Day 3 of the Ralph Waldo Emerson “Self-Reliance” project, #Trust30. Click here for my project archives.

My pantheism is all-encompassing and ever-expanding. Hindu, Greco-Roman, Lakota, Tibetan, Mythical, Spirit World, and more.

When I’m contemplative and feeling solitary I turn to Vesta, goddess of the hearth and home.

If a spider bites me I put my mind to what message Iktomi the Trickster sends me about my surroundings and the something that isn’t quite what it seems.

When lightning strikes I say a prayer to Zeus.

If filled with rage I invoke Kali, goddess of destruction and regeneration. I stick my tongue out and scream.

When I need inspiration, I imagine a votive for Ganesh, or gaze upon his relics in my home.

Aphrodite visits when I’m menstruating.

The Faerie Oracle is one of my spirit guides.

River has never forgotten about me and to this day drops in to say “hi” every so often.

I think of Lakshmi when I wish someone well.

The White Buffalo Calf Woman appears to me in dreams, soothing, reminding me of Mitaku Oyasin, the principle that we are all related.

I invoke the spirit of Frida Kahlo when I dress in the morning, every time I adorn my hair with flowers or conceive of a new Zuzu.

When I’m betrayed I remember Janus and that not everyone has one face only.

If I want to kick some ass I call upon Durga, warrior queen, whose incarnation Xena helped me through testifying against two murderers.

Sometimes I imagine Medusa turning my enemies to stone.

Athena and Wendy, artist huntress priestesses, are linked in spirit and memory.

Siddhartha Gautama was a flawed man with wonderful teachings of how to trust myself, to stay in the present, if I am able to listen.

Jesus Christ was a revolutionary thinker who was so far ahead of his time we’ve still not caught up.

I believe Angels walk among us, and so do Demons. Sometimes they take human form, sometimes they are ethereal spirit. I’ve known both kinds and now know enough to spot the Demons in human form and keep away from their negativity and destruction.

Fairies exist, they like to steal just one sock for a laugh. I decided to wear mismatching socks anyway and turn the joke back on them.

I only cut my hair when mourning for someone I love, a Lakota tradition that I’ve adopted. Our spirit is in our hair, our spirit suffers when we lose a loved one, our hair reflects that loss.

When I braid my hair, one strand signifies the Earth that is my body, one strand is my spirit that is like the wind, and the third strand is for the Creator. Weave them all together and feel the power.

Mary had a difficult life, a tribute to her on my altar.

I believe in Mother Theresa, who blessed me in person on October 28, 1991 and was one of my saviours on October 28, 2000, the night that Wendy Soltero was murdered.

Today is Thor’s day, I think of his hammer when I hear thunder.

I believe in the Gospel of Gaga.

I believe there is intelligent life on other planets and they have been visiting us for a long time.

If you go deep enough into the ocean, you will meet a mermaid.

Santa Claus is real and so is Buddy the Elf.

The Tooth Fairy exists, but she really freaks me out. What does she do with all those baby teeth? Make jewellery? Architecture? Use them for magic spells? Is she even a good fairy?

My one strong belief is in all the higher powers that ever existed: I have a god, goddess, spirit, faery or other for every occasion under the sun and moon.

No wonder a pantheon of my own creation drives the American Monsters series.

Who is a part of your godly entourage?

©2011 Sezin Koehler, photos by Zuzu Arbus