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Post by Suzie on Dec 8, 2007 20:41:15 GMT
OK people I've decided we should really start making use of the paths board... so here we go. Who are 'your' gods/goddesses and how did you pick and start working with them? Was it a rational choice or did you just go with your 'gut' feeling? Have they ever 'shown' themselves to you? I want to see what kind of response I get to this, then maybe I will consider telling you all my Pan story. It's a good 'un. Your charming webmaster
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ian2
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Posts: 43
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Post by ian2 on Dec 8, 2007 23:01:38 GMT
In my (so far somewhat limited) experience, I tend to pick whichever deity from either the hellenic or anglo-saxon/norse pantheon (though obviously not in the same ritual) feels right at the time for the rite/spell, as i follow something of an eclectic path. That being said, I would like to develop a closer relationship with the god aspect Woden and the goddess aspect Frige from the anglo-saxon pantheon, and then make them my patrons. Although this started as a rational choice, I'm hoping to receive some divine validation of that choice as i've heard you dont choose a patron so much as s/he chooses you. Of course there is the odd coincidence that since I began working with Woden as the god-aspect I have often found myself followed (escorted?) by a raven along some of the paths at keele I'm not sure myself if its regularity is quite enough to convince me that im not reading too much into it, and even if its not just me being fanciful it wouldnt technically be him - just his servant Huginn or Munnin - so im not sure that counts tell us about Pan, I for one am intrigued... [edited to remove my all too regular confusion of pan with puck]
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Post by hordriss on Dec 9, 2007 15:23:39 GMT
Anubis is my god but I have had dealings with Osiris, Thor, Herne, Baphomet, and the demon Mephistopheles.
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Post by Suzie on Dec 9, 2007 21:46:38 GMT
Ah yes, Mephistopheles. Legend.
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Post by zakeeya on Dec 9, 2007 21:47:58 GMT
The Godess Divine is my main Godess, the maternal mother. I feel most connected with her and she is the focus of my Wiccan beliefs. erm hope this explains enough.
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Post by sena on Dec 10, 2007 2:58:26 GMT
i don't tend to focus on the gods much. tend to look more towards 'powers' green man, sheela-na-gig and others of the such
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Post by icebound77 on Dec 17, 2007 22:44:23 GMT
Tyr is my patron god, I have not chosen a godess yet, maybe Loki :-).
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Post by Suzie on Dec 19, 2007 16:06:48 GMT
Loki isn't a goddess. Loki is a trickster god, or so I heard. Tyr is a legend. I've been told he is connected with my surname, but I don't feel a particular pull to him. Odin on the other hand, is a different story
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ian2
Familiar
Posts: 43
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Post by ian2 on Dec 19, 2007 16:45:20 GMT
I was also under the impression that Loki was primarily a god rather than a goddess, but I remember reading somewhere that he is capable of appearing as either. Perhaps the confusion as to his gender also arises from the fact that he allegedly gave birth to sleipnir, Woden's eight legged horse? Also, I note that almost everyone so far has no issue with mixing different pantheons - out of interest, does that arise from a panentheistic view (all gods are merely aspects of a greater divinity) or from a genuine belief that all such entities exist in their own right, essentially making gods just particularly powerful spirits?
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Post by icebound77 on Dec 19, 2007 22:06:01 GMT
Its true, Loki's Gender is ambiguous and varies in different sources, I see Loki as a woman, dont know why it just seems to fit.
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Post by Suzie on Dec 20, 2007 19:29:35 GMT
An inherent sexism, perhaps? Kidding. I see no reason why you shouldn't worship Loki in whatever gender you envision him/her. Just in the original pantheon he was portrayed as a small, sly tricky little dude. As for mixing pantheons, I see no problem with it - after all all Gods are energy and all thought is energy, they are one and the same which is how they are imagined and yet real at the same time. That's how thought-forms work. In my mind all Gods are just incredibly powerful thought-forms which have had vast eras of energy invested into them - so they are as good as real. So they can be safely mixed, as they are made of the same stuff. The Suzie rests her case.
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ian2
Familiar
Posts: 43
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Post by ian2 on Dec 20, 2007 20:27:30 GMT
ah, so a sort of mix of the two then? I tend to think along distinctly panentheistic lines, with all gods being part of the same energy of one greater divine. The only real difference being I believe that the energy was created without the aid of mankind. That may just be a leftover from my own christian heritage though.
As for Loki, I see him/her as male, but thats mainly because I've had few dealings with my chosen (or did he choose me?) patron let alone other (and, to be honest, in this case less reputable) deities from the pantheon. As such, I rely solely on the descriptions in the Eddas, Lokasenna etc. As a shapechanger, it is possible Loki just chooses to relate to you in female form?
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Post by Question on Dec 22, 2007 18:13:30 GMT
Continuing this story:
Loki is classed by the mythos as a God since he is considered a son of Odin, a brother of Thor and a father of his three main children (who were mothered by the giant goddess Angrboda: Jörmungandr (aka the Midgard Serpent), the sea serpent; Fenrir the giant wolf preordained to slay Odin at the time of Ragnarök; and Hel, ruler of the realm of the dead.
However Loki was indeed gifted with what is considered the most adept form of shapeshifting any Norse deity could ever have and has been referenced in more than one case as been the mother of beasts and monsters
Ohh and Ian2 if you enter this thread I have this bit of trivia for your personal interest:
[glow=red,2,300]While he was in the form of a mare Loki mated with the stallion Svadilfari and gave birth to Sleipnir, the eight-legged steed of Odin.[/glow]
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Post by Question on Dec 22, 2007 18:15:05 GMT
My patron god is Hermes/Mercury
I've read many biographies of them both comparing and understanding who they were and are
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Post by Suzie on Dec 22, 2007 18:44:41 GMT
Yeah, and just as a side about Fenrir to prove my Norseness: "Fenrir will remain bound until Ragnarok when he will join forces with those opposing Odin and will devour him. Vidar, Odin's son, will kill Fenrir. Until Ragnarok, three chains tie the dread wolf down: Loding, Dromi and Gleipnir." Loding is my surname
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