The Priestesses of Zeus lay their heads on the Sacred Oak at Dodona and hearing the whispering of the Gods within the leaves of the tree, gave oracle. At Delphi the Priestess of Apollo sat on her brass tripod and pronounced the God's will. In Rome, the sacred stone box in the Temple of Jupiter was used to consult the Sibylline prophecies.

Oracles were common in many civilisations of antiquity. In China, the use of oracle bones dates as far back as the Shang Dynasty, (1600–1046BCE). In ancient India, the oracle was known as Akashwani, literally meaning “voice from the sky”. In the migration myth the early Aztecs a mummy-bundle (perhaps an effigy) carried by four priests directed the trek away from the cave of origins by giving oracles. The Yucatec Mayas knew oracle priests or chilanes, literally “mouthpieces” of the deity.

In Norse mythology, Odin took the severed head of the mythical god Mimir to Asgard for consultation as an oracle. The Havamal and other sources relate the sacrifice of Odin for the oracular Runes whereby he lost an eye (external sight) and won wisdom (internal sight; insight).

The ancient priestesses and priests were more than mere mediators between man and the Gods, they were the embodiment of the earthly power of the Gods. Throughout the ancient world, in every land, on every continent, the fate of world was controlled by unseen forces, and the Gods spoke to men and women.

Today it seems that that mysterious power may be but a fleeting memory of what once was. But what is it that gives humans the ability to transcend the physical world? To commune with the Divine? Is it still possible? Or do modern believers refuse to see what the ancients saw, fearing that by seeing, their minds might be opened and they may once again understand? Or are we simply blinded by the prejudices of our modern age, and see, as Socrates said, “through a glass, dimly”?

As we look back, we may rightfully be led to the questions: “What ever happened to the ancient Gods?” “Where is Zeus?” “Where is Apollo, Dionysus, Hermes, Where are the Goddesses: “Hera, Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Tethys, Isis, Nut, Nephthys, Tefnut, Naunet, Amaunet, Kauket, Hauhet, Astarte, Anat, Brigantia, Epona, Dea Matrona, Mórrígan-Nemain-Macha-Badb, Brigid, Ériu, Danu, Ēostre, Frigg, Freyja, Nótt, etc”?

But this is not a new question. Two thousand years or more ago, when Zeus ruled supreme over the Greeks, people surely asked themselves, “Where is Chronus, and his father Uranus? Where are Gaea and Rhea, Phoebe?”

THEO/THEALOGY

There is a great deal of material remaining, both in texts and in ruins and artefacts, about the ancient Gods and how they were once worshipped. Texts can explain not only how the ancients worshipped, but often how the ancients felt about their religion, what their theo/thealogies were.

Ancient religions had different ideas of how to worship. In the Mesopotamia, worship was straightforward and casual. They would give daily offerings of food and drink with sacrifices during special monthly and annual feasts. The director of the temple cults was the Sheshgallu; all the sacrifices were performed by the Shangu-priests. Other classes of priests dealt with the other, lesser rituals.

The Greeks on the other hand, did most of their worship in private. They also had festivals and rituals, but their worship was much less organised. If a person wished to pray, or invoke Divine intervention, they would go to one of the shrines or temples of that god and say a prayer and leave a small gift. These gifts varied from frankincense or a cake to large sacrifices of animals. There were also dedications of small statuettes or even large painted vases.There were some festivals in recognition of the Gods; for example, the Olympic Games began as a festival to honour Zeus.

These styles of worship and places of worship may have been so different because of the how different the deities that they worshiped were – as is the case in modern Paganism.

In Mesopotamia, for example, there were well over 3000 gods and goddesses. Each city had its own patron god who was in charge of that city. Also it was believed that each person had their own lesser god who would appeal with the greater gods on their account. Greece also had a multiple gods, but not the extremes of Mesopotamia. There were 12 (main) gods in the Greek pantheon (the Olympian gods).

Of all the ancient gods, Greek gods are probably still the most widely known, probably for the amazing myths involved with them. Almost every single event or item on the earth has a Greek myth explaining why it is here, how it came to be here and whose fault it is that it is here.

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind about the history of religion is that ideas change, and that different groups can view the same religion and deities in very different ways. Another thing that is important to realise when talking about ancient religions is that we in the modern world cannot help but see ancient religion through eyes conditioned by our own (modern) religious experiences.

Theology is an odd and often not so welcomed a subject for Pagans to discuss. But our ancient forebears did indeed contemplated the old stories as well as the proclamations of oracles and the teachings of earlier philosophers and developed a rich array of explanatory traditions. They coexisted within and among the various schools of thought whose names are well known to us: the Pythagorean Order, the Platonic Academy, the Peripatetics of Aristotle, the Stoics, Cynics, Epicureans, and many others,

However, we as contemporary Pagans tend to be guarded when discussing theology – even when it is clear that when we do so, for the most, we do not refer to “a single unified Pagan theology”, but rather a “distinctive” one.

A distinctive Pagan theology is one that:

• Takes into account the wide variety of beliefs within the Pagan movement (Polytheism, Animism, Duotheism, Henotheism, Pantheism, Panentheism, Monotheism, etc);
• One that describes how the various beliefs can exist alongside each other;
• It is descriptive not prescriptive (it describes beliefs and practices rather than tell us what/how to believe);
• It draws upon both current and ancient sources, without treating them as canonical;
• It explains how Pagans can identify as Pagans without having to subscribe to a standard set of beliefs (and in some cases, without ever reading any books about it at all, or going to events)
• It explores ethics - can or should they be codified? Are virtues ethics?
• It is about embodiment, but it will also discuss the nature of the soul/spirit.
• It should also serve as a prelude to Theurgy, the working with the Gods.

