44 Days of Witchery Day 6: A favorite god

Although I've cultivated relationships with several goddesses, I can't say the same for gods. My relationships with male deities has been much like my relationship with my father - friendly and respectful, a little bit fearsome, and mostly distant. I just wasn't able to connect with gods like I had been with goddesses. It was, and still is sometimes, hard for me to see beyond mythologies of oppression, of selfish sex and rape, violence and war. That changed when I had my head reading and discovered I am a daughter of Ogun.

Ogun is misunderstood by many contemporary Pagans outside the orisha traditions. He is often depicted as extremely violent and blood-thirsty. I'm not going to deny that aspect of him, but assigning him that label alone is an injustice. Ogun has many faces. He is a god of hunting, iron, and warfare. If Eleggua opens the door, Ogun clears the path with his machete. He is a destroyer/creator and once he cuts down the trees, he builds the city. He is a master of technology. He conquers and creates empires.

Ogun is a paradox and I find that he is metaphorically represented so clearly in human effort and human limitations. He represents something tragic and beautiful, a sort of existential human struggle as we attempt to control ourselves and make sense of our social existence. In my relationship with Ogun, I find him to be fiercely protective and loving and I draw a lot of strength from him.