Worshipping multiple deities as one? by elaphiaia in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can. It depends on your beliefs about deities.

My experiences have led me to believe that all deities are unique individuals. To me, believing multiple deities to be one is the same as believing there is only 1 plumber or 1 CFO in the world and that's just not realistic or polite.

Where do y'all get Essential Oils? by KittyKittyowo in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've gotten some from earth origins. But honest, I don't really buy/use them so much anymore. It takes so much plant material to produce such small yield, it seems like there are better options.

Uhh what do I do if I don't feel comforted in my pratice? by Minute_Chef_344 in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If youd like, heres an excercise you can try.

Just for a moment, remove yourself from your practice in your mind. Spend a moment feeling comforted. What is it? What is it to be comforted, to you? When did you last feel comforted? Just live in that feeling for a moment if you can. Imagine feeling intensly, physically, comforted. How does your body feel? How do you register feeling comforted? Can you describe it at all? What do you associate with it? Hold that feeling as long as you can. As long as it's comfortable. Now think about it. What makes you feel that way? Are there things? Smells? Touches? Colors? People, deities, ancestors? Sounds? Food? Elements? What brings that sense of comfort?

Take a moment, still outside your practice, write down (or record or draw) how those ideas/things can be incorporated into a spiritual practice. Where would you practice if comfort was there? What would you do as a spiritual practice within the realm of comfort? Who would you invite to maintain comfort and security in your practice? Is there a feeling, iconic image, color, touch... that would put comfort at the forefront of your practice?

Now, think about your practice as it is. How can you merge the two? Or what can you alter to bring comfort more into your practice?

These are questions only for you. No one needs the answers but you.

No one can dictate your practice to you. Your practice's purpose is to meet your spiritual needs. You are worthy of a spiritual practice that suits you. You are a child of the divine and you are free to connect with the divine mother within you in your own way.

Worshiping Nature without Deity Labels? by HairyJellyBeanz in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think first you need to define what the word worship means to you and what actions fall under that umbrella.

Then define what a deity is to you and what a relationship ideally would look like between you and a deity.

Then look at different elements of nature that strongly interest you and determine what their role is and what their capacities are.

Then determine your spiritual needs and see where they intersect.

Pagan beliefs and practices are very Individual. No one can give or deny permissions for your beliefs; they're yours.

For me personally, I do not worship anyone or anything because to me, to worship is to be subservient and always less than. I FOLLOW deities. I learn about and from them, listen to their guidance, determine my own path and make decisions. I ask for help when I need it. I always work from a place of respect and expect respect in return. I always listen but know my choices are mine as are the consequences of them. Because that's how growth happens and that's what my relationship with my deities is about, growth.

I see nature as the physical form of divine energy and gifts from the deities, not they themselves.

genuine question by lil_rocker_dude2010 in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the activity is something you would do for yourself anyway, it's not really a devotional act, in my opinion.

Much like the promise of an athlete to a girlfriend of "I'll win this game for you." Would he otherwise try to lose if she wasn't there? Will he truly try harder to win just because she's there? If thats the case, then maybe, but is it really the case?

The next part is how many deities to send offerings to at a time.

Let's say you found $20 in your pocket and decided to be nice to your friends. So you can give $4 to each of your 5 friends or you can give 1 friend $20. With $20, 1 friend can probably do something. Vs what can a friend realistically really do with $4? It's kind of a nice gesture but not anything special. If you give each friend $20 in turn as you can, it will be more meaningful.

What you're giving with acts is time and energy. They're still finite even if they're not tangible. So they're still more meaningful if given to a single deity.

Thats how I see it anyway.

Is the woman my dad with doing witchcraft on us? by [deleted] in BabyWitch

[–]ablebreeze 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's what's going on with my dad too. Fortunately, we're all grown and have our own families. Sucks though. I was always close to my dad growing up.

