I don't go in depth about my religious beliefs. For years I've been afraid that I couldn't stand up to the challenging of what I hold dear. By special request I'm breaking my silence and hoping to hell I can hold my own.
I call myself pagan for lack of a better term. About 18 years ago I created my own religion and fleshed it out as time has gone by. A lot has been taken from older beliefs so you may see themes you already know.
I believe all the universe was born from the coupling of the first Goddess and her Consort. Long after its birth, it became unstable. She realized four things were missing from the design, then sang into being the final four realms to hold the elements required. I won't pretend to know what all those things were. I think one of them was Love and I'm sure without question the third was Hope. To protect these worlds and ensure their survival, she gave birth to the Watchers. The first Goddess died with this act, giving her energy to stir the beginnings of life in their creation.
A few centuries passed and the Watchers saw they were unable to guide the realms alone. In their desperation they combined their energies and brought into being the Dragons. A separate season and corresponding power was granted to four of them. The fifth was created to maintain the balance between the four. When he chose to create chaos, threating the existence of the realms, a Watcher brought to him the amplified torture of a child from her world. It was hidden in an orb and presented as a gift. As the Dragon grabbed the orb, he experienced the child's life as his own. Screaming in the pain of it he fell from the Darkened Light into the Seas of Time forever lost.
If nothing else, it makes for a good story.
I don't believe the Goddess ever truly died. Energy, much like the soul, only changes form. She's been known by many names- Gaia, Isis, Mary, Kali Ma just to name a few. Each depicts a different aspect of the whole. The Goddess is eternal while Her Consort dies and is reborn. I celebrate each equinox and solstice for His death and rebirth. In the cycle I find hope that we return; that this is not all there is.
I've created my own versions of the Goddess in the forms of Caffeinea and Employa. They started as a joke and turned into much more.
Caffeinea is the Goddess of coffee and all other caffeinated beverages. Through her coupling with Java we have the gift of coffee. Attributed to Her is consciousness, alertness, sobriety, clarity of thought, friendship, and council. I keep a depiction of Her above my coffee maker (it would be the proper alter) and say a prayer to her as I fix each cup. As a side note I personally believe Starbucks to be blasphemy but to each their own.
Employa is the Goddess of gainful employment. By Her blessing the jobless do not remain so for long. Also attributed to Her are timely raises, promotions, a lack of asshole supervisors, overtime with time and a half near holidays, and workdays that do not cause one to want to rip their hair out. To the faithful she offers a cubical with a view of the window.
I don't see casting spells much different than prayer. Opposed to miracles, spells work through natural means. They require great will, desire, and clear intent. Because of this one has to think through what they want and the consequences of it. Nothing happens without an equal exchange.
With all of that said (and damn it was a lot) I think the Gods and Goddesses of every religion are explanations of the whole. We've split a main entity into male and female so its easier for us to understand. No religion sees the whole, making everybody right and everybody wrong.
