{"id":24,"date":"2012-12-29T14:46:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-29T14:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/12\/sovereignty-before-the-gods\/"},"modified":"2013-02-03T17:06:46","modified_gmt":"2013-02-03T23:06:46","slug":"sovereignty-before-the-gods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/12\/sovereignty-before-the-gods.html","title":{"rendered":"Sovereignty Before the Gods"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>\n\n\n\n
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photo from Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

If you write about religion beyond the level of platitudes, people are going to disagree with you. You can ignore them or you can get defensive, but if the criticism has merit you\u2019d better give it some serious thought.<\/p>\n

Last week Morpheus Ravenna<\/a> \u2013 the de facto High Priestess of Morrigan \u2013 took issue with my blog posts saying we shouldn\u2019t bargain with the gods. In the first<\/a>, I said \u201cHow do you make a deal with Morrigan? You don\u2019t.\u201d In the second<\/a>, I said \u201cBargaining is for demons \u2013 gods and goddesses will have what they want.\u201d In response, Morpheus said:<\/p>\n

I respect John, but I\u2019m here to offer another view. I am here to tell you that you can, and you should, negotiate with the Morrigan. It\u2019s absolutely because She\u2019s as powerful and as demanding as She is, that you should be 100% on your toes about cutting a deal with Her. Yes, She must be approached with respect. Yes, if She wants something from you, She\u2019ll have it one way or another. That\u2019s exactly why you MUST negotiate for terms that are safe for you and support your needs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I encourage you to go read Morpheus\u2019 post and our conversation in the comments<\/a>. We came to the understanding that my key point (that our dealings with the gods should be based on honor) and her key point (that you should never cede your sovereignty, even to deities) are not mutually exclusive. But I realized my posts implied that negotiating with deities is never a good thing, and that\u2019s simply not true. I\u2019ve done it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been thinking about how I could address this without writing something that looked like it came from a canon lawyer (if Pagans ever have canon lawyers, I\u2019m moving to Buddhism!). But dealing with the gods isn\u2019t a hierarchy of if-then statements to be rigidly followed. It\u2019s a collection of concepts and principles to be weighed and balanced\u2026 and the only person who can do the weighing and balancing is the one who\u2019s standing before the goddesses and gods.<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re asking a deity for something, or if a deity is asking you for something, here are some principles to keep in mind.<\/p>\n

Polytheism<\/strong>. Our goddesses and gods are older, stronger and wiser than us, but they have limits. They\u2019re not all-knowing or all-powerful. They\u2019re also not obsessed with our individual well-being, much less our happiness and comfort. They have limited areas of expertise and responsibility and those duties take priority over the wishes of their priests and other followers.<\/p>\n

Reciprocity<\/strong>. If a deity does something for you, you should expect to do something for the deity in return. Perhaps that\u2019s a special sacrifice or an important service. Perhaps it\u2019s a change you need to make in your life to prepare yourself for something down the road. This is something beyond the normal offerings, prayers, and meditations that are the backbone of relationship-building with goddesses and gods.<\/p>\n

Is this reciprocity open-ended, as I\u2019ve explained before, or is it quid pro quo, as with the historical example Morpheus listed? It can be either.<\/p>\n

Honor<\/strong>. The key to reciprocity is honor \u2013 if someone does something for you, you are honor-bound to return the favor. If a casual acquaintance does something for you, you\u2019ll probably want to respond right away. If it\u2019s your best friend, though, you\u2019re probably not going to worry about paying him back. You know one of these days you\u2019ll get an urgent phone call, and when you do, you\u2019ll drop what you\u2019re doing and respond. Either way, you\u2019ll honor your debt.<\/p>\n

Trust<\/strong>. The other side of honor is trust \u2013 you trust the other person to fulfill his side of the bargain, or to reciprocate in the future. Morpheus makes a good point about trusting deities:<\/p>\n

I trust the Morrigan, completely. But trust Her to what? Never destroy anything I care about? No, actually. It isn\u2019t Her nature. I trust Her to be Who and what She is. That is, not human, not inherently conscious of human needs and limitations, not necessarily concerned with all the same priorities that I am. So I set terms and I recommend others do likewise.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sovereignty<\/a><\/strong>. Sovereignty is the right to rule rightly. It flows from the value and worth inherent in everyone and every thing. If you hold the sovereignty of another (a person, an animal, land, a creative work) you have a sacred obligation to care for it. It is not yours to do with as you please. Parents have great discretion in the raising of their children, but they cannot abuse them or fail to educate them and provide medical care. Land owners have great discretion in the use of their property, but they cannot poison it, and in many locations there are much further restrictions.<\/p>\n

Your sovereignty flows from your inherent worth and dignity \u2013 this is one thing the Unitarian Universalists have exactly right. Yet the vast majority of people in the West have given up their sovereignty to corporations, politicians and celebrities. They spend their time, money and energy chasing what they\u2019re told they should want instead of pursuing their own true desires, their True Will.<\/p>\n

Based on the messages from her priestesses and priests, it is fair to say that the primary work of the Goddess Morrigan in our time is as the Lady of Sovereignty<\/a>, urging people to reclaim their own sovereignty. Neither Morrigan nor any of the other old gods I\u2019ve come to know want sheep for followers.<\/p>\n

Morpheus says we should retain our sovereignty even when dealing with the gods, even when dealing with the Goddess of Sovereignty. I must agree. Whatever you agree to do, make sure it is in alignment with your True Will.<\/p>\n

When do you offer quid pro quo and when do you offer an open-ended commitment? What terms and restrictions should you spell out and what should you trust will work out OK one way or another? The only person who can answer those questions for you is you. There is no creed, no doctrine, no formula, no decision tree. The opportunity and the responsibility are yours.<\/p>\n

Sovereignty is hard work. Hard, but necessary and ultimately, rewarding.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

photo from Wikimedia Commons If you write about religion beyond the level of platitudes, people are going to disagree with you. You can ignore them or you can get defensive, but if the criticism has merit you\u2019d better give it some serious thought. Last week Morpheus Ravenna \u2013 the de facto High Priestess of Morrigan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[29,30],"class_list":["post-24","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-polytheism-2","tag-morrigan","tag-sovereignty"],"yoast_head":"\nSovereignty Before the Gods<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"photo from Wikimedia Commons If you write about religion beyond the level of platitudes, people are going to disagree with you. 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