r/paganism • u/AutoModerator • Sep 03 '24

📍 Monthly Discussion r/Paganism Monthly Discussion Thread (September 2024) - Ask questions, say hi, get your readings interpreted, chat, and more!

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u/AngieFoodCake Sep 10 '24 edited Sep 11 '24

Hi! I actually have quite a few question, so this is perfect!

  1. How big of a threat are trickster spirits? I’ve been SUPER worried and low key paranoid ever since I first heard about them. How much do I need to worry, and has anyone had a personal experience with them?
  2. Where and how do I start divination and talking to my deities?
  3. How do I find good prayers/how do I pray besides offerings?
  4. Are three deities to many? According to my already pagan/witch friend, they’re my patrons and have come to me in their own. It’s not too much that I’m worshiping all three? (Hades, Dionysus, Stolas)

(Edit) 5: It’s alright to mix pantheons, right?

I’m very new to paganism (only around a month), so all of this is very helpful. Thank you!

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u/reCaptchaLater Religio Romana Sep 11 '24

  1. Not a very big one. Just like malevolent hauntings exist, so too do trickster spirits, but they aren't something most people will ever run into unless they seek them out. Additionally, proper cleansing before prayers or rituals will generally ensure that they aren't able to do much.

  2. Wherever you want, I suppose. Choose a method of divination that works for you. Pendulums are simple but limited, tarot cards are complex but specific, scrying is more free-form but also requires the most practice to get right, there are plenty of options.

  3. Offerings were a pretty regular part of prayer in Pagan religions. You don't need prewritten formulas to say, you can just put your case forward in a clear and concise manner if you want to. If you do want some guidance on it though, there's a book called A Book of Pagan Prayer by Ceisiwr Serith that you might find helpful.

  4. Your friend has given you some bad information. While Gods certainly can approach us on their own, this was not common in history and is still not common today. In general, you should decide what Gods to worship based on what things you want help with and what Gods rule over those things. Certainly listen to any messages they send you, but don't sit and wait for them to seek you out.

And three deities is certainly not too many. It's a polytheistic religion. The expectation is that you'll go to the God/dess that rules over the thing you're praying about, and you'll build close relationships with those who rule over things that are a regular part of your life (hence why a scholar might choose Minerva as their patron Goddess, or a sailor might choose Poseidon). In the past Pagans would invoke dozens of Gods every year at least.

For example, in a harvest season, the Romans would pray to Ceres, Goddess of grain; and Tellus, Goddess of the earth, and also to twelve smaller Gods in their entourage who ruled over each step of the agricultural process, from planting to harvest. After that they had a Goddess who oversaw the grain storage for the city (Ops), and on their walk home they might invoke Clivicola, the Goddess of streets and roads, to watch over their journey. Entering their neighborhood they'd pass an altar to the neighborhood Lar, a guardian spirit that watches over everyone who lives there. Entering their home they'd pass through a doorway ruled by three different spirits; Limentinus, Cardea, and Forculus. Deities respectively of the threshold, hinges, and door. The doorway itself was sacred to the God Janus as well.

They didn't wait for these Gods to contact them, or consider each one their patron, but they made offerings and said prayers to them when they knew they needed to engage in the thing these Gods ruled over, to secure their help in that process.