OK. I spend a lot of time in the natural world and really appreciate it, but I haven't seen a reason to deify anything. I was curious about whether deifying enriches ones' experience of the natural world.
From what I've seen, for some it enriches, for others it doesn't. It's a personal thing, and it depends at least in part on the following:
Consider this: do you view yourself as a subject and everything else in the world, including all the aspects of nature as objects? Or are some or all of them also subjects? You may say, "huh?" but this is a key way of thinking about the difference between the western way of seeing the world and the pagan way. The Western way, heavily influence by Abrahamic monotheism, puts God and humans, and maybe a few others (angels, demons, etc.) as subjects. Subjects are special; they are higher than objects, and they can do more things, and they don't have to give any consideration to objects at all. Anything and everything else--plants, animals, rocks, water, light, heat, wind, storms etc.--are objects. They do not get the same consideration as God, humans, etc. They are just inert, mindless automatons created by God, or the product of random natural events, but nonetheless are lesser than humans, without divine spark or evolved intelligence. Objects to be used, perhaps even admired and protected; but still, objects.
To many a pagan (it is really not possible to generalize accurately for all, because there are so many ways of being pagan), however, there are more subjects in the universe; these other subjects deserve the same sorts of consideration that Western thought only gives to humans, God, angels, etc. Different pagans and pagan groups will have different ideas about which things are subjects and deserving of consideration, respect, honor, etc.
