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Author Topic: Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.  (Read 7548 times)

SatSekhem

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Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« on: April 08, 2012, 09:33:48 am »
We've all heard various aspects of what we "shouldn't" do when it comes to some of the less-frequented gods or goddesses. In regards to Sekhmet, blood offerings are  no-no because she'll... I don't know, get mad or something. (Someone recently told me that she ordered "all followers" not to give blood as an offering to her. Color me confused because I didn't get that memo, apparently.) The same can be said of other deities--obviously, I choose my patron to jump start this thread since I've been connecting with these glimpses a lot lately.

So, anyway. You have a patron that, maybe, isn't "well liked" in pagan paths for whatever reason. How do you handle the stigmas that are attached to your gods, even if they're misconceived?

Personally, I try very hard not to say anything. I understand that each path is entirely different from one another. However, there are times when I just feel like I need to :hdsk: myself through the evening because I just can't understand where other people get this stuff. I've finally come to the conclusion that, you know, blogging about it is a good idea. However, I've also decided that in so doing, I should probably wait until my irritation/anger wears off. There's not point in posting a "I AM BETTER THAN YOU" rant upon my blog.
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xmoonlitreveriex

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Re: Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2012, 09:51:25 am »
Quote from: SatSekhem;49293
We've all heard various aspects of what we "shouldn't" do when it comes to some of the less-frequented gods or goddesses. In regards to Sekhmet, blood offerings are  no-no because she'll... I don't know, get mad or something. (Someone recently told me that she ordered "all followers" not to give blood as an offering to her. Color me confused because I didn't get that memo, apparently.) The same can be said of other deities--obviously, I choose my patron to jump start this thread since I've been connecting with these glimpses a lot lately.

So, anyway. You have a patron that, maybe, isn't "well liked" in pagan paths for whatever reason. How do you handle the stigmas that are attached to your gods, even if they're misconceived?

Personally, I try very hard not to say anything. I understand that each path is entirely different from one another. However, there are times when I just feel like I need to :hdsk: myself through the evening because I just can't understand where other people get this stuff. I've finally come to the conclusion that, you know, blogging about it is a good idea. However, I've also decided that in so doing, I should probably wait until my irritation/anger wears off. There's not point in posting a "I AM BETTER THAN YOU" rant upon my blog.

 
What isn't controversial about my patron? haha

For the most part, I've had to learn to have a sense of humor regarding him. If he's not being treated as the root of all evil, he's the butt of some joke or another.
Then there's the whole fanbase due to his portrayal in the media, which kind of baffles me, but that's a whole 'nother issue.

I started off just blogging about the Lu that I had come to know and love. I knew that a few posts couldn't possibly erase all the misinformation about him out there, but it was a start. From there, I started actively participating in discussions with others who held these biased views about him, not to tell them they were wrong, but to try and get them to make up their own minds about him, free from the influence of others. All I offer is another perspective, and I can only hope that others will be receptive enough to at least consider my views.

Dragonfly68

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Re: Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2012, 10:15:19 am »
Quote from: SatSekhem;49293

For the most part, there are only a few that know who my patron is.  Those people I do talk to about, if they ask or something comes up relevant to him (Loki or my experiences with him).  But otherwise I tend not to say much.  I get the impression he doesn't care what they think, so I don't see any reason to get my blood boiling over people who are "afraid" of him.  

I'll admit, there are times I want to do the head thump, but then I remind myself they're not worth the bruise on my forehead. ;)  I don't know if it's a cop-out or not, I just don't care much any more.  I have to many other things to worry about. :)

Okay, no clue why the quote isn't showing up, it shows up when I try and edit, but not when I post.
« Last Edit: April 08, 2012, 03:27:53 pm by HeartShadow »

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Re: Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2012, 10:59:05 am »
Quote from: Dragonfly68;49301
Okay, no clue why the quote isn't showing up, it shows up when I try and edit, but not when I post.

