BookMusings: (Re)Discovering Pagan Literature

A lively discussion of ancient and modern Pagan literature -- including children's books, graphic novels, science fiction, fantasy, and mysteries -- along with interviews, author highlights, and profiles of Pagan publishers.

  • Home
    Home This is where you can find all the blog posts throughout the site.
  • Tags
    Tags Displays a list of tags that have been used in the blog.
  • Bloggers
    Bloggers Search for your favorite blogger from this site.
  • Login
    Login Login form

On Poetry for Strange Gods

Every month, the members of Neos Alexandria study three different Deities for our Gods of the Month Club. Originally, the Deities were limited to the official Hellenistic-oriented pantheon of Neos Alexandria itself. This year, though, members agreed that we could start looking into Deities outside ancient Alexandria, allowing for some very lively discussions (is Brigid three Goddesses or a trinity?) and comparisons (who knew Athena and Kali had so much in common?).

Early on in the GMC program -- though I can't remember exactly when -- I made a capital-P Promise that I would write at least one poem in honor of each Deity for that month. So far, I have managed to keep that promise. And, I have to admit, I have been very surprised to discover that it is not my matron and patron Deities that I am most excited to write for (though I will take any chance to pen a poem for Hermes or The Charites), but rather those Deities with whom I have only a passing familiarity or no familiarity at all.

I remember the month when Neith was selected. My initial response was "Um ... she's like the Egyptian version of Athena, right?" Well, not exactly. The two Goddesses do indeed have some areas of interest (like warcraft and weaving), but they are distinct Deities with their own personalities and histories. I learned a lot about Neith that month, came to appreciate Her as a Goddess in Her own right, and was inspired to write two very different cosmogonic poems in Her honor.

Then there was the month Seshat was chosen. I responded with a puzzled "Who?" Turns out that She is a fascinating and quite ancient Goddess, connected to wisdom, writing, literature, architecture, and mathematics. Plus, She wears a cheetah dress. Not many Goddesses can pull off that look. Ultimately, I was inspired to not only write poems in Her honor, but also craft several star-shaped plaques.

Probably the biggest surprise for me that has come out of the GMC program is my new appreciation for Deities that I previously ... well ... had no interest in. I thought of them as, I am ashamed to admit, silly. Not worth the effort. Like Herakles. You know, the big, dumb ox of a demigod who slept and ate and adventured and murdered his way across Greece and lands beyond, before he was finally offed by his third wife and ascended to Olympus.

Yeah ... well, there is actually a whole heck of a lot more to Herakles than that, as I came to see through discussions with those devoted to Him, through reading books about Him, and through writing poems in His honor. I came to see Him, not as that dumb ox, but as a man of all-consuming passion. He did nothing in half-measures. He fought and He loved and He mourned and He killed, and He felt it all, intensely, completely, insanely, deeply.

That is the Herakles I honor in my poems.

So, here is my challenge to all of you. Pick a God or Goddess or hero or spirit or Power. Study that Deity. But, do more than that. Don't just intellectually analyze that God. Pick up your pen, and write for that God. Write about that God. Write to that God.

You will be surprised at what you discover.

 

Last modified on

Rebecca Buchanan is the editor of the Pagan literary ezine Eternal Haunted Summer. She is also the editor-in-chief of Bibliotheca Alexandrina. She thinks it is incredibly unfair that she must work for a living rather than being able to read all day. In her next life, she would like to be a library cat.

Comments

  • Elani Temperance
    Elani Temperance Tuesday, 18 September 2012

    I am absolutely terrible at poetry. Brighid was my matron for years and still, I never grew out of the fourteen year old emo poems. I try not to write poetry too much, but I greatly admire people who do and I am addicted to certain poets, like Keats. Give me his Ode to Psyche and I am a very happy woman.

    Writing poetry to the Gods is a wonderful way of honoring Them, and I congratulate anyone who can do it. Thank you for this post!

  • Please login first in order for you to submit comments

Additional information