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Monograph
4:
What is God?
In
order understand the Wholistic Paganism philosophy it is essential to first consider the question:
What is God?
As you will see, the word gets used in many
different and apparently conflicting ways.
MACROCOSM
& MICROCOSM
So what is God? Before
answering this important and controversial question let us briefly consider two
ancient concepts: MACROCOSM & MICROCOSM. The Microcosm or
“Little (inner) Cosmos” and the Macrocosm or “Big (outer) Cosmos”. We are all
familiar, at least in a very superficial way, with the Macrocosm.
It is the world and worlds around us; the universe as studied by
astronomers. The Microcosm by contrast is the world
within. Lets consider the Microcosmic and the Macrocosmic view of the
Godhead, the Gods of
Outer Space (including earth) and the Gods of Inner Space (including your very
soul).
Another way of thinking about the MACROCOSMIC view of the Godhead is to say that
God created the
universe by manifesting himself / herself / itself / themselves (more about
this later).
In this way the universe can
be seen as being the outward manifest body of God. And if the
universe is the body of God then God must be the immortal soul of the universe, the
soul of nature. From this standpoint it is clear that when as
Pagans we worship Nature, we are worshipping the Godhead (God and Goddess
united).
From the MICROCOSMIC viewpoint
we get another angle on God. Here we see the God within each of us, indeed
within all that exists. This view shows the Godhead as being an aspect of
our psyche, “The Spark of God That Dwelleth in our Innermost Being”.
So which of theses ideas are
right, the Microcosmic or the Macrocosmic? Are either of them
right? Are they both right? Before attempting an answer
let us first consider the idea of models.
MODELS
When we talk about models in
this sense we do not mean plastic aeroplanes or balsa wood ships.
We cannot experience the universe directly, every impression we have of
the world around us is filtered through our five very limited senses.
When we think we see a tree we are really seeing the light reflected off the
tree. We can no more see or know a tree than we can see or know
god. The best we can do is to make a mental model that fits our limited
sensory evidence. From these sensory inputs our brains construct models
of what we think is out there.
Meteorologists use
mathematical models on computers to predict weather patterns and physicists
model the atom as tiny solar systems with electrons orbiting a central
nucleus. In the case of light they use two different models. Some
experimental data has led to the electromagnetic energy wave model. Some
other experiments suggest that light is composed of minute pieces of mater
called photons. Scientists argue endlessly as to which of these models is
right. One day fresh evidence will probably give rise to a third
model.
And then, as we said
earlier, there are two models of god, one microcosmic and one
macrocosmic.
Modern technology and
instruments enable us to make many of our mental models a little closer to
reality but we still have a very long way to go.
ARCHETYPES
Archetypes are basic and
very powerful ideas or themes that run through the mythologies of all races and
cultures. When we begin to study mythology we see the same
ideas popping up all over the world. Of course it is also true that many
of these ideas have been culturally transmitted by travellers but this is
certainly not the whole story.
Archetypes are rooted in our
deepest psyche, from where they can never be eradicated. They are as much
a part of us as our bones and our blood. However in today’s modern
cultures they may be so deeply buried that it takes a deliberate effort to re-establish
meaningful communication with them.
Although archetypes manifest
themselves in cultural forms they are not products of our cultures.
Rather they are biologically based, coming from the very nerves and cells
that make up the deepest parts of our brains.
Following such people as
Carl Jung and
Joseph Campbell,
Dr. Jean Houston sees mythology as
a coded DNA or a cartography of the Psyche.
Carl Jung displayed a unique outlook on the human mind in his "The
Principal Archetypes." In it he put forward the idea that the
psyche is comprised mostly of the unconscious. This unconscious is then
subdivided into the collective and personal components. The most
important of these, according to Jung, is
the collective unconscious. He
explains his opinions by using the terms shadow, projection, anima and
animus. Jung adds that it is important to watch the unconscious areas of the mind to
keep "psychic hygiene."
The personal develops out of individual experiences throughout our
lifetimes. We each have a different outlook because we each have
different situations we have to work through. No one shares the same
exact personal unconscious because no one has the same exact life
experiences. The collective unconscious, on the other hand, can be
shared among people throughout the human race.
GODS & GODDESSES
There are many different types of archetypes but the ones we are most concerned with in
Wholistic Paganism are our Gods & Goddesses.
Some people when new to the old ways
find this is one of the most difficult concepts to wrap their head around.
Most of us who grew up in the western world
within the past few hundred years were indoctrinated into a
Judeo-Christian culture. The faith that we learned was a
monotheistic one, where God lived in Heaven, apart from the world and
waited to judge each person based on their performance in just one lifetime
on earth. That judgment was final and our position in eternity depended wholly
on the one life we lived.
In Judaic society, we were gathered to our ancestors if we adhered to the laws
of God, in later Christian society we were either accepted into Heaven based on
our acceptance of Christ or rejected and sent to hell to suffer in the darkness
forever with no chance of reprieve.
When a person comes to Paganism from another doctrine, be it Christian, Jewish,
or any of the thousands of other spiritual paths in this world, they bring with
them some of their old dogma. This dogma may have
been a part of their belief system for most of this lifetime (and perhaps other lifetimes as
well). It’s not easy to let go
Religion has been the catalyst for murders, wars, and oppression for as long as one person
could say "I'm right, my God is the one and only true God, and you
are wrong and your belief is false, you god is the devil."
