Because I’ve been talking a lot over the past week or two about the various deities, you’re probably assuming that paganism is a polytheistic religion that worships many different gods.
Well . . . yes and no. Although some pagans—including many druids—insist that each and every deity from each and every culture is a unique entity, many pagans consider all deities to be aspects of just two: the God and the Goddess.
And in case you’re thinking, “Well, dummy, that’s still more than one deity, so pagans are polytheistic,” there’s a little more to it, smarty pants: Most pagans believe that the God and the Goddess are themselves just aspects of one unified “Spirit”—the source of all energy, all deities, and all of us.
A triangle is a good way to represent this idea. At the bottom are the God and Goddess, but at the top, where they come together, is Spirit. Together, they create something that can be compared to the Holy Trinity of Christianity or Hinduism’s “Big Three.” See my fabulous illustration below (and please try to ignore the strange-looking drawing in the center, since this was the only triangle graphic I could find that was both free and able to stand upright):
Spirit
Goddess God
So, if most pagans believe there is just one divine source, why do they bother dividing that source into various deities, or even just a God and a Goddess? It’s kind of a human nature thing. As pagan writer Silver RavenWolf explains, “Because it is hard to connect in times of trial with a ‘source,’ we’ve divided it into the Lord and the Lady—male and female.”
I don’t know about you, but that makes perfect sense to me. In fact, I like it even better that, besides having both a male and a female deity, there’s also more than just a generic “Lord” and “Lady.” We have the option to choose specific “personalities” to worship, like good old Ganesha and my new friend, Sarasvati. It makes religion—I don’t know—friendlier.
Instead of being about fear of retribution from some angry, faceless God on high, religion is suddenly about communication, support, and working together. And that’s kind of how everything should be, isn’t it? Being able to see God (and the Goddess) in any way you like almost makes religion fun—not the weekly chore I dreaded throughout my youth.
So, who are the God and Goddess—I mean, in general, not in their multifaceted aspects?
Although there’s a trend in some pagan circles—particularly certain schools of Wiccan thought—to relegate the God to a lesser position (perhaps as a reaction to eons of discrimination against women in the organized religions), in theory, the God is the equal of the Goddess.
As Scott Cunningham writes, “The God . . . is neither the stern, all-powerful deity of Christianity and Judaism, nor is he simply the consort of the Goddess. God or Goddess, they are equal, one.”
The God takes many forms, many of which come from nature (surprise!). Unlike the “formless,” all-spirit God that is so common in many monotheistic traditions, the pagan God represents both the spiritual and the material worlds—both of which are viewed as important for human beings. Carl McColman explains, “The God may be a spiritual being, but he comes to us in many physical ways: as the Green Man, the Horned One, the Lord of the Forest and the Animals. . . .”
The God is seen as not only the partner and lover of the Goddess but also as her son. This might sound strange—that the Goddess is giving birth to a child who fathers himself—but when you remember that “all Gods are one God and all Goddesses are one Goddess,” it makes a little more sense. Maybe.
And what about the Goddess? She is the Earth itself, the Great Mother, the source of all wisdom and fertility, a symbol of motherly love, and also the Queen of the Universe.
Although many historians dispute it, some pagans believe that ancient societies worshipped a single great Mother Goddess, rather than a male God (of course this is denied by scholars—God forbid a woman should ever have any power! And yes, the pun is intended).
Because pagans don’t believe in any sort of “devil” or figure who represents pure evil, the Goddess (and the God, too, for that matter) has both dark and light aspects. While she bestows humanity with the gift of life, the Goddess also brings death. She is both a creator and a destroyer. Just think back to Kali, from the Hindu pantheon, and you’ll get an idea of how intimidating the Goddess’s dark side can be.
One of the most fascinating things about the Goddess is how she is not just part of a trinity (forming Spirit with the God), but is actually a trinity herself—the Triple Goddess. Unfortunately, my hands are cramping up, so we’ll have to talk more about that tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment