the Goddess?

Question

I have seen several mentions about the Goddess
but when people say this , does this Goddess have many names ?
is it the same Goddess with many aspects ?
do you just have a different name for the same deity depending on your branch of Paganism ?
can someone explain please

so many Goddesses out there eeek

Answer 1

It depends on who you ask and how you feel, Pangel.

A duotheist believes in One Goddess, One God (and nowadays focuses mostly on the Goddess, really) expressed in many aspects and known by many names.

A polytheist believes in a pantheon of many individual gods and goddesses. In informal terms, a "soft polytheist" believes there is one "tribe" of god/desses known by many names in different cultures, and a "hard polytheist" believes every culture has its OWN pantheon of god/desses, distinct and separate from those of other cultures.

And then some believe Goddess, God, and pantheons of multiples of both are all merely "Jungian archetypes" or "cultural projections" or "symbols." In heathenry we call them "gautless."

Answer 2

Many people who refer to "The Goddess" are referring to some uber-deity that all of the named deities are supposed to be a part of. This view typically posits that Athena and Aphrodite, for example, are just different names/different facets of the same being.

There's a smaller group that use the term (normally with a lowercase "the") to refer to a specific goddess - normally, the goddess of Traditional Wicca. She's got a name, but that name is an oathbound secret. Likely, a corruption of this usage is what lead to the first usage.

Being a hard polytheist, I believe that the gods are seperate beings. Some of the naming analogs are pretty much a given (the Welsh Llew, for example, is likely the same as the Irish Lugh), and there's some interesting speculation as to the similarities between certain pantheons (such as the Irish Taranis and the Nordic Thor) - but within pantheons, the deities are individuals (Thor isn't Loki.)

Answer 3

The expression 'Lord and Lady' covers the male/ female side of deity from what I understand. The theology behind the ancient religions gets a bit complicated and well thought out. I think you have the basic idea. The Egyptian pantheon is perhaps the most detailed but the Greeks closely follow. I'm not sure if I fully understand. From what I know alot of the religions mirror each other in remarkable ways. Yes, even the Monotheistic Christians. I was reading last night about an Egyptian god/ man (Osiris) who's story was that of death and Resurrection much like that of Jesus. And this god was supposed to be a intercessor on behalf of man to the gods... Am I getting off the subject? ;D

Some hold the view of an Almighty God (monotheistic) that expresses Itself in many gods and goddesses (polytheistic) to convey Itself to humankind. A Creator that is reaching out and we must go back so to speak...

There are so many views I hold the idea that you would be doing good to approach with tolerance for all beliefs. You'll find that not everyone thinks that way and in some of their minds you are damned...

Answer 4

The various names for the Goddess are just an example of the human need to give a name to everything. By naming something it makes it more real to us. The Goddess is the female side of divinity but different names are used for her to illustrate different sides of the divine, i.e Aphrodite - goddess of love, Nut - goddess of fertility, Isis. goddess of the moon etc. etc. By naming the Goddess you are just expressing which aspect of divinity you wish to reach out to. By the way, have nothing against Wiccans but the Goddess is not just a Wiccan deity, goes back way further than that to a time when the feminine deity was revered and celebrated before the male dominated Christianity took over. Wicca is a fairly new concept.

Answer 5

Well, some take a monolarity approach, like the ancient Romans. During prayer, they would sometimes say, "Isis, Hera, Demeter, or by whatever name you prefer," to make sure that they are approaching the right aspect of the Goddess during ritual. They were very orthoprax in their worship, and they thought that if they asked the Goddess of something by the wrong name, the ritual wouldn't work.

I'm an Eclectic Pagan, and I really don't know if there are many Goddesses, or just different aspects that are all connected. I tend to lean toward that they are all connected somehow. For example, in ancient Egypt, Het-Heru (Hathor), Bastt, and Sekhmet were all different aspects of the same Goddess. However, they each had their own distinct personalities, stories, and families!

Answer 6

For me i believe that all Goddesses are one Goddess but the different incarnations relate to different aspect of her personality. Depending on what I need I might address a specific Goddess. In reality I feel it is mainly for my benefit. My patron Goddess is Brigit. I feel a strong connection to her and have the easiest time communicating with her but I have called on others when the need arises. It's the same with the Gods. i feel most comfortable with Lugh, but that doesn't mean I won't call upon other Gods if I should need something specific. Again I feel in the end they are all one but in many different persona's. I'm not sure if it's the same for others but I can only give you my experience. I hope this helps.
Blessed Be!

Answer 7

Yes, the Goddess has many names. Whether they are all aspects of the same Goddess is a matter of opinion, but I agree with it.

There is also the concept of the Goddess in a more general form, representing the feminine aspect of Divinity.

If you're interested in Goddess spirituality, you could go either way: revere a specific Goddess from a specific tradition, or the more general female aspect of Divinity. Whatever feels right to you.

Answer 8

I usually use the terms "gods" and "deities" to refer in a generic way to all of the deities that I honor. But when speaking about a specific deity, I use their name. For example, "I did a ritual today to honor Epona". I'm a polytheist so I believe that my deities are separate individuals rather than only aspects of a single or duo of deities. I definitely wouldn't say, "I did a ritual today to honor the Goddess" because anyone on a similar path to mine would look at me oddly and immediately ask, "Who are you talking about?" and my not using her name would seem a bit insulting. It would be similar to me saying that I went shopping with "the sister" when I have several sisters.

Of course all neo-pagans are not polytheists so there are many different views. This is just the reasoning of one polytheist.

Answer 9

I am a Celtic Pagan and a 'hardcore polytheist' so I believe in many female deities.Are you asking about one in particular?

The Goddess seems to be used a by Wiccans when ending answers on here.They believe in only 2 deities-a God and Goddess so I'd guess it's their Goddess you keep hearing about.

Answer 10

In Wicca the Goddess is known by many names and the Goddesses are seen as differant aspects of the one Goddess. In the other branchs of Paganism each Goddess is unique with their own history and traits and personality. Depending on the branch you join you may come to certain ideas of what the Goddess is.

Answer 11

We Witches and Pagans tend to do that a lot. We ALL tend to feel that each other's NAME for Goddess is special to THAT believer. So, accordingly we Address her as either Goddess or Lady in public, so as not to exclude anyone else's VIEW or NAME for her. The same for God (Many of us believe in BOTH a Goddess and a God, but not all do). Many of us ALSO tend to refer to Goddess by MANY names, depending on the REASON that we are invoking her. If we are invoking her for LOVE then we would invoke a Goddess of Love, If we were invoking her for HEALING then we'd invoke a goddess of healing, and so forth. There are Gods and goddesses for just about any purpose that one can be invoked for. Basically we ALL see the SAME Goddess and God but just tend to focus on the REASON that we are invoking that diety and ascribe the name based on the functions of that Deity. This is why so MANY of us are thought of as being PAN-theistic. We worship Goddess and God by MANY names. It's kind of similar to the Catholics, they have a lot of Saints who are prayed to for different purposes, each with their own area of responsibility. Hope this helps, (((Hugs)))

Raji the Green Witch