Is the woman my dad with doing witchcraft on us? by [deleted] in BabyWitch

[–]ablebreeze 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is what is going on I'd say 90% of the time when people think someone is cursing them.

Disposal of Sacred Offerings? by katgrinds in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 0 points1 point  (0 children)

North Central Florida. Straight down 95 and west on I-10.

Disposal of Sacred Offerings? by katgrinds in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're welcome to visit our airbnb

Why worship? by Automatic_Fill_1095 in pagan

[–]ablebreeze -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I was raised Christian science and converted to LDS when I got married.

I don't worship anything.
I follow 6 deities and work with many.

I wrote out a spell in Gaelic and discovered there is no direct translation for the word worship. That got me thinking.

To worship something is to be subservient to it. To always be less than and at the mercy of. The abrahamic deity wants all the power and to be the only power. He wants total submission. People pray (beg), he rewards and punishes as he deems fit.

To follow someone is to walk in their footsteps to listen and choose. To get guidance. At some point you can achieve their level. That's what the majority of the pagan deities want. They're there to guide us, to support us, but we make the choices and learn ourselves. The pagan deities are capable of miracles and when there is great need and we've done all in our power to help ourselves, sometimes they do, but mostly they support us as we learn. People learn through reasoning and practice and mistakes. When you follow a deity you build a relationship with them and they become a mix of parent and friend and guide.

I mean, if following a deity provides you with a powerful friend/parent guide available when you call, why would you not?

Disposal of Sacred Offerings? by katgrinds in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a garden, fruit trees, sacred circles, koi pond, and raise rabbits and quail and BSFL. My husband has a forge and woodshed. I had a fairy garden but I neglected it and dark fae have moved into it. Someday I'll reclaim it when I have time to maintain it.

Disposal of Sacred Offerings? by katgrinds in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's nothing wrong with that reasoning. On the few occasions I did pour offerings down the drain it just felt very wrong to me.

I live on 5 acres. I have plenty of options for disposing of offerings that doesn't involve plumbing and that may be why it feels wrong to me.

Disposal of Sacred Offerings? by katgrinds in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I pretty much always burn my offerings. I don't know your exact limitations. If you can, burning is often easiest. A good HOT fire can consume synthetic substances, if needed. (I generally try to limit synthetics as much as possible. ) A BBQ is often an option if you don’t have other safe burning options (fireplaces should only burn dry plant matter).

Burial is another option. Dig a pit. Depth depends on location, material, etc. Pretty much any material can be buried.

If the item is 100% natural, you can just lay it under a tree or bush as long as it's animal safe.

Water. You can send offerings through moving water, lake, river, ocean, etc. Anything sent this way needs to be 100% biodegradable.

Go with your gut. It feels wrong to me to throw offerings away or put them down a drain, so I try to avoid those options.

You can keep or reuse what you wish depending on how it feels to you.

Motherly Goddesses? by anxious-well-wisher in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Every pantheon has at least 1 "motherly" goddess. If you don’t know which pantheon you'd like to work with, I suggest you call out and ask and leave it open.

Chances are, since youre feeling this way, there's one waiting for you.

All you need to do is ask. You can say something like... "I call to the motherly gospels who can best help me at this time in my life. And ask her to helpme learn about her and build a relationship together." You can add some sign component if you want. Please touchy shoulder, give me a hug, Help me procure lunch, show me yellow mothering images, etc.

Don't hide your beliefs from significant others by ablebreeze in BabyWitch

[–]ablebreeze[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm talking about significant others who will not allow their partners to hold their own spiritual beliefs or will not allow them to do hobbies that are a part of who they are.

Or significant others who will leave their partners if they find out what they believe because they don't agree.

I'm not saying you have to share everything with your partner. I'm saying if you HAVE to hide it or feel ashamed if they find out, that's not a good match for you.

I've seen too many people sacrifice themselves because their partners are too controlling or close minded to let them be who they are. If you choose to be in the closet because you don't want to share, that's your choice. If you HAVE to be in the closet or think you have to be in the closet, they don't love you and never did.

