Guiding Lights – Nov 2009

Introduction

As this is my first article for Pagan Writers Community by way of introduction, I will say that I am an astrologer by profession and a devotee of many gods, goddesses, and spirits; be they human or otherwise. I also write and publish books, but more importantly, I am dad to two very special children, and it is this that makes me happiest.

I work with spirits, those who live in unseen realms. Although I call on angels and acknowledge demons, it is the deities, the gods and goddesses and the ascended masters that call on me. I answer by learning about them, first from books and teachers, and then by invocation and communion. They are in my life, like a spouse, or parent, or friend. And like relations with a spouse, or parent, or friend, there is give and take. Or perhaps a better way to understand it is not so much give and take, but a sharing of emotion and strength, understanding and teaching. Of course when you work with deities, most of the strength and teaching comes from them, but the love, understanding, and emotions can go both ways.

My understanding is that there is the one creator who is creation. He and She are life itself and the greatest of all mysteries. The many deities of different cultures and civilizations are mysteries as well, and I am just the kind of curious sort to stretch myself into the realms of magic in order to find answers. Like many of you, I am a seeker. I am motivated to learn all the mysteries if I am able, and if I am allowed to.

I hope to use this column to learn, along with you my readers, about the gods, goddesses, ascended masters, and divinities and how they are as relevant today as they ever were. Studying the past help can put the present into context. Context is needed for most understandings.

Blending the Old with the Present

Let’s face it. The old gods and goddesses are here to stay. Almost from its beginning, the Christian religion tried to stamp out its competition and that meant either converting the masses or exterminating those who wouldn’t align themselves with the new Christ God.

In spite of this, the old religions, be they Pagan or otherwise, have not, nor could they be expected to disappear. It seems that human nature, much less the nature of Deities, doesn’t work that way. Paganism and the old pantheons remained and are making a comeback in a big way.

Today, if you search the Internet, you will find countless groups of those who are devoted to the Olympian Gods and Goddesses, those of Rome, Egypt, Africa, the Celts, the Norse, and the list goes on. Pagan and Neo-Pagan faith circles, covens, and churches are making news headlines and inroads in the entertainment industry. Books, television shows, and movies on Witchcraft and other occult topics such as Vampires are extremely popular now and the trend doesn’t look to be slowing down either.

Many Christians have little issue with this Pagan comeback, but there are many who would rather the old religions just stay in the dust bins of history, and some Christians and others take things a bit further. I won’t dwell on this as I don’t want to give another voice to the fear on both sides that perpetuate friction. I remember the question of an old sage, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”

Most of us learned along the way about the myths of the Greek and Roman Pantheons. A pantheon is a group of Gods and Goddesses that belong to a particular culture. A religion that has more than one God(dess), is said to be polytheistic. Today we have another phenomenon, in that many Neo-Pagans not only embrace the Gods and Goddesses of one pantheon, but of many. I fall into this category.

If you are uncomfortable with the idea of many Deities, just look upon each God and Goddess as separate aspects of the One, living un-manifested Divine, just as you and I are aspects of the One.

Demeter

Now there are many ways and formulas for communicating with deities. If you want to try out a method you are unfamiliar with, go to Amazon.com and take your pick of a grimoire or occult book that instructs the individual or group on how to communicate with spirits. I’ve tried more than one method, and they all seem to work fairly well. I think that your frame of mind and some other factors in your life largely impact how well a particular method works. I do believe that different methods lend themselves to different kinds of encounters, but I don’t have enough experience to be sure of that.

One of the funny things about this kind of work is that our motives for contacting the spiritual realms can be about one thing, and what we get can be something different entirely. Not long ago, I had a very happy experience with this playing out in my life.

It was October 9th when I got to reading about the Goddess Demeter. It was from a book on how to invoke spirits to help you in your life, and I was looking for some help with my financial affairs. I followed the instructions that had already worked with the God Odin four days earlier.  I asked that Demeter help me with my finances so that I could improve my business. During the ceremony, Demeter didn’t appear, nor did I have a sense of her presence, but I’d had enough experience not to label this as a failure.

I went about my business of the day and it was that evening that she came into my life. In the evening just before dusk, I was outside watching my kids play in the yard, when, with a gentle rush of wind though the grass and tress, I became aware of Demeter.

For those who have had this experience, I don’t need to describe it. In fact, it is probably impossible to fully describe it with words. Demeter, the Mother Goddess and the Goddess of agriculture, was unmistakably with me. More sure of her was I, than of the chair I sit on as I write this. She is a steady feeling, one with roots grown into the foundation of creation. To say she has strength doesn’t approach the thing. She is strength. To say that she has love, again doesn’t do it. She is love. Her message to me about my desire for financial assistance was that abundance will come to me with patience and that abundance is always there, as long as we open our eyes and acknowledge it.  But the answer I wasn’t consciously looking for was worlds more than that.

I was privileged to experience a Deity without question, and I gained a better understanding of Demeter and indeed, all deities. They are everything that has been written about them and then some. A priest once told me that to be God fearing means to respect and not really fear. To me now, it is fear, respect, awe, and love all rolled into one. I almost feel it is trifling to write about Demeter in this way, but I have permission.  I only hope to do it justice.

If you have any questions or comments, I believe you can post them here, if not, then send me an email at matovo@comcast.net. I’ll be back next month with more on Deities and I will soon bring planetary magic and astrology into the conversation. Bye for now.

Belenus is the founder of and published through Dreamz-Work Productions (www.dreamz-work.com).