Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
Stealing Fire From The Gods

Stealing Fire From The Gods

Last updated on: May 11, 2017 at 9:26 am by John Beckett

Stealing Fire From The Gods 2017-05-11T09:26:04-06:00 John Beckett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Prometheus Bound – Greek bowl from 550 BCE – photo by Karl-Ludwig Poggemann, used under Creative Commons license

The Gods of Greece hid fire on Mount Olympus. Some say they knew we could never use fire without harming ourselves and so, like good parents, they kept it from us. Others say they simply wanted to keep it for themselves. But Prometheus stole fire from the Gods and gave it to humans, for which he was punished cruelly and unjustly.

The practice of magic is, in many ways, stealing fire from the Gods. The near-universal prohibition of witchcraft is not simply the fear that someone might work malicious magic against other people. It’s also the belief that working magic is impious – that it’s claiming for ourselves what belongs to the Gods.

This idea carried over from Greco-Roman paganism into Christianity. The Catholic church says

A sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it.

Not that that’s ever stopped anyone from working magic, or paying someone else to work it for them.

Recently I had a magical working that failed. Actually, two-thirds of the working was a brilliant success. But the other third was an abject failure. I went back and looked over the whole working, trying to figure out what went wrong – we learn more from our failures than from our successes. While the working itself was technically sound (thus the successful two-thirds) the failed goal was stated poorly: it was too detailed (making it much harder to achieve) and it was not phrased positively.

More importantly, the goal wasn’t what I really wanted. The details are too personal to share – let’s just say I was fixated on quantity when I what I really want is quality. But because I didn’t really want what I was working for, my magic had to overcome my internal resistance in addition to ordinary inertia. My magic is good, but it’s not that good.

This has been a recurring theme throughout my life: chasing things I think I want, then getting upset because I can’t get them. Or worse, actually getting them and then having to deal with a reality that doesn’t match expectations and brings unpleasant complications.

Fortunately, in this case my error was relatively minor and easily corrected. But it does an excellent job of illustrating the point that magic really is stealing fire from the Gods. Every spell is an act of will. Every working says “I choose this” and in doing so, says “I reject that” to other alternatives.

Are you willing to take that responsibility?

Questions of impiety notwithstanding, this problem is easier for polytheists than for monotheists. Christians argue that their God has a will and a plan for every detail of your life. Polytheists see many Gods with different interests and areas of responsibilities. While there are many times when we are better off deferring to the authority of the Gods, micromanaging our lives isn’t very high on their lists of priorities.

It’s your life – who do you want making your decisions?

Many people want someone else to make their decisions for them. Some have been told they’re stupid and incompetent for so long they believe it – they have no confidence in themselves. Others don’t want the responsibility of deciding. It’s one thing if something bad happens to you at random, but it’s a lot harder if something bad happens and you know it’s your own damn fault.

At some level, I think most of us realize that we don’t know what we really want, at least not early in life. This is complicated by the fact that major decisions aren’t made in isolation. It’s safe to say most people want to be rich. But how many of us want to have the kind of single-minded focus on making and keeping money that it takes to get rich? Magic cannot overcome hard limits – it cannot achieve two mutually exclusive goals at the same time.

The fear of regret often paralyzes us. Say yes to one option and you say no to everything else. What if I don’t like Peanuts! Popcorn! ice cream? I’ll be out the money and my stomach will be full and there will be all those other flavors I didn’t get to eat. I’ll just stick with chocolate – I know I like that.

If choosing ice cream is hard, how much harder is it to choose a religious path, a marriage partner, or a career – you know, something that actually matters?

But choices have to be made. Refusing to choose is a choice. Letting someone else choose for you is a choice. Trusting that some divine being has your best interests at heart is a choice. Passive choices are still choices, but I’d rather choose actively.

We can manage our uncertainty and our fear of regret through a progressive process. Choose a vision and start taking steps in that direction. Accept that you will fail, but fail quickly and fail small, and learn from your mistakes. Review your progress frequently, make necessary adjustments, and keep moving. And whatever you choose, stick with it long enough for it to bear fruit.

When I realized I didn’t want what I had worked magic for, the reality of stealing fire from the Gods hit me. I dared to meddle in the currents of the universe and I was wrong. No eagle is coming to eat my liver, but the results could have been much worse… and at times in the past, the results of my magical errors have been much worse. This was like driving too fast in the rain and losing control, only to spin out in the middle of the road instead of sliding into the ditch.

Risky. Arrogant. Perhaps even impious.

But also, my life. My choice. My responsibility.

My learning and growth – next time I’ll take that curve a little slower and a little more gradually.

My magic.

I’ve already reworked the spell. I separated the quality I want from the quantity that looks good, and I put some more thought into statement of the goal. We’ll see how it goes.

I started stealing fire from the Gods a long time ago. I still burn myself with it every now and then, but I like the taste of cooked food and I like the warmth of a fire on a cold night. I’ll take the risks… and I’ll keep learning how to manage them.

What will you do? Only you can decide for yourself, and if you choose to leave the fire safely on Mount Olympus I completely understand. Magic isn’t for everyone. It’s not for most people.

But you must choose, and refusing to chose is still a choice.

Previous Post

May 7, 2017

So You Had a Religious Experience – Now What?

Next Post

May 11, 2017 Spiritual Preparations For Leading Ritual

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Community CUUPS Druidry Foundations and Context Gods and Goddesses Magic Myth Nature Ritual Spiritual Practice Theology Travel Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the longest prophecy in the Bible given to an individual?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Daniel’s 70 Weeks John’s Revelation Joseph’s Dream Isaiah’s Suffering Servant