Hellenism

[wise violet]

Etsy is 100% a shout. You can get really lovely ones. I wanted to get one of hekate but they're a little pricey sometimes. But you can also get statues off of amazon but they're not always as nice as the ones on etsy.

[unkempt ember]

Hello everyone! I have a question and I could really use some guidance 🙏🏻

I'm an Arab/ex-muslim woman (born into Islam) who has went from identifying as an atheist to identifying as an agnostic witch. My beliefs are ever-changing and I am still in the middle of figuring out what works for me and my spirituality, so please be gentle 🧜🏻‍♀️

Long story short: my family and ancestors hail from Failaka island (used to be known as ikaros island), and this island was very significant during the Hellenistic period, which I have learned semi-recently!

My question is: in what ways can I incorporate this knowledge into my practice? Since I believe it to be an important part of my identity/past

I came up with just a few pointers, like: working with Greek dieties, possibly visiting the island's archaeological sites (I think some ancient Hellenistic structures are still there), collecting stuff like seashells from the island (which may especially be helpful for working with aphrodite), etc

Any input/advice would be really appreciated 🙏🏻

[ornate tree]

you could see if any Greek gods has specific cult epithets from the islands and work with those aspects of the gods specifically

[wise violet]

You could also use little things like if they have certain meals there that are seen as special or mean something to you. You can use them to incorporate magic via sigils or charm/blessing the ingredients whilst making it.

A second could be art, you could paint or create art of the places you feel connected to and use it to channel any intentions you have. If they have a certain way of painting or any symbols then try incorporate those

Also music can be a big thing. Meditate while listening to the music or even do things such as dancing to it (could be used for a ritual).

Also you can try find sounds of that area and use that to funnel intentions into whatever you're doing

There are many ways of channelling it

@unkempt ember i hope this helps xx

[arctic ether]

ok so i have a question since im an ex-christian and the catholic church was EXTREMELY strict with what you use god's name with so my question is:
is it wrong or sinful if someone compares you to a god/goddess? or if you do the same? cuz someone recently compared me to Aphrodite and i got a bit freaked out cuz of the story of Psyche so do let me know

[ornate tree]

so I will say that myth doesn't always 100% accurately reflect how the deities feel.
and someone comparing you to a goddess isn't necessarily saying that you are the goddess

people have been comparing themselves and others to deities for as long as deities have existed it's more about like the arrogance of acting like you are said deity I think that kind of upsets them but you're not going to like get smited because somebody said that you look really pretty like Aphrodite

[arctic ether]

thank you so much you won't believe how high my anxiety went when that person compared me to Aphrodite

[ornate tree]

yeah I mean like I do understand how that kind of myth can make it something that's anxiety inducing but like I said myths were more or less meant to teach lessons and less about like "this is how the gods will act in every single interaction that you ever have with them"

[arctic ether]

😭 this helped sm thank youuu also i have another question: are there my online resources for prayers to the gods in perhaps greek or latin and i need to know HOW to pray like what position you have to pray in or informations on small rituals

[ornate tree]

for Greek and Latin I'm not sure that we'll have any simply because we are an English only server.

as for how to pray I would suggest looking through the Hellenism resources Channel https://discord.com/channels/599776551306788874/1114061252247945320

[arctic ether]

nono i meant websites

[ornate tree]

none that I know of. I know that the theory.com website has prayers and hymns but those are are translated into English from the original source

so other than that I don't particularly go looking for Greek or Latin sources cuz I can read neither

[arctic ether]

thank you so muchhh

[novel fiber]

is their any hera related resources anyone could reccomend?

[ornate tree]

hiya! welcome! can you change your name to a regular font for those with screenreaders? the one In your name can't be read by them

[novel fiber]

ofc! hold on

[novel fiber]

cuz uhm i cant rlly find anything just by looking

[ornate tree]

yeah I don't believe we have anything specific on her but we do have a few sources that have posts to her so I'll go grab those!

[novel fiber]

tysm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ornate tree]

Olympians workshop (includes Hera): #1114061636744007720 message
subtle deity worship (includes Hera): #1114061636744007720 message
ideas for Greek god worship: #1114061636744007720 message
non-deity specific offering and devotionals: #1114061636744007720 message
cheat sheets for Hellenic deities (including Hera) #1114061252247945320 message

[arctic ether]

does anyone have any websites or pdfs on how to pray and how to do small rituals to the gods? even just texting them out will be really helpful

[ornate tree]

so we don't share PDFs as those tend to be copyrighted material!
we do have a Hellenism Resources Channel, have you checked that out?

[arctic ether]

ah no i haven't..will go check and let you know

[ornate tree]

https://discord.com/channels/599776551306788874/1114061252247945320 here u go

[arctic ether]

thank youu

also is there anything like a rosary in hellenism? cuz it helps me focus

[ornate tree]

#1114061252247945320 message there is this specifically on rituals and worship

OH YEA! gimme a sec

[arctic ether]

tysmmm

[arctic ether]

suree

[ornate tree]

#1114061252247945320 message they are called Komboli or Greek worry beads!

[arctic ether]

thank you so muchhh

also i had another doubt (i am so sorry) whoat do you say with every bead? cuz i've never found any "fixed" prayers in Hellenism

*what

[ornate tree]

so they aren't any "fixed" prayers in Hellenism they are used for you to count short prayers on: "The modern Greek word komboloi derives from kombos (knot) and logio (collection) or the verb leo (say). It is said that it is short for the phrase “in every knot I say a prayer“."

you can't necessarily use the idea of a Catholic rosary with Greek worry beads because they don't act the same way

[arctic ether]

ahh so sorry i keep doing that since i was born in a strictly French roman Catholic family so i thought Hellenism would maybe be the same...so sorry if I offended you by any chance

[ornate tree]

I'm definitely not offended I also grew up in a Catholic household however mine was just Latin American Catholic!

I've transferred the idea that the way that rosaries work is that they're used to count prayers at their core

however there is no set prayers for them because not everybody will worship the same gods in Hellenism (being it's a Polytheistic religion)

[arctic ether]

ohhh ig most Christians are turning away from it nowdays whomever i know is like that lmaoo either witchcraft or atheist

[arctic ether]

yeah like the hail mary for every decade n all....i thought there would be smthg like that in Hellenism

[ornate tree]

Ah I'm converting to Judaism! my mom is still a devot Catholic witch

yeah like the only issue that you would end up running into is that like not all deities are worshiped by every person that is practicing Hellenism so if there was a set amount of prayers for every bead people would be worshiping gods that they don't necessarily worship does that make sense?

[arctic ether]

ayy so happy for you for finding one that suits you

[arctic ether]

yeaa true

[ornate tree]

I've used different types of prayer beads in my practice since I'm also like dabbling in other religions as well is the use of a prayer and then possibly like a line of thanks or consideration? then you alternate.

you can also do it to where every line of your prayer is matched with a different bead

[arctic ether]

my main reason why i converted to hellenism is cuz i felt more at home or more comfortable with it rather than christianity cuz i was kinda forced to follow it or im a menace to my family...since my family is also or portuguese christian descent so yeah..and the ppl in this religion are so friendly

[arctic ether]

ah so since my main deity is Athena i can say like "thank you Lady athena for helping me in my struggles" or smtg?

