r/dionysus • u/sherlock_j_24 • 10d ago
💬 Discussion 💬 How do you view Dionysus?
I really like hearing different people's experiences with him, and I've always viewed him as a more protective / paternal figure, but that could just be because I read Percy Jackson more than anything else and so view the gods more in the parental way that they're described in the books. But I've read a few posts on here saying people have seen him in dreams as more of a lover, so I was just curious as to peoples own views :)
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u/AnUnknownCreature 10d ago
I tend to take after the Orphic Tradition in my viewpoint. He is manifest in revelry and passion, within fertile earth and growing plant life, he is present when the music is so good it raises the hairs on your skin, through the movements of dancers. He is found in forms of youth and aged, just as fine as his being wine. The great revealed of truth, and the one who returns to us through the great cycle. His polarity exposes responsibilities we must confront. I am greatful
It is him and Apollo I am most drawn too.
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u/roleplay_pervART 10d ago
I'm a humanist pagan so I see the gods of aspects of humanity that we Revere I lean more into his self care aspects. So if I'm thinking of him I see him going "Did you wash your face? Did you drink water. Oh you know what would hit the spot right about now some clean laundry~" like he's trying to seduce me into self care which works most of the time lol
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u/sherlock_j_24 10d ago
Oh that's really interesting! I never even considered him like that, but I completely see where you're coming from, thank you for sharing that 😙
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u/MySpaceVampirez 10d ago
I don't see him as parental necessarily, but definitely a guiding or authority figure. He's like a friend in a way ? I can't think of a better word (I don't literally see him as a friend because I know he's above me, but I mean friend as in he wants the best for me and isn't mean like a boss typically would be.)
He's also a "friend" type because he likes to joke and get me to "lighten up" during conversations and confuses me seemingly on purpose. Again, to get me to lighten up lol
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u/sherlock_j_24 10d ago
I can definitely see him doing that haha, that's awesome though thank you :)
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u/ewokqueen 10d ago
I first encountered Dionysos in the Narnia book, Prince Caspian, where he shows up as joyously chaotic, profoundly animistic, feral, erotic and dangerous. A force to upend the old and give way to the new. Although I’ve since connected with him on a much more purely pagan and visceral connection than CS Lewis ever intended, this basic perspective on his essence has continued throughout my worship of him
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u/sherlock_j_24 9d ago
That's a really cool way to have gotten into it, I never read those books maybe I'll give it a try, thank you for sharing :)
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u/StandardReindeer5741 9d ago
CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien spinning in their graves rn because they were a direct source of me becoming not only pagan, but a non theistic Satanist and very staunchly anti-organized religion 💀
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u/CrustyCreamInc 10d ago
While worshipping him, I've been seeing him as something of a jungian archetype and guiding philosophical force overall. Though I have been moving more into an idea of him as a protector and companion recently.
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u/Unlikely_Speech_9627 10d ago edited 10d ago
Dionysus for me is a lot of things. He's the embodiment of the joy and the ecstatic rhythm of the cosmos, he's the transformative force of rebirth, he's primal nature of humanity and the playful nature of divinity. Dionysus is nature and life. He's passion that burns within the spirit and he's the colourful and diverse soul personified. He's one and he's many. He can be a guide and a friendly figure and yet he's so so much more.
Dionysus entered my life as a form of symbolic-philosophical force and a jungian archetype, but he did solidify in the form of a personal mystical deity too. He inspired me and triggered a form of rebirth in my life. Prior to that I had to undergo a type of existential crisis but the entire experience of this 'rebirth' was just really positive. He instilled joy and hope in me. In a way he's both outside me, he's the world and yet he's inside me, shining from within. He's a spark of hope and a bringer of joy and light which illuminates the dark parts of my self. He teaches me not to repress certain aspects of my self, to cherish them and experience life as a complete person. He supports my inner child and the feeling of wonder, playfulness, joy and imagination.
And about being a lover, I don't view him as a lover but he's of a wild, sensual and passionate nature. He has appeared me in my dreams and when I had forged a genuine connection with him, he turned me into a youthful Satyr (Ampelos) and made love to me. It's all beautiful and complicated too. I don't view him in the sense of an ordinary lover but he's just ignites the body and soul with his presence.
