Honoring VS Working

[SilverBear]

I never really thought about this topic before and I saw people (of course arguing) on social media lol…

Side Quest: Why can’t people on social media just have conversations? Why do they always explode into rage lol. Sigh…people. ANYWHO….

the topic was about honoring vs working with a God and/or Goddess.

Honoring a deity means showing respect. That could look like leaving offerings, lighting a candle, learning about them, or acknowledge them during seasonal rituals.

When we honor a deity there is ZERO commitment — it’s devotional, appreciative, and often observational.

Working with a deity is a relationship that is ongoing. It’s mutual. The deity may guide your practice, challenge you, teach you lessons, or show up repeatedly in your life in some way.

This usually comes with consent, boundaries, and very clear communication.

And realize that honoring a deity does not mean they’re calling you. And not every deity wants to work closely with every person that calls on them. I mean they are gods/goddess after all, they pretty much do what they want anyway lol.

And know this…as a witch, you don’t need to work with deities to be powerful. You don’t need a deity to validate your practice. Honoring alone is sacred work.

Devotion is respect. Working is relationship. Both are magickal in their own right — just different paths.

What are your thoughts?!

[leilani1]

Thoughtful Thursday Silverbear,

And what a thought this is!!! I agree. Devotion and working with are 2 different things. And, just because you give devotion to a deity does not mean that they are speaking to you. And, as you say, working with a deity implies, a relationship, not just worship. I do not see how one excludes the other. We are able to do both if we so choose.

Lady Gene….Thank-you for these Thoughts for Thursday

[tracyS]

I’ll put my pennies worth. Something I learnt yesterday too is be careful about who you honour.

@SilverBear

And not every deity wants to work closely with every person that calls on them

When working with chaos gods particularly this applies, it was illustrated to me by my mentor like this:

Working with a chaos god is like standing on the beach saying a prayer to a tsunami and then wondering why you’re wet and nearly drowned. If a certain god says no, respect it and walk away. Lol. Thought I’d share.

Skal

[c11]

Thank you all for sharing this. I was just wondering about this the other night being a newbie to “all of this”

blessed be

[leilani1]

Magnificent Monday Magicians,

I didn’t know where to put this….here is a saying I came across today.

Listen to the wind; it talks

Listen to the silence; it speaks

Listen to your heart; it knows.

I really liked this and thought I’d pass it on Lady Gene

[Greenbriar]

I don’t work with any deities, but I do honor Gaia daily, in my prayers, when I fill the bird feeders and clean the bird baths, and when I’m working in my garden. I consider her my patron Goddess, although that may not be the right word since I don’t “work” with her, per se.

[leilani1]

Terrific Tuesday Greenbriar,

I totally hear you. My dieties may change occasionally, I basically keep Brigid as my go-to. A number of reasons, I am a solar witch because I have always loved the sun, and here in Vegas, we get a lot of it!! . I do not necessarily “work” with dieties either. I use the names to give a “face” to the element, not as an actual presence. Just something that gives a “place” to the elements in my mind. (a way to focus). That is why the names change for me occasionally. For instance, my Air goddess may change, sometimes Isis, sometimes Athena. I tried different names for the sun (Brigid and other variations of this name never caught my fancy) but Brigid seems to be the name that responds for me for that element. I do not use names from any one or specific pantheon. Like everything else in the craft, I go with what feels right. I use different names on different occasions, depending on the action I am looking for. Example, for the water element I like Danu, many waters and wells are named after her, however I use Tiamat when I need a change in attitude or to control my emotions. I think of the movie Six Degrees of Separation with Will Smith 1993, where Stockard Channing spins the painting and says “chaos/control, chaos/control, chaos/control”. I ask Tiamat to help with my emotions by giving me “control through this chaos”.

Sorry my rambling my wonderful witches, those who know me by now, know that I have a tendency for either a few short sentences or a “novel” answer.

Lady Gene

[Greenbriar]

You have reminded me, @leilani1 that it’s time for me to go back to the Goddess lessons here on Spells 8 and learn more about the Goddesses with whom I’m not really familiar. One of them may be calling to me!