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Discussion
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After doing witchcraft for about three years now I’m just getting into deity work, and I don’t mean to sound disrespectful, but I feel like I’m missing something here. I’d assume immortal beings don’t actually need candles, food or crystals, so what do deities actually gain from helping humans? It seems hard to believe for some of them that they do it out of kindness for free, so is there like an unforseen catch to it?
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Why do deities work with us?
updated 1 year ago
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There are various old philosophies on the why. Some believe it’s because as “higher” beings they take pity on us. A very old belief is that it’s a transactional relationship. If you look to ancient times, even then offerings were given in order to get something or not have something done in return. Some believe the devotion or act of giving offerings does give some benefit to the spirit or entity. Another belief is that since we are ultimately a part of the same spiritual ecology, it’s a symbiotic relationship with two pieces of the same whole.
In some folk traditions influenced by Buddhism, it’s believed that the spirits or deities are receiving good merits and karma by helping. Some don’t need a why. There are many beliefs on the subject.
Really, it’s up to you to determine what you believe.
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A little kid comes up with a scraggly weed flower, gives it to you, and asks a question.
Going to answer them? Why?
Why not. That is why.
It is the thought that counts, not the offering itself. BB.
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I thing we are cute.
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look at it this way, one point in our history literally whole civilizations worshiped them, gave them energy, gave them offerings be that just a loaf of bread, or literally pulling the heart out of another person…
now a days their followers are the minority… it’s like a rich person becoming poor, you want to be rich again… not saying the gods now a days are weak, they do still have their own strength but if youre used to living at a certain quality of living and that get’s shot down… youre willing to make compromises… like how many people has Zeus forced himself on in recent years, i would probably say very few if any you can only really do that and keep a following if literally a civilization recognizes you as their pantheon’s head… and we arnt really allowed to rip the still beating heart out of someones chest and offer it to our sun god… so, yea…
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Psychologically, it would be training yourself to give up something to someone other than yourself. A deity is a subject that allows you to willingly appreciate and follow/submit to with your whole heart, without shame or guilt or baggage, unlike to other beings(people). You would break out of whatever default mindset you have that is an obstacle to your goal and align to it offerings, intent, practices. And you get results where you might have otherwise subconsciously resisted for perceived logic, rationality, etc. All a practice for you to submit to, and have a relationship with reality while exercising the natural relativity parts of the mind and still have a sense of control to solve problems.
So yeah. Power of prayer and intent and deities and things working out.
Then there’s the dimensions of reality that is weirder than we can think and have yet discovered.
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Gods only have the power we give them. Their strength is directly proportional to the number of people paying them respect.
Have you read or heard the story of the Odyssey? After the final battle of the Trojan war, clever King Ulysses lost faith in the Gods… And his soldiers lost their faith in him.
Zeus, the King of Gods recognized that if the disease of atheism spread, the immortal gods would die. So he put Ulysses through a number of life or death challenges in the hopes of forcing him to recognize Zues’s power.
At the same time Athena sought to protect Ulysses,arguing that his faith would return when he finally made it home.
Defiant Ulysses surmounted Zeus’s challenges mostly by his own clever choices, but found healing and a return to longing for his old life under the influence of Athena.
Ulysses finally made it home, and had his faith restored, this averting the spread of atheism for a time.
ETA: There is a great contemporary novel about this concept called Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. In it, the god Pan can be seen to do a long slide from a goat god in his prime into little more than a whiff of goat stench.
ETAA: American Gods by Neil Gaiman also addresses this concept. There is a book, and a couple seasons of a TV show that were great.
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I like to believe that since the deities are like the keepers of the world, and are concerned with justice rather than human politics, maybe they use their followers as conduits for their influence, using priests/priestesses to spread their message and make changes in the human world that the gods themselves shouldn’t, in return for respect, honor, and dignity
Edit: also it’s possible that their motivations are completely beyond human comprehension🤷♀️
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If deities have some sort of will of their own (which I believe they do) then the reason why may vary with each god.
Perhaps some take pity on us, some feel they get something in return, and some just do it for fun. And there could be other reasons still.
I doubt that any single answer will fully encompass the nature of each god and the relationship we mortals have with them.
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Reciprocity.
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They may or may not NEED them or us. We don’t know for sure. But look at it this way—we tend to schmooze and “kiss ass” and socialize with those we like, have things in common with, or want to impress/ask for their help. Deities are no different. They’re a higher level being we want something from (which doesn’t necessarily mean use, as we could just want love from an authoritative parental figure). A wise person was once asked how they knew their relationship with their deity was real, and their answer was something like “if it gives me comfort and gets me through each day happy and treating people well, what does it even matter?” I feel if you have a relationship that fulfills you, doesn’t harm others, and naked you happy, it doesn’t even matter if that relationship is “real” or not—you get something out of it.
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They feed off the attention and acknowledgment. They interact because it keeps them alive. As long as there’s groups who worship and give them energy, they won’t cease to exist.
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I always thought most deities used their worshippers to amplify their power and spread their influence in order to one up other deities and/or for their own agenda and that interactions with other deities was filled with telenovela level drama with game of thrones style intrigues
On the other hand I also believe that for some deities it’s more for companionship, for a connection with another being and to make a difference in their life. Not all that different from why humans decide to get pets or have children or dedicate their lives to volunteer work or even people coming together to work as a community
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Relationship.
What do you do interact with literally anyone in your life?
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I’m thinking if I were a immortal deity I’d be pretty bored. So I think maybe it’s kind of a distraction for them?
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Deities don’t have a physical form necessarily which means they can’t hold onto material things. Therefore when we offer them to deities (of your choosing ofc) they tend to attach themselves to it because you’re offering them something they do not have an access too. You’re giving them the warmth of the flame with the candle, the life from your blood (optional ofc), the steady flow from water, etc. and when you present them with an offering it is a give and take “transaction” if you will. You do something for them and they bring what you ask in return imagine it like you’re trading something with a friend because they need what you have and you need what they have
