Does anyone follow deities within the Celtic pantheon as well as within the Norse pantheon?
I’m incredibly drawn to both and it’s becoming frustrating to me, simply because I feel like others will look down on my for it or something weird like that.
I think I’m so drawn to each of them equally…
I’d like to hear from Heathens—especially Lokeans—how they feel about mixing pantheons, whether it is Norse / Celtic or Norse / whatever.
Do you frown on the idea?
Do you believe certain pantheons go together better than others, or that certain pantheons shouldn’t mix at all?
Do you believe that gods of different pantheons shouldn’t be part of the same rite?
Do you believe that people who worship gods outside of the Norse pantheon too shouldn’t call themselves Heathens, Lokeans, Insert-Other-Term-Here?
I’m honestly curious, because I’ve worried about some of these things. I know that what you think shouldn’t impact my practice—AND IT WON’T—but I’d like to have a sample of opinions before I wander around on tumblr going “heeeeeeeeeeeey~”
For background: I called myself a Heathen for over a decade until I realized most of the Aesir and Vanir have no interest in dealing with me, but the Rokkr have generally been fine. Given that connection with a goodly portion of the pantheon is out, and I have deep connections with non-Norse gods, I worried it would be offensive to Heathens to keep using the label.
Well, I don’t identify myself as a Heathen, while I’m slowly but surely drawn toward Norse deities - especially the Rokkr. I often wonder if my attitude could offend Loki or another god… However, I will never deny Cernunnos - the first god with whom I’ve established a relationship. I would be a serious offense and I truly love Cernunnos. I try to not mix Them during my rites but I love Them equally. I believe that’s what They want from me.
I think that the most important thing is to honour all our gods equally, even if They aren’t from the same pantheon. What matters is our connection to Them, not the opinion of other people or what they think we should do. :)Loki is known for not necessarily giving a fuck about what other gods or pantheons you already have contacts with. I’ve heard of him showing up to someone, and then eventually leading them to non-Norse deities, too.
I know I’ve mentioned this a few times before, but to just reiterate it for this one….
From my late teens (essentially college time), Mars has been around me as a guide, protector, etc. And for most of my pagan time (going on 20 yrs), I’ve dealt with the Roman pantheon (Juno, Hekate Trivia, Discordia, etc). Then around 8 (ish) years ago, Managarm visited me in a dream (mind you, I’d always had bears and cats as animal affiliations so this kinda threw me), and he reminded me about my Dad’s side of the family (the Danes & Germans). Loki made his way in shortly thereafter. (Yes, this is the short, short version)
Sure, there is a stiffness in civility when they gather, but for the most part it’s worked here. Hope that helps..
All opinions are great to hear right now. Thanks!
This is a pretty nice read! I work primarily with the Hellenic pantheon (Artemis and Hades being closer to me now, while Hermes and some others are showing themselves more), but I get a lot of pokes and prods coming from different deities from elsewhere too, namely Celtic (Sucellus came to me very specifically once, and I had no idea who he was at first, Cernunnos also pops in from time to time), and one Egyptian god (Anubis). It gets really confusing and I don’t know if it’s even okay, but they stick around, so I guess I have to “deal with it.” It does feel tense at times, like one of the other posters mentioned, but I try not to communicate with them all at once, and try to spend a lot of time with them, but separately, so they aren’t all trying to crowd into the same space, if you want to look at it that way. But, yeah, not a Lokean or a Heathen, I am attracted to Heatherny, however, but I just like to appreciate it more than work directly with it. Sorry if this is me butting in within the wrong thread, since I’m more of a Hellenic polytheist than anything else.
I don’t feel you’re butting in at all! Some of the gods you’re dealing with are Hellenic, and I imagine that you might have the same worries when it comes to mixing pantheons and Hellenic reconstructionism? When you describe yourself, do you use the word eclectic or…?
Yeah, I’d lean more towards eclectic than I would recon most definitely, since I don’t always seem to be sitting rightly in the recon area. Buuut, depending on what I’m doing it leans into recon elements, so it goes back and forth, and I can’t ever seem to pick a darn word.
How I see it, is like walking into different rooms in a house to talk to different beings, Hellenic deities in one area, and say Celtic in another, and whatever else wherever else. They’re all nearby, but I try not to mingle with each of them in the same areas of the house (or I guess the/my ‘self’) at the same time, if I want to talk to one pantheon, I go to them individually. Does that make sense? Bit of a weird metaphor probably, but having my headspace organized usually helps a lot, and they seem fine with other deities hanging around and me communing with them, as long as I’m not trying to do rituals or rites, or anything like that, at the same time for all of them and in some generic way. Theeeen some chest-puffing arms akimbo stuff starts going on between them.
So if I’m not dictating them to be walking around arm-in-arm together, forcing them to hang out in the same space, and they get all the respect they deserve individually, fairly, and done in within their own proper formulas or structures, or whatever words you really want to use (my brain is failing tonight), they seem fine! But heyyy~ That’s just my take on it.
Never have I ever thought something I wrote would ever see this many notes. I am SO excited to see people getting in on this discussion, it’s so helpful for myself and obviously others.
I have asked each and everyone of my deities (excluding Fenrir because, as some of you know, I’m still figuring out how to work with him and approach him even though he has been in my life for a LONG time) how they feel about the other and if they’re ok with me having other deities. Each one of them could care less and actually approves of the others. Why would they have problems with each other? As long as you’re being respectful to each of them why would they even care?
Everyone is aware that Cernunnos is the most connected with me and none of them are irritated, etc. about this. Why should it then matter to anyone else?
My biggest concern was offending someone else of course. However, how could I? Obviously these deities have all called to me, I work with them and if they are not offended then why should anyone else be?
I, of course, still have no idea how to label myself but I really need to stop making that a priority. In the end it doesn’t really matter.
Thanks everyone for getting into this discussion, I really hope it keeps going :)
