[Cro Dreoilin] Up for discussion: Do the Gods still walk amongst us?

[Corc Hamr]

Wow, It's been silent after that question! Well, I've got a minute, figure
I'll answer this one.

The answers to these questions are largely what prompted our practice in
the Springs to split with ADF. I can't really speak for Tannim, so I'll
just speak for myself (speaking of which, is there a possibility of adding
Tannim to this list?). For me, the Gods are the best and the brightest of
the Spirits. You can alter that to "most powerful", "greatest", or however
you interpret it - I see it pretty much in all those ways and more. The
Gods are still spirits, though, and that is how I approach them, as
individual spirits that have their own needs, wants, desires, agendas, and
so forth. For me, this can make the line between "God", "Ancestor", "Land
Wight", "Fae", and other types of spirits rather blurry at times.

It is in this way that I also look at pantheons. I see the different
pantheons as different "houses" of spirits, different groups that deal with
their own. They are not, in my estimation, expressions of each other, or
archetypes, or anything like that. So when I approach them, I tend to do so
as one from the house of the Norse spirits, even though I work closely with
a couple of Celtic Gods, as well. I mostly feel like the visitor when
dealing with the majority of the Celts.

That said, I hear the Gods and Spirits more than see them. A vision often
forms in my mind based on their voice, or the sounds that accompany them.
It is very rare I will get the vision first, and these only with those I
would consider "patrons", Gods I have an extremely close working
relationship with. Often enough, spirits will identify themselves when
asked, or I simply do not deal with them - I've learned the hard way not to
from some less-than-pleasant experiences.

In ecstatic state (trance, journey work, that sort of thing), it is much
easier to meet with, see, and interact with the Spirits, as I think should
be obvious for most people. This is much more active on my part than the
previous, which might happen in prayer, or just in a quiet time. Here, the
images are much more clear, the directives and insights, as well. Depending
on the type of state, it may seem that they are next to me, or that I have
come to see them. Most often, I find the imagery of the World Tree or
mountain or the Well of Wisdom is best used to reach them, depending on who
I am wanting to find and speak with. Sometimes, I get hijacked and don't
need to go anywhere, though. I believe the Gods and Spirits do seek us out
as much as we seek them out, and being spirits, have an easier time of
seeking out more than one of us at once. Multitasking: it's not just for
human guys. *grin*

One of my approaches to the Gods is worship. I think worship gets a bad rap
in our community. I hear too many self-proclaimed heathens say that they
don't bend the knee to their Gods, and yet quote Teutonic Mythology by
Jacob Grimm as a central inspiration to their practice. If a warrior would
bend the knee to one's liege lord, who might be also one's father, why
would one NOT also bend the knee to Thor, to Odin? I imagine that Celtic
worship may have been similar in some respects, in that power was
acknowledged with gestures, and that obeisance was given to one's liege,
even to death. Worship doesn't need to be an acknowledgement of
self-worthlessness - the Gods don't call the worthless - but at the same
time, I approach them from the standpoint that they have a power that I do
not, and I therefore show my respect for that. I try to approach all
spirits with respect, according to the stations they acknowledge, because I
don't think they quite subscribe to our way of government and class in the
States. "Here there be dragons" is not an idle statement in my practice,
either in race or in action.

So, to answer the overarching question, yes, I think the Gods do walk among
us, as any Spirit does.

Just my two bits.

-G

On Sun, Feb 12, 2012 at 8:00 PM, Chris and Kelley <
chris.n.kelley at astronomytower.net> wrote:

> It's been a bit quiet; let's have another discussion topic. :-)
>
> In our stories, the Gods walk amongst men, interact with them face to
> face, and speak with them.
>
> What are your relationships with our Gods? In what ways do you interact
> with them? Have you seen them?  Spoken to them? In what ways do you seek
> them out?
>
>
> -- Chris and Kelley
>
>
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