Your First Deity/s

[JustGeorge]

This thread is for practicing polytheists only(though polytheists of any or all traditions are welcome to answer).

Which is the first deity that ever caught your attention?

Do you remember why?

What is your current relationship with said deity?

 

[The Hammer]

Nature itself.

Than the Morrigan! I was sent a crow messenger and took it as a sign from her.

 

[The Hammer]

Although technically you could say Yahweh, and Jesus too. But that's because I was ultimately raised in nation that shoehorns it into everything.

 

[JustGeorge]

Although technically you could say Yahweh, and Jesus too. But that's because I was ultimately raised in nation that shoehorns it into everything.

Did you feel they ever were 'yours'? I ask because I was raised the same, but they never felt like 'mine'.

 

[The Hammer]

Did you feel they ever were 'yours'? I ask because I was raised the same, but they never felt like 'mine'.

Hmmm.... I'm not sure. I was told "they were supposed to be". But never got much out of them personally. Both seemed paradoxically both too distant and too human. Absolutely unrelatable entities.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

I'm not sure if I fit the requirements for this thread or not, as I currently do not do deities...even though most of my beliefs and practices would fall easily within polytheistic traditions...

Anyway, I'll offer my experience: The first deity I experienced was Jesus, with whom I had a 'born again' experience when I was 12. He said, as still says, to me: "Come, Follow me." In my minds eye with an extended hand and a smile. My initial response was to follow the examples of born-again people in my community at the time, which was mainly to preach at (loudly) people I decided were in need of saving. In doing so, I caused pain and harm to some people...Jesus promptly told me to sit down, shut up, and watch and learn. I've been doing so since. I've been getting better at it. Jesus just smiles, says "Keep trying. Come, follow me!" over and over again.

Now, I have left the Abrahamic religions, as I find the cosmology and cosmogony offered by the more literal readings of the scriptures to be...unconvincing at best, even when granted allegorical rather than literal status. And I find the rest of the scriptures to be questionable as well. Jesus just shrugs his shoulders, and says, "Come, follow me." So, I continue to accept him...but not in a way that seems to match with any sect or interpretation that I've encountered...

Despite having become an animist, and who finds great similarities in my beliefs and practices with indigenous European and Native American systems as I've been able to discover about them...and indeed, with Taoism and Chinese folk religion and even Shinto...I have become agnostic about the human ability to apprehend or comprehend anything meaningful about deity. So I know some about those various gods, but I've never really experienced them...oh, I've had experiences...but none of them included a deity saying to the effect, "Hi, I'm [insert deity name and/or title here], please honor me!"

I hope my response answers your OP!

 

[JustGeorge]

I'm not sure if I fit the requirements for this thread or not, as I currently do not do deities...even though most of my beliefs and practices would fall easily within polytheistic traditions...

Anyway, I'll offer my experience: The first deity I experienced was Jesus, with whom I had a 'born again' experience when I was 12. He said, as still says, to me: "Come, Follow me." In my minds eye with an extended hand and a smile. My initial response was to follow the examples of born-again people in my community at the time, which was mainly to preach at (loudly) people I decided were in need of saving. In doing so, I caused pain and harm to some people...Jesus promptly told me to sit down, shut up, and watch and learn. I've been doing so since. I've been getting better at it. Jesus just smiles, says "Keep trying. Come, follow me!" over and over again.

Now, I have left the Abrahamic religions, as I find the cosmology and cosmogony offered by the more literal readings of the scriptures to be...unconvincing at best, even when granted allegorical rather than literal status. And I find the rest of the scriptures to be questionable as well. Jesus just shrugs his shoulders, and says, "Come, follow me." So, I continue to accept him...but not in a way that seems to match with any sect or interpretation that I've encountered...

Despite having become an animist, and who finds great similarities in my beliefs and practices with indigenous European and Native American systems as I've been able to discover about them...and indeed, with Taoism and Chinese folk religion and even Shinto...I have become agnostic about the human ability to apprehend or comprehend anything meaningful about deity. So I know some about those various gods, but I've never really experienced them...oh, I've had experiences...but none of them included a deity saying to the effect, "Hi, I'm [insert deity name and/or title here], please honor me!"

