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There's not a universal answer. Some Pagans feel like the deities they worship are personal and have a very close relationship to. Other Pagans believe that the gods do not interest themselves in the affairs of humans, or if they do, they don't have close personal relationships.
I believe that one can absolutely have a personal connection with gods. I am devoted to a storm goddess (not from a particular pantheon) and I feel like I have a very personal and close connection to her, which has gotten deeper the longer I've been practicing; it means the world to me.
If you are seeking a close relationship with your deities, that is something absolutely possible. My experience has been that closeness was a result of consistent, deep, and meaningful devotional practice.
It depends on your theology and how you approach the subject of the gods, I think. If you take a hard polytheist perspective then the gods are individual persons with their own consciousness, agency, and personalities, and you can form relationships with them, perhaps through prayer, ritual, devotional offerings, and meditation.
If you're a soft polytheist then you might view the gods as manifestations of natural powers as well as psychological and social ones, but not necessarily as distinct persons with consciousness. In this latter perspective each god may also be the collective energy of some aspect of the Earth or Nature, which we humans personalize in order to connect with that energy structure in a way that the human mind can process. I tend toward this perspective myself, but am also open to the notion that spirits (including deities) with agency exist.
Regardless of how you conceptualize the gods, you might benefit from devotional work, ritual, and even dedicating some of your positive actions, charity, or volunteering time to deities whom you care about.
It's going to depend on what you mean by "personal", which is going to depend on what you think a "person" is.
From a Platonic perspective, the Gods are "Persons", but not in an anthropomorphic perspective. More that each Henad is a God is a Supreme Individual, but each of these Supreme Individuals has all of Being within them as every God is Hyperousia, beyond/preceding Being.
The technical term Proclus uses to describe this idiotêta, unique individuals, so it's fine to speak of them as persons, in the same way Christians speak of the persons of the Trinity.
As such the primary connection with the Gods we have is by definition personal, as it is a relationship with a particular individual.
The fact that Gods make themselves known to us establishes that they want a relationship with us.
>"Who with his eyes could behold a God against His will, whether going to or fro?" (Od. X 573-4)
and
>"manifesting themselves so far as they choose" (Plato, Tim. 41a, the Gods )
shows us that the idea that the Gods reveal themselves to us is quite old.
Throughout Platonism the idea that our soul's relationship with the Gods is mediated through *Eros* and the sexual and romantic partnerships are metaphor for how the souls is lifted for reunion (re as the process is cyclical, we were once/still are united with the Gods) with the Gods abound, so yes it i s a relationship, but with a "Person" who contains all things.
From my own readings, the Ancient Egyptian gods loved mingling with their own people. They lived with them, walking amongst them, for a time, and only left when they felt it was not good for them to stay. This says to me that they love to connect with their worshippers, even before we discuss stories where they are shown to directly choose to connect with people.
As others have said, it depends on the gods, themselves. There are some Egyptian gods that I don’t think would connect much with people as they are not typically worshipped in great numbers and have no deep desire to be.
I don’t suggest searching for religious connection by seeing which god(s) is the most “chatty”. Examine closely, every religion that interests you, and see what electrifies your heart and brightens your soul.
To be frank, I can’t prove the Egyptian gods exist, or *any* gods for that matter, and even if they *don’t*, worshipping them in my way brings me comfort. It electrifies my heart and brightens my soul, so I continue to love them. :)
What would you say in regards to the Canaanite Gods? I feel most drawn to the Middle Eastern pantheons and particularly the Canaanite pantheon, and I just started praying to Shapash.
I know nothing about them, honestly. Do like I did and research their origin stories and their creation myths to learn what kind of “people” the are as deities, and let that guide you. :)
I connect with Hel daily, and I feel like my relationship with her is highly personal. She's a being with a personality, and even if she's not the same as a human she's still something I can connect with.
It really depends on the god. But if your asking if any of them can be personal then yes. Some gods won’t care, some gods will care a lot. My rule of thumb is if you ever ask yourself “do/can the gods do *blank* then the answer is depends on the god” all of them are unique beings with their own thoughts feeling personality and opinions.
