Evolution of Deity, and Other Crackpot Ideas

Evolution of Deity is an idea that I've mentioned a few times, often to friends, and some of them have given me blank looks, and others have thought for a minute and then either said I'm an idiot or that I've got a point. But it is a very simple idea, when you look at it. I'm not suggesting that Deities evolve from a primordial mass of Faith (although there are possibilities of that, but that's for later) but that they do change. I'm going to start with something we should all be fairly familiar with: The Abrahamic Deity. (I would like to point out that this is based on my understanding of said deity, and if I am spouting rubbish, forgive me; but I am using this to make a point. No insult is offered to any religion in this. I'm just using this one as an example, so people can get a feel for what I'm saying.)

Let's start with the first example of this Deity, in Judaism. In Judaism, Yahweh is best thought of as the Creator. A little later on (for a given value of little) we have the appearance of Christianity, in which the honorific of Father is given to Yahweh. After this, we get the rise of Islam, with also claims its origin within Abrahamic lore. In this, we have a myriad of titles, but the one that tends to stand out is Protector.

It may not look like much, on the face of it, but I think that it shows something that needs to be seriously thought about. With each of these "incarnations", for want of a better word, we have a different focus of faith for each of them. God the Creator, who made the world and set a special place aside for His People. God the Father, who cares for and looks after His People. And then God the Protector, who shields His People. All of these are very clear roles and images of the deity in question- but also, in their own way, distinctly different.

So, you might be asking, what's this got to do with the main points of my Blog?

The short answer is this:

EVERYTHING.

I know, it may sound daft, but it does. I've already said that I came to my own understanding of Lilith, and that was by tracking through the legends. Tracking them right back to their roots, as best as I could.

The oldest description that I can find of her is that of the Consort of Enlil, who took her by force (and there's a motif that runs throughout her appearances), through being a sister(perhaps) of Inanna, onwards to a Storm Goddess in the Mardukian pantheon, and then on to the Hebrew interpretation as a demoness and Adam's First Wife, where she is also referred to as the Screech Owl. And also, somewhat slightly later, as a spirit of sexuality and feminine empowerment(!). And finally by me, as the Scorned Goddess.

The point I am getting to, here, is the idea that each of these aspects, each of these "faces", is simply an aspect of the whole. She is not *just* a Goddess of Sexuality, not *just* a lesbian Spirit, not solely a Storm Deity. She is ALL of those things, just as Jahweh is father, protector and Creator to his believers. It's just that the focus has shifted over the years; Jahweh has been a vengeful, jealous God and is also a loving, nurturing Father figure. For those of you who have children- can you say that you are *simply* a father, or a mother? Are you *only* your job, conversely? At different times, we are different things.

We are not solely one thing. Nor are our deities.

As I said, I had a Revelation about how my Goddess wants to be worshipped, how she wants to be worshipped and how she wants to be seen. I want to try and make that clear to anyone who reads this blog. I've got a new Vision of this much-maligned Goddess, and I want to "Spread the Word", as it were.

She wants to be loved again. As *all* of her, not just one facet.