Pagans: Who is/are your favorite Deity(Dieties)?  How do you work with Her/Them?
484552
I'm Wiccan.  I've had a relationship with Artemis since before I understood that there were other religions besides Christianity.  I first learned about Her when I was in sixth grade during a section in Social Studies on mythology.  I drew a picture of her that I still have to this day, and it's my Goddess image!  I feel closest to her, although I'm no longer a virgin.  I called upon Her during my childbirth, and I think She helped to the point where the doctor told me that I was "made just perfectly to have babies" during delivery, which was a real shock to someone who had barely weighed over 100 lbs and had absolutely no hips for most of her adult life until that point!  I think She helped to spread my hips farther than they were naturally designed to go because none of my female relatives have had it as easy with their first as I did!\n\nOther than Her, I've always felt closest to the Celtic Deities.  Cernunnos and Brigit are my especial favorites.\n\nSpeaking of, you mentioned Christians coopting the idea for a trinity?  Well, look at most of the Catholic saints and you will find old pagan Deities!  Go figure, huh?  Gotta placate the masses you want to convert by letting them keep their old traditions and gods, just in a slightly different form.
1046137
I've been out of the closet for 10 years.  When I had my son, I decided then that I'd start being open about my religious choice.  I have bumper stickers on my car "Witches Parking Only All Others Will Be Toad"; "Witches Do It In Circles"; "Where There's A Witch, There's A Way".  I have quite a few magikal supplies, concealed in a storage box that has a celestial print on it.  My supplies are concealed as I have a few friends who don't approve & have told me that as long as they don't see my supplies, they'll be fine. This works well.  My essential oils are stored in my curio hutch on the second shelf. Unless you're right in front of it, you can't see them.  I've educated people where I can by providing info leaflets & directing them to informative websites.  In the source below is my favorite site.  Witchvox has a lot of great information.  I'm also a volunteer for the local Pagan Pride Day celebration, also in the source below.
949490
How about Themis as Goddess of Order?\nOr maybe ya should just look into Saints. \nSt. Expiditius is cool.
880418
Most important, have her learn about all religions, not just Christianity, and not just "live" religions. What's the historical context behind religions -- how were they created and used, and why? What's different between Zeus and the Christian God? Who's right? Why? To paraphrase Richard Dawkins, there are many religions. Everyone's an atheist about every religion but their own, I just take it one God further.\n\nHistory is good. Aristotle, Pythagoras, Galileo, etc. all had wildly varying affects on or from the church. Why is that? What were the arguments that caused Christian fragmentation? What was considered heretical during the Inquisition?\n\nHave her read about interesting scientists, like Feynman's books. Read A Brief History of Time or A Short History of Nearly Everything. Rent Carl Sagan's Cosmos and watch it together.\n\nTalk to her. Have her get used to questioning assumptions, searching for answers, and not taking the intellectually lazy way out. Have her be OK with uncertainty and not knowing something (but wanting to learn it).\n\nTeach her the basic scientific method (observe, hypothesize, test). Explain Occam's Razor. Demonstrate how they work.\n\nLet her play. Let her see that beauty, and magic, and love, and life, and happiness, and goodness, don't require an invisible omniscient all-powerful deity to exist. Teach her that morals don't come from fear of hell, but from respect for others and herself.\n\nAnd, maybe, "accidentally" set http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/ as her browser home page ;-)
317603
I think they should continue with the Greek/Roman God tradition. I'd put my vote for Hera (in greek) Juno (in Roman). She might as well have one.
1028875
Absolutely, O Hobbity One! I have things from all sorts of faiths. That's why I call myself a Non-Denominational Happy Pagan Person. God and I have a promise that we keep religion out of our relationship...it just mucks thing sup if we don't...heh heh heh. Tea?
786080
I worship Celtic (mostly Gaulish) deities. Taranis, Cernunnos, Lugh (Lugus), and Epona are the deities that I am closest to. I also honor Sequana, Don (Welsh), and Sulis---as well as a few local land and water deities.\n\nThose are the deities that I have been able to make the closest connections to through prayer, meditations, rituals, and personal experiences.
550971
Hello Snake Girl.. :)\n\nI have no favorite prayer..I am led by the Holy Spirit to pray for the needs of others.. :)\n\nIn Jesus Most Precious Name..\nWith Love..In Christ..
171356
My favorite God is one God who makes Him/Herself known to me in so many ways.  So it is strange for me to say, "My favorite god is...." because to do so, I'd be denying these other manifestations of God which are equally important.\n\nBut you know, I have found Ganesha to be perhaps the most accessible form of God.  How odd that the most fantastical-looking manifestation of God seems to me the most real of all!  But see, it makes sense because Ganesha is the one who guards the door.  (Schneb, are you listening?!)  We greet him first.  He is somewhat of an intermediary, if you wish to call him that.  And he removes the obstacles that would come in our way of getting to know God in more of his fullness.\n\nI love Sri Krishna.  I love His words He spoke in the Bhagavad Gita.  \nI love Saraswati Ma, because she is the Goddess of wisdom and learning.  And I am a life-long student.  \nI love Lakshmi because she is our mother, and as a mother she loves us and intercedes on our behalf to our father, Vishnu.\n\nAs for a Saint, well I love Meera Bai.