 
You probably have the open quote and the close quote on the same line.  Just stick a return between 'em the next one and you'll be fine.
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SkySamuelle

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Re: Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2012, 11:28:00 am »
Quote from: SatSekhem;49293
We've all heard various aspects of what we "shouldn't" do when it comes to some of the less-frequented gods or goddesses. In regards to Sekhmet, blood offerings are  no-no because she'll... I don't know, get mad or something. (Someone recently told me that she ordered "all followers" not to give blood as an offering to her. Color me confused because I didn't get that memo, apparently.) The same can be said of other deities--obviously, I choose my patron to jump start this thread since I've been connecting with these glimpses a lot lately.

So, anyway. You have a patron that, maybe, isn't "well liked" in pagan paths for whatever reason. How do you handle the stigmas that are attached to your gods, even if they're misconceived?

Personally, I try very hard not to say anything. I understand that each path is entirely different from one another. However, there are times when I just feel like I need to :hdsk: myself through the evening because I just can't understand where other people get this stuff. I've finally come to the conclusion that, you know, blogging about it is a good idea. However, I've also decided that in so doing, I should probably wait until my irritation/anger wears off. There's not point in posting a "I AM BETTER THAN YOU" rant upon my blog.

 
Ghedes are not gods, but I was truly threw off a loop once I found whole a faction of 'traditional' vodouisant, including a Mambo (at least, she calld herself that, I have no way to know whether it was the truth or not, as it was an internet group) being ver loud and aggressive in their stating that it was IMPURE and AN ABOMNATION to even come close to vodou spirits and their altars during your monthly period because a mestruating woman is considered unclean.

Personally, I can guarantee and the spirits vodou I serve have no problem in voicing what they like and dislike about my service and they never failed to accept me or voiced any displeasure over my offerings of devotion during that time of the month.

Back to when I had to confront myself with that line of thinking, i was a bit startled at how adamant the radicals were about their opinions... i second guessed myself for a moment but in the end, I trust my straight-from-the-source info (and Snow's one, ahah)a lot more then I trust someone else traditional dogma.

I might have a slight problem with the Hekate-as-a-crone concept because I don't understand it, and I have not experienced it- it is also possible this image of Her disturbs me because it means looking at Her only in Her Chtonic aspect and therefore it is limitating but... I try to not be judgemental about it.

She might have Her reasons to come to others in that guise, and I might simply not be familiar with that aspect.
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Maps

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Re: Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2012, 01:26:00 pm »
Quote from: SatSekhem;49293
How do you handle the stigmas that are attached to your gods, even if they're misconceived?

 
Basically every Mesoamerican deity gets stuck with the blood, death, and violence thing; especially the Aztec ones. But at least with them, it's an understood thing. With the Maya, it's like "WHAT? I thought they were a bunch of peaceful stargazers? Well, I guess they didn't understand the universe as deeply as I thought. They're no better than those barbaric Aztecs. Harumph."

How do I handle it? Make it part of the whole and respect it, instead of obsessing over it or pretending that it's irrelevant. The real world is not all love, light, and woo-woo, and neither are its overseers. :P

Auress

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Re: Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2012, 01:46:37 pm »
Quote from: SatSekhem;49293
We've all heard various aspects of what we "shouldn't" do when it comes to some of the less-frequented gods or goddesses. In regards to Sekhmet, blood offerings are  no-no because she'll... I don't know, get mad or something. (Someone recently told me that she ordered "all followers" not to give blood as an offering to her. Color me confused because I didn't get that memo, apparently.) The same can be said of other deities--obviously, I choose my patron to jump start this thread since I've been connecting with these glimpses a lot lately.

So, anyway. You have a patron that, maybe, isn't "well liked" in pagan paths for whatever reason. How do you handle the stigmas that are attached to your gods, even if they're misconceived?

Personally, I try very hard not to say anything. I understand that each path is entirely different from one another. However, there are times when I just feel like I need to :hdsk: myself through the evening because I just can't understand where other people get this stuff. I've finally come to the conclusion that, you know, blogging about it is a good idea. However, I've also decided that in so doing, I should probably wait until my irritation/anger wears off. There's not point in posting a "I AM BETTER THAN YOU" rant upon my blog.


I once asked about Aztec Gods on another forum I frequented on paganism. Immediately, I got talked DOWN to like some 5 year old because I was "dabbling in places you shouldn't when seeking the Gods". I was told that I should never look to having any of the central American Gods (Mayan, Incan, Aztec) as patrons because they were ruthless, bloodthirsty hellhounds and would enslave me and send me straight to the depths of the demon world.

