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For polytheistic folk: pop culture deities

VoidCat

Pronouns: he/him/they/them
This is in the same faith debates... If you aren't polytheistic get out! Go on get!
I read this article and found out that some people will work with beings from pop culture.
Spirit work: Pop culture spirits, and deities
Pop culture spirits, and deities are entities from pop culture which people work with. Things such as the gods from Skyrim, Pokemon, marvel loki/thor, and other pop culture media characters can be worked with through the understandings of Pop Culture paganism, and magick. The fundamentals of what these entities are depends upon the model of understanding that the practitioner subscribes to, and can encompass such concepts as archetypes, thought forms, and Multiverse Theory. These entities based off pop culture icon will act as spirits, or as deities in the practitioners practice. Which can be called upon, or prayed to like the more original understanding of spirits, and deities.
Thoughts? I am curious to the different opinions as I just found it interesting and wish to learn more. However my knee jerk thoughts were this is not a legitimate practice. How could fictional characters be worshipped and worked with? Perhaps I am wrong tho and just dont understand it. I did hear some theories involving chaos magick can apply here but I dont know enough about chaos magick to know.

Edited to just include polytheistic folk
 
Last edited:

VoidCat

Pronouns: he/him/they/them
@The Hammer @Wild Fox
I know y'all both polytheistic if y'all want to weigh in y'all don't have to...at first I was trying to include 3 different groups but have decided on just polytheistic folk.
 

Orbit

I'm a planet
This is in the same faith debates... If you aren't polytheistic get out! Go on get!
I read this article and found out that some people will work with beings from pop culture.
Spirit work: Pop culture spirits, and deities

Thoughts? I am curious to the different opinions as I just found it interesting and wish to learn more. However my knee jerk thoughts were this is not a legitimate practice. How could fictional characters be worshipped and worked with? Perhaps I am wrong tho and just dont understand it. I did hear some theories involving chaos magick can apply here but I dont know enough about chaos magick to know.

Edited to just include polytheistic folk

I'm not a polytheist, but wanted to say that I know a polytheist who has Freddie Mercury (deceased, of the rock band Queen) as his spirit entity. Can't say as I understand it, but there it is.
 

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
This is in the same faith debates... If you aren't polytheistic get out! Go on get!
I read this article and found out that some people will work with beings from pop culture.
Spirit work: Pop culture spirits, and deities

Thoughts? I am curious to the different opinions as I just found it interesting and wish to learn more. However my knee jerk thoughts were this is not a legitimate practice. How could fictional characters be worshipped and worked with? Perhaps I am wrong tho and just dont understand it. I did hear some theories involving chaos magick can apply here but I dont know enough about chaos magick to know.

Edited to just include polytheistic folk

So at first glance this almost sounds like the creation of a Tulpa out of a Pop Icon.
Tulpa - Wikipedia.

Now, I have never done this myself, but have given thought to the worship of certain fictional deities, but have never gone so far as to put anything into practice.

What I have done is use the various ways NPCs approach and interact with the Divine in the Elder Scrolls Series (3-5), as a basis for how I talk about and approach the Gods, Ancestors, and Spirits in real life. This isn't an external extension of a fictional world practice inasmuch as it is real practice colored by video game writing. There are not a lot of hard polytheistic cultures for one to model a practice off of, sometimes it is necessary to reach for the familiar.
 

Bear Wild

Well-Known Member
So at first glance this almost sounds like the creation of a Tulpa out of a Pop Icon.
Tulpa - Wikipedia.

Now, I have never done this myself, but have given thought to the worship of certain fictional deities, but have never gone so far as to put anything into practice.

What I have done is use the various ways NPCs approach and interact with the Divine in the Elder Scrolls Series (3-5), as a basis for how I talk about and approach the Gods, Ancestors, and Spirits in real life. This isn't an external extension of a fictional world practice inasmuch as it is real practice colored by video game writing. There are not a lot of hard polytheistic cultures for one to model a practice off of, sometimes it is necessary to reach for the familiar.

Interesting reference. I was not aware of this.
 

Bear Wild

Well-Known Member
This is in the same faith debates... If you aren't polytheistic get out! Go on get!
I read this article and found out that some people will work with beings from pop culture.
Spirit work: Pop culture spirits, and deities

Thoughts? I am curious to the different opinions as I just found it interesting and wish to learn more. However my knee jerk thoughts were this is not a legitimate practice. How could fictional characters be worshipped and worked with? Perhaps I am wrong tho and just dont understand it. I did hear some theories involving chaos magick can apply here but I dont know enough about chaos magick to know.

Edited to just include polytheistic folk

Thank you for asking although I am still learning, literally all of my life still learning.

I would certainly ask yourself does this entity from pop culture have significant meaning to me to become a focus of my path/religion. Even though we cannot define religion well, there are some things I think are important that religions do that are important for us. I would ask yourself if a deity from a pop culture can provide some of these aspects of religion. There is no correct or incorrect answer.

1. Social connections and social bonds - Rituals, symbols, activities and in some religions beliefs create social bonds of feeling of consecutiveness. Important social events such as marriage, childbirth, honoring those who have died.

2. Relationship to our world - Religion helps us see our connection with our world or in some with an otherworld or in some a heaven. Some religions create a negative connection with this world.

3. Death - of all of the events of life it is death which is the most difficult contemplate. Religion can help with dealing with the idea of death whether there is an afterlife, reincarnation or nothing.

I left Christianity and became pagan because I felt finally connected with this world as a pagan and never as a Christian. I finally found a comfort in death knowing I am connected to this world (ironically more than anticipating some heaven). I also found meaning in the rituals and symbolic understanding of our world that I have found. But that is me. Not sure if this helps at all but thank you for asking me.

@The Hammer is a great resource as well as Quintessence and Beenherebeforeagain. I have learned much from them. I am sure we will learn from you.
 

VoidCat

Pronouns: he/him/they/them
This is in the same faith debates... If you aren't polytheistic get out! Go on get!
I read this article and found out that some people will work with beings from pop culture.
Spirit work: Pop culture spirits, and deities

Thoughts? I am curious to the different opinions as I just found it interesting and wish to learn more. However my knee jerk thoughts were this is not a legitimate practice. How could fictional characters be worshipped and worked with? Perhaps I am wrong tho and just dont understand it. I did hear some theories involving chaos magick can apply here but I dont know enough about chaos magick to know.

Edited to just include polytheistic folk
I was wrong and just didn't understand it. It is a legitimate practice:) I forgot I posted this and meant to write this message out a few months ago and forgot
 
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