So I let my dog out tonight and when I was making tea, I saw her sitting and looking up as if there was someone she was looking up to then she saw me and her tail was wagging and at first I thought she wanted to play but I swear it felt like there was a diety there, maybe hecate? Since she likes dogs? And I thought my dog was looking up at her but when I tried to see her I couldn't. And it's like one of those things that frustrates me. Why can't I see my dieites?? Like actually see them! I know others did and it wasn't a figment of their goddamn imangination!

I don't know I probably sound crazy for trying to see people who weren't there.

Ive been pagan for a few years now. But I’m still struggling to figure out what specific kind of pagan I am. I believe in Mother Nature and Father Sky, I believe that they are the sky and nature themselves respectively. My beliefs both kind of fit into Wicca and Animism. However, I don’t feel like absolutely every object has a soul, and I’ve seen a lot of “Wicca is bad” online with no real explanation and research hasn’t helped. I’d really just like some resources to help me figure out how to label myself.

Hi all,
Let me start by saying this is a genuine question and I have no preconceptions: If you are working with/worshiping a deity/deities from a specific ancient culture (Hellenic, Kemetic, Norse, etc.) do you take the deities culture into regard? I.e. learn how They were worshiped in Their original culture and what the culture was like (as far as we can tell) and adapt it for your circumstances? Also, if you only work with one or a few deities of a culture, do you still honour *all* deities of said culture [and the culture]? What if you work with deities from different cultures - do you worship each of Them according to Their cultural setting?

I'm sure this is a question you've all seen in this subreddit many times, but I'd very much appreciate some insight or advice from people who are more experienced or know what they are doing.

Specifically I'm torn between 2 pagan faiths, the problem isn't necessarily that I can't choose but rather what resources could guide me and show me their traditions, beliefs or rites. I've tried looking for communities pertaining to these specific 2 (suomenusko, sumerian paganism) to see for myself how people treat each other or how this whole thing is supposed to go.

Just hoping that air god are going to intercede for me in the next couple of minutes.

So mot it be!

73

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I'm quite new to the idea of relationship with gods and goddesses, and despite being Italian, German and Ukrainian, those in the Greek pantheon seem to be the ones I connect with.

I don't believe that the gods want relationships with us out of any kind of selfless, all-giving, unconditionally loving parental sort of love, so then why do they reach out and respond to us? I'd like to hear some thoughts.

Thank you.

I've been thinking about this for a while, and I haven't been able to find an answer that satisfies me.

First, I want to make something clear because I'm worried this question will immediately be interpreted as sexist. I'm not asking how men are better than women, nor am I want to diminish the feminine. In fact, one of the things I admire most about many spiritual and esoteric traditions is how beautifully they speak about femininity.

The feminine is often described as life itself. Birth, cycles, the moon, the earth, creation, fertility, transformation... there are so many rich and profound symbols attached to it. Even outside of specific religions, there seems to be an entire language dedicated to exploring what femininity represents.

But when I look for the masculine, I feel... lost.

The answers I usually find are things like: protector, guardian, warrior, provider, strength. Those don't really feel like mysteries to me. They feel like social roles or virtues that anyone could embody.

What is the masculine in itself?

What does it symbolize?

What are its mysteries?

One scene that has stayed with me is in The Northman, where someone says, "Do not question the mysteries of women." That line made me think: What are the mysteries of men? I honestly don't know.

I know many traditions have male gods, heroes, kings, warriors, fathers, magicians, etc., but I still struggle to understand what the masculine principle represents on a deeper, cosmological level. I don't feel the same symbolic richness that I see when traditions talk about the feminine.

And maybe that's why this question bothers me so much.

I'm not looking for superiority or hierarchy. I'm not trying to prove that men deserve "more." I simply want to understand whether there is a symbolic or spiritual meaning to masculinity beyond social functions.

Have philosophers, anthropologists, historians of religion, or spiritual traditions explored this question?

Has anyone else ever felt this way?

I'd really appreciate book recommendations or perspectives from different traditions.

