What energies of divinity do you claim or claim you?
There’s so many deities!
Mother Earth, often called Gaia, is often called upon this time of year as many people celebrate earth day.
April is full of celebrations of deities.
April 7-8 is the Greek feast of Artemis.
April 15 is the Egyptian feast of Bast.APR. 15-17: Feasts of the Seas –
- Honoring Yoruban God-Goddess as Olokun-Yemaya and
- Old Greek Okeanos-Tethys.
April 22: Festivals to honor deities:
- Babylonian Festival of Isthar,
- Japanese Feast of the Divine Couple and
- Norse Odin’s Day
APR. 23: Festival of the Greenman—honoring the God of the Forest and vegetation.
APR. 25: Has a few Spring Festivals –- In Britannia, dedicated to Herne, Pan, the Horned God. –
- and further south, the Roman Robligalia dedicated to the Corn Mother (Ceres or Demeter) and Harvest.
Deities, or Energies
Whether you relate to deity as the ground of being, archetypes, parts of self, discrete beings you can interact with, nature spirits, the designer at the beginning of time, emanations from the one divine, a spiritual essence that is in everything, all of the above, none of the above, or something else…
how do you choose which idea or ideas to include in your spiritual practice? What symbols of divinity or the sacred do you put on your altar? Who do you pray to or with, Who do you listen to? Who do you call yours? What energies do you look for within yourself? Or invite to travel with you?Grew up with? I know pagans who grew up with God, Jesus and the holy spirit who let go of the guy in the sky, but keep the humble teacher and friend.
Your ancestors? I know pagans who have done extensive research to find out who their ancestors revered. Or who have adopted the ancestral deities of their community or chosen family. I know Pagans who cannot trace their family heritage but want to celebrate deities who are from a time their race was in revered history, such of Black Folks claiming deities from Kemetism, the religion of ancient Egypt.
The place where you live? I know pagans who have done research into the deities who were understood to care for or be from the places where they currently live. Maybe the Corn Mother, if you are in Algonquin lands. Or Cernunnos if you are in the British isles.
A deity who you feel you’ve had an experience where they asked you to be theirs? I know pagans who have done reading or visited other’s cultural traditions and became ‘claimed’ by a deity… Perhaps Brigit from celtic culture or Dionysus from Hellenic/Greek culture, or Yemaya from the Yoruba or Santeria traditions.
Divine Energies
Maybe the idea of named deity from a particular culture or place isn’t making sense for you…
Maybe it is “kindness” or “love” or some other concept that is of ultimate meaning for you?
Maybe it is the energy of a plant or animal or body of water or land feature… Maybe it is something that is in EVERYTHING…Whatever it is. It is good to notice what makes sense and works for YOU!
