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Rebuilding a Polytheistic Context

Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
Why else do so many neo-pagans feel the need to have a "patron god"? As Raven Kaldera says, they have a little subconscious anxiety that being a frank polytheist is like promiscuity!
Yeah, I, a Hindu, with at least a 1,000 Gods and Goddesses, was not welcome in Paganism DIR. I love and feel brotherly to all pagan Gods and Goddesses, whether Greek, Celt, Irish, Welsh, Norse, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, African, Australian, Japanese and South American.
Polytheism is more about looking at all the various firmware parts, whereas monotheism is more conscious of the inner self, which controls and integrates the firmware.
I do not think that is true. It is more like Microsoft and Linux. One which imprisons you, the other liberates.
 
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Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
What are some things you've done that have been helpful getting you into a polytheistic mindset?

(Note - I put this outside of a DIR because there's no single DIR on our forums that encompasses all polytheistic religions. The topic probably applies a bit more to contemporary Polytheism/Paganism in the West; the East was to a large extent able to avoid the cultural/ethnic genocide that happened against polytheism)

I tried to stay out of this, but upon re-reading your OP, I feel i can say something that might be worthy. The Hindu temple of the variety I go to brings out a multi-God mindset. There are 4 main Gods there, each with a differing vibration, and purposes. Ganesha, Sivan, Murugan, and then Bhairava. (More if you count all the minor shrines) So I (we, if you include other Hindus like myself) will stand in front of one shrine, and say specific prayers to that deity, then move to another, stand there, and then the prayers change, and then the third, and the fourth, with the prayers changing each time. So it's the specificity of praying that would lead to the polytheistic mindset.

Not all Hindus would approach it this way, though, as those who consider all deities just as different aspects of the one Supreme would be more likely to say the same prayer at each stop.
 

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
In many ways, the gods of polytheism and monotheism are a projection of how the firmware of the brain; operating system of the brain, that defines human nature, is organized. Polytheism is more about looking at all the various firmware parts, whereas monotheism is more conscious of the inner self, which controls and integrates the firmware. It is the same thing from two angles.



In terms of a biological parallel, the scientific cataloging of life, starts with a larger classification, such as trees. It then breaks this down into the various types of trees. Polytheism looks at the various subclasses, within the class, whereas monotheism focuses on the class, itself. Both are looking at the same thing, but from a different angle.

As a parallel in science, the various orientations of psychology are analogous to rational polytheism. Each orientation targets an aspect of human nature; motivation, but few orientations deal with all aspects, at the same time. For example, Freud fixated on sex, which is only one of many motivations behind humans. Jung dealt with the archetypes of collective unconscious; firmware. His approach was closer to rational monotheism. However, this is less popular compared to rational polytheism.

The philosophical problem in Psychology is connected to there being no single consensus definition for consciousness, causing this central concept to remain a dissociated concept; rational polytheism. Freud would have worshiped Aphrodite; goddess of love and sex. Others; clients, who also worship this same goddess; obsessed with sex, but whose felt the goddess was not with them, would seek council from one of her priests or priestesses.

The way the two are connected is via the left and right sides of the brain. The left brain is differential and differentiates the details of reality. The right brain is more spatial and integrates reality. Polytheism was useful to help early humans develop the left brain. Polytheism helped everyone notice the details of nature; via the nature spirits. This was needed for civilization. Once the left brain details were set; gathering data, then it was time, for some cultures, to integrated the data. This was a return to the right brain. Science is not yet right brain, but still remains left brain; rational polytheism. It has collected more data, than it has right brain ways to integrate this data with single unified theory.

When I first became interested in psychology and started to explore my own brain, so I could observe the firmware and its details, the left brain process of differentiation, unknowingly broke up the integration, in favor of looking at the parts. This caused a dissociative affect to my personalty. An analogy is walking while thinking in terms of all the muscle groups used to walk. What would happen is the natural fluid motion would start to get jerky; robotic, due to ego consciousness impacting the smooth integrated operation by trying to think about it and thereby sequence it to the pace of the conscious thought.

It is sort of like taking a motor apart to see who it works. The result was a bunch of parts; polytheism, with a motor that no longer worked properly as a unit. I could see all the parts, but they were no longer meshed as before I began. This is the pitfall of going to polytheism, if one already started with monotheism.

Luckily, the brain; inner self, will self assemble the parts, creating a new type of motor assembly. If one is interested in the integration of parts, the union of parts is outlined is in a very complex book, by Carl Jung, called Mysterious Conjunctions or the mystical union. The symbolism of polytheism; archetypes, help to reassemble itself in terms of a natural hierarchy. This took months and was a lot of work.

From what you describe "rational polytheism" seems to be accurate with my opinion. The Gods allow us to interact with the world with intention and purpose, while ultimately allowing us to use it to describe various human conditions, and strive to better ourselves and community. It's both a way to live, and a way to interact with the natural world.
It's our connection between the spirit realm and midgard (reality).

I like the Germanic concept of innangard (inside the fence), and utangard (outside the fence). The Gods are utangard to us (outside of understanding/fence), whereas the earth is innangard (inside the fence). Humanity has the ability to sense both innangard and utangard, it's what drives us to seek patterns and knowledge.
 
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