[ornate tree]

yeah that would work imo!

[arctic ether]

thank you smm also do you know how to do small rituals to the gods since I'm in my parents house for a few months

i have a secret athena altar btw

[ornate tree]

hm I think it might depend on what you are considering a ritual

cuz for me I find that any act of devotion can be considered a ritual

and if it's like doing a spell in their honor then that can also be a ritual

[arctic ether]

i've heard people burning bay leaves and stuff like that but that's not possible for me

[ornate tree]

so are you needing like broom closet methods of spells?

[arctic ether]

i thought spells were only a thing in witchcraft

is it there in hellenism?

[ornate tree]

hm well there is like a goddess of witchcraft and magic in Hellenism

[arctic ether]

ye ye hekate no?

[ornate tree]

sorry I think I may have misunderstood are you coming at this from a prospective of this being a religion or prospective of this being a part of your witchcraft / craft

AH sorry

I just noticed your non practitioner role okay

😭 sorry

[arctic ether]

religion

[arctic ether]

nono don't apologizeee issok

the reason im so stupid in prayer is cuz im so used to the christian method of having fixed prayers like our father n stuff so if there's any general prayers for Athena or Apollo or Aphrodite i'd be glad (i couldn't find anything on theoi.com😭 )

[ornate tree]

so one thing that you could do is translating hymns into prayers!

you can also see about incorporating a specific epithet for her depending on the reason for prayer https://www.theoi.com/Cult/AthenaTitles.html

https://www.theoi.com/Text/OrphicHymns1.html#31 this one is a specific Athena hymn

your prayers are going to be something that you may need to think of yourself. especially because in most cases it will be for you and your relationship to your deity

[gritty mason]

I am SO excited because I'm taking classical mythology this semester and I already know so much of what I'm seeing on the syllabus 💪

[shell musk]

oooo

[vital wedge]

does anyone have any info on Tyche? I wanna know a bit about my future and stuff, but I could not find a single thing about her besides the fact shes related to Hellenism

[ornate tree]

she's the Greek counterpart to the Roman goddess fortuna! https://screeching-0wl.tumblr.com/post/685494362622279680/a-guide-to-worship-of-tyche-cheat-sheets

[vital wedge]

thanksssss

[ornate tree]

[static horizon]

Hello people!

Can anyone tell me about (A)ether, or more specifically, what his role in witchcraft may be? How do I work with him?

[ornate tree]

so i know i responded in another chat but "his role in witchcraft" is a pretty confusing statement because of how varied and fluid witchcraft as a whole is

like so much is considered witchcraft so im not sure of what exactly you mean by that tbh

like based on a very quick googling, him being the embodiment of light and heavens can be him wanting to help you better connect with those aspects and not be connected to your craft at all

if you need info on how to work with gods at all we have entites class here:#1114061502744371290 message

[static horizon]

You know how certain deities are worked with commonly for specific things, such as Aphrodite for love and beauty etc. I know this makes it sound really strict about who you can work with, but as I said.

[ornate tree]

well sure but there are many other aspects of aphrodite that arent love and beauty

shes also a goddess of war and grief

[static horizon]

Yeah deities are multi dimensional but as a quick example I gave that lol

[ornate tree]

your honest best bet will be looking into his lore, myths, and aspects and seeing if any of that is something that relates to you and your practice, if not you can say your not interested

my main issue is still that you might be hyperfocusing on the witchcraft aspect when it could be unrelated to your practice entirely

[static horizon]

Alright, Thanks for the help.

[ornate tree]

sometimes gods also just drop by to say hi without you needed a whole practice dedicated to them

[static horizon]

Deity work is fairly foreign to me so it gets kinda confusing real quick

[ornate tree]

would definately rec looking into these lessons on entity work that covers deity work a bit!

[static horizon]

That is something to consider as well,

[ornate tree]

ah please dont ping me /gen

[static horizon]

Will do🤩

Oh sorry I wont

[ornate tree]

ty! good luck on your journey

[static horizon]

🙂

[gritty mason]

Worked on my apollo pages some!

[upper inlet]

interesting coincidence (or perhaps not): i was having trouble getting my candle to stay lit while attempting to cast a quick spell to keep the deck i'm sending out safe during shipping, but after carving Lord Hermes's name into the wax and reading the Orphic hymn to him, the candle stayed alight for the rest of the time i needed it to

[hollow wigeon]

I'm still new to everything about this so I haven't really done much other than research but I feel like I'm being shown signs from Apollo. For example, I was introduced to this because I saw someone talk about Apollo, he's on my fyp at least once a day, I've seen hawks fly over my house often in the past month too. As I said I'm still a baby to all this so any help is appreciated

[ornate tree]

I don't typically hold my FYP as a sign bc things like algorithms also have a part in that.

as for help on Apollo specifically: #1114061636744007720 message we have this master list!

[hollow wigeon]

thank you so much

[slate onyx]

anyone doing anything for Hekate this full moon and lunar eclipse?

[ornate tree]

im setting out the prayer beads i made for her!

[slate onyx]

Awh yay!! I sadly work and I really wanted to do something for her. I heard, the full moon and new moon are prime nights for offerings for her

Perhaps she would accept a later night offering tonight haha. Maybe she would accept incense because I don’t have much 😭

[ornate tree]

i offer whenever tbh since i dont tie my worship to the moon phases (its not an aspect of her i work with really)

[slate onyx]

thats okay too!!

i like moon phases just because

moon is pretty and stars and AH SPACE

is there a greek god or goddess for the stars and planets??

[ornate tree]

hmmm sort of? not of the planets and stars exactly but this link has a huge list of all sky related deities including planets and stars!

https://www.theoi.com/greek-mythology/sky-gods.html

[slate onyx]

i didnt know Hera was considered the air goddess!

and dang i wish there was some for the planets

maybe they didn’t know about them back then? 🤣

well thats not true because the Roman gods were named after the planets- huh how odd 🤷

[ornate tree]

rome came after greece /gen

they knew of them but from my understanding it was hard to differ between what was a star and what was a planet

[slate onyx]

true that tbh

Only way I can guess its a planet is if its dimmer and close to the moon. They typically hangout around the moon and their light is dimmer. Cant tell which one it is though without my star tracker app

at least when I see them

[shell musk]

Asteria goddess of falling stars!!!

some, like me, associate her with the stars in general!

[slate onyx]

thank you!!

I have a question for the people who practice and follow hellenism.

I was speaking with a high priestess to King Hades, she mentioned to me that she her religion is mostly the ancient practice with the Greek Pantheon. And she says that if you use modern practices, that might be a reason for your disconnect with the Gods, ie; using Tarot when tarot was never used to communicate with the Gods and to instead use petitions with them or ask for signs in dreams and real life along with oil and water divination. From my understanding she doesn’t identify as Pagan but just someone who follows the ancient greek religion. she also mentioned magick was never used with the Gods and more so that it was sorcery and to follow the uh… i forgot what it was she said but its a book that starts with a P about Grec-Roman sorcery

I just wanted to know other people’s opinion on that?

im kinda stuck on wether or not i need to or should stick with the ancient practices with the Greek Pantheon or if its okay if its more on the pagan/modern ways

[shell musk]

Not true

I’m a reconstructionist, so i take the old practices and make them into something new. Time moves on for a reason, and things evolve for a reason too. It’s great if people want to practice a religion in ancient ways, but i mean like i’m not from that time period and the world around us are constantly changing.

