Some of us believe that there are 3 kinds of deities.

The “Old Ones” or ancestors, are first in honor and in consultation. They are those who are now discorporate. They at one time inhabited physical bodies, but their bodies died, and only their soul – spirit – Atman, remains, or they have been reincarnated.

The archetypes are largely made up, as all deities are and always have been, but there are valuable lessons to be learned from their myths, and they are largely our role models. These consist of the pantheons of Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, the Greek, Roman, Celtic, Native American etc. In other words, all of the deities from all cultures in the Universe.

Then there is the final class: US. You, me, and everyone else. “Thou art G-d,” we say, but really we are just learning how. When we “die,” we join the “old ones,” and the cycle continues. But Nature is G-d as well, deserving of our worship and reverence.

I sometimes think that the archetypal deities are simply anthropomorphous thought forms about Nature. Nature IS. The Earth Mother, or Gaia, is one entity. Though parts of Nature seem to our limited vision to be separate things (like the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, minerals, humankind etc.,) everything works together as a whole. So Nature is G-d, and since we are also Nature, we are G-d as well. We believe that most of the harm caused by humankind to the Earth Mother and to each other is the direct result of our lack of knowledge, our denial, of our own divinity and the false belief that we are individuals, unconnected to anything or anyone else. This idea of separateness is the cancer that has infected the planet. It is our mission as humans to eradicate this cancer.

Of course, all of the above is simply my not so humble opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Namaste:

— Stephan