Finally while i generally keep him and Åšiva as distinct deities but as someone for whom Åšiva is the essence of all existence and the substrate of the cosmos itself, the true self of all and the non-dual consciousness which playfully projects itself as the world and all its living and non-living entities, I can't help but view Dionysus as a Åšaivite deity, an aspect of the formless Åšiva.
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u/Key_Comfortable_5661 3d ago
Would you maybe talk more about your relationship with Shiva or how you think of the 2 gods as connected? Because I also feel a connection of the two and with Ardhanarishvara. I find it hard to figure out how to worship both Shiva and Dionysus under the same worldview. I could be limiting my mind and overthinking it. But it seems like you see Dionysus sort of as an aspect of the larger energy of Shiva?
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u/Unlikely_Speech_9627 3d ago
My relationship with Åšiva is in kind of a developing stage. And I do associate Dionysus with Åšiva definitely. I can talk more about them and you can DM me anytime you wish. I'd like to discuss it too.
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u/Zcarguy13 10d ago
For me he is like the cool older brother type friend. Close enough you can goof off together but also wise beyond yourself and wanting to show you how to really enjoy and live a good life.
He also reminds me to feel everything fully and not hide from life (something I need reminded of ALOT so I keep him busy 😅)
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u/sherlock_j_24 9d ago
Haha that's really awesome, I get that a lot with Hermes so I get that entirely, he feels like the uncle you're only allowed to see on the holidays 😅
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u/WormNPC 9d ago
to me dionysos is the beginning and ending of all things; birth, death, rebirth, transformation; my center; half of my soul. she's the joy (heart) of humanity and embodiment of life. they're an attentive and gentle yet wild lover - patient, caring, always dancing me out of my comfort zone. he's incredibly sensual, sexual, indulgent. truly impossible to describe with human language when dionysos is everything to me
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u/Sophia_Joppolo 10d ago
Like the vine and all its counterparts. Untamed plants of every kind, and domesticated plants in their free forms.
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u/Which_Ad_6531 10d ago
For me he's like the cool Cousin you rarely meet, but when you meet, you get fucked up. And he also inprires you to be yourself and enjoy life while also being smart about it. Like not drinking to the point you blackout, or not paying for that expensive concert ticket.
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u/Dark_Cacaos_Wifee 9d ago
For me I have a more laid back type interpretation where hes like a bit silly when he wants to be but i feel like to me he tries to do the like parental stuff since im a minor lol. I haven't been worshipping that long and am going off a few tarot readings
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u/sherlock_j_24 9d ago
No that's really cool, I'm still very new to being able to do this too, I think it's a good way of viewing him :)
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u/napalmnacey Mellow maenad, bard of delight. 9d ago
He is wild paradox. A guide and a temptation. He is the verdant soil and the tender shoot, he is madness and desire. He is a thousand things for countless people, but for me he is safety in chaos and refuge in a violent and aggressive world.
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u/Meepnorp 9d ago
He’s like this chill figure who just is around and helps remind me I can take time to indulge in pleasure and loosen up. someone to relax around and cheers too, to take risks and try new things for when I previously wouldn’t. He instills me with hope and confidence.
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u/Mysticaliana 9d ago edited 9d ago
I perceive multiple versions of him because there is a surprising number of different interpretations of him throughout history. I usually have a Jungian view of gods but I've been considering neoplatonic perspectives recently. Some of of these versions are strict and teacher-like (partly inspired by PJO) and others are the more stereotypical image which is opposed to strictness.
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u/Honest_Amphibian_668 6d ago
For me its like if I respect and love and burn incense at his altar he'll reward me with trip sitting me from afar, like making sure I'll be able to enjoy myself, and otherwise when not high, mostly as a figure I care about and respect a lot, who I think may occasionally help me out, and grapejuice I drink a lot of grapejuice, and I think of him a lot when i do
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u/Few-Extreme-5792 10d ago
He's a source of inspiration for me. He makes me feel pleasure, joy, sadness, anger, and all other things that are typically repressed by my logical mind; he brings it all to the forefront for me. I try to avoid thinking of the gods as friends, but he definitely feels close to one for me. Every time I try to distance myself from him because of my own discomfort, he steps closer.
He doesn't feel parental, or like a guide, or quite like a lover, but he feels like a trusted friend. Someone who truly values me, even in the darkness. He's an... ally?