In Hinduism, there is the concept of “Ishtadevata”: your personally chosen or preferred god for devotion/worship/contemplation. Since the gods don’t tend to be jealous, that doesn’t mean you cannot honor other gods as well.
Given the Greek (and Greco-Roman) polytheism of Epicurus’ time – which really does not support relating to just an ambiguous, abstract notion of “divinity” (natural or supernatural) – and Epicurus’ encouragement to honor the gods … which might you choose as your “ishtadevata”? (Not that I think you have to be limited to the Greco-Roman pantheons.)
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I am generally drawn to Dionysus: god of wine and song, dance and ecstasy (etc.).
But, on reflection, I think I’ll go with Gaia: goddess of the earth – a primordial Greek divinity that represents all the gifts of the earth in which we live. And, I think, a goddess who personifies the naturality (and nature) in which we exist. Perhaps not so distant as the gods that might dwell in the cosmic interstices of distant worlds …
As for some contemplative ritual or practice – I need to work on that.
Looking forward to seeing others’ thoughts …
Image of The Earth Goddess at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.
