Gods for FlameKeepers

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[FierFlye]

FlameKeeping makes no mention of the existence of deities, other than to say that there are none who are not a part of the Universe we are all apart of. Yet many FlameKeepers work with deities. Which gods or goddesses' personalities align best with the mindset of FlameKeeping? Would some help FlameKeepers maintain the FK worldview better than others? Are any pantheons a better fit with FlameKeeping than others?

[veggiewolf]

Which gods or goddesses' personalities align best with the mindset of FlameKeeping? Would some help FlameKeepers maintain the FK worldview better than others? Are any pantheons a better fit with FlameKeeping than others?

Perhaps I feel this way simply because my gods are Kemetic, but I really do believe the netjeru are well-aligned with FlameKeeping and its principles.  Kemetics believe in the upholding of and living in ma'at (truth, balance, order) and this is what we strive for as FlameKeepers.

My gods approve of my being a FlameKeeper - through this path I am growing and changing into what they want me to be. 

[SunflowerP]

Perhaps I feel this way simply because my gods are Kemetic, but I really do believe the netjeru are well-aligned with FlameKeeping and its principles.  Kemetics believe in the upholding of and living in ma'at (truth, balance, order) and this is what we strive for as FlameKeepers.

I don't think it's just you; I'm neither a FlameKeeper nor Kemetic, and the parallels between Ma'at and FlameKeeping were the first thing that came to my mind reading the OP.

Sunflower

[HeartShadow - Cutethulhu]

I don't think it's just you; I'm neither a FlameKeeper nor Kemetic, and the parallels between Ma'at and FlameKeeping were the first thing that came to my mind reading the OP.

Sunflower

honestly, the concept of Ma'at is part of what I want to bring into modern life.  I think it's elegant and a very good way of looking at the world.

It might be different here and there - but, yes, the basic concept is probably much the same.  Were I attracted to a Kemetic god instead of a Hellenic one, I might just be doing the same thing Kiya is ...

[FierFlye]

honestly, the concept of Ma'at is part of what I want to bring into modern life. 

I've read Darkhawk's shopping cart essay, but otherwise Ma'at is quite foreign to me. I've poked around the Kemetic SIG but all the Kemetic words are a bit much for me yet. Is there a Ma'at for dummies?

[Darkhawk]

I've read Darkhawk's shopping cart essay, but otherwise Ma'at is quite foreign to me. I've poked around the Kemetic SIG but all the Kemetic words are a bit much for me yet. Is there a Ma'at for dummies?

I should probably write one.  In fact, that's a section of the onion-hoeing book I haven't done yet.  Maybe I'll do a draft post.  (Watch the Kemetic SIG and see if I crwal out of feeling crappy sometime soon to do it.)

[Ana]

FlameKeeping makes no mention of the existence of deities, other than to say that there are none who are not a part of the Universe we are all apart of. Yet many FlameKeepers work with deities. Which gods or goddesses' personalities align best with the mindset of FlameKeeping? Would some help FlameKeepers maintain the FK worldview better than others? Are any pantheons a better fit with FlameKeeping than others?

As I've mentioned in discussion before, I don't really pick out gods or goddesses as separate entities.  Not saying that they are nonexistant, and not saying that there is only one god, but rather that if we are all part of the divine, then the divine is all encompassing.  We are unique and separate, and yet, we're not- because we are connected and because we each can affect others because of that connection.  What keeps us "separate" is our will to remain separate.  We retain our uniqueness, but we can also remember the uniqueness that we had from previous life experiences, inter-life experiences, and otherworldly experiences.  The Divine is something that is "out there" that we can access, but as far as actual individual gods and goddesses that we assign attributes to, I see them more as aspects of the divine that are needed at that particular time.  We create them into specific beings because it is our own need.  We assign their faces, their likes, their dislikes, and we give them cultural differences that align with our own because that's what we know.  When we need someone who oversees and cares for mothers, we call upon a goddess who cares for motherhood, promotes it, etc.  We shape the divine and focus those into our preconceived notion of that entity.  Does she exist?  Yes.  Is she separate and unique?  Yes.  Why?  Because we want her to be.  Gods focus our own divinity and energy to the purpose that we need to focus on.  When that focus is no longer needed, that god/dess does not stay prevalent in the forefront of our minds unless we want them to.  They rejoin the divine and can be called upon when we need that focus again. 

