Searching for a deity that resonates with you can be quite a peculiar situation to find yourself in as a witch. Something that to society, is void of all religious belief and is viewed as only aligning with “the devil” if anything. Deciding to turn to the path of paganism can be tricky for some as they may have turned away from modern conventional religion or want to only recognize themselves in their practice.

What gods should you choose to recognize? Should you choose to recognize any at all? The good news is there is no wrong answer in all of this. All deities are real. You read that right. Every single deity exists and there is no wrong path to choose, even if it is the one of not recognizing and using any gods in your practice.

The reason for this is that humans create the gods, not the other way around. We have the capability to do so and that is why you can get results with anything from the Judeo-Christian god all the way to Baphomet, Odin, Zeus and even the lesser gods and deities such as giants and the furies. The collective human consciousness has created worlds and histories for all these deities to help us explain and carry out our existence. With so much energy being placed into these beings, it is not surprising that they are now able to assist and answer us. We purposefully design them to be more powerful than ourselves creating a cycle of dependency on each other.

Many people unknowingly participate in pagan based practices already. Whether it is the consumption of a demigods flesh and blood in the form of communion or participating in the ritual of leaving out an offering on Christmas Eve to have your home visited and your family blessed with joy and abundance.

Now you may be wondering, “Why do I need a deity as part of my practice?” And the answer is you don’t. Witchcraft is a practice where paganism and the use of gods incorporates religion into your practice. Witchcraft has many paths and is all about what works for the individual. If you do not feel called to the gods, then you should recognize that and stay true to what makes your work feel it’s best. No one is doing anything wrong by choosing one way or the other. In this process of choice however, it is my humble opinion that everyone should respect and recognize cultural histories and boundaries. If you have to question whether something is ok, there’s a good chance it’s not.

If you are meant to do work with gods, chances are, they have already chosen you, but recognizing who you are chosen by is key. What will aid you in this endeavor is finding what resonates with you and that can even just be what stories you find interesting. Do you heavily enjoy the tale of Odin hanging from Yggdrasil? Poseidon killing a giant by throwing a piece of an island? Lucifer showing defiance and giving knowledge to humans? There are endless possibilities and the best part is you don’t have to choose one god or one pantheon! Recognize as few or as many as you’d like.

If you still need help, there is a method available that uses the tarot to give a message of what god is aiding you in this search.
Separate the major Arcana, shuffle, and pull a card. The majors have god associations such as the tower representing Poseidon, the hanged man representing Odin, or the magician being Thoth. This can be pretty easily achieved using the sometimes helpful, most times not, largest grimoire in the world, known as google. Search Tarot and god associations and the chart for deciphering will be laid out before you.

It is suggested that you take the card that was chosen for you and sleep with it under yours pillow for seven days, asking the god to speak to you in the form of dreams. I have personally done this method and it worked quite well.

In your practice, combining your craft with paganism can be quite advantageous to some. This can give you something as simple as a power to talk to or it can go as great as vesseling that deity and incorporating them into your magick. This will of course lead to how to properly exemplify your relationship between the deity that has chosen you and that you have chosen to recognize. There are many ways and some of them are large examples of this found relationship, but others can be quite simple. Just talk to them. Some cultures would call this praying and you can too if you’d like. All you really have to do is converse with them and you will feel the power and energy that comes from the exchange of dependence that takes place between the two of you. You will feel and know that you have found the gods.