#deity creation

Step 1: Brainstorm

Ask Questions. Many writing books will tell you that to come up with your own story, you need to ask yourself questions. That is essentially what we're doing here (or, I see "religion creation" from a writer's point-of-view because it's what I do) is essentially creating characters and back-story; your own myths and pantheon, a divine world where your deity(ies) are the main characters. I'm sure you're wondering, "What sort of questions do I ask myself?" and the ones you must consider first are below:

"What would I like to include in my personal religion?" Think of the things that are really important to you. Your beliefs, things that you feel are real that you have already experienced in previous religions. For example, I keep in mind that while I am no longer as deeply connected to Nature as I was when I was a child, it is still something I have an undying love and respect for. Family is also very important and, also, protecting them and my home. As I have experienced vampires, lycans, hunters, angels, witches, warlocks (there's a difference in my beliefs), and demons and my personal belief is that they are very real in this world, they will also be included into my religion. You don't have to know how at this point. Simply know that what you value the most and decide that it's something you'd like to include. Tip: If you're curious about something particular, say Necromancy or your ancestors, add that in as well. I'll tell you why further down.

"Is there one deity or are there many?" This comes down to your personal choice. Are you a polytheist or a monotheist? It's your religion. I find that more than one character can make the myth-creation a lot more fun. This God here betrays That God there and then She-God comes in and knocks them both unconscious with her bludgeoning stick, takes the throne, and now it's a major competition to see who gets the most followers before a certain year. Or...yeah. That's my imagination at work, but you get my point. You also need to keep in mind that if you create many, will you be devoting yourself to all of them or simply to one? Perhaps you're creating a Sun God for right now, but you think, "I'll go ahead and make a Moon God just in case I need to invoke his wisdom at a certain time."

"What am I looking for in a deity?" I, as a new mother and as a person who has lost her mother, feel very lost. Therefore, I am seeking guidance from a motherly figure. Are you in need of someone to constantly remind you that you're worth it? Imagine a deity that cherishes life. All life, including yours (because you do deserve to live no matter what anyone tells you!). To me, this would be a god that is forgiving and loving no matter what your previous "wrongs" or no matter your faults. Unconditional love. Like that of a child. Perhaps he (or even she!) has a childish outlook on life and her creations? Also, consider that if you create this deity, it's not a one-way street. Which leads us to our next question...

"What does your deity look for in a devotee/follower?" You cannot just take and take and take.. You must also give. I don't just mean offerings. Think about this life-cherishing child-god. Why did he pick you to become his follower? This is not a question of "are you worthy?" but more like, "Okay. This god chose me. Why? I see nothing in myself." Ask him. Perhaps your child-god sees much in you that you do not yet see and he has chosen you because he, being a very loving god, wants to help you see it in yourself. Tadaa! You're leaving room there for self-improvement.

"How much devotion does your deity need?" I don't have a deity to worship so I don't give any of my time or energy to one. But I have been reading a lot of Tumblr blogs who have a great love for their god/ddess and I've read their high points ("*Fangirl squeal!* I got a new statue for Hecate! She'll also love this pretty flower I got her!") and their low points ("OMG! I feel awful because I've been super-stressed out and I haven't given Loki anything in over a week! I hope he understands...") From what I gather, it's a roller-coaster of your energy and emotions. Take care in how you create your deity because their character is going to affect you a great deal. Take our child-god for example: all children want constant attention so while you will be looking to this deity for the love and encouragement you don't get from the rest of the world, he will be wanting your attention all the time! Eventually, that will wear you out and, as you created him with a child-like personality, he will throw a big temper tantrum if he doesn't get constant offerings or devotion.

     2. Leave room to evolve. We are human. We are not perfect and no one person has any more flaws than another, but we do have faults. Even the egotists and narcissists understand that their egos and narcissism are their faults... If not, it should be pointed out to them. My point is that where you are now is not where you have been and not where you will be in the next year or in the next 20 years. You will become a different person. You will transform -- for better or worse, that depends on you. But you won't be the same person you are now. As you change as a person, so do your interests, your Craft, and even your religion. I remember I used to go to church and pray to God. I knew that all who worshipped the Christian God and were faithful would go to Heaven someday. As I grew up and changed, so did my view on religion. I no longer believe in that version God. I have my own vision of "the" God and it's not "if you don't follow me, you're going to die in the flaming pits of Hell!!!" But I'm discarding some of that belief. I have been to the Hell plane and the Garden of Eden (which is not the same dimension as Heaven, it turns out) so I cannot deny those exist to my personal beliefs. Sorry, I'm rambling. 

Add in something you're curious about. When you grow as a person, your perception of reality also expands. Sometimes it is because our perception grows that triggers the change in ourselves. Say you add Ancestry to your list. For a while, you don't bother satisfying your curiosity because it's not as important to you as devoting all your time and energy to your deity. But then one day, you're feeling low on everything and you don't feel that connection with your deity. You hear a whisper in your ear, "Try something new." You find Ancestry among the list. You begin researching your ancestors and feel pulled to your great-aunt Mimsy who passed away leaving behind 3 children. You set up a shrine and contact her children, managing to piece together that she was a Native American medicine woman who left behind a book detailing some rituals and secrets of her tribe. Tadaa! New stuff to add to your craft and you also find new offerings that your god would like. Thus, your perception, craft, interests, and even your connection with your deity grow.