[ornate tree]

I also would be very wary of people that are calling themselves priestesses especially high priestesses because those terms are thrown around a lot as ways to basically push their power and their ideas of what is considered correct.

priesthood is definitely not something that is taken lightly and takes years to master like 10 plus years

[shell musk]

And it’s kinda wack to passively shame other people’s religions when EVERYONE practices their religion differently

[slate onyx]

thank you

i was stressin

[ornate tree]

it's also something that has cropped up a lot in recent years especially around folks with Greek mythology.

because if she is a high priestess: where is her priesthood located in? what section of her religion is she recognized as an official priest within the Greek pantheon? who gave her the title of priestess? etc etc etc.

[shell musk]

Your practice is your own

[slate onyx]

she said Hades came up to her and asked her to become a high priestess

[ornate tree]

yeah if I'm being 100% honest I wouldn't trust anybody telling me that they were a high priestess because their God told them to be but that's just me

high priestess is a specific title used within groups of people not one that you basically self-assign

[shell musk]

Yeah especially since priesthood usually was a title bestowed by ^ yes like a city or community anointed you

[ornate tree]

which technically is what she would have been doing because she doesn't have the authority to call herself a high priestess.

I could call myself a high priestess but that's because I'm a priestess of myself, but when it comes to then policing how other people practice within pantheons that are as broad and as convoluted as the Greek pantheon is then you start running into problems especially when you aren't officially recognized as one

because you also have to remember that even within traditional Greek practices those changed depending on where in Greece you lived the people of Athens worshiped their deities differently than how others did

[slate onyx]

okay thank you ^^

i was stressing out that the entire time i was offending the Gods

[ornate tree]

and all of this to even say that the traditional Greek people didn't worship Hades at all

[shell musk]

Yeah 😭

[slate onyx]

she doesnt worship him

[ornate tree]

so even coming at her point of you have to do it traditionally it's kind of moot point because they didn't worship or work with Hades at all

[slate onyx]

she uses her practice and communes with the dead in honor of him and thats her way of doing that

like deconstructing peoples view of death

[ornate tree]

yeah but I'm saying like traditionally the Greek people didn't associate with Hades because of the fact that he was the ruler of the underworld so her saying that you have to do practices traditionally while she works with and honors Hades is against what was traditionally done.

[slate onyx]

i get that, thank you 😭 i was stressing the entire time-

thank you 😭😭

this helps a lot

[ornate tree]

yeah I know you're entirely fine I'm glad we could help

[slate onyx]

im was majorly stressin

i just sadly feel very disconnected with the Gods lately and im not really sure why

so i asked her and she said XYZ and my brain came to the conclusion that i offended them 😭

[ornate tree]

ah yeah no I think stuff like that can stem from a lot of things including stress, not having the time to honor them, or even something like them giving you space to learn and grow on your own with the lessons theyve given you thus far

[slate onyx]

i think it is stress and i havent gotten time to honor them

i just recently gotten back into my practice and i used to be able to sense energy super easily but now its empty and just nothing so i havent felt like they have been around and its been a little upsetting

[crude kelp]

Nah dude the gods and everyone else tend to be really understanding of limitations and yknow. Working with what people are able to do in this day and age
Cause it certainly doesn't help them to be uppity about what people should do to practice with them cause then that's practitioners that they could have had, but don't

[shell musk]

Despite the myths making them seem easy to offend, they are super understanding and kind. Ease your way back into your practice

[crude kelp]

Also on the sensing energy stuff, it's like a muscle. If you don't use it for a while, it's gonna take some time to work back up again

[ornate tree]

^^ doubling everything lys and pidge said

[slate onyx]

thank you guys so much 😭

❤️❤️ ❤️

[shell musk]

of course!

[slate onyx]

i was STRESSING

[shell musk]

It’s a super normal thing to feel and have happen

[slate onyx]

i appreciate you guys so much

[slate onyx]

Which God/Goddess would be good to petition for a better paying Job? 😭 im trying to get a better job in another state so I can move, so I was thinking Hermes but I also know Hades is associated with Wealth, so maybe them both..?

or a better paying job in general so I wont have to move

[ornate tree]

there's
Ponos - daimon of hard labor
Hephaestus - god of various jobs
Hades - Wealth
Pluton - Wealth
Hermès - Général commerce stuff

[slate onyx]

🧍wait whos pluton

Ill probably do Hades and Hermes as backup, i heard from others it can be hard to reach to King Hades while Persephone is away so maybe i’ll do both :3

I would feel weird asking Ponos since i dont really have a relationship with him ☹️

[ornate tree]

I'm so dumb it's Plutus 😔

PLOUTOS (Plutus) was the god of wealth. At first he was solely concerned with agricultural bounty but later came to represent wealth in general.

[slate onyx]

oh okay! i was like “The roman god..? Pluto?”

[ornate tree]

they are technically related and that's sort of where Hades tends to get his roman name which is related to his pluto epithet

[slate onyx]

Yee, i just try and keep them separate because there are still big differences from each other though

thats just my personal opinion though ofc /gen /nm

my grandma has a huge roman pantheon world map, its super cool and it has a lot of the roman gods on it, its pretty old

[ornate tree]

oh yeah no your good. both Greek and Roman gods fall under Hellenism but I misremembered Pluton as Plutus.

Plutus is a Greek god, as he's Demeter's son, but Hades himself also has an epithet that is the reason for the Roman equivalent (called Hades Ploutôn which means Hades of Wealth)

[slate onyx]

WIST WBAT

WAIT

WAIT

DEMETER HAS A SON

PERSEPHONE HAS A BROTHER

[ornate tree]

Demeter has many children

[slate onyx]

WHAT

[slate onyx]

LIKE BORN AND RAISES

[ornate tree]

yes it just depends on the myths your reading

[slate onyx]

wait

[ornate tree]

plutus is Demeter's son in the Hesiod myths and folk songs

the 2nd pic is all of Demeter's kids in various myths

[slate onyx]

I thought Despoine was a super old version of Demeter and Persephone

Or just a super old version of Persephone

[ornate tree]

DESPOINE (Despoena) was a fertility goddess of the Arkadian (Arcadian) Mystery cult of Akakesion (Acacesium). She was worshipped alongside her mother Demeter, sister Persephone, and Artemis. Her true name and function were revealed only to the intitiates.

Despoine was closely identified with the goddesses Persephone, Artemis and Hekate, all of whom bore the title "Despoine."

genuinely I would suggest looking into theoi.com which is where I'm getting all of this information from as it's one of the biggest places that has the most amount of information compiled from various sources on Greek mythology as a whole

[slate onyx]

huh okay thank you 🙂

[ornate tree]

but as a sort of note on just Greek mythology as a whole there are various versions of all of myths which makes it a little bit hard to get definitive answers about specific things. in some of the myths the gods share the name or are the same person so it just kind of depends on which source you're looking at

[slate onyx]

Yeah 😥

thanks for the information!!

[ornate tree]

ofc

[slate onyx]

and a petition is just a prayer correct if im remembering right? The first part is typically a hymn?? or to get their attention, then your request, and then the ending

and then an offering

[ornate tree]

so petitions work differently for different people but that sounds pretty solid as a version if you would like to use it that way!

