The Gods :
Facts, Fallacy, and Conjecture
Religion……...…
“I never knew how to worship until I knew how to love.”
Henry Ward Beecher
We see religion, magick and wisdom in living as being
united in the way one views the world and lives within it
—a world view and philosophy of life which we identify
as Witchcraft—the Wiccan Way.
(Basic Principles of the Craft ©1974 American Council of Witches)
Wicca is first and foremost a religion. That means that our first edict ought to be to worship the Gods—which immediately begs a pretty big question: which Gods? Whose Gods? Can we choose any Gods we want to? (After all, Wicca is supposed to be pretty fast and loose…isn’t it? Can’t a person do whatever they want to?)
In a word: No. Wicca isn’t fast and loose nor is it footloose and fancy free. There really are a few “rules”—guidelines, if you will. (I was recently in a conversation with a Coven-sister who pointed out that a statement like that might be disheartening to someone who has recently left one of the stricter, typically monotheistic, religions. Some people—some authors for that matter—seem to think that in Wicca you can do anything you want to. This just isn’t true, but neither is it cause to be disheartened. After all, if there wasn’t any sort of definition of what it meant to be Wiccan, calling yourself Wiccan wouldn’t mean much. I, for one, really like it when words, titles and labels, actually mean something.) So… one of these important rules that help us define what it means to be Wiccan has to do with our concept of Deity.
Deity……...…
“Nature is the true revelation of the Deity to man.
The nearest green field is the inspired page from
which you may read all that it is needful for you to know.”
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
In 1974, seventy three people came together to form a very short lived body called the ‘Council of American Witches’. From everything I’ve read, it seems as if their main goal was to find some way of codifying what it meant to be Wiccan. To that end, they came up with ‘thirteen’ statements which they titled “Principles of Wiccan Belief”. They also came up with a document called “Basic Principles of the Craft”. These can be found in their entirety in Appendix One and Two at the end of this book.
Here’s what these documents have to say about Deity:
We conceive of the Creative Power in the universe as manifesting through polarity—as masculine and feminine—and that this same Creative Power lies in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sex as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship.
(Principles of Wiccan Belief ©1974 American Council of Witches)
That last bit about sex and sexual pleasure is sometimes left out because we as a society have become skittish of anything that might be considered “not politically correct.” But whether it is “politically correct” or not to say so, humans are mammals. We are, in fact, one of a growing number of animal species who are known to scientists to engage in sexual pursuits for reasons other than procreation and perpetuation of the species; this includes both self-gratification and sexual behavior between members of the same gender.
I believe that we as witches should be less concerned with political correctness and more concerned with real correctness. We should strive as human beings to engage in activities (sexual and otherwise) that are safe, mutually consensual and beneficial to all parties involved and the planet on which we live. (We’ll be talking more about ethics in the next chapter.) So, to get back to Deity...
The Witch must recognize and harmonize with the forces of the universe, in accord with the Law of Polarity: everything is dual; everything has two poles; everything has it's opposite; for every action there is a reaction; all can be categorized as either active or reactive in relation to other things.
a) Godhead is one unique and transcendent wholeness, beyond any limitations or expressions; thus, it is beyond our human capacity to understand and identify with this principle of Cosmic Oneness, except as It is revealed to us in terms of It's attributes and operation.
b) The most basic and meaningful attribute of the One that we, as humans, can relate to and understand, is that of polarity, of action and reaction; therefore Witches recognize the Oneness of the Divinity, but worship and relate to the Divine as the archetypal polarity of God and Goddess…
and…
In keeping with the Law of Polarity, these god-forms are brought into harmony by the one great Law which states:
All Gods are one God.
All Goddesses are one Goddess.
There is one Initiator.
The most basic and meaningful attribute of the One that we, as humans, can relate to and understand, is that of polarity, of action and reaction; therefore Witches recognize the Oneness of the Divinity, but worship and relate to the Divine as the archetypal polarity of God and Goddess, the All-Father and the Great Mother of the universe. The Beings are as near as we can approach to the One within our human limitations of understanding and expression, though it is possible to experience the divine Oneness through the practices of the Mysteries.