Your deity should be able to evolve, too. I mean, don't all deities? Think of the Triple Goddess. Every year, she goes through three different stages: the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. You don't have to create them to evolve, but leave room for it because something might happen later down the line (the birth of a child, for example) that will change you as a person. This is where creating multiple deities (or, in my case, a constantly evolving goddess) comes in handy. Let's say you worship your child-god. From him, you learn to love yourself and you find someone you love a great deal. Wonderful! Through a series of unseen events, you become pregnant. You now have someone relying on you. (Random Mom comment: If you know yourself, and you should because you've lived with you your whole life, that thought is SCARY AS SHIT!!) Suddenly, the tantrum-throwing, unconditionally-loving, all-forgiving child-god that you spent so much time with is no longer really needed. You've evolved from the person you were when you first created him because you're now filled with love for yourself. You need to turn to a new god. He runs and gets his mummy because he loves you and he knows you need help he can't give (he IS all-loving, remember?). His mummy has been there, done that. She can give you the strength and courage to get through it. Congratulations! Your religion has evolved!

Always leave room for more. Don't do like most writers and "writer yourself into a box". Don't make it impossible for you or your religion to grow. Plan ahead. Set goals for yourself and for your deities. Just sit down and say, "Okay. This is where I am now. What changes do I want to see in myself? I want to be kinder. I want to see myself here at Point B." (Tip: Some people feel  the need to give themselves a time period to complete their goals, say a year or so. Do not set a deadline to work through your problems unless you feel comfortable doing so! You cannot just "get over" losing a loved one in 3 months. You cannot just magically heal yourself after a horrible break-up or depression in a select time period! These things take years and will only heal when you feel ready!) 

Think about how your deity can help you get to that point. Also consider what happens to your deity after you've got there. Does he move on to help your little sister? Don't just let these guys fade into the background. If you want your kids to believe in them, give them a place to go and something to do until they can become important again. Maybe child-god can help your daughter learn how to use "please" and "thank you"? Or maybe his mummy, once you're confident in your skills as a mother, goes back to teaching the Dead how to sew. That part, I think, might be best saved for your myth-creation.

     3. Research!! This step is not one to take lightly (as I've done because I'm lazy so I'm doing it as I go along). It is essential homework that must be done before you finalize anything about your religion! Why?

Make sure what you're creating doesn't already exist. There are hundreds of thousands of gods and goddesses out there. One day, you're lalala'ing and suddenly you know what you want to create. A hearth/home goddess of fire. You don't research it because you're dead set on this particular goddess in your head! Da-da-daaaa! You've successfully created an entire pantheon of gods/goddesses complete with a myth. She's red-haired, passionate, protects the home, and is heavily connected to all things fire-related. You worship her for a good week or two, post your worship online, and then... Uh-oh! Someone leaves a comment. "Who the hell is Brighid?" you ask yourself. You look her up. "Celtic Goddess of Fire, Hearth, and a battle-maiden." O!shit. All that work for nothing?!?!

Your "idea" may be a nudge from another god/dess. You are ssooooo pulled to fire and protecting your home. You don't just want to banish demons, you want to fight whateevveerr threatens your home. You have a dream about a goddess with fire-red hair and when you wake up, you're dead certain you created this goddess of fire, battle, and home. This is where research comes in handy. Before you set off on your creation process, you do some research. The goddess you saw in your dream wasn't your own creation; it was Brighid. She was calling out to you to worship her. While you do have the right to say no to any deity that comes calling, you also might want to avoid treading on any toes during this process. A god/dess might be trying to get your attention to help you. Don't you think you owe it to yourself and to them to research these "intuitions" you've been feeling about certain things such as cats, angels, fire, hellebore, etc.? Researching these things might point you in a direction you need to go such as an ancient god/dess who can help you.

Research can be fun! Yes, it can! Okay, parts of it. I have done some research on more obscure goddesses (the link I posted to that site went effing VIRAL!!) and I discovered new ideas. Brilliant ideas, actually! Springs, for example, are associated with healing, prophecy, sacred knowledge, links to the Underworld to connect the Land of the Living with the Land of the Dead, and "[...] represent the subconscious knowledge of magic and dreams rising to the surface". I found all this information from researching Egeria, a Roman/Latin/Etruscan Goddess of Springs, Healing, Childbirth, and Sacred Knowledge. This gave me the idea that perhaps the element of Water could be linked to pregnancy and childbirth and, thus, the Mother Face of my Four-Faced-Goddess was born. If I hadn't researched, I would have felt very uncomfortable about randomly giving a Mother Goddess an affiliation with the element of Water. Glad I now have some evidence to support my intuition!

