Heathens, Pagans and Witches discussion

The Celtic Goddess Brigid : The goddess of fire, wells, springs and of poets, a teacher of the martial arts and patroness of battle. As Guardian of the forge and consort of smiths, she is the patroness of warriors. As the Lady of the Land Who knows all herbs, She is the greatest of healers.

She is also so much more than this. I only posted this part because I am a Martial Arts instructor and I found this interesting.
What pantheon do you follow? Which specific Gods or Goddesses, if any?

St Brigid...same supernatural broad...different livery.

Edit: I don't follow this entity, sorry if this post initially seemed to express that idea. I am merely pointing out how old deities can be "adopted" into new belief systems by refering to the initial post's goddess.

I don't know that I've ever answered this question in this group. I follow the ancient Egyptian pantheon very loosely, and I am not Kemetic. My work is done in conjunction with Sekhmet, who can also lay claim to the healing arts, though most do not associate her with this. In ancient Egypt, her priests/priestesses were known for their healing abilities. She is a goddess of dualities, healer and destroyer. I acknowledge the Preeminent in the Boat of Millions of Years.

Sara wrote: "I don't know that I've ever answered this question in this group. I follow the ancient Egyptian pantheon very loosely, and I am not Kemetic. My work is done in conjunction with Sekhmet, who can a..."

I know a bit about the Egyptians. Very interesting beliefs. Though I'm not familiar with the Preeminent in the Boat of Millions of Years. Is that some kind of idea about crossing over, the afterlife? Could you enlighten me on that?

Certainly, Eric. The Boat of Millions of Years refers to the journey that Ra makes each night after the sun sets. He is said to journey through the underworld of Chaos, doing battle with the Apophis monster.

Sekhmet is one of the goddesses/gods who accompany him on this journey. One of her epithets is The One Who Wields the Knife, referring to her position at the head of the solar barque, battling Apophis.

"Millions of Years" refers to the infinite amount of time over which this cycle will repeat itself, until it doesn't and the world ends. To the ancient Egyptians, there was a vast difference between Chaos and the end of the world. One of the functions of their deities was to maintain order in the face of Chaos.

I tend towards the gods of Scotland, which include those of old Ireland.

Being eclectic I'm open to working with any deity. I've worked with Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse, Hindu, Celtic, Santerian, and American Indian gods and goddesses. Most often I find I "talk" with those connected to animals or health such as Artemis, Bastet, Bridgit, Cernunnos, Freya, Hermes, Isis, and Sobek.

I'm much the same as Joseph, in that I work with an eclectic mix of deities. Prominent at the moment are Isis and Bast, but I also work closely with Hermes, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Bridgit, Lugh, Archangel Michael, and Ma'at.

I've probably worked with Hermes and Athena the longest, as my father entrusted my teaching to them when I was a child.

I find this subject so fascinating!! Whether it be Celtic, Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Norse or any other place that I've excluded.

I would have to say the first Goddess who captured my interest was Isis. But, to be fair, there was a Saturday morning cartoon about her when I was little, so that might have triggered my interest.

The following is the list of my Fav's (in no particular order):
Aphrodite, Venus, Hera, Ishtar, Freya, Shakti, Hecate & of course Isis.

Celeste wrote: "I would have to say the first Goddess who captured my interest was Isis..."

On a slight aside: Currently reading The Destruction of the Idols: The End of Pagan Cults in Antiquity which mentions a temple of Isis in Rome being flattened on the orders of Tiberius in 19ce.
This was a result of a scandal involving a female worshiper being seduced/raped by a fellow claiming to be Anubis.
The priests were also crucified for their collusion in the seduction/rape.
As gossipy as this is ( it smacks of Suetonius to me) I was surprised that it was priests rather than priestesses.
Anyone know anything about this? Or have any pointers to Isis worship in antiquity?

Jaq wrote: "I do a certain amount of picking and choosing among pantheons for different purposes, but have some connection with Sekhmet and hathor from the Ancient Egyptians as well as Ganesha from the Hindu p..."

I am always pleased to meet another who has a connection to Sekhmet. In my experience, there aren't many who claim such.

I am curious as to whether or not you have ever posted/written of any of your experiences with her?

Old-Barbarossa wrote: "This was a result of a scandal involving a female worshiper being seduced/raped by a fellow claiming to be Anubis." Good grief that nonsense was even going on then? That's very interesting that it caused the temple to be closed down, and saddening.

Aaron wrote: "Old-Barbarossa wrote: "This was a result of a scandal involving a female worshiper being seduced/raped by a fellow claiming to be Anubis." Good grief that nonsense was even going on then? That's ve..."
Not surprising though, the Romans were always looking for excuses to suppress "Eastern" religions.

Old-Barbarossa wrote: "Celeste wrote: "I would have to say the first Goddess who captured my interest was Isis..."

On a slight aside: Currently reading The Destruction of the Idols: The End of Pagan Cults in Antiquity ..."

If you are looking for a scholarly work on the study of Isis worship, you might consider a book called "Isis in the Ancient World" by R. E. Witt. It's an older work, published originally in 1971. Witt was a professor at the University of London. It is one perspective.

Any followers of Ixchele?

Margaret wrote: "Not surprising though, the Romans were always looking for excuses to suppress "Eastern" religions..."

Well...sort of.
They weren't too keen on some but others flourished and then there was the "flavour of the month" thing when some went through phases (extreme example: xtianity...ended up adopted as the state religion to the exclusion of all other).
But Mithras is a good example of an eastern religion that was embraced lock stock in the Roman empire.
The issue with the Isis temple seems to be more scandal related though, the Isis devotee that was attacked was married into a senatorial family therefore the attack was seen as an insult to Rome...but, yes, between about 50bce and this event in 19ce the cult of Isis did seem to have a hard time with temples being attacked accasionally in Rome, though there appears to be little evidence of this practice outside the Imperial City itself until the xtian era.

Inanna, Sekhmet, Hecate, Bona Dea, Pan

Greek: Dionysus, Persephone/Hecate, although my heritage is English/German.

Outside the usual in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition--White Tara. I have a Buddhist name. Translated it means "Deathless White Tara." Also, a marvelous being named Naga Kanya. And the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Sara wrote: "If you are looking for a scholarly work on the study of Isis worship, you might consider a book called "Isis in the Ancient World" by R. E. Witt. It's an older work, published originally in 1971. Witt was a professor at the University of London. It is one perspective. "

Sara, Thanks so much for the suggestion! I'll look into that. ;D

I am new to this new and exciting path of self discovery. I've been most interested in books about Paganism in general and Wicca more specifically. I have been reading about many different goddesses and I'm curious -

Do you choose the God/Goddess with whom you most identify or do you feel that she/he chooses you?

I am perpetually drawn to Hecate, Cerridwen, and Gaia. I'm not sure why these have such an emotional connection for me, but they do.

Marsha wrote: "Do you choose the God/Goddess with whom you most identify or do you feel that she/he chooses you? "

I'd imagine it's different for everyone, but then again, not every pagan follows a god or goddess. For those that do, maybe both, but you'll know when you've found the right one/s :)

I'm also drawn to Hecate and Cerridwen. Maybe it's because they preside over magic.

My patron deity is Yemoja.

In a way, my gods came to me in that when I did meditations they were there. As to who they are, that came later when I finally stumbled upon the right path and started putting names to those who appeared.

Have you guy heard of a dark Goddess?
http://jezebelwitch.deviantart.com/ar...

Athena
I choose her because of all the experiances I have had with owls
I also dont like calling her name because they are pure energy and i dont think they have names
The names are more for us i think....