Solstice Series: The Devotional Path

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in December we will be asking people questions about Paganism and Pagan religions and culture. Want to weigh in? Find the next question at the bottom of this post!

We’ve talked a lot about the devotional path here at Patheos but there are many Pagans who feel strongly that other relationships with the Gods are more appropriate. If all paths are valid, is there such a thing as a wrong relationship with the Gods?

Morgan Daimler, gythia of Stormlight Kindred:

I think the only wrong relationship with the Gods is a disrespectful one. When people take an approach that Deities exist for us in some way and treat the Gods as if they are just waiting around for us to tell them what to do, I think that is an inherently flawed approach. There is an unhealthy hubris when people place the Gods below themselves in the grand scheme of things. Otherwise though I think it’s up to the individual to find the correct relationship for themselves; some people might only approach Deity at holy days, while others may offer daily devotionals, or any of the full array of possibilities in between.

P. Sufenas Virius Lupus responds:

Relationships with deities are very much like relationships that humans have with one another–they can be mutually beneficial, and the source of great enjoyment and love, productivity and friendship, virtue-building and devoted service; but they can also be the source of great destruction, delusion, and the worst excesses of cheap sentimentality, co-dependence, and abusiveness.  Even good and beneficial relationships can suffer from extremes of jealousy, exclusivity, and the enforcement of or arguing over boundaries that often occurs in even the most well-intentioned human relationships.  Nowhere does it say that any of the deities in polytheistic cultures are 100% good, honest, loving, caring, forgiving, or altruistic.  Rather than this being a detraction, however, it is simply a challenge and something to be aware of, as it is with any human relationship with another human, group, organization, or anything else.

I’m sure we’ve all met people who might go a little bit overboard with their devotions to deities, and who use their deities and their devotions to them as excuses for truly appalling behaviors–no, just because you’re a devotee of Sekhmet doesn’t mean you get to be a vindictive bitch to someone, nor does one’s devotion to Dionysos require that one be a drunken and disruptive lout, nor does a relationship with Eris (even of a non-Discordian variety!) mean that one should only be an instrument of chaos and mucking things up in everyone’s lives.  Because one’s relationship with a deity is a private matter, as well as an entirely subjective matter, it is impossible for others to verify or in any way confirm the terms and standards expected in a given set of devotional relationships, apart from the human part of the relationship conveying information upon that, and exaggerations as well as outright lies in that regard are certainly possible.  However, for the most part, it has been obvious in many cases I’ve encountered if honesty has been at issue, and even the more idiosyncratic devotional relationships I’ve witnessed have tended to be productive and positive, or if not those qualities, at least harmless to others.  Those matters are between one and one’s gods, and as long as they do not attempt to enforce their own standards upon others, or claim undue authority over others, there is no problem with them.

However, I do think it needs to be said that we are only in the very infancy stages of exploring the full range of possibilities of devotional relationships.  The most common ones witnessed these days (often in combination with one another) are the priest/ess relationship in service of a deity, a parental relationship with the deities, a “marriage” with the deities, or so-called “god-slavery.”  But, even within these, there are further possibilities–for example, a deity may be one’s spiritual parent, but what if a deity is instead one’s spiritual child?  The Hindu devotions to the baby Krishna and the infant Hanuman are precedents for this, as is the Christ child in Christianity; but the infant Dionysos iconography from ancient Greece, as well as the child Horus depictions from Egypt, all would seem to suggest this possibility as well.  Deities are often our teachers, but what if we were their teachers?  As many polytheistic deities are not said to be omniscient, this would obviously have to be a possibility, and some of us may know a great deal more about driving cars or programming computers than Hestia might, for example.  What if one were not in a sacerdotal role with a deity, but instead served them through any number of other activities?  This last possibility is becoming more and more widespread in modern Paganism, but it has a long way to go and there are many further options for exploring it than have been entertained thus far.  The gods today may be in less need of priests, and even in less need of artists, than they are of really good cooks, carpool organizers, publicity agents, librarians, doctors, or aerobics instructors…really, nearly anything is possible.  This is one of the reasons why modern Paganism can be so potentially exciting and transformative, and I hope that these types of roles continue to diversify and proliferate in the near future.

