As a fan of the tv show American Gods on Starz https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1898069/ I'm excited that more of the old gods are entering the story. This season we see Kali, Frau Holle, Ahura Mazda, Ame-No Uzume, and a host of others. I may have misunderstood, but Thor/Donar may be included in future episodes. In the past three episodes of this season (#2) the most interacting gods have been Mr. Wednesday (Odin), Mama-ji (Kali), Czernabog, Mr. Nancy (Anansi), and Mad Sweeney (a 6'5" ill-tempered "leprechaun").
I missed Ep. 1 in which the gods had a meeting, in their true forms (Kali with blue skin, multiple arms and all), about organizing for battle, so I didn't know for sure that Mama-ji (Kali is called Maa, mother; ji is an Indian honorific, not unlike Japanese san) is Kali, who is forced to work as a maid/waitress at the American Motel. I only surmised it by her retort to Mr. Wednesday (in their human forms): "You brought the battle to my doorstep. Now I have no choice but to resume lopping off heads, drinking blood and liberating souls... that is if I can switch weekend shifts with Arjun" (gotta have some humor). Arjuna is a reluctant and indecisive warrior in the Mahabharata whom Krishna eventually persuades to fight.
This clip cracks me up more and more each time I watch it.
So the point, especially in light of the meeting of the gods hosted by Odin/Mr. Wednesday in an inter-dimensional mead hall, is that gods and goddesses from different pantheons know each other from time immemorial and have worked together. It seems also that they are individuals, not the same deity seen through cultural lenses, as we like to say. In one exchange, one says to another "... as one god of war to another...". As a polytheist I'm not sure how true that actually is... have the gods of war: Athena, Ares, Kartikeya, Guan yu, Bast, Kali/Durga fought together? Do the gods and goddesses of the Earth: Sif, Demeter, Ceres, Bhudevi, take care of different parts of the Earth? Or do they "stay in their lanes"? But it's an intriguing thought. Especially since so many polytheists mix and match and blend pantheons.
I missed Ep. 1 in which the gods had a meeting, in their true forms (Kali with blue skin, multiple arms and all), about organizing for battle, so I didn't know for sure that Mama-ji (Kali is called Maa, mother; ji is an Indian honorific, not unlike Japanese san) is Kali, who is forced to work as a maid/waitress at the American Motel. I only surmised it by her retort to Mr. Wednesday (in their human forms): "You brought the battle to my doorstep. Now I have no choice but to resume lopping off heads, drinking blood and liberating souls... that is if I can switch weekend shifts with Arjun" (gotta have some humor). Arjuna is a reluctant and indecisive warrior in the Mahabharata whom Krishna eventually persuades to fight.
This clip cracks me up more and more each time I watch it.
So the point, especially in light of the meeting of the gods hosted by Odin/Mr. Wednesday in an inter-dimensional mead hall, is that gods and goddesses from different pantheons know each other from time immemorial and have worked together. It seems also that they are individuals, not the same deity seen through cultural lenses, as we like to say. In one exchange, one says to another "... as one god of war to another...". As a polytheist I'm not sure how true that actually is... have the gods of war: Athena, Ares, Kartikeya, Guan yu, Bast, Kali/Durga fought together? Do the gods and goddesses of the Earth: Sif, Demeter, Ceres, Bhudevi, take care of different parts of the Earth? Or do they "stay in their lanes"? But it's an intriguing thought. Especially since so many polytheists mix and match and blend pantheons.
Comment