(Basic Principles of the Craft ©1974 American Council of Witches)
What I’d like to hone in on here is this:
The most basic and meaningful attribute of the One that we, as humans, can relate to and understand, is that of polarity, of action and reaction; therefore Witches recognize the Oneness of the Divinity, but worship and relate to the Divine as the archetypal polarity of God and Goddess, the All-Father and the Great Mother of the universe. The Beings are as near as we can approach to the One within our human limitations of understanding and expression…
The idea being presented here is that “God” is So Big, we as humans can’t properly wrap our heads around Him/Her/It/Them. Instead, we, as Wiccans (and many other Pagan and neo-Pagan groups for that matter), worship a Divine Mother and All-Father, typically presented as the Earth and Sky (or Sun), the source of all life on this planet. BUT, and this is a really Big “But”, for the purposes of Worship, magic and ritual, Athena is NOT Neith, who is NOT Ishtar, who is NOT Kali, who is NOT Isis who is NOT Frigg any more than She is NOT Yemaya, or Aphrodite or Juno or… get the idea?
Gods are NOT interchangeable with one another.
This isn’t plug and play with Mr. Potato Head where one nose is as good as any other nose. If you treat Aphrodite the same way you treat Het-her (Hathor), sooner or later, She’s going to notice and it’s not likely to be pleasant. I know there is a very good chance you’ve read somewhere (possibly even several places) that all you need is a “good intent” or “pure heart/spirit” and everything will work out just fine. Please, throw that notion out the window here and now. The Gods can be capricious. Our ancestors knew that. It’s time we realized it, too, and gave Them the respect They’re due. They’re Gods after all!
Let’s go back to the American Council of Witches (boldface type is my own emphasis):
Throughout the development of the human race, civilizations have seen and worshipped many and various attributes of the Divine.
These universal forces have been clothed in forms which were expressive to the worshipper of the attribute of the Godhead which they expressed.
Use of these symbolic representations of the natural and divine forces of the universe, or godforms, is a potent method for contacting and utilizing the forces they represent.
Thus the Gods are both natural and truly divine, AND man-made in that the forms with which they are clothed are products of humanity's striving to know the Godhead.
(Basic Principles of the Craft ©1974 American Council of Witches)
What is being said here is that these Gods and Goddesses we worship today have been “built up” through centuries worship, and that that homage has been influenced by very distinct cultures—distinct sectors within culture. Each God that we speak of has His or Her own very distinct personality, Their likes and dislikes which have been influenced by Their followers. While we say philosophically that All Gods are One God, etc., I would caution you not to treat Them as interchangeable when They show up—and make no mistake, from time to time They do show up!
Likewise, it is unwise (and frankly quite rude) to simply “plug in” any ol’ Deity to a ritual simply because you read somewhere that This God/Goddess is the Deity of That activity. One cannot define the Gods in a few short sentences by saying that Athena is the Goddess of Wisdom or Anubis is the God of Funerals. Athena is one of the great Virgin Goddesses of Greek mythology. She sprang forth fully formed from Zeus’ head wearing battle armor. There are stories and hymns to Her that were told through out antiquity. And by the way, She does not suffer fools lightly. Anpu (Anubis), is ‘the Opener of the Way’, the God who opens the mouth of the deceased to begin the embalming process which was a sacred rite of huge importance to the ancient Egyptians. Anubis/Anpu was worshipped over the course of thousands of years by hundreds of thousands of men and women. Saying that He is ‘merely’ the God of Funerals is like saying that your Uncle Henry is nothing more than a dentist or a doctor or a used car salesman, just because that happens to be his day-job. Uncle Henry is also a husband and a son, a brother, father and a lover. He’s a golfer and a stamp collector; he loves chocolate cake but can’t stand liver and onions. He has decades of life and living behind him—he isn’t interchangeable with my cousin Fred, the dentist/doctor/used car salesman. Fred is a bachelor and would rather eat liver and onions than any other food in the world (even chocolate cake)! So while Henry and Fred may have the same occupation, they are not interchangeable with one another (imagine Henry’s wife’s reaction if Fred showed up for dinner one night because one doctor/dentist/used car salesman is just as good as any other, right?)
