Question for Pagans?

Question

Do you think some gods take form as new deities or 'forces'(I know not all Pagans like the word forces, since it is impersonal etc. but anyway) as time and civilization change and evolve?

I mean, surely Ra, or Thoth would make a plan to share their knowledge with humans if Egyptian beliefs were forgotten. Maybe we never really know which deity we commune with, maybe it is all part of the same pantheist god. How do you test which deity or spirit you interact with?

(I am thinking of asking the 'deity' a questions that would reveal information to make my beliefs more clear, I normally ask them for things for myself (I guess I am a bit greedy, oh well), I thought it is just nature, psychology and science, but now I am starting to question the mythos, it may be more true than what I expected.)
So do you think the gods ‘shapeshift’?

Lökásennä: you're right, i can tell you are a hardcore polytheist, it's cool , I like it, but how would you know the difference if the universe was a trictster God and pretended to be what you believe your gods and goddess should be?

Answer 1

I am not Pagan as you know although i feel close to their beliefs
but i do agree with you and it is something i have thought about often
that they are all one and the same , that they take form of what is needed for the individual , that they " evolve " with the times
why not

Answer 2

Personally, I believe that all Gods and Goddesses are aspects of one God and Goddess, who in turn are aspects of an incomprehensible Source.

To use an analogy to radio, I do believe that the "frequency" any given aspect operates on can undergo "drift" over the centuries. Look at the Goddess Bast -- Her worship today, at least among Pagans in general (as opposed to Kemeticists) is quite different from Her worship in ancient Egypt, but I still think that She is recognizable as Bast.

I also believe that the same "frequency" can go by many different names -- a God of war, or a Goddess of love, for example. The same patterns keep cropping up in different cultures, probably because human psychology is basically the same no matter where or when you're born.

As I said, I think that the Source is unknowable, so human beings project a human shape onto It; the result is Gods and Goddesses with human faces and human attributes. As a Greek philosopher once said, "The God of the horses would have four legs."

Answer 3

No, they are not all part of one pantheistic deity! Each one is separate and unique, they each have distinct personalities and attributes. I know which one I am communicating or interacting with because I have studied mythology and folklore, I'm familiar with their attributes. If you work with a particular deity over time it becomes very clear who they are. It's an insult to say that Thor is the same being as Zeus, or that Zeus is the same as Allah, and so forth and so on.

Yes the Gods evolve over time and adapt,that's only natural.

Answer 4

I think the Gods and Goddesses are people's "personifications" of aspects of deity. They are real in the sense that we can interact with them, but they are not physical beings in the sense of the Christian God.

Perhaps they are "beings" on an etherial or other plane, but I don't think it's possiblie to completely 'define' a God at all.

As far as knowledge goes, we can get that throug deity or other beings on alternate planes, but we don't need to 'define' a being to do so. In the 'drawing down', people experience this connection fairly often, but it's not the same as receiving dictation from deity.

Answer 5

there is only one entity and that is the universe the teaching say if you ask a question in the right way it contains the answer in it self, the whole universe is shape shifting, the spirit takes that form you need to communicate with it , don't look to hart try to see and you will see, but be careful by asking the spirit there a bad minded spirits who like to play our human mind and trix you so listen to the sound of the harmony and stay in the balance

Answer 6

We think of Gods as having a particular form but that is really for our own convenience. The Gods' mode of existence is outside of our own mundane reality, outside the realm of the laws of physics, if you like. This means that they cannot be apprehended directly but only through some form of symbolism or characterisation. In this sense then, we create the forms of the Gods ourselves. The best way to commune with the Gods would be to think about the Gods that your own ancestors would have communed with, rather than the Egyptian pantheon, for example. If you then try to learn about your own and your ancestors' Gods you will find that your questioning will become more guided and focussed. The idea that we should take a "pick and mix" attitude to religion is a very modern one.

Answer 7

i think any shapeshifting that occurs happens within the hearts and minds of the people who believe in them. if a person is more comfortable with the idea of a kindly old father for their god, then that is what their god will be. any being holding the title of god would not have to bend to fit the ideals of humans. nor are gods dependent on people's belief in them in order for them to exist, so i see no reason for a god to have a back-up plan for spreading the knowledge of their existence should the current holders of such belief cease to be.

Answer 8

2 please .yes just on one though thanks