Finding your deity isn't hard

[@KrisHughes]

ONLINE CLASSES Intro to Celtic Mythology starts 4th January tinyurl.com/ICM25 Rashiecoats starts 15th January tinyurl.com/rashie25 You can always find out about upcoming classes at: tinyurl.com/GDclasses

[@Davlavi]

Always appreciate your input on things.

[@MLindsey222]

This video came to me just at the right time. Thanks for the insight, Kris! 😊

[@GreenQuartzMagus]

I've had the pleasure of watching some of your KZbin presentations. This one, again, to me, was awesome. I'm not a Celtic polytheist, but your input crosses the eclectic boundaries, I think, with good grace. May there be many more to follow. Cheers.

[@KrisHughes]

Thanks!

[@Evan-dwi]

Meanwhile I stumbled into Ceridwen by seeing a representation of her in the Universal Goddess Tarot while pagan my friends were doing public readings at the campus Atrium. I was very much not ready to be a polytheist at the time, but could not get her out of my head. Felt like I'd known her forever and her tutelage was almost unavoidable. Different strokes for different folks. Wouldn't trade this journey for anything!

[@KrisHughes]

Absolutely!

[@ghostofplumbus]

Your advice is so leveled and kind. Thanks for sharing!

[@KrisHughes]

Thank you!

[@fillipepessoa9819]

Your videos are very important for me. I like pretty much the way you speak, the calm in your voice and the wiseness you share. Thank you very much for the work you do. Hugs from Brazil ❤

[@KrisHughes]

Aw, thank you! I'm glad you like them.

[@serenaoakley4864]

love this ❤️ I love that you mentioned the collective anxiety and fear of using one's own power. I've always followed my curiosity and intuition. Deities come and go in my life some stay in the background while others come to the foreground. Its meant to be an organic, personal process I think! Not a stressful investment decision. 😂

[@TheKrispyfort]

And this video has just made me realise that I'm in this area not to know the unnamed god who has always been with me but to know my Self and stand by my deliberate choices and honour my sacrifices

[@kayeboesme5258]

Great video. My family entered paganism when I was still a kid, and a few years after we started going to Circles, I was looking at lists of deities and picked the ones who had the most to do with poetry. Years later, I still worship some of them. I'm in my late 30s, and I often feel very uncomfortable about the "which deity will choose you" culture that has blossomed online among (mostly) my age group and younger because I think it can get in the way of people actually living out the sacred. I do believe that every soul has a leader-god, and that's what is taught in Platonism, but I have a lot of faith that people will find their way to the deities they vibe the most with as they gain life experience. Just grab the bull by the horns and have some trust it'll all work out! At the same time, I can't help but notice the similarities between people stressing out over finding their home base at shrine and first-year undergraduates stressed about finding the right major while their advisers keep telling them to branch out and take interesting classes to find something that gives them a spark.

[@KrisHughes]

That's a great observation. There seems to be so much worry about "getting it right, right away" on a lot of fronts. But hardly anyone does, in real life. I'm worried that a lot of young people will be afraid to believe in anything ten years down the line, because the first thing they tried didn't work out.

[@nima9452]

Thank you, that was reassuring 🙏 the moment I looked at your broche and guessed she must like Epona you spoke her name. That was a fun coincidence ❤🐴

[@Eric_200]

Such lovely information. Very timely and useful for me personally. Thank you!!

[@KrisHughes]

"Useful" is what I like to hear. You're very welcome!

[@TheBackwoodsHermit]

As a newcomer that feels drawn to this form of spirituality, much of the information I'm getting from others leaves me confused. Your explanation here was excellent, though, and felt like a no nonsense approach. Thank you very much for this discussion and I look forward to viewing more from you. Best wishes.

[@KrisHughes]

I'm glad "no nonsense" is how it landed.

[@francisfischer7620]

You're very deeply precious. Bless you.

[@kayladupuis8610]

Greatly appreciate your content. I've dabbled for over a decade in wicca. Right as I want to get serious/strengthen my practice, you're in my recommended. Thank you 🖤

[@urubutingaz5898]

Very few people have such a wise and well oriented perspective as yours. Fewer than i wish there were.

[@christopherseilaff8665]

Very good video. I myself have been on this path for 30 years and find the new internet i fluencer thing just confusing. Can only imagine what someone new is feeling.

[@AntonSlavik]

Cool insights, very important not only for the newbies. What I've found is, on rare occasion, deities choose you... or I'm just a weirdo who used to spend too much time in ephemeral spaces. But it wasn't until YEARS down my path, and it was disconcerting at times. People have to ask themselves do they want to go all in on a lifestyle or just hang out on the peripheries.

[@KrisHughes]

Yeah, as I sort of said in this video, sometimes I'm not 100% sure who chose who - but in a way, I think that's indicative of a perfect fit. It's like when you make a really good friend. You kind of pick each other.

[@AntonSlavik]

@@KrisHughes oh! Never mind me. Still clearing the cobwebs out of my brain this morning 🤣 Excellent analogy. I'm stealing it.

[@sk8nk]

Deities deserve respect!!

[@CelticMysticSeer]

I use a Celtic Shaman tarot pack and instead of following the guidelines to the letter I shuffle through the cards and pick three. Me and my girlfriend did it one day and it was correct in all accounts. I did it another and same again. I usually don't ask questions and just let the cards speak. It works for me and my situation at the moment.

[@cipherx6334]

Thank you sincerely for sharing your wisdom, diolch yn fawr.

[@KrisHughes]

A chroeso!

[@segbaillie2824]

Hello sane lady 😃

[@KrisHughes]

Well - according to some, but not others!

