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In 1975, a low-budget Hindi film known as Jai Santoshi Maa was released, popularizing what was once a small cult devoted to a Goddess of Satisfaction, and daughter of Ganesha. Her growth was because of pop-culture at the time, as well as the needs of the common people.
Let me digress from that and talk about how different deities become popularized and change. Over time, the needs of the people change, like, for example, a primarily agrarian culture becoming urban due to a trade route. The changing needs and perspectives lead to inspired poets to write about the Gods and their changes, which, in turn, are interpreted by philosophers. Ra-Hoor-Khuit is not the Ra or Horus of Egypt, yet he is important to the modern Thelemite because of what he is. Columbia, the tutelary deity of the United States, is also a good example of this. And to bring it all back, the biggest example being Santoshi Maa.
Deities grow and change all the time. It's because of this we have the Central American Folk Saints like Santa Muerte, Maximon, Jesus Malverde, and San Ernesto (more commonly known as Che Guevera).
Halos even look cool on the guy. And this art piece was done
by Saiyuki989
What isn't a part of this, is the growing worship of Superheroes and Fanfiction-based religions that have grown in the past few years. Now, granted, some of these grew out of a good sense of Neopagan mirth, like the Friendship is Pagan rituals. However, some of this, I sense, comes from nothing more than Escapism. I fully understand that this post will not win me any friends, and will probably piss people off, but, in some regards, the battlelines have been drawn.
I understand, our modern world kind of sucks. Sure, we have all these comforts of living that I probably can give up for like a week at most (I would miss the microwave too much, and Skype), but we have such a disconnect to the world around us, to our past, and what we do have a connection to, the sacredness of it died off years ago as a part of the continuation of disenchantment that has been going on since the Industrial Revolution. A mantle of family pictures and memories has been replaced by the latest model flat-screen TV. Our biggest problems are not whether we will have food or money to live comfortably, but over celebrities and whether or not our internet is going fast enough.
However, escapism is not the medicine to our sickness, escapism is a symptom of the sickness. A comment on Sannion's blog rightfully states that we don't see this kind of debate come up in Christian or Hindu traditions, or in a lot of traditions for that matter. Many traditions have fiction writers and fiction about them, it doesn't mean that the fiction is a part of their liturgy or history. I doubt you will find many Buddhists who believe that, in 1975, Avalokiteshvara defended an incarnation of Maitreya from a gang who wanted to tear down an old temple and put up a hotel in its place, if any at all.
This is because they have a link to their own past. Many Pagans and such were converts to a young tradition. It is also a Pagan virtue to be open-minded. Yet, let us heed Aristotle or else our brains will fall out.
Or you all could convert back to a God that is true...
I feel alone in this conversation. Roland help
meout here... Roland?
Every morning I wake up and I take a moment to thank the Gods for another day, both the Old Gods and the New. I pray to Kyberia at times when a problem arises on my laptop, so that I will have assistance in fixing said problem (I believe all prayers and such should be backed up with action, praying for healing and then not visiting a doctor is kind of silly). I reflect on how the Final Fantasy series pushed me onto the path that lead me here Spiritually. If I had kids I would probably have them read Francis Bonnet's Suburban Fairy-Tales and watch a lot of Sci-Fi, especially Doctor Who. My lararium has a sort of pastel look and has a crystal skull by it. I am definitely not some sort of "everything by the history books" Pagan. I have my fandoms, but I understand the difference between The Doctor and Hermes, or Cloud Strife and Herakles.
The Ancients also understood this. They has Aesop and Aristophanes for their fictions. Nobody worshiped Pisthetaerus as King of the Gods. They understood that the fictions were commentaries, filled with truths and story-telling tropes, but they were commentaries on life. Some fictions also held good values to teach, but they were fictional nonetheless. Fiction can be filled with inspiration, I mentioned that back a few months ago in another Pagan Blog Project post. Inspiration is important. There is a chance that maybe Amaterasu had something to do with the game Okami, that doesn't mean that she now takes the form of a white wolf with the One-Inch Boy riding on her back.
Or maybe she does now. That is the thing about the idea of progressive revelation, things change. New Gods can wind up replacing or absorbing old ones, foreign Gods become beloved of a different people (Quan-Yin amongst the New Agers is one), and new ancestors become heroes celebrated by a nation. Some people grow to accept these changes, and some don't. Dionysus is both King of the Gods (according to some Orphics) and at the same time he hasn't supplanted Zeus as King.
Am I skeptical of Pop-Culture Paganism, obviously. Outside of mirth and irony, I am very skeptical of Pop-Culture Paganism, I just don't see Captain America in the same light as like Ra-Hoor-Khuit or Columbia. However, it is a growing cultus. Do I think a lot of this is escapism, personally? Yes. However, it is still a young movement. It's kind of strange, but I like strange, even if it doesn't resonate with me.
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