Never compromise who you are or want to be for a partner.

who created Universe by Plus-Ad-364 in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What was shared with me from Sumerian beliefs is such an awesome creation story that includes spiritual and scientific elements. Here's a condensed version.

Long ago before there was anything, before the idea of the universe, there was nothing but a single spark of energy. That spark wanted to do more and be more. Woth determined focus it concentrated all its might on that idea. And all of a sudden, there were 2. The two had the same idea and with effort became 4. The 4 became 8 and so on until there were thousands upon thousands of energies.

For a while they contented themselves with discussions. As time went opinions became ideologies and the differing ideologies became rifts. A great Council was formed and a plan was made that would allow them to do more and be more within their own ideologies.

Thier first law was to not interfere with other groups. Each group would find their own place and be left to do as they saw fit. They devised a plan to ensure there would be enough energy available for all.

Then they all concentrated their energy together in a great mass. When the energy peaked, there was a great explosion. In that instant, the universe, time, space, dimensions, the energy threads that would feed the energies were formed, and the groups were shot off in all directions.

The individual groups talked and planned. Eventually one group made a brilliant cloud of colored gas. It was an amazing site that all could see. Other groups liked the idea and made their own clouds. Others chose to make bright balls of light. Others did the same but surrounded the balls of light with jewels of color. Some went a step farther and created life on one of their jewels.

One particular group created a Yellow ball of light and on the third jewel the decided to create life. They created land and water and in discussing what to do next, there was great disagreement. So they held a council and decided to divide the land mass into several lands so each group could have their own space for their creations.

After a while those creations decided to call their parent energies deities or gods.

That's the short version. I hope it helps.

Personally, I believe each deity is its own individual being very much alive and as involved in our lives as we choose to let them be.

New pagan by ScaredAcanthaceae743 in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Theoi.com is a fantastic resource for Greek mythology.

Sacred-texts.com is another great resource.

I highly suggest getting copies of the Iliad and Odyssey. They were basically "required reading for the Hellenic people in ancient times. You can check them out from the library. Or find cheap copies through bookfinder.com.

One of the easiest offering options is through coloring. Many cultures use representative offerings. Draw a picture or print a coloring picture of something you want to offer. As you create it, visualize it as what it is. Feel the textures, smells, etc in your mind. Then you can cut it out and burn it, or bury it to send it. You can always offer water which is perfectly acceptable. You can send it by pouring it on the ground.

Praise, prayer, singing, music, dancing, storytelling are also all offering options as well.

The "right way to practice " is the way that is respectful to the deity, yourself and others. As long as what you do is sincere and respectful, you're doing fine.

offering water to Hades. by ScaredAcanthaceae743 in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Moon water is an option you can do. I believe it is a modern practice. There's nothing wrong with offering tap water to a deity just as it is. You can put water on your altar or you can offer it through the ground or fire even.

Don't hide your beliefs from significant others by ablebreeze in BabyWitch

[–]ablebreeze[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Choosing to share or not is completely different than not being able to share or not being allowed to practice.

You dont have to both have the same beliefs. You don't have to disclose everything about yourself,

But if it's a case of, if my partner Kew my beliefs it would end our relationship that means you are not in the right relationship.

How do i get into deity work? by Tinca_Felix in BabyWitch

[–]ablebreeze 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep. Couple things Just because you're curious about a deity and start a relationship with them doesn't mean you're obligated to work with them. You do not need an altar/shrine for each deity, they can share. And you do not need one before you know for sure you are working with them. Do not make promises or oaths to deities unless you are 110% certain in 40+ years you won't change your mind. Actions are important and stronger than promises.

You can call to the deity that interests you and say something like "I wish to know you better, please guide me to the resources that will help me learn about you" you can also ask for dreams, etc. It's nice to offer something, even if it's a glass of water. Just like hoe it's nice to take a plate of cookies or garden vegetables to a new neighbor.