I hope my response answers your OP!

That's an excellent answer!

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

That's an excellent answer!

Thanks!

 

[Quintessence]

My experience is similar to @The Hammer because as they point out, you cannot escape the culture of your upbringing. But my first real religious experiences were outdoors, in nature. I didn't name anything back then, I had no context to understand any of it from a polytheistic perspective. I still don't tend to name anything, actually - it isn't needed. Or of I do, it's poetic in a vain attempt to capture the sublime totality of whatever that spirit/god is Lots of words and poetics (and also non-language sounds, gestures, smells, textures) does that better than a single word. Like, how to describe the Spirit of the Forest that I heard as a kid?

Wind-rustles-through-leaves?
Dappled-sunlight-on-ground?
Cooling-shade-and-sanctuary?
Quiet-respite-from-complexity?
Gestalt-foundation-holding-life?
Season-changing-recycler?
Leaf-and-root-and-branch?
Epehemral-blooms-in-May?
Embrace-of-greenhome?

None of it will ever convey the experience of Being in Forests.

 

[rocala]

This seems, at first glance to be a simple question, but its not. While I am considering am I a polytheist, another part of my mind is throwing up the answers to the questions. There is something in there that does not want the restrictions that labels seem to bring.

Pan has always been there. The Green Man too. I am not even sure if he is recognised as a deity or some sort of symbol. He is real to me. When I saw that Hammer had put Nature, I automatically linked that with my Green Man. I don't know what @The Hammer will make of that, I hope its o.k.

Finally there is the 'female'. She has been there since my earliest childhood. In my dreams she usually appeared in night time settings. I have no idea who she is. In my home I have an "Earth Mother" image to represent her. I have never linked her with any specific deity or felt that I should.

Obviously, I don't announce myself as a Polytheist. I now see that this is something that has been around for so long I just see them as family.

 

[The Hammer]

Anyway, I'll offer my experience: The first deity I experienced was Jesus, with whom I had a 'born again' experience when I was 12. He said, as still says, to me: "Come, Follow me." In my minds eye with an extended hand and a smile.

This was what the crow/raven said to me as well, interesting. I got a prompt *I know you* feeling from them, and then I *heard* "Come... Follow me... This way".

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

This was what the crow/raven said to me as well, interesting. I got a prompt *I know you* feeling from them, and then I *heard* "Come... Follow me... This way".

I'm not surprised...

 

[rocala]

There is so much being said by @The Hammer and @Quintessence that it is almost intoxicating. This is not just my weird little ways, other people are actually experiencing similar.

I am not sure where Pan came into this but he has always felt more distant. The other two can be very close. Something which gives me great comfort is a conversation that I had with my Mother some years ago. She mentioned that when I was very small, like many kids I had a pretend friend. He was she said very special and that I was always talking about him. He was a boy who was covered in green leaves. This really does go back a long way.

 

[Vinidra]

Saraswati was not the first deity (or even Hindu deity) that I ever heard of, but she was the first one to inspire something more than vague curiosity.

This is going to sound silly, but one night, I was at the end of my rope in more ways than one. I basically said to the gods, "If you're there, show yourself." No answer. I started calling on them by name, gods from different traditions and pantheons. No answer...until I got to Saraswati's name.

I felt an overwhelming feeling of love and a sense of a rather amused Mother saying to me, "It took you long enough!"

Shortly thereafter, I ordered statues of Saraswati and Lakshmi (who also interested me) and started worshipping. I also started calling myself a Hindu officially at this point. This was...2015? I'm not altogether sure. It was no later than 2016, though.

I've since realized that Saraswati has basically been in control of my life since the day I was born. Probably even before that (but I don't remember any of my past lives, so I don't know for sure).

Saraswati and I are still cool. I have incorporated several other gods and goddesses into my practice since then, but I'm a soft polytheist, so I think they're all facets of the same one. But if you ask me what I think the form of God is, I still think She dresses in all white, carries a vina, and rides on a swan.

