Do Wiccan "Gods" and "Goddesses" exist, or a figment of ones imagination?

[savethedreams]

I'm an openly-minded person, so trust intent i'm not attacking anyone, but Why do you, if applicable, believe these Gods/Goddess "exist"?

 

[Quintessence]

If you mean to ask strict Wiccans, I'm not sure we actually have any on the forums at the moment. We have a crap ton of polytheists, though, and with few exceptions, all the gods worshiped by Wiccans are broadly honored by Neopagan religions in general. Just wanting to make sure you wanted to ask exclusively Wiccans... and know that you're not likely to get much response if that is the case.

 

[Nietzsche]

If you mean to ask strict Wiccans, I'm not sure we actually have any on the forums at the moment. We have a crap ton of polytheists, though, and with few exceptions, all the gods worshiped by Wiccans are broadly honored by Neopagan religions in general.

They are? Wicca, or at least the Wicca most commonly discussed, has a Horned-God and a Goddess. Most traditional(perhaps therein is the difference, traditional rather than neo?) pagans don't bother with them because of how, well, constructed it is.

Just wanting to make sure you wanted to ask exclusively Wiccans... and know that you're not likely to get much response if that is the case.

Surprisingly so, honestly.

 

[Quintessence]

They are? Wicca, or at least the Wicca most commonly discussed, has a Horned-God and a Goddess. Most traditional(perhaps therein is the difference, traditional rather than neo?) pagans don't bother with them because of how, well, constructed it is.

Although I'm not entirely sure which part of my post you were responding to here, I'll just remark that although Wicca is characteristically duotheistic (i.e., honoring a "God" and "Goddess" in prime), it is also frequently paired with polytheism and worship of various historical (or ahistorical in some cases) Pagan gods. Since the OP used gods/goddesses in the plural, I can only presume that they meant not to speak exclusively of the Wiccan duotheistic theology of God and Goddess, but Pagan gods on the whole, which, as I pointed out, are worshiped by Neopagans broadly and not just Wiccans.

 

[Cassandra]

I'm an openly-minded person, so trust intent i'm not attacking anyone, but Why do you, if applicable, believe these Gods/Goddess "exist"?

My personal view: One can ask that question about any God. Wicca is Nature religion and the difference with supernatural Gods in Monotheism is that Gods in Pagan religions do exist. If they do not exist we can not make a spiritual connection to them. They must be based on real phenomena in Nature. They are not artificial philosophical construct in a theology as in Abrahamic religions or Pantheism.

The worshipper may want to understand that. If he is just worshipping an mental image of God, he only entertaining the thoughts he projects on them. That is belief. Monotheism is about belief. If you believe hard enough, you create a placebo-effect that makes you believe things are happing through your God. That is a delusion you entertain yourself. Paradoxically a mental image such as created in books are a much bigger barrier than a visual image, as they directly format the mind in a bias that shapes further experiences.

Pagans are not all having the same sensitivity, but it is often sensitive people that feel attracted to Pagan Religion. Developing a communication with the Gods is in itself a spiritual journey, in which one has to grow. In Pagan religions people have always recognized that there is great variety in character of people and spiritual development and that each connects in his own way. It does not say: One size fits all.

Wisely Wicca leaves it up to people themselves what they want to believe. Belief is personal thing, and as such people chose their own Gods to worship or not. It ranges all the different views on the cosmos from polytheism, to monotheism and Pantheism, to atheism. That allows people to be honest to themselves. Nothing is more debilitation as having to believe something made up by others. To have a path of growth, we have start with our present view and experience of Reality and grow from there.

Yes the Gods are real, as long as we worship real Gods and no book Gods. As long as we seek our inspiration in real phenomena in Nature. Pagans would revere their ancestor spirits to keep their own identity alive. Spirits of phenomena in Nature to subtract their qualities (inspiration), all kind of other spirits in Natural beings to promote harmony and prevent disharmony. These people were not stupid, it works. If is did not work, they would change their worship to one that would work. Like in life not every body will turn out to be good friend, not every spirit will bond with you. That is what you find out through trial and error. A sensitive person will feel a stronger connection to one spirit than another and also the quality. Just like finding the right friends, and people to work with, its all very practical.

It is however not a belief. If people demand belief, they demand that you trade in your own senses for some pre-fabricated notion, that is often surrounded with strong feelings/emotions that cloud your sensitivity. Especially if it is done in group gatherings, it totally overwhelms the subtle individual fine tuning. Than people start to believe in Gods on the bases of emotions that are provoked by rhetoric of clever scriptures and charismatic preachers.

The person that asks such a question already admits he has no spiritual connection. In that case he can best begin as an atheist. In sensitivity one's own mind is the instrument, and it should reflect the actual situation, not any ideal.

