• There is no room for demons, when you’re already self-possessed. Carrie Fisher

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RSS Peaceful Awakenings

  • Someday I Will Be Doing Research Again
    Until that point apparently I will just pop in once a year or so and remind people that it is the Opet season, a time when we show civic support for our broader communities here at Peaceful Awakenings’ Take On Kemetic Social Values. If anyone wants to join me, The Emboatening Crew on Kiva is […]
  • Opet Again
    Just popping in to remind everyone that with the Opet season upon us again, the Emboatening Crew is still rolling to support Kiva loans. (My office renovations are going well if slowly, so who knows if that means I’ll get more work done when they’re done.)
  • CowOfGold Moving
    An update on my previous post: Cow of Gold will have a new home here when the maintainer has a chance to put up the site again (with some revisions, apparently).

RSS Hills of the Horizon

  • Hills of the Horizon: The Past is Another Country
    The problem with extrapolation from history is that nothing is testable. The evolution of a religion over time is not a predictable and easily comprehensible thing, where we can look at a point in time and say, "It was like this then, so it would be like that now." The process of deciding what needs […]

How do I find what god(s) to worship?

My advice: stop trying.

Investigate religions. Find practices that work for you, that satisfy whatever spiritual needs that you have. Find systems and structures that help you to be a better person – that encourage you to heal your wounds, that give you limits and strictures that prevent those qualities of your personality that you want better controlled from running rampant, that encourage those parts of your personality that you want to nurture to flower. Find things that will enable you to be better present in the world, a better contributor to reality, someone who will make things better.

Any power worth honouring will value that.

If you find powers you wish to honour along the way, do so. You don’t need anyone’s permission, or some kind of personal tap on the shoulder to set up a shrine, or pour libations, or say “I’m doing this in the name of so-and-so”. I’d suggest starting with those who are relevant to what you are already doing – if you’re a student, honour gods of learning; if you’re a medical worker, honour gods of healing; if you love to cook, honour gods of food and the hearth.

Cultivate relationships with your local environment. Is there a tree nearby that gives you a sense of power? Give it gifts. Pour out water on its roots. Learn the ecosystem of where you live – and listen for the lessons it can teach you, spiritually. Become familiar with the signs of weather, which seasons bring wind, how to know when the world in your immediate area is suffering. (Don’t neglect the human ecosystem! If you live in a city, you’ll have fewer opportunities to plant a garden that encourages local bees and birds and wildlife, and more opportunities to buy a homeless person a sandwich.)

If you find that a particular system works well for you – if being a heathen gives you the right sort of strength, if a druidic revival path settles you and teaches you what you need to know to be at your best in the world, if a form of religious witchcraft heals you best – you might do well cultivating relationships with the powers affiliated with that system and find things there.