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Maybe we don't need old gods, who may not be as relevant to our lives as, say, the triune goddess of Monica (advisor and/or noblewoman), Rachel (lamb) and Phoebe (moon).
I think all you're really changing is the outward anthropomorphised personality of the God/dess, not the essential nature. I mean, the concepts represented by Venus, Mars, Mercury, etc.. aren't exactly out of touch with the condition of modern man. You don't really have to come up with a new God to watch over, say, the bicycle courier, or delivery of e-mails, as these concepts are already watched over by Mercury and the crossroads/messenger Gods of a thousand pantheons. Our technology and culture might have changed, but the essential human condition hasn't really altered all that much. Gods seem to represent these bigger conceptual ideas that don't really get old and out-of-date.
The process you're describing seems closer to finding new filters for the essential energies - earlier on in this thread I was talking about how the personalities of venerated ancestors may have been grafted onto the archetypal 'forces' of the universe, and I think what you're talking about is quite close to this. Interacting with the archetypal 'forces' through the filtering medium of a remembered human personality, which in theory could just as easily be based on someone from a TV show as it could on our ancestors' ancestors.
I think there's a lot of mileage in this idea, and I often used to consider summoning the Spirit of Stone Cold Steve Austin to wreak havoc in the office where I used to work. But I also think there's an element of re-inventing the wheel here, depending on how its approached. Gods and Goddesses seem to gain much power from the belief invested in them, and the continuity of that belief over time. I think the creation of new God/desses is a process that occurs at a cultural level, and I don't think a person can effectively just 'make Gods up' one afternoon in such a calculated manner. You might create something workable, but it may not have the degree of oomph! and independent existence that specifically characterises working with God/desses.
Personally, I would find it difficult to believe in the cast of 'Friends' as anything more than a bunch of unbearably smug actors and actresses on a TV show - I don't think they fully embody the concepts that you're attributing to them. Obviously certain 'characters' do exist with enough iconic status to be interacted with quite successfully at a magickal level, but there's still the issue of independent existence and how this may connect to the continuity of belief over time. |
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