Furthermore, if you think of your Gods as guests in you home, Circle or Temple (because guests is exactly what They are), isn’t it only basic common courtesy to think first of Their likes and dislikes, Their favorite food and beverage? You wouldn’t serve Henry liver and onions just because it happened to be your favorite, would you? (Naturally there is the matter of practicality—and legality—but by and large, if you want to attract the positive attention of the Deity, it is best ting to do is to offer Them the things to which They are accustomed—the things we know They like.)
If we extend the same courtesy to the Gods as we do to our relatives, we’ll be further ahead when it comes to establishing good working relationships with Them. After all, aren’t the Gods at least as important as Uncle Henry and Cousin Fred?
Of course finding out what Henry and Fred like to eat and drink is a little easier than sussing out Anubis’ and Athena’s likes and dislikes; after all, all we have to do is give Henry or Fred a ring and ask what they’d like for dinner. You can’t call the Gods up on the telephone or shoot them a quick email on your lunch break. But you can read about them. Remember, we’re talking about Divine Beings who have been loved and worshipped (and scorned and feared) for thousands of years. In most cases, there are lots and lots of original sources—which isn’t to say that every resource is infallible or that your mileage with the Gods won’t vary considerable from what was written down three thousand years ago in some far away country that’s changed names six times in the last century alone. Which is why I suggest that you take the time to to ASK the Gods what They want. It may sound simplistic (or perhaps impossible or at least a little difficult), but if you ask (and listen for the answer) the Gods will let you know what They desire from you.
I can hear it now: What? Wait a minute, the Gods get to ask things of us!?!
Yep. This is a two way street, folks. Our Gods get to ask things of us just the same way we get to ask things of Them (and those things will run the gamut from the trivial to the life-changing). Now, just as point of note, you’re not under any obligation to do any of the things the Gods ask you to do, any more than They’re obliged to do the things you’ve asked Them to do—however I learned a long time ago how much more difficult life is when I don’t pay attention to what They’re saying to me, what They’re asking of me.
I should probably take this moment mention that some Wiccans choose to worship only the Goddess (without giving Her a specific name—or perhaps calling Her simply Gaia, the Earth Mother, or by some other cultural name that basically boils down to the same concept); likewise, they worship only the God (again, without giving him a specific name, other than identifying Him as Father Sky, or the Radiant Sun, or perhaps the Horned Hunter.) This idea of only the Goddess and the God is just as valid and beautiful as polytheism (the belief in many Gods and Goddesses, each being treated as unique unto Him or Herself.) There is nothing better or worse about either belief system; it’s a matter of personal choice (or perhaps more accurately a matter of ‘calling’, a matter of what They have said to you.) Even working with a single Goddess and God, however, you would still be well advised to learn as much as you can about Them.
Both scholarly research and personal gnosis have equally valid places in esoteric practice and should be given equal weight (along with a healthy dose of that rarest of all faculties, Common Sense! Witches are, if nothing else, practical people—that’s one of the things that sets us apart from ceremonialists, who often feel compelled to do certain rituals at certain hours of certain days and only this, and that and the other things lines up in the Heavens. A witch will simply roll up his or her sleeves and do what needs to be done, when they need it done. We may recognize that there are more auspicious times for certain kinds of magic—certainly gardening by astrology has tremendous merit—but we’re just as happy to do our thing without overmuch regard to hours and days and the alignment of the Heavens.)
Origins of Our Gods...…
“The ancient Poets animated all sensible objects with Gods or Geniuses,
calling them by the names and adorning them with the properties
of woods, rivers, mountains, lakes, cities, nations,
and whatever their enlarged and numerous senses could perceive.
And particularly they studied the genius of each city and county, placing it under its mental deity. Till a system was formed, which some took advantage of and enslaved the vulgar by attempting to realize or abstract the mental deities from their objects; thus began Priesthood. Choosing forms of worship from poetic tales.
And at length they pronounced that the Gods had ordered such things.
Thus men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast.”
