Chev
Junior Member
Struggling to learn and grow.
Posts: 97
Pronouns: She/Her
Religion: Oh, ain't that the question
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Post by Chev on Jan 29, 2015 17:54:40 GMT -6
This is just a quick question really...
I was curious about shrines devoted to an entire pantheon. How well do these work? Or does someone usually get upset that they aren't getting all of the attention? I'm sure you could incorporate at least most of the elements that a pantheon has - grain, water, earth, something metal-specific, sky, etc. How well does something like this work out? Or is it generally hard to do?
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seamu5
Junior Member
Posts: 55
Pronouns: Barbarian
Religion: Gaelic Polytheism
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Shrines
Jan 29, 2015 18:26:10 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by seamu5 on Jan 29, 2015 18:26:10 GMT -6
I don't know how it works in other religions, but with the Iron Age Gaels the gods were infinate. You really couldn't have a shrine for every single god. There'd be ones for the major gods and shrines for local gods and ancestors in a tuath.
I have two shrines. One is in my home and is for the ancestors and house spirit/god. My other one is out side and made for all of na déithe
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Post by devo on Jan 29, 2015 19:16:58 GMT -6
I think it would be different for each pantheon in question, but I know for Kemeticism, there are people who make shrines to all of NTRW. We typically will use generic symbols (like ankhs, ma'at, etc.) for decoration of the shrine, and you would use the "flag" symbol to represent all of NTRW. Seems to work out well, esp. for people without any patron deities.
I'd wager you could make it work in Shinto, too. Using the concept of the Yorishiro, which seems to pre-date the use of ofuda. In many ways, Yorishiro are generic enough to allow any Kami to alight from them, so it could work for a generalized "Kami" shrine, if you will. Not sure I'd recommend it, but it seems sound in theory, if nothing else.
Since both of these pantheons have very generalized, standardized offerings, it'd be really easy to configure that portion- use the standard offerings and offer up to all of the gods in the pantheon. So it should work out pretty easily in this situation. Not sure about other pantheons, though.
-Devo
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Post by TheModernSouthernPolytheist on Jan 29, 2015 20:54:20 GMT -6
I'm one for separate shrine spaces, honestly, but a lot of that is personal. Like seamu5 said, it would pretty much impossible to make individual shrines for all the gods, but I do keep separate ones for the gods I honor most frequently. I'm also lucky enough to have the space for that, but if I didn't and I had to combine them, I'd make sure to do so along historical/mythological lines and not put warring gods next to each other. That said, I do love the idea of a general shrine spice without any specific deity connotations, especially for an outdoor one like seamu5 has.
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Shrines
Jan 29, 2015 22:32:41 GMT -6
Post by brimstonne on Jan 29, 2015 22:32:41 GMT -6
I have a shrine that the Gods and Ungods in general share, and then a separate one for the Morrigan, as she is my main deity. Usually I try to integrate as many small aspects as I can, so candy/sweets for the Fae, pictures of my dad and grandparents for my ancestors, feathers, grains, water, and incense, are my staples, along with smaller pieces of artwork for entities/deities that I honor more often.
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Shrines
Jan 29, 2015 22:43:39 GMT -6
Post by Allec on Jan 29, 2015 22:43:39 GMT -6
Similar to other Gaelic Polytheists who posted, I have a general shrine to Dé agus AnDé: the Gods, the Ancestors, and the Fae. It's simplistic--just three candles and an offering dish--but it's my way of honoring all of them at once. I also have smaller areas for deities who I interact with such as Lugh. But since I only interact with those shrines when I feel I need to interact with those deities specifically, I give general offerings when I cook.
The purpose of the general shrine, for me, is to be able to connect with the central aspects of my beliefs. Also, having patron deities isn't something that is really found in Gaelic cultures. Usually the Goodfolk were to be avoided, for example. Only really ancestors had any sort of shrine.
Blah I'm having issues thinking right now but I hope that makes sense!
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Post by saintfelicity on Jan 30, 2015 6:42:16 GMT -6
I do a similarish approach - I have a large candle as an alternative hearth that serves for all the Three, and then a special candle each for Flidais and for Brigid. When I make offerings, I generally serve them on my own china, and serve the Three first before I serve myself (this sounds fancy, but honestly generally consists of me giving them cocoa and cookies before I eat my own cocoa and cookies). I'm working on a new shrine space right now that's going to be general, but have layers - top bit will be for the ancestors, middle bit will be for the Dé with some specific little statues for Flidais and Brigid, and the bottom bit will be for the Good Folk & spirits.
I'm definitely curious to hear how other religions do it!
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bayoread
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Religion: Hellenic Polytheist
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Post by bayoread on Jan 30, 2015 10:40:03 GMT -6
I tried this and though it worked out fairly well for a year, I switched back to only those Theoi closest to me. I had a general shrine and then following the Hellenion libation calendar I switched out or added items each month for each deity. Examples like Mardi Gras beads and leopard pictures for Dionysos for the whole of that one month and then those were removed in favour of peacock imagery for Hera and so and so forth.
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Chev
Junior Member
Struggling to learn and grow.