[slate onyx]

how are they typically done 👀

[ornate tree]

I mean there's no typical way cuz like I said they work differently for different people

not everybody uses the same method of petitions so if you feel like that's what you would want your petition to look like then that's fine

some feel that you can only use petitions if they're written on paper others view it as only asking and only offering

so it's kind of just like up to you and all that

[slate onyx]

okay!! thanks!

i feel like im a baby at this despite having done this for so long 😰 i just went years without practicing 😭

brain EMPTY

i need constant reassurance 😭

[hybrid sage]

i watched a youtube video once and they talked about it, miscellaneous myths about hades and persephone (or something like that), dont know if it's a good source to recommend but i enjoyed it

[ornate tree]

Despoina or Despoena was the epithet of a goddess worshipped by the Eleusinian Mysteries in Ancient Greece as the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon and the sister of Arion.
Surviving sources refer to her exclusively under the title Despoina ("the Mistress," cognate of "Despot") alongside her mother Demeter, as her real name could not be revealed to anyone except those initiated into her mysteries and was consequently lost with the extinction of the Eleusinian religion.
Writing during the second century A.D., Pausanias spoke of Demeter as having two daughters; Kore being born first, before Despoina was born, with Zeus being the father of Kore and Poseidon as the father of Despoina.
Pausanias made it clear that Kore is Persephone, although he did not reveal Despoina's proper name.

according to the way the myths were written and how she was worshipped, Persephone was never really the goddess we are talking about since the goddess with that name was the subject of a very exclusive sect of the religion and they only used her epithet with outsiders.

However as this is just an epithet, multiple goddesses have it, including Persephone, Aphrodite, Demeter, and Hecate. As in Aphrodite Desponia, Persephone Desponia, Demeter Desponia, etc etc etc.
Epithets act as faces of the goddesses, but the goddess that is the daughter of Demeter and Posideon wasnt ever Persephone, her "true name" as just been lost to time.

[slate onyx]

idk why i never saw this

i thought Persephone’s father was debatable between Zeus and Poseidon, so that was that connection

one mythos being of her father was Poseidon and the other Zeus-

though its cool if it was ever a whole other goddess to begin with, sad that her name is lost to time

https://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Despoine.html#:~:text=DESPOINE (Despoena) was a fertility,revealed only to the intitiates.

supposedly she is another sister to Persephone which is really cool!

[ornate tree]

yup! thats what i mentioned here

[slate onyx]

Despoina is her surname and her real name not known

Thats really sad honestly

We do not know anything really about her, makes it hard to honor her nowadays I would think :(( thats just super unfortunate

[ornate tree]

and according to theoi persephone has only had Zeus as her father which is why i mentioned that

[slate onyx]

How would one go to honoring a mostly unknown goddess

Thank you Oli 😊

[ornate tree]

hm you will have to do so based off of a lot of UPG/SPG most likely

[slate onyx]

yeah :((

[ornate tree]

and upg/spg isnt bad by any means

[slate onyx]

it seemed to be a temple to the kthonic goddesses (Demeter, Persephone, Hekate) with the outlier being Artemis but they claim Artemis was actually Demeters daughter? So maybe her associations to what she does is different.

Demeter is not really a kthonic god but has association because of persephone

so like maybe she was another kthonic god in some way

[slate onyx]

What does it mean again? just what you or others think actually happened/is?

[ornate tree]

this is a fairly good read on her: https://www.tumblr.com/aliciavance4228/760976381335273472/rambling-about-despoina-because-i-have-a-lot-of

[slate onyx]

omg that came off super mean

i didnt mean it like that

[ornate tree]

UPG stands for unverified personal gnosis. To put it in different terms, it’s a solid personal headcanon that has little to no historical basis OR something of a revelation that changes your perspective of an entity.

SPG stands for shared personal gnosis, meaning that several unrealated people share the same headcanon or experience.

VPG/VG stands for verified personal gnosis/verified gnosis. This means that your UPG or SPG can be backed up with accurate historical sources. Once something becomes VPG, it is no longer SPG or UPG, but rather part of the lore.

an example of each:
UPG: Loki likes the purple sour gummy worms, bc i gave him some and they said they liked them
SPG: Hades is often seen as a father figure by his followers
VG: Apollo likes sunflowers because he is associated with the sun and the color yellow. (sunflowers arent found very often in greek myth as they originated in the Americas)

[slate onyx]

this was super informative

[slate onyx]

ah ok I see

[ornate tree]

i like to refer to them as headcanon, fanon, and canon as a little funny thing

[slate onyx]

i see i see

I liked that tumblr post

super informative

I like the idea that she has association with Hekate

and it did kinda confirm my assumption that she might be a kthonic goddess

[ornate tree]

i dont personally believe she is? she may be one that walks the line but unlike persephone doesnt cross it

[slate onyx]

yeah, it just shows her carrying a torch with Hekate

hold on

[ornate tree]

if you do with the idea that her, persephone and demeter are the maiden mistress mother, persphone is the maiden that crosses into cthonic, Despoina is the mistress that toes the line and demeter would be the mother of the non-cthonic nature but is still connected

[slate onyx]

yeah, its said towards the bottom that maybe it was more about symbolism

symbolic i mean

and that she was never a goddess to begin with

[ornate tree]

guess it depends on your interpretation

[slate onyx]

so a lot of theories

theres like 4 ideas of what she couldve been

[ornate tree]

i mean these are gods from thousands of years ago and she herself is lost to time so i guess go with what you want?

[slate onyx]

yeah haha

idk which resonates with me really

kinda jumbled mess haha

super cool though

[ornate tree]

i mean even if Despoina is used as just an epithet it wouldnt make her role as a goddess any less important. Plutus is also used as one in a way, as is Ares, and plenty of other gods

[slate onyx]

i like that perspective:))

ive always wondered why we couldn’t just ask the Gods themselves

[ornate tree]

you could but 40 different people will give you 40 different answers

[slate onyx]

i know that could be unreliable though and spreads misinformation

[ornate tree]

and they may not answer at all

[slate onyx]

but why would that be? interpretation i guess?

[ornate tree]

i think there is also a kind of idea that what the greek folks have as a culture shouldnt be undermined by non-greek folks to their ancient religion by going over what they have available straight to the "source"

well if you take Despoina specifically, she was worshipped by a secret society. maybe the gods want it to stay secret

[slate onyx]

true!

[slate onyx]

my brain is having a hard time understanding what this means 😭

[ornate tree]

and that then sorta leads into how do we know it hasnt been asked to the gods before? and if it was already and this is what we have why would they inform us specifically of more than what we have found.

