Choosing a pantheon

[Aeran]

Re: Choosing a pantheon

Not everyone cares about their genetic or ancestral cultural heritage.

Yeah I mean obviously it's not a huge factor, but I'd imagine that there'd be at least a small correlation.

[thalassa]

Re: Choosing a pantheon

Yeah I mean obviously it's not a huge factor, but I'd imagine that there'd be at least a small correlation.

I think...I could be way off base here but just based on my experiences, observationally, that the genetic and cultural heritage tends to correspond the most among reconstructionalists and people that have an overly romantic view of history and their ancestry.

I tend to think that there are probably a fair number of people that whose ancestry of origin matches their pantheon of origin as a matter of statistics (there are only so many pre-Christian European indigenous religious traditions, and most of us *particularly in the US* are genetic mutts), or for another chunk of people, its a curiosity factor--people become interested in their background, and it just happens to be the pantheon that clicks for them...I don't think that there is any sort of genetic predestination involved (I'm pretty sure this isn't what you are saying, but there are some people that do, so I'm pointing it out).

[Randolf]

Re: Choosing a pantheon

so choosing your Pantheon is like choosing what university to attend ? they are all accredited so it just depends on which one feels best for you? somehow I can't grasp that. I feel like if I pray to Odin I will offend Zeus. what if the Greeks got it right in the Romans got it wrong?

[shadow1982]

Re: Choosing a pantheon

so choosing your Pantheon is like choosing what university to attend ? they are all accredited so it just depends on which one feels best for you? somehow I can't grasp that. I feel like if I pray to Odin I will offend Zeus. what if the Greeks got it right in the Romans got it wrong?

You don't have to choose a pantheon at all. You could always honour/worship/work with a unnamed goddess and god, or just a goddess, or just a god, or an unnamed source or non of the above. Belief doesn't really fit in to nice little pre-made boxes and you first have to decide what you actually believe in.

Personally I work with the Greek pantheon, more specifically 3 gods from within that pantheon. I have not been struck dead yet so I am guessing Odin et al are not overly offended by my choice. Also it wasn't really like picking a university, more like a nagging, pulling feeling that wouldn't abide until I gave in and accepted it. Given a choice I would have picked Celtic gods to work with. I even tried that for a while and got nothing in response, well other than a 'we really aren't interested in you' kind of feeling.

[Minion]

Re: Choosing a pantheon

I worship the Egyptian pantheon. I have always been very interested in all things Egypt growing up and suddenly one day I felt a strong pull towards the gods of Egypt. I have a few specific gods and goddesses from the pantheon who really stand out to me and they have embraced me with arms wide open.

I tried to leave the gods once, but I could only stay away for just a few months and I was miserable the whole time. Then one day I was feeling really down about the whole religion thing and I felt a voice say "We are still here." I honestly believe it was Isis.
I returned to the Egyptian gods and I never looked back.

[Randolf]

Re: Choosing a pantheon

you are very fortunate minion... bless you

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shadow, that's good, that seems to be the path I've been taking .I see the Creator as an unimaginable force the 1 who manifests itself in forms that we mortals can relate with.

[Oden_son]

Re: Choosing a pantheon

Does that automaticly means that you don't like Romans?
I mean, part of my ancestors were Spanish, but yet I'm drawn into Aztec dieties... Well, but that's just me. And I'm a little wierd at that point :P

I don't dislike every Roman, but I do despise the Roman Empire for the evil it was and the influence its ideals still have over the world today.

[Louisvillian]

Re: Choosing a pantheon

I am completely and utterly uninterested in the Germanic and Celtic deities...despite that being the bulk of my heritage. I mostly work with Greek deities, and I'm not Greek.

The way I look at it, the gods are mostly just The Gods. The cultures that contacted them and worshipped them are a separate thing. For the most part, the Greek gods aren't "Greek"; they just happen to be the gods found and named by the Greek culture.
There's may have been, though, a considerable amount of back-and-forth communication that shaped both the people and the gods they worshipped. Hence why Zeus or Hermes or Apollo might have personality traits that are recognisably "Greek" even when interacting with a modern American.

If there is an ethnic component, I'd figure that has more to do with the religion--the cultural, spiritual, and ritualistic customs associated with the people that worshipped those gods--rather than the gods themselves.
On a related nugget, I'm a mutt of European blood--mostly Celtic and Slavic--but I worship primarily Greek gods, and occasionally some Brythonic Celtic ones. Local spirits are venerated often, as well. But I worship them in the context of Wicca, not Greek or Celtic ancient practices.