Protector, Warrior, Parent

[ravencallscrows]

OK, faithful reader. Here's the brain dump on the information i'm processing from the Divine Ones. It's still a little raw around the edges, but i think it's cohesive enough that it'll make sense to most of you.
Coming to enough of an understanding of one of the Divine Ones that you'd actively consider Him/Her as a patron, or yourself as a devotee (outside of the generic neo-pagan spectrum- i'm speaking of unique, specific divinities, not the "So-and-so is an aspect of the Lord/Lady" but from a more focused examination of what the extant legends tell us of the personality of the particular Divine One from the culture in which Xe [defaulting to gender neutral pronouns for simplicity] was worshipped) is a pretty momentous step. When you reach that point, prepare for your understanding to change pretty drastically as far as your notion of who that Divine One is. If you've chosen a divinity who's generally perceived as a "nice" one, prepare yourself to be disavowed of any remnants of white-light-fluffy-bunnyism. The Divine Ones are just like people in that no matter how "light" or "dark" they may seem on the surface, they're greyscale, and the "fluffiest" divinity you can think of will have some aspect which isn't quite so nice.
Brighid is very much this way. The "popular" image of Her is the nursemaid, midwife, healer, mother, patronness of the creative arts. Under that, there's an aspect of Warrior/Protector which isn't quite as "pretty."
It all connects. Any parent will confirm that they'd do anything in their power to keep their children from harm. If you're an artist- and i know several of you at least dabble at being so- you know how you feel about what you've created- it's a natural response. Add to that that the "historical" Brighid of legend was a warrior, and you've got a considerably more three-dimensional picture.
Pop-paganism similarly mistreats the Morrigan, often painting her as a "dark goddess."
Again, as far as accuracy goes, this is a wild oversimplification.
As much as the Phantom Queen is as associated with death as the Bean-sidhe (albeit in a somewhat different manner), and with battle; She's also a very primal sexuality goddess, and as clear a manifestation of Sovereignty in a Divine One as can be found in any of the Gaelic lore. Accordingly, there's very much an element of "don't you even dare think about hurting something that's close to Me, unless you have a death wish."
Understanding these aspects and how they interact has deepened my spirituality and the way i approach them- if you don't know, the way i relate with my Divine Ones is very similar to the concept of a vassal-liege relationship, accompanied with appropriate votive offerings. It has changed who i am as a person too. I find that i'm significantly more "grounded" and stable in myself-as-i-am, and there's an inner calm that comes with feeling that as much as i can expose myself in the role of protector, parent, or warrior for those who have shown me a bit of their vulnerability- perhaps, even in some cases lover (or would-be lover), i have Someone doing the same for me- even if not necessarily in the same manner.
Anyone wants to make things more difficult for one of my friends- one of you who share your burdens, they're going to have to do so through me, and if there's anything i can do to help in any way, all you need to do is ask.
If you doubt any of this, just ask damashita. Right now, i feel stable enough that i can handle the emotional or personal tsuris of all of you. It's perhaps a little spark of the divine fire which just burns. I don't know. This is the part where it's all still fitting together.

Comments

[gwynn-aaron.livejournal.com]

Well put and well thought out. I like your ideas and the way in which you state them. Once again I find that you are able to articulate things in a way that I can agree with and understand without having to work at it. I look forward to some interesting discussions over bottles of wine, whiskey and/or tea in a couple of years or so.