#finding your deity

Thank you to my >4.6K followers ❤️ I love you guys

A personal post by me- Bug! I haven’t been very public about my personal life on this blog, but what better time than the present? I am a (soon to be) 19 year old university student currently living in British Columbia.

I’m also a poet, a musician, and an artist. I’ve been writing for around nine years, and have been singing for over a decade. You can find me, as well as some of my music and art, on social media through the about page on my personal blog, moneyfor-nothing :)

I would also like to take this as an opportunity to reach out to some of my followers- I love getting messages and asks from you guys, so please always feel free to send me messages or questions ❤️

Now that you’ve gotten to know a bit more about me, I’d like to tell you guys about something really personal that happened to me yesterday- finding my deity.

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Yesterday afternoon, I decided to smoke a bowl with some added herbs mixed into it as part of a cleansing spell (linked here)- and pretty much right after I did so, I found my deity. You can’t make this up. 

Lavender, chamomile, spearmint, orange peel, lemongrass, & cannabis. The bowl tasted lovely and the cloud was thick, but it didn’t make me cough. It left me feeling relaxed and content.

After that, I decided to pick some rose petals from my garden so I could dry them. As I did so, it began to sprinkle outside.

As the rain got heavier, the wind picked up and became somewhat boisterous.

Following that, I once more sat on the steps outside my home to organize my herbs & things and pack another bowl.

The wind was blasting so strongly that it was blowing the bud out of my grinder, so I called out,

“What, Zephyr?”

And suddenly the wind and the rain stopped.

And I felt a pressure like someone’s hand pressing down on my chest.

My heart stopped. I had been searching for my deity. Working and praying and searching for signs and leaving offerings. Was this finally it? Was it finally happening?

Following that- and a few joyful tears- Zephyros and I had somewhat of a conversation. I felt a presence with me the entire time, and it seemed as though the wind was responding to my questions through it’s fluctuating intensity. But despite the shifting breezes, my location in the open air, and my (perhaps poorly chosen) ensemble of shorts and a sports bra, never once did I feel cold.

My patron deity has found me at an opportune moment amidst life’s turbulence. And, though I am somewhat knowledgeable about Greek Myth, I certainly have a lot to learn about Zephyros- and I’m sure even more to learn from him. I am extremely excited for what’s to come- nervous? Yes. But nevertheless excited.

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As promised, I am also including my first face reveal for this blog. I love all of you guys and I’m so grateful to all of you.

So, anyways... hi! This is me :)

If you’re searching for your deity, I wish you the best of luck on your path :)

Take Your Time Often times, I see those new to Wicca asking how they can find their deity(deities) and I try to help give them some suggestions on ways to go about it but after a few weeks or months, they get frustrated if they still haven't connected with a particular God or Goddess.  This is perfectly natural. I know when I began I felt the same way.  I've been into ancient Egypt since I was a young boy.  As I grew up and became an artist, I've painted the Egyptian pantheon countless times as well as scenes from ancient Egyptian life and so I thought for sure I'd have an easy time connecting with that pantheon but after several years, I can say I have all of one or two contacts at the most with the Egyptian deities.  My deities I honor now are actually far removed from the mystical lands of ancient Egypt.  And this happened through a lot of studying, researching, learning and yes, even time.   The reason I'm writing this is to give hope to those who think they won't connect with a deity.  In truth, to be Wiccan, you need only feel a connection to the God & Goddess.  If you're not into thinking of deities as living beings, then by all means, consider the universal energy that flows throughout the universe.  Whether you give it a face and a name or just consider it energy it's all good.  If you want to connect with a specific deity, keep researching.  Write down things you're already passionate about and look up deities that connect with those things.  Look at your heritage and learn about the Gods & Goddesses that were honored by your forebearers.  Read mythology books and texts.   Don't limit yourself to books though or the internet.  Go for walks, volunteer your time for things you're passionate about.  Do some gardening.  Work on a painting or drawing.  Create something, cook something.  The key is to DO SOMETHING.  When the time is right, you WILL connect with the deity or deities you're meant to work with and you may just be surprised; just remember, surprises can be a wonderful thing! Onward and forward my brothers & sisters.

I get dozens of asks on how to find the right deity, or how to find “your” deity. I’ll just cover the basics here (mainly so my lazy ass can link to it later instead of typing this over and over). Quick note: Some of this may be UPG or my personal opinions. I welcome you to share your own, but don’t be rude about it. 

Quick Vocab:

Worship vs. Working With. I use these interchangeably. I consider both of them to be talking about the relationship and connection you kindle with a deity. “Working with” does not mean “utilizing in spells as ingredients”. 

Patron ____. Wicca has different views as to what a patron or matron is compared to most of the witchcraft world. One view is: when you pick a patron deity it means a bond that will last a lifetime. Another view is that patron deities are not ones that you personally identify with, but rather are ones that relate to your lifestyle/profession/occupation. 

