#kathenotheism

When I say God, I’m talking about the Source, the universe, the big divine “everything” that we all exist inside of. That’s the panentheist part of me: God is in everything, and everything is in God, but God is still bigger than the universe.

When I say The Gods, I mean the actual deities from different pantheons like the Hellenic gods I work with most. Hermes, Aphrodite, Ares, etc. They’re real, individual beings with their own personalities and domains. That’s where my kathenotheism comes in but I am not strict about it. I can focus on one god at a time if that’s what my practice calls for, but I’m also comfortable honoring multiple gods at once. I give each deity my full attention when I’m with them but I don't stop believing in the others.

I’m also an omnitheist, which basically means I believe all gods from all pantheons exist. Not in a “they’re all the same god wearing different outfits” way, but in a “the divine expresses itself in many different beings and cultures” way.

And then there’s the polytheism part. I’m not fully hard polytheist (where every god is totally separate), and I’m not fully soft polytheist (where gods from different cultures are literally the same being). I’m somewhere in the middle. For example: I don’t think Aphrodite is Freyja. They’re not the same goddess. But I do think they might be connected like they share similar roles, energies, or archetypes. Maybe they come from the same deeper divine current, but they developed into their own distinct selves. So they’re related, but not identical.