Naming the God
By: Trevor Greenfield - Moon Books, $18.95
Description: Naming the God is a companion volume to the landmark anthology Naming the Goddess.
It presents a series of critical essays discussing many of the aspects of male deity and offers a spiritual gazetteer of over fifty gods.
Verdict: In what is a veritable smorgasbord of wide ranging essays on approaching the deities as a modern pagan, Naming the God (edited by Trevor Greenfield) is a compelling, though-provoking and highly informative work of written art that is a must have for anyone and everyone who is either a part of paganism or is looking to delve deeper into it.
For, as I am sure you all already know, in paganism the gods are at the very heart, the very center of their magick. They are their parents, their friends, and even their children at times. They connect them to the energies of the Universe that ultimately transforms all those who reach out.
Indeed, pagans usually have a polytheistic belief in many gods but only one, which represents the chief god and supreme godhead, is chosen to worship. Furthermore, the Renaissance of the 1500s reintroduced the ancient Greek concepts of Paganism. Pagan symbols and traditions entered European art, music, literature, and ethics.
In ancient pagan world, the gods could be conceived of as standing in a kind of pyramid of power. The greatest god, say Zeus, or Jupiter, or some unknown god would be at the very pinnacle, at the very top of this pyramid.
Below that god, in the popular imagination, there were others of unimaginable power—for example, the gods of Mount Olympus, known from Greek and Roman mythology. Below that god and the other gods were other divinities who were far beyond human capacities; gods of various places and gods of various functions, who were superhuman.
And below them were lesser divinities, sometimes called daimonia. This is where we get the word ‘demons’ from, but these were not demons necessarily—some were good, while some were bad. They were simply low-level divinities. They were not as powerful as the Olympian gods, but they were far more powerful than humans and able to affect people for good or evil.
Below the daimonia was another level of divinity. This comprised beings who were partly divine and partly human. Ancient people realized that there were some people who were far more powerful than others, far more intelligent, and far better looking. This was because they had a part of divine within them.
Thus, if you yourself have been wanting to connect, to discover how to create a solid, working relationship with the old Gods, the Ancient ones and such, Naming the God is the most perfect book for you, as it will provide you with both personal experiences and well informed directives to ensure you have an inspired search thereafter; you have my word.
About the Author - Trevor Greenfield is an author and is the Publisher and Publicist for Moon Books. Trevor holds MA degrees in Religious Studies and English Literature, and he is and an Associate Lecturer in Religious Studies with the Open University. He lives in Worthing, West Sussex.
Official Book Purchase Link
www.JohnHuntPublishing.com