#soft polytheism

[theanic-devotion]

Someone: what religion are you/what do you believe?

What I think: I’m somewhere between a soft polytheist and a pluriform monotheist. Maybe henotheistic. Sort of hellenic, but open to other pantheons. I like the idea of a Mother Nature type entity, but more in a panentheistic way. But also not mother as in female or woman, mother as in it’s the easiest way for my human mind to conceptualize a being that is everything and nothing.

What I say: I’m pagan

[dandelionjack]

as a natural skeptic i’m gonna be real with you. i’m slamming the brakes on this whole religion thing before i figure out what it really is that i believe. one thing i know for certain is that i don’t think my experiences of the world relate to what you call “hard polytheism” at all, so i will be refraining from referring to myself as “pagan” or “heathen” or similar terms from here on out — as i learned from reddit, actual pagans, i.e. those of you who believe that the Gods from whatever pantheon you follow are literal, actual, 100% independent, non-anthropogenic, non-metaphoric entities, tend to frown upon talk of “archetypes” and co. i don’t want to be seen as insulting your Gods with my home-brewed eclectic woo-woo nonsense, so i’ll keep at an arm’s length until i’m one hundred percent sure that i can defend my own beliefs because i know what they are.

i personally lean towards the chaos magic side of approaching these concepts — although, truth be told, i need to do more reading. a lot more reading. but once again, i stress, personally, i find myself far more comfortable with the concept of egregores. metaphysical entities, congregations of energy and intent, that have been given power and consciousness through centuries of dedicated devotion and prayer from humans. if enough people direct their thoughts towards an idea for long enough, leave offerings for that idea, hold festivities in its honour, write poetry and paint artworks depicting and praising it, then it’s no wonder if it gains a mind and will of its own. i lean towards the idea of deities/other spirit entities as personified aspects of the universe, as currents of energy or patterns of thought or representations of natural phenomena that were given different (or many) names in different historical/geographic contexts and have taken on a semi-solid shape with time

which is to say, i don’t know whether the Presence that has been visiting me — the one that rekindled/sparked/ignited my interest in all of this, pun quite intended if you know who i’m talking about, is genuinely the ambiguous, controversial Norse deity that i have been referring to Them as; whether They are some kind of thoughtform or another separate spirit; a manifestation of my subconscious desire to “Aren’t You Tired Of Being Nice Don’t You Just Wanna Go A Little Apeshit”; or a character i Made Up In My Head (not outside of the scope of possibility, knowing my tendency to spot patterns where there aren’t any). i’m treading with caution. that’s what you do. because after doing some wider research, i really, really don’t wish to be associated with that sort of person — you know the one. edgy. rebellious kid. doesn’t know what they’re talking about. witchtoker

after all, i did come here through pop culture. so, maybe, all this ends up being is another hyperfixation on mythology. i’ve had those before as a way younger teen — thanks, uncle rick. don’t really know how to conclude this, so: i’ll get more educated and get back to you. if any of you (you know who you are) have any BOOK or ARTICLE RECOMMENDATIONS based on what i’ve said above, please don’t hesitate to PUT THEM IN THE COMMENT SECTION

xoxo, ivy

[citrineandrosmarin]

So I'm generally a Hard Polytheist, with exceptions. But in the sphere of Hellenic worship the more I learn about how differently we interpret some deities or aspects of them in the modern day, the more I see what has changed and in some ways our "versions" of the gods are more removed from their "originals" than say, the Romans'. In which case if we are not strictly worshiping the theoi in their Greek cultural context but also our own, why would you not include the Roman context too? If the gods adapt to cultural changes then seeing the Roman ones as separate beings rather than the theoi adapting makes less sense.

Am I making sense?

[silverthornwitchery]

Hail, The Goddess of many faces! Great queen of heaven and earth! You who art Freyja, who art Sekhmet-Bast-Hathor, Lady of the Sun, Moon, and Twilight, Who art Aset, Isis, Lady of Magicks, Who art Hekate, Lady of Crossroads, Who art Aeracura, Lady of the darkened Earth, Who art Rosmerta, Lady who provides for all, Who art Frigg, The Divine All-Mother, Who yet again is Isis, Demeter, and many more. Hail to you, Great Mother, Caring, Loving, Yet Furious and Frenzied, Cunning and Sly, You guide the hand of witches, and cunningfolk, and those who work their sorceries. Hail to you, Goddess, Queen of Earth, Queen of Heaven! As Above, So Below, We Honour You, Great One.