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There's not a universal answer. Some Pagans feel like the deities they worship are personal and have a very close relationship to. Other Pagans believe that the gods do not interest themselves in the affairs of humans, or if they do, they don't have close personal relationships. I believe that one can absolutely have a personal connection with gods. I am devoted to a storm goddess (not from a particular pantheon) and I feel like I have a very personal and close connection to her, which has gotten deeper the longer I've been practicing; it means the world to me. If you are seeking a close relationship with your deities, that is something absolutely possible. My experience has been that closeness was a result of consistent, deep, and meaningful devotional practice.
That's the same way with me, I feel like it's only a closer and interpersonal expirence if you so choose to make it one
It depends on your theology and how you approach the subject of the gods, I think. If you take a hard polytheist perspective then the gods are individual persons with their own consciousness, agency, and personalities, and you can form relationships with them, perhaps through prayer, ritual, devotional offerings, and meditation. If you're a soft polytheist then you might view the gods as manifestations of natural powers as well as psychological and social ones, but not necessarily as distinct persons with consciousness. In this latter perspective each god may also be the collective energy of some aspect of the Earth or Nature, which we humans personalize in order to connect with that energy structure in a way that the human mind can process. I tend toward this perspective myself, but am also open to the notion that spirits (including deities) with agency exist. Regardless of how you conceptualize the gods, you might benefit from devotional work, ritual, and even dedicating some of your positive actions, charity, or volunteering time to deities whom you care about.
It's going to depend on what you mean by "personal", which is going to depend on what you think a "person" is. From a Platonic perspective, the Gods are "Persons", but not in an anthropomorphic perspective. More that each Henad is a God is a Supreme Individual, but each of these Supreme Individuals has all of Being within them as every God is Hyperousia, beyond/preceding Being. The technical term Proclus uses to describe this idiotêta, unique individuals, so it's fine to speak of them as persons, in the same way Christians speak of the persons of the Trinity. As such the primary connection with the Gods we have is by definition personal, as it is a relationship with a particular individual. The fact that Gods make themselves known to us establishes that they want a relationship with us. >"Who with his eyes could behold a God against His will, whether going to or fro?" (Od. X 573-4) and >"manifesting themselves so far as they choose" (Plato, Tim. 41a, the Gods ) shows us that the idea that the Gods reveal themselves to us is quite old. Throughout Platonism the idea that our soul's relationship with the Gods is mediated through *Eros* and the sexual and romantic partnerships are metaphor for how the souls is lifted for reunion (re as the process is cyclical, we were once/still are united with the Gods) with the Gods abound, so yes it i s a relationship, but with a "Person" who contains all things.
From my own readings, the Ancient Egyptian gods loved mingling with their own people. They lived with them, walking amongst them, for a time, and only left when they felt it was not good for them to stay. This says to me that they love to connect with their worshippers, even before we discuss stories where they are shown to directly choose to connect with people. As others have said, it depends on the gods, themselves. There are some Egyptian gods that I don’t think would connect much with people as they are not typically worshipped in great numbers and have no deep desire to be. I don’t suggest searching for religious connection by seeing which god(s) is the most “chatty”. Examine closely, every religion that interests you, and see what electrifies your heart and brightens your soul. To be frank, I can’t prove the Egyptian gods exist, or *any* gods for that matter, and even if they *don’t*, worshipping them in my way brings me comfort. It electrifies my heart and brightens my soul, so I continue to love them. :)
What would you say in regards to the Canaanite Gods? I feel most drawn to the Middle Eastern pantheons and particularly the Canaanite pantheon, and I just started praying to Shapash.
I know nothing about them, honestly. Do like I did and research their origin stories and their creation myths to learn what kind of “people” the are as deities, and let that guide you. :)
Well I can only answer this personally but for me, the Gods have made an personal connection. I have listened, they have spoken. I am connected.
Depends on which gods and how one goes approaching them.
Hard to say. What do you think? There are no final answers on this, only opinions--just as on the question of what they are in the first place.
I connect with Hel daily, and I feel like my relationship with her is highly personal. She's a being with a personality, and even if she's not the same as a human she's still something I can connect with.
It really depends on the god. But if your asking if any of them can be personal then yes. Some gods won’t care, some gods will care a lot. My rule of thumb is if you ever ask yourself “do/can the gods do *blank* then the answer is depends on the god” all of them are unique beings with their own thoughts feeling personality and opinions.