The Goddess and my beliefs

Prior to my path of paganism I had always rejected the idea of any God or Goddess that I had been introduced to. I had assumed at school that the Religious education lessons would give me enough scope to decide if religion was something that was a part of my life. I had no connection with anything I was ever taught but I knew that there was something more. I had always been connected with nature and would try to explain to people how I believed the actual physical earth to be something that I connected with on a spiritual level. At this stage I had never heard of the term paganism and had no idea that my feelings and beliefs were so closely linked to such an amazing set of religions. 

After discovering paganism the reading commenced and I was overwhelmed by the numberous deities assosiated with different pantheons. I purchased the biggest book in the world telling the stories of the myths and legends behind them. I unnecessarily pressured myself into choosing a goddess and choosing a god and was thrown back when it just wasnt feeling right. I think alot of people new to the path of paganism can assosiate with this- trying to cram too much into too little time, read too many books and feel the need to know everything about every God or Godess. 

My painting of how I view the Goddess

For me this was a time of realization- I knew I didn't connect with any particular goddess, god or pantheon, for me my beliefs are all about the Earth and Mother Nature. I look to 'Gaia' as my goddess, and I find reassurance in seeing her every day in the seasons, in the weather, in beautiful flowers or in a gust of wind. This is such a simple but effective way of viewing the divine, but it works perfectly for me. 

For me the goddesses and gods we see pictures of in books are how we personify the different aspects or different faces of the one overall divine source. A huge entity that surrounds us in every rock, stone, field and pasture. Mother nature herself. 

I still find myself calling upon different Goddesses for different things- but to me this is calling on one particular aspect of Mother Nature. For example I may call upon Bridget for work related issues (as I am a Midwife and she is the Goddess of midwifery) She is the aspect of mother nature that is fertility, pregnancy and birth. 

Every Pagan will view the great Goddess in many different ways and that's the beauty of paganism- you are free to chose your path and select what feels right for you.