The God/dess
©2001 Cerelia and Eileen Holland, All Rights Reserved

This material is from a book-in-progress that we call A Witches' Book of Answers.
This book is based on questions that have been asked on the OpenSesame e-list

WHO IS THE GODDESS?

 The Goddess is not a little man or woman sitting up in a cloud, making all the decisions, and bestowing wrath or gifts. The God/dess is a concept for all of Nature. S/he is the sum of male and female energies, not a physically existing god. S/he is all of Nature, every living creature, and the Earth herself. - Cerelia

IS THE GODDESS REAL?

 Discussions about the reality of the Goddess strike me as being like debating whether the Moon is actually a planet or a satellite. Whatever anyone says about it, the Moon will still be there in space, visible to Terrans on most nights. However each of us experiences the Goddess, however we define her or explain her, relate to her or deny her or ignore her, she is still the Goddess and the Universe continues to exist. "People often ask me if I believe in the Goddess. I reply, "Do you believe in rocks?" That's one of my favorite quotes. Denying the existence of the Goddess is like denying the Moon. You can disbelieve it all you want, but it's still there, even during the phase when it isn't visible. - Eileen

DON'T YOU OVER-EMPHASIZE THE GODDESS? THIS IS AS BAD AS CHRISTIANITY AND THEIR MALE GOD!

 I would like to think that most Witches honor the God/dess  together, as absolute and equal powers. We may use the word Goddess but it means both. You need male and female energy in Nature, and in life itself. If some Witches chooses to just acknowledge the Goddess, that is their decision. This is not, however, one that is held by all Witches. Some Witches may only honor the Goddess. There is nothing wrong with this, if that is what they choose. Wicca is a very open religion. - Cerelia

WHO IS THE GREAT GODDESS?

 The Great Goddess is our prime deity. She is a personification of the Universe itself, just as Gaia is a
personification of the planet Earth. All the other gods and goddesses are aspects of the Great Goddess. Aspects such as Aphrodite, Ma'at, Athene or Brigid are easier to contemplate on the personal level. - Eileen

DOES THE GODDESS HAVE MANY NAMES?

 Yes. "Listen to the words of the Great Mother; she who of old was also called among men Artemis, Astarte, Athene, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Cybele, Arianrhod, Isis, Dana, Bride and by many other names." Mary and Sophia are her names in the Christian pantheon. - Eileen

WHY DOES SHE HAVE ALL THESE NAMES?

 S/he is from many different cultures. That is why there are so many names for the God/dess. - Cerelia

WHY DOES THE GODDESS RULE THE NIGHT?

 Because she is the Moon,
 because she is succulence and abundance,
 because she is Venus as the morning and evening stars,
 because she rules shadows and secrets and the Mysteries,
 because she rules physical love and the pleasures of the
 flesh... - Eileen

IS THERE A LIMIT TO THE POWER OF THE GODDESS?

 There is no 'party line' in Wicca, so to this as well as to other theological questions you will get different answers from different Witches. To me, the Goddess (and all the god/desses She contains), is the Universe itself. She is therefore subject to the same laws of physics as everything else in the Universe. However, humans have only begun to understand just what those laws of physics are. It is not possible for a Witch to fly or change into an animal on Earth (except in the psychic sense), but it may be possible for Witches to do so in other solar systems. We think we know so much, but we are really just children, still on the threshold of scientific discovery. We will have to travel into space and learn more about this Universe before we can really know what the limits of the powers of the Goddess are. - Eileen

I AM UPSET WITH THE GODDESS BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T ANSWER MY REQUEST FOR HELP.

 That's not how energy works. To receive blessings we must put forth positive energy, via positive actions. When we need help, all we have to do is reach out to others and do what we can to help them. It is from action that blessings flow. We need to look to ourselves for our help and answers, not to the gods. - Eileen

DO WITCHES WORSHIP A HIGHER BEING?

 Worship is a very strong word. I don't worship a higher being. I believe in none as a God, or Goddess. I worship nothing, having left Christianity a very long time ago. Honor is a better word. I honor the male and female energies of the Universe. I honor and tap into the magic of the Earth and all of its life and energies. I honor all of Nature and its forces. - Cerelia

 This is true for me as well. The idea of divinity doesn't compute with me, so I serve god/desses rather than worship them. I honor, serve, or work with god/desses, with their energies. If you think about it, everything in this Universe shares atoms, so in a way we are the gods and goddesses. - Eileen

OK, SO WHO DO YOU WORK WITH?