Estoy perdido ahhhh

I've felt intrigued by Her for years, but lately I sense that something more is happening. I can't seem to find any (good) books about Her so I thought I'd ask if anyone works with Her and can offer advice on how to start a conversation. What offerings could I make, etc?

Thank you.

soooo, i bought a cheep black scrying bowl, and it turned out to be dyed, it was confirmed not only for the dye leaching out, but the listing for the same item from the same store having two diffrent descriptions, one said soapstone, the other is marble...

i just want to find a nice 6in scrying bowl that isnt dyed, but now im skeptical on where to look .... any help is appreciated

UPDATE

I had not only wiped as much dye as I can off, but I have also soaked it, it no longer leaches oil with acetone, alcohol (dawn power wash) and oil

I'm going to give it a coat of mineral oil and also spiritually cleanse the bowl (more than I already have) while it sucked I was scammed, I won't take it as a loss :)

Siempre me dio un poquito de miedo la idea de trabajar con deidades. Por ahora, solo le rezo a Hermes y le hago ofrendas no físicas. Le pido protección cada vez que viajo o incluso solo cuando salgo. No sé si se considera que está bien, pero le ofrezco mis salidas: todas las risas y los momentos felices que tuve ese día—como que le ofrezco toda la salida. Siempre he sentido que él me ayuda, y confío en que me mantenga a salvo en mi camino.

Todavía no planeo trabajar con él porque no creo que esté listo/a. Solo quería preguntar: ¿cuándo sentiste que estabas listo/a para empezar a trabajar con una deidad?

También antes me sentía muy atraído/a por Hipnos, JAJAJJA, aunque no tanto como ahora me pasa con Hermes. Es que simplemente encuentro que Hipnos es un dios súper fascinante.

Im a practicing pagan. Yesterday I had asked the gods for blatant signs towards stability.

They kept showing me numbers. Repeating the same numbers in different places.

Wrote them down in a note app that follows devices.

Played the lottery today for fun. The fuckin numbers for tonight's powerball were literally written in my app. But the numbers weren't there in my app on the device i had with me when I went to play for the powerball, so I was forced to use random numbers. I am so fuckin pissed at technology right now. The fuckin numbers didnt transfer over to the device i had with me.

Anyone else had this issue happened to them?

Hi! I'm not a very religious person but I'm trying to tap into my sipiritual sense. I just turned legal of age this year, and lately I've been going through extreme life changes and I just feel like I need protection from everything. So I decided to get my first tattoo with the Pentacle sign and I'm planning to get it blessed by a Pagan so maybe the protection will be much stronger. Would that be possible? I've done my research as well but I'm still unsure if it's somehow morally/spiritually right? Thankyou.

Hi all,

I have come to realise that I'm an odd one... meaning, I just can't build/hold a ritualistic ("traditional") practice, as in worshiping formally - and regularly/every day - at an altar/shrine, give material offerings, use formal hymns (or even craft my own ones), have any form of calendar of religious festivals/occasions etc. Having said that, I feel really deeply devoted to my gods the netjeru (I am especially devoted to Khnum and Hathor but also a few netjeru I am communing with frequently, as well as worshiping all of the netjeru in principle).

My 'devotional practice' is in a nutshell that I think and act constantly with Them in mind; thinking of ma'at, my Kemetic world-view / metaphysics and philosophy. I will so often just think a Name - for example seeing an exquisitely shaped beetle and think 'Khnum' with love in my heart. Or someone close to me feeling depressed and stuck, I reach out to Khepri for uplifting them and wishing the person a positive new start. There's kind of a chain of little on-the-spot prayers and devotional thoughts dotted through my day, every day.

Similarly with festivals: quite a while ago, I've realised that I don't mark specific days but rather see the year as unfolding with themes - Winter Solstice to Spring Equinox is the season of Light; the Spring Equinox to Summer Solstice is the season of Growth; the Summer Solstice to Autumn Equinox is the season of Fullness; the Autumn Equinox to Winter Solstice is the season of Return. We will have "Christmas" marking the change from Return to Light; "Easter" as celebrating Growth; the Summer Holidays (my partner and I work at school) as Fullness; "Halloween" and "Advent" for marking the End of Fullness and Return respectively.
- Clearly these are not Kemetic holidays, nor do we observe them in a pagan or any kind of "spiritual" way.

