#[ also it is beyond scary to be openly plural ]

[solarisgod]

Extremely blessed and grateful to have a circle of mutuals here who are so so so incredibly talented and wonderful, truly. It's always an absolute delight getting to see how everyone's doing in real life and what they're thinking about regarding their muse[s] and just seeing everyone having a lovely time on writing / talking about who they're passionate of while interacting with those they're content of. We do hope you all hold so much pride in your portrayals and / or original creations because it is always breathtaking to see what people can create and expand on and develop. Even if you may feel like you're not doing good enough or you're doing too much, you will always have many people who enjoys both your blog[s] and your presence so much.

#[ ✨ : it's Sappy Sunday as well oh stars :< ] #[ this is coming on a more personal note now but ] #[ thank you all so so so much for giving us and our original canon and Starwake System the chance ] #[ we've been feeling a lot more happier and comfortable on here lately and it's just ] #[ honestly such a rare feeling when our emotional detachment and ongoing amnesia makes it so hard ] #[ for us to be able to maintain connections and interact with folks consistently ] #[ also it is beyond scary to be openly plural ] #[ given the cautiousness or / and lack of understanding in dissociative disorders ] #[ but it just feels right for us to be so ; hence here we are ; still even with the anon hates ] #[ there's just a lot of factors that'd make us so grateful for being given a chance ] #[ like writing an OC ( many subfactors even for this like them not being white ) or having complex original lore etc ] #[ but you all get it ] #[ so it's just very lovely getting to interact with our mutuals in some ways to some degree and seeing you all thrive ] #[ just thank you so much everyone for being a wonderful friend and person. 💖 ]

[ayearinfaith]

𝗔 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵, 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟯𝟱: 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆

Divinity is the property of being a god or comparable supernatural entity. Gods are common fixtures (though not necessarily universal) in faiths across the world and throughout history. Some have many gods, some have only one. They can be universal or localized, human and inhuman. This article will explore what it can mean to be divine.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲

There is no set definition in academic for what a deity is. Typically, the word is used for some manner of supernatural energy, often with some kind of presence larger than its physical form (if it has one at all) and the ability to impact reality through action. The word “deity” and “divine” both come from the Latin “deus” which simply means “god” and is a close relative of Greek “theos” and Hindi “deva”. All of these, and related Indo-European words, come from an older root meaning “shine” as in the light of the sun. While not terribly illuminating as a definition, it does link the Indo-European traditions to global themes; sun worship is one of the most common motifs and is present on every continent. A similar feature can be found in the Chinese character used both for Chinese deities and Japanese Kami: 神. The core of this character, and its original form, was simply 申, which is the character for lightning. Storms as a form of divine power is another incredibly common global motif and frequently goes hand in hand with sun worship. All this can be grouped into a larger generalization of gods; though they may live elsewhere currently their homeland is in the sky above. The English word “god” show us a different thread to follow. “God” likely comes from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning “to invoke/call”. Unlike the examples from China, India, and Europe this has less to do with physical associations and more to do with function; gods are things that are ritually invoked. “God” is not, however, the original term for deities in Germanic languages. Before Christianity a term like the Norse Áss (plural Æsir) would have been used. This is related to the Iranian Ahura (as in the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda) and the Indian Asuras (a separate group from the Devas, often likened to Greek Titans). All these terms originate from a root meaning “to produce/give birth” another insight in perceptions of divine function. Before its adoption for use as the title of the Christian god, the word “god” was probably used similarly to the way “divinity” is used here i.e. a reference to godly essence or power. In Latin this would be called “numen” which itself alludes to something produce by the nod of the head i.e. the direction or will of a god. Similar concepts to the Roman “numen” include Polynesian “mana” and Iroquois “orenda” which refer to some kind of force that exists in all things, animate and inanimate, which can flow along leylines, be concentrated, and transferred from person to person if one knows the correct methods. None of this should be treated as some kind of empirical anthropological evidence, simply an exploration of motifs in terminology used for gods around the world. So far the broad theme seems to be ‘heavenly/celestial entities which can manipulate universal forces’.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲, 𝗨𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗲

In modern times the unknown is often considered something scary and the unknowable, i.e. things that aren’t simply unknown but impossible to ever know, is more terrifying still. This theme is most clear in the modern genre of cosmic horror, directly associated with the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and his “Cthulhu Mythos”. However, this may not have been the same for premodern people, most of whom already lived in a world full of things they may never know: what lies beyond the ocean, what exactly the sun is, how to prevent certain illnesses, etc. Throughout much of history and around the world knowledge of natural forces beyond what the human eye and instinct can easily determine has been associated with magic and the divine. In Elizabethan England, some of the smartest minds in medicine and mathematics were also convinced that humans could speak to Angels with the proper application of sigils and chemical reactions. If knowledge can be equated with divine powers then it is not a stretch that the divine powers themselves are of a knowledge far exceeding that of mankind. Romans openly embraced the unfathomability of the gods to the point that contradictory accounts or variations of certain gods were seen as evidence of their dimity: mankind may be restricted to one history, but gods can have multiple. Despite this seeming fickleness and insubstantiality gods are also commonly associated with truth. This idea is probably most fleshed out in the Indian concept of “Maya” but exhibits variations on the motif around the world. Gods, much like the underlying natural forces, may seem mercurial and inconsistent but this is actually an illusion of limited human perception. If we could see the universe as it truly was, we would see all these things are far more orderly than our own affairs. To use a more concrete example, we can look to the stars. The movement of celestial bodies can seem unfathomable at first sight; there are so many stars and the movement of even the sun is hard to detect with the naked eye alone. And yet, with study ancient peoples around the world were able to use the patterns within them to place themselves in both space (navigation) and time (calendars). These hidden patterns, moving on scales so much larger than ourselves and so full of information are directly analogous to perceptions of gods and spirits the world over, from the localized Kami of a tree in Japan to the universal God of Islam.

Image Credit: The night sky as seen from Mauna Kea, Hawai‘i, photograph from http://kanaeokana.net/

#A Year in Faith #Divinity #AYIF #Religion #Mythology #Day 35