Q for Pagans , Wiccans ,Witches ?

Question

1-How do you invoke the Gods and the Goddesses ?

2-I believe in the Gods and Goddesses but I'm having doubts , is that normal ?

3-is this true : " if you believe in nothing , then you are nothing "

Answer 1

You should study some books to learn more about invoking. Invoking should be done with some caution and much respect.

Before you start invoking you should start a daily meditation practice. You need to learn to calm and clarify the mind.

It's normal to have doubts, if you are serious, you keep up your practice despite the doubts. The doubts come and go. Experience with lift some of the doubts, but never all of them. Yet the doubts are real and they can help you grow, they can make you look harder at things.

" if you believe in nothing , then you are nothing "

Who told you that one?  It's more important that you keep in touch with what you actually think and feel and not force yourself to believe in something just because you are afraid to not have a belief.

Answer 2

1. I focus myself on Whom I am calling to. This includes placing my mind in a state most representative of the aspect I am calling on. I then perform actions that symbolize an aspect of Them, such as pantomiming, laying out stones and other items that correlate to the deity, dancing, etc. I follow by saying a prayer addressing the aspect that I am calling to and politely requesting aid, often asking merely for guidance. Then, I offer something that holds meaning to myself that relates to them (chainmail I craft for the Lord of the Forge, poetry written for the Master of Tomes, etc.) I thank them for Their time and carefully pick up my surroundings, leaving the offering on an altar.

The vast majority of the time I will merely pray or meditate on the aspect that I feel is best represented by my current situation and ponder on which path to take. Very, very rarely do I perform a formal invocation.

2. Doubt! Doubt everything until you can doubt no more, and what you are left with is Truth. Until something new crops up, because our understanding of the truth is ever evolving. Question and challenge that which you hold closest; if nothing else it is a fantastic mental exercise. If your belief cannot withstand your own doubts why do you believe it? However, doubting does not mean throwing away entirely what you believe, it merely encourages your beliefs to grow and change, to mature, and for you to gain a better understanding of what and why you believe. It is a perfectly natural cycle of belief, without doubts one is left with blind faith, and that can be far too easily perverted.

3. Hmmm, that line is a bit too simplistic. It is similar to "you are what you eat". I just can't imagine that someone could metamorphose into a carrot by eating a thousand of them. It is a bit of false logic. Life is simply too complex to be constrained by simple categorization. The "you're either with us, or against us!" mentality fails when confronted with other people. People define the world differently from one another, what is belief to one person is fact to another, and a lie to a third. We take quite a few things for granted, however that does not mean we "believe in" them.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I'm not any you asked for (honestly I don't even know what a Pagan is) but I think the 3rd question can be true. If it means you doubt everything, can't trust people or whatever what does THAT make you? Um, a skeptical fool maybe.  

Answer 4

Pagans, Wiccans and Witches, let me tell you there are as many paths to the light as there are people on the journey to it. Don't ever buy into someone telling you that there is only one answer to any of the questions you ask. You can merely say what has worked for you, alot of people who think of themselves as spiritual or religious overestimate what has worked for them and think it must apply to everyone.

Here are My answers;

1. I don't need to do this usually. I feel close to what guides my life. When I need to I just think of the being or the idea.

2.I would say it is good to have doubts- have lots of them. Examine if you believe in a God/Goddess as a finite being or more of a certain living truth the guides life and death? No RIGHT answers, it is what answer you feel comfortable with and that can change as you get older... You will know what is true for you because you feel comfortable with it, you might even believe multiple things at the same time.

3. Naw, I don't believe that but it is clever, cute and trite. I would say everyone believes in something, even multiple and contradictory things at the same time. We are people, which means we are idea factories. And I sometimes run into some people who have chosen to remain in awe and not wrestle with those questions or try to answer them at all- these are some of the wisest people on the face of the planet.

Answer 5

The whole thing about any kind of belief is that it is something for which no proof exists and in many cases it is not possible to prove it. If and when such a proof comes to light then it becomes a scientific fact.

This means that we can be 100% certain about our beliefs, but due to the nature of science, the probability of the facts being true is always less that that.

As far as invoking super-natural beings Shakespeare wrote that one of his characters "can evoke spirits from the hoary deep" to which he was challenged by "but will they come when you do call them so?"

It certainly is human to doubt. Then the 100% belief factor fades away. I believe in only one God and I have no plans for invoking Him!

