Welcome to Gaia! ::

When people introduce themselves in Pagan/Neopagan/Wiccan guilds/discussion groups/elists they often say, someplace in their paragraph, that they were drawn to a specific set of Gods and Goddesses, to a specific body of mythology. Now, you stumble into a spot populated by Reconstructionists you'll be sent off to research 'primary sources' - the original writings about those Gods and Goddesses from the culture that they were from. I have wondered how we are supposed to read the original language and muddle through translation shifts, and so on, and what do we get?
Has nothing changed in however many years since these Gods and Goddesses were widely worshipped?
What if you are drawn to a God from one culture and a Goddess from another?
Do these Gods and Goddesses have meaning to people living today?
What do I think if the stories featuring my God or Goddess don't all seem to depict the same personality?
How literally should I take what happens in the story or the lesson that the story teaches?

Anyway, I thought I would make a starting thread to talk about Gods and Goddesses, and their stories.

The largest online repository of myths and legends, stories of Gods and Goddesses, is Encyclopedia Mythica:

http://www.pantheon.org/

It helps to know what you are looking for but you can access the articles by browsing as well as by searching on a specific name.

To step outside our usual pagan themes, I was over on the Street Prophets site this evening (this site is faith-oriented progressive US politics). I read a book recommendation: "Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus" by Robin Meyers. Now, you're thinking havenne has gone off the cliff but stop a second: I consider Jesus a God, also. Remember, I'm the sort who believes not just in my own Gods but in yours, as well. Why not the Christian God, too, even if he seems a bit grumpy? I usually call Jesus the Prince of Peace. I might actually pick this book up and read it for inspiration.

I suppose the story behind my goddess is that as a child I was mostly alone and kept to myself. When I was walking through my grandmothers back woods I remember seeing a little girl who was alittle older then me, she had a pink and green jacket and amber colored hair, I never got a chance to talk to her because she was laughing as she ran and just seemed to vanish the closer I got to the field which ran past quite a few acres of land. Anyway my point is that I've had many experiences with spirits and other phenomenon even as a young adult. Persephone drew me to her mostly because it seemed to be that same feeling of longing for something that felt missing. I'm not sure how to explain it... but that is how Persephone became my goddess.

I do. I'd prefer not to go into detail of my personal life but I can say that I do work with her on every season. She has been my goddess, guide, and friend for many years. Yes, she is a seasonal goddess and I celebrate each season of which she comes to earth, and goes back with her husband. I am also aware that my experiences are not unique in the slightest. I'm just happy to share them openly for once.