[ornate tree]

they're living Greek people who are actively working to unravel and uncover parts of their ancient religion with genuine tools like archeology and historic practice study.
so I would say that us as non-greek people shouldn't go straight to what we view as the source aka the gods of the ancient Greek religion and be like oh hey what's this answer when the Greek people themselves have been working towards it for so long

like why would they go to us as non-greek people first instead of the people that actually exist and live from the ancestors that they created if that makes sense

I would say it like sort of feels as if we are undermining the hard work and efforts that living Greek people have made to reconstruct their religion by saying oh well we should just go ask the Greek gods instead

am I making sense 😭

[slate onyx]

oh no yeah ofc!

i never really did that

it was just always a question hovering above my head that i never really had an answer to

but your perspective is pretty good 🙂

[ornate tree]

no yeah I didn't assume that you had gone and asked the gods whatever it was more of me saying like if we did it would be like we were doing whatever it is that I said

[slate onyx]

but i get what you’re saying 🙂

[slate onyx]

I made this collage of photos for Persephone and Demeter. the nature photos were pictures I personally took

[novel fiber]

So beautiful!!! I love Persephone 😭 worked with her for a bit

[slate onyx]

Thank you! And me too! I love her and Demeter

I started recently incorporating Demeter

[novel fiber]

Thats amazing ❤️❤️

[novel fiber]

Hi! Diana/Artemis just reached out to me, and after doing a deity spread, she told me she’s very hapoy and excited to work with me, and that our relationship will be VERY long term 😭❤️
I need advice on how to honor her properly. Colors, rituals, offerings… ANYTHING ❤️

[ornate tree]

would suggest looking into these 2 links!
hellenic cheat sheets: #1114061252247945320 message
subtle deity worship: #1114061636744007720 message

[novel fiber]

Thank you!!! ❤️

[ornate tree]

yup! I may make a deity offering association devotional act list for her but I haven't done so yet unfortunately

[novel fiber]

Thats fine! Take your time!

I’ll be ready for when it’s ready /pos

[novel fiber]

Just realised, by reading information about Artemis, that she may have been sending me signs for over a year….

Im in tears im gonna cry in a corner

[upper inlet]

lmfao don't worry that was us with Aphrodite in the past

[novel fiber]

I just got an Artemis statue….

She’s more in the “Diana” form, but I got her 😭😭❤️❤️

I’ll show when I’m back home

She’s huge

[novel fiber]

😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️

[shell musk]

whoaaaa cool!

[novel fiber]

She’s so pretty

[slate onyx]

THATS SO PRETTY! AND THE MOON AT THE BOTTOM AAA

Diana is such a pretty name too, I’ve always loved that name in general

[novel fiber]

Some of the Roman names are so so pretty

[novel fiber]

Could I get some Hellenism book recommendations?

[ivory plume]

lemme get back to my dorm and look at my kindle i have at least one

[ornate tree]

we have some linked in #1114061252247945320

[tough nimbus]

#1114060085224808468 message

I also found this which has some authors to watch out for 🫡

[novel fiber]

Thank you!

[novel fiber]

Appreciated!! ❤️❤️

[ornate tree]

we also have some old posts on why LABRYS isn't great (aka the group/author of Household Worship)

[novel fiber]

Man, it’s so hard to find a decent author 😭

[ornate tree]

(credit to Sarrisae#4129 & others)
To begin with: Labrys book is bad, like, inaccurate and with misinformation plus their organisation is bullshit, and then the author of Kharis and Komos actively supports racist and nazi ideology authors which... Speaks for itself tbh
×
Issues with LABYRS:

• Transphobia and Child marriage http://www.labrys.gr/en/text_ctlsmaturity.html
• Full moon rituals which aren't historically accurate and it only states in some info that it's UPG (Not entirely bad but painting it like its a historical practice)
• Misinformation in the form of the wrong defintion of miasma http://www.labrys.gr/en/text_purification.html
• Also throws miasma and Lyma in together
• This I'm pretty sure is misinfo, but I'm not 100% sure http://www.labrys.gr/en/text_libations.html#:~:text=We pour sober libations to the Heroes%2C Mnemosyne%2C the Muses%2C the Eumenides%2C Aphrodite Ourania (the Heavenly Aphrodite)%2C the Nymphs%2C Auge (the Dawn)%2C Selene and Helios.
• Again not marking UPG as UPG and presenting it as historical, also don't like the labelling of it having to be done "unfailingly" http://www.labrys.gr/en/text_heliodites.html
• Disregard most hellenic values other than Eusebeia, Dikaoisyne, and community
• They put an emphasis on "greek soil" which honestly just irks me cause it implies that you need to be in Greece to fully connect
• Contributes to the ideal of Hekate being "triple faced", which is wiccan, also calls her selene?? Idk if that was a mistype or if they meant that
  ×
  I can't like un-buy the Household Worship book but I'm definitely recommending against it, even if some of the info is OK it's not worth buying from ppl who support forced child marriage, anti-gay marriage, nationalist, + more

[novel fiber]

Thank you!

So the 3 books I found on Amazon are awful 😭

[ivory plume]

WHAT i'm glad im seeing this now bc household worship is in my library

that's rough

[ornate tree]

yeah I could have sworn we posted this stuff in the resources chats but we may have skipped it

[ivory plume]

just so you know household worship is still on the resource list

it's all the way at the top with the books

[ornate tree]

yeah! I just added the authors note

we won't like delete it since it's not a resource list made but us but hopefully that note makes sense

I'll be posting the labrys stuff in that channel too

#1114061252247945320 message
this is a huge master list of Hellenic (Greek and roman) resources from books to websites

[novel fiber]

Thank you!!!

Does that master post open for you? It doesn’t for me :_

[ornate tree]

you have to be logged into Tumblr bc the account isnt searchable

[novel fiber]

Im logged in

I’ll try on the computer

[novel fiber]

Im reading about a lot of deities and slowly falling in love with them.
Hestia? Aphrodite? Hephaestus??? I adore them

[ivory plume]

this is so me

[shell canopy]

Hello! I’m here with a quick question bc I bought this book some time ago and I rlly like it, but I wanted to make sure it’s an reliable source bc I’m like rlly green in this kinda stuff (everything rlly😂), so does anyone have any info on this?

[ornate tree]

posting some reviews:

I had hoped that a 'practitioner's Guide' might be informed by actual respect for the material at hand, but I was disappointed. The book provides middle-school summaries of some of the basics of classical magic, with a joking tone that seldom hits the mark.

he references Fasti by Ovid, at one point. this is viewed as an "unreliable source for Roman cultic practice and belief" according to Carol Newmans in Playing With Time: Ovid and the Fasti. yeah.

a lot of the (1-3 star) reviews are pretty much "i wish he had taken the time and care to write this as he has done in the past with other books"
since he apparently uses a lot of non-greek and roman examples as "proof"
so less of a "hands on guide" and more like this is a place to jump off of and you should also 100% read other sources on this topic for a full picture

[shell canopy]

Thanks!! I hadn’t thought about reading reviews since I bought it at a bookstore but that makes sense!! Thank you for taking time to check for me:)) and I’ll certainly be checking out other sources:>>

[ornate tree]

yeah no problem! a lot of 4-5 stars say its a solid starting point so i wouldnt say its a horrible book just not one to use on its own

[shell canopy]

Okay! Thxx:))

[slate onyx]

How does one end up in Elysium? I know its reserved for heroes or those the Gods have favor over, or are our lives just meant to be reincarnated forever when we pass on? 😥😓

i would just uhm.. love to not reincarnate

[ornate tree]

for my understanding it's reserved for people who have passed in heroic ways. as well

and this all depends on if you believe in the idea of reincarnation as in some miss the afterlife that most people pass on to within Hellenism is just the one that you end up staying in for the rest of eternity

