Deities

 

What is a god / goddess?

 

• Types of deities and spirits:
  • Forces of nature personified (storm gods etc.)
  • Moral qualities personified (Justice, Nemesis, Fortune)
  • Spirits of place (river goddesses, city goddesses, wights, genii loci)
  • Deified heroes and heroines
  • Syncretised deities
  • Pantheons
  • Household gods
  • Elementals
  • Familiars
  • Nature spirits (elves, fairies, satyrs, fauns, etc.)

 

Theological debates

 

• Are these entities real external phenomena or merely internal psychological states?
• Do they have personality?
• How fixed or fluid are they?
• Are 'equivalent' deities from different pantheons the same deity with a different name, or a different deity? (e.g. Thor, Indra, Perkunas, Taranis)
• Do they have gender?
• Pantheism, panentheism, monism, polytheism, duotheism or monotheism?
• What is the difference between a god and a wight?
• How do deities interact with humans?
• Why would they be interested in us?

 

Articles about specific deities

 

• Hekate by Adrian Harris
• Ogma: the Honey-Tongued by Robin Herne
• Who is Cernunnos? by Alexa Duir
• Minerva: The Strong Goddess by Nick Ford
• Eostre and Easter Customs by Arlea Hunt-Anschütz
• Kuan Yin: White Goddess of Asia by Stormene Hunt-Anschütz
• Asherah: Goddess of the Israelites by Fritz Muntean (The Pomegranate, 2000)

 

 

The Nature of the Gods

• How do gods know? by Stormerne Hunt-Anschütz
• When is a god not a god? by A. Æ. Hunt-Anschütz
• Humans are to gods as cats are to humans by A. Æ. Hunt-Anschütz
• If gods exist, how can a human be happy? by Arlie Stephens
• Deity and humanity in modern heathenism by Arlie Stephens