[booksandwitchery]

Hydromancy and Scrying

So I tried scrying for the first time a few nights ago. My experience was compelling (????) so I am going to share it.

The first time I was introduced to scrying (outside of fiction) was last year when I read The Witch of the Forest's Guide to Natural Magick by Lindsay Squire. She introduces scrying as an exercise that, like other methods of divination, assists in revealing or seeing hidden information. I don't believe in supernatural scrying, like seeing the future or talking to spirits, but I firmly believe that divination can bring things to the surface of your mind from your subconscious. Many methods of scrying involve meditation upon a reflective surface, but Squire also discusses things like pyromancy and bibliomancy.

Instructions for scrying, as stated in her book, promote passive observance of the subject of divination (fire, water, deck of cards, flock of birds, etc). With scrying, as the images come and go in our mind we should attempt to interpret them.

Hydromancy, where the reflective surface for scrying is water, seemed the most appealing to me--but it took me a long time to find a scrying bowl that worked. It ended up being a shallow, circular, matte black ceramic bowl. At night, I lit a candle, turned all the lights off, bent my head over the bowl, and observed the water. Afterward, I wrote down my experience:

"I am in a dark room--spherical and all black with traces of white and blue creating hints of shadow and depth, solid but blurry in the water.

There seems to be a rodent to my right (or something like a rodent) looking over a wooden desk at me, talking. He's got a man's voice and he speaks English. He's very wise, but he's small. He's very blunt, too--not rude, but he doesn't waste time on sentimentality or getting too emotional about things. He's generally not very emotional, but he's smart and kind. He knows what he's talking about, and he's generally right about things.

To my left, light is shining through two separate doorways, one big and one small. They are doorways to other places but I don't know where they go. I'm having a hard time deciding whether I should focus on the wise rodent, or the other doorways. I decide that the doorways and the rodent are equally important.

Then my cat distracts me, and I decide that this was more than enough for a first scrying session. I blow the candle out."

I think I'll be chewing on this one for a while, honestly. What an interesting first-time experience. I'll say it's possible the animal that was speaking to me is some aspect of my higher self, or an aspect of myself that I am looking to for guidance right now. I felt extremely comforted by him, like I knew him very well. Y'all, I literally just imagined a rodent in a scrying bowl lit by a candle in the dark, but he feels like a very real aspect of myself that I want to get to know better.

TLDR; Based on my first impressions, scrying is really fun, is a great writing exercise and also returns those feelings of enchantment that I felt when I was a kid.

[emilytheghostwitch]

Two types of Polytheism is Hard Polytheism and Soft Polytheism.

I would like to talk about them today in a short post, as I find them helpful terms for those who practise any form of Paganism or blended faith.

Soft Polytheism:

This is where all aspects of the Divine can be seen to be different aspects of the same Being. Many cite the Roman and Greek Deities as prime examples of this, like for instance, when you think of Aphrodite and Venus.

Some also view the different faces or facets of the Divine as archetypes that people can interact with. This can be found in lots of different types of paganism, and is very common in pop culture paganism.

When I think of soft polytheism in fiction I often think of the scene in the first House of Night book where Nyx is showing the different faces of who she is to Zoey.

Many Pagans cite the proto indo European pantheon of gods, that many of our gods can be traced back to; and while I think researching the roots and history of pantheons in general is important, the way you view deity does not have to be justified. (Unless you’re culturally appropriating or whatever, then maybe, you know, rethink what you’re doing?)

Hard Polytheism:

Hard Polytheism in contrast to this is believing that all the Deities to ever have existed and that will exist are their own separate Being.

People who follow this line of logic believe that the Deities are real beings, and not personifications. (Although you don’t have to view them as personifications in soft polytheism either.)

