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Aspects or Entities?

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  • 09-11-2006 5:22am
    #1
    Shiminay
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 28,633 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    I've very recently taken some (small) steps into learning more about earth based spirituality and I'm having stress getting my head around the existence of different gods and godesses. The idea that there is a sacred/divine masculine and femine entity makes a hell of a lot of sense to me, infact it comforts me :) I really wish I'd done some of the reading I've been doing recently about 10 or 12 years ago when I could really have done with it (damn church musician mother and her enforced Catholic ways).

    I'm trying to digest how you can have many differing "personalities" if you take my meaning. There are many different lists of gods and godesses from all the pantheons across the globe and whilst "choosing" isn't concerning me (I'm sure they'll make themselves known when the time's right), having so many differing variations to represent the same thing is. Do people consider the various differing deities as aspects of the divine male/female or as seperate entities/individuals in their own right. If so, are these individuals part of a collective of power or am I just going to have to accept that there're tons of gods and stop worrying about it as they'll be giving me enough to worry about? :D

    Of course, I'm not so much looking for direct answers, just some of your ideas as to how I can wrap my brain around this idea. It's baffling me tbh.

    I was going to post this in Paganism, but someone suggested I post here for a more complete set of answers (which I think is just what I'm after).


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    #2
    joseph dawton
    Registered Users Posts: 195 ✭✭joseph dawton


    that's an interesting topic. Some (neo)pagans are very definite about pantheism and may devote themselves to a particular God. Arguements rage about whether these are simply aspects of the one or individual dieties in their own very real sense. An issue almost guaranted to raise tempers!

    Personally I tend to lean towards the former view. I think that all the religions of the world are relating to the same source but from different angles - I would see pantheism as similar but subdividing again at a lower level. I can't see how it can be any other way, otherwise one group is right about the existence of God/Gods and everyone else is worshipping false idols! That's not to say that these 'aspects' do not really exist or that they have no power, they clearly do.

    I like the idea that God is all things to all people, the face of God/the Gods changes to suit the times and cultures of the peoples of the world in a way that best fosters a connection, the down side is that rather than cross-polination and mutual understanding there has been a long history of conflict and ignorance and imposition, which itself contradicts the core values of most of these religions.

    www.electricpublications.com


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