Child's Book of Wicca; Chapter 6, Mythology

Sarah was excited. She and her parents were going on a trip.

They all were going to a gathering of Wiccans in another state.

Mommy said that there would be Wiccans from all over the country attending the festivities.

Sarah had spoken with Rhiannon and Herne about the trip. Both of Them said that They were happy the gathering was taking place.

Daddy said that this was a chance to talk with others about all the areas they were interested in, like the herbs, healing and Magick.

Sarah hoped there would be other children there to play with, besides Keith.

Keith's Mommy decided that since she could not go, that he could go with Sarah's family. It would be a chance for Keith to grow and learn while being with people she trusted.

All Sarah cared about what having Keith along would make the trip more fun.

Mommy and Daddy took turns driving for three days. At night, they would stop at a park and spend the night camping out.

Their meals were from fast-food places. By the time they arrived Sarah was sick of hamburgers.

When they got there, there were tents set up all over the place. Sarah was told they were in a state park, which had been rented, and that they would be camping out also.

Sarah was glad that Daddy had chosen to rent a big camper. She did not like sleeping on the ground.

On Friday, when this "event" started, there were people all over. Some were dressed in robes, some in dress clothes or costumes, but most were in every-day plain clothes.

There were lots of other children to play with. There were even some people who had volunteered to watch the children and play games with them. One of them was the Priestess of her own Coven. The Priestess told stories to everyone who wanted to listen.

Some of the stories were strange to her. There were stories about Goddesses called "Athena", "Tuana", "Hera", "Circe" and several about some Gods named "Odin, Thor and Loki". Sarah had never heard about these people before, but some of the other children had. They kept whispering what the Priestess would say next to Sarah.

Sarah didn't know what to do. The only God SHE had ever heard about was Herne, and the only Goddess was Rhiannon.

She decided that she would ask Rhiannon that night about all these other Gods and Goddesses.

After the HUMONGOUS Circle that night, while she was laying down to sleep, she began thinking about the tree where she always met Herne and Rhiannon. In a very short while, she was there. Herne was waiting for her instead of Rhiannon.

"Hello, Herne. Where is the Green Lady?"

"She is very busy tonight. There are several people calling upon Her to help in Healings, and more calling for help with Herbal knowledge. I decided to come to you instead to give Her a bit of a rest. What do you wish to know, child?"

"Who are all those other Gods and Goddesses that my Priestess was talking about?"

"Those other Gods are Me. The other Goddesses are Rhiannon."

"Nuh-uh. Their names were different."

"The names may change from God to God, but the essence remains the same."

"What's an essence?"

"The very basic part of something. My soul may be the easiest way for you to understand. A wolf is a wolf, be he a timber wolf, Mexican wolf, Red wolf, or any other species of wolf there is. A bird is a bird, whether a parrot, blue jay, cardinal, robin, or vulture. Their essence remains the same."

"How does that apply to you?"

"Thor is a God the Vikings created to explain the thunder and the lightening. Odin is His father and Lord. Loki was created to explain all the unexplainable bad luck happenings around them. Mars is the Roman God of War. Each of these Gods is part of Me, just as I am part of Them. We each have a job to do in the greater scheme of things, but if I need Thor's powers of the weather, I can draw upon that power. Just as if Mars needed to control the animals of the Earth, He could gain that ability from me."

"You're not hurt by sharing your power?"

"No, I am not. Let me give you and example. You draw very well, don't you?"

"Kind of..."

"But Keith does not. My borrowing a power from another God is like if you taught Keith to draw as well as you do. For Us, though, it's so fast that a heartbeat is forever in comparison."

"But, if You all do the same things, why not pray to just one God instead of all of You?"

"Some Gods are easier to deal with than others. Some are kinder, gentler, more forgiving. Some are very harsh, mean, and in some cases, cruel. Some Gods simply cannot be bothered with Mortal issues and problems. Mainly, which God you pray to is a matter of personal choice. What personality are you most comfortable with in dealing with a God? Do you want someone who is forgiving, or someone who is very harsh? Someone Just, or contrary? Kind or Cruel? These things determine what God and Goddess a person will pick."

"Why?"

"It is easier to have a God of Thunder pay attention to you doing a storm than it is a God of the Sea. You will get a faster response from Thor if you are threatened by lightning, and probably be safer, than you will be if you call upon Poseidon, who can draw upon Thor's power to save you, but may not be able to do anything else directly to help you."

"No that's not my question. Why would someone want to pray to a god who is mean?"

"It's complex. Some people think they deserve a mean God, because they are not worth anything. Others think that a mean god will help them gain control over others, because they are bullies too. Some think they deserve to be punished for something they did a long time ago, and others truly don't know that there are Gods out there that will love them, because they don't love themselves."