Neither way of viewing the Gods is more right than the other, it is simply a matter of personal belief, and way of interacting with the world.

[thehexwitch]

I've been starting to relate more to deity and divinity in a more literal sense than before, and have been really leaning toward the idea that while the majority of spirits are tied toward land, more powerful divine spirits can travel and exist multiple places at once. My gut has been pulling me toward Celtic and Roman polytheism, though through a very traditional witchcraft-influenced lens.

I've been a practicing witch for almost 10 years now, but I still struggle with understanding what path I want to go down spiritually. In many ways, I still feel like a beginner. There are so many elements from folkloric and historical witchcraft and polytheistic practices that I relate to, but I need some sort of core to center my beliefs around and am so naturally skeptical. Constantly questioning how my beliefs fit together and can work.

Anyway, curious if people have experience with working with these pantheons. I'm definitely more of a soft polytheist, as I tend to view spirits as aspects of each other and divinity as somewhat of a hierarchical title in some ways. I still want to be respectful to the rituals and offerings these divine would appreciate and expect.

[dian-and-the-gods]

Was reading De Natura Deorum by Cicero and...my head....

"The first Venus, who has a temple at Elis, was the daughter of Cœlus and Dies. The second arose out of the froth of the sea, and became, by Mercury, the mother of the second Cupid. The third, the daughter of Jupiter and Dione, was married to Vulcan, but is said to have had Anteros by Mars. The fourth was a Syrian, born of Tyro, who is called Astarte, and is said to have been married to Adonis."

So um...??

Seems like some ancients saw that in some myths Venus came from the foam of the sea and in other myths was the child of Jupiter and Dione, and they just went "mm yes that simply means there are like 5 different Venuses who all have the same name and the same domain, but these different myths correspond to only one of those" ... like that's not my explanation for why there are different genealogies in different myths at all...

A difference in genealogy makes a wholly separate deity who still has the same name and domain, this is like super hard polytheism lmao

Also interpretatio romana got in the way here lol, funny how instead of saying "Venus is Astarte just under a different name for the Syrians" they go like "Astarte is yet another Venus who is her own separate individual to our Venus", funny how they went full circle back to hard polytheism lmao

[mischiefmanifold]

if it’s ok can I get your thoughts on soft polytheism? is it like okay to do.. is it considered polytheism?.. is it frowned upon?

Admittedly I do not have much experience with "soft polytheism", this post is based on a 5-minute google search.

The website Round the Cauldron (LINK) describes soft polytheism as "the belief that all deities are part of one larger whole". Hellenic Faith (LINK), on the other hand, views soft polytheism as a useless term for a phenomenon that already has a name. ("The various ideas that 'soft polytheism' is usually used to describe already have names; none of which are 'polytheism' because what is being described is not polytheistic.")

I am a "hard polytheist", essentially the opposite of a soft polytheist. I believe that all deities are distinct entities and are not parts of a whole.

My personal opinion is that it doesn't really matter what terms you use as long as you're using them correctly. Polytheism is defined as a belief in multiple deities, and if your version of soft polytheism follows that premise, then honestly I don't really care that you're using it.

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

It’s interesting to see all the different pathways polytheism (or even monism) can take.

I like the mention of most thinking Zeus and Jupiter are the same god, just seen through a Greek and then Roman lens, while Thor is separate from both of them. That seems to be more my take.

On the other hand, while I definitely don’t think I’m a monist, I do like the idea that all these gods can coexist and work together and not step on any toes, despite being part of different pantheons. Which seems more soft. But I also don’t think the Egyptian gods are the same as the Norse, are the same as Chinese, are the same as Greek. There can be similarities, because I believe they help to represent humanity and humans worshipped them, regardless of culture, but they’re not the same.

So I do believe I’m somewhere in between hard and soft polytheism. Maybe I just need to view it as different gods spoke more and connected to different cultures, and so those gods formed pantheons based around that. But, overall, gods are gods. And Zeus/Jupiter can coexist with Thor without them stepping on each others toes because even though they’re storm gods, they have different cultures and people that respect them and worship them and that’s all that matters.

