Ever since I began my spiritual journey into paganism I have been at a loss for how I wanted to proceed in regards to deities. I began simply as a Catholic desiring to practice magic (witchcraft) due to my calling to nature and chaos magic. This has eventually, along side constant bombardment by Christ-followers attacking me for being trans, led me down a path that pushed me to shun their practice.
When I sat out to determine the canon I was going to follow, or official sources if you will, I wanted to ensure the cult (in broadest sense non-mainstream religion) was going to offer me the spiritual fulfilment I was seeking while allowing me to pursue the magical arts.
This will be a series of deities I have chosen to induct if you will into my own personal “canon” which will serve each a role in my craft, practice and worship in some capacity. I chose 12 spirits to revere, mostly goddesses, one God and a single spirit animal. I selected the number 12 as it is sacred to me personally. It has always been my favorite number and has meaning to me beyond a merely pretty looking numeral.
I will devote an entire article to each spirit I chose to revere or choose to incorporate into my magic. For various reasons I limited myself to mostly female entities. There were a few who I believed called to me that I had a falling out with and have since moved on. As this series progresses I will reveal, one by one, each spirit and what they mean to me and why they were chosen.
The list is quite curated and I am bursting with anticipation to share why each one was selected as well as the role they will play in my life. Some will get more time than others. Only four are going to enter my daily rituals in some form. These are not necessarily ranked in order of most to least important but they are sort of ranked in order that I discovered them.
The 12 Gods and Goddesses that will make up my cult of witchcraft and paganistic rituals:
1. Yahweh and his son Joshua
I will use the Hebrew names to revere and worship the first deity I ever gave my heart to. For now this Trinity of Gods, the Holy Spirit included, will get my heart daily but will receive my worship on Sundays, the Lords Day.
2. Brigid
The triple Goddess who called to me recently. The daughter of the Phantom Queen whom revealed herself to me in a dream, Brigid is a fire deity as well as goddess of poetry and smithing. As such she holds a special place in my art as a crafter of words and things. She will get daily devotions and sacrifices.
3. Gaia
The Mother Earth herself. As a nature witch it is only fitting I include the spirit of nature in my practice. She will get honor and reverence on a daily basis as well.
4. The Bear
This is not a deity rather my spirit animal I will call upon it for strength and courage as needed.
5. Luna
The moon goddess. She rules over the night. I will rely upon her for moon magic. Mostly charging things I will use for spells. I will also devote the Full Moons to her save those that fall on holidays, those she will be honored but not exclusively.
6. Hecate
The goddess of witchcraft. As a witch it is only fitting I honor her. She will be one I will make a concerted effort to please as she will be one who I call upon frequently during spells.
7-8 Athena and Venus
To Greek goddesses I selected for their status in mythology. I will honor them on their respective days as well as call upon as needed.
9. Virgo (Astraea)
The goddess of my birth. I was born under her sign, I will revere her and call on her during that month.
10. Ostara
The goddess Easter is named after. She will get her own holiday but shall share the time with Joshua. Other than that I will revere her as I desire.
11. Greek Muses
Not a single entity but rather a collective in a way. I will do more reading into them but for now consider this essentially a placeholder.
12. Artemus
Not the least of the goddesses but the last I found. I picked her to complete the canon but she was also on a list that I felt was important to me.
The three spirits I will commune with not listed above, not deities nor my spirit animal per se. These I will not worship but my call upon for spells or other uses as needed or just talk to to seek knowledge or wisdom. Dryads or Nymphs, aka tree spirits. Obviously as a nature witch I already talk to trees. Fairies or Fey, those creatures of Celtic mythology most of which are themselves close to nature. And the spirit of cats, I just love cats.
Stephanie Bri 