Deities

Just as there are many different languages, there are many different deities. Depending on the region or culture you came from wold give way to what deities your specific religion would call on. Today, however, with Neo-Paganism and Wicca, we are able to broaden our views and our list of possible deities to call on is limitless. As Wiccans, we can either stick with a specific set of deities from a specific culture, or as an Eclectic Wiccan we can jostle them around a bit and call on deities form multiple parathions.

The key to understanding who to call is the knowledge of what the deity is known for. To find this
information out, we need to look at the mythology and folktales about that specific deity. Now, armed with the stories of the deity, we can list out the key elements of the mythology about him or her. From this list of key words, we can then create our own correspondence charts of what we feel will represent that particular deity.

Now, keep in mind, however, this can be harder than it sounds, especially as I mentioned before with the
Celtic deities that may have only been mentioned once in writings. Many times we tend to focus on the deities that
we have the most information on, the main or head deities if you will, that we can find many different stories and
information on. Where, yes, by simply focusing on these deities we have already many Gods and Goddesses to work
with, however, I personally feel that by limiting ourselves to only a certain set and by not researching other less known deities, we are losing out on so many wonderful Gods and Goddesses that have a use to us.

In making our own charts, not only do we become more in tune with the deity, but we also can gain a new
respect and understanding of how to incorporate that deity into our lives. Here is a simple form to use when creating your own correspondence chart:

Now here (click here) is one I have put together for the Goddess Brigid

By learning all about the different deities available to us, we are able to learn which ones we can call on for
specific needs. We can also learn which deities seem to have a special connection with us. This is what is known as our Patron Deities.

Keep in mind, just like with everything in life, as we grow along our path our patrons may change. Just because
you feel a special kinship to, say Demeter, now because you are a mother who's child is getting ready to go off to college or get married, who is to say that a few years down the road you may find that a connection to Hecate is now predominant in your life. By finding your patron deities, this dose not mean you are limiting yourself only to honoring them, but that you may find your rituals and spells are more focused on these energies.
There are many different ways of finding your patron deities. Some people choose meditation and asking for the
deities to choose them. Some just may find themselves focused on a specific God and Goddess. Others may choose the
God and Goddess that their specific path focuses on, if your path is Celtic then it would be odd to have an African patron.

However in this era of the Eclectic Witch, any deity can form a relationship with us.

To find your patron deities, it is good to look at your life and ask yourself basic questions:

1. What is going on in your life right now?
2. What are your interests and hobbies or area of work or study?
3. What paths do you seem to follow?
4. What deities seem to talk to you?

These 4 questions will get you started. By researching different deities that correspond to these answers you will
find a God and Goddess who are appropriate to your life right now.

Of course, there are those who do not choose to have a specific God and Goddess to worship. In this case the
simple calling of Lord and Lady is appropriate. I hate to use the term generic or general, but in essence that is what this is considered. This is a very easy way to work with groups who follow many different paths. So when finding rituals or spell work that you have not created yourself, remember the deities used can be changed to Lord and Lady or to your own specific group of deities you feel comfortable working with. You will find in your research that there are many different names given to very similar Goddesses. You say Venus I say Aphrodite, someone else says Erzuile or Freya or Branwen or any number of Goddesses who represent the idea of love. What is most important is that you find the Deity that you feel comfortable calling, a name that is familiar to you or the mythology that speaks to you. This is the important thing, not the name, but what they represent to you.

I have included for you a listing of Gods and Goddesses. Some of these will be very familiar to you where as some
of them may not be as well known. For instance one of my personal favorites, the Inuit Goddess of Creation, Aakuluuujjusi. Very few people have actually researched her! There are multitudes of Gods and Goddesses that are virtually unknown. With all of the resources at our disposal, we should bring it upon ourselves to unearth these myths and legends and give them the honor they deserve.

List of Gods Chart (Click Here)

List of Goddesses Chart (Click Here)

author: Colleen M Criswell