Naturally, once I could stop laughing long enough to catch my breath, I stopped going to that forum.

I know we have a few here who do have patrons from those pantheons who are probably snorting and spitting coffee on their monitors right now. While I admit that those Gods are some of the darker variety in many ways, the demon world thing just got me.

I actually have always sought to have patrons that no one else has. I don't know why.

Darkhawk

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Re: Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2012, 02:00:37 pm »
Quote from: SatSekhem;49293

So, anyway. You have a patron that, maybe, isn't "well liked" in pagan paths for whatever reason. How do you handle the stigmas that are attached to your gods, even if they're misconceived?

 
Mostly, I laugh.

I'm a Setian.  Neb.y is kind of the go-to god for people who want to point at Someone as proof that some Powers are Just Plain Bad (but who don't want to legitimise Christianity by talking about Satan).  "God of murder" is one of those things that comes up occasionally; sometimes it's "God of evil" instead.

(Though my favorite was talking to another pagan, mentioning that I worked with Big Red, and getting the response, "Oh, he's not so bad."  As if it were a badassier-than-thou contest.)

Some people actually understand enough polytheistic theology to figure out that the Powers are complex entities, overall, but those people tend not to make this sort of comment a lot.

Though sometimes I have gotten the back-away-slowly response from other Kemetics, even.

But, well.

It's funny.

I mean, to avoid a Power so vehemently is a sign of fear.  And He's a god of win-win scenarios:  if you fear enough to knuckle under, then He is triumphant because He has defeated you; if, alternately, you are strong enough to stand up for yourself, well, that means that there's someone else who has embraced their awesome in the world, and He marks that as a win too.

I suspect Himself would put it something like, "Fear is how we measure ourselves.  It's good for them to recognise when they just don't measure up."

I try to be a bit less of an ass about it than He is. ;)
« Last Edit: April 08, 2012, 02:01:08 pm by Darkhawk »
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Aster Breo

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Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« Reply #8 on: April 08, 2012, 04:17:33 pm »
Quote from: SatSekhem;49293
You have a patron that, maybe, isn't "well liked" in pagan paths for whatever reason. How do you handle the stigmas that are attached to your gods, even if they're misconceived?


I sort of have the opposite situation, since I'm dedicated to Brighid, who is one of the better known and more popular deities, from what I can tell.  So I sometimes run across the attitude that I've kinda "copped out" and picked an "easy" goddess.  It seems bizarre to me, but there's a kind of stigma based on some weird idea that Brighid is all flowers and kittens.  Hah!

I mean, She is relatively gentle, caring, and nurturing, in general.  But that doesn't mean it's not difficult to do Her work.

Plus, there are all sorts of ideas about Her that appear to be pretty common, but that don't match my personal understanding of Her.

Mostly, I just ignore the people who dis me for being dedicated to Brighid.  I don't particularly care about what anyone else thinks about my path or my goddess.

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Lokabrenna

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Re: Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« Reply #9 on: April 08, 2012, 06:01:39 pm »
Quote from: SatSekhem;49293

So, anyway. You have a patron that, maybe, isn't "well liked" in pagan paths for whatever reason. How do you handle the stigmas that are attached to your gods, even if they're misconceived?

 
I've been reconsidering my attitude towards Loki recently since I've been hanging out with some Lokeans on Facebook (to say he isn't "well liked" is the understatement of the millennium). They're some of the most intelligent, well-spoken people I have ever "met" on the Internet, and they're capable of having civil discussions without having the conversation devolve into a shouting match (kind of like TC).

I guess my thoughts on the matter is that I respect that some (read: a lot of people) don't like him, and have their reasons for not liking him, but that sort of attitude is not going to be tolerated in any of the FB groups I own. For the most part, I really don't give a shit. I just do my own thing and everyone else can take a piss in the wind if they don't like it.

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Re: Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« Reply #10 on: April 09, 2012, 03:20:10 am »
Quote from: SatSekhem;49293
So, anyway. You have a patron that, maybe, isn't "well liked" in pagan paths for whatever reason. How do you handle the stigmas that are attached to your gods, even if they're misconceived?

