Early in my journey, I asked a teacher about some Magickal work I was trying to do. They responded, “Work with (insert name of Deity).”
I couldn’t place why, but I was not comfortable with that advice. It was kind and well-meaning, but it just struck a wrong chord.
Regularly, people ask me how to work with a specific Deity and again, the question was well-meaning, but it still felt odd.
What was it about the seemingly benign phrase, “I work with (xyz) Deity” that just felt so wrong?
After sitting with it for a while, I finally figured out why…
Something you “work with” is a tool. Deities are not tools.
A tool has a specific function, and if I say “work with,” it implies that I am only using that Deity for that one function.
Deities are complex beings composed of thousands of years of human history, experience, and story. I do believe they exist and are cognizant. But I also believe they are complicated, and using them for one purpose is limiting at best, inaccurate at worst. It also implies that a relationship with a Deity can be picked up and put down as simple as a hammer or wrench. And in my experience, it’s just not that simple.
Instead I say, “I am in relationship with” a specific Deity.
It implies that the contribution goes both ways. I honor and revere them. Some would say worship (but even that wording needs more unpacking). And through that exchange, my life is enhanced.
But the reason this is not “working with” is that I am cognizant of the complicated nature of these beings and this relationship. They do not serve a single function. They do not work for me.
At the same time, I might use that phrase when I say I am working with a specific saint, or a specific plant, herb, or crystal. There is a legacy that existed long before me of such beings being consulted and used, and worked with, and will likely exist after I am gone.
Then again, I may change my mind on that as some point!
Deities are too complicated to simply “work with.” A relationship with a Deity is a journey, just as any deep relationship with a human being or animal would be. If I were to approach a Deity with the idea of “working with” them, I would think it wouldn’t “work” at all.
But what do YOU think?