In the past few months, in the ongoing conversations about Lucifer, I’ve heard from several witches something to the tune of “I don’t believe in the devil.” Not worship, invoke, or work with him, that I understand. But not believe in him?
Years back I remember reading something by a Native American elder, speaking to how and why his people had lost so much, including old traditions. I wish I could remember his exact words, the exact quote. I wish I could remember the name of the elder. What I do remember is that he said that Native Americans, being believers in many gods, many spirits, were amazed at the power and strength of the white man’s god. He was fierce and mighty, so many of the Native American people let go of their gods and turned to him, as soon as they encountered him, making way for a real loss of culture and way of living. Given the white man’s power, they assumed God and his son, Jesus, were more mighty than their gods put together.
Polytheistic cultures, those who’ve believed in many gods, many spirits, have been big pushovers for God and his son, Jesus. God and Christ have really got their mojo working over the centuries, and I can see how when introduced into longtime pagan cultures, many immediately take up their worship, leaving the circle of deities they had worked with behind. Those of us who’ve turned to polytheism and are letting go of monotheism shouldn’t make the mistake of not believing in the monotheistic gods. That’s monotheistic residue, this denying of a god’s existence.
When my coven was studying with Victor Anderson, one of the things I remember Victor talking about was feeding the gods. By working with god/desses, by saying their names, by putting them on our altars, we feed them. They are nourished by our attention, they grow stronger and more vital. Years later I read a book, “American Gods”, by Neil Gaiman, which beautifully fleshes out this idea. No pagan, witch, or shaman should underestimate the power of the well-fed gods of this world. The Devil is certainly one of them.
I personally stay far away from the mean-ass, revengeful god of the bible’s old testament. I also stay away from Lucifer, and his off-shoots, Satan and the Devil. I try to not feed them in anyway, even writing about them here is kind of pushing it. A studious cold shoulder is all I like to give them, although at times I have put in my plea with that old testament god to do some mediation with the other hothead deities claiming to be the one and only. I do feed the fierce loving sissy boy, sweet Jesus. I like him in his revolutionary peacenik aspect, and I try to feed this whenever he’s brought up in discussion. Perhaps Lucifer became Satan and the Devil way back when in the same way the loving sissy boy sweet Jesus risks being turned into the homo-hating, mean-spirited Jesus that the right-wing are feeding like crazy. There are still plenty of devotees feeding his sweet face of love and acceptance, although he’s got a tough opponent in the mean-spirited Jesus. They’ve been duking it out for centuries, and I applaud those who worship full-time at the altar of the sweet loving Jesus, hoping he’ll eventually gain strength over his evil twin. He’s got a fighting chance, but if he ever goes down for the count, that’s the time to stop invoking the name of Jesus.
The battle between Lucifer, the light bringer, and Satan/the Devil, master of all evil, was lost years ago. Satan and the Devil have won, hands down. The name of Lucifer overwhelmingly conjures up the master of all evil, not the beauty of the morning star, of love and light. I worry about those I know who are drawn to feeding the god Lucifer, and especially those who do so while not believing in the Devil. That seems like a perilously slippery slope. Why couldn’t Lucifer have stayed away from people I like and love and Elvis come into them and their buildings instead? Now there's a god worth feeding, and my, the dude has a huge appetite!
2 comments:
Oak this is amazing and brilliant. Yes, Baruch Hashem is a very powerful storm god, yes. Your blog makes me think about this storm god that was birthed and raised within a very particular desert tribe - my tribe. We Jews were out there in the desert, dealing with sandstorms, dryness, snakes, locusts and frogs, probably developing boils from our fear that we were destined to wander forever, never finding a place to call home. We needed unity, a central focus - do you think? So we put all the gods together, perhaps brewing up a potion way too intense for our own good - yet irresistable because of his overarching power. Hashem is kind of like the Jewish version of Durga.
The sweet sissy boy Jesus (I LOVE THAT description) was one of us, of course. Your thoughts inspire in me an even greater awe for Jesus. That he was able to teach a theology of peace, love and hope is incredible. Wow. What a guy.
When I was battling Satan, I randomly asked strangers (such as when standing in line at the supermarket) "If aliens landed on earth and you had to explain Lucifer to them in a couple of sentences, what would you say?"
Almost every person I asked said some version of: Lucifer was God's favorite angel, but he was too proud (or too something) and so God had to kick him out of heaven and now he's the Devil. That's the culture-wide thought form that is, as you say, being fed. I think of those evangelical churches with 15,000 people in their congregations. I think about the military, in which 65% of the chaplains are now evangelical Christian (this did not used to be true). I think about the president of the United States.
I believe in the Devil. I believe that every time I come into contact with him, the wisest, most empowering thing I can do is say no to his promises and intoxications.
Thank you!
was kinda wondering about the next instalment of 'branches up'...
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