Polytheism

Talking about Polytheism today is not a low profile issue. This is particularly relevant when thinking for example about the agony of the major monotheistic religions (now deprived of their spiritual, symbolic and mystical value) often resulting in a blind and violent fanaticism which highlights their inability to accept the plurality, to interpret World and their inherent weakness.

Polytheism presupposes a conceptual basis, also in this case according to a sacred and not profane perspective, much more complex than one might think at first observation.

This concept doesn't refer to a simplistic range of "functional" Deities (the God of War, the Goddess of love, the God of fire, the Goddess of health, etc...): polytheism results from a multifaceted perception of reality, Nature, the Universe.

It is important to note that polytheism is based on the idea of "different" and "multiple". This diversity and multiplicity of relations are described by continuous flowing, changing, movement. The continuous interactions of these multiplicities, with their movement, combination and alternation, are the representation of the Ultimate Unity at the base of the being and non-being.

This relationship between diversity and unity can be found in many sacred symbols such as the symbol of fire (male symbol) and water (female symbol).

sacred symbol of Fire

sacred symbol of Water

This symbolism can be also found in the tympanum of the Traditional Temple (having therefore something more than a sole and mere architectural function), in which (not coincidentally) were depicted important representations of the Deities.








The Ultimate Unity is materialized in the breath cycle that permeates all the reality, resulting from this ongoing relationship between "paradigms" in a continuously interdependent relationship.

This multiplicity is not in "hierarchical" opposition: a force is not hierarchically superior to its opposite. The Male does not prevail on Feminine. Each force depends on its opposite, it is completed by its opposite. Each polarity always reveals the presence of its opposite and its dependence on this. To be included in its unity, a force, an energy, thus requires further explanation through its opposite. This complementarity is symbolically described by the "double spiral"

All reality is permeated by these multiple, complementary forces, in a continuous movement, in a continuous flowing like a wave: they become the qualities inherent in the forms of Nature and the Universe (at the micro and macro level) that become therefore dynamic systems of relations and correspondences.

The creation, generation and destruction are components of a "cyclical rhythm", a sacred dance that can be found in all the manifestation of the being.

Paint in an Etruscan tomb

Male/Feminine, expansion/contraction, active/passive are symmetrical elements linked by a substantial identity and by relations: from these links the One derives.

Considering that the macrocosm and the microcosm are in a specular relation, a man or a woman (when achieving the necessary awareness) can become the "image" of the Universe (in a sacred sense). A man or woman are not elements "detached" from Nature: they not only are part of it, but they can reflect in their inner Temple the image of the Whole.

Polytheism, as vision and awareness of the diversity and multiplicity of complementary forces linked by relationships, not only is a key to understanding the nature and the universe, but it is also an instrument of interpretation of the universe within us. It is a way to cultivate a form of Inner polytheism.

For this reason, the Traditional Roman Spirituality, being an expression of Polytheism, does not condemn the reality of the world as a source of sin: indeed it is a practice to enjoy the reality of the world in all its forms because "being" and "becoming" coincide, the Absolute depends on the Relative.

All manifestations of the Divine, in the male and feminine polarities, are thus manifestations of absolute realities. Deepening the sense of the specific characteristics of a Deity means perceiving the facets of the same absolute Entity taking shape in that God/Goddess.

The Traditional Roman spirituality is therefore a "practice", a "path" to evidence this flow, this inner transformation, without absolute truths, without dogmas, based on a continuous questioning. The Traditional Roman Spirituality is a path of inner "growing", also enforcing our perception of the World because Gods and Goddesses are forms of revelation of the Absolute. Transcendent reality can be perceived here and now, in this life, awakening our inner conscience. The body and the senses are not instruments of sin: they can become vehicles of knowledge, tools to approach the Divine.

The Sacred Dimension is not a dogma, but it is something that must be experienced, independently from erudition and formalities, in order to perceive the deeper meaning of reality and its symbols.