 

[Jainarayan]

I certainly knew of the Greek and Roman gods but I didn’t interact with them. It was probably Hanuman as the first I interacted with. When I was a runner and gym rat I remember calling on him and thanking him. I don’t know why I was drawn to him as a strength patron and not Herakles, for example. It was probably through him that I was drawn to the Hindu gods, with Saraswati being next. I always loved music, reading, writing and learning in general. When I began playing guitar I kept a small picture of her where I play.

 

[Spice]

I like the term "soft polytheists." Would that apply to worshipping God through the spirit of elements? I definitely take my worship into nature, and oftentimes directly to parts of nature. I thank the rain for visiting. I tell the breeze I appreciate them on a firey hot day, I tell wasps hanging around my door to shoo, they're not allowed inside, etc. And, as I've mentioned before, when I give thanks for the food on my table, I don't directly thank God. I thank the life given, may it be chicken, or kale.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

The Greek deities, especially Athena and Heracles. I loved the Greek myths since I was a kid. I don't worship them anymore. I prefer to go with ancestral Gods and Spirits.

 

[mangalavara]

Which is the first deity that ever caught your attention?

Before I was a polytheist, the first deity who ever caught my attention was Taweret. In Ancient Egyptian and contemporary Kemetic religions, she is associated with childbirth. When I was in elementary school, I checked out a book from the school library about Ancient Egypt. Inside was a picture of a small sculpture of Taweret, and the text next to the picture said something about her being a goddess of childbirth. The image really held my attention. I showed my mother and asked her what it was about. She said that Egyptian women probably thought about Taweret while they were about to give birth. Then, she said that a woman today would similarly think of God when about to give birth. (Interestingly, my mother said that in the manner of a teacher rather than a monotheistic triumphalist.) After hearing my mother’s explanation, I thought to myself that if I were a woman about to give birth, Taweret would be the one who I would think of.

Do you remember why?

Looking back, I think it might have been a past life connection.

What is your current relationship with said deity?

There is no relationship between us. Like all deities, she at least has my respect.

 

[JustGeorge]

Before I was a polytheist, the first deity who ever caught my attention was Taweret. In Ancient Egyptian and contemporary Kemetic religions, she is associated with childbirth. When I was in elementary school, I checked out a book from the school library about Ancient Egypt. Inside was a picture of a small sculpture of Taweret, and the text next to the picture said something about her being a goddess of childbirth. The image really held my attention. I showed my mother and asked her what it was about. She said that Egyptian women probably thought about Taweret while they were about to give birth. Then, she said that a woman today would similarly think of God when about to give birth. (Interestingly, my mother said that in the manner of a teacher rather than a monotheistic triumphalist.) After hearing my mother’s explanation, I thought to myself that if I were a woman about to give birth, Taweret would be the one who I would think of.



Looking back, I think it might have been a past life connection.



There is no relationship between us. Like all deities, she at least has my respect.

I remember trying to contact Ilithyia, the Greek childbirth Goddess when I was pregnant with my second son.

I was unsuccessful, but had another Greek deity keep showing up. So, I named him for him(and it all made sense later).

 

[Isabella Lecour]

I think in some ways I've always been a polytheist. I was raised by very religious parents. Basically they blended up their own concoction--a mix of Messianic Christianity, Seventh-day Adventist, Amish/Mennonite, and Southern Baptist. It was unique. I never saw the world or the Bible the same way as my parents.

By default, my first deity was the Lord of Love that I first knew as Jesus. But he's not Jesus. He just sometimes responds to that moniker depending on the person. And it was because of a Chick tract, the one where the kid gets beaten up by their alcoholic father, gets thrown out for not earning enough money and is dying in an alleyway inside a cardboard box when a Christian encounters them and gives them a poster that says "Jesus loves you" and the kid dies knowing that somebody loves them. That tract broke my heart and then pissed me off. So much was wrong with it and I couldn't understand why my parents couldn't see that too.

My relationship with the Lord of Love has grown over the years. I have found his thumbprint in other scriptures, other writings and sometimes people too. Love is the law. Love under will.