Dear Reader,
I have seen some consternation and deep concern that the Filianic and Déanic community is being overrun by "goddess worship" and a general complaint that there are people practicing Wiccan style worship. As one of those fringe people in the Independent Filianic community, I have a bit of bad news for these folks who are troubled by this. In all technicality, Filianism and Déanism
is goddess worship. The Divine is worshiped as a feminine figure, this makes the worship practice goddess worship.
There are members of the community who would argue that I am demoting Déa by referring to her as a goddess because of some bad linguistics that was presented at one point stating that the term god came before the term goddess and that goddess is the inferior form of the term god. I have held my tongue on this piece because I did not want to kick up a hornet's nest. I think, however, it is time to put out there a few concepts that I have been operating under that are supported by actual linguistic history.
Point number one: the term god and goddess evolved parallel to each other within the English language. If you look at the ancient terms (from an English background), the term for goddess is Dis (the plural being Disir). The gods were identified as Tyr (before this became a singular name for a given deity, the pluralization of this has been lost). After that they were identified by tribe. The Aesir, the Vanir, and the Jotnar were a collective identification for each tribe. Tribal members were identified by their names or as a collective group.The names for masculine and feminine generic members of each tribe were different but related. Much like branches on a tree are related but part of the same tree.
Point number two: Dis is the elder of the identifications for deity as per what I have been able to find in my research regarding the early English language roots.
Point number three: In the post migration period of the Teutonic/Germanic/Norse peoples, the Disir came to include elevated female ancestors and spirits.
The addition of god- to the word Dis came about to distinguish the most powerful Disir. The word god- was gender neutral up until the Christianization of region. Most gods were known by their name, their tribal identification, or their by-names. In many ways, in modern pagan belief systems this has been revived. In indigenous belief systems, the use of the term god and goddess is not found (and this has been something I've spoken to someone with intimate knowledge of the last existent indigenous European religion - the Sami culture, in case you were wondering).
The point of my argument here is that "goddess worship" is exactly what we are doing. Goddess is by no means a slur or a demotion of Déa. If anything, it is restoring dignity to the highest of the Disir. It is bitterly ironic to watch the argument that "goddess worship" is not proper, especially from the Orthodox community. The Orthodox community has lifted passages from ancient goddess worship texts (the Golden Ass for example) and claimed them as their heritage.
I ask, if a child of Isis, the All Mother, comes to Filianism or Déanism, will they find welcome or will they be turned away for their 'goddess worship' despite the fact that Filianism and Déanism is partly founded upon their sacred texts? I ask, if a devotee of Deva comes to Filianism or Déanism, will they find welcome or will they be turned away because they do not worship in the same fashion that the Orthodox community desires? I ask, if a devotee of Marya comes to Filianism or Déanism will they find welcome or will they be turned away because they worship in a fashion that looks suspiciously Christian in nature?
The Chapel of Our Mother God in its wisdom did not dictate that worship should happen in a given way at a given time. It was said that Filianism is a form of Déanism, Déanism is the worship of Déa the mother of all, the supreme creatrix.
Déa reveals herself to us in ways that we might more easily come to her. Hence the Daughter. Hence the Janyati. And, I would boldly argue, hence the plurality of many deities within the world's religions. All gods have a mother. That mother is Déa. She may choose to move through them to reveal mysteries. She may choose to move through people to reveal mysteries. She may choose to move through nature itself. Déa is powerful and benevolent. It would be helpful to remember she is not limited to the iconography of Filianism or Déanism. That was revealed to make it easier for us to reach up to her.
