![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2014\/06\/Neteru.jpg\" "\\"Neteru\\"")
<\/a>When things go well or turn out to be pleasant, we tend to want to do them again.\u00a0 Sometimes this works well, as when a first date turns into many dates and many dates turn into a lifetime partnership.\u00a0 Sometimes it doesn\u2019t work so well.\u00a0 The second piece of cheesecake never tastes quite as good as the first, and a strong desire for cheesecake tends to have a negative affect on your waistline\u2026 and on your wallet.<\/p>\nAnd some experiences are the proverbial \u201clightning in a bottle\u201d \u2013 a fortuitous and unlikely combination of factors that simply can\u2019t be repeated no matter how hard we try.<\/p>\n
In the recap of our Egyptian Summer Solstice circle<\/a>, I wondered if we should perform the daily temple ritual more than once a year:<\/p>\n The outcome of these rituals has been strong and tangible.\u00a0 I sometimes wonder what would happen if we devoted ourselves fully to these Gods and performed the daily temple ritual on a daily basis.\u00a0 There are polytheists who are doing just that, some with the Neteru and some with the deities of other traditions.\u00a0 Though there are daily elements to my spiritual practice, it does not reach this level of devotion.<\/p>\n Should it?\u00a0 That\u2019s a very hard question that deserves more prayerful contemplation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In a Facebook comment<\/a>, Wytch Fawn asked:<\/p>\n Why do you only honor them once a year? It\u2019s like the annual visit to grandma in the home. Seems more respectful to me, maybe keeping those connections going all the time. Otherwise, it\u2019s just theater, for show\u2026 right?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I gave Fawn a short answer (the comparison to an annual visit to grandma is close; calling it theater isn\u2019t) and former Patheos Pagan blogger Aine Llewellyn added another helpful comment, but I think it\u2019s worthwhile to explore this in greater detail.<\/p>\n There are many Gods<\/strong>.\u00a0 I am formally pledged to two and I honor Them every day.\u00a0 There are five others I have an on-going relationship with \u2013 I honor Them on a frequent but irregular basis.\u00a0 There are perhaps another two dozen I would say I\u2019m on good terms with \u2013 I work with and honor Them on an as-needed basis (my need or Theirs).<\/p>\n That leaves thousands of Gods with whom I have no meaningful relationship.\u00a0 When I find myself in Their temples or at the performance of Their rites, I do my best to render due honor to Them \u2013 to be a polite guest in Their presence.\u00a0 But such observances create no obligations, for me or for Them.<\/p>\n Most of Them aren\u2019t jealous<\/strong>.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure Yahweh isn\u2019t the only jealous deity, but I haven\u2019t encountered very many.\u00a0 Perhaps, like the Trickster deities, jealous deities realize I\u2019d be a difficult follower and They call others instead.\u00a0 Regardless, my experience has been that so long as the Gods with whom I am close get what They want, They don\u2019t much care what I do with or for other Gods.<\/p>\n To what extent do deities cooperate and coordinate Their efforts?\u00a0 This is a highly speculative question with no objective proof and only loose subjective evidence.\u00a0 While I am leery of anything that implies a Universal plan (\u201cGod\u2019s Plan\u201d is a monotheist cop-out) it seems likely that deities from the same pantheon or deities in charge of the same things in different places would have common interests and would at least occasionally work together.\u00a0 Sometimes by serving one deity we further the aims of several deities.<\/p>\n Devotion isn\u2019t an all or nothing thing<\/strong>.\u00a0 If I spoke to my wife once a week, I wouldn\u2019t be married for long.\u00a0 Our relationship and my commitment to her requires daily communication.\u00a0 But I have friends for whom once a week conversation is wonderful, and other friends with whom I remain close despite speaking to them every other month or so.\u00a0 We understand different human relationships require different levels of maintenance.<\/p>\n Likewise, different relationships with different Gods require different levels of devotion.\u00a0 Less intense devotion isn\u2019t disrespectful \u2013 it\u2019s entirely appropriate for less intense relationships.<\/p>\n They want what They want<\/strong>.\u00a0 For me, this is the bottom line \u2013 am I giving the Gods I work with the service They require?\u00a0 Am I doing what They asked me to do?\u00a0 If the Egyptian deities ask our group for a temple ritual once a year on the Summer Solstice, then that\u2019s what we need to do\u2026 and it\u2019s all we have to do.<\/p>\n When I interviewed Morpheus Ravenna<\/a>, there was only one question she declined to answer:\u00a0 \u201care there specific things you do regularly in your role as Priest of the Morrigan?\u201d\u00a0 Morpheus said \u201cyes\u2026 and it\u2019s really too big a question for this interview. [That\u2019s] probably at least a chapter in the book.\u201d\u00a0 If what the Morrigan requires from Morpheus requires a whole chapter in a book that may not leave much time for her to work with other deities.\u00a0 On the other hand, Morrigan has asked far less of me<\/a>, meaning I have more time to work with additional Gods.<\/p>\n There is only so much time<\/strong>.\u00a0 This was the point Aine brought up in her Facebook comment:\u00a0 \u201cI would hardly expect to worship every God I\u2019ve ever given devotion to 24\/7.\u201d\u00a0 If I were to begin performing the Egyptian daily temple ritual every day, I would have little time left for Cernunnos and Danu, or for the other deities in my life.\u00a0 If I felt a strong calling to Kemeticism, perhaps I should do that.\u00a0 But as someone whose first calling is to Druidry and who has made oaths to Cernunnos and Danu, that doesn\u2019t seem like a proper trade.<\/p>\n