Divine Masculine

I feel like there has been a bit of a shift in Pagan realms, when it comes to our recognition of deity.  When I was learning, 20 years ago, almost everything you read talked about the Lord and the Lady, the Goddess and the God.  There was a duality in deity, and for the most part, everyone worked with both the masculine and the feminine.

Now, of course this caused some issues for many people.  Some people were struggling to find their way after breaking with the religion they were raised in, often a Book religion (one of the three big ones:  Christianity, Judaism and Islam).  So they often had trouble separating the new Pagan concept of masculine divinity with the God of their childhood religion.  Others struggled with the strict duality that was often promoted, sometimes because of their own gender identity or their sexual orientation (a lot of early Paganism was depicted as pretty sex centered, and there were many parts of rituals that mimicked or outright used sex as part of the ritual, in very male/female terms).

Early on, there were groups that were devoted to just the divine feminine.  Dianic traditions honored the Goddess alone, and many groups were restricted to female only (though some allowed men, but women were definitely given higher status).  Today, there are many women's spirituality groups that work with the divine feminine in any or all of her forms, often to the exclusion of the masculine expression of deity (or the feminine is seen as superior).

Even within groups that worked 'evenly' with both masculine and feminine, if you looked closer there was a distinct difference in how the feminine and masculine were treated, both in the realm of the divine and within the circle.  Even though "the Priest and Priestess" were considered equal....the High Priestess was always the ultimate power in the group.  The Priestess would lead, and the Priest would follow.

When it came to deity, the Goddess was the driving force behind...pretty much everything.  Most of the Sabbats were strongly focused on her, with Yule sometimes being the main exception (I think mostly because of our connections with Santa Clause!).  Even though a lot of traditional mythology has pantheons ruled by the Gods, within the circle, they were almost an afterthought, and Goddess ruled supreme.

I had my own breaking away moments.  While I wasn't deeply invested in religion as a child, we attended church a few times, so the form of divinity I was most familiar with was that of God.  When I found out there was Goddess as well, I was enamored.  This was also the time when my dad was wanting to go back to church, so as I was discovering Paganism, I was sitting in church once a week and hearing about God and Jesus.  It made connecting with Gods a bit harder for me.

And yet, Odin was always the one who spoke most clearly to me.  I found myself really being drawn to a handful of different gods, and not as many goddesses.  In fact, for a few years I rarely worked with specific goddesses at all, my practice was centered on Odin, with other deities taking a back seat.

I know that it can be hard for male Pagans sometimes.  So much witchy and Pagan stuff is aimed at women.  I know dozens and dozens of chants for the Goddess...and only a few for the God (I don't count ones that do both).

I also think there is some expectation that people will bond closer with a deity that matches their own gender.  That women will naturally want to work with Goddesses, and men will turn to Gods.

One thing that I know can be an issue for many is the way that Gods are portrayed in mythology.  There are a lot of myths that involve some very sketchy behaviors (if not outright rape).  And while I do think that some of this is people telling stories that make sense for their day, it brings up some real questions, especially if you are someone who views their deities as 'bugs in amber' (the idea that deities are kind of stuck as they were at the height of their influence...the ones who don't think that deities modernize with humanity).

An interesting thing I have noticed too, is that sexual boundaries seem to be more likely to be crossed, when thinking about male deities.  This was something that cropped up when 'patron' deities were really huge, and the idea that everyone had one (or two, sometimes people would have a male and female patron deity) deity that their practice revolved around.  And the relationship was sometimes described as that of a lover or spouse (of course there is a whole god-spouse practice, but that is a somewhat different thing).

With female deities, there are so many that are focused on roles other than lover, and their stories focus on those other roles, but with male deities, often their stories are steeped in sex, and so even if they are a war deity, there is this undercurrent of sexuality (and many deities both masculine and feminine are portrayed as being very attractive).

I think there is a lot of discussion still to be had, on the topic of divinity and masculinity within the Pagan community.  I think that in some ways we have taken great strides, most modern groups that embrace both men and women have a much more equal hierarchy, within the divinity honored as well as within the group structure itself.  Male Pagans are much more likely to be welcomed to groups, and I rarely see men being excluded or questioned as to their intent.  It doesn't confuse people that there are male Pagans.

I do think we still have a ways to go though.  I think we are reaching a point where we are able to have these discussions, where we have been 'established' as a non-God-centric belief structure for long enough that many of us are no longer trying to escape the beliefs of our childhood and instead are secure in our own thoughts and experiences.  And the more was bring such issues to light, the more we can work our way through these issues that still remain.