That said, I know that there is some value in discussing the nature of the Gods. It can help us reflect upon our experiences, clarify our understandings, and lead us away from misinterpretations. However, it should not be seen as a way to create a list of beliefs that every Pagan must adhere to in order to be considered Pagan. So, if we were to ask, we would quickly find that Pagans see the Gods in innumerable ways. However, these ways tend to fall under three main categories: Transcendence, Immanence and Immediacy.

• Transcendence is most familiar to us from the Christians. Orthodox believers believe that Yahweh made the World and the World is entirely outside of Yahweh. Or put more in Pagan terms: “The Goddess made the tree but is not the tree.”

• Immanence is a very common understanding of the location of the Divine. The immanent Divine is present in the World even though the World is still not the Divine. We might say: “The Goddess made the tree and is present in the tree, but is not the tree.”

• Immediacy is a more modern term, although one can find the idea discussed in the deep past. It is a subtle idea but its implications are vast. Here we would say: “The Goddess made the tree and is also present as the tree (not just in the tree).” The Divine is thus immediately present.

Each of these implies a different kind of spiritual practice.

• Transcendence requires us to reach out to the Divine to rescue us from the world or to take us away from the world to where ever the Divine is, usually some place called “heaven”. Concepts of separation such as repentance or sin tend to be applied, or go as far as the Gnostic idea of actually considering the world as evil and needing to be escaped from.

• Immanence brings the Divine a bit closer but still leaves us with the problem of finding it IN the world. At least this, our realm, is not existentially separate from the Divine, even if it is not divine itself. Here we find practices focusing on awakening to or otherwise finding the Divine in the world and its objects or simply trusting that the Divine is present even if we can not find It.

• Immediacy challenges us to view the whole world (the whole universe in fact) as Divine, as the immediate revelation of All. Practice then focuses on appreciation and understanding. It asks us to seek the wisdom of the Divine in all phenomena, even where it conflicts with our human values.

But isn’t having Pagan theology/ies mean the imposition of orthodoxy? I do not think that this can be a forgone conclusion – for example Hinduism (in fact an umbrella term for a selection of heterodox beliefs) has theology, and it is not a single overarching theology, nor does it impose orthodoxy.

Paganism tends to have orthopraxy (consistent practices, literally “right practice” or “correct action/activity)) rather than orthodoxy. Orthopraxy is a system that places emphasis on conduct, both ethical and liturgical, as opposed to faith or grace etc. This contrasts with orthodoxy, emphasising a correct belief, and ritualism, the use of rituals. But as soon as there is an encounter between different belief systems, you get theology and frequently syncretism. So in a way, theology is necessarily an interfaith and comparative activity, even though each tradition (and individuals within traditions) have their own distinct theologies. I do not think it is even possible to impose orthodoxy within the different paths of Paganism.

PERSONAL

I am not trying to define anything here. What I want to do is describe what I think is happening. To open up avenues for discussion - but not debate, which tries to narrow things down until you find the “right answer”.

A theology does not have to be normative - requiring all members to believe the same thing.

Traditional theology seeks to provide answers to some pressing questions such as: “Why are we here?” (the meaning of life), “Where did we come from?” and, “Where are we going?” and a Pagan theology along those ligns is a contradiction in terms as for Pagans there is no need to expound the received truth to the “faithful” - truth is regarded as coming from within, and each Pagan seeks their own understanding. However, there is a need for discussion of these issues.

When we think about our religion, we do so in a contemporary mindscape. Most Pagans desire to remain “reasonable” in their beliefs, regarding them as working hypotheses rather than articles of faith. For the most, our theological or theasophical climate includes a strong feminist strand and it is largely post-modern in that it tends towards the idea that truth depends on individual perspective.

Contemporary Paganism is not simply a reconstruction or a revival, it is a response to the world that comes from within, an expression of the yearning for communion with Nature, the search for understanding, and the awe and wonder inspired by the universe. And perhaps that is our theo/thealogy.

I think that as Pagans we should get over our fear of theology and some Pagans should get on with the creative, open-ended work of constructive theo/thealogy. Pagans in general tend to employ creativity and some of it going to theology should be welcome.

“Everything is full of Gods. Whatever men worship, it can fairly be called one and the same. We all look up to the same stars; the same heaven is above us all; the same universe surrounds every one of us. What does it matter by what system of knowledge each one of us seeks the truth? It is not by one single path that we attain to so great a secret.” - Symmachus, quoted in R M Ogilvie, (1969), The Romans and their Gods In the Age of Augustus.

SOURCES:
www.goddess.org/vortices/wheregods.html;
http://hermetic.com/webster/how-close-the-gods.html;
http://pagantheologies.pbworks.com/Pagan-theology;
http://pagantheologies.pbworks.com/Pagan+theology+-+a+contradiction+in+t...
Wikipedia;
ANCIENT GODS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? - Hannah M. G Shapero;
Garber, Janet Serlin The Concise encyclopaedia of Ancient Civilizations Franklin Watts/New York/London 1978;
Webster, T.B.L Everyday Life in Classical Athens Jarrold and Sons Ltd 1969;
Walker, Robert J. World Civilizations: A Comparative Study Oxford University Press 1998