What draws so many people to Wicca and other Pagan spiritual paths is the
concept of freedom of faith and acceptance of all belief systems as
valid, providing they do not cause harm to anyone.
Ours is a nature and fertility orientated religion. So we tend to think
of the Godhead in creative, sexual terms.
Rather than argue whether God is male, female or asexual, we consider
the Godhead to consist of both a male and a female aspect; a God and a Goddess.
These two aspects, or faces,
of the Godhead are very useful. “God” is much too big a concept to get our
heads around. By dividing up the Godhead into manageable aspects we can relate
much more easily to the divine. Christians do much the same thing with their
Father, Son and Holy Ghost idea.
Pagan religions are (or should be) neither patriarchal
nor matriarchal. The God and Goddess are of equal rank and we
worship them together.
To make things even more precise
we can subdivide both the God and the Goddess into even more specific aspects.
It is probably this aspect of our religion that causes most confusion to
outsiders. They hear of our many gods & goddess but fail to realise they are all just faces of the One God, the
same One God that they worship.
We use many different God & Goddess names: Isis, Athena,
Diana, Dagda, Cernunos, Lugh; to mention just a few.
They are all aspects of the Goddess
and the God, the force and form that run through every single atom and molecule
in our universe.
On the Wiccan/Pagan path we do not necessarily pick one face of the Goddess and the God to
the exclusion of all others. If you need help finding your way
through a difficult situation you may call on Cerridwen and her cauldron
of knowledge, or if you need inspiration artistically or are working a
spell for a mother you might call on Brigid. To bring the power of the sun
into your life you could call on Lugh. Cernunos, Hern or Pan would help
you to connect with nature.
FACES OF THE GODDESS:
The Archetypal female deity. Our beautiful Goddess has many
faces, and many names. Whether you call her Kali, Demeter, Mary, or Cerridwen,
you are still meeting her and touching that same source of life.
The two main Goddess attributes are the EARTH GODDESS and the SKY GODDESS.
The Earth Goddess is the female face of nature, Mother Earth, who is often known by her
Greek name Gaia, who gave birth to all of creation and who is loving & nurturing.
Yet she is not without her dark aspect as well as we shall see more and more as
we pollute her lands and seas, and fill her skies with greenhouse gasses.
Hurricane Katrina was not her first attempt to through us of her back and it
won't be the last. It wasn't really a serious attempt, just a warning
shot. That is why we Pagans must assert ourselves now. Unless we can
spread the word that the earth is our mother and we must respect her, even
worship her, her anger will get stronger to the detriment of all human kind.
The Sky Goddess, patroness of
magic and divination, is often pictured as a Moon Goddess.
It is undeniable that the Moon has a strange
effect on our emotions. Its connection with madness is hinted at in the word “lunatic”.
But it is also a very powerful tool to use in connecting with the magickal old
brain. The Moon Goddess is often known as the “Triple Goddess”.
Just as the moon has three
faces WAXING, FULL and WANING; so the TRIPLE GODDESS has three faces: the
MAIDEN, the MOTHER, and the CRONE. These faces symbolise
the three stages of a woman’s life:
Maiden (waxing phase), Mother (full moon), Crone (waning phase).
These can be considered as the young girl full of promise, the
nurturing mother, and the wise old lady.
Different goddess names can be
linked to the various stages. For instance Artemis the Huntress,
energetic yet hardly kind might be linked with the Maiden. Hecate is The
Crone. She is also the Dark Moon Goddess.
We have been brainwashed into believing in a wholly patriarchal God for
many centuries. Before that time there existed many matriarchal
cultures. Of course these were just as dangerously unbalanced as the patriarchal ones.
We certainly don't want to go back there again.
Goddess worship came about as
agriculture started to replace the old hunter-gatherer societies.
These early civilizations worshipped the Goddess, not as a power from
above or outside of themselves, but as an externalisation of interior
states and a projection of aspects of their own psyches.
An example of changes that took place in our mythology as agriculture took
a hold, can be seen in the figure of Athene (or Athena) and
in the symbol of the first woman who some call Eve. Athene, as she
originally appeared, represented wisdom and knowledge in their purest
form. She was a fully armed warier as well as a herald of agriculture
and architecture. She was a personification of civilization.
Now, with the revival of traditional Pagan values, society is slowly
moving towards a more balanced view of the Godhead, where the God
& Goddess are worshiped together as equals.
FACES OF THE GOD:
The Archetypal male deity, unlike the ever-changing Goddess,
is considered to be a more stable influence on our lives.
The Earth God, the God of
the Wild Hunt, and of animals, is of the GREEN MAN type,
representing the spirit of life, wildlife, forests
The most common Earth God name used in the
craft is Cernuous, the Horned God, the God of nature and of hunting. He is the Son/lover of
our Mother Earth. Lord of death & rebirth.
As the Holly King he
rules over winter months and as Oak King he presides over the summer months.
He is the Spirit of Life & vegetation and symbolises life everlasting.
Our Sky God is the SUN, variously known as Lugh, Bel, or Apollo. |