[slate onyx]

i dunno truly! I would like to be able to roam around and visit my family and help them on their paths if they become witches haha, but i also would like the idea of being able to truly meet with the Gods in the afterlife, but what does that entail? I think its wishful thinking for me to hope we end up in a nice meadow and the Gods come down to hangout and do things with us, wether thats having a picnic or other things, I just dont wanna be alone jaha

[ornate tree]

I think another thing of note is that even if you do meet the gods it may not be for a long time as in like they won't be able to spend much time with you specifically due to how the afterlife works. those guys are hella busy but with asphodel (which is basically the afterlife for the normies) it pretty much is described as a sort of afterlife but not like you still do things it's just in the afterlife so there are still people around because you and all of the other non Heroes are floating around in the fields

[slate onyx]

im over here wanting to be a death witch and work with spirits but the mere thought of death scares me

[ornate tree]

I think it's smart to have an appropriate amount of fear for death personally

like I can understand accept and fear death equally and I think it's smart/safe to do so

[slate onyx]

yeah totally

its more so fear about the unknown

[ornate tree]

which is fair! but at the end of the day there is no concrete answer for any of the afterlife at all simply because there's no way to prove that any of it exists.

we can speculate and discuss in a manner of ways for a huge amount of periods of time but there will never be a concrete sort of answer for what comes after

[slate onyx]

yeah 😭 i just hope its a satisfying one

and not just darkness

I hope for idea that the Gods would have time to hangout with us and do things with us, though I know how busy they are. But the gods can also be at a lot of different places at once, so perhaps its not too much wishful thinking, even if its not all the time

Like I would love to have Demeter and Queen Persephone help me cultivate a garden and tend to a garden, and then do pottery with Lady Athena

[shell musk]

that’s sorta what devotional acts are for!! a way to “hang out” and honor the gods! i used to listen to music with whatever deity’s energy was hanging around my space. and it sorta felt like just chilling together

[shell musk]

but it would def be rad to like actually hang with them like imagine going shopping with Apollo

[slate onyx]

haha yeah exactly! i meant more in the afterlife, like once we pass over, do we mean less because of the fact we cant really honor them in the same way as we were alive? I wouldnt think so but ya know

[shell musk]

ohhhh i didnt back read about the afterlife. I personally don’t think so. We honored as we should while being alive, and that’s what causes us to have those choices in the Underworld. The gods would want us to enjoy the afterlife, and reincarnation is always possible

[slate onyx]

i have a question! What are good careers to go in that can align with being hellenic pagan? For a lot of Hellenic pagans I see them going into archeology but what are some other things?

[crude kelp]

Well how do you mean align? Cause any career can be done in conjunction with your practice imo

[slate onyx]

Not exactly your path 😭 i have no idea what I mean, but like- I love the idea of archeology so I can understand and visit these Greek Temples of the Gods I worship and get a better understanding of them and the history. But I was wondering if there was other careers around that idea

[hybrid sage]

like related to it?

[slate onyx]

yes!

kinda haha

[hybrid sage]

well you could become a philologist

[crude kelp]

Things like museums or classics would probably be your next best bet

[hybrid sage]

basically the study of language, you'd learn ancient greek and read the original manuscripts of myths, how to date writings and most of the time it's connected to archeology courses as well

or you could become a hellenistic youtuber, idk

[slate onyx]

Great ideas!! Sorry haha I just wanted ideas of careers for me to think over tehe. I do wanna become an animator and be a professional artist and animator in a studio, but man.. my art skills are trash and i lose motivation for it so easily its kinda depressing haha, i was hoping I can pray to Athena or leave her offerings for help regarding that and or to help me find a career path that really aligns with me

And I have seen a lot of archeologists and their videos visiting Greek temples and talking about the history and uncovering artifacts and man 😭 that sounds so cool too

[slate onyx]

does anyone know who this is a depiction of?

Theres the Greek names but i have no way of actually translating it

[ornate tree]

dionysus? is my first thought

[slate onyx]

thats what i thought too

WAIT IT MIGHT BE

WAIT idk.. Διόνυσος is his name in greek

[ornate tree]

modern or ancient greek?

what is the name of the ones it says its depicting?

[slate onyx]

when i reverse image search all it says is Greek FAKIOLAS Decor Plate 24k Gold Hand Made in Greece

fakiolas is the company

but i cant find any other information on the plate

supposedly Διόνυσος is the ancient greek spelling of his name

hmmm

ok im doing it the hard way and getting a greek keyboard on my phone to type it out and google search it 😭

[ornate tree]

hm seems like its just a decor plate made in the style of greek art? i dont think its supposed to specifcally be any one god

[ornate tree]

actually

[slate onyx]

supposedly 😭 it could be though and because theres names on the side of them that means it is names and i am curious

[ornate tree]

the name is just Dionysus spelled out with greek letters but not actually in greek

[slate onyx]

i tried it and it didn’t work it doesn’t have the same letters as the plate

WHAT

WHO DOES TNATv

[slate onyx]

why 😭😭

omg

im so stupid

HAHHA

[brave ridge]

Sobbing thats actually so funny

[slate onyx]

HAHAHA

wait whos the other person then

sipthaya

[ornate tree]

AY()HTPIS

i cant tell what that middle letter is

[brave ridge]

Reminds me of a school worksheet i saw that was "whats your greek name" and it was the letters that looked like latin characters lined up 😭 so bad

[slate onyx]

ohhhh i found out what it is

AT LEAST WE FOUND OUT WHAT IT IS AND I COULDNT READ THE LETTERS BACKWARDS 😭

thank you guys for your hard work and im dumb foolery

[ornate tree]

yup lets just be sure we are keeping content sfw /lh
illuding to what you mean is still referring to it /gen

[slate onyx]

AH sorry

i deleted it 🫡

the shame.. i cant believe it was in english 😭

[fossil fulcrum]

i have a little piece of construction paper and I've been doodling lyres, music notes and staff, the sun and a bunch of things i coordinate with Apollo and my candle (temporary its just a house candle) has been going crazy :P

[fossil fulcrum]

i feel like demeter would enjoy Yaelokre like any song just Yaelokre

this came to me as I was listening to Hartebeast by them

[ornate tree]

honestly that's valid I can see it

[fossil fulcrum]

definitely rises the moon for artemis fr

[fossil fulcrum]

Thy sun, weaved of steady golden thread and yarn
With Apollos light and music shall he weave away the harm
The music calming and serene like a lyre accompained by a violin on a stage
the warmth like a bouqet of Hyacinth flowers in a vase
His love and adoration shines down on his devotees like the light of the sun and the notes of music weaved together on the staff
Apollo, hymns similair to his loving laugh <---my poem

came up with this after i prayed to him for health and creativity

but gnn

[ornate tree]

aw that's lovely!!

gn!

[fossil fulcrum]

tyy

=]

[bronze shale]

Thats so beautiful omg, gnn!!

[fossil fulcrum]

tyyy

[bronze shale]

Ofccc

[fossil fulcrum]

=]

[tranquil bronze]

spent the whole day taking care of myself bc i was sick as a devotional thing for apollo :3 (taking medicine, hydrating and resting in his honour)

[fossil fulcrum]

i gave coffee to apollo in an hour or so ill ask if hes done with it

[fossil fulcrum]

hes done with and he told me i coould drink it

[scarlet meteor]

its been a month since ive been praying and giving offering to apollon, i really want to try and channel him now but idk how

[ornate tree]

channeling is a skill you would also need to build up

it's not something that you can really just do unless you are particularly skilled in it already

[scarlet meteor]

so i have to wait?