 I began with the Goddess, and later widened my personal belief system to include gods such as Thoth, Pan, and the Green Man. I served Aphrodite in my Maiden phase, but at this point in my life I seem to resonate more with god/desses of the mind rather than of the body: Thoth, Ma'at, Sesheta, and so on. I also like the White Goddess, the Ocean Mother, Min, Brighid, Inanna, Ishtar, Erzulie, and Ra. I am constructing a cairn in my living room, a pile of stones that is each dedicated to a different god/dess: Thoth, Marduk, Isis, Ma'at, Hathor, and Kali. These deities aren't superior to others, they are just ones who resonate strongly with me. When I find the right stone, one for the Green Man will be added. I have began inscribing them, something that will take time because I am putting a lot of thought into my relationship with each god/dess as I do it. I have already inscribed the Isis rock, a smooth brown stone from the Nile that I brought back from Egypt. It reads "Isis, The Green One, Lady of Spells, Mistress of Magic". - Eileen

AREN'T WE SERVANTS OF THE GOD AND GODDESS?

 We are servants of no god. - Cerelia

  I serve Justice when I work with Ma'at, serve Love when I work with Isis, and so forth. - Eileen

WHAT MAGICAL ENERGIES DO WITCHES WORK WITH?

 To me, the Lord and the Lady (or the God/dess) are the male and female energies of life itself. They are found in everything in this world. This is the magic I work with and honor, Nature in its truest form. The Universe bestows its magic on us when we are receptive enough to see it and work with it. Some Witches may say it comes in the forms of faeries, while to other Witches it is something else. Your belief, how you see these powers, is what makes them powerful for your. I see the powers in the rain and the snow, in the mountains and the animals, in the oceans and the wind. This is where I draw my energy. I need nothing more. I can correspond these energies with names of deities. Giving them a name can help to focus on an energy. Other Witches use the same energies, but call them or see them differently. We are all different. We see the Lord and Lady in many things, and in many ways. - Cerelia

IS IT POSSIBLE TO PRACTICE WICCA OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAGANISM WITHOUT BELIEVING IN A DEITY OF ANY KIND?

 Absolutely. As with any tool, a deity helps you to focus, or gives a name to a certain aspect or energy. Nature is the all important aspect of Wicca and other forms of Paganism, not the belief in any existing god. Some Witches find it hard to focus their minds without something to guide them. You can use nothing, if you wish, or think of Nature itself. - Cerelia

AS WITCHES WHO DO NOT BELIEVE IN AN EXISTING MALE GOD, HOW DO WE EXPLAIN THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN OUR LIVES? ARE THEY JUST RANDOM EVENTS?

 Random events, thatís how I see it. There is no god picking out people to be victims of his wrath, or deciding when our time is up. It is said that there are many doors that open within our lifetime, such as times when we could die, from different situations, if we are not aware of them. Some will say that we have already chosen our time of death, that we chose it before we were born, but I believe it is random. Doors open and close every day. We make conscious or unconscious choices every day which may affect our lives. This is why taking responsibility for ourselves is so important. - Cerelia

DOES A WITCH HAVE TO WORK WITH A HIGHER POWER?

 The Universe is the higher power to me, Nature itself. It's natural, not supernatural. It follows the laws of science (although those laws change as scientists discover more), as with the phrase "Yesterday's magic is today's science." The energies and powers of the Universe come through me... I tap into them. I bend them. I become one with them. To me, this is the only higher power. - Cerelia

WHAT IS THE GODDESS? WHAT ARE THE GODS?

 There is no one answer to this, because it's something that each Witch has to work out for herself or himself. I see the Universe as having a kind of consciousness. Its endlessly creative nature is what makes us perceive and personify it as super-female (the Great Goddess), containing both male and female energies. "She unifies all opposites", as Starhawk pointed out.  I think all the various gods and goddesses are thought forms, human inventions that embody concepts such as love, justice,
sexuality, healing, battle, and so on. They have been invested with their powers by hundreds or thousands of years of human worship (except for the Great Goddess, who is the Universe itself). In creating the gods, we created something greater than ourselves. We then empowered our creations with hundreds or thousands of years of worship, supplication, and invocation. The gods are powerful human creations that correspond to specific aspects of the Universal consciousness. This is how it all makes sense to me, but other Witches experience it differently. Doreen Valiente wrote, "Dion Fortune... discusses the real nature of the gods as 'magical images', made not out of stone or wood, but shaped by the thoughts of mankind out of the substance of the astral plane, which is affected by the mind; hence it is sometimes referred to as 'mind-stuff', for want of a better name." - Eileen

IN WICCA, DO THE GOD AND GODDESS EMBODY ALL THAT IS GOOD?

 That isn't how I see it. To me, the Goddess is a personification of the Universe. She contains everything, including all the various gods and goddesses, who are different aspects of her (lust, compassion, justice, aggression, fertility, and so on). I wouldn't use the words good and evil to describe the Universe - or the Goddess. Positive and negative make more sense to me. - Eileen

I HAVE HEARD THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE GODDESS IN WICCA.

 That deity is the Universe itself. Being humans, we personify the Universe as the Great Goddess. - Eileen

IF THERE IS ONLY ONE GODDESS, WHO ARE ALL THE OTHERS? I AM CONFUSED BECAUSE I HAVE READ CONTRADICTORY TEXTS.

