So, I will say this in one respect. Monotheists do have an easier time when it comes to dealing with the complex situation of building relationships with the divine. After all, they have One God. One. That’s it. Not hard to really deal with having to figure out which God or Goddess do you go to for what, and how do you handle having so many Gods and Goddesses, and do you try to get to know them all equally, or a few in particular, or what?

It’s enough to make your head spin.

Since you’re just starting out it can seem like a lot. There’s HOW many Gods and Goddesses? It can be kind of scary. Do I have to make offerings to all of them individually? Do I have to get to know each and every one of them personally?

Thankfully, the short answer is….no. You don’t have to know each and every God and Goddess personally. Now, that’s not to say it doesn’t help to at least know something about each of them, after all ignorance is not an excuse. But on a day to day basis? You’ll be okay if you only know a couple of them personally. After all, do you know everyone in your group of friends, and their friends beyond that? Of course not. You know your friends, and if you’re lucky you’ve got between 2-5 friends and or family in your group (facebook friends do not count). People that you deal with on a weekly basis that you’re close too. It’s the same way with Deities.

Here’s where you start. Pick a God or a Goddess. Just one. Thor’s a good choice. I have a student who I got to start with Freyr. I’m partial to Hel, and I started with Her and Thor both. At most, you should go with two, but better to do one.

Set up their idol on the altar you built. You’re going to start slow, one on one. A relationship with a God or Goddess should be one of equality, and it can become very close. You may get a winner on their first try. You may get a message to try another God or Goddess in the Pantheon that they think you’ll work with better. But you start one on one, same as you would trying to build a friendship, or any relationship really.

Going with the number nine as the number of completetion, you should try to at least spend something like nine weeks at a minimum getting to know a particular God or Goddess to get started with. This would be a mix of a ritual (as I detailed) at least once a week, and at least a small daily prayer.

Now, if you don’t hear anything, do not be discouraged. Often enough, no news is good news. If they aren’t hitting you, it could be as much that you’re doing okay and they don’t think you require instant assistance.

Once you’ve gotten to know a God or Goddess, by reading up on them as much as you can, and speaking with them, and giving them offerings, then you can move on to getting to know another God or Goddess. Do not flag in working with the first one as you add another. After all, if you’re willing to ditch one after all that effort for the next thing, why should they stick with you? You’ll probably after a few years have a few that you’re close to, you may even have a “Patron” (more on this later), but if you don’t, don’t worry. Most of our ancestors didn’t either. Most modern practitioners don’t. A few are called to divine work, but most of us are needed to keep the day to day workings going, and this can be just as important, if not more so.

Go slow, start with one. Find your balance and your relationships. 🙂