A polytheist in a monotheistic world

Those who have read my fiction are pretty familiar with how many of its characters worship other deities besides the Jewish and Christian God. I've done my best to portray modern paganism in such a realistic way that in comparison with the surroundings, it appears normal...because it is.

This is due primarily to one thing I sometimes mention but do not comment on often, which is my own faith. I am a Greek polytheist. This means I'm an actual, modern-day, real-life devotee of the Greek gods and I practice Greek religion, which is often referred to interchangeably as either Hellenism or Hellenismos. Amanda in my book Blood of the Dark Moon is also a Greek polytheist and has the same deity I do, which is Apollo. Given writing falls under Apollo's sphere of influence, this should surprise no one. ;) It just worked out that way, honest!

The problem with not being mainstream is that we often get thrown in with the kooks and the crazies, the people who are more than a "little out there." It's that way all over; loud-mouthed crazy people often negatively color an entire group, and fundies exist in all religions without exception. For that reason I'm often quiet about my beliefs because I don't believe in proselytizing and think people should simply live and let live.

Without getting too much into the technicalities of my faith, I will suggest to others who wish to read up on it to learn more about what Hellenists believe go to the following urls:

http://old.ecauldron.net/dc-faq.php
http://kyrene.4t.com/intro.html

Since Wicca is the most well-known of all of the pagan faiths out there, it's confused people into believing that all pagans are Wiccan and follow Wiccan beliefs on things--which simply isn't true. While some of us engage in mystical practices others are more conservative in their approach to their spirituality. It's therefore in accurate to assume that all pagans believe in and/or practice magick or witchcraft.

Like with my efforts to defuse LGBT stereotypes in my writing, I aim to do the same for pagans. I portray them as being the same way anyone else would be with the same goals, wishes, and dreams--dealing with every day life as anyone else would.

It's often thought--and perhaps this is a human thing and not just culture--that just because someone is different, it means that they are not actually the same as you. As a writer, I enjoy the chance to meet all sorts of different people, find out more about how they think, and allow it to influence my writing. I'd like to think that in the process of writing, I can introduce people to a better place and help to broaden their world too.

And then there's the hot sex. ;) :D


Love & Magic,
Adrianne
www.adriannebrennan.com



Please Note: I am blogging on behalf of the Boston Rape Crisis Center, and if you wish to sponsor me in any dollar amount--none is too small, every bit counts!--please go here: http://tinyurl.com/AdrianneBlogsforBARCC then email me your receipt at adrianne@adriannebrennan.com so I can keep a running total. If you don't know what to put down for the donation, just put "Adrianne Brennan - Blogathon".