My friend Michelle made a savvy observation the other day that, in this season of the ancestors, I'd like to pass along.
We tend to think of gods and ancestors as separate categories (at least, I do). But in the Wide World of Paganism, these are actually overlapping modalities of being.
To pagans, it's perfectly conceivable that gods should have human offspring. Unlike some, we don't maintain a wall of separation between human and divine.
Achilles, after all, was reckoned a descendant of Zeus (through Herakles). To take a somewhat less exalted example, the current incumbent of the British throne, Betty Windsor, is (believe it or don't) counted (along with her ancestors, the Anglo-Saxon kings of Wessex) among the offspring of Woden.
In Old Craft it's sometimes said that warlocks and witches both are born of Old Hornie's seed. (He overshadows our fathers in flagrante delicto. That explains why we turn out the way we do.)
And when it comes to the Old Gods—Earth, Sun, Thunder—well, ultimately we're all, quite literally, god-got.
In this Season of the Ancestors, we look to the mothers and fathers.
The human with the divine.
Above: Genealogy of King Ælfwald (“elf-power”), 9th century
“Woden” is the first word in the last line, written with the rune Win, “joy”.