Though I love Greek, Roman, Celtic, and Norse mythology, I will admit my true love lays within Hinduism and, most especially, Buddhism. I've lately been reading the Ramayana. It is very enlightening to say the least. The story of Rama warms my heart and has always been a tale of great inspiration to me.

Believe me, PonPon, you are not alone here. *Hugs*

As for the origins of God(s)...I do not believe that the gods exist outside of our need to create them. They are the manifestations that exist only because we allow them to exist because of our need to personify and understand the natural universe(s). That is not to say their energy did not or does not exist, but that they never had names, personalities, et el until we made them in OUR image and gave them histories, etc...

I guess I can be a rather atheistic pagan, which I way I tend to call myself a Pantheistic Polytheist more often than not. Pagan always, but my views constantly change.

Just a note to say hi to the the other pagans on here. Oddly enough it was a fellow pagan on the UK Pagan board that got me interested in all things gothic again. Damn him and his interesting Whitby stories!

Midieval Fantasy - I'm of a similar mind on gods. My gods are local, manifestations of the spirits of rivers, woods and other sacred places. They are the entities with whom I commune when I meditate out in the wilds. Being a (neo) Druid of the (new) old school I relate them to the familiar Celtic pantheon when in company, it just saves time and gives a shared frame of reference.

Welcome back to the dark side, Count Tutten! Please feel free to call me Midi.

Though I love Irish mythology, it is not one I am well versed in. Celtic and Egyptian are the two major mythologies that I am largely unfamiliar with save a few stories here or there. I know mostly Norse and Greek Myth, but I do not (and likely will not) choose a pantheon. I do, however, have a patron goddess and god (Nyx and Erebus), but though they are Greek in origin, they also happen to be the only gods I see on a personal level and I hardly consider them to be Greek at all.

Welcome to the paganism thread, Count Tutten. I was fairly active over at UKP years ago, but I sort of drifted away from there (long story, fairly boring lol).



For some reason I seem to be drifting away from paganism of late. I don't want to, but I can't seem to stop it from happening. I no longer feel close or connected to my Goddess, which is quite upsetting to me if I'm honest as I've been "with" her for years I seem to be moving toward one of my agnostic phases, although Christianity seems to be knocking at the edges of my being for some reason, and I really don't want it to!

Life would be far simpler if I just stopped trying to squeeze myself into tight religious places, but for some reason I can't seem to do it *sigh*

Believe it or not, I understand what you mean.

I've been heavily contemplating Atheism of late, though I don't think I could ever branch off completely from spirituality. However, my spirituality- from my own observations, do not revolve around the gods, which I guess is why I have taken to calling myself a pantheistic polytheist because to me its a very scientific way to of saying "Atheistic Pagan".

I am also very engulfed in Buddhism right now, which for the most part, is an atheistic religion, so I'm wondering if maybe that is where my current ideas are stemming from.

I sometimes think about Christianity but quite honestly I still hold so much disrespect and animosity toward it that I doubt I could or would ever consider the notion of going back to it. Though I do respect those who are of that religion, it is still a process of forgiving the religion and all I put up with when I was a part of it for values preached but not exhibited. I tolerate the religion and am learning to really care for followers of it and see their point of view, but at the same time- that religion simply is not, and cannot, be a part of my life any more.

I sometimes wonder if the Agnostics have it right, more so than anyone else. At least they do not claim a knowledge that is impossible to obtain in the mortal realm of humanity.

Whatever path you take, Minty, whatever you choose and whoever your soul deems are you should from day to day - I hope you find peace with it.

Thanks, Midi... and I so agree about the atheistic path, I could take it myself sometimes, although I have never been positive enough that the gods have never existed or that they are purely human constructs to explain the un-explainable. Hence the agnostic side, a kind of "can I prove it, no... do I care, no again" lol.

I guess a part of me really wants the gods to exist, I want a place to belong, to feel at (spiritually) home... and in the decade plus that I've been looking I have never found it permanently It just strikes me that as soon as I think I've found my "home" that I begin looking in other directions... I am never satisfied and it drives me crazy. I want what other people seem to have, that certainty, that sureness of belief.

