Religion: You're doing it right!

LunThe idea of one God, one single ‘right’ deity in a world of thousands of cultures with millions of deities has always seemed ridiculous to me. Or at the least, unfair. Wouldn’t it be a piece of cake for one all knowing, all powerful God to make pretty sure that EVERYBODY believed in Him? Why allow us even the possibility of worshiping Someone Else, if He’s such a jealous and vengeful God? Does that make sense?

So, when I was a young person full of unanswered questions trying to figure all this out, it occurred to me that if there wasn’t just one ‘right’ answer, then pretty much everyone had to be right. That’s right, you heard me, you’re all doin’ it right. Give yourself a pat on the back. Seriously though, I think it’s like this: an all powerful, all knowing, creative force in the universe is probably so complex that our animal brains wouldn’t even be able to comprehend it. So we put faces on this power that we CAN comprehend. We give it names, we find the aspects of it that we need or desire to commune with. For me, every God or Goddess is simply an aspect or facet, a way for us to access the love and creative power that surrounds us.

One facet, or aspect, that I turn to most is a Goddess called Scathac. According to ancient Irish myth, Scathac is a Scottish Goddess from a time when Gods walked the British Iles like men. Scathac is a warrior woman, teaching Cuchulainn, a great Irish hero. Because she knows the ways of war and the human body, she also knows the arts of healing and magic. It’s this dichotomy that appeals to me. As a martial artist myself, I love the beauty, spirit, discipline of the martial way. On the other hand, I have no desire to become a soldier, to kill or hurt anyone except in self defense. Likewise, I like healing people and study herbalism and other types of remedies.

I appeal to or approach Scathac for all sorts of issues - when I need strength, spiritual or physical; when I seek protection or healing for myself or others. Because Scathac was a strong, independent woman who rules her own fort, I come to her when I need to fight for my own things, like keeping my home. I worship her through prayer, but I also will dedicate performances of martial skill to her. I decorate her altar with healing herbs from my garden as well as small, beautifully made weapons. Scathac, in the myths had a daughter, so at times I will come to her seeking the emotional love and support of a mother, as one of her warrior daughters.

There are other Gods or Goddesses I worship or pray to at times, including Lord Ganesh and Kwan Yin. It is Scathac, however, who identify with the most. She is the facet of the creative forces that I most seek to emulate, and identify with.