[Gillyflower]

FlameKeeping makes no mention of the existence of deities, other than to say that there are none who are not a part of the Universe we are all apart of. Yet many FlameKeepers work with deities. Which gods or goddesses' personalities align best with the mindset of FlameKeeping? Would some help FlameKeepers maintain the FK worldview better than others? Are any pantheons a better fit with FlameKeeping than others?

I'm sandwiched between Hecate and Brighid, claimed by both, having sought neither. Coincidence? I don't think so.

[blue]

FlameKeeping makes no mention of the existence of deities, other than to say that there are none who are not a part of the Universe we are all apart of. Yet many FlameKeepers work with deities. Which gods or goddesses' personalities align best with the mindset of FlameKeeping? Would some help FlameKeepers maintain the FK worldview better than others? Are any pantheons a better fit with FlameKeeping than others?

as a pantheist, i'm not a polytheist.
there is one divinity and that divinity is everything that exists. period.

[Tana]

I think I tend a bit more to panentheism than to pantheism - simply because I think, that the thing what we call 'Universe' might be just another small part of the This-Is-Really-Everything-Big-Deal. (Actually I am pretty sure that it is this way, and that this is nothing my mind is capable to crasp and I leave it at that - I need enough headache painkillers anyway.  )

As far as deities go.
I am polytheistic. But I came to think that not every deity name, that is known to us might really be a separate entity.
The nature of deity is a difficult matter anyway and I don't claim to know anything about it.
I just know enough to be open for a lot of possibilities.

In the end it is a matter of faith and UPG and remains incalculable.

Things like balance and Ma'at - though I didn't dive deep into Kemtic lore - seem just to make sense.
I have a strong affinity to some Buddhistic and Taoist ideas and I don't have the feeling that my Goddess would object me being a FlameKeeper, if I'd choose to be.

In fact it might be as good a philosophy as a base for my self-made gaulish-neopagan-shamagic path as I could think of myself.

Only you don't use to think those things through for yourself, as you would for others.
All those ideas float around your mind and stay unworded, since you do know what is right and not. Kinda. 

[HeartShadow - Cutethulhu]

as a pantheist, i'm not a polytheist.
there is one divinity and that divinity is everything that exists. period.

I'm a pantheistic polytheist - there are gods, and they're part of a greater Whole.  They're not necessarily mutually exclusive.

FlameKeeping itself does not speak to gods one way or the other - but personal beliefs can differ.

[HeartShadow - Cutethulhu]

I think I tend a bit more to panentheism than to pantheism - simply because I think, that the thing what we call 'Universe' might be just another small part of the This-Is-Really-Everything-Big-Deal. (Actually I am pretty sure that it is this way, and that this is nothing my mind is capable to crasp and I leave it at that - I need enough headache painkillers anyway.  )

When we get into questions about the multiverse, I tend to go with the "go with what you know is real".  It may be that the Divine is really the multiverse and we've only seen a small part of what Is.  ... OTOH, does it matter?

Can't see how it does.

[FierFlye]

I'm sandwiched between Hecate and Brighid, claimed by both, having sought neither. Coincidence? I don't think so.

What do you think makes these two goddesses fit within* the FlameKeeping philosophy?

*I don't really like the phrase 'fit within' but that's all I can come up at the moment.

[NibbleKat]

as a pantheist, i'm not a polytheist.
there is one divinity and that divinity is everything that exists. period.

As a hard polytheist, I'm not a pantheist.

There are multiple deities, and they're part of everything that exists. Period.

[FierFlye]

There are multiple deities, and they're part of everything that exists. Period.

See now, I think the same thing. The fact that I think they are part of everything that exists is part* of what makes me a pantheist. I don't think deities are separate from, or outside, our world.

*The other part would be believing that same divinity that is within deities is within everything that exists. Divinity is not reserved for deities.

So I don't think hard polytheism and pantheism are mutually exclusive.

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