The Nature of the Divine

Excerpt From the Romanist Inquirers Course

The nature of the divine is neither monotheistic nor polytheistic. There is only one divine being, but within that being are many spiritual entities called gods. The primary gods of Romanism are King Jove, the Great Mother, and Lord Dionysus.

Beyond monotheism and polytheism

There is one divine being, the creator of the universe, who is the supreme being in the cosmos. This is Jove, the king of the gods and the Father of gods and mankind. We may call Him by many names: God, Jupiter, Jove etc., but He is One. The whole universe is within him; He directs all creation with infinite wisdom and justice.

God has many names and infinite forms. All of the Kings in the Orphic chain are expressions of this One divine reality we call God. Phanes, Dionysus, Jove, Saturn, and Night are different ways that we come to understand God, whose nature is beyond our comprehension. Where we see six Kings, God sees only unity and oneness. We will learn later why we refer to Jove above all the others when we read more about the myth of Jove swallowing Phanes. (See our inquirer’s course for more)

This may seem not very clear now, but it illustrates the fluidity and power of the divine in Romanism. God is not something we can easily define and put in a box that makes sense to us. God defies boundaries and labels because His essence is beyond our comprehension. Since we cannot grasp God in his essence, He sends forth a wide variety of divine beings we can more easily relate to and form relationships with to help our spiritual growth. The highest of these beings are the gods. These are not separate creator deities but divine beings that serve God and help bring his will and cosmic design into reality. These beings go by many names in other traditions. Christians call them angels, Hindus call them devas, and the Japanese call them Kami. They serve as our link to the divine and guide our souls toward goodness and wholeness in harmony with God.

So, if someone asks if we are monotheists, the answer is yes in some ways. We do believe in the One Supreme God above all. And yet, if they ask if we are polytheists, the answer is also yes because we believe in many Gods who derive their being from the One supreme God. This doesn’t mean the gods are just puppets for the ultimate God. They are as independent as you or I, but just as we derive our existence from God, so do the gods, but to a much greater degree. They perfectly align with God and have superior knowledge of the divine. They have the power to govern the universe and sustain the harmony instituted by God.

Romanism has many gods, but not all are given equal attention. Three gods stand above all the others and govern the three most important aspects of the cosmos.

Jove

You may have guessed but Jove takes the most central role in Romanism. He is God the Highest being in all of creation and is the personal God of Romanism. This is God as we can know, worship, love and understand Him. There is still an ineffeble essence to God beyond Jove. This is his mysterious and unknowable nature. However, when we think of how God interacts with us in our lives and directs the cosmos, we are thinking of Jove.

Jove is a loving god. The word Jovial comes from his name because his nature is friendly to mortals and filled with joy and bliss. It is in His nature to assist mankind in returning to Him and He is forgiving to our fallen nature. He does not damn people to hell for eternity but uses divine punishments as a means for our purification and spiritual learning. His justice is perfect, and there is no blame of Him for the punishments and hardships that we experience in our lives.

Jove is the gentle, steady elder who always seems to know exactly where we’re headed before we do. He stands quietly at the center of our world, radiating an atmosphere of calm assurance and unwavering wisdom. In his presence, we feel safe, as though every season, every turn of fate, is already mapped onto a greater pattern we can trust. His guidance doesn’t come as commands or ultimatums; it’s more like a guiding star, shining overhead, offering direction without forcing our hand. With Jove, we sense that there’s reason and purpose at the heart of things—that our life, our challenges, and our joys are each part of a grand, harmonious design. He invites us to think clearly, to seek truth, and to align our choices with the timeless, benevolent order he oversees. In looking to him, we find not just a ruler, but a mentor who gently nurtures the best in us.

Magna Mater

Next is Magna Mater, which means the Great Mother. She is the nurturing mother who holds the cosmos in her vast, open arms. She’s not a distant abstraction, but the warm, fertile ground beneath your feet, an ever-present presence who tenderly offers a place for all things to take root. When we look into her face, we see the promise of growth and change, the gentle assurance that every seed—every idea, every life—can find substance and support. She is both patient and unhurried, allowing forms to emerge and flourish at their own pace, guided from within by the higher patterns of divine reason and enlivened by the soul’s creative touch. Though she does not impose her will or shape events directly, without her generous, receptive nature, none of creation’s beauty and diversity would ever unfold. In her, we are held, grounded, and connected to a deeper source of life that sustains us, reminding us that the material world, for all its challenges, is ultimately a place of warmth, possibility, and quiet miracles.

Lord Dionysus

Finally, we have Dionysus who guides our souls to liberation at the will of the Father. Dionysus takes us by the hand and leads us into the heartbeat of life itself. He’s that vibrant presence who encourages us not to shy away from the world’s messiness but to dance right through it, to taste it fully. With him, there’s always a gentle push to step beyond our comfort zone, to embrace change and renewal, shedding old layers and discovering our truest self beneath them. His laughter is both knowing and kind, assuring us that every ending can become a fresh start, every struggle a chance to rise stronger. Just as seeds need soil, your soul needs his enlivening touch to blossom—and he’s ever-ready to guide you through darkness into a jubilant, sunlit clearing. In his company, you realize that spiritual life need not be somber or still; it can be alive with rhythm, color, and the tender understanding that you, too, can transform.

—Excerpt from the Romanist Inquirer’s Course