Worshiping a Deity?

I'm curious. How did you all come to worship your deities? How would one going about worshiping a deity anyway?
Apologies if this is the improper place to ask this.

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It will depend a lot on the deity. I suggest that you research deities and how others have worshiped them over the years. This will give you a good idea of how to do it yourself.

Which deities are you interested in? It will better allow people to provide you sources and book recomendations.

If you feel drawn or pulled towards a certain deity, research, research, research.

You will need to know their role in their lore that they played, what their attributes are, preffered, offerings, likes and dislikes, etc.

I was meditating one day and Artemis' name popped into my head out of no where. In all honesty I've never heard the name before. I researched the crap out of her and felt an instant connection.

I've been dedicated since I know she's always there guiding me along the way.

I like to speak from the other side of the tracks on this one - working with and worshipping deities isn't a 'must have' or 'have to do'. A lot of practitioners get it in their head that they have to worship someone - why not worship yourself? Why not do it on your own? You have the option to.

At the same time, you can wait a long while before finding someone to worship - don't get sucked up into this 'fad' that are lot of new age books on Magic are telling you to do, seriously the amount of books I've read that say 'you must revere a deity to help with your magic' - this is stated deliberately or in the subtext of the book.

Don't tie yourself to things if you don't understand it - like for me, the spirit I mainly work with, I spent 13 years not worshipping or venerating anything - studied how to work with spirits for a few years in that time and spent the next year and a half researching the spirit and talking to other witches about them before I even went into the initiation/devotion to them.

Take your time, there is no rush - you don't have to venerate/worship.

WeatherWax has a point, a deity is not a requirement, nor is the need to dedicate to one and only one. it also doesn't mean once you've found a deity you're with them forever. deities can come to you, or you may seek them out, they may be with us forever, or a short time, it all depends on what they have to teach and your ability to listen. i've worked with a few deities, but i've only really dedicated myself to the Lord and Lady of Wicca. [but just because i have or haven't dedicated doesn't mean i can't work with a deity]

for many i did research, found one i liked and approached them. with the Goddess and God, i was searching for a religion, found Wicca, and after the year and a day, dedicated myself. with the other deities i've worked with, it was more in passing, i respected them, but i would usually call on them for specific spells or rituals, there was very little worship involved [outside of after spellwork i would leave an offering]

my patron Goddess is a long story. i was wanting that connection and was searching for a God and Goddess to work with as i once did with the Wiccan Lady and Lord [note i still call on them during Wiccan rituals with my coven, i just don't work as closely with them] in my research i came across a video with suggestions on how to find your matron/patron [whatever you call it lol] deity. one of the suggestions was to look at animals you are connected with, have a fondness for, or seem to come across a lot. my mind suddenly went *animal* and the next thought was [roughly] 'i wonder if theres a Goddess associated with that animal in my roots' so i typed in the animal and the region and her name was the second to appear in the search, and it was a huge lightbulb moment for me.

from there, i made an altar space, left a little offering and asked if she would be willing to work with me. the next couple days i was very mindful of things, would meditate twice a day, say a blessing before a meal, and basically be very observant on my walks to/from work. on the third day i was relaxing eating lunch when [at least in my opinion] she came to me. i was all alone and suddenly i felt this warm, like someone standing behind me gave me a big hug and the world seemed brighter, and i felt very happy [quite out of nowhere too because i was having a bad day] and at that moment i thought 'she's here' and that's how i began working with her.

can't really give you more than that from a personal standpoint, there's very little historical evidence about her, so my path is a lot of trial and error.

regarding worship, research the deity, there should be text about it you can mold into your path. if you worship a greek deity and don't wish to slaughter a lamb, you could offer a piece of lamb meat from your dinner. if they're a deity of the harvest, offer seasonal fruits and vegetables. i've heard some who worship Sekhmet [a Goddess who favours blood] will donate blood in her honour [as she is also a Goddess of healing] as you grow closer, you will learn more and act differently. i know someone who worships Loki who has offered him pop because she drinks it a lot and one day was like 'why not, want to try some?' and now she usually offers him pop in ritual. i don't recommend automatically giving junk food to someone you just met, but one day you might reach that level of comfortable you find little things like that.

Then there's Modern God Archetypes, which basically says today's action heroes are tomorrow's god and goddesses. I work with traditional Gods (Isis and Osiris, and others from the Egyptian Pantheon) along side the Modern God Archetypes of Transformers. It all boils down to what calls you. If anything calls. There's many practitioners who don't worship anything, seeing magic and spirits as autonomous but equal creations. :)

My goddess sent signs to me. If you're seeing something that you think may be a sign or you feel drawn to it, research it. I was drawn to a book about a goddess and then saw a plethora of an animal she is associated with.