Honouring Gods/Higher Power through Dolls

Nyxy: I'm in the same position as you (atheist but fascinated by mythology). I'd personally love to see more goddess dolls from a wide range of cultures.

ninjalovergirl: I don't find this idea offensive at all. A few years ago I made some custom toys (non-bjd) to represent various gods and goddesses from Greek, Hindu, and Norse mythology.

 

Hmm... It's not something I would do myself, but I don't find it offensive on either a personal or philosophical level. Votive statues and devotional images have existed for almost as long as humans have. They have been, and continue to be, an important part of many different religions.

That said, do keep in mind that there are many people out there who come from faiths that are anything but open-minded about that sort of thing. If you mention your plans to them, you're bound to make them uncomfortable. At best they'll just grumble about "idolatry" and sin and leave it at that. At worst, they'll consider it their divinely-dictated duty to lecture you endlessly on the point, trying to convert you to their way of thinking.

As a pagan, I'm sure you've already run across a few of those folks. The dolls are just going to give them something new to clutch their proverbial pearls over.

 

I have no opinion on how people choose their doll/why they choose their doll/what they do with their doll (unless they're trying to inflict bodily harm with it!). I don't really feel strongly about it: it's not particularly offensive, I don't think morality has any bearing on it, etc.

I don't have dolls to honor a particular deity because I don't really believe in any; however, most of my dolls are based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, so I've got a couple of dolls named after a god(ess). They're not really omnipotent or all-powerful (just varying degrees of human), though, as I was originally inspired by the Gilded Age Reimagining of this tale, "Hadestown," performed and written by Anais Mitchell. I'm posting here mostly to spread the word: this retelling is super great!

 

I'm a Witch - people have problems w/me no matter what I admit to. So of course I just tell them LOL This includes the dolls. I do know some faiths where creating an image is sacrilege (sometimes an image of people, sometimes of specific deities - sometimes of deities not in said faith etc etc etc) - so just be aware that ~gasp~ not everyone will support you. Also, I see that you intend to actually invoke the deity w/the figure - and will therefore be treated as a sacred object. That seems non-offensive.
I myself have an Anubis & a Bast head (THANK you, Soom) which I keep as depictions of those deities. I will at some point be creating Egyptian costumes for my Chalco & Ignim, to wear with the heads for a photo shoot My dear friend who worships the Egyptian pantheon is so far from decrying this that I'm going to make her a special Shutterfly book w/the dolls LOL Cause she keeps asking when I'm going to finish Bast & Anubis

 

I thought this was a troll thread. Upon further review, it's a serious question? *balk*

Honestly, I doubt many would even know what your BJD is supposed to be, OP. "Oh, you have a BW Iplehouse EID male with no wig and his name is Prometheus? You mean like the movie??!11!1"

Go for it.

 

Why wouldn't this be a serious question? Your response is a bit raw, alisameow. Believe it or not, there ARE people out there who might get upset, because the worship of the Greek pantheon is not dead. Just because YOU didn't know that doesn't make it nonsense. Also there's another group of people who get upset over any Pagan deities being represented (apparently there were protests about Percy Jackson & the Olympians ~sigh~ despite its lack of knowledge of Greek mythology).

 

As a Pagan, I think that's a great idea and you should totally do it. The only thing I would do is just ask the deity first, if they're ok with that. Then depending on their answer go for it!
I myself have the Soom Ender jackal head, but I don't intend on dedicating it to Anubis (or Wepwawet) unless they asked.
There will always be people who are rude about it, but as long as you're not hurting anyone else with it, their opinions shouldn't matter.

 

actually, my friends and I saw someone exorcise a BJD and documented it for a forum. It was a occult sort of forum and I think the doll was sent by family. My friends and I thought it was pretty hilarious, and wondered privately if it was a recast, and whether a recast in the belief of the participants would be a more or less powerful evil spirit.

 

I'm a pagan and worship several gods/goddess of the Egyptian pantheon. I've toyed with the idea of getting a cat-headed tiny (either a Fantasy Doll or Elf Doll Catsy) and having her as a physical representation of Bast (my primary deity) but never get around to making the purchase, mostly because I don't own any female dolls and can't seem to prod myself into buying a female regardless of the reason for it. For my deities, worship of statues or making offerings to them was common back in the day so I doubt any of mine would object to my creating a physical representation of them as long as the proper respect was paid. Some might even enjoy having their physical form worshipped again.

I think as long as you approach the project with respect and treat the doll with the reverence a sacred object should have (which it sounds like you will), then you're good to go. There's always somebody who'll get their panties in a twist over something (whether it affects them or not) but as long as you have the right mindset and approval from the deity, then it's nobody's business what you do and is something between you and the deity.

 

reading everyone's responses and thinking back to the exorcism incident has made me appreciate theater's religious roots. It might not be my thing, but it fits with traditional practices.

 

Hello All,

This may be a bit of a tangent, but I always wondered why people post threads asking for opinions when the standard response of agreement contains some form of the following:

A. "their opinions shouldn't matter"
B. "it's nobody's business what you do"
C. etc.

Why post a thread asking for opinions then? ( ͡° ʖ̯ ͡°)

For the record, I did not disagree or tell OP not to do it. I expressed confusion, ignorance and demonstrated a scenario in which an uninformed person (such as myself) might have an interpersonal interaction with OP upon seeing a BJD representing Prometheus. Consider my post a sampling from the uninformed masses who never bothered to study mythology past the American 4th grade standard curriculum. Unfortunately, raw is all I know as just one of the many who are ignorant of modern mythological spirituality. If I hurt sensibilities, my sincere apologies. I don't claim to know anything about this stuff. Cheers on the future customization of your BJDs in case you do receive permission from your deity.

All the Best,
Alisa (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ *hugs*

 

I combine several spiritual belief systems for my own personal use, including a belief in the sacred energy of the Goddess / The Divine Feminine, and think this sounds like a very respectful, and also wonderful way to approach things, OP.

 

I'm planning / working on art pieces incorporating dolls and inspired by religion in which I was raised. Not sure who my target audience is or if I even have one. I know my work will make some people uncomfortable - hopefully it won't be all about religious dogma though.

 

I am collecting tiny altar stuff & at some point I WILL be doing a photo story/book showing my resin coven doing a Samhain ritual. I of course don't give a proverbial hoot what people think (heard it all) although I find others' opinions very interesting as long as they aren't holding some book & pointing at me screaming 'hell fire' or whatever the other dogmatic variations might be...cause rude, you know.
The exorcism of a doll LOL LOL I've certainly heard of that kind of thing (several horror films revolve around cursed dolls - isn't the 'real' Annabelle locked up in a cabinet where her custodian charges a fee to see her?) Who knows - maybe something not very nice DID take up residence in the resin...

 

I'm so glad someone posted a thread like this! I've actually seriously thought about it myself. I don't see it as wrong at all. But I'm a little different than most. I would adore to have full size versions deities as dolls. Especially since Soom did such a beautiful job. Unfortunately I would never be able to afford them. I do say if such a thing is done the dolls would need extra care. But that's just out of respect for the deity it represents. I don't personally think the chosen deity would live in it full time. More like an aspect. So more power to you! I'd love to see what you do with the dolls!

 

Your doll so you can do whatever you want with it. No matter what you do there are always going to be some people who don't like it or find it offensive. So long as you are doing it for yourself and not to deliberately offend others then go for it. Also if you want to take it to a meet I say go for it too. Some of my guys characters could offend someone but that is their problem not mine as they are my dolls.