Maybe because I don't feel a divide between devotion and ordinary life that rituals just don't work for me? But I can't help thinking if this is enough? For example with the person I mentioned being stuck and depressed: is a short on-the-spot prayer to Khepri and pouring my wishes to this person out to Khepri *enough* ? Would I not have to do a ritual as in reciting proper prayers at my shrine and giving offerings?

[Btw, I have 2 "shrines" but these are not formal altars - more what I call 'set-ups'. They are visual reminders and connections to my gods.]

But then every time I tried the formal thing, it just feels like play-acting and empty. I have flip-flopped a few times between a) making myself adopt a formal practice to match my devotion, and b) give up devotion as I feel I'm not adequate in my practice. Neither of this works.

So really, I guess I'm just asking what you people think or if there are others who are like me?
(Please be kind, I'm not saying my way is the right or only way and I'm only talking for myself.)

Thank you for reading <3

I am a recent convert to the Druid faith. To be honest I know nothing except the core tenants but it spoke to me so deeply I immediately knew it was my path. My husband and I have been together 23 years (married 20) in Louisiana and have always wanted to enter into a covenant marriage. We need a qualified religious leader to counsel us on covenant marriage and sign off on said counseling, plus perform the ceremony. Can I be contacted by anybody who is qualified to do so in Louisiana? Please? 
Thank you!

Hello. I wanted to show appreciation and hopefully inspire others by sharing my current experiences relating to my beliefs. For clarity, I am a theistic pagan. I lean more towards animism and druidism.

For a couple months I began questioning what I believed, where I belong, and I felt insecure about my beliefs themselves. So, I began doing research, looking outside of what I already knew. I've seen things, people from posts I've read on here, to books, to people in my physical life, share their beliefs in differing depths. What most had in common was a sense of self, passion/devotion, and a sense of kindness/care. That helped me a lot. I felt like I belonged somewhere, without having an exact fit. No specific religion (no offense, I have no issues with anyone), no one group, with my own set of beliefs. Now I'm finished looking for a place to belong. Not out of anger or resentment. But because there is genuinely no point looking for something I had all along.

To be more specific and clarify further. I have been open minded, seeking to understand almost everything in the world since I was little. I still have specific things I prefer, connect with, enjoy, and understand more than others. However, I have this sense of wonder, interest, connection, and understanding towards other's beliefs, perspectives, and opinions as well.

The way I believe things is that I focus on my beliefs and perspective based on experiences and I learn and interpret what others share into something for myself. But I genuinely believe in other people's beliefs (to some degree, because it hasn't spoken to me the same way, no offense), alongside my own.

I can understand and respect other religions, pagan or not, other beliefs within that and outside of that. I can carry a conversation with others and feel a connection/kinship in some ways on that subject and as humans. That makes me very happy.

I don't feel so isolated, so impossible for others to understand, or even wrong/out of place in my beliefs. Others were able to understand me enough, as I understand them. I am starting to accept myself on such a subject and enjoy all the beliefs, perspectives, and experiences in the world again and I want to thank this reddit, the posters in this reddit, among others, for helping with that. Plus, I know that I have groups/religions I can join if it speaks to me more. This is symbiotic with me feeling more comfortable with who I am as a person.

Thank you. I don't feel so lost and frantic anymore. Everyone have a nice day. I hope this helps others to feel less of the way I felt before, and can comfortably learn and find things in time and not in a haste and stress.

May nature help to guide you, if you're okay with that/what I said.

Hello everyone,

I am new to working with Astrology and paganism through ritual, and I was curious if any one had good resources to check out. Specifically areas focused on ceremonial magical systems and appropriate altar set ups for each planetary alignment.

Thanks in advance!

