Various Pantheons

[DavidMcCann]

As a Hellenic pagan reconstructionist, I find this close to cultural appropriation. No traditional pagan religion ever considered all goddesses to be aspects of one goddess. No traditional pagan religion ever considered any goddess to manifest as a maiden, mother, and crone. To take gods and goddesses from European paganism, just as much as from non-European ones, and shoehorn them into alien categories is not respectful.

Even the expression "working with" a deity grates on my ears. As Ronald Hutton wrote, "No ancient goddess or god worth the name could be summoned by worshipers to a particular place and there employed."

[Jenny Crow]

I like your post David McCann

And yes, "working with" grates on my ears, too. I know my Goddess doesn't "work" with me per se, she gives me signals, sets fire to my intuition but I don't invite her to my circle to "employ" her, lol. I wouldn't be that disrespectful

And yes, again, I don't know about ALL the traditions but the Celts had not goddesses that were considered "maiden, mother and crone" - this is strictly modern Wiccan ideology. As well, the old Witchcraft doesn't have any triple goddesses. They do have the two sides of the Bucca, though, Bucca Dhu and Bucca Gwydion.

I think this concept of all goddesses being one goddess stems from many Wiccans believing that there is an overarching (is that a word?) deity who can only be known by anthropomorphizing this deity into different "aspects". This doesn't work for me though, I am truly polytheistic.

[Jenny Crow]

Originally Posted by Quills Quiver

Hello norseman,
Would you say the sun to be the masculinity? How do you perceive the universe? The moon? The other planets? Also, I am curious on your thoughts of the afterlife?
Quills Quiver

To me, the Sun is masculine and the Moon is feminine.

The afterlife - well I don't think it's as simple as just "going to the Summerland". I believe that it depends on the person's soul and how it has progressed thru its different incarnations. I think it's Nigel Pearson who suggest that some souls join the land spirits of the area that they worked in; and others become part of what's known as "The Hidden Company" - spirits of people who become teachers and guides for people on their Witchcraft journeys. Other people believe that the faeries are the spirits of those who have gone before.

As for me, I'm still trying to make up my mind

Hello DavidMcCann,

Originally Posted by DavidMcCann

As a Hellenic pagan reconstructionist, I find this close to cultural appropriation. No traditional pagan religion ever considered all goddesses to be aspects of one goddess. No traditional pagan religion ever considered any goddess to manifest as a maiden, mother, and crone. To take gods and goddesses from European paganism, just as much as from non-European ones, and shoehorn them into alien categories is not respectful.

Even the expression "working with" a deity grates on my ears. As Ronald Hutton wrote, "No ancient goddess or god worth the name could be summoned by worshipers to a particular place and there employed."

Agreed.

Quills Quiver

Hello Jenny Crow,

Originally Posted by Jenny Crow

I like your post David McCann

And yes, "working with" grates on my ears, too. I know my Goddess doesn't "work" with me per se, she gives me signals, sets fire to my intuition but I don't invite her to my circle to "employ" her, lol. I wouldn't be that disrespectful

And yes, again, I don't know about ALL the traditions but the Celts had not goddesses that were considered "maiden, mother and crone" - this is strictly modern Wiccan ideology. As well, the old Witchcraft doesn't have any triple goddesses. They do have the two sides of the Bucca, though, Bucca Dhu and Bucca Gwydion.

I think this concept of all goddesses being one goddess stems from many Wiccans believing that there is an overarching (is that a word?) deity who can only be known by anthropomorphizing this deity into different "aspects". This doesn't work for me though, I am truly polytheistic.

I often wondered that myself. Is this where the "Nameless One" or "The One" comes from? I wonder how this "deity" looks like instead of honoring one of the heads of a Hydra (metaphorically speaking) if that's how many Wiccans see it. I don't like this concept. I would like more information regarding this if possible.

Quills Quiver

Hello Jenny Crow,

Originally Posted by Jenny Crow

To me, the Sun is masculine and the Moon is feminine.

The afterlife - well I don't think it's as simple as just "going to the Summerland". I believe that it depends on the person's soul and how it has progressed thru its different incarnations. I think it's Nigel Pearson who suggest that some souls join the land spirits of the area that they worked in; and others become part of what's known as "The Hidden Company" - spirits of people who become teachers and guides for people on their Witchcraft journeys. Other people believe that the faeries are the spirits of those who have gone before.

As for me, I'm still trying to make up my mind

Same here. Most Pagans don't worry much on the afterlife, but the mundane.

Quills Quiver

[norseman]

Afterlife : I don't see an Afterlife as such, more a stage in Re-incarnation - a stage between death and rebirth. It is a stage of the Spirit and takes place in what the Celts referred to as Underworld - this is not Hell ! It is a place of rest and recuperation under the care of the Dark Aspects of the Lord and Lady, not in a judgemental sense.

Celestial bodies : there many parameters that could be applied here e.g. Hot - cold, expansive - condensed, etc. If you follow Gaia Theory, then Gaia is a physical entity - the whole Earth biomass. I have often thought about Gaia having "sisters and brothers" in other bodies. Also, I see the universe as hierarchical e.g. the Solar System is a family of related bodies and so on. That is where the concept gets too complex for me to handle.

[DavidMcCann]

Originally Posted by Jenny Crow

I think this concept of all goddesses being one goddess stems from many Wiccans believing that there is an overarching (is that a word?) deity who can only be known by anthropomorphizing this deity into different "aspects". This doesn't work for me though, I am truly polytheistic.

This comes from Gardner's background. When he was a young man, everyone in Britain interested in occult matters knew the Theosophists and Hinduism and got a dose of Indian advaita philosophy: the belief in a single supreme being. Then in the 30s Dion Fortune was a big name in occult circles, with her idea of "polarity" as a fundamental property of the universe: hence the need for a balance of goddess and god.

Like you, I'm a polytheist. People experience gods and goddesses -- lots of them. To say they're all actually experiencing just two is a bit like the Christians saying they actually experiencing just one!

[Jenny Crow]

Yes.....that makes sense Actually I think this answers Quills Quiver's question too about "The One".

Hello norseman,

Originally Posted by norseman

Afterlife : I don't see an Afterlife as such, more a stage in Re-incarnation - a stage between death and rebirth. It is a stage of the Spirit and takes place in what the Celts referred to as Underworld - this is not Hell ! It is a place of rest and recuperation under the care of the Dark Aspects of the Lord and Lady, not in a judgemental sense.

Celestial bodies : there many parameters that could be applied here e.g. Hot - cold, expansive - condensed, etc. If you follow Gaia Theory, then Gaia is a physical entity - the whole Earth biomass. I have often thought about Gaia having "sisters and brothers" in other bodies. Also, I see the universe as hierarchical e.g. the Solar System is a family of related bodies and so on. That is where the concept gets too complex for me to handle.

Who would you say to be the top of this hierarchy?

Quills Quiver