[ornate tree]

you have to build that skill up since I'm assuming you don't know how to it now

[scarlet meteor]

how could i even start? i really want to build my relationship w him more :'))

[ornate tree]

you don't need channeling for that, but you could work on understanding what channeling is and how to do it

[scarlet meteor]

ohh okay, tysm!!

[tranquil bronze]

was doing a small "catch up" reading with lady aphrodite and when i asked her via tarot if a specific someone im trying to pursue could still be interested i pulled the two of cups and

[sick thunder]

saving this

[proven pike]

is making a phone theme for apollo a good thing?? like as a devotional thing for him

[sick thunder]

absolutely yes

literally all my backgrounds are nature related cuz i must see Gaia

[proven pike]

okaiokai thank u

[sick thunder]

yw!

[slate onyx]

Would anyone understand or know what it would mean when a deity wants to help you work on your feminine energy? Hermes has been hanging around and I asked what he would want with me and he basically essentially said feminine energy to cut it short but i am not too sure what that entails

[fossil fulcrum]

if my candle goes crazy when i ask if its hermes but calms down when i ask if its aphrodite

who is it? 😨

[ornate tree]

this might be some help: #1114061062900293714 message

however I personally do not ascribe to the idea of masculine and feminine energy when it comes to my craft due to me being non-binary and not having that kind of outlook on life as a whole I instead use terms like active and passive.

[slate onyx]

Im nonbinary too and didn’t know there was other terms! thanks! im a bit confused as to why Hermes wants to help me with my femininity over a feminine deity. Though i suppose the Gods go beyond Gender

[crude kelp]

There are some deities who've been known to stick with gender labels, but that's more based on identity and expression rather than like. Whether you're AFAB or not

Sometimes what our brains translate as femininity is also just being ok with liking or wearing pretty things or allowing ourselves to enjoy traditionally "feminine" things

[river ember]

I’ve been working with Lord Apollo, but I’ve been struggling with connecting and communicating :/ I’ve been using oracle and tarot cards btw
I am not in a situation where I can light candles too, so that is an obstacle

[slate onyx]

thank you!

[slate onyx]

candles wouldn’t cause that! It could be that perhaps your decks need to be cleansed, you dont understand the cards or he doesn’t like that deck! I have a deck i dedicate to persephone because it get clearer readings from her from that deck more than my other ones!

[crude kelp]

Also is tarot and oracle something you already have a hard time with outside of Apollo?

Cause sometimes it's just that reading is hard

[slate onyx]

that too

[river ember]

I think he doesn’t like the deck because with other deities they work fine

Thank y’all for you’re help :>>>

[bronze shale]

Ive also been struggling with communication or seeing signs or anything like that. I have candles so maybe that..??? Otherwise Im not sure if there are other ways xP

[tranquil bronze]

so i think she meant we were going to be better friends than lovers 🧍‍♂️

[fossil fulcrum]

okay I think Hermes tricked my ass 🧍

[shell musk]

smh hermes do being doing that

[fossil fulcrum]

i asked and it went yes then no so im thinking he popped in after i talked to apollo at my dads

[scenic atlas]

I do have a question. So, when working with different deities, are they able to communicate with you CONSTANTLY and see what you're doing ALWAYS, or is it just when praying or lighting a candle? I have an insane fear of being watched, it's a paranoia diagnosis I believe, and I don't feel like I'd be able to worship if it's a constant observing thing.

[ornate tree]

that may depend on your belief

however if you are super concerned about it and you don't feel comfortable you can always establish those boundaries when making a relationship with them

for me my gods are around constantly but only in the same way as like if I were to put a phone on hold.

like yes they're still there but unless I'm having one-on-one interactions with them they aren't paying attention to me specifically but they're still like around if that makes sense

I guess it's another way to think about that is like with real life people me and my brother can exist in the same room at the same time but unless me and him are directly talking to each other we may not even notice each other

[scenic atlas]

How can we tell when they're with us or not?

[ornate tree]

thats gonna depend on your skills

some people have clairsenses to sense entities through the veil

[scenic atlas]

Veil?

What is a veil?

And how can we improve clairsenses?

[ornate tree]

the spiritual veil between the our world and the spiritual one

and improving them can be done in a lot of ways, including but not limited to meditating while focusing on your senses

[scenic atlas]

Thank you!! Is there any specific way to meditate or is it just like, casual meditation?

[ornate tree]

youll want to mediaite in any way that works for you and work on focusing a specifc sense and try to feel both your "inner energy" as well as the energy of the physical room around you, then youll work on feeling beyond that?

its hard to explain in like words if im honest

[scenic atlas]

That's alright, I understand most of it! TYSM!!

[scarlet meteor]

guys!! ive been wanting to make an altar for apollon, itd be my first altar and i dont know where to start

do yall have any tips?

[ornate tree]

we have a masterdoc for ideas for offerings on him and we also have #1114061823377952809 for altar resources!

#1114061636744007720 message

[scarlet meteor]

tysm!!

[scarlet meteor]

Uhh guys I have a little question, I wanted to use candles but my parents won't let me do that, (they don't trust me enough :_))
Do y'all have any other ideas?

[ornate tree]

using candles for what

[scarlet meteor]

Altars

[ornate tree]

like you're not allowed to burn them or you're not allowed to have them at all

[tranquil bronze]

electric candles are always suggested as stand ins

[scarlet meteor]

Burn

I don't really like electric candles, but still, thank you SM!!

[ornate tree]

hm is it because of smell or like fire safety reasons?

asking because you could look into candle warmers for if you want them to smell/ "be lit" for your entites

[scarlet meteor]

For safety reasons, they're afraid I will burn the house down lolz

[ornate tree]

ah gotcha! yeah you can look into mini-candle warmers that are essentially hotplates that you can place your candles on to melt them.

if you want the aspect of burning a candle but cant, maybe you can look into incense

[scarlet meteor]

Thank you SM!

[scarlet meteor]

Guysss

Apollon emergency

Which candles do you think that he'd like the most?

[ornate tree]

personally I like tea lights bc I don't have to wait like 4 hours for the wax to melt 😭

[scarlet meteor]

What are tea lights?

[ornate tree]

the lil round oned

[hybrid sage]

I like em because they're super cheap where I live

Or maybe it's just other candles that are super expensive

[scarlet meteor]

I bought 10 pieces of the little tea candles for 1 euro and 20 cent

First things that I'm buying for Apollo!!

Some little candles, a big yellow candle that smells soooo good, sunflower incense and a little candle holder

[wintry ridge]

[Does anyone have any oil recipes for Hermes? The shop I normally buy from doesn't have any for Him, and I am out of my regular oils for a few months]

[scarlet meteor]

Little altar in the making

[finite merlin]

oh cute!

[tranquil bronze]

got permission from lady aphrodite to show yall her altar (my pride and joy)

[finite merlin]

omg did you make the corchet cloth thing? it's so well done!