Posts: 97
Pronouns: She/Her
Religion: Oh, ain't that the question
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Shrines
Jan 30, 2015 11:41:23 GMT -6
Post by Chev on Jan 30, 2015 11:41:23 GMT -6
Aaand I forgot my new question in reading over the new replies. Great, go me! ( ) Ah, I remember now! Thanks for all the feedback ♥ So.. I keep forgetting what my question was. I have a feeling maybe it's not that great of an idea. Forgotten it twice now, and remembered each time I scratch it off the list. AND MAKE THAT A THIRD TIME BECAUSE I TRIED TRICKING MYSELF INTO GIVING UP THE QUESTION. So, for realsies I'll let the question go. So, general shriney/altary things. I know sea-related things (sand, shells, sea stars, horses) go well with ocean-related deities (is there a sea god that didn't create a horse? I'm honestly curious about this now), but what about things for the more trickster types? I'm thinking about making a sideblog on Tumblr for Wukong as an eshrine, but I'm not really sure. I associate him largely with the sky and mountains (thank you movies, not just Forbidden Kingdom), so that would be feathers, birds, mountains, cliffs, but I'm not really sure what else Gold? Peaches? And... just to be sure, because he reminded me how much I adore Wukong, and I feel a little embarrassed asking this, but would it be a faux pas to use pictures of Jet Li's Monkey King? I kinda feel like that would be giving credit and image to the actor, not the deity, but at the same time, I really feel like Jet Li gave new life to the Monkey's freedom, playfulness, and (as Mivi's friend described him) trollishness. And you also still don't want to try messing with him because he will tear you up.
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Shrines
Jan 30, 2015 12:04:36 GMT -6
Post by Allec on Jan 30, 2015 12:04:36 GMT -6
Chev, if you are curious about how to set up a shrine to a specific deity, I'd recommend posting in that deity's cultural board So maybe posting about Wukong in the East Asian Polytheism board? Different "tricksters" are approached differently by different cultures, so what works for, say, Loki, might be completely different for a deity like Wukong. Take different Gods associated with the sea. For example, Manannán is related to the sea, yes, but he's also related to death and liminal areas, which is different to a deity like Poseidon. And then you have the cultural differences, where how you may want to set up a shrine in a Gaelic context is completely different than that of a Hellenic context.
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Shrines
Jan 30, 2015 17:46:35 GMT -6
Post by awenyddogamulos on Jan 30, 2015 17:46:35 GMT -6
And... just to be sure, because he reminded me how much I adore Wukong, and I feel a little embarrassed asking this, but would it be a faux pas to use pictures of Jet Li's Monkey King? I kinda feel like that would be giving credit and image to the actor, not the deity, but at the same time, I really feel like Jet Li gave new life to the Monkey's freedom, playfulness, and (as Mivi's friend described him) trollishness. And you also still don't want to try messing with him because he will tear you up. Ahhhh I know this feel. In case you hadn't noticed, the main god who smacks me around spiritually (I still need to find a better alternative to 'god I work with') is Camulos. And there was a character based on the god in the show Stargate which I am a huge fan of, and he was played by Steve Bacic who is a very pretty human being SO I always always always fear that I am worshiping the pretty man instead of the god. But then I remember a good many points about Camulos and I am reassured. In conclusion: Steve Bacic is pretty. *pets him*
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wickedlittlecritta
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A tempest in a teacup
Posts: 169
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Religion: Gaelic polytheist
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Post by wickedlittlecritta on Jan 31, 2015 16:44:19 GMT -6
So, general shriney/altary things. I know sea-related things (sand, shells, sea stars, horses) go well with ocean-related deities (is there a sea god that didn't create a horse? I'm honestly curious about this now), but what about things for the more trickster types? I don't think Manannán had anything to do with creating horses but he sure did have a cool one. (Also fun fact most horses are so terrified of the ocean if they're not exposed to it a lot how did they come to be associated with it so much.) E-shrines are p great. They don't take up space and you can turn scrolling endlessly through tumblr into a devotional activity. And while you def still need to research and make sure you're within cultural frameworks, shrines are supposed to be a way for you connect to your deity, so anything that reminds you personally of them should work. For example, my e-shrine for Manannán has a "roads" tag. There's nothing in lore that connects him to roads specifically, but there's plenty to connect him to liminal spaces and journeys, so I made an intuitive connection. It may not work for anyone else, but it does for me, so it stays.
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cass
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Posts: 77
Pronouns: they/their
Religion: Gaelic polytheist
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Shrines
Jan 31, 2015 18:59:53 GMT -6
Post by cass on Jan 31, 2015 18:59:53 GMT -6
So, general shriney/altary things. I know sea-related things (sand, shells, sea stars, horses) go well with ocean-related deities (is there a sea god that didn't create a horse? I'm honestly curious about this now), but what about things for the more trickster types? I don't think Manannán had anything to do with creating horses but he sure did have a cool one. (Also fun fact most horses are so terrified of the ocean if they're not exposed to it a lot how did they come to be associated with it so much.) waves hitting the beach has reminded me of a large group of running horses for quite a while now. a lot of that probably stems from knowing that horses are often associated with sea gods, but i'm not 100% sure of the origins of that visualization for me. this is all i really have as far as the sea god/horses connection goes, but i love it.
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Sionnach Gorm
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Pronouns: He, Him, His,
Religion: Ar Dòigh-Beatha Ioma-Dhiadhach Ghàidhealach
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Post by Sionnach Gorm on Jan 31, 2015 23:32:52 GMT -6
I have two shrines, so to speak. One in my locker at work, dedicated to (not surprisingly) my patron, and another public one, located on a small man made jetty, sticking out into a lake, near the delta of a local creek, which is dedicated to the local spirits of that particular area.
Within my home I maintain a hearth altar (which conveniently is on my hearth), albeit when I lived in a house without a fire place I had a nifty little candle chimney, where I focus most of my daily prayers, offerings and holy day rites and the like.
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eiridescent
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Religion: Åsatro
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Post by eiridescent on Feb 1, 2015 12:11:22 GMT -6
I don't have the space in my apartment for multiple shrines. I just have one that's dedicated to my pantheon in general but with some special items on it for a few particular deities, like a reproduction Viking Age brass key for Frigga.
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