When things get bad, certain kinds of Christians will say “it’s all part of God’s plan.” That’s supposed to make you feel better. Instead, it tells me that either their theology is all wrong or their God is a lousy planner.
People say these things because it’s easier for them to believe that a deity or a demon or a cabal of billionaires is controlling the world than it is to accept what’s clearly evident:
No one is in charge.
Beyond that, conservative Christian theology demands that they believe it. Their theology says their God is the “supreme being” who made the universe from nothing but still knows and cares about every detail, especially who you love and whether your gender expression matches what you were assigned at birth.
As Pagans, we have no such delusions.
While there are some polytheists who argue that the Gods are omniscient, omnipotent, and in complete agreement with each other, most of us opt for a plain reading of the stories our ancestors told about them, taking myths at face value even as we understand they were never intended to be read literally. Add in our own first-hand experiences and we have a clear picture of the many Gods as individual persons who are the mightiest of spirits but who are still finite beings, who participate in the life of the world but do not control it.
Whatever is going on right now – especially in the socio-political realm – it is not part of any God’s plan.
Still, the Gods are divine beings. They have their own areas of interest and responsibilities. They have their own values and virtues. And that leaves us wondering:
Where are the Gods in “all this”?
The Gods are many, not one
Let’s begin with something I hope is obvious but won’t be to everyone in this culture that’s still dominated by monotheism. Anything that speaks of “the Gods” is necessarily incomplete and is never universally true. The Gods are many, not one. There is an essential divinity to all of them (whatever it is that makes a God a God) but they are not all the same and they are not all playing on the same team.
Further, while we can know something about the Gods, they are as far beyond us as we are beyond cats. We will never fully understand them.
I write about what I’ve experienced with a handful of deities. Many of my friends and co-religionists have had similar experiences and have come to similar conclusions, but that doesn’t mean our ideas are “right” and it doesn’t mean they apply to every deity in every situation.
But our observations and contemplations are still useful as we attempt to form and maintain relationships with our Gods.
The Gods are Gods of the whole world, not just the Gods of humans
So much bad religion comes from a single key error: the idea that life is all about us. When you look at the origin story science tells (which does a great job of explaining how and when we got here, even if it can’t answer the question of the ultimate origins of life) you see that humans are very late to the party. The universe is around 14 billion years old, the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and life on Earth has existed for 3.5 billion years. Meanwhile, our species is perhaps 200,000 years old. In that short time we’ve become the most powerful species on Earth (whether we are the most intelligent is less certain).
But we are only one relatively new species out of millions. The Gods are the Gods of all those species – and the Earth and the Sky and the Sea – not just the Gods of humans.
So if your favorite deity isn’t as concerned about the state of American politics as you wish, that’s at least partially because they have countless other persons occupying their attention.
Our Gods are not helicopter parents
I have no children myself, but I’m well aware of the balance parents must strike between protecting their children from harm and letting them learn and grow on their own. When do you fix something for your kids and when do you say “you got yourself here – you get yourself out?”
Civilization is roughly 10,000 years old, the Industrial Era is 300 years old, and our current “information age” is at most 60. I would say we’re an adolescent species, but I’m not sure we’re that far along.
We have a lot of growing up left to do. There’s a lot we have to figure out. Like good parents, our Gods will point us in the right direction (primarily through their virtues and values) but they aren’t going to set up a perfect society for us – and if they did, we’d just screw it up… because we have a lot of growing up left to do.
Still, I’m a Pagan, not a Deist. I do believe the Gods are active in the world and in our lives. What are they doing right now?
This conflict includes more than the ordinary world
Where do the Gods live? Our ancestors told stories of Olympus, Asgard, and various Otherworlds. Basically, “not here, but close to here.”
Just as our Gods are the Gods of the birds and squirrels and rivers and trees, they’re also the Gods of the Otherworld (whether the Otherworld is many places or one place with many realms is another topic for another time).
The Otherworld is a place similar to this world. It is not the Christian Heaven (then again, there was once a war in the Christian Heaven – make of that what you will). The stories of our ancestors say it’s a place of eternal youth and beauty, but it’s also a place of conflict and battle, sometimes involving the Gods, who are not always on the same sides.
If you’re wondering where the Gods are right now, “dealing with conflict in the Otherworld” is a pretty good guess.
Last year several of us wrote about The Great War in the Otherworld and in this World. That war is still going on. I’ve used World War I metaphors about this for years. We’re well past 1914 and we’re in the trench warfare stage, fighting costly battles to take and lose the same 100 yards of ground over and over again.
And there is no American army coming to give one side a decisive advantage.
And in any case, there are more than two sides to this war.
Metaphor or spiritual reality? Or both?
Last week I saw someone on social media complain that fighting the Puritan egregore (a concept originated by Morgan Daimler) is based in fiction and thus not a helpful way of thinking about what’s going on. I freely admit that an overreliance on pop culture is not a good thing. If you’re waiting to see spirits walking the streets like a scene out of Ghostbusters, you’re going to be disappointed. That’s not how this works – it’s not how it’s ever worked.
But sometimes the line between “metaphor” and “spiritual reality” is pretty faint. A story that helps us understand what’s going on, helps us find our place in the story, and tells us how we can not just survive but also succeed is a true story, whether it actually happens or not.
The word for that kind of story is “myth” – I trust you all understand how powerful myths can be.
For the record, I’m on the side of “spiritual reality.” But even if all this is 100% metaphor, I’d still be doing the same things.
What comes next – a divination
Those of us who follow these things closely have been expecting an escalation of the Otherworldly war into this world for some time. I’m reluctant to say that the recent U.S. elections are evidence of such an extension (honestly, that feels like a gross oversimplification of both the Great War and of U.S. politics) but it’s definitely not a good thing.
So what’s next? What’s coming? Where are the Gods in all this? As I wrote this, I felt a need for divination. With that as my question, I drew five cards from the Celtic Tarot.
The key images are in the very center of the reading. The Queen of Swords’ outreached hand invites us to join her in her work (the artwork is of Penarddun from Welsh mythology, but ask yourself who this Queen is in your life). Her sword is both a metaphor for making wise decisions and a weapon for fighting.
The first two cards remind us of what we should be well aware of: our overall society – of which we are a part – is headed in the wrong direction. Strength cautions us that there are more effective methods than brute force, and that it’s good to make friends with dragons. The Two of Wands reminds us that we weren’t satisfied with the way things were before “all this” started. Rather than going back to some supposedly better time, we should ask ourselves what we want the future to be.
And then go create that future.
Choose your weapon, pick your battle
Is there a spiritual war going on? The forces of Oppression and Conformity certainly think so. I’ve thought so since around 2010 and I’ve seen nothing recently to convince me I’m wrong.
But the more I think and contemplate and meditate about this, the more I’m starting to think I’m mistaken to be waiting for the Morrigan – or anyone else – to issue a call to arms. The Great War is here. We know this because we’re living in it.
Whether our place in this war is in this world or in the Otherworld or in both is for us to decide.
Whether we fight with swords or wands or pens or guitars is for us to decide.
I made my choice. Now I have to carry through with it.
What is your choice?
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In