guys i'll be so real how do i even do shadow work
like is it just journal prompts
like i never feel like it does anything for me
kafkasgirlhood reblogged
Sometimes deity work can feel so mystical and it can be something amazing and so powerful that it’s practically baffling… and sometimes it’s Loki screaming in your ear to get chocolate milk that morning
sometimes doing deity readings is me sitting with apollo's candle to the right of me and erebos's candle to the left of me so that i am protected by both darkness and light , with a citrine to my front and a clear quartz to my back , with meditative music on and the lights dimmed , prayers falling from my lips to invite the deities into my space.
and sometimes it's me going "ah, screw it" and playing ho ho ho by teya+salena to bring in dionysos and hermes for a reading and it works immediately.
kafkasgirlhood reblogged
hi i'm not really all that new to this sort of thing but i keep seeing people use the term "deity work" and i don't exactly understand what it means? like what is it, what does it entail, how is it different from deity worship? could you explain? thank you so much
OBVIOUSLY! let’s start with saying that i’m happy you asked, sometimes, unfortunately, people stay silent even though they don’t understand something and it’s really a shame. i’m really happy you took a step and chose to ask. but i would also like to say: everyone has their own definitions and ways to use them, paganism doesn’t have a shape, it is moldable and that’s the fun of bein pagan! some people might not agree with my point of view, but i’ll let you know of it.
What is deity work? What makes it different from deity worship?
deity work is a practice in which you form a relationship with a deity, which will take form with the time passing. it is stable, they help you in something, maybe shadow work or self-love. it is a giving and receiving type of thing that can be really consistent, and basically you get closer to a deity. the deity will influence your workings and life with their energy, with their signs, and will obviously help you out when they want and can, mostly focusing in aspects of your life that they wanna help you with, most of the times those aspects are very connected to the deities themselves (example: lady aphrodite helps me in love and self-love matters, lady persephone helps me when i need to let something “die”, making me understand i need to let go.).
deity worship is, instead, a casual relationship, where you offer things to the gods, prayers, food, etc, you can get close to them, you can receive their blessings and sometimes help in your worship, but what i’m trying to say is that it is more casual and less intimate, less consistent, they usually don’t interfere much in your life until they offer you to WORK with them, or viceversa and the offer is accepted by both parts.
hope this helps :) it is your choice to get my concept of things and follow it, or make something completely yours! it’s your practice.
this!
this is a very personal thing but i prefer not to call it “working with” because i'm VERY big on words ( literary analysis fanatic so i love analysing why certain words are used in specific contexts ) and saying “i'm working with xyz” makes me feel like i'm a colleague of some sort ?
and for some people that's their thing , they prefer that! for me , i prefer to acknowledge that the gods are above me so instead of saying “i'm working with xyz” i usually just say “i'm building a bond with xyz”
the point of this post is not to put down or demonise anyone that says they are working with a deity , rather just to let newer / unaware pagans know that you can call it different things if you're not comfortable with the term! it's your practice , and whether you say you're working with a deity , building a bond with a deity , or a completely different term that you prefer , go crazy!