As many of my most recent posts demonstrate, I've been contemplating our relationship with deity quite a bit. Yesterday I mentioned the thought that the Gods we have good relationships with may try to protect us from chaotic or destructive spirits.
Last night I started to think about what it means if the Gods you are close to are chaotic or destructive. Brighid, I believe, has a destructive side. She has to being connected to fire. I believe she has a temper that can flare just as passionately as her creative, nurturing side. I don't think she would intentionally harm me, but what about others? What if that man whose house caught on fire really did get the stink eye from Brighid? And if he did, where was the Morrigan, the Goddess he claimed fidelity to? What if the Morrigan, being so enamored with death and decay, delighted in the fire? I can almost imagine Brighid and the Morrigan winking at each other as if to say, "That will show him not to bad mouth a Goddess."
On the one hand, it makes perfect sense to me that a God, being as imperfect as the perfectly imperfect universe we live in, could have a temper tantrum or a desire for vengeance. At the same time, the personalities we associate with them are, even when consistent with other UPG, framed by human concepts. Ultimately I think the Gods are beyond that - so perhaps judging them as benevolent teachers or harsh punishers is human error? Then there is the very large part of me that believes the Gods are more interested in gaining our love rather than our fear. They may seek to teach us lessons (which may be quite uncomfortable or difficult to get through) but aren't out to harm us in any real way. I don't think the Gods coddle us like overprotective parents but I feel them near every so often - or I simply experience them in the forces of nature. I feel their blessings often.
Forgive my rambling. These are just thoughts I have had rolling around my head. What do you think?
* Again, I'm more inclined to think he was irresponsible in some way with regards to fire safety. Who can really say whether a God did or didn't set his house on fire? Either way, house fires are a tragedy. It's just something I think about from time to time...
I'm inclined to feel tentatively that all the gods & goddesses are angry. We humans are not living up to integrity and goodness to perpetuate the species. I also have a personal belief that all deceased human spirits over time make up a collective spirit realm, and that those spirits seek an evolution of humanity towards a perfection of the god/desses. IMHO.
ReplyDeleteHow-some-ever, this above personal opinion relegates me to Boobgate. So does your sentiment. This opinion is not isolated however. I'm not sure if you were ever Christian or not, but remember that this thought and idea was an entire crux of the Old Testament, and that the New Testament was a Christian evolution forward to a new, allegedly kinder way of thinking.
As a relatively new Pagan, and a new Dedicant, I was seeking to lose any knowledge or interest I had in the Bible. But I have a resurrected interest in it for the sake of comparative religions, and also as a historical document. Our sentiment/idea is just one which has been with humankind over several millenium.
So be it. Blessed be.
Siusaidh Luighseach,
Who has yet to know what to think about hearth god/desses. Brighid & Luigh are two favorites for this Sagittarius fire sign however.