"Does all of this work the same way for Goddesses?"

"Yes. Athena is the Goddess of Wisdom, War, Housewives, Agriculture, Reason, and Purity. That is a lot for a Goddess to do. People believed She had those powers, and because they believed that, she had them. Rhiannon is the Goddess of Birds and Nature, and sometimes Horses. Almost everything is wrapped in those 'jobs'. What She does not take care of, I do. The Romans, whom Athena was a Goddess for, were a very sophisticated culture, so they needed sophisticated Gods and Goddesses."

"What does 'sophisticated' mean?"

"It means complicated. The more complicated a culture, the more sophisticated their Gods and Goddesses need to be."

"This all sounds very confusing."

"Yes, I can understand that it might be, but you do not really have to worry about it. When you become an age to make all your own decisions for yourself, call Me whom you will. I sill still answer you. As will Rhiannon, no matter the name. I may look different, act different, and even sound different, but I will still be the same."

"Is there a God and Goddess of children?"

"There are many Gods and Goddesses who hold children dear to Their hearts, of which, Rhiannon and I are but two. There may be a specific God or Goddess whose 'jobs' are children, but you will have to discover Them on your own."

"Why can't you tell me?"

"Because new Gods and Goddesses are being created all the time. Even now, there are new Gods springing into existence who I do not know anything about."

"How are Gods and Goddesses created?"

"By people's belief in their existence. Just as a brick is only mud and straw, a 'brick' did not exist until someone invented it. The mud was there, and the straw was there, but no one had ever put them together before. Then someone did and dried it until it was hard and was able to build houses out of the brick. When people decide to create a God, they take the 'mud' and 'straw' that I am made out of and create something different."

"You mean, you die?"

"No. How many things can you think of that have mud and straw in them?"

"There are mud-pies. A brick is another, but I can't think of anything else."

"Cement is another. The 'mud' and 'straw' are different that is all. Besides, just because you make one brick does not mean that you have to destroy it to make another."

"So, you are all the same, only different? Different pieces and different jobs?"

"Yes," said Herne, sighing with relief. "That is exactly right. 'The same but different.' Do you understand better now?"

"Kind of, but what do I do about everyone else here?"

"When they speak of a God with a different Name from Mine, pretend they speak about Me."

"But where do I learn about other Gods and Goddesses?"

"There are books written by teachers about 'mythology'. These are collections of stories about other Gods and Goddesses. These stories tell about what They do, how They act, and what They are like. You may even find some stories about Me in there."

"Is that what my Priestess was telling today?"

"Yes. She was reciting stores from mythology. It is one of may things she has studied in her lifetime. Talk to her about those stories."

"I will try to do that. Thank you Herne. I love you."

"And I love you too, little one. You are most welcome."

Herne stood up, hugged Sarah, and left. Sarah thought He must be busy tonight.

When she woke up in the morning, she talked to her Daddy and Mommy about what she had learned from Herne. She asked if there were any more stories that she could read about other Gods and Goddesses.

Her Daddy said that they would both see.

Horizontal Line

Mythology discussion

This chapter is included for those children who are interested in broadening their knowledge of the Gods and Goddesses.

Some discussions questions are:

Are all the Gods the same? All Goddesses?
Can you think of any more uses for mud and straw?
What do you think a God of Children would be like? A Goddess?
Why would people create a God of Thunder?
Would a God of the Sea help someone on the Land? How about a Lake? Why or why not?
Do you understand what Herne was explaining to Sarah?
How is Rhiannon the Goddess of Nature?
How is Herne the God of Animals?
What do you think Herne and Rhiannon can do?
If you were a God/dess, what would you be the God/dess of? What would you be able to do?

The projects are easy enough.

Read mythology with your child. There are many good books available on the subject, and most are easily attainable from your library or on the Internet.
Talk to your Priest/ess about the Gods/Goddesses. They should know a lot about mythology in general, and if they do not, they will know someone who does.
Wicca, being an oral tradition until the middle of this century, has had to rely on stories and word of mouth to pass along information on who we worship. For this reason, may of the stories have been written down in many forms. Tell your children about the ways lore masters of the past used to keep the knowledge.
Help your children to produce a play about the deities of their choice. Get the other children in the Coven involved and maybe have them perform it during a Sabbat Celebration.
Suggest to your child they make a fictional God or Goddess and have them write stories about them, make up songs, and tell what they are. This would be good for creative talents as well as writing skills. Perhaps if they want, make the stories they write an entirely oral presentation to help memory skills.

Back

If you got to this page through a link, and you would like to see the entire site, click here

The URL of this document is http://davensjournal.com/CBoWC6.xhtml