 
Honestly, mostly I just get people assuming that because I'm Lilith's, I'll be sexually available to them.  It came to a point at Pantheacon, and I had to remind someone firmly that there is also a clause about finding the company unpalatable and peacing the hell out.  And then remind again with pushing.
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Re: Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« Reply #11 on: April 09, 2012, 08:38:29 am »
Quote from: SatSekhem;49293


So, anyway. You have a patron that, maybe, isn't "well liked" in pagan paths for whatever reason. How do you handle the stigmas that are attached to your gods, even if they're misconceived?


 
I just  don't tend to make public "my" deities. I don't see that it has anything to do with anyone else.

If someone does know and has an issue with it then I see it as their problem rather than mine and don't  rise to the bait ( well mostly!).

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Re: Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« Reply #12 on: April 09, 2012, 09:52:36 am »
Quote from: SkySamuelle;49306
Ghedes are not gods, but I was truly threw off a loop once I found whole a faction of 'traditional' vodouisant, including a Mambo (at least, she calld herself that, I have no way to know whether it was the truth or not, as it was an internet group) being ver loud and aggressive in their stating that it was IMPURE and AN ABOMNATION to even come close to vodou spirits and their altars during your monthly period because a mestruating woman is considered unclean.

 
You know, I read somewhere recently that there's no clear path as to where the menstruation taboo stems from since it is often seen as a powerful addition to spells of protection and creation. So, there's that. (I have to wonder if the Mambo in question is the had of the KO...)
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SatSekhem

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Re: Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« Reply #13 on: April 09, 2012, 09:54:23 am »
Quote from: Aster Breo;49329
I sort of have the opposite situation, since I'm dedicated to Brighid, who is one of the better known and more popular deities, from what I can tell.  So I sometimes run across the attitude that I've kinda "copped out" and picked an "easy" goddess.  It seems bizarre to me, but there's a kind of stigma based on some weird idea that Brighid is all flowers and kittens.  Hah!

I mean, She is relatively gentle, caring, and nurturing, in general.  But that doesn't mean it's not difficult to do Her work.

Plus, there are all sorts of ideas about Her that appear to be pretty common, but that don't match my personal understanding of Her.

Mostly, I just ignore the people who dis me for being dedicated to Brighid.  I don't particularly care about what anyone else thinks about my path or my goddess.

~ Aster



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I'll admit: I think of Brighid as a pretty popular goddess. However, I think of her in relation to writing (because of Morag) as well as kittens and flowers. I think there might be some gold in there and fire (because of the flame keeping, I think) but that's about it. I never thought about stigmas attached to the more popular gods before...

Brain fully in thought mode now!
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Re: Stigmas Attached to Your Gods.
« Reply #14 on: April 09, 2012, 10:24:55 am »
Quote from: SatSekhem;49293


So, anyway. You have a patron that, maybe, isn't "well liked" in pagan paths for whatever reason. How do you handle the stigmas that are attached to your gods, even if they're misconceived?

 
It depends.

Sometimes, people have stigmas that they don't understand. To this day, I still get emails asking if it's okay to offer Set water. There was a mishap with a KO gathering, apparently, and Set didn't like the water offering. Suddenly, water was a no-no for him, even though there is a long history of offering water in AE. The same goes for the idea that you can't offer sand to Osiris (sand was a purifier in AE) all because sand belongs to the desert, aka Set. And you know, Set and Osiris can't stand one another (which is why I lock them up in a wooden box together, totally). If I get an email from someone who genuinely wants to know if this is correct or not, I take some time to help them understand how this idea came to be, and my experiences with it.


If it's just someone who is trying to stir my pot, I tend to ignore it. I have a friend who has given me a two response rule. If it looks like they aren't getting it after two responses, I should walk away- and that's sorta what I've come to work with. You can't change everyone's minds. Not everyone wants to exchange ideas, or have their thoughts/worldview altered. It happens.

While I'm not always good at walking away, I tend to try to. Because really, what good does it do to get into a fight with someone who is the equivalent of a 5 year old.

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