If you cannot imagine a thing or situation then you are sadly lacking that feature by which we are distinguished from the animals (who relay on instinct alone). If we had no imagination and consequently had lost that human quality, then it would makes us like animals too, but they cannot be said to be nothing. Hence proposition 3 is not true.

Answer 6

1--I don't.  They tend to come and go as They please.  To me it's the height of hubris to believe that you have the power to go invoking/evoking/banishing a Deity.  

2--Doubts are perfectly normal.  Everyone has them.  Anyone who claims to not have them is lying.

3--I don't think it is.

Answer 7

These were all good answers (down to Al anyway). I'd advise you to read more mythology and more witchcraft books. The Gods & Goddesses like incense, oils and flowers & herbs. You can usually catch their attention with the scents of these things. Reading up on mythology will give you ideas on what certain Gods & Goddesses are specifically particular to.

If you have your doubts ask them for some sort of sign, they always answer. I remember when I doubted them, I asked for a sign and we ended up taking a detour and passed a very large statue of Poseidon. I had many thoughts and thanked him for answering, then we passed a large garden fountain with water running, that to me said 'you're welcome.' It was one of the happiest experiences of my spiritual/witchy path.

By now you may have a favorite God or Goddesses (I have one of each) ask them a question and wait for an answer - you'll know it when it comes. I asked my favorite Goddess for help finding a job, 3 days later I received a letter in the mail that I qualified for Financial Aid for college. This to me was the answer, because I will be able to get a "good" job once I have taken a few courses. Just be very observant but don't be too testy.

If you believe in nothing then you are nothing. This to me is just one of those philosophical sayings. Take the Atheists on the Religions & Spirituality board on YA for instance - they are the most aggressive and spiteful people within the Religions section. Well I suppose they owe that to the fact that they believe in nothing - so what are they? You can answer this question yourself just by paying attention.  

Answer 8

1. There are many ways. You can invoke them through prayer, poetry, prose, meditation... However, words and thoughts are just words and thoughts if you do not have the knowledge, intent, and necessary level of understanding to back them up. Let me give an example. I don't know you or anything about you so if I sent you an invitation that read "Hey you, come to my house for a party." what are the chances you would show up? Probably zero. But if I took the time to get to know something about you; your name, who you are, what you like and don't like, something of your past, ect.. I would be able to invite you to my home for a specific occasion that you would enjoy and be able to offer foods, activities, and the like that would be entertaining for you. Then you would know that I was sincere in my intention and you would probably show up.

2. It is normal if you have not met them. See #1.

I don't know which Pagan religion or path you most closely identify with and I don't know which gods you are looking to but I would suggest you do some reading on the myths and history of whichever pantheon you feel most drawn to. There is one book that I can think of that specifically addresses developing a relationship with the gods. It is written from a Wiccan perspective - it is titled Devoted to You and the author is Judy Harrow though it is a collection of essays by several different authors. That might be something you would find useful.

3. No, I don't really believe that.  

Answer 9

1 - Others here have offered useful advice on this point, to wit that you need to focus on preparatory work before you even get to the point of thinking about how to do this.

2 - Doubts are normal. When it comes down to it, we all choose to believe whatever it is that we believe. Nobody can force you to believe in the reality of a god; it's all a matter of Will.

3 - A cute expression but, as others have said, everyone believes in _something_. Maybe you'll find it useful to think about the converse: "If you believe in something, you are something." Does that mean anything to you? Don't you think that what matters most is _what_ you believe? Adolf Hitler held his beliefs with complete conviction. He was definitely "something", but was he something you'd want to emulate?

I don't know where you got this line, but it sounds to me like something some mystic huckster would trot out as he tried to pressure people into believing that unless they suspended all their critical facilities and swallowed his gobbledegook whole, they were "nothing". One of the things that constantly annoys me about the pagan/occult/alternative field is the widespread belief that keeping an open mind means accepting uncritically whatever rubbish anyone might spout with some conviction.

My advice is that you believe, but that you choose your beliefs with great care because it's very likely they will become your Truth.

Answer 10

1. You invoke the your Gods/Goddesses through an incantation or prayer that beseeches them to come to you. You may also offer incense when you call for them.

2. Having doubts is a part and parcel of being human. It is very natural.

3. No I do not necessarily believe that to be true. However if you have no faith at all you have no control at all over events that occur in your world. Peace&Love be with you...~M~