#devotional polytheism

Oh Ares, You stand in war, but You are with people who fight for peace just as well.

Oh Ares, You who stays with courageous and stubborn, all the same as You stand with those who get silenced.

Oh Ares, You whose wrath is the fiercest, yet stand with those who talk the calmest, because they know they’re right.

You, with those who have fire in their souls, and those who were dimmed a long time ago.

You, the enemy of fear, the helping hand of the oppressed, the scream of those without a voice, the confident stand of those forced to crawl.

You, who lights the fire of rebellion, You, the sharpness and clarity of the world when panic steps away.

You, the fire in my heart, the instinct to fight, when I cannot breathe.

You, my torch, my sword, my shield.

You, my emotion and my rage. You, who gives me courage when I fight for justice.

If you don’t work with your body and see how it responds to things, how will you know whether or not a Deity is trying to communicate with you if you can’t figure out whether another human is attacking you or not? Especially online when I see several people act as though they have been absolutely scorned by the wicked people on here just because they doubt who they think they are.

Don’t you think if you were actually far enough along to claim the role of priestess/priest or spouse, you wouldn’t care whether or not someone on Tumblr thinks you are or not? You shouldn’t feel the need to shove it in everyone’s faces because you feel like you need to prove something to people.

I can tell you right now that people will know who you are without you needing to tell them if those two things are legitimate. The Gods make things absolutely and irrefutably clear when They lay claim on someone like that. Even those who don’t know the Gods can tell who you are without you even needing to say so.

It is primal human instinct when a God’s energy surrounds someone or something that demands a sort of response to that effect. It then becomes a chain reaction of events that spiral down until something else comes to light as a result of people’s nervous system perceiving the Deity around something or someone else. You don’t really have to prove anything if that was the case - it just happens naturally on its own without the person needing to tell people that’s the case.

All in all, when properly manifested, the Gods become extremely obvious and unquestionably real for humans when They can or want to be. Otherwise, you’re too closed off to tell Who it is that is contacting you let alone that you’re a priestess or spouse. You would need to do a bit more work with your nervous system regulation before you can start touting that you have any executive role as a priestess or spouse - or let alone claiming enough that you’re contacting said Deity in the first place.

What you perceive as energy is a response of your nervous system. Same reason you may get chills while listening to music or cry without realizing it. The Gods’ energy is the same way. That is why Eastern religions and practices all involve different physical and mental activities that are meant to calm and regulate the nervous system to be closer to the Divine (I.e. yoga, meditation, trance-like movement or dance).

Most people in our society do not have regulated nervous systems. In fact, I’d say the majority of Western culture has built up enough of a culture that it is completely rewired to be naturally deregulated given the advent of technology, transportation, and all the things that make your body respond in more hyper-aware states.

Coming into Deity work, it is a given that you are also unregulated regardless of how much trauma you have worked through unless you have also gone through excessive and rigorous work that regulated your nervous system in the first place. These people tend to have an easier time hearing and perceiving the Gods, not because they’re special, but because they’re more in tune with themselves enough. That is the base level.

Once you start venturing into more advanced territory, a certain kind of rewiring takes place that builds up that core foundation. Essentially, once you perceive the Deity, They also activate more of a nervous system response because the moment you attribute that to Them, They are able to manifest more properly and you can more easily determine at the very least What is contacting you and perhaps even Who while you’re at it.

The further along you go, the more the Deity manifests and responds to you, the more you yourself have to adapt to Them and They to you. This can take a lot of time in this day and age. Until you’re properly adapted to be able to sense when a Deity is around regardless of what you’re doing. Whether you’re at work or doing a meditation session, the Deity will likely try to do anything They can to get through to you in whatever way They can. Even if it is just a moment where you let down your defenses enough for Them to be able to throw in a word or two or three. This on its own is not enough for Them to build a relationship with you as it takes too much effort and labor for Them to have to fight tooth and nail with your anxiety or fear or other cognitive functions that work against Their very essence.

Otherwise, this is the reason it takes years - not months or days - of training in order to become a priest/priestess. It can take even longer to become a Spouse because that actually takes a sort of death/rebirth, literal sickness and health, and you must be fully aligned with the Deity to be able to have your nervous system agree with Them long enough that They can be with you all of the time (thus the word marriage), rather than just on a random Tuesday that you’re aware of having Them near enough again.