1187745
Pagans,wickens new agers etc are the best...\n\nThey are not nasty like chrisitians who only ever used to repress people and quote their nasty bible whilst burning people alive, relgious wars  etc...\n\n\nPagans like sex and sexuality and beauty and affection and fun.\n\nThey are not sexist and see males and females as two parts of a whole and equal. And that includes behavour like you being flirty, wanting to be kissy  and pawy with boyfriend.\n\nIts all part of nature.\n\n\nThey have no problems with gays either.\n\n\nTheir ethical system is as long as it harms none do as you will.\n\n\nThey are the true relgion in the sense of many of the christian and other relgions stole their festivals (ie easter... the easter bunny was origonally the easterous hare (or sounds something like that) a pagan fertility god of spring... look it up.\n\nThe wickens were early doctors and the herbs still work. Other magic is based around psychology.\n\nThink hippies.\n\nWomen are empowered unlike in christianity this is why they say its immoral and wicked ...\n\nIts their way of keeping the girlies down.\n\nCheck out new age shops.\n\nAs you said if you mention the P word it shows chrisitn scum in their true nature. Best described in the iris magdelen laundry system\n\nsee\nhttp://www.thewildgeese.com/pages/magdalen.html \nhttp://www.netreach.net/~steed/magdalen.html\nhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380703/ \nhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/drama/sinners/interviews/annemarie.shtml \nOrigonal documentry available from \nhttp://cgi.ebay.com/SEX-IN-A-COLD-CLIMATE-DVD-DOCUMENTRY-REG-0_W0QQitemZ6437066430QQcategoryZ617QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem \n\n\nPagans would never be that nasty.\n\nAnd this is from an athiest not a pagan... I just see that pagans have the right idea even if I don't Believe in astrology... Pagans are soo cool.\n\nNothing nasty about them...\n\nThe other relgions make up all the nasty burn in hell stuff up about them as they are competition and actually they are nicer.\n\nAs for getting in touch as said crystal new age shops should help. Other then that check the net.\n\n\n\nor just quit on all relgions...\n\n\nPAganisiam is not about worship though
204851
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candidate_for_Goddess
800656
Luckily for me I had no formal religious up bringing. When I was little some one did give me a book called" The greatest story ever told." I was really impressed with a wizard that could walk on water and heal people.  I was probably in my early teens before I realized that it was jesus the book was about.  But  it did not change my perception of the book or jesus for that matter.  So today I am a pagan but I was not forced into any religion.  I did go to a catholic church with my friend once I was really disturbed by the wine and wafer aspect of the rite.. I thought that was a little on the cannibalistic side.
746475
For me, it's meditation, because that is my time to be alone with the god and goddess and to commune with them one on one. I remember one particular meditation I performed several years ago...\n\nI had been having a very bad weekend and was feeling extremely low in spirits. I found a secluded spot surrounded by wilderness, out of sight and earshot of any kind of civilization. Sitting on a sturdy branch over a babbling brook, I closed my eyes and let myself drift into a meditative state. After a few moments, I became acutely aware of everything around me.\n\nI could see and hear everything at once! It was fantastic, like the blinders had been removed and suddenly I was one with the gods! It lasted only a split second, but in that second, the goddess allowed me to touch her mind and I knew that all was right with the world. \n\nIt faded as quickly as it had come, and I went on to complete my meditation as normal. I have never managed to reach that place again. I think that the gods knew what I was feeling that day and decided to let me know that everything was alright and remind me that they were there. \n\nOne day, after I have completed my cycle of reincarnations, I will go to that place again, this time to stay. Though I look forward to that day, I'm in no hurry to get there. I have the memory of that moment to sustain me.
545828
David is my favorite Biblical male because he was always truthful and repentant whenever he messed up. He had faults just like us all but he always went before the throne of God to confess his sins and ask for forgiveness. (And he did some pretty bad stuff) He shows us how even though we mess up and no matter what we do, God is waiting for our repenting heart and He will forgive us of our sins.\n\nEsther is my favorite Biblical female  because she did'nt use her beauty to go before the king on behalf of her people. I consider her to have been brave because in that time you only went before the king when he sent for you. God provided favor for her, and by that she saved not only herself, but her uncle Mordecai and her people. (Being they were not the same nationality of the king)
693742
The tradition of Witchcraft I practice (NROOGD) use the Greek and Celtic pantheon of deities.  However for our rituals we invoke the triple goddes, and the dual aspect god.  The Main dieties being from the legend of Hades and Persephone.  We perform the Eleusinian Mysteries every year.  Here are two good websites for more info. The Hermetical library is a great source of information on many different pagan paths.  If you have adobe acrobat reader you can download the texts for free.  If you don't have the reader they have a link so you can download that program also.
462269
Wicca, but for my family's sake I still celebrate Easter and Christmas.  I just call them Yule and Beltaine.
570023
agrees wholeheartedly with gravesidian. and the same thing happened to me. christian by birth Pagan by choice. Christians, it is needless to say, utterly detest each other. They slander each other constantly with the vilest forms of abuse and cannot come to any sort of agreement in their teaching. Each sect brands its own, fills the head of its own with deceitful nonsense, and makes perfect little pigs of those it wins over to its side."