Polytheistic Daily Reflections from me

[Gnostic Seeker]

Coolio! A journal category.

Please remember these reflections are only the musings of one polytheist out of a large group of communities and traditions.

My first daily reflection is going to be about how polytheism coincides with what we observe in nature.

In nature we observe a plethora of species, both animal and plant. Further, we observe many kinds of stars and planetary bodies.

If we go deeper, the particles that make up complex life are just as many and varied.

In all this complexity and variety we clearly see a plurality. There is nothing we see that stands by itself. There isn't one kind of plant. Similarly, there isn't only one of a specific plant. Take for example a pine tree. There isn't just one pine tree.

This is how I think it is with the gods. There isn't only one god. Likewise, there isn't only one god of say- water.

Elements are so multi-faceted and compound just as complex lifeforms are. Therefore its entirely possible for both Zeus and Anu to be gods of the sky, and in a different way than the other is. Like everything, the sky is a many-faceted thing.

This has been my polytheistic reflection of the day. Please feel free to add thoughts/comments.

 

[Quintessence]

This is one of the reasons why I'm a polytheist. When I discovered Neopaganism existed, initially I liked it because of the revelation that no, gods don't have to be supernatural, and no, gods don't have to be transcendent; you can actually worship the various aspects of reality as gods, and this is what Pagans did (wrapped up in some neat mythopoetic storytelling). I can understand the idea of a one-god if you have one is supernatural, or transcends this-worldly reality, but where gods are not supernaturalistic or transcendent, it makes much less sense.

On the other hand, technically various aspects of this-worldly reality are "the same" if we get down to the atomic level. Different things are composed of the same fundamental "stuff." But as a human, I don't exist on the atomic scale, I don't perceive things at the atomic scale, and a meaningful practice of worship and devotion wouldn't happen for me if I was pretending I was a particle. So I see reality, be it this-worldly or otherworldly, as composed of distinct things (gods) that have interactions and relationships. The stories told about the gods in various Pagan cultures speak to those relationships, and they can be fascinating to think about.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

I look forward to reading more of your reflections This first one is very interesting. Most polytheists I've talked to say that there is one god for every thing, it is neat to hear you believe there is multiple.

I'm hoping you accept questions:

1) You say there is an obvious plurality. For example there isn't just one pine tree. But why not consider that there is One in terms of a group? One species of tree? Above that, there is one species: Trees. Similarly there is one humanity but many humans.

2) When you are praying and there is something specific related to it, how do you decide what god to pray to? For example, if a prayer involves sky, how do you know whether to pray to Zeus or to pray to Anu, etc.? Or do you pray to multiple at once?

 

[Gnostic Seeker]

Because no one tree is the same, and the fact remains there are many diverse tree species.

I pray to the Greek gods for things, according to their element, or what I guess is close to it. I also pray to Athena in general as my patron. I brought up the Zeus and Anu thing to acknowledge other gods both as real and valid.