Or maybe I need to stop trying to put my mortal imaginings on gods that I can’t hope to ever truly understand 😅

Polytheism

Most pagan religions are polytheistic in nature, meaning they believe in multiple divine beings. This is one of the hardest parts of paganism for outsiders to understand. In a culture where strict monotheism is treated as the norm, it can be difficult to wrap your head around the idea of worshiping more than one god.

Ironically, monotheism — the belief in a single, all-powerful creator deity — is a relatively new invention. Zoroastrianism, the first monotheistic religion, is only about 4,000 years old. In the big scheme of things, that really is not a long time. Evidence for polytheistic religion dates back much, much farther (like, up to 40,000 years). We could argue that polytheism is the natural state of human spirituality.

Within pagan communities, polytheism is often described as a spectrum, with “hard polytheism” on one end and “soft polytheism” on the other. Hard polytheists believe that every deity is a distinct, separate, autonomous spiritual being. Soft polytheists believe that every deity is a part of a greater whole. As we’ve already discussed, extreme soft polytheism isn’t actually polytheism at all, but monism — the belief in a single divine source that manifests in different ways, including as different deities.

Hard polytheism is pretty straightforward. Norse paganism is an example of a hard polytheist system. Most Norse pagans believe that Odin is distinct from Thor, who is distinct from Freyja, who is distinct from Heimdall… you get the idea. Each of these gods has their own area of expertise over which they preside. If you’re dealing with a love matter, you’re probably going to seek out help from Freyja rather than Thor — unless you have a close, ongoing working relationship with Thor. (We’ll talk more about these types of close working relationships in a future post.)

Soft polytheism can be a little harder for people coming from a monotheist system to wrap their heads around. I think Jeremy Naydler describes it best in his book Temple of the Cosmos (here discussing Kemetic/Egyptian polytheism): “Shu and Tefnut are distinct essences dependent on Atum for their existence… The image often used in ancient Egyptian sacred texts concerning the gods in general is that they are the ‘limbs’ of the Godhead.” Shu and Tefnut, who are described in mythology as Atum’s children, are an extension of Atum’s creative power. However, they are also distinct beings with their own thoughts, feelings, and agendas. (It’s worth noting that we also have myths describing Atum’s birth. He is not a supreme being or a timeless force like the Abrahamic God.)

Monism is soft polytheism taken to its logical extreme. In her book, Wicca For Beginners, Thea Sabin describes it this way: “Think, for a moment, of a tree with a thick trunk that splits into two large branches. In turn, smaller branches grow from the large ones, and still smaller branches from the small ones, and so on. Deity is the trunk of the tree, and the God and Goddess are the two main branches. The smaller branches that fork off of the two big ones are the worlds gods and goddesses…”

If you’re not sure what the difference between soft polytheism and monism is, here’s a good litmus test: If you believe in the existence of a supreme divine force, you’re a monist. If not, you’re a polytheist.

Many pagans are somewhere in between hard and soft polytheism. For example, you may believe that Zeus and Jupiter are different versions of the same deity, filtered through the lens of Greek and Roman culture, respectively — but you believe that Thor is distinct and separate from Zeus/Jupiter, even though all three of them are gods of storms.

To make things even more complicated, there are some pagans (and some atheists, for that matter) who believe that the gods exist less as autonomous beings and more as archetypes within mankind’s collective consciousness. Their stories resonate with us because they serve as mirrors for different parts of ourselves. In this sense, we create the gods in our own image.

This belief is how we get “pop culture pantheons.” Some people work with fictional characters as archetypes in their spiritual practice. After all, if Sailor Moon is the ultimate representation of feminine power for you, what’s stopping you from putting her on your altar? Some pop culture pantheons have actually broken through into mainstream paganism — there are a lot of Wiccans who work with Merlin, believe me.

This interpretation is a bit different from polytheism, and could really be its own post (or several), so for the sake of keeping things short and sweet I’m not going to go any deeper into it. If this interests you, I recommend reading the work of Jungian psychologists like Clarissa Pinkola Estés and Robert A. Johnson. You may even want to check out The Satanic Bible by Anton LeVay for a particularly spicy take on the idea that we create our own gods and devils.

