Neo-Pagans may worship or honor one or more ancient pagan gods of ancient paganisms or even gods of their own imagina­tions. Often these gods are understood as aspects or “faces” of an underlying divine unity. Many Neo-Pagans honor an imma­nent Mother Earth Goddess, sometimes called “Gaia.”

Like Wiccans, many Neo-Pagans honor a Great Goddess and a masculine Consort god, of which all other pagan gods and goddesses are aspects. But unlike the Wiccan Goddess and her Consort, who are associated with summer/life and winter/death respectively, the Neo-Pagan pantheon is more complex. In Neo-Paganism, no one gender is associated exclusively with one sea­son. Both masculine and feminine deities have light and dark aspects. The most common forms Neo-Pagan deities take are the Mother Earth Goddess, the Triple Goddess of the waxing, full, and waning moons, and a duo-form Horned God of the Sun and animal life.

Contrasting Neo-Pagan deities with Christian deities can be instructive. In contrast to the exclusively male godhead of Christi­anity, Neo-Pagans also honor the Mother Goddess. In con­trast to the transcendent Father and bodiless Holy Ghost of Christian­ity, Neo-Pagans honor the Goddess who is embodied in the natural world, including the human body. In contrast to the sexless Father God and the unmarried Son God of Christian­ity, Neo-Pagans celebrate the passionate encounter between the Goddess and her Consort. In contrast to the exclusively benefi­cent Christ figure, Neo-Pagans honor a dark God of the Waning Year who balances the light-bringing God of the Waxing Year, as well as a dark aspect of the Triple Goddess.

Updated 2019