancestors in different places and so I definatly take that into consideration in who or what energy (from where)I choose to work with.

I do feel a little overwhelmed on occasion with all the messages I receive.

I feel like I have meditated so long on this already. I should really know by now right?

 

If you should know by know then you would. It will be known when it is fated to be so, don't rush it, because mistakes are fated as well.

 

I feel like my deities picked me and they come from a mix of pantheons. They include Epona (my namesake), Diana, Bast, Hecate, Kali and Tyr.

 

Hecate and Kali? Do they both fight over duties?

 

No, one stays on the left and the other on the right. Why do you think they would fight?

 

Because the both trace back to the same IndoEuropean goddess of death, life, and underworld , Kolyo. Same as Hella, Hel, Huldor, Holda, and Calypso.

That is the inherent problem of mixing the pantheons. Everyone had a whole pie, and its when you start mixing pies in half wisdom that you miss out on the whole picture. Do you ever call Ogmios and Ogma at the same time? Or Lugh and Mercury? Bilios and Bile? Or Dis Pater and Jupiter, Zeus or Tiw? To do so would be rather redundant.

 

Sorry, but I don't buy into that mixing pantheons taboo. I'm an eclectic pagan. I respond to the deities that respond me, no matter what pantheon they are. If it's redundant to you, that's your path. Don't dictate that to others. If it works for me, why should it matter to you? That's why I left Christianity, because I resented to being told what I had to believe. I don't accept that in Paganism either. I blend a lot of practices from a lot of different religions. That is my path. It seems to me that you are living with a lot of superstitions. I don't.

 

I am not saying anything superstitious, and I am not trying to dictate to you. If you want to walk in a half-wise light, then by all means, walk your "path".

What I am telling you is not that mixing is taboo, it isn't necessary. It creates more problems than it solves. Do you not understand what I was saying when I said Dis Pater and Jupiter? They are the exact same. Lugh and Mercury, SAME, so it is with Kali and Hecate. How many underworlds are there? How many suns are there? How many can spin fate? How many can harvest the dead? If you worship Thunor AND Taranis, you are being redundant because they are the exact same. Different languages, different cultures, different expressions, same deity.

I am not judging you in anyway, so don't get on your eclectic newage box and call abuse, I was just pointing out that if you have a whole pie, why take from anothers pie. The ancestors had a whole system, they had no need to fill gaps with other peoples ways. They didn't say things like "I respond to the deities that respond to me" because they wouldn't have to.

but whatever, if you find some sort of superficial peace in it, then continue, but if you seek a deeper wisdom, then look to the right sources.

Be Whole, Gar

 

Excuse me? Calling my path half-wise, superficial is not judgmental?

 

If that is all you choose to see, then I will say no more.

Be Whole.

 

Good. If this is the response people get, no wonder no one posts here.

 

Yeah, Heron's last statement was judgmental. But this is what dives me nuts about the fellow - While his judgment of people is wincable - the damn guy is usually correct, especially about such matter as these.

My old group mixed pantheons on occasion. We were mostly Hellenic but sometimes calls came from elsewhere. But we never called redundant Gods. And I think that's all Heron is really trying to get at. It's not an attack on the path of 'mixing it up' it just that it needs to be done with care and thought or the energy you're expending or lessons you are learning will not be as effective.

Welcome to Pagansim. It's no different than any other group of religious humans. Ulitmately no one can make you worship this way or that but there are a vast amount of varied opinion and some of it very vocal, judgmental and scathing.

I know it sucks to be condescended to but for those who have lived a specific path for a long time, who have much experience with energies and dieties, those that have done GOOD historical research (not Llwelleyn history) it gets really frustrating to see people making certain mistakes over and over and defending it as "their path" when, infact there are some real objective mistakes out there that can hinder or confuse things.

Sadly, I've also found that the more experience, understanding,mastery and age a pagan has, the more of a condescending dick they become. It boggles me because in my mind I equate age, wisdom and experience with patience and I've never met someone whom I consider solidly experienced who had any patience for those new to the path.

 

Blazing I will give you that, it does come across more dickish than wise...and that is largely due to the internet and the way things seem on here to begin with. I have had the exact same conversations in person, only for the person to leave with a feeling of a new start, a refreshing new look, and hope for the wisdom to come from it.

People on the internet will find offense in anything, its all in how it is read...in person, it doesn't seem so.

And I admit, i can seem very assholish..but lots of times you get tired of pandering and you just have to be blunt and frank...you can't coddle and enable a person...and sometimes being overmuch frank can be a turn off to people...and ultimately it is not I or any other than can bring about these initiations in a person...that is up to the gods. People are either gonna get it, or not...it is all in how their Fate is spun.

 

While I see what you are saying (Heron I mean) in that "mixing is unnecessary" I can see that Different pantheons (and People) have different ways to worship etc too.. Take for instance Oya, in Santeria there is an INTENSE regimen for being dedicated to Oya, and she much like Kali is a goddess of destruction and rebirth, I would not honor the two in the same way. They are different with similiar energies.

As I said before I have ancestors from different places and sometimes these deities come to me in dreams and in my life. Do you suggest people Deny them? I've had dreams of deities from different pantheons, many a time and they are all very different. (Mercury and Hermes are very alike but we are talking Roman and Greek here)

Everyone walks their own path, and my path is not the same as yours or Eponabri and Blazingdervish. We all walk our own path . Sometimes on my path I see Kali, and sometimes I see Persephone, maybe up the road I'll see Jupiter and Hera. Who knows.

I appreciate the Thoughts and Wisdom from Everyone.

On a side note:
I had this conversation the other day with my sister, How is the Aztec Religion similiar to European religions? (any) What deities coincide?

 

Roman, Greek, Celtic, German, English, Norse, and many Hindu gods are all based in ProtoIndoEuropean origin. So the Norse may say Thor, the english Thunor, the Gaul Taranis, etc...all are the same god. People travel, move around, change.


All gods aren't the same god, but there are only so many. How many goddess can destruct and rebirth nature? Just the one who destructs and rebirths nature. The inherant problem we are facing is seeing poetic descriptions (Thunor
..thunderer...Holda...She who covers, etc) as Proper Names of deities.

If i said I worship both Koylo and Hela, i would be saying "I worship both She who covers and She who covers" see what I mean?

 

Since you brought up Santeria, I would like to include Santa Muerte as an example. As an English/British pagan, and witch to boot, Dame Hel is very important to me...she is Death, wife to the Horned Father below.

I have read where Santa Muerte is an Austrian influence to Spanish culture, and she is considered the wife of the Krampus...the Devil. Devil means wild god, savage god...the same of the Horned Father Below is sometimes Wodenaz, Wetonos, or Woden...all mean wild one, master of fury, etc....follow? Santa Muerte is Dame Hel...she who gathers home the dead, and also she who spins the fate of the living...and she who covers all.

 

I'm not sure the issue is about coinciding or mixing but more about calling two deities that mythologically evolved from each other as being redundant for dedication.

Of course there's gonna be differences in paths. Infact, I doubt consensus can't be achieved on this point of redundancy because of different perceptions and levels of pan/poly that we're on. But that's the way it goes, eh?


Edit: Two post while I wrote mine! I'm a slow poke!

 

Ah yes, I was just curious if anyone knew any gods that "matched" or something like that from Aztec to European just because I got into a talk about this recently.
I'm sure I'll figure it out, I'll see My high priestess tomorrow to talk just about this and other stuff