Just know that you can still practice paganism, even if you aren’t 100% sold on the idea that the gods literally exist.

Your take on polytheism doesn’t necessarily have to match up with the historical cultures you take inspiration from. For example, you may be a hardcore monist, but find that you’re drawn to work exclusively with the Norse gods. Or, you may be the hardest of hard polytheists, but find that the Kemetic gods are the ones who really speak to you. This is all totally okay! One of the benefits of paganism is that it allows for a lot of personalization.

Now that we’ve got the types of polytheism out of the way, let’s address the other big question that comes up when pagans discuss polytheism with monotheists: Does that mean you believe all those crazy myths are true? Once again, the answer depends on the pagan.

Just like some Christians are biblical literalists who believe that the Bible is a factual historical account, there are some pagans who believe that their mythology is factually true. However, many pagans accept that these stories have fantastical or exaggerated elements, but still convey a spiritual truth.

There are multiple Norse myths about men being transformed into dragons by their lust for riches, the most famous of which is probably the story of the dwarf-turned-dragon Fafnir. (Yes, Tolkien did steal that plot point from Norse mythology. Sorry.) These stories aren’t really about the dragons, though — they’re about the corrupting power of greed. The stories are true in that they teach a valuable life lesson that resonated deeply with ancient Norse culture. But did dragons really roam the earth in ancient times? Probably not.

This is one of the most important skills for any pagan: finding the spiritual truth in a myth or story. If you read a myth about Artemis transforming a man into a deer because he spied on her while she was bathing, what does that tell you about Artemis? Next time you read or listen to a myth or folk tale, try to find the message at the core of the story. You may be surprised by how this changes your understanding of the mythology.

If you’re interested in paganism but aren’t sure where to start, it might be helpful to gauge where you fall on the polytheism spectrum. Are you a hard polytheist, a soft polytheist, or somewhere in between? Are you a monist? Do you believe the gods function more as archetypes? Write it down so you can look back on it later.

When we talk about specific pagan traditions in future posts, I’ll point out where they fall on the polytheism spectrum. If you’re looking for a path that is compatible with your own beliefs, this is one thing to keep in mind.

Finally, know that your beliefs about the gods might change as you continue to learn and grow. That’s a natural part of religious exploration, so don’t try to fight it!

[theanic-devotion]

So I’m in a predicament, I definitely believe in a high power but not like,,, one that exists already? I feel like there is an energy and I want to venerate it/build a relationship with it but it’s not like a named deity.

With a deity from a culture I can go off of myths to see what they might like. I kind of see it as different named deities being facets of this higher power.

So like, this energy is nature or the natural cycle of things. The Universe, sort of. I see Aphrodite as representative of love and beauty in that nature, Apollo as representative of the health and diseases. Etc.

I could just continue to worship them as separate entities, but I was wondering if anyone has any ideas of how to venerate all aspects?

Or something like that. Really I just want to know if others feel something similarly.

[shinyshrine]

[silverthornwitchery]

i love syncretism so much tbh. It allows me to really just. Acknowledge the vastness of the gods, and see how they've ALWAYS been with me since childhood. From my first steps into paganism worshipping the Netjeru, to where i am now, acknowledging how the Neterju manifest within the Celtic and Germanic pantheons, the links to the Greco-Roman world, and vice-versa. There are no true names for the gods because having one true name would do them injustice, it would reduce them. All names for them are true, all hold power and value. I'd like to especially Acknowledge Freyja, who is syncretic with Bast-Sekhmet-Hathor and Isis/Aset, who guided me to my path. I understand that in the path I walk, these goddess, while separate at times, are also one. She represents the different aspects of the day + night cycle. Bast being the night, Sekhmet being the day, and Hathor (who is syncretic with Isis in a lot of materials due to their Queen of Heaven roles) being the twilight, the liminal. All of the gods have links to each other, they all overlap and intermingle. And its for us as worshippers, as devotees, to see how that effects us in the paths we walk. For some, they may only focus on one of the many forms the gods take, for others, they may focus on how they merge as one, or as many, etc etc. The gods love all their children, regardless of how they interpret their presence. The gods will not smite someone for being a soft polytheist, nor will they smite someone for being a hard polytheist. Each type of polytheism serves a purpose in whatever plans and needs the gods have, and thats beautiful to me

[wildwood-faun]

there's a spirit that... whenever I hear their name my heart skips a beat and the name keeps echoing in my head for hours or even days. starting to think it's time to reach out and make a formal introduction.

