Unnamed Deities

[houseofchimeras]

What do you do when the deity (or deities) you are being called to worship or are drawn to are not from any pantheon known (or at least not known by all but the most obscure book or sliver of text)? Or similarly, what of if you have found their image but their name has been lost or have been simply dubbed something by anthropologists?

I am having some trouble with the goddesses I follow. They do not seem to be of any known pantheon at all. I looked and looked but I have still yet to find anything outside my own experiences with them.  They are three goddesses of the ocean. One is the goddess of the open ocean whose sacred animals are sharks and whales, another goddess is of the shore and shallows whose sacred animals are clams and crabs, and the last goddess is one of the deep sea whose scared animals are squid and octopi. I’ve been slowly building a practice around the ocean goddesses yet I am still mystified as not finding them in any historical text or known pantheon. I’m not fully sure how to properly work for them or even address them, other than continue to piece together what they wish to be done and now and what they wish to be called. What would you do in the above situation or in a general sense of the original questions?  Less anyone has a guess about where these goddeses might have originated?

Comments

[moonvoice]

It sounds like you've done a lot of research already; and while it doesn't hurt to keep researching, I feel like what you're asking in this post (please correct me if I'm wrong) is what happens when the texts fail to identify these goddesses, and where do you go from here.

I would say... hundreds, if not thousands of religions are no longer being practiced, and they all would have had their own undocumented deities. It's entirely possible that your deities were worshipped by people, by a lot of people, in a dedicated manner - by a culture that disappeared through cultural assimilation, war, or any number of reasons. You can sometimes pick this up by how important worship is, or how grateful the deity may seem as a result of being honoured again.

I'd be prepared, or start preparing yourself, to deal with the inevitable question of 'did you make them up', because it sounds like you're constructing a respectful religion of practices around these deities (understandably), and some people may challenge that if they haven't heard of the deities. I experience similar in my practices of Vilturj; since the gods and goddesses I worship are - so far - not found in any books or academic databases or anything. They have very rich histories, and my practices are centred around them, but the question of; 'did you make it up' still occasionally comes up. Though; maybe you already know how to do this.

It's okay to practice a spirituality that features deities that haven't been recorded in some book or text. Before print media came along, deities pretty much weren't preserved in any texts really, or even drawn all that often, so there is a rich history of worshipping deities based on what deities want, and less so on what the books suggest. I'm not saying give up on research, just... it's okay to trust in the deities and in yourself in this. Having a close relationship with three deities, enough to build a spirituality or series of practices at all, is a big deal, and a humbling position to be in. I think this situation most often requires a lot of self-validation, since the books, or some external culture, probably aren't going to give it to you. I mean, in response to your first question, I'd just say 'you start your own practice/spirituality,' but it's a simple answer that might not be so simple to practice, if you struggle to self-validate, or see your own UPG as being invalid. I suppose then, it comes down to practicality - have these goddesses helped you? Have they brought improvements to your life? Do you feel like a better person for having connected to them and started worshipping them? If the answer to these questions is yes; then you have your validation, and screw what anyone else thinks.

I'd maybe check more into Slavic and Russian practices of shamanism to find out where these deities originated, on an aside. But considering how many religions don't exist anymore; I'd say there's a high chance you might not find external literary validation in this.'

If you ever have any more questions, feel free to message me. I'm in an unusual position of also knowing a full pantheon that has no literary basis. And while I am fortunate enough to know external family members who practices within this religion, I'm now - I believe - the only one who practices Vilturj. So I deal with questions relating to its origins and 'how to deal with deities when it's just you and them, and no one else to really help you' a fair bit.