A Spouse is essentially a permanently wired vessel for the Deity’s energy to live in. Not all Deities want vessels let alone to be chained to a human for the rest of the human lifespan and beyond. I’d say most Deities don’t want that, and, if They did, that’s an awful lot of work to have dozens of people say that They are married to them. At the same time, for the human, you will never function at a normal human capacity again until your time on this earth has finished. The people who go into this want this because they cannot exist without it being so as it is extremely harmful for them to not.

There is no undoing this kind of rewiring - once it is done, it is finished. The human wouldn’t be able to survive being separated for the Deity because the Deity essentially makes a home within the human that is a permanent residence. Like a living shrine. Taking that away for any reason would be unspeakable to both parties. Not to mention the level of boundaries, communication, and endurance both sides need to have in order to maintain a healthy relationship.

I’ve been trying to learn more about godspousing / devotional deity relationships from people who actually have experience with the concept, because I’m in a place of sincere curiosity and discernment—not trying to claim an identity I don’t fully understand.

For context: I’ve had a devotional relationship with Gaia since childhood (I’m 22 now), and no matter what spiritual paths I explored over the years, she always remained spiritually central to me in some form. Recently I’ve been reflecting more deeply on what sacred commitment, exclusivity in devotion, and devotional intimacy can mean in modern pagan practice.

I’m not asking anyone to validate my personal experiences or tell me what I “am,” but I am genuinely interested in learning:

What does godspousing actually mean to you?

How do you personally distinguish deep devotion from godspousing?

Is exclusivity usually part of it?

Is it symbolic, relational, mystical, oath-based, devotional service, or something else entirely?

What misconceptions do newcomers usually have?

Are there resources / blogs / writings you’d recommend?

I’m approaching this with respect and caution, and I’d much rather listen and learn than make assumptions based on fragmented Tumblr discourse 😭🌿

'in the form of a man', Manannán mac Lir, Rowan Kal, 2026, digital painting

(WIP, adding as I go)

Whether you have little time, you're a fellow disabled practitioner, or you simply don't feel like it, here's some ways to honour the gods or connect with them/nature/yourself that are more accessible.

Say/think/write good morning and/or goodnight to your deities, the earth, or any being that you desire.

Let the sun shine on your skin after you wake up.

Touch a plant, feet on grass, hand on tree, whatever, and take a deep breath.

Share part of your food with them before eating it (not with death/underworld beings, dispose of the food given to them just in case, lol)

Dedicate daily habits to them: things you already do, do them in their honour; cook for Hestia, pay your bills for Hermes, go to class for Lucifer, care for the garden for Demeter, take a shower for Freyja, sleep on time for Hypnos.

Take care of yourself!!! "Your body is a temple" well, yeah! Take care of your deities follower. Try to eat balanced, move, hydrate, be gentle with yourself, go to therapy, rest, whatever you need, offer them your dedication to be your best self.

Learn about them. Doesn't need to be everything at once! Watch a short video, read one paragraph on wikipedia, watch something inspired by them, look at a statue online. Slow and steady, you don't need to know everything now.

Follow their example; are there any lessons you can take from their stories? Add a little one progressively; stand your ground when someone's treating you unfairly for Lucifer, use your words to solve a conflict for Hermes, have fun for Loki.

Their altar doesn't NEED to be physical! If you can visualise, imagine an altar in your head, or an entire space for them, you can honour them in meditations in that altar space, and give them energetic offerings.

On that same vibe, a digital altar; you can make a collage, a Pinterest Board, a Tumblr page, a junk journal, etc.

Care for a plant associated with them, especially for nature spirits. Most plants take very minimal care and are pretty inexpensive, if not free when you ask someone that has them in their property!

Draw their name, especially if in a different language, look up the original way to write it and learn it slowly. Perfect for language and arts deities! Calligraphy.

Work on making a playlist for them, then play it to spend quality time together.

Tell them about your day, small talk, vent, ask them about stuff. Converse.

Get foods associated with them so you can snack on them in their honour.

Write for them, it can be only a phrase, a rhyme with something related to them, a short story, a song, whatever works best for you.

Make a representation of them; it can be in your altar or hidden, physical or online, even in your head. You can sculpt, draw, write, what you see them as and offer the work to them as well as the finished piece. You can use it as a vessel for their energy and carry it around with you.

Learn about a field that they rule over or work with. As slow as you need, look up information about it, work on your skill at it, watch people doing it wtvr.

Podcasts, stories, tutorials, and whatever else about them or their associations in the background while you do anything else.

And to remind you, you're enough, you're a good practitioner, you're a worthy follower, you aren't to blame for things out of your control. This is a devotional practice, a spiritual connection, it shouldn't feel like an abusive relationship.