Can you simply worship a nameless faceless Creator?
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Astraea Luna Avani
Can you simply worship a nameless faceless Creator?
I am having trouble with this Goddess/God thing. Nobody can prove who or what is the true Creator so I've just been "worshipping" nature/source energy, basically a nameless faceless higher power. Is it necessary to hand pick a God and a Goddess from a list? I don't like this idea because I want to deal with THE true highest power/source, energy, creator, whatever it/he/she is. So is it wrong if I do my rituals/spells and just invoke that, rather than a specific named diety? I feel like there has to be just one single higher power, it makes no sense to me that there can even be a huge list of names that you can choose from to worship, especially when they all have human traits. Can I still call myself a Wiccan if these are my beliefs? I don't mean to be disrespectful of all these Gods/Goddesses and i'm not saying they don't exist, but in my mind the only sensible answer is that something had to have created THEM so they cannot be the highest power.
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NightRose
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My opinion on the matter is, of course, just that...an opinion. However, I see one thing I can't argue with. There is something bigger than us out there. God, Goddess, Buddha, the Force, whatever you want to call it, there's something there. And I don't think that we as humans are ever going to be able to completely understand what I'll call "the Divine." So each of us finds our own path to it. And I don't think the Divine cares how you see it or what you call it. For some people, it's easier to see it as one entity, an all-powerful God, or a greater spirit that manifests in the world. For others, it's easier to see it as separate gods, each taking on one particular attribute.
For myself, I work with the Greek/Roman pantheon. It's my comfort zone. My patron goddess is Nyx, and I work mostly with those gods and goddesses. But I think this is how the Divine realized I would be most comfortable relating to it. I don't exactly think about how that all works out in technicalities, since I'm pretty sure I wouldn't understand it. Some people choose to worship a religion originating in fiction (I mean real novels, not religious books). They're just relating to whatever is out there in a way that they can understand. So I can accept that. I figure that I'll work out the details later, once I move past the limits of the human existence.
For the record, the technical title for my religious beliefs is "integrational polytheism", but that's a mouthful, so I usually stick with "I'm complicated."
For myself, I work with the Greek/Roman pantheon. It's my comfort zone. My patron goddess is Nyx, and I work mostly with those gods and goddesses. But I think this is how the Divine realized I would be most comfortable relating to it. I don't exactly think about how that all works out in technicalities, since I'm pretty sure I wouldn't understand it. Some people choose to worship a religion originating in fiction (I mean real novels, not religious books). They're just relating to whatever is out there in a way that they can understand. So I can accept that. I figure that I'll work out the details later, once I move past the limits of the human existence.
For the record, the technical title for my religious beliefs is "integrational polytheism", but that's a mouthful, so I usually stick with "I'm complicated."
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Astraea Luna Avani
Complicated is right! The more I try to learn the more confused I get! I like your way of thinking though. It's all a matter of finding a way to understand it, whatever works for each person. Well that's enough for me, I won't keep confusing myself anymore, I'll just believe what I want and not worry about the technicalities and what other people believe. Thanks so much for your advice Nightrose! 
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Greymalkin
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It doesn't matter at all.
The best analogy I ever heard about Gods and Goddesses was this: think of it like a mirror ball. Each little mirror reflects something different but it's all part of the same whole thing.
Don't think of all the different Gods as seperate entities, think of them as different traits of the whole.
I call upon various deities sometimes when I am doing very specific spellwork but generally I just say 'God and Goddess'
It's worked for me for the past 18 years and I don't intend to stop doing it any time soon.
The best analogy I ever heard about Gods and Goddesses was this: think of it like a mirror ball. Each little mirror reflects something different but it's all part of the same whole thing.
Don't think of all the different Gods as seperate entities, think of them as different traits of the whole.
I call upon various deities sometimes when I am doing very specific spellwork but generally I just say 'God and Goddess'
It's worked for me for the past 18 years and I don't intend to stop doing it any time soon.
