Patron Deities
30. December, 2006While reading an article in A Heathen’s Day, I caught a few sentences that got me to thinking:
“One of the interesting things I see today is the need for a patron deity – Anne’s adopt a God program – and I would argue that there is nothing wrong with adopting a patron deity – but I would also argue that there is no compelling need. If we feel like we have to, its the poison of monotheism not having worked itself out of our system. If we feel drawn to an individual God or Goddess above all others, that’s fine and natural, but again, we are free to accept the existence of other Gods as well.“
How related are patron deities to monotheistic thinking? Can one be polytheistic and at the same time have a patron deity? While I don’t know how common it is in Paganism (especially with the mixture of pantheists added to the equation), I know that in Heathenry there are quite a few people who have patron gods or goddesses – so many that the word, fulltrúi [1], has been resurrected from its few mentions in the corpus of Heathen lore and engaged as the Old Norse word for patron.
First, though, I want to share some definitions (from Webster’s OnLine):
First, this definition for patron: 1 a : a person chosen, named, or honored as a special guardian, protector, or supporter.
Since we are also discussing the effects of monotheism, I’ll include one of the definitions for patron saint (since patron god would be a bit redundant in this case): 1 : a saint to whose protection and intercession a person, a society, a church, or a place is dedicated
Also, to provide a little variety in our vocabulary, here is the definition for tutelary: 1 : having the guardianship of a person or a thing
2 : of or relating to a guardian
To answer my first question, how related patrons are to monotheistic thinking, I will try to avoid searching for a spiritual measuring stick and try to approach the question from a backwards angle. Are there polytheistic cultures that employed the concept of patron deities without influence from monotheism? It seems that this is the case. A classic example would be the patron deities of the ancient city-states of Greece. We can use Athens as an example, since it was named after its tutelary deity (patron, in the sense that we are using, does not have a separate, feminine version listed in Webster’s; so I’m choosing a more gender-neutral word in this case). Another tutelary deity from a polytheistic culture is Zotz, of the Tzotzil Maya people. While in that general neighborhood, there is also Chicomexochtli, Aztec patron deity of artists; which introduces another aspect of patron deities, those deities who were not concerned with cities, but vocations or professions. This of course brings us back to the cold lands of northern Europe, where the patron of sailors is Njord. If I were to go eastward, I could find more examples, but I think I’ve managed to establish that patron (or tutelary) deities existed in polytheistic cultures that were not at the time influenced by monotheism.
The second angle from which I’ll approach this first question is in the Catholic use of patron saints, since Catholicsm is a form of monotheism. A quick look on Google shows me that Catholicism employs a plethora of patron saints. One that interests me is Saint Brigid, who seems inextricably linked to the Pagan goddess of the same name. A little reading shows me that there is a debate among scholars as to whether or not the Church turned a Pagan goddess into a Christian Saint, for the purpose of converting Pagans in Ireland. Looking up patron saint in Wikipedia, I can see in almost tiny print at the end of a paragraph this statement:
“Association with a particular area or profession can be found with tutelary deities from other religions as well.”
So it seems that, while I’m sure a number of patron saints were living, breathing, mortal people, there is also a tendency to take tutelary Pagan gods and goddesses, and transform their spheres of influence into canonized saints. New Advent tells us that the history of patron saints stems, ultimately, to early Christians prefering to choose church sites on grounds where martyrs either fell or were buried – hoping that their power would act as intercessors between Christians and their god, thus becoming patrons – and this practice can be traced to similar outlooks and beliefs of Pagans. At the very least, it tells us that the Catholic use of patron saints is much younger than the concept of patrons among polytheists.
This argues for the possibility that at least the Catholic tradition of patron saints has been inspired by polytheistic practice. This, combined with the establishment that patron deities were employed by polytheistic cultures outside of monotheistic influence, suggests very strongly that while there may be a relationship between patron saints and monotheism, the idea of patron deities is very much polytheistic. This answers my second question, that polytheists can have patron deities without necessarily being influenced by monotheism…and since patron deities can also exist for vocations as well as places, I’m not sure that the need has to be as compelling as the deities sphere of influence and how it connects with the life of the individual. Even then, from what most of the contemporary Heathens I’ve encountered have told me – and indeed, what I have experienced myself (Njord being my patron) – the connection one has to their patron deity is compelling enough.
