Deities other than your matron and patron?

[James122]

I've recently come to realise that Artemis and Pan are my matron and patron Goddess and God it was actually really obvious just wasn't looking hard enough
Anyway I'm now confused as to whether I should go about contacting other deities or not I mean is it rude attune with Lugh at lughnasadh rather than Pan?
Since Artemis is a moon goddess attaining her with the moon is not an issue in fact one of the ways I found Artemis was my matron was by sitting in the moonlight and meditating on the moon, but again would it be rude to call upon Hecate during the waning moon?
I wouldn't want to go about upseting anyone
Just something I thought the more expirenced who have been working with these deities a lot longer than me could give me insight on.

When I started my path I held quite firmly to a duotheistic view but now I'm moving towards a more polytheistic view which is hard to explain. I almost see all goddesses and gods as individuals but there is a divine feminine and masculine which is all around us in everything and within us and they are who all the deities came from. That is my way of seeing it anyway I'd be interested in yours if you wish you share it

Blessings

[Shireside]

I don't think higher beings are so easy to offend as all that. If you dig deeper, you'll find that Artemis has been historically conflated with Hecate as one face of the Three-in-One, and that they can quite easily both be honored without bringing on some sense of breaking away from an intended focus.

*Edit: There was actually an area sacred to Hecate on the grounds of the Temple to Artemis in Ephesus. The ancients had no sense of strict 'worship this one and this one alone lest you piss off the gods'...I think those notions are largely due to monotheism sinking in deep, and best discarded.

[SnowCat]

Being in touch with other deities is normal. Your matron and patron may also shift over time. Our needs and their needs evolve. Stay open to possibilities.

Snow

[Lord_of_Nightmares]

*Edit: There was actually an area sacred to Hecate on the grounds of the Temple to Artemis in Ephesus. The ancients had no sense of strict 'worship this one and this one alone lest you piss off the gods'...I think those notions are largely due to monotheism sinking in deep, and best discarded.

I agree so much with this. I have previously seen the more staunch recons and hard polytheists (not a diss at hard polytheism in general) use this as justification of attacking the more eclectic practitioners by using history. But history doesn't actually agree with these ideas. For example, there is enough hard evidence that Aphrodite is literally Ishtar under a Hellenic guise. Her cult has been traced to the Ancient Near East.

Other examples are like how the Aztec pantheon is literally built on the ashes of the Toltecs merged with the Chichimecs. Itzpapalotl was originally Chichimec, I don't think Cihuacoatl was though. Now they're largely implied to be the same goddess.

Religion is a man made construction and I don't think gods are bound by it. I have seen many gods end up in totally different places. Hindu gods spread far across Asia, even to Japan. But it doesn't make the Japanese less Shinto for appropriating Hindu gods.

[Siona]

The whole matron/patron thing is kind of a new concept. I mean, I'm sure back in the day some people might have had special relationships with a particular deity, or perhaps focused on the deity of the town, etc, (being a bit vague because of course such things varied from location to location). With the Greek deities in particular, there's no real evidence that taking a matron and patron, and not worshiping other deities was something people really did. Let's say you lived in Athens and had a real soft spot for, I dunno, Hestia, you'd still be honoring Athena during yearly festivals, and Hekate during her monthly festival, etc. Even out of area deities were worshiped here and there by the Greeks.

But, really, I would also add it's between you and the deity in question. In my case, I worship Artemis foremost, but while I worship Artemis on the 6th day of the lunar month, I often worship Selene on the full moon, and Hekate on the last day of the lunar month. I worship Hestia when I cook every night. Among others. But, I also know others who have been called to one deity, and one deity only, and have a hard time working with any others. It's all very personal. The best you can do is ask, spend some time meditating on it, and see what works.