The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

Assuming most of you weren't born into the religion your currently practice, how did you find your gods? Was it a long thought, heavily researched decision, or just a logical "what else?" If you are eclectic, how do you juggle systems of deities from so many different cultures?

 
I quite recently converted to Hellenismos after almost 12 years of practicing Eclectic Religious Witchcraft. I could write a 50 page essay on the subject but I'll refer you to my blog (as listed in signature) for the base of it.

When I was still Eclectic, I chose to honor and worship those Gods and Goddesses that spoke to me. Save one, they were all from the Greek pantheon. I eventually realized I felt like I was offending the Gods by forcing them in a Neo-Wiccanish framework and eventually took the steps necessary to convert to Hellenismos, which took no effort at all and has been a revelation.

It feels like I've been Hellenic for years but in truth, it's only been about a week. Like I said, more on my blog.

After that, I got pulled into the Kemetic religion and fell in love with the pantheon despite my reservations.

I've felt a pull from Athena and Zeus several times in the past six months and Hellenic reconstructionism interests me but, to be honest, I'm a one pantheon kind of gal and I can no longer see fitting into another religion.

 Have you heard of Neos Alexandria?  It's a Egyptian/Hellenic syncretist group.  http://www.neosalexandria.org/

Have you heard of Neos Alexandria?  It's a Egyptian/Hellenic syncretist group.  http://www.neosalexandria.org/

 
I have heard of it, even though I forgot it existed. The problem is I don't want to stray out of the Kemetic pantheon right now. Maybe someday.

Assuming most of you weren't born into the religion your currently practice, how did you find your gods? Was it a long thought, heavily researched decision, or just a logical "what else?" If you are eclectic, how do you juggle systems of deities from so many different cultures?

 
Although I wasn't raised in my current religion, I still stumbled onto it early - I was looking up information at 13/14, was comfortably calling myself pagan at 14/15, and was called by Brighid at 16 and the horned guy at 17 (I'm 24 now). I also had experiences with Coyote when I was even younger, though I kept telling him to take a hike until a few years ago.

Because I was so young at the time, 'finding' my gods involved some amount of research (I've always been a nerd) but also a fair amount of stumbling around in the dark until I bumped into the right things. Being called by two gods (and bothered by a third) also made a difference - I would have probably focused more on research to start with if nobody had smacked me upside the head, but because I was I started with the smack and then moved onto the research.

So, to answer you: a little bit of research, some pure bumbling luck, and being godbothered.

Also, since the two gods I belong to (Brighid and the horned guy) come from the same area (if not the same pantheon, since 7 years later I still don't know the horned guy's name), I don't have too much juggling to do. I'm eclectic, but it's an eclecticism firmly based in Celtic research.

Coyote is another thing entirely - I don't exactly worship or work with or belong to him, he's just there. I've done a lot of research about him, but because of the nature of our relationship and because I don't want to appropriate the cultures he's associated with, what offerings I give him/what work I do with him involves a lot of UPG. I don't find that his involvement in my life means I have to juggle that with my dedication to Brighid and the horned guy, in any case. It's a separate issue.

I also work with Persephone but, again, I don't feel like it involves having to weight working with her vs working with my other gods. My relationship with her a purely working relationship - I give her offerings and do her work, she teaches me what I need to learn, and at the end of it we'll go our separate ways. Again - lots of research, a good dash of UPG, but because my relationship is with her (and is very specific), I don't feel the need to weigh the Hellenic worldview vs the Celtic one, or other issues that might come up if my patrons were from two very different pantheons.

(I hope all that made sense, I'm running on zero energy and way too many days of work in a row.)

Assuming most of you weren't born into the religion your currently practice, how did you find your gods? Was it a long thought, heavily researched decision, or just a logical "what else?"

Much thought, heavy research, and hard decisions.

I approached the culture and anthropology from a completely irreligious perspective more than 2 years ago, while studying for my graphic novel. Last summer it just kind of hit me-- I was craving religious again, after stepping away from what I called "Wicca" several years prior, and was looking into actual Wicca again because that's what I was familiar with. Nothing stuck, so I branched out a bit into ceremonial magic and esotericism, and that didn't stick either. But hey, here I was, studying the heck out of Mesoamerican art and falling head over heels for it.

Maybe, just maybe...?

So I pretty much said "f--- it", and dove in. Learned the gods, the absolute most rudimentary of basics about the religion, picked someone that caught my eye, and said a prayer one night. A LOT has happened since then though, as well as some pretty amazing two-way interaction, as well as a little direction on how to property observe them because a lot has just simply been lost to time and the conquest.

Since then I've found that in addition to zeroing in on a pantheon, I've had to figure out what time period and geographical region to focus on as well, otherwise it gets as complicated and overwhelming as trying to worship all the incarnations of the Greek gods from every island and every era. I think I'm settling down into the Late Classic, lowland, Northern Yucatan style of religion (Mayapan/Puuc regions), as it also has some syncretism with Aztec religious elements--Nahua spiritual thought fills in some of those gaps in my practice.

Shit be complicated, yo.

 
I went with ethos and fundamental metaphysical system and then asked the various Powers if they came from that town.

Assuming most of you weren't born into the religion your currently practice, how did you find your gods?

Athena found me and the Greek pantheon came with her. However, this was not an immediate thing, I was a "seeker" for years before this happened.