I do agree, having a patron deity is not a requirement in polytheism…and I do not think that the search for a patron deity should be a priority. In some cases, the patron doesn’t need to be sought out at all…if you are Heathen, and you are a hunter, then the chances are pretty high that your tutelary deity is either Ullr or Skadhi. Warriors or soldiers would do well to place their trust in Tyr, mothers in Frigga. A patron or tutelary deity need not and should not cause a person’s relationship with the rest of their gods to suffer…it’s like having a circle of close friends and, out of those close friends, there is one in particular you regard as a sister or brother. You are closer to that one, but not to the exclusion of the rest.
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[1] Defined in Zoëga’s A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic as: one in whom one puts full confidence, patron (deity)
This article was originally published on 24. October, 2006
Very nice! I’m glad you decided to repost this article; I wouldn’t have stumbled on it otherwise. Do you know how to bring over whatever original comments there were, as well? (I certainly don’t! :-) )
I agree that polytheists can have patron gods without slipping into monotheism. Speaking for myself, during my visualization meditations I frequently encounter someone who calls himself the god Apollo, and has many of the attributes of that god. He takes a special interest in my activities and has given me a great deal of excellent advice. Whether this “is” “really” Apollo I don’t know, but to me, for all intents and purposes, he is a patron god.
Why is this relevant? A month or so ago Apollo abruptly stopped appearing in my meditations. His replacement was Athena. I asked her why Apollo had left, and she replied that he always disappears in the winter time. I looked it up, and sure enough, the Greeks believed that Apollo went to “Hyperborea” during the winter (although his usual replacement at Delphi during that time was Dionysius, I think). So here is a case of a polytheist (myself) interacting with a patron as well as the patron’s substitute! This is, I think, a long way from a slippery slope to monotheism. :-)
Thanks for digging a little deeper in my blog, and letting me know you enjoyed one of my reposts…lets me know I’m doing something right :-)
I suspect, in the near future, WordPress will have something that will import posts and comments from Blogger – they seem to have had one before Blogger went into its ‘Beta’ phase, then decided to stop trying to keep up with all of the code changes Blogger made during that phase. Now that Blogger’s officially out of its ‘Beta’ phase, maybe the folks at WordPress will be kind enough to bring Blogger refugees such as myself some new tools.
Thank you for sharing your visualization experiences – as seems to frequently happen, your comments spark questions that I feel compelled to ask :-) What are the reactions from the ‘average’ member of the Druid community to having tutelary deities outside of the Celtic pantheon? I ask this because I think the average Heathen or follower of Asatru would not consider this possibility. Another question I have is what kinds of connections and associations you have experienced in communication with your patron and your patron’s ’sub’?
I’m glad you find me so stimulating! The feeling is definitely mutual.
Unfortunately, I can’t say how the average member of the Druid community would react to my having a Greek patron. I suspect many would be surprised, and not really know what to make of it. I have mentioned Apollo a couple of times on my blog, but no visitors have remarked on it. Maybe they didn’t know what to think. :-)
I’ve struggled with the issue myself. However, the issue isn’t as stark as you might think:
1. Lugh, the king of the Celtic gods and one of only two gods believed to have been worshipped wherever there were Celts (the other is Bridget), was probably associated with Mercury by Caesar, but descriptions I’ve read of him make him seem much more like Apollo — he is a sun god, a god of healing, and a god of all the arts, with special mention made of music. It’s true that Lugh was also a mighty warrior, something Apollo wasn’t known for, but then, Mercury doesn’t fit that description any better.
2. Apollo was actually adopted and worshipped alongside local gods all across Celtic continental Europe towards the time of Roman conquest, and became even more popular afterwards. It seems likely (to me, anyway) that the Celts simply started calling Lugh “Apollo”.
I’m not sure about your second question — what do you mean by “connections and associations”?
By connections and associations, I meant the degree of similarity between Athena and Apollo, as you work with and perceive them. I understand, of course, that Athena and Apollo are different gods – but as substitute for Apollo, how similar to Apollo is Athena?
She’s quite different, in personality and appearance.
Apollo is rather shorter than you might expect; he’s lithe and athletic, with very curly brown hair, and eyes that are absolutely black with flecks of stars in them. He gives the impression of tremendous controlled power. He communicates with quick bursts of images and information that take me a while to process. He almost never sits down.
