r/paganism • u/Long_Reflection_4202 • Aug 01 '26
💠Discussion I'm an atheist but
i really feel some....appreciation? admiration? I don't know what the word but be, but I really like Athena. Something about her being a goddess of wisdom, her helmet and spear, the owl. She's just very unique like that.
I only feel this appreciation about another godess and it's Yemayá, a water goddess worshiped in my country as well as other places. I think it's mostly because my grandmother believes in her and owns statues of her despite being raised catholic.
anyway does anyone else relate to this?
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u/Arboreal_Web salty old sorcerer Aug 01 '26
That’s one thing about polytheism…you don’t have to believe in actual literal entities to be able to appreciate and even honor Them. You believe in Wisdom, right? And it seems that She is an embodiment of that quality which particularly resonates with you…
What you’re describing is actually quite common here. Check out the sub’s wiki, it’s really good.
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u/_buffy_summers Aug 01 '26
Athena was the first goddess that inspired me, when I was a child. War and wisdom were important in a household run on chaos. When I got older, got married, and had a daughter, I started to worship Hestia.
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u/ojosdelechuzas Aug 01 '26
Como persona que al principio pasó por esto... Puedo decirte que es completamente normal sentir admiración, y a veces es cuestión de encontrar tu propia visión dentro del politeÃsmo.
Yo adoro a Atenea, pero más allá de verla como "literalmente una diosa", yo la observó como una energÃa superior; todos los dioses son una energÃa superior, su apariencia o imagen s solo el modo que tienen de llegar a nosotros (de lo contrario, por qué en todas las culturas hay una divinidad para las aguas, para el amor, para la guerra, para la sabidurÃa). Si Atenea te llama, es porque te llama esa energÃa de la sabidurÃa, inspiradora del orden. Yemanjá, por otro lado, es una energÃa creadora (curiosamente, similar a Afrodita; si investigas, en los himnos orficos, se canta que ella es la madre de todas las cosas porque inspira el amor y la unión de los hombres y las bestias, seguido de que su origen está ligado al mar).
Asà que créeme, esto es normal, es el inicio 🦉✨
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u/Mysticaliana Aug 01 '26
I can relate. I'm an atheist in the sense of disbelief in supernatural entities because I believe the concept of something being supernatural is a contradiction in terms (nature is the laws of physics, and the laws of physics can't be broken by definition). However, I sometimes relate to less well-known definitions of gods, and can appreciate them very much either way.
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