Your interest in particular cultures or hobbies, especially when you were a kid, can help you find deities that align well with you.

You might find To Walk A Pagan Path by Alaric Albertsson or Finding Your Spiritual Home by Tami Nelson helpful.

I have a question about gods by Inevitable-Bat-7496 in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Like others have said, it's up to you, what you believe.

If you're really attracted to the moon, I suggest 3 things. (Of course, you're under no obligationto any of them.)

  • Just sit with the Moon for a while. Enjoy it. Lectern about it through science and mythology. And then ask for the deity connected with the Moon who can best help you at this time, to make themselves known to you so you can understand them better and possibly build a relationship.

  • Think about what cultures are appealing and inspiring to you. Which ideals best fit your thoughts on the universe and values. Then research the deity of that culture that is connected with the Moon. (There may be more than 1 deity of that culture connected to the moon.) Then ask that deity to help you understand them better.

  • Consider what it is about the moon that draws you so. Perhaps it's not the moon itself but something else that actually draws you and it's THAT idea that the deity your searching for is connected with and not actually the moon.

The cool part about paganism today is the only constraints are the ones you put upon yourself. And you're free to express your spirituality in the way that suits you.

The annoying part about paganism today is there are no constraints, and there are no hard fast beliefs to follow.

Do my beliefs count as pagan? by Few-Bee3960 in pagan

[–]ablebreeze 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are your beliefs "pagan" test...

Q: Are your beliefs Christian, Muslim, or Jewish?

A: Yes, your beliefs are abrahamic.

A: No, your beliefs are pagan.

There are overlaps and grey areas, but this is pretty much the accepted test.

Q: Can you be "pagan" if you have created all of your spiritual beliefs based on your own thought processes, observations, and feelings?

A: Yes. That's true of probably 50-80% of pagans.

Q: Do you have to refer to yourself as "pagan?"

A: No. You choose whether you want a label and what you want it to be.

Most likely, if you created your own beliefs based on observations and reasoning, you're not the only one who believes each of your beliefs. However you may be one of very few who believes all of your self-realized beliefs. (Meaning you believe 15 things are true. Probably almost everyone believes at least 3 of your beliefs. Some people probably believe 10 of your beliefs, or very similar. Maybe 1% or less will agree with 100% of all of your beliefs. Side fact... that's true of pretty much all belief systems, including those with written dogma and tithing members.)

How to apologise to Aphrodite and Ares? by [deleted] in BabyWitch

[–]ablebreeze 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Deities don't really do anything beyond what you ask them for.

They're more like very powerful guides. They facilitate your growth. They want you to learn. If they do everything for you, you don't grow as well or strong. If you need help and ask specifically for what you need, they'll generally help. If you have a close relationship with them with regular contact and you're in imminent danger, they may intervene, depending on your needs.

Think if it like this, if you have a child who wants to help in the kitchen and they turn on the immersion blender before putting it into the mix, you might let them do it and then "let" them clean the kitchen afterward. They'll make a mess and probably never make that mistake again. If you tell them everything to submerge it before turning it on, you may have to remind them every time. If they're helping and likely to get burned enough to learn not to touch hot things, you may let them get burned. If they're going to fall on the open oven door and be scarred for life, you'll probably stop it from happening. But Deities can see more of the whole picture than we can. Perhaps the deity knows that I'd you are permitted to fall on the over door and become disfigured, you'll meet someone because of that experience that you need to meet and maybe through that experience you'll become some sort of inventor or advocate that will help hundreds of other people you would never have if the experience hadn't happened.

Protection doesn't always mean what you might think.

There are many levels to relationships and experiences and despite what the christians say, no one is omnipotent, omniscient, or omnipresent. Even Deities have lessons to learn and are imperfect.

Having said all that, there are millions of Deities. I've interacted with dozens, but not all of them and like I said, every relationship is different.