Stories have always been retold and different versions have evolved, as the teller puts their own spin on the story. For anyone who has had a relative tell 'their version' of a fairy tale, this is a familiar experience. But we are seeing very modern versions of many of the old myths and legends, and for some people this creates problems.
Sometimes, the new versions vary greatly, changing so many details that the stories are only alike in name, but other times only a few details have been altered and the essence of the story remains true. As modern Pagans, we are often faced with many versions of the stories and deities we work with, both historically (as the stories change and evolve), but also in our modern world, in the form of books and movies.
I am sure I am not alone in my love for the modern tales, and if you include a witch, Pagan deity or ancient myth in a book/movie/show, I will want to watch it. I love consuming fiction that centers on things I am passionate about.
But I also find that sometimes these stories begin to flavor my own understanding and relationship with the deities and stories. Often, this serves to personify the stories, as seeing a character acted out on screen means I begin to associate their image with the character, and hearing their words spoken (or reading them in several books, as actual dialogue), means I hear their 'voice' (tone of voice, mannerisms, etc). They become real in a different way to me.
And I think part of this is that we have lost so much of the old stories. We are hearing the academic retellings, the stories pared down to their essential facts and the most commonly shared details. We aren't hearing the campfire versions of the stories, with all the embellishments that a good story teller would add.
So the 'official' tales, the ones we read in mythology books or the descriptions we get of deities are more clinical, leaving a void behind. The modern versions, in their full technocolor drama bring those flat characters to life.
I feel like there is a tendency to fixate on either the first version of a story we hear of the one we feel is the most 'official'...and sadly official often translates to generic. This often reminds me of the evolution of fairy tales, and how many of the early versions are quite different from the ones we grew up hearing. The darker aspects have been edited out for a modern audience, as we tend to shelter our kids from the harsh realities of the world much longer now.
But the different versions of the same fairy tale can highlight different parts of the same story. They let you experience it from different perspectives, and it makes you think about what is really going on...and why it's important (and sometimes why it was changed). I think the same kind of thought process is really useful, when looking at our deities and myths.
I've said it before, and I know I'll say it again, but we don't live in the same world our ancestors do. And I personally don't believe our deities are static. The deities I work with aren't stuck back in the middle ages or the height of their cultural dominance...because if they were they wouldn't be of much help to me (nor I to them). In order for the deities I work with to be relevant, they have to had adapted to modern life.
We don't always think this through, but most of us work off of this idea. We bless our phones or ask for help with internet situations, or maybe in getting that job interview...but if you stop and think, pretty much all of those things would be utterly meaningless to people who actively worshiped our deities in their historically active period.
So modern retellings make sense, because not only do we need to feel like our deities understand us, we need to understand them. Just as aspects of our life might not be immediately accessible to someone of a different time period, aspects of their life aren't always friendly to a modern mind.
There are LOTS of traditional myths that are pretty bad when held up to modern morality. Even just looking at the ages of characters in stories, some of the tales become problematic. We really are different from our ancestors, and so the way in which we relate to our deities and myths should be different as well.
And this isn't something that is either on or off. This is a whole range of inclusion that you have to navigate and see what works for you and what doesn't. You might love watching movies that feature deities you work with, but you don't see them as anything other than entertainment. Or you may see them as modern myths, as a new lens through which you can find another aspect of a well-known deity. You might love ancient art and wish to use only historical images in your magical work, or you may fall in love with modern artist's takes on how deities look. You might enjoy using mass marketed statues (toys!) or you may not.
No matter where you fall on the spectrum of fandom and modern retelling, it is always good to remember that the storyteller is sharing their perspective. These are not things that can be objectively proven with facts and records. These are living, breathing stories, and they are flavored by both the teller and the observer. Your relationship with them will depend as much on you as on the versions you are exposed to. And even when you discover a version that doesn't click for you, it can be helpful to ask yourself why it doesn't work. It is these thoughts and questions that bring us deeper into our relationship with our deities, and the myths that represent them.
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