Correspondences/Affiliations. These can be a pain in the ass to research because no two paths have the same correspondences! Many people associate Rosemary with protection while my intuition associates it more with Love. Take the time to research these things anyway. You can learn something new or stick with the old. Either way, it's a good idea to have them because later you're going to make your own connections. Maybe you don't associate Fire with passion and strength because you're more of an Earth person and you get your strength from, well, the Earth. But that is for the individualization step which we will get into later.

Individual Deities' Influences. Don't research deities just because they might already exist. Research them because they exist! They were once worshipped by hundreds of millions of people back in ancient times (many still are!) and all of them have what thiscrookedcrown referred to as "spheres of influence". You can get so many grand ideas! War goddesses who have links to blood and death and also rebirth and reincarnation and fire. His example was Hermes who has affiliations with travel, doors/boundaries (such as the gate between our world and the Underworld), the element of Air, etc. This kind of research gives you a lot to think about during your creation process. Do you want to create a War Goddess? What would purpose would she serve? You're a pacifist! You don't need a War goddess. Research war goddesses, both obscure and popular. War goddesses such as Bellonna (Roman) were invoked with blood offerings (mostly human sacrifice, but no need to go that far, eh? It was even toned down to just arms and legs after a while.) but what would you need her for? But War didn't just mean between nations. There are wars between lovers, friends, even family. Who was involved in wars? Politicians, soldiers, kings, brothers, sisters, mothers, children. War affects everyone, but it also causes change. Your family has been back-stabbing each other for two years over an incident of Cousin Harriet's Drug Addiction and your aunt and uncle have been denying it, trying to hide it, and yet keep sending her money which you and all your other cousins know is using it for more drugs. Invoke your war goddess to cause the family to fight it out. Truth comes to light and your aunt and uncle finally  see reason and start an intervention. Change has come at last to your family. There are also sorcerers involved with wars. Sorcerers = magic, curses, protection. Your sister is in Iraq in dangerous territory. War deities also have some influence over who wins/loses and how bad it is. You could invoke the War goddess to protect your sister during her battles and bring her home safely. Those are just some ideas of how you can use a deity's "spheres of influence".

     4. Write. It. Down!!! There is a lot involved to this process, especially the research portion. Write down gods/goddesses that appeal to you. Aspects you could look into and mix-and-match for your deities to give them influence over specific areas. Make lists. Write paragraphs. Eventually, you're going to have to write down your own myth and what you've created thus far. You should write it all down somewhere just so you have it for reference.

Keep a journal or a blog. If you feel comfortable posting your personal deities/religion all over the internet, go ahead. There might be someone else looking to believe in an unconditionally-loving child-god, someone who needs that in their life right now. However, if you feel that this should be the one thing you keep private, keep a personal journal that you don't show to anyone.

Lists! Keep lists of things you like,  things you're curious about, things to look into, deities that you have researched or want to research. Keep a list of correspondences, both traditional and your own. Set a list of the goals we discussed earlier for you to help improve yourself as a person.

Your Process. If your process is different from mine or even if it's the same, write it down. You might create one deity for now, but further down the road you'd like to make a new one. How did you create the first one? You were stressed and disoriented. If you write it down, you'll have it for later and won't have to search for this post again. (Or you could print this shit out and keep it with your notes. Whatever's easier! Lol.)

Ideas. I have a list of goddesses I found interesting and other research information all written down in one tiny-ass journal I haven't used since I copied Silver Ravenwolf's page on Esbats (I know better now!). In a separate journal, I have written down my process and the very basic ideas for each "Face" of my goddess. Some bits are more detailed than others. They're paragraphs of "spheres of influence" and affiliations, moon phases, and a couple even have descriptions of what they look like. And I'm not done yet!

Resources. This is something I haven't done yet, but you might want to track your resources especially if you plan on doing a lot of research. At the end of your paragraph/page/list of research on the goddess Angerona, write down the website you found the information from. If you're using a book, write the title (or an abbreviation) and page number and somewhere else write the full title, author, and page number. It will help in case you need to go back and find more or discover something new at a later date.

Organization is Optional! I am not very organized. My journal keeping up with all of this is kind of "Steps for Process, yadda yadda, Goddess Face 1 Spheres of Influence, yadda yadda" with some forgotten notes scribbled in here and there and once I'm finished here, I'll be adding in random sites for resources. If you're more of an OCD-Organizational person, find a way to organize the information you've collected or created. That's your decision.

Well, that pretty much wraps up what I have on the Creation Process so far. Once I've completed the basics of writing down my ideas and such, I'll add another step to the process. ...And yes, all of this was Step 1: Brainstorming. If you have any questions, my Ask box is open! 

I also want to give a MAJOR "Thank you!" to searchingformyname and thiscrookedcrown for their outlines on this process! Here are the links to their wonderful posts: http://illythiantia.tumblr.com/post/78986254076/hello-i-am-in-the-process-of-creating-my-own-deities and http://searchingformyname.tumblr.com/post/79052197662/creating-your-own-religion