My Pantheon

Over the years I have collected my own pantheon of gods. Pantheons are usually grouped together by cultures, like the Olympic gods of Greece, the Asgardians of the Norse, the Jade Emperors Court of China and similar groupings. But, my pantheon just came together as I was either drawn to a god or I have a need for them. I have also included one Archangel in the grouping, as they are just as powerfull and divine as gods. I call upon many other gods, when I need them, and sometimes just when I notice them, but these are the main ones for me.

So what is a god to me? I do believe in the great and unknowable supreme deity that created everything and IS everything, the grandfather spirit. So I think of gods as it's children, the embodiments of what they represent, given form and much (but not all) personality by people. They are pure divine spirit and their physical forms are their elements. So Zues is the sky and lightning of the Mediterranean, Thor is the might of thunder in northern Europe, Quetzalcoatl is the gentle fertile rains of Central America, Venus is the morning and evening star and is in the attraction and love you feel for other things, Amaterasu is the divine sun over Japan and mother of Emperors, etc..

Grandfather spirit

Sekhmet: way back when I was looking for a patron goddess, I kept seeing lioness images and then I got this toy that I was going to resculpt and I decided that the toy looked a lot like a lion woman. That led me to Sekhmet, whom has since been my patron goddess.

Mut: she is more recent to my pantheon. When I prayed that my sons adoption would go well and that I was hoping to get my other foster sons, I had a dream one night and in the dream was a white vulture woman, whom offered me comfort and encouragement. I decided to add her to my pantheon after that. She made the effort to contact me, so I should honor her for her interest.

Venus, the embodiment of love, attraction and beauty. I prayed to her a lot when I was a horny teen, hoping that she would find me someone whom would love me. Well, that didn't work out, but maybe one day. I keep praying though, for the day that she hears me and finally sends me my love.

Thor: I actually got to know Thor mostly through comic books. While the comics are not correct on many things, it did get me to read about him and I came to like him as a very humane god.

Damballah: the first god that I had real contact with. I met him through my kooky friend. While I do not call upon him much anymore, I include him out of respect for being the first.

Apsu: I read his story a long time go. In the legend, he is killed by Ea, but in ancient Mesopotamia they had sacred pools to Apsu. So, he must not have really died. He was the sweet waters under the earth and father of the gods. In a special ceremony I drank the sacred waters of this elder god, becoming one of his children. I usually represented him as a dragon on my altar, before I stored it away to move.

Tiamat, the queen of Chaos. Here is how she was pictured by the ancient Mesopotamians. She is the ocean, the earth, the mother of gods, dragons and monsters. In a special ceremony I drank her sacred waters, becoming one of her children.

Here is a modern idea of Tiamat, as the mother of dragons in RPG lore.

This is an amulet worn by her priests in the RPG. I actually think it is really cool and would like to commision someone to make one for me to wear as a dedication to the real Tiamat.

Ganesh is the remover of obstacles. I found him in college and he has been one of my gods since.

Gaea, the earth, mother of all. In a sacred ceremony, similar to the ones ancient kings used to do, I wed the earth mother. Though, I don't plan on being sacrificed for a good harvest.

Abaddon, keeper of the key, the destroyer, angel of death, lord of the demon locusts, guardian of the abyss and the angel whom will lock up the devil for a thousand years at the end of the apocalypse. Many Christians have turned him into a demon, but he is just a lonely darkangel. During my dark days in high school, I found this darkangel and latched onto him. I even wrote him poetry and since I was involved in a couple of accidents that should have taken my life, I think this angel of death heard me and protected me.

I had this great book that I got when I started university, Ancient Ways: Reclaiming Pagan Traditions, and that book was what actually got me into Anthropolgy. In the book it described how in Borneo (or Sumatra), when boys came of age, they were given a tattoo of their green man/horned lord. So, I decided that I needed to get a tattoo of a horned lord/green man figure to mark my coming of age. I decided on Dionysus, because I knew him better than the other ones. Then I found this great painting of Dionysus and the tattoo artist did about half for me for a great price. I love the tattoo, though I wish it covered my whole back instead of a quarter of it. So, Dionysus Greenman has been with me ever since.

Chang Xian (also Zhang Xian). When I was desperate to get my sons adoption approved I prayed to just about any god that would listen. I looked for a god that would help with this specifically. The cloesest I found was this Chinese god. He helps give male children to families, and while he usually does it through birth, I asked him to help me in adopting my son. I said I would put him on my altar if the adoption went through, and it did, so I will keep my promise and put him on my altar when I return home. Besides, I will be adopting agian next year and so I will need him to help me again.

Horus, the sun, the eye, the falcon, the lord. I was really drawn to him and the story of how he had to fight his uncle for vengeance against his father, and how in other older stories he and Set were brothers not nephew and uncle. I also like how the statues of Isis with baby Horus look just like baby Jesus and Mary, and so I am very comfortable with that. In an old ritual I found, I summoned the spirit of Horus into me, like the ancient pharoahs did.

Kuan Yin, she who hears the cries of the world. The childless mother. I could identify with her very easily. I saw this Japanese movie about these orphaned kids and the brother was sent away to live in the Buddhist shrine, but then winter came and the monk got trapped in the town and the boy was left alone. He found the old rundown shrine to Kuan Yin and fixed it up the best he could. He then started having visions of her and then he died from the cold and hunger. She took him to her realm, as she is the mother of all orphans. Since I have become like a father for many orphans, you can see how much I identify with her. So, I hope she hears my cries and grants me the other children that need me and that I want.