Multiple Gods--Handling Relationships and Who Did What?

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[Jenett]

Jenett
You know, your exercises you're talking about would be a great new thread. I'd love it if you started one!

I've pretty much said all I can in this setting about that, unless someone's got questions - it's all pretty easy to construct for yourself if you want to.

(Also, currently massively focused on job hunting: I don't have the spare attention cycles to keep track of a thread I'm responsible for.)

[NibbleKat]

I've pretty much said all I can in this setting about that, unless someone's got questions - it's all pretty easy to construct for yourself if you want to.

(Also, currently massively focused on job hunting: I don't have the spare attention cycles to keep track of a thread I'm responsible for.)

I see. I just thought it would be cool to have other folks have a place to put their input, too... since yours was actually very helpful... and other people here are really for the most part amazing at their ideas, too.

I hope you find a job really soon, one that you like.

[Jenett]

I hope you find a job really soon, one that you like.

Thanks! Actually, I think I will go post the current job desires elsewhere, as it might make a thread of use by itself, but not one that will require a lot of brain from me.

(Hi, can we tell I'm currently stuck trying to figure out how to rewrite my resume for a particular job and procrastinating a bit to give  my subconscious time to find a solution?)

[NibbleKat]

[quote author=NibbleKat link=topic=13269.msg221411#msg221411 date=1278971591
I hope you find a job really soon, one that you like.


Thanks! Actually, I think I will go post the current job desires elsewhere, as it might make a thread of use by itself, but not one that will require a lot of brain from me.

(Hi, can we tell I'm currently stuck trying to figure out how to rewrite my resume for a particular job and procrastinating a bit to give  my subconscious time to find a solution?)

I am so confused at the moment. Heheheh.

[Nimue]

Do you find a lot of information on Aset and Nebet Het? Just out of curiosity, really. 


Nimue

HA! Yes, I learned my lesson quick with him. He's never been nasty or mean or anything like that with me, but if I need to learn something, he'll teach me, very, very fast. Sometimes it's hard love, but never hurtful, you know?

As for Sirona and Sequana, I'll have to learn more about them first before I even consider invoking them... because I don't truly know how gentle they are, if that makes sense. And I don't have really anyone I can practice with much, so it makes it difficult. Have you ever done any invoking? Did it go well?

Yeah, I have done a bit.  It really is something that one learns over time, and I'm still learning new things about it.  Yes, take your time before invoking them, and try to get their permission first.  I have no experience with Sirona or Sequana personally, but generally healing deities are pretty nice to work with.  As for whether or not my invokings went well, some went better than others.  I learned the hard way to make sure two deities get along before calling them at the same time.  Generally if I am working with someone "new", I evoke them for awhile before I invoke.  That way I get used to their energy in a not so intense manner.

[AmberHeart]

So, I've recently read a thread here regarding dealing with multiple deities and how other folks set up their altars, do sacrifices and offerings, etc.  It was only semi-helpful to the question that's been paddling around in circles in my mind for a week or so now.

Having gone from basically being a one-god-girl to someone with two more new deities, I am muddled...  One I have definitely been thwapped by, the other... maybe we thwapped each other? At any rate, I've got a few questions.

How have those of you who have relationships with other deities developed those relationships? I find it more difficult to have time to get to know these new goddesses. Do you have any techniques for doing so? What do you do for a deity who is a softer speaker than the other?

I keep being afraid that my subconscious mind is making up personalities to deal with different issues of my own personality, rather than actually having a deity speak to me. Have you had this thought?

And most importantly, when Something Happens-- either something you've asked for or something you just know  is out of the ordinary, how do you know who did what? Was it deity A, deity B, deity C, or All of the Above? Do you try and figure out which godly source did the Something, or do you thank them all?

 

NibbleKat,

Your screen names indicates another cat-person. 

I can’t name Names like the others here as that is oathbound info within my Tradition. However, it is a Dianic (not Wiccan however) Trad so the pantheon is entirely goddesses.

At the bottom of any relationship with any deity is faith. Faith is that which is deeper, wider and more profound and which acknowledges that there is more to life than for example a Freudian theory or any of the logos of modern science that limits human kind to the workings of our own minds. Faith is up to you. Your choice. Your commitment.

A relationship with a deity has many characteristics of any relationship. It takes time to grow and it will change over time. You frequently get surprised as the relationship deepens. Sometimes you need time out from each other, sometimes you get irritated or even pissed off at each other. Sometimes you are not listening or the deity isn’t or you are asking for something that you want but don’t really need so you get disappointed. Or you get what you need and don't understand why you are being disappointed or challenged. Love, trust, respect, responsiblity, patience, compassion and cooperation, all the things that enable the best of human relationships work the same in relationships with deities.

Making a quiet time each day is a useful technique. It can be formal, for example, I do a short morning ritual every day (unless I am too ill to do so). Mine unfold each day within a broader context of lunar correspondences etc but essentially it is like sitting down at the breakfast table (though my ritual isn’t done over breakfast... ) with my Gods. Or it can informal, like taking a walk or mindfully doing anything as a sacred rite (all acts of joy and pleasure are Her rituals). For Those who speak softer, you need to listen more intently. Quiet at your end helps so perhaps techniques to calm or still you mind might be useful.

