Abandon the Gods!

When I was a baby Pagan circa 2001, most Pagans I knew claimed allegiance to one deity or another. Some said they had relationships with several deities but had one primary. Others, mostly Wiccans or witches, claimed a generic god and goddess. Now, or so I have read and experienced in the shop, a lot of younger Pagans eschew gods altogether. Those I have spoken to cite how horrible they have seen ‘religion’ manifest on other paths. For the most part, that means conservative Christianity. This is flawed and reactionary reasoning.

When I worked for local government, the paid time off structure was so good it was nearly European. In addition to that, if people had PTO to spare, they could donate it to newer employees who suddenly fell ill. A couple of painters abused that privilege by figuring out an angle to take advantage of the process. The reactionary thinking from the powers that be was to stop the donation process, cut the amount of PTO given and other draconian measures. That took no thinking and no effort. It may have been slightly more work to close the loophole that was exploited and deal with the scofflaws that scammed the system.  That work proved too much for those in charge. Depriving others because a small group of people took advantage is both lazy and demonstrates a lack of sympathy towards others. People who followed the rules were punished because of the actions of other parties. This is a flawed way to make decisions and such methods serve no one. The proper term is ‘a failure of leadership.’

Turning away from the gods because a completely different religion manifests in obviously problematic ways embodies that same easy out approach to life. That path leads to mastery of nothing and deprives the practitioner of enriching relationships. It amounts to a failure of personal sovereignty as one gives up something of value because of the failings of another.

The first thing we have to think on is the difference between exoteric religion and esoteric spirituality.  In the former, one is expected to believe in someone else’s esoteric experience having never so much as met the person in question. Once belief is instilled, a power structure is created and becomes socially enforced. In esoteric spiritual practices, the practitioner experiences the divine for herself. There is no power structure between the practitioner and the gods. Thus, the abuses and controlling behavior we see on other paths cannot occur.

Note, I am talking about an individual practitioner, not group work.

So what is a god? My perception of deity is that gods are wholly perfect unto themselves. They exist in a state of perfectly fulfilling their own nature. For example, Hermes is the god of movement. He is the patron of travelers, news, communication, commerce and thieves. He is able to move as well and does so anywhere He likes. Unlike most Greek deities He can travel to Olympus, this world, and Hades.  When he is in the Plutonic realms, you do not see him carrying off riches for his own use, the skulls of the dead etc. When he is in Olympus he does not declare a golden chair his own and cart it off to his dwelling. Those things do not move on their own.

The closest example I know in the human realm is a baseball player named Ichiro Suzuki. When he gets up in the morning he exercises. Then he eats. Then he reads about exercise and nutrition, then he practices baseball. When that is done, he does general fitness work and reads more about baseball, fitness and diet. Everything the man did revolved around being an athlete and specifically a baseball player. He had no other hobbies, interests, etc.

Encountering deity exposes one to similar purity at an intuitional level. This can lead one to the desire further purify oneself and allow one to be more willing to jettison that which does not align with the true nature of the person. Even if the practitioner only does that a couple of times, she is much further ahead of the game than the average person. There is value in approaching the gods.

If a person does not want to approach the gods, that is one thing. If they do not do so because of the fear of recreating the failures of a wildly differing path, then perhaps they may be seeing a reflection of themselves. That fear of being the abuser may be the first thing that must be rooted out. The source of that fear is unlikely what one thinks it may be. Often the core issue is only vaguely related to how it manifests.

I do not believe that the only path to spirituality lies through contact with the gods. Only, that such contact is helpful to many that sincerely walk the path. I do advocate investigating the process without rejecting it out of hand.