The gods are many!

I was asked (well, more told really) to write a short statement outlining some of the basics of the teachings I’ve been working on for the last 2 years.

What I am trying to teach is that each of us (human, other than human, etc.) should seek to understand the universe around us, which includes our own selves, by seeing how it is made up of a myriad of individual elements connected in a vast network. By acknowledging both connection and individuality, we can achieve some understanding of the nature of reality. By finding, strengthening and celebrating our connections we increase our knowledge of self and universe.

A central tenet of my teachings is the knowledge that the universe, all of reality, is diverse and individual. All things exist in multiple forms, through multiple times and realities. And at heart they exist as themselves. There are connections between all things, though not always directly or strongly. Those connections are a part of us and our universe, but they do not negate the individuality of the elements within reality.

A key element of understanding this knowledge of the nature of the universe is understanding that spiritual entities – deities, spirits, ancestors, etc. – are discrete individuals. These individuals deserve, and are owed, recognition as discrete entities with their own lives, interests and personalities. They also deserve to be related to as individuals. They are important parts of the universe, especially for humans who societies have always been intertwined with visions and concepts of the deific forces of the universe. So our relationships with them, our connections to them, are important for us to know and acknowledge.

Each human person is also an individual. Each of us is simply ourselves. Or rather, what each of us should aspire to is being fully and completely ourselves. A key point in that process is to learn and embrace our connections to the universe around us. Learning to recognize and strengthen our energetic connections to the other-than-human enables us to learn ourselves. To truly engage with the spiritual forces in our universe, to find the place at which we join to those around us, requires us to find the truth of ourselves. If we are aware of who we are, the lines and relationships to others are more visible and reachable. By knowing who we are, we can engage more directly with the other than human, and with the human.

Knowledge of these basic facts provides an individual with an awareness of the diversity and individuality of the universe surrounding us. The universe is so diverse that it requires us to take notice of the differences and similarities between all things. We are all human, all part of one massive group of beings. But we are different from each other, we are individuals. We can look at the distinct elements of different cultures, religions, regions, etc. as well as the differences between individuals.

Looking to differences, to diversity, does not mean being divisive. By seeing how we differ we can see how much stronger our lives, and our societies, are when we have diverse elements throughout our worlds. Living in a purely homogeneous world, besides being absolutely impossible, would mean stagnation and failure. Our diversity is a central strength of being human.

What I try to teach is an awareness of the self as an individual entity within a vast, complex universe. Being an individual means being connected to all else. No thing or being stands on it’s own. Everything is linked through a network of energies that connects us and strengthens our individuality and union. We are not all one, we are not all equal parts of some vast web or gem. We are individuals who exist within a network of connections of energy and care. Each connection is unique to the ones who share it. Some are stronger, some weaker. No part of the universe is exactly like another and none is more valuable or more necessary than any other.

By learning who we are we open the door to those others who have connection to us. By learning and growing those connections, we learn more about who we are. And the cycle continues. So I teach ways to live within a multiplicitous universe, always seeking to know ourselves better so that we strengthen our connections to all around us and grow ourselves towards the goal of being fully aware members of the universe. When we begin to know the shape of the others around us we begin to see the shape of the universe and we are able to know more, feel more and be more.

This, of course, is not the whole of what I seek to teach. It’s just a simplified statement of the basics. I’ll write more later and I hope to begin lecturing again laster this year.

We have to accept that the reality of lived polytheism is complex and often a bit confusing.

I’m asked pretty frequently how my idea of deity as individual accounts for ideas of 2 different names for the same deity. “If Diana and Artemis are the same goddess, doesn’t that mean deity isn’t always individual?” This is a valid question, but it confuses name with person.

A name can change with time and growth. Most of us have more than one name we use regularly (nicknames, legal names, formal names, etc.). Imagine you go to a party that two of your friends are attending. When you meet the first she calls you by your nickname. The other runs into you later and refers to you using your surname. You are still you even though each of them uses a different name for you. While you as a person have changed with time and circumstances, there is a specific continuityof identity that is notalwayts matched by the names attahced to the reality of your existence.

This situation can be applied to deity as well. In some cases we do have 2 names for one individual deity. In other situatiuons scholars have decided 2 deities are the same person with 2 names, when in fact they are 2 separate individuals with one name each. To understand this better, think about the people you know. Some of them have markedly different personas in different social arenas. Sometimes it is hard to recognize a person in work apparel and persona when we only know them from religious occasions and social gatherings. As I heard someone say recently, “I didn’t even know he wore shirts. I’d never seen him in one.” If human persons can vary so greatly depending on situation, how much more so might a deity, who exists after all in more dimensions then we are normally aware of.

The deities we  know as Artemis and Diana might indeed be one person. Equally, they might be 2 different people who  just look a lot alike (I’m always getting told I look exactly like someone else, and its never the same someone else). I can’t say for sure because I don’t know either of them well enough to be positive. I tend to think of them as 2 different people with similar interests, but I’m fully prepared to be wrong on that.

And that, I think, is the heart of dealing with the confusing complexity of polytheism. Personal relationships are our key. They open the door to understanding and some level of knowledge. Using the knowledge we gain through relationships with deities, we can make judgments on things like what name goes with who. We might get it wrong, but we have a sound basis for making judgments.

Let’s continue our analogy with inter-human relationships. Most of us know a lot of people in a general way, a smaller number in a closer way and a very few in such a deep way that we perceive ourselves as understanding them well. Now, if that is the state of our relationships with other humans, how is it surprising that we can only really know a tiny number of deities. It takes time and effort to understand another person, be they human or other than human.

If you are very lucky, you have the time to develop the skills to interact with deities outside of ritual, journey or meditation. In that case you have more chances to interact with and get to know a deity. If you don’t have those skills your relationships with deities will only develop while you are in specific situations designed to put you in touch with deity. Just as if you only saw other humans on certain occasions, your relationship will take longer to deepen and develop in most cases. So it is understandable that we don’t all have immediate knowledge of the nature of all deities. We can’t even expect to have full knowledge of every deity we encounter directly.