 

[Midnight Rain]

A view I have adopted and many others have as well, is that to an extent the gods are in a sense self reflective. The names of gods as well as the imagery that comes along with them may not be in any way permanently assertive. What I mean by this is the fact that as a pagan I feel it is necessary to at least be open to eccletivness. One needn't strive for it in their personal beliefs but rather it would be deplorable for an Alexandrian witch were to claim that Cernunnos exists but the Egyptian god Set is malarkey. It seems obvious within many pagan cultures that the reflection and revelation of these varied gods and goddesses across time and place round the world are just as legitimate as the ones they worship. This leads me to believe that it is within the eye of the beholder what the specifics of an aspect of the All appears as. Though the energy and the aspect itself does not change.

I believe this even extends to the Abrahamic religions as well. They too are attempting to see the "all" in some shape or another. However anyone getting too wrapped up in their beliefs and their own self reflected revelations creates a poison of one's own beliefs.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I'm an openly-minded person, so trust intent i'm not attacking anyone, but Why do you, if applicable, believe these Gods/Goddess "exist"?

If I considered my ancestors and nature as gods, then yes, they do exist. I revere them as one would define as gods (place them at high esteme to where they (both) define my life). I know they exist because I have seen them and I have a physical as well as spiritual relationship with them.

If Wicca equates their god and goddess to being nature itself, not an idea of or aspect of, then yes, they do exist. Walk out your front door and you'll see the gods there.

 

[savethedreams]

My personal view: One can ask that question about any God. Wicca is Nature religion and the difference with supernatural Gods in Monotheism is that Gods in Pagan religions do exist. If they do not exist we can not make a spiritual connection to them. They must be based on real phenomena in Nature. They are not artificial philosophical construct in a theology as in Abrahamic religions or Pantheism.

The worshipper may want to understand that. If he is just worshipping an mental image of God, he only entertaining the thoughts he projects on them. That is belief. Monotheism is about belief. If you believe hard enough, you create a placebo-effect that makes you believe things are happing through your God. That is a delusion you entertain yourself. Paradoxically a mental image such as created in books are a much bigger barrier than a visual image, as they directly format the mind in a bias that shapes further experiences.

Pagans are not all having the same sensitivity, but it is often sensitive people that feel attracted to Pagan Religion. Developing a communication with the Gods is in itself a spiritual journey, in which one has to grow. In Pagan religions people have always recognized that there is great variety in character of people and spiritual development and that each connects in his own way. It does not say: One size fits all.

Wisely Wicca leaves it up to people themselves what they want to believe. Belief is personal thing, and as such people chose their own Gods to worship or not. It ranges all the different views on the cosmos from polytheism, to monotheism and Pantheism, to atheism. That allows people to be honest to themselves. Nothing is more debilitation as having to believe something made up by others. To have a path of growth, we have start with our present view and experience of Reality and grow from there.

Yes the Gods are real, as long as we worship real Gods and no book Gods. As long as we seek our inspiration in real phenomena in Nature. Pagans would revere their ancestor spirits to keep their own identity alive. Spirits of phenomena in Nature to subtract their qualities (inspiration), all kind of other spirits in Natural beings to promote harmony and prevent disharmony. These people were not stupid, it works. If is did not work, they would change their worship to one that would work. Like in life not every body will turn out to be good friend, not every spirit will bond with you. That is what you find out through trial and error. A sensitive person will feel a stronger connection to one spirit than another and also the quality. Just like finding the right friends, and people to work with, its all very practical.

It is however not a belief. If people demand belief, they demand that you trade in your own senses for some pre-fabricated notion, that is often surrounded with strong feelings/emotions that cloud your sensitivity. Especially if it is done in group gatherings, it totally overwhelms the subtle individual fine tuning. Than people start to believe in Gods on the bases of emotions that are provoked by rhetoric of clever scriptures and charismatic preachers.

The person that asks such a question already admits he has no spiritual connection. In that case he can best begin as an atheist. In sensitivity one's own mind is the instrument, and it should reflect the actual situation, not any ideal.

I do have a sensitivity but i'm not sure what or where its connected to. I'm always exploring...

 

[lovesong]

If you mean to ask strict Wiccans, I'm not sure we actually have any on the forums at the moment.

There are no Wiccans on RF? I'm genuinely very surprised here, judging by the number of general Pagans we have I thought there would have been a good number of Wiccans.

 

[Callisto]

I'm a Trad Wiccan and new to the site (so, hello!). I don't know if no one else has replied because there still are not others around or the discussion has moved elsewhere.

To answer the op, I would say most would tell you they know the Gods exists for similar reasons those of other religions have come to know their god(s) exist, from their personal experience with deity and the relationships they've built.