In my experience, if a specific goddess wants you to know that She did something (to or for you), She usually lets you know. If that doesn’t happen, thank Them all. What is important is expressing love and gratitude, thankfulness and pleasure, not ascribing a new line on a deity’s resume.

Amber

[Star]

Jenett

Nimue

NibbleKat,

Just a note...  If you're replying to multiple people, we'd really prefer that you reply to each post separately.  It keeps the quoting (required by our rules) intact, and just makes things easier to follow.    (I know a lot of places have rules against "double-posting" like that, but we're not worried about multiple posts in a row by the same person, and we think this is more logical for the kind of discussions we have here at TC.)

Thanks!

[NibbleKat]

Yeah, I have done a bit.  It really is something that one learns over time, and I'm still learning new things about it.  Yes, take your time before invoking them, and try to get their permission first.  I have no experience with Sirona or Sequana personally, but generally healing deities are pretty nice to work with.  As for whether or not my invokings went well, some went better than others.  I learned the hard way to make sure two deities get along before calling them at the same time.  Generally if I am working with someone "new", I evoke them for awhile before I invoke.  That way I get used to their energy in a not so intense manner.

Despite the fact that I've been a pagan for about 15 years, I still am stymied by some of the different phrases/words/things... Evoke vs Invoke?

[NibbleKat]

NibbleKat,

Just a note...  If you're replying to multiple people, we'd really prefer that you reply to each post separately.  It keeps the quoting (required by our rules) intact, and just makes things easier to follow.    (I know a lot of places have rules against "double-posting" like that, but we're not worried about multiple posts in a row by the same person, and we think this is more logical for the kind of discussions we have here at TC.)

Thanks!

Oh, THANK you. I -was- worried about double posting. This will make things SO much easier for me, and I guess for everyone else, too. I appreciate it!

[NibbleKat]

NibbleKat,

Your screen names indicates another cat-person. 

I can’t name Names like the others here as that is oathbound info within my Tradition. However, it is a Dianic (not Wiccan however) Trad so the pantheon is entirely goddesses.


In my experience, if a specific goddess wants you to know that She did something (to or for you), She usually lets you know. If that doesn’t happen, thank Them all. What is important is expressing love and gratitude, thankfulness and pleasure, not ascribing a new line on a deity’s resume.

Amber

We have four cats, in fact! My darling heart is in my icon.
What you have said makes entire sense. It's hard to remember when trying to 'get things right'.  I am way too much a perfectionist for my own good, which interferes in many regions of my life.

So, thank you for 'grounding' me a bit.

And now I'm curious about the path you follow!

[Nimue]

Despite the fact that I've been a pagan for about 15 years, I still am stymied by some of the different phrases/words/things... Evoke vs Invoke?

Evoke is calling something into the circle, while invoking is calling it into you.

[NibbleKat]

Evoke is calling something into the circle, while invoking is calling it into you.

OK... that's what I -thought- it was, but I wasn't certain.  Since I don't do magic, and I'm not Wiccan, and I'm solo so I don't have as many folks to talk to about things like this (until recently when I came here!),  I'm much less familiar with casting circles and things of that nature. 

[SunflowerP]

Evoke is calling something into the circle, while invoking is calling it into you.

I have to say that that distinction is one that has annoyed me for years - it seems, from what I can tell, to be based on poorly-worded definitions in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.  The definitions in the 1828 Webster (invoke, evoke) are, IMO, much better-expressed, retaining the root concepts of "call in" vs "call forth".

Myself, I'd use "invoke" for all instances of calling in, and distinguish between "invitation to come to the circle" and "invitation to come into oneself" by referring to the latter as Drawing Down or horsing; if I were to use "evoke" in a ritual context, it would be about things like evoking the ritual mindset (with sensory cues like incense, bell-ringing, liturgy), or about the concept of God/dess Within.

Sunflower

[Morag]

Myself, I'd use "invoke" for all instances of calling in, and distinguish between "invitation to come to the circle" and "invitation to come into oneself" by referring to the latter as Drawing Down or horsing; if I were to use "evoke" in a ritual context, it would be about things like evoking the ritual mindset (with sensory cues like incense, bell-ringing, liturgy), or about the concept of God/dess Within.

I remember one of my 101 books using those exact definitions, and they're the ones I've always gone by because they make sense to me.

[NibbleKat]

I have to say that that distinction is one that has annoyed me for years - it seems, from what I can tell, to be based on poorly-worded definitions in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.  The definitions in the 1828 Webster (invoke, evoke) are, IMO, much better-expressed, retaining the root concepts of "call in" vs "call forth".

Myself, I'd use "invoke" for all instances of calling in, and distinguish between "invitation to come to the circle" and "invitation to come into oneself" by referring to the latter as Drawing Down or horsing; if I were to use "evoke" in a ritual context, it would be about things like evoking the ritual mindset (with sensory cues like incense, bell-ringing, liturgy), or about the concept of God/dess Within.

Sunflower

That makes a lot of sense.

I guess, if I were to phrase it myself, I'd simply say "Call forth" and "Call within"... at any rate, it's made a distinction in my noggin, so that works.

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