MochaRadha
Member
What is the pantheon of path how do how do u view gods outside of it
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what gods do you worship
- Thread starter MochaRadha
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I don't really... do pantheons, if we understand pantheons to be historically recognized sets of Pagan deities specific to a given culture. For the Neopagan, there is really no reason to adhere to such a pantheon unless it's your personal preference to do so or you're a purist reconstructionist. The polytheism and pluralism intrinsic to Paganism (both historical and contemporary) means there really was/is no clear division between "insider" and "outsider" gods. It was simply understood that the world is populated by gods, some of whom are local to a specific area and others that are more regional. If you travel to a different land, you honor the local gods. If you want, you can bring some of those traditions and practices to your own land. Sharing, exchanging, and absorbing of "outsider" deities was commonplace in Pagan, polytheistic societies. And us Neopagans, living in the information age, have a ridiculous amount of cultural information we can share, exchange, and absorb. I really see no reason (again, personal preference and purist reconstructionists notwithstanding) to limit ourselves to a specific historical group. It's not how Paganism worked historically, and it's out of place in our modern information age.
That aside, with how my own path works, I don't have any kind of historically recognized pantheon. I live in America. The only "pantheon" we have here belongs to the Native Americans, and I am far too aware of the sensitive issues surrounding appropriation of their religion and culture to want to touch that with a five meter pole even though I probably honor the same exact gods/spirits that they do (or did).
I have a "pantheon" (in the non-historical/cultural sense) in that I honor the gods/spirits directly present around me and in my local region like any historical Pagan would have. I do so in a way that doesn't anthropomorphize them. My gods are literally aspects of reality, both tangible and intangible. When I speak of Sun Spirit, I am literally referring to the sun up there in the sky along with its symbolic/emotional qualities. I incorporate both science and mythology to understand the tangible and intangible aspects of my gods, but I do not concern myself with gods/spirits that aren't local to my area. I do not regard these "outsiders" as having a different status as the gods/spirits I do honor. Take Ocean Spirit for example. Ocean Spirit clearly exists, and is clearly of paramount importance to the workings of Gaea. But it isn't here. I live in the middle of a continent. It's not important to my day to day existence and experience of the sacred/reality, so it's not in my "pantheon" so to speak. The moment I move to one of the coasts, however, I can guarantee you Ocean Spirit will be in my "pantheon." There really is no clear insider-outsider dichotomy here to me.
Historical Pagan gods are part of my "pantheon" in so far as I choose to pay attention to them. There is really not any clear "inside" and "outside." There are just the gods. As far as historical Pagan gods go, I strongly favor the Greek gods, but I wouldn't say that's my pantheon in any formal sense. They're not. Many of the Greek gods would be inappropriate for me to worship anyway, because they are simply not here and I have no experience with or connection to them.
That aside, with how my own path works, I don't have any kind of historically recognized pantheon. I live in America. The only "pantheon" we have here belongs to the Native Americans, and I am far too aware of the sensitive issues surrounding appropriation of their religion and culture to want to touch that with a five meter pole even though I probably honor the same exact gods/spirits that they do (or did).
I have a "pantheon" (in the non-historical/cultural sense) in that I honor the gods/spirits directly present around me and in my local region like any historical Pagan would have. I do so in a way that doesn't anthropomorphize them. My gods are literally aspects of reality, both tangible and intangible. When I speak of Sun Spirit, I am literally referring to the sun up there in the sky along with its symbolic/emotional qualities. I incorporate both science and mythology to understand the tangible and intangible aspects of my gods, but I do not concern myself with gods/spirits that aren't local to my area. I do not regard these "outsiders" as having a different status as the gods/spirits I do honor. Take Ocean Spirit for example. Ocean Spirit clearly exists, and is clearly of paramount importance to the workings of Gaea. But it isn't here. I live in the middle of a continent. It's not important to my day to day existence and experience of the sacred/reality, so it's not in my "pantheon" so to speak. The moment I move to one of the coasts, however, I can guarantee you Ocean Spirit will be in my "pantheon." There really is no clear insider-outsider dichotomy here to me.
Historical Pagan gods are part of my "pantheon" in so far as I choose to pay attention to them. There is really not any clear "inside" and "outside." There are just the gods. As far as historical Pagan gods go, I strongly favor the Greek gods, but I wouldn't say that's my pantheon in any formal sense. They're not. Many of the Greek gods would be inappropriate for me to worship anyway, because they are simply not here and I have no experience with or connection to them.