"The Old vs. the New Gods" ((Inuyoko Mass #3))
I have been struggling a bit to find the focus of my next Mass, in part because in some ways, the sheer amount of new activity in these lands is slightly overwhelming. I don't mean that necessarily in a negative way. It is also invigorating to be speaking with so many people, many of whom are eager to learn and understand and interact with the faiths of Temuair. I had a conversation this moon with someone who wanted to know the basics. Of Deoch, and of our faith. Now, perhaps it is a sign of personal arrogance, but I have always had trouble with "basic." It would be easy enough to recount the general wisdom given to us about the gods by the Mundanes, but that just doesn't feel right to me.
Rather, today I'd like to start by talking about the old vs. the new. That is to say, what is the essence of the gods from the time of Grinneal, namely Gramail, Luathas, and Fiosachd, vs. those who came more recently, such as Deoch and Glioca? And how can we use that framing to conceive of our own faith, and what is expected of us as Deochans?
Well, firstly, let's think about what the old gods represent:
Law.
Knowledge.
Luck.
Arguably, these are concepts which exist outside of the influence of actioned beings. There are laws of nature, laws which govern the elements, and so on. Knowledge, while colloquially regarded as a thing that beings collect, can be considered a core part of reality. Not that subjective experience lacks influence on the world, but it could be argued that there are properties to things which govern our relationships to them, and to understand this is to experience knowledge. I feel I don't need to be too wordy about luck...while it can certainly be influenced by the gods or some magicks, luck just sort of is. It's tied up with the idea of fate, which as we all know from the words of great philosophers, is just the weight of circumstances.
But in talking this way, I don't mean to ascribe strict definitions and my own biases onto these gods or their doctrines, but I do think it can helpful to zoom out and think about them a bit more abstractly.
Now let's consider the younger gods I mentioned and what they represent:
Compassion.
Love.
Inspiration.
Creativity.
These require movement. Action. Purpose. We know that Deoch once served Chadul, then had a change of heart. It is not a rare belief to encounter that Danaan and Chadul were more than just beings of light and darkness respectively, but each carried the opposite within them. It is my belief that that is at least in part the reason why beings like them were able to affect the world so drastically. This is a feature that they share with Deoch. And with Glioca. And with us.
So what does it really mean to say that Deoch is the god of inspiration and creativity? If I write a poem, am I worshipping Deoch? Perhaps so, but it cannot be that simple. No, the refrain that I have so taken to repeating when I am asked to explain Deoch's gift and expectation is it is simply that we act. That we make choices. Am I perhaps going against my own words when I said I had a problem with simple? Maybe. But it is only the soundbite that is actually simple. Because what it implies is a web of influence that is impossible for any one person to fully understand.
Every word you speak,
every note you play,
every favor you do for someone,
every gift you give...
It changes the world, if only in a small way. When I read the words of others in the library of Loures, it changes me. How I think, how I see the world. It is a never-ending series of chain reactions. And much like Deoch and others carried darkness and light within themselves, so too do we. The effects we have on the world can be positive or negative, and we may not always be able to choose which way the choices we have made will swing, but!
That's where we have to be creative. That's where we must learn, grow, and adapt. And as long as we continue to do so, Danaan's sacrifice -- and Deoch's spark -- will never be a waste.
Mass is cast.
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