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Astraea Luna Avani
Wow, that is amazing!! It makes total sense. A mirror ball, very good!!It doesn't matter at all.
The best analogy I ever heard about Gods and Goddesses was this: think of it like a mirror ball. Each little mirror reflects something different but it's all part of the same whole thing.
Don't think of all the different Gods as seperate entities, think of them as different traits of the whole.
I call upon various deities sometimes when I am doing very specific spellwork but generally I just say 'God and Goddess'
It's worked for me for the past 18 years and I don't intend to stop doing it any time soon.
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Moon_Stone
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Hi Heroine26,
I totally understand what you're saying, and yes- as a "monotheist" in that way, you can still call yourself Wiccan; though do know it's certainly more Neo-Wiccan/Neo-Pagan than traditional. The traditional paths are very linear, adding "neo" (recent/new) gives us that wiggle room to design our own path and way of thinking and relating to the God(s) and Goddess(es).
That said, one of the main principals of Wicca is a recognition of both the male and female energies and the parts they play in the life cycle and wheel of the year. I personally acknowledge both, as one. In fact, the Sun God is both born from and conceived with the Goddess, so in a broad sense, one could certainly claim that they are the same. (And incestuous, but that's another story
)
General principals of Neo-Paganistic Wicca simply dictate that we are to respect the words of the Rede, in whatever manner we decide to interpret them, and to do no harm. That's really about it- the rest is up to personal tailoring.
~Bright Blessings~
*M
I totally understand what you're saying, and yes- as a "monotheist" in that way, you can still call yourself Wiccan; though do know it's certainly more Neo-Wiccan/Neo-Pagan than traditional. The traditional paths are very linear, adding "neo" (recent/new) gives us that wiggle room to design our own path and way of thinking and relating to the God(s) and Goddess(es).
That said, one of the main principals of Wicca is a recognition of both the male and female energies and the parts they play in the life cycle and wheel of the year. I personally acknowledge both, as one. In fact, the Sun God is both born from and conceived with the Goddess, so in a broad sense, one could certainly claim that they are the same. (And incestuous, but that's another story
) General principals of Neo-Paganistic Wicca simply dictate that we are to respect the words of the Rede, in whatever manner we decide to interpret them, and to do no harm. That's really about it- the rest is up to personal tailoring.
~Bright Blessings~
*M
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[Guardian Wolf]
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I worship a nameless creator. I think that mortal man knows nothing about the gods, so I have a faceless god (I would even say gods maybe). I am very voodoo in my belief. I believe that there is a creator (or creators, I'm not sure) and us. In between us and them are millions of spirits that can aide or hurt us.
I think that someone already touched on this idea, but I prefer this explanation a little better... of course its my opinion, lol.
The author Christopher Penczak refers to divinity as being two parts. He also says, however, that divinity is basically just like a diamond with many, many different facets. First, you have the whole diamond, being the Great Spirit. Then you have two from the whole diamond, being the Goddess and God. Then you have the triple aspect of the Goddess and God. It keeps on going until you've reached a specific deity.
The reason specific deities are so human like is because people want to be able to relate to them. We were created in the image of the Goddess and God, so they naturally have to have human traits.
It doesn't matter which deity you choose to worship because, in the end, it is still part of the diamond and, therefore, you are worshiping the whole.
The author Christopher Penczak refers to divinity as being two parts. He also says, however, that divinity is basically just like a diamond with many, many different facets. First, you have the whole diamond, being the Great Spirit. Then you have two from the whole diamond, being the Goddess and God. Then you have the triple aspect of the Goddess and God. It keeps on going until you've reached a specific deity.
The reason specific deities are so human like is because people want to be able to relate to them. We were created in the image of the Goddess and God, so they naturally have to have human traits.
It doesn't matter which deity you choose to worship because, in the end, it is still part of the diamond and, therefore, you are worshiping the whole.
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[wind_wolf]
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