[lovewardeath]

Personally, I see God as a different entity compared to me saying The Gods. Confusing? Let me explain.

When I speak of The Gods, I am talking about The Gods I worship, which are the Hellenic ones…Hermes, Ares, Aphrodite, etc. They are the deities of something, love, war, etc.

But when I say God, I mean the Universe. To me, God is someone who created more Gods, (to help the workload lol), and or to make sure each person had a God that resonated with them. I get this belief from Hinduism.

But I still believe this, I believe God has different manifestations in order for each believer to relate too, to feel connected too. Some people see this as Soft Polytheism.

But I don’t. I don’t think each pantheon is the same, I don’t believe Aphrodite from Greek is the same as Freyja from Norse mythology. They are their own individuals.

I see it as God created pantheons for some groups of people who didn’t feel connected to the Norse deities, for example, so he created the Hellenic ones, etc etc.

This is just my belief! I have no intention to disrespect anyone!

I don’t know, it may seem bizzare. I guess you could say I created my own system of belief, but it’s omnism at like a strange way lol.

[samwisethewitch]

What Non-Pagans Need to Know About Fiction Featuring Pagan Gods

In light of Marvel's Loki show dropping a second season and a new Percy Jackson series on the horizon, I want to say some things about how fandom spaces can be respectful of real-life pagan religion.

Let's get one thing out of the way: literally no one is saying you can't enjoy fiction that uses pagan gods and heroes as characters. No one is saying, "Stop writing stories about our gods." In fact, many ancient cultures wrote fiction about their gods -- look at Greek theater or the Norse Eddas. The act of writing fiction about the gods is not offensive in itself.

But please remember that this is someone's religion.

The gods are not "just archetypes." Their myths are not "just stories." Their personalities are not a matter of artistic interpretation. For many pagans, the gods are very much real in a literal sense. I don't think Thor is a metaphor or a symbol -- for me, Thor is a real, autonomous spiritual being who exists outside of human perceptions of him, and who I have chosen to build a relationship with. Even if you are a hardcore atheist, I would hope you could at least be respectful of the fact that, to many modern pagans, the gods are both very real and very important.

When authors are not respectful of this fact, they reduce the gods, these very real objects of worship, to fictional characters. And here's the thing about fictional characters: they are fundamentally tools for authors to use to draw a desired emotional response from an audience.

Dracula's personality and behavior is wildly different depending on who is writing him, because different authors use Dracula to create different reactions in their audiences. In the 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi, he's equal parts alluring and disturbing, a symbol of America's mixed desire and disdain for foreigners. In Nosferatu, he's more strictly frightening and disgusting. In Francis Ford Coppola's movie, he's a tragic, romantic figure clinging to the last scraps of his humanity. In Netflix's Castlevania, he's an incredibly powerful being who has grown bitter and apathetic in his immortality. All of this is Dracula, and all of it is fine, because Dracula is not and never has been a central figure in anyone's religion.

Let's take a look at what happens when authors give this same treatment to real gods:

In Hellenic polytheism, Apollo is one of the most beloved gods, both historically and today. Apollo loves humanity, and humanity loves him back. He is the god of sunlight and of medicine, but also of poetry and song. He is one of humanity's most consistent defenders when one of the other gods gets wrathful. And while he does have dangerous or wrathful aspects of his own (he's also the god of disease, after all), he's also kind and soft with humanity in a way other gods often aren't, at least in some historic sources.

