If you are on the net, or watch the news, no doubt you’ve heard about the sudden explosion of Online AI services on the Internet, and how they a changing a lot of how we do things, both for the good, and for the bad.
I’d been exploring using AI’s for some of my mundane job to create content for a variety of purposes, and was stunningly impressed with the type of content I could generate very quickly.
As I was thinking about this, I thought about the idea of using the same tools for “pagan” content.
Now I’m sure there are some people will call this sheer heresy because you aren’t writing every word yourself. I’d also put a big Caveat in here saying that using the AI”s is no substitute for good knowledge on the topic you’re creating work on. That being said, I think there can be some real value here. I’m going to use a real world example where I happened to be at a ritual where I needed to offer a toast to the goddess Freya, and while I could no doubt have come up with something off the cuff that would have been acceptable, my mind thought “wait, maybe I can use ChatGpt version 4 to come up with something truly inspiring. What I am going to show below is not what I ended up with, but I’m going to go through the process I went through and show you an alternative that is just as good.
For purposes of information, this is using Chat GPT version 3.5 was used, there is a version 4 but it wasn’t giving me sources.
So I needed a short toast to Freya, and I speak at about 150 words a minute, so I started with “Give me a 150 word toast to Freya, and show me the sources”
Here’s what it came up with:
Here’s a toast to Freya, the Norse goddess of love, fertility, war, and magic! May her generous and passionate spirit inspire us to love deeply, pursue our dreams, and fight for justice and freedom. May she bless us with abundance and prosperity in all areas of our lives, and guide us through the challenges of life with strength and courage.
This toast is inspired by the many myths and legends surrounding Freya in Norse mythology, such as her association with the goddess Aphrodite in Greek mythology, and her role as a warrior goddess who led the Valkyries in battle. Freya is also revered in modern pagan and Wiccan traditions, where she is often called upon for guidance in matters of love, fertility, and magic.
So let us raise our glasses once again, and toast to the mighty Freya, goddess of love, fertility, war, and magic! Skol!
and it listed the sources:
- “Freya” by Patricia Monaghan, in The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore
- “Freya: Norse Goddess of Love and War” by Natalia Kuna, on nataliakuna.com
- “Freya” by Patti Wigington, on learnreligions.com
So I didn’t like “here’s a toast” to Freya for ritual. So I rephrased it to “Give me a 150 page devotional to Freya and show me the sources”
Now I get
Oh great Freya, goddess of love, fertility, war, and magic, we honor and adore you with deep devotion. Your passion and power inspire us to love fiercely, embrace our sensuality, and stand up for what we believe in. We call upon your blessings for abundance and prosperity in all aspects of our lives.
Freya is a complex and multifaceted goddess, revered in Norse mythology and modern pagan traditions. She is known for her associations with love, fertility, war, and magic, and is often depicted as a fierce warrior and a patron of sexuality and sensuality.
and the sources change slightly
- “Freya” by Patricia Monaghan, in The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore
- “Freya: Norse Goddess of Love and War” by Natalia Kuna, on nataliakuna.com
- “Freya” by Patti Wigington, on learnreligions.com
- “The Norse Goddess Freya” by Diana Rajchel, on thoughtco.com
We are definitely closer, but I personally don’t think of Freya as a goddess of fertility, so I change the wording to “Give me a 150 word devotional to Freya and do not discuss fertility and give me the sources”
Now I get
Oh great Freya, goddess of love, war, and magic, we honor and celebrate your strength, passion, and wisdom. You inspire us to stand up for what we believe in and to fight for justice and freedom. You bless us with the courage and determination to overcome obstacles and achieve our goals.
As a goddess of love, you remind us of the importance of deep and meaningful relationships, and of cherishing the connections we have with others. You teach us to embrace our sensuality and to express our desires with confidence and grace.
Freya is revered in Norse mythology and modern pagan traditions as a powerful and multifaceted goddess. Her strength, passion, and wisdom inspire us to tap into our own inner resources and to manifest our dreams and desires.
and the sources are:
- “Freya” by Patricia Monaghan, in The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore
- “Freya: Norse Goddess of Love and War” by Natalia Kuna, on nataliakuna.com
- “Freya” by Patti Wigington, on learnreligions.com
- “The Norse Goddess Freya” by Diana Rajchel, on thoughtco.com.
Pretty good, the last paragraph is kind of extraneous for a toast, but the first two are pretty good. But I decide I don’t want love to be part of the toast, so now I go with:
“Give me a 150 word devotional to Freya but don’t discuss fertility or love.”
