Working For A Better Life (valkyrieofodin) wrote in northern_trad, @ 2008-05-30 20:51:00 |
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Current mood: | happy |
Entry tags: | articles, deities, oaths, vanir book, whole lot of writing going on |
Oathing To Deities
So, you think you want the kind of committed and enduring relationship with a deity that means you can't get out of it? That it would be groovy and fun to be fulltrui/fulltrua to a God or Goddess? That once you've taken such an oath if you don't like it you can just walk away from it like nothing ever happened? Well think again. Once you make an oath to a deity they expect things out of you. They expect that you will live up to your word, and this means different things with different relationships just like in the every day world, but it is binding. A lot of what it means is that you are committed to living a higher quality of life. That you aren't going to simply allow yourself to be stuck in a rut and treat yourself and those around you with disrespect. You may be shocked by this, but how we live our lives shows how much we love the Gods because if They love us then we are in some way expected to begin to love ourselves.
After all you must be worthy of that love, right? You can't just live on autopilot anymore, you have to take some kind of responsibility for the world around you, this doesn't always mean you have to volunteer at a homeless shelter, animal, shelter or food pantry; but it does mean you need to start looking at whether or not you litter or do things that aren't earth friendly. Because you're treating the world, and by extension Them with a lack of care. You may not have a budget to give them rituals and honor every day of the week, or even once a week but your love will fill that gap, if you don't care and you act in such a manner, it will be reflected in how you live your life. Does this mean you have to go Granola? No. If you want to go out and take self-defense classes to make yourself in better shape and reflect the fact you oathed to Tyr or Odin or Thor go for it. It's up to you what you do. But do something that reflects your connection to Them. Include them in your life, and you will find that you will have a more challenging life; That things won't always run as smoothly as you want them to. That sometimes crisis will be put in front of you just to daunt you but when you jump the hurdle they will reward you. In whatever fashion that is immiscible to Them. And you'll know it's Them.
You'll become attuned to a certain God-Consciousness. If you're not prepared to do that, then don't become a God-Friend. Because that's what being a fulltrua/fulltrui means. Being a God-Friend. It's not a status thing; in fact there will be people out there who will look at you like you're bonkers. They'll look down on you and ask you if you think you really know what you're doing, know what you're talking about, if you hear 'voices' in your head telling you what to do. And you're going to have to become resolved as to whether to take the bait or not. So if you want to be a God-Friend, realize that it's not just a one time thing, it's a forever thing. And it changes your wyrd; it changes you as an individual.
You become more from the experience, and in some strange way, you become less, because you see yourself in a different light, not subservient, but possibly owned nonetheless. Whether your pride is the pride of having a status, because you sought it out for that, or whether your pride is that of being a good friend and loved, will mean a lot for the rest of how your life is laid out. It will mean a lot for how you weather the years. I know that at one time I thought that all I wanted was to be freyjasgydhia because I thought that was what She wanted, was for me to be Her gydhia, and then later on I realized all She wanted was for me to be A Gydhia. What a big difference that made in how I interacted with the world. Of course no matter what I'm Her Gydhia, I'm Hers, lock stock and smokin' barrel. But I'm also, Odin's and Frigga's too. They hold me in Their embrace. And I love Them, give Them everything I am. I would gladly bleed for Them. Does this mean that I shun the other Gods? That I don't give them my loyalty and my love? Does being a God-Friend give me the right to scorn Them and turn my back on Them, being rude to Them? Hel, fucking no it doesn't. In fact, it means you have to be just as nice if not more so, give them just as much attention, because the other Gods are Their Family. Would you be rude to the rest of your family just because your brother was your best friend? Wouldn't it hurt his feelings? I know that in my world that would be a terrible reason to be rude to family. You don't get a get out of manners pass free card. It doesn't work that way.
For me it does mean that I have found myself coming up with particular rituals and days that are special just for Her and me. Things that preserve our relationship and bring forth the simplicity and beauty of it. I have found myself looking at the world through changed eyes. And I have to say that I love this. I love knowing that when I find the right flower, when I take the time to revamp my altar in red satin and hearts, when I buy Her candy or perfume. When I light the incense that is just for Her that this is a special blessing that we share. And most of all, when my attention is turned inward, when I look at the places I have been and I see how far She has brought me in the years we have walked together, I become grateful for the association and the commitment not only that I have made, but that She has made too. But the only way that happens, is if you keep your oaths, because a person who simply makes an oath and continues on their way as if nothing ever happened, who says 'oh I'll do it sometime' is really just making an open ended statement not an oath. An oath is something you do with all your heart and all your soul; it contains a kernel of your being. It is a contract between you and the deity or deities with whom it has been made.
When I say that She sought me out and tapped me, She really walloped me. When I say that I sought out Odin and Frigga to a certain extent, They were in my life, giving me signs that the relationship we had could be taken further but I had to initiate it for it to go farther because They wanted to test me and see if I had it in me or if I was simply going to sit on my hands for a long, long time. You have to be sensitive to what They want. And it's all about that interaction. The idea of simply 'collecting deities' with whom to take oaths as God-Friends is not really wise, because how can you keep true to a whole slew of Deities. They have to indicate that They want your attention in this manner. Some folks may never take oath to a single deity and that's fine. Having close relationships to all the Gods, without needing a particular God-Friend, is perfectly fine and normal. Enjoy the support of All The Gods. Enjoy whatever it is that you find open to you as an avenue for worship. Know Them All. In the knowing comes great joy.