One of the controversies that was hot and exciting when I was new to polytheism was the question of whether a god could use a figure from pop culture or literature or some other fictional medium to reach out to people. I don’t believe that that is the question that needs to be focused on– I’m pretty sure it’s possible for a deity to use anything They wish to reach us if we’re receptive. It’s up to us to be discerning from there.
Instead, I think it’s important to talk about what we might choose to do, as devotees, when this sort of thing occurs. How do we begin to interpret these experiences? How do we use them to cultivate depth in our understanding of the gods?
I don’t have strict answers, but I do have some ideas that have worked for me in the past.
In the interest of transparency, I’ve not had this sort of “pop culture paganism” thing happen to me very prominently. Ever. And I think it’s accurate to say I really don’t understand it well.
I can think of two instances where Loki, specifically, has come up in non-religious contexts which then inspired me to pursue devotion more fervently. Only one of those was tangentially related to mass media and I pretty swiftly turned away from that particular misuse of Loki-as-a-character because it did not resonate with me.
Looking back, I don’t strictly believe that the pop culture-related inspiration I felt had anything to do with Loki directly as much as it did my overall state at the time: I was quietly hoping for something, anything at all to nudge me back to my devotions. It only makes sense that, primed as I was, I found what I was looking for. Good old confirmation bias and priming effects at work in my brain, working hard to steer me where I already wanted to go.
But, all the same, there are questions that I believe are important to explore when we encounter our gods represented in secular sources. Whether we’re talking about an artist’s or writer’s original character sharing uncanny traits with a deity, or a deity being cut wholesale out of myth and used as a profit tool by a corporate monopoly, it’s important to apply some critical thinking.
For me, this exploration requires journaling and research. Contemplation is the name of the game.
The broad strokes of how I approach what might be a mask of a given god in a text are to ask a heap of questions and then to journal/meditate on the answers. Questions I ask fall into 4 categories:
- Compare and contrast: What does this god have in common with this character or idea? How does the character function in the story being told? In what way is this similar to stories of the deity in question? In what ways is this portrayal different?
- Consider the source: Who is the author? What cultural norms might they be recreating in their depiction of this character? What norms might they be subverting? (Remember: culture is the stuff we don’t say out loud, so it might be very hard to name these biases.) Who signs the author’s paycheck? What might those folks find easiest to promote for the sake of turning profit? If you cut away those things that please advertisers or audiences, what’s left?
- Perspective-take: How is the typical modern audience supposed to perceive this character? How might an academic of literature/film/media studies perceive this character? How might someone who’s never consumed modern media perceive this character?
- Bring it back to faith: In light of the author’s and editor’s assumed intentions, in light of the archetypes, stereotypes, and tropes used: why would the god in question use this mask? What does this highlight about the deity? What lessons might be learned through this particular guise?
[Note: A number of the questions I’ve suggested for these situations align well with those posited by Dver in one essay in her book Dwelling on the Threshold, discussing how we can move past the shallowest interpretations of gods in mass media. I highly recommend Dver’s blog, too, for anyone wanting more resources and information on polytheistic devotion.]
Making the time to answer these questions is, I think, absolutely critical for maintaining clear perspective and proper respect. There are many depictions of the gods that are not in the slightest bit respectful and, while it is entirely possible for such things to serve as a flicker of inspiration, it is best to interrogate them fiercely.
There are instances, too, where a writer or artist creates something that has nothing to do with mass media or direct connections to the gods but inspires a devotee nonetheless. In those situations, the same critical thinking should be applied with a heavier helping of perspective-taking: remember that the original creator is a person, and may not have been making something devotional on purpose. As the kids say, “Don’t make it weird”.
In general, I think that reports of the “Corporate Cinematic Universe turned me on to polytheistic faith” experience is only going to become more common with time, even if it does cause a fair bit of chagrin or frustration. Therefore, it’s good to practice interrogating and integrating such ideas in a way that goes deeper than literal celebrity worship. (Don’t treat people as if they’re gods as a rule. That’s unhealthy and wrong for many reasons.)
Outside of those mass media contexts, I think we need to share and reiterate ideas of how to approach the many sources in which we might find the gods– and the masks They might wear to approach us.
But this is just my 25 cents or so on this. What are your thoughts, dear readers?
Patron Saint of Hard Times 
Thank you for this! I’m in broad agreement with the approach you’ve outlined here, especially the notion of “making the time” to consider these questions carefully and thoughtfully.
One additional question I like to ask myself is: “Does this spur me to interact with the God in other ways?” That might mean that I’m inspired to sing or recite some well-established hymn or prayer to the God. It might mean that I’m drawn back to Her shrine. It might mean I’m reminded of other (non-pop-culture, clearly devotional) images or depictions of Him. It might take quite a lot of other manifestations along these lines. But what it clearly is NOT is something that locks me into only this depiction, only this one mask, only this one context, especially (but not only) when that’s one that isn’t traditional or well-established in a pious community (whether historical or contemporary).
I love the image that comes to us from the Orphic and Platonic traditions (but that I think is much more widely applicable) of the Gods as fountains. They’re exuberant, abundant, constantly gushing up and spilling over, spreading Themselves and Their gifts in all directions. With that in mind, an image (or other representation) that draws me into that exuberant flow is likely to be a place where They’re genuinely, actively working, even if there’s still work for me to do in discerning the details of how and why.
I wrote a paper about this in Walking the Worlds. I found that with writers that when they enter a fugue state, will reach into Other Realms, and a Being will come out into this Realm. The Shadow is such a character since his writer Walter Gibson would repeatedly go into that state. He also was an occultist, and his home is reputed have a Being like The Shadow residing in it. For me, The Shadow was The Morrigan reaching out to modern people. As to why, I haven’t a clue.
Godzilla is another one. I think He is a Kami that the Japanese writers of the 1950s reached out to since they were recovering from the Atomic Bomb and U.S. Occupation.
John Michael Greer reported on being contacted by The Batman, when he was reading the comics and fell into a fugue state.
So, it happens. Are pop culture figures Gods? I haven’t a clue about that. I do know that Gods do use pop culture figures.
It’s complex, because the Gods are working through our own mess of ancestry, trauma, blocks and misconceptions. It’s so very individual for each of us, and thus the necessity as you point out to be discerning and learn how to tease out real moments of contact to things that just feel nice and appeal to us.
I LOVE Neil Gaimon’s American Gods, and not a single god in his book strikes me as remotely realistic.
I really like a lot of the Marvel universe stuff even when it makes me shudder to think some folks might mistake the cartoony characters for real gods.
I’m glad Rick Riordan has opened up Greek mythology to a new generation, but he ain’t no Gaiman and I hate his depictions to the point that I don’t read him. I’m lucky enough to have rather a lot of young folks come into contact with me and get to discuss with them, as his ideas really seem to resonate with them and this is a very, very mixed blessing.
Alice, as in Wonderland, is a very real spirit in my cultus and has been (in retrospect) for most of my life. Finding Dver and enriching my practice with her thoughts on Alice and all Girls Underground was such a huge blessing, and not, I think, a coincidence.
I don’t think Hermes is much about delivering flowers, but I love that His logo is so prevalent and can feel a bit of eye-crinkling laughter in this method of keeping His image out and in your face everywhere.
It’s not at all unusual for my Gods to show up with various human masks on, IRL or in media. But I’ve been at it for a while and don’t often have any trouble seeing, to the degree I’m capable, behind the masks. It’s good to keep gently reminding folks not to get too stuck on the masks.
Thanks for this thoughtful post.