Sadly I doubt I will ever have that as I am just far too indecisive Sometimes I have an incredibly splintered butt from my constant fence-sitting.

Atheists don't generally claim to know everything, either. We just don't believe in stuff that can't be proven. As an atheist, I nevertheless appreciate the archetypes in ancient pantheons.



I'll say "amen" to that!

-- Nephele

Thank you

My little sister is a militant atheist, and I wish she were as laid-back as you always seem to be, Nephele. She thinks I have some kind of mental problem that I am even interested in any kind of faith at all. She once said to me (I was Christian at the time) "How can someone as clever as you believe in all that shit... you disappoint me so much!"

These days I never say anything about religion in her presence because of the verbal assault she will unleash upon me if I dare mention it. It is so bad that I don't even feel comfy reading a bible in front of her (I just want to finish it, to say that I have read it, I don't feel particularly christian at the moment... I just hate being defeated by a book ). If she comes into the room I always change the subject if I'm talking about my faith, be it christian, pagan or whatever... just to avoid a row. She doesn't understand, and lacks enough caring and empathy to even attempt to try to

Sneaking about doesn't do anything for my ability to make proper choices... and I get the impression that unless I chose atheism she will never understand and have respect enough to just shut her mouth and accept whatever is best for me!

Sorry, I was having a bit of a rant there

Aw, hugs {{{Minty}}}. Tell little sis to back off. Nobody likes the Thought Police.

-- Nephele

Forgive my insincere comment, I should have worded that differently and you are utterly correct. The better term might have been anti-theist, which is what your sister sounds like, Minty.

Hang in there, you'll find your way. Hell, for all we might know, your way is uncertainty and this life is nothing more than one large spiritual journey after another. If I were as wise as you one day I would be very happy.

My heart goes with you Minty. And you know how much I care for you, Nephele!

No apologies necessary, Midi!



And likewise to you!

-- Nephele

I thought that I was far too indecisive about things until I got into Chaos and made a virtue of my indecision. I call myself a Druid because it is an open framework that I can use for most of my path but at heart I am a Chaote. I have learned to force myself to believe all kinds of things, atheism, monotheism, polytheism, pantheism as a mental discipline. Sometimes I just throw a dice to determine what paradigm I shall work with on that particular day. I don't suppose it would suit many people but my broken brain finds it useful.

I loved the Ramayana; I really want to get a copy of the Mahabharata or, specifically the Bhagavad Gita. I can't decide which would be the best for me though, since I don't know Hindi/sanskrit I'd need a translation and there are many different translations out there.

I get what you say about the Gods. I believe there's a divine energy within everything, like Brahman in Hinduism. I think it's within everything, formless and impossible for humans to comprehend; so we create deities with names and personalities that personify the aspects of the divine. Creating deities makes the divine easier for humans to worship because they allow us to feel more empathy toward them and from them. The deities define the morals a culture hold's and helps to be examples for the "ideal" human, or an example of what not to be in that culture. Some culture, like the Greek deities, are more humanistic and have personalities that regular humans do, which helped them feel connected to the divine and nature. I feel that every religion, and non-religion (athesim etc) is a way to the divine. Anyway these are just some of my ideas. ;p

Minty; I can relate to your problem. My parents are Christian and though they probably suspect I'm not Christian, would be unhappy if I was open about being pagan. But I don't really have a problem keeping it to myself, for me religion is a very personal thing.

Beautifully said.

I tend to be very open about my beliefs...and everything else in my life (though I've made it a rule these last few months to do my best to not bring up my personal problems to anyone). I am quite literally an open open that anyone can read, which may or may not be a good thing.

My Goddess is an Ancient Chinese Goddess, Kwan Yin. She has done a lot with me and for me recently in meditation. One of the things I worked with was the idea of no matter the faith path, religions all lead to the same point of origin. And I don't if it is proper to call him a God, Death has always had a major impact in my life. Most of my pantheon is either a natural occurrence or an abstract concept personified. I refer to most of my deities by their area of expertise, which I call a Domain.

Mythology as a whole interests me. I like to think of myself as a story collector, and I frequently go through periods of focus on one area of the world.