Welcome to Gaia! ::

Since my earliest days, I've worked a great deal with Apollo; he's fickle as anything, but he's a highly effective god when he decides he is going to help out, and I enjoy the rapport that I have with him. I made the connection back, like I said, in my earliest days, when I broke things down to their basics: a sun god and a moon goddess; Apollo was the first sun god who came to mind, and since I've had a long standing joke with close friends. Those that know I'm Pagan, also know me well enough to know that I love my summer tan; my tanning regiment has been dubbed "shamless sun worshipping" (since I refuse to pay to fake and bake xd ), and it's run from there. I joke and say that the depth of my tan is proof of how much Apollo loved me on any one day in particular. When I burn, like I did just before grad, it was because I was over zealous and it was his way of reminding me to keep a respectful distance. The burn, while extremely painful for a number of days, turned into a gorgeous and unseasonal tan in time for grad, and all was well.

As far as a goddess goes, I haven't found one to work with yet; I've worked a lot with Bast, but the connection doesn't seem as strong as it once did. I'd like to indulge in my Celtic heritage, and find a Celtic goddess; I've worked with that pantheon before with great success, so I think this summer will be a getting to know eachother period. I'm thinking Rhiannon right now, but I'll see where it goes. Since I'm mainly of Irish descent, I may have better luck with someone on that side of things. Time will tell.

I couldn't have a war god, I am definatly not attacted to any sorts of war. I would mostly have Demetri. xD
Your magicals name is my fist name. xD Kandice, the only difference is the C and the K. xD
<3

Whatever works for you works for you, ya know? I'm glad you found a Goddess that you can work with, I really hope I can find one soon. It's a oain to think of all the different Gods and Goddess' out there that I could follow, I just can't figure out what would be best for me and my path. <3

I'm just curious, but do people here feel like they choose their gods or goddesses or that the divinities choose them?

I think some of both. I'm not sure what first led me to Bast, except that I've always been strongly drawn to felinity and I do believe that the kitten who appeared in my life two weeks before I delved into Paganism- and who has become an important and beloved spiritual companion since then- has been a valuable guide and link to the goddess ever since. Honestly, when I first started working with Bast I didn't know anything about Her- I was an uninitiated, untrained would-be Wiccan, and in my ignorance I tried to work Her into the Wiccan concept of a lunar goddess. She wouldn't speak to me back then, lol! But I learned more about Her, gradually becoming more traditional in my approach to Her, and She started responding to me. She also started introducing me to other deities- many of Whom have continued to be a valuable presence in my life.

Most of the deities with Whom I work at the moment preside over some element of my career- but with most of Them, I didn't realize what They had to offer me until long after I had devoted myself to Them. Skhmt, in particular, was not a goddess Whom I would have believed I'd be following- She scared me back then, and to an extent She still does.^_~ And yet, in a trance possession encounter, She called me to Her service. Shortly afterward, I returned to the field of veterinary technology and She has been one of my most powerful Patrons. Djhwty I didn't know at all, until Bast sent me a vision introducing me to a fascinating and elegant bird. All that I knew was that it was an ibis- it took a little bit of research to make the connection with Djhwty, but once I found out Who He was He seemed a perfect fit for several areas of my life and religious practice. Amn was divined as a presence in my life by one of my spiritual teachers- I hadn't even thought of Him as a personal deity prior to that point, but now He is a very dear guardian and teacher. Ma'at is fundamental to any understanding of Kemetic religion, and my love for the concept gradually grew into an admiration of the goddess.

If there were any gods with Whom I currently have a relationship, and it was purely my idea to start it, I think it would be Anpw. My boyfriend found a statue of Him on a kiosk at the mall, and offered to buy it for me- it was such an unusual offer that I accepted, and placed Him on my altar. For quite some time, it didn't go much beyond that- I was an uninitiated freelance Wiccan, and was mostly just looking for an image of an Egyptian male divinity to balance out my goddess Bast. The whole cat/dog thing seemed perfect, but I knew very little about Anpw except for His associations with the dead. I learned some valuable stuff from Him, but didn't really forge much of a relationship with Him until many years later- and at that time it was definitely my idea to solicit Him. We got to know each other, struck a few deals, and have been very close since then.

Other gods and goddesses occasionally show up, spend a little bit of time- maybe leave behind a few lessons- and then move on. It's mainly the six Who stick with me, with Bast and Skhmt at the head of the list, and Stkh as an occasional visitor.

So I think it can go both ways, but I think that we each have certain deities Who have some special claim on us- and those deities can not be chosen. They simply are. It's still very possible and potentially very helpful to get to know others, though.

I used to try to follow Cernunnos. I have always been attracted to his mythos, his personality is simply electric, but often very cold and distant. I thought to myself recently that he is simply too masculine for me to truly identify myself with him. I cannot live the lifestyle his real, dedicated followers do. It isn't right for me. I believe since I have talents that involve the human world, I would feel incomplete if I abandoned them entirely to the "wild abandon" of the path that he would lead his followers to. I respect him, as he has taught me a great deal more about death and living and wilderness than I have ever expected to glean from him, but I believe it is time I have some kind of balance in my life. So I am presently awol, in the search of deity. I have a great deal more to learn from the others that I can identify with, so I think I will wander a bit before I ever consider returning to where I thought I would go.
I cannot ever pray for guidance and expect an answer from him, but if I do recieve an answer, I MUST abandon my inhibitions of fear and judgment, everything really... and I need some sort of balance between human consiousness and primal nature, at least right now until I figure out some things.

Hmm that's a really good question. surprised

I think it's different for everyone. Maybe even a combination? When I was little ( well, thirteen or so? xD ) my favorite Goddess was Selene. I had had first begun to learn about the Goddess and I had an image in my mind of what she looked like. Soon after that I read a poem about Selene and the description was just like the image I had in my mind. So in that way it felt like she chose me.

Now that I honor Devi I have different ideas and feelings towards the Goddess. It's more like a combination of choosing and being chosen. <3