William Blake
Once upon a time, a long time ago, our ancestors were nomadic hunter-gatherers. They trekked about from place to place, following the herds of wild animals who provided them with their main source of food (meat) and clothing. Typically, the men of the tribe went out and hunted these wild animals, at least some of whom had horns (or more accurately antlers, at least in most parts of the world. Of course tusked animals were also hunted, but I haven’t run across too many Wiccans who worship mastodon Gods, so we’ll stick with horns and antlers on this one.) Typically, too, the women (and elderly) of the tribe stayed at home, raised the children and gathering what roots and vegetables they could find to supplement the men’s hunting efforts. Thusly, just as the men were associated with hunting, with life and death, so the Male God became associated with hunting, with life and with death. Likewise, as the women were associated children, fertility, with birth and renewal, so too did the Female Goddess become associated with children, fertility, and birth and renewal.
Obviously the above is a huge oversimplification of thousands of years of human cultural evolution and only speaks to our best guesses about what the majority of these early human tribes were doing. We have no written records, save cave paintings and carved images, which like many other things about archeology, are open to conjecture.
All we can do is look at the evidence, at the fact that we do have a great many cave drawings and old rock carvings to look at which seem to support the Mother/Fertility Goddess and Hunter God religious modality. We also know that our Neolithic ancestors buried their loved ones with baubles and tokens, suggesting some sort of belief in the afterlife (although exactly what that belief was, we have no way of knowing. All we do know is that a lot of attention seemed to be focused on bears; bear bones and skulls, painted with red ochre, are presumed by most archaeologists to be cult objects.) Furthermore, if we look at practitioners of tribal religions within recorded history, we find that most, if not all, believe that time is cyclic—rather than moving in a straight line, time moves in cycles, spirals or circles. Most also have an animistic world view (believing that there is a spark of the Divine in all matter, that the trees, rocks and plants, that places and even cities have spirits just the same way people and animals do.) It does not seem unfair to presume that Neolithic man had analogous ideas about the world in which he lived. Their living conditions were no doubt similar to those of modern tribal peoples and there seem to be similarities in the ways in which they worshipped their Gods (even though all we have to go on when discussing our Neolithic ancestors are educated guesses, it is widely accepted that the term ‘shaman’ applies equally to modern and ancient tribal spiritual leaders .)
However, to continue on with the original story (and at the same time tie in rather neatly the idea of life and time being cyclic), eventually some of those hunter-gatherer tribes, particularly those living in warmer climates, discovered that life could be a whole lot easier if they settled themselves in one place and started raising their food instead of trekking around Europe following herds of wild animals. Just as the men used to be the primary hunters of the tribe, they then became the primary farmers and herders of the village; as their role changed, so did the role of the God. He became John Barely Corn and Jack in the Green. He became Pan, the Goat Footed God of Shepherds. He also became Tammuz/Dmuzi, Osiris and Dionysus, the dying and resurrecting Gods in whose image later religions would be modeled.
The God in most of these cases is our primary example of reincarnation in motion. Like the Sun, with which He is also associated, John Barleycorn is born of the Mother, the Fertile Earth, grows to maturity and cut down, only to be reborn again in the spring. The Sun is born at Yule, the longest night/shortest day of the year—after Yule days begin to grow longer and longer until summer finally arrives. After midsummer, or Litha, the Sun begins to wane again. In the autumn the crops are harvested and with them, the Sun is also said to die.
Since women in these early farming villages were still busy having and caring for the children, the core essence of the Goddess didn’t change as much—however in Her role as the Fertile Earth, as Gaia, Rhea and Demeter, She may have become more important to agrarian society than she had been previously (as is evidence by the sheer number of chthonian Goddesses that are present in mythology, particularly from those cultures that sprang up around the Mediterranean Sea.)
We also usually see the Goddess associated with the Moon, because the monthly cycle of a woman’s body so often coincides with the waxing and waning of the lunar cycle. (The average length of a woman’s menstrual cycle is about 28 days; it takes the moon 27.3 days to orbit the Earth.) Likewise, we often see the Goddess associated with water, with the oceans whose tides are ruled by the moon’s pull.
