Continuing some thoughts on Diety and Service
In my previous post about Deity and service I got some comments and they got me thinking further about some of what I was exploring in that last post. One commenter, in particular, asked for some defintions.
1. Define Deity
I define a Deity as a pan-dimensional being that has its own existence, and lives on a different plane than this one. Deities can exist independent of people and they have their own power, but I also think that people provide the deity some of its power, and to a degree define it. The power is provided by the belief the people have in the deity. If people don’t believe, the deity doesn’t have as much power, as it would have if people believed in it. The deity is also partially defined by people, in terms of the sphere of influence or the meanings people provide it. Those meanings provide the deity power, but as I mentioned earlier they can also , to a degree limit the deity, because they also define where the deity exerts its power. A diety of love, for instance, doesn’t really have much influence over a battle. A good example would be where aphrodite gets wounded when she goes out into the battlefield…it’s not her place, not her realm of influence. She has power, but war isn’t included in that power. Another interesting aspect to this is that while deities have power, the methods for how they use that power, as it applies to this plane of reality may involve the worshippers they have. Those worshippers are physical vehicles…they exist here…they enable the deity to influence events more directly than they might be able to otherwise…in shore the deities may need worshippers as a way of effecting reality…of course they also give benefits to their worshippers.
Now, I also think a deity can grow…one reason deities may have worshippers is to be able to not only have a pair of helping hands in the physical world, but also to be able to learn from the experiences people have here. They partake of those experiences vicariously. Invocation is a good example. you invoke a god and get possessed for a while so the god can use your body, but also experience this reality more directly.
Maybe the experiences deities get from people is what helps them grow and refine their power and even their existence…something to consider…and again this brings up the questions of identity I mentioned in the last post, both for the people involved and the deity.
2. Define “service”
In the context of the deity-human relationship, I think service occurs on both ends. The worshipper agrees to believe in the deity, agrees to serve the deity by performing tasks for the deity, and even letting the deity have access to hir, via invocation. At the same time, the deity serves the person. The person seeks the deity, because the deity represents access to some deep meanings. A deity of lust for instance provides access to the deepest layers of desire a person may have. The deity provides a medium or interface to access those deepest layers. The person needs to experience those layers, and the deity provides that opportunity. The diety may also provide the person much needed lessons or discipline or other experiences that help that person come to peace with what the deity represents. It seems odd to me that, in fact, this facet of the deity-human relationship is rarely examined, as if people should not get anything out of the experiences they have with deity.
3. Define “Conditions of Service”
This falls back to number two. From my own experiences conditions of service seems to vary from deity to deity. Some deities want a one-time offering, others want more sustained work. My service to Babalon for instance is of a more sustained type. Conditions can change as well. Both the person and deity are living and the relationship that is had also changes. Likewise I think at least some conditions change as that relationship changes YMMV.
4. Is a fish more “powerful” than an anteater?
Depends on the context…and in fact this question admirably applies to what has been discussed. Is a human more powerful than a deity? Certainly not in the native environment of the deity (The human might not even be able to exist in that environment). In Malkuth, it’s not so much more powerful, as a human has a type of power here that the deity may not have, which could be a good reason for the deity to want to have worshippers. Some might consider this blasphemous, but I think the following questions should be considered in some depth by people dedicating themselves to deities: Why does the deity choose me to interact with? What am I providing it, that it can’t get otherwise? What can I learn from this experience?
Asking and answering these questions can help us understand the effect of deity on our own identites, as well as on how we live our lives. It may help us consider as well, what we hope to learn from our experiences with the deity. finally, it may explain why some people sometimes stop working with particular deities…perhaps they learned the lessons they needed to learn…perhaps the deity learned what it needed to learn.
Great entry Taylor. This really delves into the theology of paganism, in a way that I have rarely encountered in my readings and study. Kudos to you for going into this. I have my own similar opinions about gods and goddesses, that I am continuing to develop, and this helps.
I tend to think of deities as expressions of implicate order. I believe that any pattern can be viewed as an intelligence, can be personified, and under the right circumstances, can communicate. I think the sum of everything and nothing through all space and time seen as a single intelligent entity could be viewed as the godhead. It is immanent, omnipresent, omniscient, and includes us. If you view a particular slice of the universe (say, all plant-life, or everything regarding finance) and personify it, you get a deity — a representation of a particular band of the universal spectrum. Of course, the part we generally perceive is only the astral (or Yetziratic, in Qabbalistic terms) image of the underlying reality, but this is necessary if you want to encounter something you can talk to the way we talk to each other.
Thank you Sara.
Bill: I actually have a similar view of the universe as a singular entity that is comprised off all things and nothing. I like your definition here.
[...] My perspective on the Divine is very similar to this, written up by my husband. It’s a more egalitarian perspective, and it more accurately reflects the relationships I’ve had with both deities and spirits/totems over the years. Granted, I also haven’t been a practicing shaman over that time, so that probably affects my perspective. [...]
Asking Questions is Serious Business! « Therioshamanism said this on January 24, 2008 at 9:13 pm |
What of the possibility that the concept of deities came about due to humankind’s urge–as primates–to look up to an alpha figure?
My goal is simply to question here, and not to invalidate. I’m still exploring my own thoughts on spirituality, and where I stand.
~Tenshi
I’ve never been quite able to swallow the idea of deity worship(not to be confused with the Source) because I think of them as being parts of our potential selves and this does include the supernatural ‘qualities’. We can aspect them or work with them to familiarize ourselves with certain qualities/abilities in ourselves, but when it all comes down to it, we’re all one, and they’re really not separate from us at all. They’re not better or less than us; they’re not more free or limited; when we serve them, we are ultimately serving ourselves. Any energy we give to them, we are giving to other parts of ourselves, so really, it’s more of an energy exchange/flow than the illusion of separateness. I imagine the symbol for infinity – a sideways 8… actually an infinite number of infinity symbols , with energy flowing between the “entities” on each end of the symbol, whether the entities be spirit, deity, sigil, animal, other people… when we’re experiencing tension with someone, we need only imagine their energy flowing into us along the pattern of this symbol, going through our body and back out, flowing through their body similarly and back through our body until any negative feelings subside and we remember we’re not separate. While many people may look to certain deities for certain qualities, does that mean the deity can’t be more or less than the traits normally assigned to them? If we create our own ‘personal’ deities, are they any more or less powerful than well-known deities, in the grand scheme?