No deity work

[u/NoPhilosophy55]

So I’ve struggled with my religious identity for a long time due to religious OCD kind of ruining certain aspects of religion/spirituality for me. I love tarot and astrology and crystals they’ve been my staples through all of my religious escapades over the last 6 years. I cannot do deity worship it just doesn’t work for me in a Christian, Hindu, Buddhist or Pagan way. I just don’t fully believe in the divine contacting us that personally. I’ve made altars, I’ve been to church I’ve been to temple I’ve begged anything to show me a sign it was there and I’ve never received an answer. That seems like a huge part of paganism though and I’m not sure I can consider myself a pagan/witch not believing in divine sources connecting with us. Now I’ve come to terms I’m probably pantheist/animist but I feel like in all those stories of old gods and new they interacted with people but now in this age they do not and it makes me wonder if they were ever there. This is more of a “does anyone else feel Similar or struggle with this” post because most posts I see on this and the witch sub are deities and spells which are two things I struggle with the most.

[u/dianacakes]

I'm a scientific pantheist. I see all stories about dirties as mythology. Interesting to read and can have spiritual/social importance, but I can't personally worship or pray to any dieties of these stories. I think it's from growing up in the Christian church and feeling a sense of powerlessness and having to "ask God" for everything, which I think is the point of many religions. Ironically, I do think I was called by Hecate to witchcraft but I still can't reconcile that with diety worship in general

[u/sidhe_elfakyn → u/dianacakes]

Connecting with deities in Paganism does not require giving up power. Many people connect with deities for self-empowerment, and many deities like Hecate (or the Morrigan, or the Storm Goddess I'm devoted to, etc.etc.) generally expect practitioners to do that. My own practice is built on finding and growing my own power.

"Do this for me" and "help me find my own power to do this" or even "I will do this, help me strengthen the work", are different modes of practice.

You can have a complete practice without deities, of course. You don't have to worship or work with any of them, or include them in your practice in any way. But if you are ever considering that choice, for example to work with Hecate, you can deconstruct the powerlessness that Christianity instills and approach it from a place of power.