Character of Modern Fortuna
March 11, 2015
by William P. Meyers

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Here I'm not using Fortuna to name the Roman goddess of fortune.

Rather, I am developing Fortuna for the modern world, where some people still need some sort of deity to help them understand and cope with the reality they must live.

Fortuna is the personification of the Universe, or reality. However, while Fortuna encompasses everything from the Big Bang (if there was one) to the end of time (if it ever comes), Fortuna is earth centric and human enough that even a child can use her as a bridge to greater understanding.

Gender

Fortuna is female, like the earth goddesses, but is encompasses all gender; Fortuna encompasses the Universe. Male aspects of Fortuna are not a problem, since male and female humans have more similarities than differences.

Probability, Chance, and Fortune

A key concept about the Universe is that randomness plays a very strong role in what happens, from the distribution of galaxies to the mundane events of daily human life. To an individual it is often difficult to see what has causes, and what role chance plays in one's life. It may seem like good fortune to be born rich, and bad fortune to be born poor, and any change in life that affects status seems to require an explanation. By understanding the nature of probability in specific contexts people can make choices that are most likely to make them happy.

Biology, Genes and Evolution

The religion of Fortuna harmonizes perfectly with the evolution of species through natural selection, the geological record, and our modern understanding of genetics. All of biology and geology points to these truths. The genes of the two parents of each child are randomly mixed, so that truly identical children are rare. At the same time all humans have large amounts of DNA in common, and we share much of that DNA with other species as well.

Human Nature

Human nature is shaped by many things, not just our genetic inheritance. In our modern world humans mix, they learn from each other, and increase their understanding. Humans are capable of war and peace, of brilliance and stupidity, of high ethical character and of bad acts and dishonesty. Understanding Fortuna means understanding the world and the people in it and treasuring all of them and their complex interactions. People's decisions are important, but each person starts in a random place and is subject to random events in life. How they respond to events shows their character.

Other species

Fortuna is everything: humans, animals, plants, rocks, waters, air, planet and stars. Therefore we should take care in how we treat animals and how we act as stewards of the earth's environment.

Personality Depth

Fortuna has depth of personality. That is, she can take on any human temperment or rise above it all, to any level of abstraction necessary to reflect the universe and its complexities. She can be as angry as a hurricane or earthquake, or the personification of romantic love, or a jokester. She can be both fair and unfair at once, like a roulette wheel that is not rigged, but still makes your bet a losing one.

Personal Intervention

People like to pray to their gods, hoping for good outcomes. Fortuna does not personally intervene to ensure any particular individual's good fortune. Prayer is ineffective. You have to do something if you want results. Fortuna favors those who act wisely. She can do little to help those who act foolishly, but does introduce enough randomness into situations to keep people guessing.

Ethics

As with other religions, ethics, or rules of behavior, are based on the human experience. Since any one can be fortunate or unfortunate, it is best to treat all people fairly. Ethical culture should be taught to children and practiced by adults. Fortuna favors those who behave ethically.

The recognition of Fortuna as the Univeral Deity

Other gods are not so much false as they are aspects of the natural universe, and therefore aspects of Fortuna. The Universe is the Deity; Fortuna is a key to understanding this universe.

Prosperity

The better you understand Fortuna and the Universe, the more likely you are to prosper. Prosperity depends on knowledge and action, used under the circumstances that are dealt to individuals and communities. Nothing guarantees success, but getting the facts, analyzing them properly, and then acting in the most effective manner will get people the best available outcome. Laziness, drunkeness, ignorance, and mistreating people are not bad in themselves, but are unlikely to allow you to prosper.

Fortuna should be closely associated with Prosperity because that would attract people who would in turn learn about randomness and causality in the real world.

Tolerance

Followers of Fortuna can afford to be reasonably tolerant of the worship of other gods. That does not mean you have to take shit from those people, or that you can't criticize them when appropriate. But it is best to help other people understand the nature of the Universe, and how they will benefit from studying Fortuna and recognizing her power.

Note: this is not meant to be definitive. It is meant to discuss how people in Orthodox religions might be brought to something more Modern, short of atheism.

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