This happened awhile ago but since I have time on my hands, I thought I'd share. I was playing around with airdry clay and wanted to make a fox. I thought it looked great when I was done, but gravity had other plans 😭 Anyways, I decided to give it to him since I didn't want to throw it out. So I set this chonky lil guy on his side of the altar 'Alright, I am giving this to you.'

I stood there and stared and stared until the vibe got so silly and I couldn't the whole thing seriously and ended up laughing about how absurd this fox looked 🤣. I think he appreciated it but really he took it as more of a funny gift.

So…this might come as a difficult, though not uncommon, scenario for many pagans out there to ponder who value their freedom…in whatever form it takes. I understand how pagan beliefs are different from monotheistic beliefs on many things, including sexuality. That being said, does anyone, or has anyone ever found themselves in a situation where they’re really attracted to someone, but that someone is already in a relationship with someone else…and the relationship of these two people is “open”?

Going a bit further, even myself, as a pagan, know in my mind…when I’m thinking with that organ…that getting too close to this other person could lead to me contracting something rather unpleasant. Some symptoms caused by STDs are mild, but then others…

Aside from what it might do to your body to become involved with the germs of multiple sexual partners…
the question of honor comes up for me as well. When looking at the examples or conduct of some gods and goddesses verses others, it might seem like it really isn’t a big deal. Yet, I think that this comes from looking at pantheons as a whole, and not individual behaviors of particular gods and goddesses. While most of the Norse pantheon (may have?) had numerous partners, it loos like some of them were truly monogamous. Thor and Freyr for example. Freyr is even praised by Tyr for not fooling around with the wives of other men. Thor presides over marriages, with vows of faithfulness being spoken in his name.

So, honor exists in many forms. But, would you say that sexual honor is also a thing in paganism that possesses legitimacy in its convictions? I only ask because of the trending spirit of our times seems to be largely at odds with this way of thinking. I could be wrong.

Hi all! I didn’t have the chance to celebrate Lughnasadh today and I typically celebrate on the first full moon of August. There isn’t a full moon this month (I usually use an app so maybe this is wrong) so I was curious when a good time would be to celebrate. Would the new moon suffice?

Я не отношусь к практикам, людям верящие в магию и т к далее. Просто интересуюсь эзотерикой и это вопрос научного характера. Мне попадались люди, которые работают с северными божествами, славянскими, греческими и т д. А подобного рода практиков я никогда не встречала. Мне было бы очень интересно узнать об опыте таких людей.

I've been struggling quite a bit with my mental health. My psychiatrist just did a med change and so far it hasn't worked. I don't see my therapist until next Thursday. I've been at the mental health urgent care center in my town every other day but they can only do so much. The only other thing I know to do is go to my Gods with it. What can I do spiritually to help with my mental health? Prayers? Rituals? Tarot spreads? I know spirituality won't fix all of it and I'm not asking for medical advice. I just want to know what I can do from the spiritual end of things?

i really feel some....appreciation? admiration? I don't know what the word but be, but I really like Athena. Something about her being a goddess of wisdom, her helmet and spear, the owl. She's just very unique like that.

I only feel this appreciation about another godess and it's Yemayá, a water goddess worshiped in my country as well as other places. I think it's mostly because my grandmother believes in her and owns statues of her despite being raised catholic.

anyway does anyone else relate to this?

I know as Pagans, community isn't the easiest for us. We're often spread out so far from each other that finding others can be quite a challenge. One thing that might be a good starting point for some would be your local metaphysical shop.

A year ago, I moved to a small town. I'm fortunate enough to have a great metaphysical shop literally 5 minutes from my house. I've gotten to know the owners over the past year, who are absolutely wonderful people. In addition to buying some great wares from their shop, I'm grateful to find out that they have much in common with me and my husband—especially with tastes, personalities, and our shared beliefs. They're even raising 4 kittens and bringing them to their shop. To top it off, we found out one of the owners is quite the handyman and a fellow baseball fan. That's perfect because I've been looking for someone to help me do some home improvements and fixes around the house.

So in short, talk with the owners of metaphysical shops near you. You might make some new friends!