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by ImNotLikeYou on February 3rd, 2007
I myself am primarily a duothesist, but with slight curiousity towards the polytheistic nature. For example, the Goddesses Athena, Aphrodite, and Maeve all are like different sides, or even personalities, if you will, of the Goddess Character.
by xhepera on February 16th, 2009
I believe that all human conceived deities are egregores of an ineffable Monad. I believe that they both exist and do not exist. The masks of the godhead are infinite.
by Tom Terrific on February 12th, 2009
Like AntigoneRising, I am all of the above. I don't know if I've visited her website - the URL looks familiar, so it's possible - and I don't know whether her views are precisely the same as mine.
Have you read "Flatland," by Edwin Abbott? It's an old and famous book. It's not about religion, but it contains an image that is very much on point here.
Imagine you are a 2-dimensional creature - a Square, for example. You live in a 2-dimensional universe; a world of 3 physical dimensions is unimaginable to you.
One day, you are astounded to see appear before you a very small Circle. As you watch, to your utter amazement, the Circle *grows*, until it reaches its greatest diameter. Such a thing is impossible, in your experience; yet, there it is.
You and I can appreciate this event, from our world of 3 dimensions, because we know that what has actually happened is that a Sphere has intersected the 2-dimensional plane of the Square's world. The Square does not know what a Sphere is; he cannot imagine 3 physical dimensions. To him, it seems that a person has magically appeared in thin air, growing from a tiny dot to an adult-sized polygon before his very eyes.
Now, extrapolate the Square's experience to our 3-d world. Suppose that we are standing in the park one day, when suddenly a tiny ball appears on the ground among us, and then grows to a large size. Magic, we think! Impossible! But what has actually happened is that a 4-d Over-Sphere or Hyper-Sphere has intersected our world. We cannot conceive of 4 physical dimensions, so we cannot appreciate how this can be; yet, theoretically, it makes perfect sense.
How does this relate to gods and goddesses, you may ask. Well, I'll tell you.
The divine transcends our ability to conceive of it. Its capacity is infinite in every sense. So, when it makes us aware of itself, it is limited by our ability to conceive of it. We conceive of consciousness in terms of personhood; thus, we conceive of the divine as a person. Yet, the divine is more than a person; personhood is to the divine like the Circle is to the Sphere (in the Square's 2-d world) or the Ball is to the Hyper-Sphere (in our 3-d park).
And just as an infinite number of Circles go to make a Sphere, and an infinite number of Spheres go to make a Hyper-Sphere, the divine is capable of manifesting to us in an infinite number of Persons. None of them are the divine in its totality (which is transcendent), yet all of them are gateways to that totality.
How can this be? How can they be gateways for us to the totality of the divine, when our ability to relate to the divine is limited? Because it is our *rational*, i.e. conscious, faculty that is so limited; but we possess another faculty that is not: our *spiritual* faculty, which is capable of comprehending even the infinitude of the divine.
Thus, the divine, which is ultimately One, is also Two, is also Fifty Million Million and more.
Does this sound really, really weird to you? If so, that's funny ... because it's actually quite familiar. Christians believe in a Trinity - three who are one - and accept "a priori" that it is a mystery that cannot be explained. I think this explains it (though they probably would not), and I think the difference between Christian Trinitarianism and Pagan duo/polytheism is merely semantic in nature.
Hope this wasn't too muddy for you. Read "Flatland." It's really a great book. There's a pdf file floating around the internet. Although you can still buy the book, it's probably in the public domain. It's old enough.
by eternal0void on May 13th, 2007
Speaking as an atheist Wiccan (I believe the technical term is "Zororastrian Pagan", i.e. "Gods would only get in the way"), I would say none of the above.
by AntigoneRising on February 8th, 2007
I am all of the above, actually. My specific views on divinity/Deity are found on my website:
www.witchoftheeast.com
by hedge-rider on February 13th, 2009
I am also all three.
I am a monotheist in that I believe that all divinity/energy stems from the All.
I am a duotheist in that I worship the All in two equal and opposite aspects of the God and the Goddess.
I am a polytheist in that in my rituals and spells I call on different aspects of the God and the Goddess by using different names of ancient Gods and Goddesses who had abilities/specialties that pertain to the spell/ritual.
by Anonymous on July 28th, 2009
There is no such thing as a polytheist Wiccan. Polytheists believe in multiple DISTINCT deties, not multiple manifestations of a single deity as Wiccans believe.
by Anonymous on January 16th, 2010
It is impossible to be a monotheist (one who believes in ONLY one deity), a duotheist (one who believes in TWO deities) and a polytheist (one who believes in multiple deities. Rudimentary logic dictates that one can not believe in only one, only two, and many at the same time. Wiccans are duotheists, they are not polytheists. Wiccans believe that Goddess has many manifestations but this is distinctly different from believing in many separate and distinct deities, which is polytheism. Dianic Wiccans, however, are monotheists, who believe only in Goddess much as Christians are monotheists.
I'm a Wicca, and i would like to know if anyone could point me in the direction to a good website. For spell and tools.
by GothTroubleMaker on June 26th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
What are Wiccan weddings like? traditional and modern
by Haley_S3227 on May 10th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
i have a sideways tree shaped birthmark just under and behind my left eye and i feel like it has a connection to the craft. does it?
by Treemarkedwiccan on June 21st, 2011
| 1 person likes this
I am turning seventeen in a couple of months. I was wondering if there is any special wiccan tradition?
by Katrina_M3834 on May 10th, 2011
| 3 people like this
Wiccans- Do you believe you have faeries' blood???
by solsticexcorona on June 28th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
You're reading As a Wiccan, are you a monotheist (all God/desses spring from a single source), a duotheist (all God/desses spring from one Goddess and one God), or a polytheist (all God/desses are separate and individual)? Or, none of the above?
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Comments
I don't know why you got a bunch of negitive on this~ it makes sense to me, and is very similar to my own beliefs.
by Wickels on March 13th, 2007
There is nothing polytheistic about Wicca. Polytheists believe in multiple DISTINCT deities, not multiple manifestations of a single deity. The notion of "Goddess" is entirely foreign to polytheists.
by Anonymous on July 28th, 2009
And you know this because you alone hold the doctrines of the Wiccan religion?
by hedge-rider on July 30th, 2009