Athena is always sitting. She is not as athletic, and gives the impression of relaxed power, like a big cat. I “see” her somewhat less clearly than I “see” Apollo — I’m not sure what color her hair is, for example. She is quite regal. She rarely offers information, but waits for me to ask, and answers shortly, but graciously.
By the way — totally off topic — I’m excited about guest-blogging alongside you this week. This will be tremendous fun!
I’m looking forward to our guest-blogging stint, as well :-)
So, with Athena and Apollo, if you were to ask each of them the same question, what do you think you’d get for answers?
I’m sure it would depend on the question. If I asked them, for example, what were the most important qualities in a human being, they might give different answers. But I think when it comes to the most important questions for me right now — concerning my life and personal projects — they’re on the same page. I get the feeling that Apollo sort of debriefed Athena ahead of time. :-)
That’s something that I find really interesting, and it’s something that I’ve never really given much thought to, that different gods would have different priorities when asked what the most important qualities in a human being are! It makes perfect sense, but that’s seeing things from a perspective I’d not yet allowed my mind to delve into.
It also makes perfect sense that, when the questions turn toward you or your life in specific, that the two gods would work as a team and deliver a similar message, if not in similar style :-)
So you have dedicated yourself to Njord, am I remembering rightly? Do you consider him a patron? Have you been in contact with him? (If I may ask! I have no doubt that might be a personal topic for some.)
Yes, you remember correctly, Njord is my fulltrúi among the gods. Others seem to have more of a conversational contact with Njord, my contact with him has mostly been along the lines of an inner harmonizing that’s so far been pretty difficult to put into words. I have the advantage of living in a city that’s situated right up against the North Sea…his influence here may not be quite so strong as in the Baltic areas, but it’s still considerable here (and certainly much stronger than in the desert where I grew up!).
When I’m resonant with Njord, I don’t necessarily need the conversational style of contact because I can pretty much feel and understand what I’m needing to do already. A good example of this would be when I dedicated myself to his service on the tidal flats of the North Sea…a part of this dedication involved scratching my intentions into the tidal flats with the Runes. Shortly after I did this, I realized that although it was nice for me to take this extra formality, my devotion to Njord had been apparent to him for some time before then. A quality known to be possessed by the Vanir is that they have the gift of foresight…I think this is why my communication with Njord comes in the form of simply knowing, in a sort of claircognizant sort of way, rather than conversing outright. Like I said, harmonizing…and not easy to put to words :-)
That sounds wonderful, Bernulf. (Sorry to take so long getting back to this — you know how it is. :-) ) It sounds like you have a strong connection, something so few people have.
As far as visualization vs. claircognizance, different people have different preferred channels of input (as my wife learned in cognitive science). Some people really go for visualization, others for audio, others for direct knowledge like yourself, still others for the sense of touch or smell. I use visualization almost exclusively — to the extent that I almost never hear anything in my “visions”. My wife, on the other hand, can “hear” voices quite well but can’t visualize to save her life. Most of the meditation products out there today focus on visualization, but that really does a disservice to those whose preferred channel is something different.
Odd that you should mention the sense of smell, as that’s another one of my tendencies – I’ve always seen it as a part of my totemic connection to Bear, but have never considered it a channel of input, as you call it. It mainly warns me when trouble’s around, and very rarely I’ve managed to use it to determine ‘what’s on the winds’ for the future. I always figured I was alone in the world with that sort of perception (read: crazy).
No worries if it takes you a while to comment…you’re right, I know exactly how it goes :-)
That’s very interesting! Do you associate certain smells with certain concepts (concrete or abstract)? For example, my visual association is so strong (or twisted, or whatever) that I associate colors with things like numbers, letters, scientific theories, etc. I get a “flash” of the color when I think of the concept. 9 is golden-orange, 4 is brick red, “D” is brown, newtonian mechanics is white, etc. :-) Do you experience anything similar?
No, no associations like what you are talking about. With me, it’s like my nose starts working, then my mind just interprets what’s in the air…almost like the claircognizance is tickled or triggered by my nose. I think if I had the associations that you’ve got, I’d go nuts :-)
:-) That’s really neat!
I don’t know whether or not patron deities are related to monotheistic thinking (I would have thought that this would only be the case if you were a strict henotheist) but I personally find the concept unhelpful in many ways, as it creates expectations in people that they will find a patron deity, which may not be met.