Green Man, Where art Thou? - Finding Your Patron God and Matron Goddess

When first entering Pagan traditions, you’ll often hear of people honoring specific Gods and Goddesses or even entire groups of Gods and Goddesses called pantheons.

If you have a specific God, Goddess, or pantheon in mind – awesome! You’re ahead of the game. Some people are already aligned with Gods and Goddesses who are the patron saints of their life goals. Musicians may choose to worship Apollo, those who have vowed to help women in childbirth may worship Brigid, and if you feel that your life purpose is to maintain peace then perhaps you honor Baldur.

Gung ho new pagans might feel like they have to choose a set to worship, but if you have no one specific in mind then I say wait.  

Feel the energy of the God and Goddess (or many of them).  Wait for signs to pop up. Some people smell certain scents such as cinnamon or roses when a God or Goddess is around. Some people see certain symbols or animals more frequently like horses or ankhs when a God or Goddess is trying to get their attention.

Like many, I tried to force myself to honor a specific pantheon. The Norse Gods seemed pretty freakin' awesome, but then the Celtic Gods have cool names. None of them really felt like they clicked with me though.

My first real experience with a matron Goddess was with Athena.

I first realized that Athena was with me when I meditated and asked for guidance. I wanted to know who my guides were in my life and following the advice of one of my favorite bloggers, I asked. In addition to two other guides that I’d known about for a long time, I was surprised to feel the presence and “see” the name Athena in my mind.

‘Cool!’ I thought. I had heard of Athena, she’s a pretty popular Goddess after all, and I knew she had something to do with wisdom. At the time I didn’t put much thought or research into it. Shortly after that, I decided that it would be really cool to start collecting owls; It was a random thought. I started seeing owls everywhere. Knickknacks, on TV, in art… and then I researched Athena. It turned out that Athena was frequently depicted with an owl.

My Goddess had found me.

If you are looking for yours, be open and don’t be afraid to ask the divine…

If you’ve already found yours, don’t be afraid to share your story with others. Perhaps that other person isn’t recognizing the signs in their life and your story will help them to do so.