As Above, So Below…
That which exists in the Macrocosm exists, on a smaller scale and to a lesser degree, in the Microcosm. The powers of the universe exist also in the human, though in general instance they lie dormant. The powers and abilities can be awakened and used if the proper techniques are practiced, and this is why initiates of the Mysteries are sworn to guard the secrets from the unworthy: Much harm can be done by those who have power without responsibility, both to others and to themselves according to the Laws of Cause and Effect and of Threefold Return.
(Basic Principles of the Craft ©1974 American Council of Witches)
Now, for clarity’s sake, I’m breaking any Oaths when I share the things I’ve shared with you so far (or will share in the remainder of this book). But let me also say that different Traditions, different individuals, are going to have wildly different notions and definitions for ‘unworthy’. I think it is clearly spelled out, however: the ‘unworthy’ are those who would hurt themselves and others by using their powers and abilities without exercising personal responsibility—without exercising good judgment or even good old fashioned common sense. Further, the real Great Mysteries of Wicca cannot be expressed in words or written about in books (either published works such as this one or hand copied tomes passed down from Gerald himself). The Great Mysteries must be experienced by the Witch. If you don’t do the work, you’re never going to get it.
So, to continue:
a) Since our philosophy teaches that the universe is the physical manifestation of the Divine, there can be nothing in the universe which does not partake of the nature of the Divine; hence, the powers and attributes of the Divine exist also in the manifest, though to much smaller degree.
In other words, this goes back to the animist philosophy we spoke of earlier. Nothing in the Universe is dead matter, everything is in some way connected to or partaking of the Nature of the Gods.
b) These powers can be awakened through the various techniques of the Mysteries, and, although they are only capable of small effects in and of themselves, it is possible to use them in order to draw upon the forces of the universe. Thus humanity can be the wielders of the power of the Gods, a channel for Godhead to act within It's own manifestation…
(Basic Principles of the Craft ©1974 American Council of Witches)
By learning what it is to be a Witch, by learning to speak to hear the Gods, we are able to harmonize with the forces of Nature. It is through this harmony that we tap into the very real human potential that lies within each of us.
In Conclusion...…
“The entire universe is but one vast symbol of God.”
Thomas Carlyle
So what we have in modern Wicca is a God of the Sky (Odin) and Sun (Belenus, Re, Apollo), often associated with storms (Zeus) or thunder (Thor). We have a vegetation God (Jack in the Green, John Barleycorn, Dionysus), and an Antlered Hunter, who is often associated with death (Herne, Arawn). The God is often of the dying and resurrecting type (Adonis, Tammuz/Dmuzi, Osiris, Dionysus, John Barlycorn.) We have a Goddess who is the Green Mother Earth (Gaia, Ops), the Mother of the Grain (Demeter), Mother of the People (Isis, Danu). She is a Moon Goddess (Diana, Selene), who is oft’ times associated with the sea (Aphrodite, Mara) or healing (Brigit/Brede), because healing is one of the attributes of Water (more about the Elements in Chapter ___.) She is a triple Goddess, Maiden, Mother and Crone; She is eternal and ever changing.
We also have Goddesses and Gods who defy that mold, Moon Gods, Fire Goddesses (Brigit is equally associated with Fire as with Water, Aine is likewise usually associated with the Sun, particularly as it blazes high above our heads on Midsummer’s day.) We have warrior Goddesses and pacifist Gods. We have Gods and Goddesses who bend gender rules and blur the lines of sexual orientation (Set, Loki—even Thor was caught in drag once!) And if you look into Roman mythology, you will find Gods in every office imaginable, from Cardea the Goddess of the door hinge to Deverra, the Goddess of brooms and sweeping.
Self Blessing
Bless me Lord and Lady, for I am Thy Child
Bless my mind, that seeks to know Thee
Bless my lips that I may speak Thy Sacred Names
Bless my heart, which is Thy Temple and Thy Shrine
Bless my breasts/chest formed in strength and in beauty
Bless my womb/phallus, without which we would not be
Bless my knees, which kneel at Thy sacred altar
Bless my feet, which have brought me to walk in Thy ways
Bless my hands, which are the instruments of Thy Work
Bless me Lord and Lady, for I am Thy Child.
................
“Have the courage to say no.
Have the courage to face the truth.
Do the right thing because it is right.
These are the magic keys to living
your life with integrity.”
W. Clement Stone