 Over the generations, many names have been given to the gods and goddesses. This was done to help represent the energies of the Universe more clearly in the minds of humans. We are all attracted to different named deities and what they stand for, but they are not real. This is just a way to become focused. - Cerelia

 All the gods and goddesses are aspects of the Great Goddess, the Queen of the Universe. You find such a variety of thoughts on this because each Wiccan ultimately creates his or her own theology. There is no group-think or party line for us. Our religion challenges us to find our own answers, instead of looking for someone to spoon feed them to us. - Eileen

WHO IS THE TRUE GOD, AND THE TRUE GODDESS?

 There is no one true god/dess. S/he represents all of them. S/he is the air, earth, fire, and water of the Universe itself. S/he represents all of our feelings and emotions. Unlike Christianity, the God and Goddess are not believed to be existing gods or goddesses. That is why we are Pagan. They are not real in a human sort of way. They are the representation of many energies of the Universe. They are legends and myths created by humans, to help us focus on a certain energy that we may be working with. That is why, when reading about the different deity names and their stories, one story may really touch you and make you feel close to that god or goddess. You may get drawn to what that deity stands for. That might then become the god or goddess you use in your rituals or spells, to help you connect with that energy. You will then find power when you use his or her name within your spells and such. - Cerelia

DO EACH GOD AND GODDESS HAVE THEIR OWN SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES?

 Yes they do. They are all aspects of the Universal energy: creation, destruction, preservation, love, justice, lust, compassion, enlightenment, and so on. The most important thing to remember is that the Universe destroys only to recreate. Willful destruction, for destruction's sake, is strictly human, the province of sociopaths, psychopaths, and black magicians. - Eileen

I DON'T UNDERSTAND A DUAL GOD/DESS. PLEASE EXPLAIN.

 A change in thinking is needed, to understand a dual god/dess versus one god. If you look at it in Nature though, it isn't hard at all. We must have male and female energy to make the world grow and repopulate. That's natural. The God/dess encompasses all of Nature, including both the female and male aspects. Although some Wiccans only revere the female energies, I can't honor one without the other. They are equal, and that is beautiful. We were taught to forget the female power, when Christianity took over. I do not want to act like they did, and try to forget the god. It is impossible for me to not honor both, because together they make life itself. - Cerelia

WHO IS MORE IMPORTANT, THE GOD OR THE GODDESS?

  Wicca has different aspects that are more important, or more in tune, with how we feel as individuals. Some female Witches, tired of the patriarchy that had lasted for so long, focus on the Goddess and completely disregard the God. They either continue this way, or they begin this way and incorporate both god and goddess with time. I find the beauty in both. I can't imagine one without the other, and I would definitely not want to cause the male energies to become as unimportant as the female energies were once made to seem. I love the balance. - Cerelia

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF SOME WITCHES ONLY ACKNOWLEDGING THE GODDESS?

 To me, the God/dess embodies all. S/he is the very heart of the Craft. S/he manifests the male/female polarity. The God/dess is known by many names, and each one representing a different aspect, personality, and so forth. Some Witches will only acknowledge the Goddess, not the God, but I acknowledge both. To me, not to acknowledge both would be going backwards in our path. It would be like the way that most of us were brought up, taught to believe only in a male god. These are my feelings, but other Witches should do whatever feels right to them. S/he is the all-embodiment of Nature, of the Earth and every living creature on it. They say that the earliest god honored by humans was female. "From me comes all gods and goddesses who exist", said Isis. To me, God/dess worship is honoring the balance of the female and male energies. We need both. I respect and am empowered by the beauty of both the male and female energies. Without them, there would be no life. - Cerelia

WILL I ONLY ACHIEVE BALANCE WHEN I HAVE PROGRESSED FURTHER ON MY PATH?

 I would hope this balance would appear after you have progressed. Including both the God and Goddess is a beautiful path. I would not want a religion that went backwards, and started missing the gifts of the God out of anger at patriarchy. You will notice that I said "I would hope". This is a personal decision, a personal choice. - Cerelia

BUT WHAT ABOUT GOD, THE ONE GOD?

 This is a free planet. It's OK to believe whatever you like, but in Wicca there is no supreme god. Anyone who has a problem with this concept should seriously consider not calling herself or himself a Witch. - Eileen

DID A DEITY CREATE US?

 You can believe in human evolution as Darwin and others have explained it, or you can believe that Khnum literally shaped the human race out of clay and formed us on his potter's wheel. Creation myth, science... you get to decide what you believe. My opinion is that our ancestors created the gods, as personifications of human emotions and the natural world. Humans do sometimes create things nobler and more powerful than ourselves, such as poems, symphonies, cave paintings... and deities. We further empowered the gods through centuries of worship, and made thought forms of them.
 This is no way lessens the reverence and respect I feel for the god/desses I work with, but it is more correct to say I honor them than I worship them. The only thing I worship is the Universe itself, the sum of everything. That's my view, but it doesn't make me right and other views wrong. We each believe whatever we believe; we each work it out in the way that makes sense to us. - Eileen