Discovering the Gods

Discovering the Gods
By: Shawn Rowland

It is often wondered at some point and time in the life of a polytheist, just what exactly are the Gods? What is their nature, business, and why do they do the things they do? Religions such as Shinto and Santeria have already nailed this down real good and have consistent and logical dogma about it. The Hindu religions, also have developed it quite nicely in their own respective sects but often will differ greatly when in comparison with each other. Asatru is still going through plenty of growing pains in this area and we have only begun to scratch the surface. The dominant theories are these:
1) The Gods are independent spirit beings and highly evolved souls.
2) The Gods are archetypes of the human psyche.
3) The Gods are universal principles.
4) The Gods used to be humans and are now great and powerful beings looking over their spiritual, cultural, and biological descendents.

The unfortunate outcome of most of these debates is in-fighting, name-calling, and a general inability to understand the opinions. Personally I think that of all the opinions, not one is wrong. The Gods must be taken on a case by case basis. I can easily understand Odhinn as being all four stances at once, but I highly doubt the same would apply for Bragi or Modi(although it could very well do).
A route to take to explain stances #2 and #3 in light of their experienced individuality, is that the Gods in and of themselves are not archetypes or principles, but rather that they represent these ideals and work through them to reach us. Study in how recurrent themes pop up in culture and mythology supports this possibility. A more important question though is not what they are, but rather what they do and why they do it. I have read, re-read, and analyzed the Eddaic tales and a few Saga bits to attempt to ascertain a logical answer to those questions. The following is my hypothesis:

I) The Gods are dynamic and individual by nature(i.e. they are not static and ’one’ like a Brahman or an Allah), and are also holistically balanced by nature.
II) The Gods must strive for the change they create and to sustain said level of dynamism, nurturing balance, and individuality.
III) The Gods therefore are not omnipotent, omnipresent, or all-powerful. However, their nature, and their spirit, is expressed and felt throughout the natural world and human civilization and psychology(mythology, archetypes, principles, etc.)
IV) The Gods are mythically mortal, but hypothetically immortal(through Idunna’s golden apples), and ontologically immortal through their nature as being Gods, the ripples in Wyrd from their words and deeds and their sustained memory in other beings.
V) The Gods are known as Elder Kin, therefore their primary relation to us is as a friendly elder relative like a great uncle or grandmother. Parental models are also appropriate for closer relationships one may have with them and warm friendships are often experienced.
VI) The Gods, through such relations, seem to have a vested interest in Humanity as a whole and in their Younger Kin(us, ancestors, landvaettir, alfarr, disir) especially. It may be that the dynamism of humanity and earth life is what draws them to us.
VII) The Gods mythically share this kin connection because they gave of themselves their essence to us(odhr, ond, hamingja, etc.), they aid us in our evolution and personal lives, and have forged bonds through personal interaction, cultural expansion, and a focus on life.
VIII) Therefore, the business of the Gods is like the business of any one of us: Live life to the fullest, aid those with whom you are in troth with, give of yourself to help your kith and kin, express your essence, support dynamic balance and oppose dross and stagnation, live honourably, and pass on a good name.
IX) Furthermore, it is our duty to help them in their endeavors because as they are, we will be, and as we are, they once were.
X) It should also be understood that in order to be as they seem, and to do what it is they seem to do, they must by necessity be distinct individuals and have a total understanding of us and our world to befriend us and hold troth with us.
XI) Therefore, they have to work through human created models such as our mythos, archetypes, and ideal principles in order to encourage us in our own self-motivated inner growth and outer expression.
XII) The Gods are our Elder Kin, our friends, our confidants, our most inner workings, our highest ideals, and the world around us expressed in nature and their work is growth, dynamism, expression, experience, and balance.

I would like to keep in mind, these are only ideas and though I personally back them up with the study and thought I put into them, ultimately we really do not know. We have a vastly limited view on the universe as human beings. While the Gods, by their individual nature also have a limited view, I would imagine their view is infinitesimally grander and greater than ours are. Nonetheless, we must express our beings and our thoughts in order to grow and understand. I hope I have provided something to chew on and take into consideration if nothing else. Thank you.