How to Find a Patron God or Goddess

For most Pagans their Patron God is not some far off entity. This is a being that they have a strong personal relationship with. This is who they call upon when doing rituals and spells, if they practice magic within their beliefs. A Patron God provides guidance and support as they grow and develop in their own spiritual and religious practice.

In our family, our Patron God is Herne, sometimes called Cernunnos. He has been with us since before we married and has stuck with us even as we were telling him to "bugger off" and go away during our own times of crisis. Herne used to speak to me a lot before Paul and I married but generally speaks to or through Paul these days.

Our Matron Goddess is Modron. She has been with me since just before I met Paul and arrived in a time when I was starting to focus more on my role in life as a mother and finding myself ready to be a wife.

At some point when you become Pagan, or sometimes even before, the Gods begin to take notice of you. Gradually, those you have a greater affinity for pay closer attention and may start coming to you in your dreams or through other means.

Some Gods may decide to "test" you. This isn't to prove your worthiness, far from it. That is a concept conceived in the idea that people are inherently unworthy and must prove themselves otherwise.

These tests are more to make sure that you are capable of handling the energies that particular God may bring into your life by combining His energies with yours.

In my own life, I found myself being tested a lot when Lilith decided she was going to be part of my life. To the point that I finally told her to back off and leave me alone for a while as it was getting way too much for me.

Sometimes they can be very blatent and in your face. I met Herne, for instance, as described in Herne the Hunter when he decided to occupy my body for an evening. He had been coming to me for some weeks before that though in dreams, and dreams within dreams for brief moments.

Lilith initially came in with the scent of cinnamon. I'd smell it in the most unlikely places. Blodeuwydd too made herseslf known with scents, but it was people around me who kept smelling flowers when none were about.

Kali kept placing information about herself in front of me. It seemed for a while that I couldn't pick up a book without there being something about her in it.

Paul's Matron Goddess, Gaia, came to him in the form of a rose quartz. He found himself drawn to one particular stone in a little shop in Los Angeles. When he tried to leave his apartment without the stone the next day, he developed a very nasty pain in his right groin that stayed until he went and put the stone in his pocket.

The ways, as you can see, can be varied. You must let yourself remain open to hearing, seeing, smelling, or otherwise experiencing the messages they are sending you.

On the other hand, if you get sensations that make you uncomfortable, do not be afraid to tell whoever is sending to go and leave you alone. You are not obligated to accept any messages you do not want to receive. And, frankly, just because you are receiving messages does not mean they are from Gods or even from benevolent beings.

Remember: They don't carry ID cards and just because they have no bodies does not mean they are incapable of lying.

When you start getting these messages however they may come it is time to start your investigations.

If you have a clear idea on who it is, then find all the information you can on that particular God and study Him, or Her, in depth. Look in books, on the internet, record your dreams if He is coming to you in that way. Meditate. Ask questions and listen for His answers.

If these messages are coming to you as symbols, then you have a bit more work to do. You'll need to pull out your reference books and websites and find out what you can about the symbolism of what you are smelling, seeing, or otherwise sensing or experiencing. Listen to your gut instincts here as well. If you find yourself being drawn towards one particular Pantheon over another then look that direction.

For instance, when I was smelling cinnamon everywhere I began by looking at where cinnamon had been used in ritual and what deities were associated with it. That led me to information about the early Babylonian and Sumerians and from there to Judaism, all of which led me to Lilith. Cinnamon was burnt in the Jewish temples and was associated with Lilith.

I have worked with several different Gods over the years, mostly Goddesses. Early in my ventures into Witchcraft and Paganism my focus was on the feminine side of things and I tended to ignore the masculine side.

The first I found myself drawn to was Nimue, The Lady of the Lake, in her younger Maiden aspect.

Around this time I changed jobs and began working in the critical care unit at the hospital. In my role as a nurse I was constantly surrounded by death and dying and more and more I found myself working with the Hindu Goddess, Kali, or noticing that she was hanging around in the background of my mind as I worked. I only ever asked for her assistance once, and that was at a particularly harrowing time with a very ill patient.

Lilith and Blodeuwydd both showed up about the same time in my life at a time when I was rediscovering my own femininity and strength.

The two who have stuck around longest have been Herne and Modron.

Currently, I am being "courted" once more by the Gods as I move forward through life. The Norns have been showing up a lot lately in dreams, shamanic journeys, and during energy healing work. I have been looking more closely at them, but have not yet decided if I am willing to dedicate myself to them as they are requesting.

Didn't I tell you? You are allowed to say no to a God's request.