Yes, that’s probably a fair assessment. I think he gets hugely overlooked in favour of more “popular” deities like the Morrígan, the Dagda, Brigid and Lugh. I don’t think he’s bothered by it though, if anything it probably amuses him! I’m sure he’d love the Bee Gees too, he’s very connected to the arts and music and they have some great tunes. I have written artistic works as an offering to him in the past and will surely do so in future as well. The first time he actually asked me in meditation if I would write a piece on a certain topic for him, which I readily accepted!
Those Pagan Portals books are really good as introductions - their podcast is also great! Plus of course everything that Rachel Patterson does for the community.
More recently, I’ve had deities make themselves known who have relationships with my main Gods. Geb (father of Isis), the Cailleach (in some of the myths she is married to or in a relationship with Manannán) and Rosmerta, whom I never knew anything about, but it turns out she was also worshipped as the partner/consort of Mercury (Hermes) during the Roman occupation of Gaul. It’s quite fascinating to me that this has happened, and I’m so grateful that it has. I’ve also had Aengus and Brigid/Brigantia step forward and have begun honouring them too. I think this may be connected to the time of year as well.
Finally, I’ve had Odin making himself known since shortly before Samhain. This is the only one I’m a bit hesitant about. I know why he’s here as he’s the all-father of many of my ancestors and I know he wants to work through some ancestry/family things with me, but he also represents a lot of things that I reject, so there’s some tension there which he understands. His presence isn’t unwelcome, but I’m just going to approach it carefully as I know a lot of shadow work is waiting behind that door. 😂 I’m someone who believes that the Gods know better than we do and that they know what is best, even if they sometimes have to argue amongst themselves to reach that conclusion. While Odin is certainly not light and fluffy, he represents elements that are an important part of the Universe and again, I trust that the Gods have knowledge and understanding far beyond what the human mind could ever hope to grasp.
I’m sorry this thread has strayed into a debate about why you believe what you do rather than its intended purpose. For what it’s worth (and there is no evidence that all pagan peoples engaged in these practices), I think “human sacrifice” was often just another way of humanity doing what it has always done - people finding an excuse to kill other people they didn’t like. Christianity (along with other Abrahamic religions) has also been guilty of forms of human sacrifice by making a point at various times in history of torturing, hanging and burning alive suspected witches, heretics and “the wrong kind of Christians”, all to prove that they are the most pious and that they are following the true word of God. That’s before you even attempt to unpack the deaths, denigration and untold trauma caused by abuses within living memory such as the Mother and Baby Homes scandal in Ireland, which was allowed to happen because of the notion that these women and their babies were somehow sinful because they had fallen pregnant without a man deciding to marry them beforehand. How anyone could look upon a baby and see sin is beyond me.
Ultimately, humans aren’t perfect and many are capable of doing terrible, awful things. This is true regardless of your background or beliefs. Religion (including what I call “religious atheism”) and politics can be used by people to justify appalling acts, but I don’t believe that comes from the Gods themselves, regardless of which God(s) you choose to worship. All any one of us can do is try to be a good person and to enjoy the time that we get to be alive.