Mythology and folklore are necessary tools, if you work with deities in your kind of witchcraft. It is necessary to know the basic attributes of a goddess, a god or a mythological creature like the dragon, if you plan to practice with them on a more regular basis.
You can also learn quite a lot about yourself from these old tales that are handed down through generations before us. For example, I use human archetypes in my shadow work in order to get in touch with my inner feelings more easily, so my work will be as honest as possible.
- 24 Myths And Legends
- 25 Archetypes
- 26 Pantheon Examples
- 27 Goddesses
- 28 Gods
- 29 Nordic Mythology
- 30 Egyptian Mythology
- 31 Greek And Roman Mythology
Myths and legends : While myths typically are about world creation with gods and goddesses, legends are tales about historical or everyday people. They are both good stories to tell around a bonfire and have a strong cultural influence even today in a modern world, where story telling luckily is becoming more and more popular again.
Archetypes : To me, archetypes are two things. 1) General characteristics in order to psychologically describe the behaviour of humans, both the light and the darker, shadowy side. And 2), attributes of goddesses and gods in my daily work with witchcraft, where I typically read a prayer to a goddess/god relevant to strengthen my intentions with e.g. a spell for harmony or prosperity.
Pantheon Examples : Deities from all over the world, because I prefer to get my knowledge from a broad variety of sources rather than one source only.
Goddesses : All about their attributes, offerings and correspondences. Aphrodite, Arianrhod, Bastet, Branwen, Brigit, Cerridwen, Demeter, Diana, Erzulie, Freyja, Gaia, Hathor, Hecate, Inanna, Isis, Kuan Yin, Lakshmi, Lilith, Maat, Morrigan, Rhiannon, Sekhmet, Shakti, Yemaya are just some of my favourites.
Gods : Anubis, Balder, Cernunnos, Freyr, Herne the hunter, Horus, Marduk, Odin, Osiris, Ra, Set, Shiva, Thor, Thoth and a lot more than that.
Nordic mythology : Native Danish, I feel a very strong connection to the Northern traditions, and I use some of them in my rituals.
Egyptian mythology : Being one of the world´s oldest civilizations, it is awesome to learn about this epic culture with still so much influence on the modern world of today.
Greek and Roman mythology : Living in Europe in the Western part of the world signifies also the influence from Greek and Roman sources, as in the way many of the societies in Europe are build upon e.g. the rules of democracy.
This part of my Book of Shadows, yesterday´s traditions and old ways, and tomorrow´s part on spirituality are together with the section 4 Harm Ye None the background for my core beliefs.
It is the big words, yes I know, but this is what I believe in :
I believe in Nature and a world of incredible force. We are only humans, we cannot build mountains high and rivers broad. Nature is the big mystery, and ever since the first bonfire was lit, humans have tried to explain to themselves, what this wonder of a world has been, is and can become.
I also believe in a world of deities. Or in my interpretation, deities representing the mighty forces of Nature and Mother Earth and Father Sky.
I believe in common ground among human beings. As long as we are able to listen to and talk with each other, life is always worth living. I like to learn from as many people as possible and hopefully to teach other people as well.
When people stop listening, we need to begin again, instead of making wars all over the world and for what ? We also need to take greater care of Nature, before everything is about money and the dance around the golden calf.
But I believe in people. It is possible to live peacefully together, if we only dare to will it. I live myself in an extended family and it is so life-affirming to share the daily life together.
And I believe in witchcraft as the right path for me to walk, because here I find calm, beauty and assurance that things will pass as they are supposed to, one way or the other. I cannot change what happens, but I can change my attitude towards it. So being positive even through rough days is my answer to modern stress and hurry. It is my faith, but I respectfully acknowledge other people´s faith as well.
Tomorrow I´m going to tell you something about my view upon spirituality, dear reader. It is a lot more than a deity collection, it´s also an inner walk down memory lane to clear up clutter along the way. And it works well as a booster of self-confidence and clarity.
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