Reader Mail: What About the Sacred Masculine?

A reader asks, "I go to public Pagan events a lot, and I'm seriously feeling like a minority. I belong to an eclectic path that honors a male deity but not a goddess. It's not that I have anything against goddesses, they're just not part of my system. So when I go to anything with other Pagans, it seems like a lot of times I get a load of flak for not being a "goddess worshiper." One very angry woman told me I "might as well be Christian" since I didn't honor the divine feminine in my practice. Is this normal? Are all Pagans supposed to be goddess worshipers? Am I "doin it rong"?

First of all, when it comes to Paganism, it's nearly impossible to use the word "supposed" in a sentence. We're all so different, and we all follow so many different paths, that it's unreasonable to paint us all with the same brush. I'm sorry you had a rotten experience with the angry goddess worshiper - who seems to have other issues going on, given her comment about Christianity.

For many people in Pagan paths, the masculine can be as sacred as the feminine. There's no Big Book of Pagan Rules that says we all have to be part of the same giant estrogen-powered belief system. Plenty of Pagans honor a god and not a goddess. Others honor both equally, and some honor only the feminine. It's unreasonable for anyone to tell your belief system is less valid than their own, just because it doesn't fit into their mold: Honoring the Sacred Masculine.

Follow Pagan/Wiccan on Twitter or Join Me On Facebook.