Inspired by a Friend

[qos]

Recently uncrowned_king asked, Do you know how hard it is to find a modern faith with a strong Father/King God that isn’t Judeo-Christian?

After a bit of reflection, I have to agree with him.

What about you, my other friends?

The energy of the Father-King is primordial, and so powerful it's easy for it to become tyrannical. The Emperor in the Tarot is one of those problematic cards that often is portrayed in an unattractive light in modern decks, because patriarchs have fallen out of fashion (for good reasons).

But where do we go to find a Father-King who embodies law, justice, and nurturing, the king who would lay down his life for his people in sacrifice as well as strike down a threat without flinching? Where is the shepherd of the people who would face the wolf or the bear with a club, as well as stay out all night to care for a sick lamb?

And while uncrowned_king isn't interested in the Judeo-Christian tradition, I wonder where that style of Father-King is allowed to co-exist with a strong feminine element, a Father-King who honors and cherishes the Mother-Queen energy that complements his own, rather than dishonoring or fearing it?

Comments

[neversremedy.livejournal.com]

Many pagan/nature-worshipping traditions contain equal pairings. Unfortunately, they are not as represented within most modern day pagans who don't know enough about the history and former mythologies upon which they now base their faith. Too often they see a Goddess and deny a god in fairly childish, open rebellion against patriarchal religious like Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. But history shows us that in some of the dualistic nature-based forms of spirituality recognized the divinity of both men and women. Some faiths even had hemaphroditic gods (like the Egyptians). We see too much of the past in the skewed retellings of the winners--such as the Christians--who suppressed a lot of the older faiths. So, dig through history, and you may be able to see there are more people out there--well-educated, stable people--who do follow what you seek.

(Suggestion: look for history buff pagans or the like. I have a couple of friends who are Celtic reconstructionists who study the history of the former culture and follow the faith of that people.)