Rhode Island Pagans

I personally define my beliefs as a form of panentheism, as distinct from pantheism. (It, like my other two favorite labels - monolatry and henotheism, are fairly new words).

Panentheism is the belief that the Divine is both immanent and transcendant. IMHO, this also matches how most Pagan peoples (at least from the Mediterranean region) viewed the Deities. Yes, Gaea is Mother Earth... but She is also above us on the proverbial food chain. (As an aside, I once wrote an article on WitchVox entitled "Gaea Farts", as a meditation on natural disasters, which gave many many Hellenists heart failure, hehe). Zeus is both the thunderstorm... and the directing force behind that storm... as well as being a divine personality.

Pantheism (in contrast) begins and ends by saying "God is Nature". I suppose the RDNA is a key example of a pantheistic philosophy. :)

(For the sake of completeness....i suppose ill define the other two terms i mentioned, as i personally understand them! Again, they are fairly modern. Monolatry is a specialized form of polytheism - or a specialized form of monotheism - wherein there is one Supreme Being or Force. This Being is pretty much incomprehensible and beyond our awareness. That said, it can be known and approached through its aspects, the Gods and Goddesses, who are also individual entities in their own right. The term itself was coined to refer to certain sects of Hinduism, as well as the ancient Egyptian religion. Henotheism is more complex - it pretty much is the stance of "you can't have too many realities." In other words, my Gods are real.. and your Gods are real... and maybe we do a few things together... and maybe we do some things separately... but... it all works.)

I'm too tired to go into detail at the moment, but it's pantheism is a very Qabalistic concept as well. A little research on the Qabala will show you what I mean.

Too exhausted to elaborate, so I'm gonna be all elusive.

I learned a new word! HenoTheism! Yay! That's me!

I don't have to call myself Eclectic anymore! Phew!

I'm not so sure Henotheism means what you think it means.

Henotheism is a fairly recent word that simply means the acknowledgement of the realities of other's gods, but that they're simply not yours. The above definition is a little generous.

Maybe so, but I like the words Nemesis ascribed to it anyways. So maybe i'm not henotheistic, but I sure did learn a new word

Caveat - AJ is right, i checked with the dictionary. ;)

However, i confused the official definition with how it is defined by such groups as the Sabaen Religious Order (who were the first to use it as a self-identified name). Just as we redefine and claim the word "Witch" - if they are going to call us one, we might as well claim it and define it. ::shrugs::

But ::high fives Amarfa:: I like the Sabaen Religious Order's definition, so... ::runs off with Amarfa to set up the grand high council of self-identified henotheists::