Galina Krasskova responds:

I really think that many Pagans and Heathens dismiss the devotional path for all the wrong reasons. Walking the path of devotion means acknowledging that spirituality isn’t all about ‘you.’ Many of us approach religion with very modern attitudes of entitlement and egotism. Devotion teaches a person to commit to something bigger and older outside of themselves. It teaches humility and the cultivation of an incredibly courageous vulnerability – a  necessary before any real spiritual work can be done. It’s a terrifyingly stark body of practices and I think most of us are too wrapped up in our own egos to do it well. That does not mean it cannot and should not be attempted, however. Devotion teaches us that spirituality, true spirituality isn’t about our convenience. I believe our ancestors knew this but in the rush toward the siren song of modernity, in the sad flight away from our traditions, we’ve forgotten. I’ve come to the conclusion that most people don’t want to have direct experiences with the Gods. It might disrupt their neatly ordered lives too much.

That being said, I think that devotion, however, can take many, many different forms. There is a wonderful quote by the Sufi mystic Rumi: “There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” And I very much believe that’s true. Different people are called to serve in different ways. The same tools and techniques….technologies if you will—aren’t going to work for every single person. Some people respond very well to prayer, others to ritual, others to working within the community, others to study. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that one’s life is lived in right relationship to the Holy Powers and ancestors. For some, that is going to mean ecstatic devotion, for others contemplation, for others raising a family well, for others planting a garden and cleaning a house and a thousand other things. What’s important is that the Holy Powers rest at the center of it. We’re not meant to be cookie cutter replicas of each other. Devotion is an incredibly unique and varied thing. I think that we err most egregiously when we attempt to fit everyone into the same narrow box. True devotion doesn’t work that way.

I do however, think there is wrong relationship with the Gods. There is putting one’s ego, comfort, and convenience first. There is acting without humility or piety. There is allowing anything to rise in importance above the Holy Powers. There is ignoring one’s ancestors and disrespecting the land. There are as many ways to be in wrong relationship with the Gods as there are to be in right relationship. I think the gravest threat to our right relationship with the Holy Powers is our own socially inculcated hubris. We want the pat on the head. We want the carrot. We’ve forgotten that there’s merit in doing the right thing, in saying a prayer, pouring out an offering, stepping up….because it is the right thing. We’re used to indulging our feelings. Being in right relationship involves mindful moral courage. It does not involve expecting the Gods to function as our emotional tampons (to paraphrase Dan Savage).

Mostly it’s a matter of priorities and honoring the Holy powers is either one or it isn’t. This is one area where compromise is not appropriate and sadly, that seems to be all we’ve learned to do. Spiritual commitment has become sadly de passé. It doesn’t always feel good. I often think that the best thing we could do for Gods and our spiritual lives is to get over ourselves.

As for me? Well, I’m odd for a Wiccan, but coming from a Wiccan perspective I have to say I find the devotional path an odd fit. Well it works well in my private eclectic practice to some degree, there some dissonance with devotions and the God and Goddess of Wicca. Part of this may be because I’m not in right relationship to them, part of it may be because this is not how they want me to relate to them and part of this may be because I’m not an initiate of Wicca as yet. Though I am on the path towards initiation, I study in a very participatory tradition, and so don’t feel the need to rush headlong towards that commitment. I am curious to see if my relationship to them changes after initiation. I would be interested in what other Wiccans have to say about devotional work with the God and Goddess.

While I do believe with all my heart the Gods should be honored with respect and love, I do not feel as if the devotional path is the only right relationship to the Gods. I do feel that if the Gods are treated as simply another tool in your spiritual arsenal, or simply a “business associate” that is not only disrespectful but also unhelpful to your spiritual journey.

One thing I do think is that praxis will be a defining factor in the shape of our communities for the next few years to come. While currently our communities are split along cultural and ritual lines, I can percieve a possibly future in which Heathens, Hellenists, Kemeticists, Wiccans and Druids will find themselves more drawn into dialogue and community with those whose relationships to the Gods, values and perception of the world are more like their own, regardless of pantheon or label. While I am very committed to my particular coven and it’s vision and practice, I also recognize that I find more in common with certain non-Wiccan Pagans than I do with Wiccans in general, and it has to do with certain basic fundamental values and perceptions, including how we relate to the Gods.

Next question:

Pagans are continually seeking the Light of Knowledge. What is the mystery that you are currently trying to unravel in your heart? Where is your search for truth taking you right now?

If you’d like to weigh in just e-mail me your short response (250-500 words) before Dec 20th. It’s sfoster at patheos.com.