In the Lore Olympus comic series, Apollo is a villain. He's characterized as an abuser, a manipulator, and a violent man child. LO!Apollo is downright hateful, because the author wants us to hate him. Lore Olympus is a retelling of a myth about an abduction and forced marriage. Lore Olympus is also a romance. In order to get the audience to sympathize with Hades and root for his relationship with Persephone, Rachel Smythe needed to make someone else the villain. Apollo is the most obvious and extreme character assassination in Smythe's work, but several other gods (notably Demeter) also get the asshole makeover to tell the story Smythe wants to tell.

Here's where this becomes a problem: Hellenic polytheism is a fairly small religious community, while Lore Olympus is a massively popular webtoon with 1.3 billion views as of August 2023, print books available from major retailers, a TV adaptation in the works, and a very active online fandom. Rachel Smythe currently has a MUCH bigger platform than any Hellenic polytheism practitioner. Smythe and other authors are shaping how modern culture views the Hellenic gods, and that has a very real impact on their worshipers.

This means "Apollo is an abusive asshole" is becoming a popular take online, and is even creeping into pagan communities. I've personally seen people be harassed for worshiping Apollo because of it. I've seen new pagans and pagan-curious folks who totally misunderstand the roles Apollo, Hades, and Persephone play in the Hellenic pantheon because of Lore Olympus and other modern works of fiction.

There are tons of other examples of this in modern pop culture, but I'll just rattle off a few of the ones that annoy me most: Rick Riordan depicting Ares/Mars as a brutish asshole hyped up on toxic masculinity; Rick Riordan depicting Athena as a mother goddess; Marvel depicting Thor as a dumb jock; Marvel depicting Odin as a cold, uncaring father; DC depicting Ares as purely evil; whatever the fuck the Vikings TV show was trying to do with seidr; the list goes on.

All of these are examples of religious appropriation. Religious appropriation is when sacred symbols are taken out of their original religious context by outsiders, so that the original meaning is lost or changed. It requires a power imbalance -- the person taking the symbols is usually part of a dominant religious culture. In many cases, the person doing the appropriation has a much bigger platform than anyone who has the knowledge to correct them.

When Rick Rioridan or Rachel Smythe totally mischaracterizes a Greek god to tell a story, and then actual Hellenic pagans get harassed for worshiping that god, that's religious appropriation.

Religious appropriation is a real issue. This isn't just pagans being sensitive. To use an extreme example: Richard Wagner and other German Romantic authors in the 19th century used the Norse gods and other Germanic deities as symbols in their work, which was a major influence on Nazi philosophy. Without Wagner, the Nazis would not have latched onto the Norse gods as symbols of their white supremacist agenda. To this day, there are white supremacist groups who claim to worship our gods or who use our religious imagery in their hate movement. We are still reckoning with the misinterpretation of our gods popularized by Wagner and other German Romantics almost 200 years ago.

Again, no one is saying you can't enjoy fiction based on pagan mythology. But there are a few things you can do to help prevent religious appropriation in fandom spaces:

Above all else, be mindful that while this may just be a story to you, it is someone's religion.

Recognize that enjoying fiction based on our gods does not mean you know our gods. You know fictional characters with the same names as our gods, who may or may not be accurate to real-life worship.

Do not argue with or try to correct pagans when we talk about our experience of our gods.

Don't invalidate or belittle pagan worship. Again, this mostly comes down to recognizing that our religion is totally separate from your fandom. We aren't LARPing or playing pretend. Our sacred traditions are real and valid.

If you see other people in your fandom engaging in religious appropriation, point out what they are doing and why it isn't okay.

Please tag your fandom content appropriately on social media. Always tag the show, movie, book, etc. that a post is about in addition to other relevant tags. This allows pagans to block these fandom tags if we don't want to see them and prevents fandom content showing up in religious tags.

For example, if I'm posting about Athena from the Percy Jackson books, I would tag the post #athena #athenapjo #percyjackson #pjo. You get the idea.

And if fiction sparks your interest and you want to learn more about the actual worship of the gods, you can always ask! Most pagans love talking about our gods and trading book recs.

If you are writing fiction based on real mythology, talk to people who worship those gods. Ask them what a respectful portrayal would look like. If possible, include a note in your finished work reminding audiences that it is a work of fiction and not meant to accurately portray these gods.