Working With Many Gods

[The Hammer]

Working With Many Gods

I have been asked before how it is I work with multiple deities. So I thought I would share a Patheos article on one person's thought process for working with many deities (Pagan perspective).

If you work with multiple deities, how do you do so?

My practice contains 3 levels of entity of which we deify, called the three Kindreds. First of these are the Shining Ones, our Gods. Next in line is our honored and revered Ancestors. Finally ending with the Spirits of Place and Land; for instance.

Edit: Hoping this OP also draws some Abrahamics (hence interfaith) since they are the ones who seem to ask this question most frequently.

 

[JustGeorge]

I guess I never thought of how I do it, really. I just do...

Much like one may have multiple friends, I don't see why one cannot worship multiple deities. I have never felt any conflict, nor do I feel any conflict from those I worship.

 

[The Hammer]

I guess I never thought of how I do it, really. I just do...

Much like one may have multiple friends, I don't see why one cannot worship multiple deities. I have never felt any conflict, nor do I feel any conflict from those I worship.

I agree, after a while it is natural. And I see it as you do, like a group of friends or a family, but I personally had to first shed my Monotheistic upbringing. Some people's framework for worship may look different too, some may not include ones Ancestors for instance.

 

[JustGeorge]

I agree, after a while it is natural. And I see it as you do, like a group of friends or a family, but I personally had to first shed my Monotheistic upbringing. Some people's framework for worship may look different too, some may not include ones Ancestors for instance.

I felt like it came natural... though I was raised within Christianity, it always felt forced. When I was first exposed to polytheism, it felt like that was how it should have been all along.

I've never quite picked up the worship of Ancestors, other than perhaps at certain occasions directly for such. I think sometimes I feel a disconnect there, but I'm not really sure why.

 

[The Hammer]

I felt like it came natural... though I was raised within Christianity, it always felt forced. When I was first exposed to polytheism, it felt like that was how it should have been all along.

I've never quite picked up the worship of Ancestors, other than perhaps at certain occasions directly for such. I think sometimes I feel a disconnect there, but I'm not really sure why.

As a child from a Catholic/Baptist combo household, I had a large guilt/shame complex to overcome that hindered my polytheism for a time .

But yes, as a whole, the system feels more natural and holistic .

 

[VoidCat]

Like one would working with one god but its many. Also unlike when I was working with the Christian God I get to give the gods I work with now offerings. And they seem more responsive to me.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Working With Many Gods

I have been asked before how it is I work with multiple deities. So I thought I would share a Patheos article on one person's thought process for working with many deities (Pagan perspective).

If you work with multiple deities, how do you do so?

My practice contains 3 levels of entity of which we deify, called the three Kindreds. First of these are the Shining Ones, our Gods. Next in line is our honored and revered Ancestors. Finally ending with the Spirits of Place and Land; for instance.

Hindus too have the three tier system - Major Gods (Around 9+9)*, lesser Gods (many, including Gods of planets, many villages have their own special deities - and remember we have some 500,000 villages ) and ancestors (not Gods but no less than Gods, protectors, pitris, paters, that includes female ancestors also).

We generally worship them all, but are allowed to choose one as the main deity (Ishta). Many do not make any special choice.

* Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Kartikeya / Murugan, Mothers Durga, Lakshmi, Parvati, Saraswati and the monkey God, Hanuman. Then the 9 avataras of Lord Vishnu including Rama, Krishna and Buddha.

It is common to see a shrine in each Indian agricultural field or house which is dedicated to ancestors. A new bride will worship the ancestral shrine the first thing while entering her new house and will do so for the rest of her life before she hands over the tradition to the next generation. Theremay not be any idol in these shrines. Just a niche to light an earthen lamp. They are called Vadere / Jathere mesning elders.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Working With Many Gods

I have been asked before how it is I work with multiple deities. So I thought I would share a Patheos article on one person's thought process for working with many deities (Pagan perspective).

If you work with multiple deities, how do you do so?

My practice contains 3 levels of entity of which we deify, called the three Kindreds. First of these are the Shining Ones, our Gods. Next in line is our honored and revered Ancestors. Finally ending with the Spirits of Place and Land; for instance.

Edit: Hoping this OP also draws some Abrahamics (hence interfaith) since they are the ones who seem to ask this question most frequently.

Excellent thread, @The Hammer !

I always found belief/experience/interaction with the local spirits to be natural, it was how I experienced the world, as alive.

I grew up learning both the traditional Abrahamic religious cosmology and the modern secular science cosmology...it took quite a while for me to stop using the religious cosmology...science-based I find fits well with my experience with the local level spirits.