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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 3:52 am
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 5:46 am
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:30 am
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Framed in Fire Hi everybody. smile I am writing an article on Wiccan Deities, and I was wondering if anybody had some info that they would be willing to share with me. Discuss: -What deities (if any) do you worship/believe in? -What does the word 'deity' mean to you? -Is there any information that you think is important for me to have in my article?
Tea pretty much said it all about the Wiccan deities in her post, but I can answer the other questions...
I believe in a divine being that is all of the energy of the universe that is sentient. This being has many faces, is all of the faces of the gods and goddesses of all the traditions and religions around the world (and very possibly on other worlds as well.) This is the only way for the being to make itself known to everyone in a way everyone will understand. This being is too large and incomprehensible for us to wrap our minds around, so it shows different faces to different people.
Deity simple means God/dess. A higher being, more powerful, more spiritual and is everything. *shrugs*
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 12:06 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 1:19 pm
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EladrinStarmist Framed in Fire Hi everybody. smile I am writing an article on Wiccan Deities, and I was wondering if anybody had some info that they would be willing to share with me. Discuss: -What deities (if any) do you worship/believe in? -What does the word 'deity' mean to you? -Is there any information that you think is important for me to have in my article? Tea pretty much said it all about the Wiccan deities in her post, but I can answer the other questions... I believe in a divine being that is all of the energy of the universe that is sentient. This being has many faces, is all of the faces of the gods and goddesses of all the traditions and religions around the world (and very possibly on other worlds as well.) This is the only way for the being to make itself known to everyone in a way everyone will understand. This being is too large and incomprehensible for us to wrap our minds around, so it shows different faces to different people.
Deity simple means God/dess. A higher being, more powerful, more spiritual and is everything. *shrugs*
Here she's talking about The All, no one really knows its name or if they do they do not ever even speak of it having a true name. It is a sentient being that is composed of all things in existance, and is also greater than the sum of its parts, meaning it is bigger than everything in existance. It's very similar to the christian concept of god which is why it is not a popular idea amongst most pagans. Also if you've ever seen The Craft, which is a really bad example but an example none the less, they give the all a name and worship it directly. It is incredibly complicated, which is why it is usually broken down into smaller parts (goddess, and god for example) in order for us to better comprehend it. If we acknowledge one thing then we acknowledge the other, thus giving us polarity from within the neutrality of the all.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 1:58 pm
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I don't speak for all Wiccans, because there is actually a wide range of beliefs as to the nature of deity in Wicca. I even know a Wiccan who characterizes himself as an "agnostic gnostic!" I'll steal a little quote from reagun ban to remind us all how this can be true.
reagun ban We all know that anyone who accepts Jesus is a Christian. That's because Christianity is an orthodoxic religion. Orthodoxic religions are those such that what you believe is what makes you a member of the religion. If you can say the Nicean crede, then you're a Catholic. Wicca, on they other hand, is orthopraxic, meaning that what you believe may well be important but how you practice is what makes you a member.
So please keep in mind, that the beliefs stated below are my own, and not Wicca's.
Framed in Fire -What deities (if any) do you worship/believe in?
I believe in many, many deities. I believe in an unknowable, immanent and transcendent "Source" of all things. I worship a Wiccan Goddess and God. I also work with other deities that have made themselves known to me from other pantheons. I believe in the existance of many other deities that I have not been called to serve.
Framed in Fire -What does the word 'deity' mean to you?
I believe that the Gods are many things: Archetypes, energetic thoughtforms, masks for the unknowable Source, psychological constructs, and very real beings that work independently from each other.
Framed in Fire -Is there any information that you think is important for me to have in my article?
I guess that the true names and nature of the Wiccan deities are revealed at Initiation.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 4:29 pm
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Actually, since this thread is here, maybe [Kudzu] or Reagun (or someone else with the knowledge) can answer a question for me. I just want to concretize, I guess, my understanding of how the Wiccan Deity Naming System (cheeky, I know, but I don't mean any disrespect) works. Am I correct in thinking of the names Aradia and Cernunnos as placeholders, in a sense? That is, simple substitutes used to refer to entities (?) whose sacred names are not to be shared, but who sometimes need to be mentioned outside of an initiate-only context? It occurred to me today that there may or may not be a conflict with other (Wiccan-aspirant or otherwise) worshippers of one or both deities -- would you consider, say, the two Aradias to be separate, or linked? Alternately, do you think the placeholders (could/)have become real in their own right through their availability to the bookbuying public, and if so, would they retain the connection to their antecedents?
I have no idea whether or not that makes sense -- in fact, I have no idea if there are Wiccan-aspirant-or-otherwise Aradia/Cernunnos devotees -- but I couldn't bring myself to just toss the idea over my shoulder. If I'm touching on anything I shouldn't be, please consider the thin-ice-treading portion withdrawn.
Yeah, I have these moments sometimes.
Disclaimer: while I don't maintain relationships with any personal deities, I find the practice fascinating and have a great respect for it. It's sort of an anthropological interest, I guess.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 8:26 pm
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Erishkegal Actually, since this thread is here, maybe Kudzu or Reagun (or someone else with the knowledge) can answer a question for me.
I can give it a try, but I don't speak for all Wiccans (see my above post.)
Erishkegal I just want to concretize, I guess, my understanding of how the Wiccan Deity Naming System (cheeky, I know, but I don't mean any disrespect) works.
I want to take this opportunity to state that this is not a Wiccan system at all. On top of that, I don't personally know of any Outer Courts that use those common names, though some of them that I have known have made vague references to an unnamed God and Goddess.
Erishkegal It occurred to me today that there may or may not be a conflict with other (Wiccan-aspirant or otherwise) worshippers of one or both deities -- would you consider, say, the two Aradias to be separate, or linked? [...] Would they retain the connection to their antecedents?
I'm going to defer to the Ceremonial Magic concepts of the Law of Knowledge and the Law of Names. If you know a lot about something and you know its true name, you can work with it. If you don't, you can't. So my personal belief is that they would be separate.
Erishkegal Do you think the placeholders (could/)have become real in their own right?
That depends on what your concept of deity is. I think those deities were historically worshipped in their own right, so I think they probably existed before Wicca did.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 10:36 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:44 pm
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Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 10:51 pm
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Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 5:15 am
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Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 5:46 pm
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Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 8:56 pm
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Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:46 pm
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