[@segbaillie2824]

@KrisHughes 😆 snap! 😃

[@AlexButsch]

Odin suddenly peaked my interest. I wasn't looking for a god, but he's fit for me.

[@theurbanthirdhomestead]

Ishtar just did the same for me.

[@miaththered]

Well said.

[@CelticMysticSeer]

I am having a lot of signs from someone but I don't know who. I wasn't a believer but after some experiences with the other side, it's put me in front of someone or something that is now engaging with me. I figured my best bet was to go with my heritage (Welsh) than just something mainstream, although I am eclectic.

[@Bjorn_Algiz]

Lovely video! Hail!

[@KrisHughes]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@erichwebb8312]

🌹

[@wrenofthetrees9666]

Long comment! Sorry 😅 I have a lot to say. I believe a lot of this comes from religious trauma and anxiety from growing up Christian or in a predominantly Christian society. The stakes for choosing the “wrong” god are very high in that worldview, and it means eternal torment or otherwise being punished by a god for thinking wrongly and choosing wrong. There is also a lot of Christianity that revolves around certainty and about having one religious text which has all the knowledge you will ever need, and to doubt it also means punishment. I myself came from this background, and it took a lot of deep thinking, research, and deconstruction to start unwinding these tangled knots in my brain. There is a bit of historical precedence for polytheist people of the past having a “patron” deity of sorts. Some cultures had household or tribal deities, in which many gods were recognized but a select one would preside over the care and protection of a specific place, tribe, or family. In those cases that deity would get more attention and devotion than others, but other deities wouldn’t be ignored or never called upon. Some people would primarily worship deities whose domains had to do with their profession. The kind of high level devotion with one specific god, to the level at which vows were taken and special arrangements were made, was not common. The only thing I can think of historically that may have been similar (aside from Abrahamic religions, which do follow this pattern, I.e. devoting oneself to one god in exchange for special blessings and a special afterlife) were specific religious cults, like the one to Persephone and Demeter in Ancient Greece. To speak on wanting to be chosen by a god, that may have to do with a personal desire to feel special, which is fine. Everyone wants to be special to someone, that is a normal human thing. It is important to remember that a god can become fond of you by you choosing them. They do not have to pick you in order for a special bond to be created. Do I think the gods reach out to people? Of course. How else would we have ever learned of them, if not for their divine inspiration in mortal minds? However, it is not a failing on anyone’s part if a god doesn’t reach out to them somehow. Our lives are not dependent on the gods for meaning, they are just enriched by them, if we choose to pursue relationships with them to learn their mysteries and receive their blessings.

[@munchycrunchypancake]

What accent do you speak with?

[@KrisHughes]

A messy one! Originally from Colorado in the US, lived in Scotland for 25 years.

[@mercifulmoon888]

Long response incoming.... I have a different take on this topic since I'm a Left hand path witch, which means I work with a lot of demons. From my perspective people that are trying to find one deity to work with, are usually beginners in the realm of deity work and they want to find an entity that is aligned with them and meshes well with them. Someone to trust and guide them further on their paths to spiritual work. These are the witches that have never worked with spirits before and never communicated with one. Especially if they don't have the ability to see and hear them--so they rely on tarot readings/gut intuition/synchs etc You NEED to have at least ONE trusted deitity/entity in your corner that can help guide you through the world of deity work, spirit work, astrals. There are TOO many opps/imposters out here in the spiritual plane for someone to just walk up to a random entity. That's how some people get effed up. It ain't all love and light in the astrals. Not everything is for everyone, and that means certain entities/deities too. Spiritual warfare exists, Egregores/imposter spirits exists. Bloodlines/Spiritual lines also play a part in working with deities too. Some deities might call out to you because you have a past life with working with them, which is why some people are drawn to a certain pantheon/time period. Others may not be so keen to you because you have no pastlife established history, so you're a complete stranger to a deity...this is why offerings/rituals exist. To try to establish a rapport with a new entity. Spirits are people too. Also some entities may not be responsive or like someone at all and that there's nothing anyone can do about it especially if they (The entity in question) can sense that the individual isn't ready or not serious enough. They are people too, and don't like having their time be wasted. Some of them can sense that and preemptively say no to someone.

[@KrisHughes]

Yeah, honestly, I'm not really aiming my videos at people who take the approach you describe. No personal attack intended here - we obviously have very different spiritual worldviews.

[@AndreeaCe]

Around here she is called Gaia. She gets many names. I'm delighted to re-introduce you to Gaia.

[@emmalouie1663]

Reading a popular book for a Wicca book club. The book is full of Marxist language "anti-imperialism" and "anti-capitalism" AND the author is selling the book via a capitalist system Amazon. There has always been a link between religions and politics for sure but it's weird to me that Marxist stuff is so popular is permeating everything. I wish she had left it out of the book. The other part of the book is that there are no unique or creattive thoughts she has it really feels to me like she decided to rehash a bunch of other people's ideas and concepts that have been around for decades and make money off of stylizing herself as a witch influencer. She also goes on to say some people should not appropriate other cultures while it is totally fine to appropriate anything from certain bad oppressor cultures. Well, I wish I had not read the book. But do I leave the book club... The book went as far as to say individuality is a negative trait.

[@róisínanne]

Depends. Is the book club trying to sell the book to you/encourage the ideologies it teaches? If the group as a whole is not aligning with you, you're entitled to leave. You may well follow the WIccan path and not be Marxist, and you need no one else's permission to do it all your own way. That being said, going it alone and doing your own reading could lead you elsewhere and the more reading you do on magic/the esoteric/etc, the more you'll learn about yourself. As a matter of interest, would you feel comfortable naming the book? I'm not a Marxist nor am I inherently anti-Marxist, simply curious.