I'm curious about how others approach their Gods and Goddesses. Coming from atheism (with a mildly spiritual background) and considering I'm new to my path and spirituality in general I sometimes struggle to understand how to interact with the Gods, what they expect of me and what I should expect of them. I've begun to develop a more comfortable relationship with the Goddess I perceive to be my matron, and she has been wonderfully patient with me, but I know I have much to learn and always strive for a comfortable relationship with the Gods I work with unless I perceive that to be inappropriate for specific individuals. I guess my major questions are:
- Is your relationship with the Gods casual, familial, formal? Does this differ between Gods, or even for your patron or matron?
- what is appropriate to ask of the Gods? I understand most people will only call upon the Gods for deep, serious stuff, and otherwise fix stuff for themselves if they can. But would you call out to the God, the Goddess or a specific deity if frightened or feeling threatened, or if entering a possibly dangerous place? If so, how would you go about that?
- Lastly, this one is a little difficult to explain (sorry, I'll try my best). I guess the easiest way to say it is: do the Gods care for us? I've seen many discussions on why the Gods need us and our devotion/offerings/prayers, and many people will say that the Gods have their own motives that won't always benefit the worshipper or seek to do good by the humans involved necessarily. So, do they really care about us, and why? I think my biggest doubt is that we mean little to the Gods on an emotional level, and maybe I'm approaching this with too cinical and doubtful mindset. I may also be applying human logic to greater entities, but I can't help but wonder about our importance to the Gods when it comes to the relationships we build, considering how many relationship those Gods must have with humans and how easily some of those might break down (when you look at the sheer amount of worshippers they might have).
I'm aware that not every God is the same and that naturally each experience of the Gods will be different. We might get on fine with one God, and struggle to communicate with civility when it comes to another. I would be immensely grateful for simply your beliefs or experiences in this area. I'm sorry if I've come across as a little demanding or ignorant, I've just had very limited experience with God and Goddess figures, and so I am very much ignorant as to how these relationships work. I want to be able to understand the Gods more from the worshipper perspective, and I'm still building up my understand of how to approach the Gods. Please do forgive me if I sound ignorant or rude (or if I made a typo) I'm just very curious and unsure on how to interact with deities.
Thanks to any and all replies made :)
All the love, and blessed be.
I understand some of these questions are extremely personal and some people may not be comfortable to discuss them. Please do not feel you must say anything you would rather not bring up, and feel free to omit any questions or details you would be uncomfortable sharing :) I'm grateful for any insight in this area; I'm somewhat lost in the fogs of transition from atheism to polytheism, and understanding others may help me to understand my path and own spirituality as well as the God/desses I work with :)
another thing to think about is you might connect with one more than another. you should still honor and have respect for all gods though. the god i feel most connected to is Ullr, i dont know why exactly but there is just a strong connection.
another thing to think about is you might connect with one more than another. you should still honor and have respect for all gods though. the god i feel most connected to is Ullr, i dont know why exactly but there is just a strong connection.
I come from the same background as you did. This I a very hard question to ask and get a reasonable answer from. I was once an atheist so it is hard to try to find a relationship with something I don't believe in for a long time. I personally don not believe that there is an actual man floating somewhere in the universe or something along those lines. I believe that the Gods are a representation of the energy and elements around us.
Well Nymree, it's heartening to hear that you have a patient and understanding matron Goddess, and yes some deities can be peculiar. They're not of this world, of this realm, and some deities make no effort to hide their true sides. There are no two deities alike, though many deities share characteristics, they each have their own attitude and personality as you might have learned already.
There are only a couple of deities that I have taken the time to try and maintain a strong and familial relationship with, but mostly in my own practice I've served deities and spirits, taking on a very formal tone and relationship. My relationships eith deities and entities are very much the same as my relationships with everyone. I have a couple of really close ones, and everyone else is come and go but I would do my utmost during that time.
If there's something I feel is stressful or major, I'll go straight a very trusted deity, but beyond that I try not to ask for a lot. Defining what's appropriate and what isn't appropriate to ask them is as simple as asking yourself if something is really eorth bringing to their table, and it's here that a lot if people get confused, new or old to deity work. If something unexpected happens throughout my day (as it so often happens), I'll say a quick prayer to God along with a couple of other deities, I might whisper a word or two to some not nice deities if I get cut off on the free way. This works for me, and that's because the Gods and Goddesses; spirits and entities, and magic is normal to me, and while it is a big deal to me when I go directly to them for a specific purpose, when I say simple words or prayers to deities I respect, I feel as if they respect the fact they are in my every day thoughts. If there's something specific I need, I usually perform a monthly ritual where I would bring it before all of the deities and spirits I work with, but if it's something that needs immediate attention, I use a salve and I burn some homemade incense before I fall asleep and I communicate with them througj dreams.
Do gods care about us? While I would suppose that would depend heavily on which god/esses. Some deities are popular and often worked with such as Zeus, Athena, Odin, etc etc, and then there are other deity/spirits that have virtually no interference or contact with mortal humans, or even our souls quite bluntly. They have their reasons, and the only ones that could explain those reasons is them. They don't need our devotions/prayers/sacrifices, but I'm sure they do appreciate it and it shows your respect, that you're willing to do something if they are. It can be safely assumed that if you work with a deity for a number of years, you will trust them, have a relationship with you, and so will they. It's give and take. They know that in our current human state, we are flecks in the grand spectrum, but we are persistent, peculiar, and smart specks with vibrant souls and spirits that so many ignore for their entire lives.
And Nymree, I don't think you sound rude, demanding or ignorant at all. You're asking questions and you seem to have some solid footing, you just need to start making some tracks, aye? I'm hopeful that my response might clear up some of your confusion (lords knows I get confused easily too), and if you'd like to ask any more specific questions privately, I'd be delighted if you messagedme on the site mail system.
Thank you for reading my little (big) response. God bless and may good fortune rule over you,