Now I get the following (I removed the extraneous paragraph at the end
Oh mighty Freya, goddess of war and magic, we come before you in reverence and awe. Your strength, courage, and determination inspire us to fight for what we believe in and to stand up against oppression and injustice. Your wisdom and magic guide us through the challenges of life, and remind us of the power of the unseen realms.
As a warrior goddess, you embody the fierce and unrelenting spirit of battle, and teach us to never back down in the face of adversity. You protect us from harm and guide us towards victory in our struggles.
and the sources are the same.
Now I’ve got a toast I a starting to like. But lets say I had an issue with one of the sources (I don’t actually have any issues with these authors but want to use an example, Lets say I don’t want to use Patti Wigington as a source. Now I say:
“Give me a 150 word devotional to freya but don’t discuss fertility or love and do not use anything by Patti Wigington as a source and give me a list of sources.”
Now I get
Oh great Freya, goddess of war and magic, we come before you with deep respect and admiration. Your strength, courage, and determination inspire us to fight for justice and freedom, and to stand up against oppression and tyranny.
As a warrior goddess, you embody the fierce and unrelenting spirit of battle, and teach us to never back down in the face of adversity. You protect us from harm and guide us towards victory in our struggles.
and I check the sources:
- Freya” by Patricia Monaghan, in The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore
- “The Norse Goddess Freya” by Diana Rajchel, on thoughtco.com
- “Freya: Norse Goddess of Love and War” by Natalia Kuna, on nataliakuna.com
- “The Goddess Freyja” by Galina Krasskova, in Exploring the Northern Tradition by Galina Krasskova and Ian Corrigan.
Pretty good! But I’m wondering if there’s a better toast, so I click on regenerate.
Oh great Freya, goddess of war and magic, we honor and revere you for your strength, courage, and wisdom. Your unrelenting spirit and fierce determination inspire us to never back down in the face of adversity. You protect us from harm and guide us towards victory in our struggles.
As a warrior goddess, you embody the spirit of battle and teach us to stand up for what we believe in and to fight for justice and freedom. Your guidance and protection give us the courage and strength to face any challenge that comes our way.
Sources:
- “Freya” by Patricia Monaghan, in The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore
- “Freya: Norse Goddess of Love and War” by Natalia Kuna, on nataliakuna.com
- “The Norse Goddess Freya” by Diana Rajchel, on thoughtco.com
- “Freya” by Laura F. Kretzer, in The Norse Mythology Handbook: Everything You Need to Know About Norse Mythology.
Nice, but I’m not big on that protect section. So. I now go with
“Give me a 150 word devotional to freya but don’t discuss fertility or love, do not discuss freya protecting us, and do not use anything by Patti Wigington as a source and give me a list of sources”
Now I get
Oh great Freya, goddess of war and magic, we offer you our respect and gratitude for your wisdom, strength, and courage. Your magic guides us through the unseen realms, and inspires us to tap into our own inner power and manifest our dreams and desires.
As a warrior goddess, you embody the spirit of battle and teach us to stand up for what we believe in and to fight for justice and freedom. You inspire us to be bold and determined, and to never back down in the face of adversity.
Sources:
- “Freya” by Patricia Monaghan, in The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore
- “Freya: Norse Goddess of Love and War” by Natalia Kuna, on nataliakuna.com
- “The Norse Goddess Freya” by Diana Rajchel, on thoughtco.com
- “The Norse Gods and Goddesses” by Carolyne Larrington, in The Norse Myths.
There we go, there’s a toast that I like.
Is this cheating? Some of you will outright say “yes”. But I’d argue that this process of going through and choosing words to include, words to exclude, and sources is part of the “creation process.” I have to know that what’s being written is relevant and appropriate.
Would I use this to write an entire book? No (and there are some people that do), but can I use it to help guide my thinking and short content? Right now I am thinking yes.
That’s actually pretty good. Is it cheating? Meh, I kind of think any prewritten toast can’t possibly be as authentic in the moment as something made up on the spot that comes from the heart. But that rules out using anything out of a book, too, unless it’s your own book. But most people seem to prefer prewritten toasts, rituals, spells, prayers, etc. As long as you are just using it for your own use and not trying to sell it in a book or whatever I think it’s fine. (AI works can’t be copyrighted so it would not be commercially viable to try to sell a book written by AI anyway unless you concealed its origin, and that would be cheating for sure.) As a writer I’m slightly horrified by the idea of a robot taking my job, obviously, but there isn’t a big market in paid custom poems and toasts anyway. I think it’s fine. Ultimately the opinion that counts would be Freya’s though. You’d have to ask her if she’d like a toast like this or would prefer if you can’t think of anything else to just say Hail Freya.