Devotee. Being a devotee is a way to work more closely with one, or a few, deities without committing to it for a lifetime (some do make that commitment). It simply means that you focus more of your worship and time on them, but you can still worship other deities too.

Pantheon. A group of deities, usually based on the culture they come from. The names can sometimes vary (Greek = Hellenic, Egyptian = Kemetic, etc.)

Some misconceptions and false expectations:

Everybody needs a deity. You don’t need to work with deities to be a witch. Witchcraft does not equal religion. Religion *can* be tied into witchcraft if you want though! Don’t force yourself to work with deities just because you see other people doing it!

Deities will talk to you. Sometimes, but not usually, or not in the way you expect. You aren’t likely to hear a voice in response, or to confirm that they want to work with you. You’re more likely to get: A sign of some sort, a certain feeling (warm and tingly or emotional, for example) or possibly your inner voice seems a bit different and you think it may be influenced.

You’ll know when your deities like offerings, or hear your prayers. Again, sometimes, but not usually. Not getting a response doesn’t mean you’re getting the cold shoulder. Prayers, offerings and other things don’t always garner a response, or an immediate response.

You have to pick one pantheon. Not at all, however you do have to be respectful of the pantheons each deity comes from. You can’t pick and choose which aspects of the deity you want. I personally stick to one pantheon because it’s simple and fits for me.

Deities from closed cultures are “calling to you”. Listen, I highly doubt that a deity from a culture that is closed, usually due to outsiders being oppressive and awful to them, would want to work with you. Check yourself and make sure it’s not just the aesthetic value or mysteriousness that’s drawing you to them. ALSO! You may be drawn to characteristics that they have, and there is most likely a similar deity in an open culture. Here’s a link to the google question “what cultures are closed?”

On finding a deity to work with:

I often get asked “how to I figure out which deity is a good fit for me?” The easy answer: I have no clue. Only you know what works best for you, and what’s a good fit. However, here’s some good methods:

Research the pantheons. The Greek, Egyptian and Norse are the ones that often have the most information (and are all open practices). See if one in particular calls to you. Then spend time reading about each deity.

Look at what traits you are called to. Self love? Fierceness? Feelings of home? You can literally just google “gods/deities of ____”. You can even add a specific pantheon to the end if you’ve narrowed it down.

Reaching out to that deity:

The “proper” way to do this varies per pantheon, so do your research! Google and books are your friend. And there’s usually a lot of resources for beginners on tumblr as well. The typical ways include:

An offering. Usually there’s some sort of information on traditional offerings, which you can never go wrong with. Sometimes certain offerings are offensive/not given to certain types of deities.

A prayer. It’s totally okay to look up “____ (deity’s name) prayer” for a format if you’re daunted by writing your own. It can also just be more of an explanation on why you want to worship them.

Ask for a sign. I don’t do this and hesitate to even recommend it because it can be SO hard to figure out what’s actually a sign. I’d suggest knowing the basics of the deities sacred animals, plants and colors so you have an idea of what to look for.

Just start worshiping. You don’t have to have a formal relationship with every deity to worship them. I do recommend forming a relationship with them before becoming their devotee.

Take Your Time Often times, I see those new to Wicca asking how they can find their deity(deities) and I try to help give them some suggestions on ways to go about it but after a few weeks or months, they get frustrated if they still haven't connected with a particular God or Goddess.  This is perfectly natural. I know when I began I felt the same way.  I've been into ancient Egypt since I was a young boy.  As I grew up and became an artist, I've painted the Egyptian pantheon countless times as well as scenes from ancient Egyptian life and so I thought for sure I'd have an easy time connecting with that pantheon but after several years, I can say I have all of one or two contacts at the most with the Egyptian deities.  My deities I honor now are actually far removed from the mystical lands of ancient Egypt.  And this happened through a lot of studying, researching, learning and yes, even time.   The reason I'm writing this is to give hope to those who think they won't connect with a deity.  In truth, to be Wiccan, you need only feel a connection to the God & Goddess.  If you're not into thinking of deities as living beings, then by all means, consider the universal energy that flows throughout the universe.  Whether you give it a face and a name or just consider it energy it's all good.  If you want to connect with a specific deity, keep researching.  Write down things you're already passionate about and look up deities that connect with those things.  Look at your heritage and learn about the Gods & Goddesses that were honored by your forebearers.  Read mythology books and texts.   Don't limit yourself to books though or the internet.  Go for walks, volunteer your time for things you're passionate about.  Do some gardening.  Work on a painting or drawing.  Create something, cook something.  The key is to DO SOMETHING.  When the time is right, you WILL connect with the deity or deities you're meant to work with and you may just be surprised; just remember, surprises can be a wonderful thing! Onward and forward my brothers & sisters.