[tranquil bronze]

yesyes!! im planning on making a new one bc it's a bit old

[finite merlin]

it really ties everything together well

[scarlet meteor]

so prettyy

[arctic ether]

guys how do you use candles to pray/meditate? I've been wanting to use a candle to reach out to Aphrodite and Athena so if you have any tips it'd really help

[tranquil bronze]

what i usually do is focus on the flame and kind of visualise them within it?? like when i meditate to lady aphrodite's candle before i communicate with her, i imagine her in the candle itself. when i pray tho i just imagine the candle flame as them hearing my prayers

[arctic ether]

thank you smm

[novel fiber]

For prayimg it depends on where they live, like a sky god, like Aphrodite you raise ur hands to the sky, state their title, and once ur done saying ur stuff u say a thanks or like me (i just say i fall to thee)

[shell musk]

oo interesting! I wouldn’t consider Aphrodite a sky god since she’s associated with the sea a lot

but praying really just depends on what you’re comfortable with. like in my practice, i do not pray. i prefer to have a conversation, like on equal footing. and if i am asking for something, then i petition

[tranquil bronze]

lord apollon saying hello after a whole day of me thinking i was losing contact with him (ft. his altar)

[scarlet meteor]

Damn Ur room is beautiful!!

[void pelican]

i feel like Apollo makes sun brighter 🙏

i will never forget waking up with the sun in my eyes the brightest i've ever experienced while i don't even face my window when i sleep

[tranquil bronze]

next to her's is lord apollo's,, i rearranged it earlier before i did some workings with him

the most expensive thing on the altar is the light stick,, im so glad he likes it

[scarlet meteor]

IHIHI so cool!!

[deft nest]

Needed to flex on all the Aphrodite Devotees because oh my goddess look at this family dollar FIND

[void pelican]

i have no idea what that is but im in love

[ornate tree]

YO??? runs to family dollar

[deft nest]

Literally gorgeous

[lean skiff]

This might be a long shot but any followers of Eros here? I've followed him some time now but havent had the budget to give him his own proper space and have generally merged his and lady Aphrodite's altar spot but would love to build on his more! I still have a dollar store budget but would like to slowly work on it so Im looking for altar decoration/offering suggestions! , Hades and Hermes spots feel pretty barren too, any suggestions? Thanks all in advance! Due to tight finances and living with others, food offerings aren't particularly viable atm

[brave ridge]

Anything related or using their colors, plants, animals or food like pictures, minifigs, jewerly, toys etc is a place to start!

[tranquil bronze]

it's the sad hamster meme 😭

https://tenor.com/view/rat-sad-emoji-happy-yippee-gif-777260725925163129

[shell musk]

you can eat your own food as an offering Imo anything you’re willing to give, that comes from a place of sincerity, will be a good offering. like rocks, a random penny you found on the ground, things you’re interested in, a drawing, poem, jewelry you already have, pretty much anything

we also have some offering ideas you can search for in #1114061636744007720

[scarlet meteor]

Guys!! I usually party and talk probably with tarot readings and candles every Saturday because I have so little time and doing it without my parents noticing it's pretty hard, Saturday I had to hang out with a friend of mine so I didn't do anything and today I'm so SICK

Hope he's not sad at me or sum-

[crude kelp]

Why would he be upset with you for a scheduling conflict?
The deities aren't like what Christianity describes their god like. They understand that we're human and that things come up. If they didn't, they wouldn't have many devotees would they?

Basically the whole "fear of god" and idea that a deity would be upset with you for being human is something that most often comes from the Christian mindset/belief about God (which imo isn't even true about him either)

[scarlet meteor]

TY I NEEDED THIS

I was so scared

[crude kelp]

Yeah ofc! A lot of people don't realize how much they bring from the Christian mentality to their practice with other deities and sometimes all it takes is someone pointing it out to help

Also sometimes it helps to remember why you're practicing what you are. I highly doubt it's that you need or are obligated to, but rather that you want to which is the important part

When we put pressure on ourselves to practice, it often then becomes a chore and not something we enjoy anymore so keeping that in mind can also be helpful

[scarlet meteor]

I tried talking with him right now, I asked to give me a sign, I checked my phone and the time was 17:17 :))

[scarlet meteor]

And thank you again

[hollow root]

Saw this edit on TikTok and I love it so much

[spring epoch]

Hallo guys so I’m trying to get into the habit of praying more I was just wondering if anyone had little tips or ways they like to remember or what you’d usually say in a daily prayer?

[scarlet meteor]

HEYYY!!! So it depends on which god I'm praying to, hands up and words loud if it's a sky god, hands in front if it's an earth one (+ words out loud) and hands down with whispers if it's an underworld or sea god!

As an apollon devotee I pray with my hands up and always start with "To the great god apollon, god of archery, art, health and diseases, the light shines on your graceful face, today I call you to hear..."

[sour axle]

is it necessary to say the words out loud or is it also possible to do it like in your head?

[shell musk]

Can def do it in your head

How you pray depends on YOU and what you’re comfortable with.

[shell musk]

as an easy repeatable prayer you can do like something before you eat like “Thank you for the nourishment, I eat/drink this in your honor.”
Prayers don’t have to be long and complicated

[scarlet meteor]

Praying depends on how YOU feel comfortable, it can be however you want as long as it's respectful!!

[spring epoch]

Thank you!💞

[scarlet meteor]

Np!!

[tranquil bronze]

does anyone know how to use prayer beads? i keep seeing some people use them for "formal prayers" and i've been wanting to get more into praying

ik they're similar to rosaries and i had experience praying with rosaries but i was wondering if it's any different

[ornate tree]

sort of! unlike rosaries they don't really have set prayers for them and you make those up as you go

[tranquil bronze]

ouu,, so it doesn't need to have a set amount of prayers?

[ornate tree]

hmmm not really! I have a set for Aphrodite where my prayer is each bead gets a line from the prayer!

[tranquil bronze]

OHHHHH

that actually makes more sense

bc i thought a bead was a prayer each like a rosary

[shell musk]

KOMBOLOI! hold

greek prayer beads #1114061252247945320 message

[upper inlet]

i might reach out to Hades and try to establish a connection with him i got a reading done by a friend in the witchy community that mentioned him as one of the entities that would like to work with me

[crude kelp]

Oo good luck! We worked with him for a little while when we first got into entity stuff and it really helped us I think

[winged pine]

how do you get those readings, if you dont mind?

[upper inlet]

could you clarify - do you mean "how are they conducted" or "how did i find this service"?

[winged pine]

Find the service.

[upper inlet]

please don't ping me unless necessary. i've been following that practitioner on IG for a while now, so i was made aware when she started promoting her "spiritual path report", a component of which was entities that want to form a connection to you. i'm sure there are other practitioners who have similar deity identification services though

[tranquil bronze]

i was legit panicking over a lot of things and i looked out the window and the first thing i said was "apollo, help me right now" and the sunset got brighter

i think it was him saying "im here :DD"

i love him sm /pos

[spring epoch]

I’m setting up an altar for Zeus and Poseidon I’m very very excited 😼

More nervous than anything but still excited!

[ornate tree]

wooo! gl!

[shell musk]

nice!!

[lost wraith]

is anyone else having trouble trying to contact dionysus?

[hollow coyote]

Little altar in the making for Athena and Aphrodite

Idk what else to add, like I cant add candles or anything like that cause my parents would kill me

Im thinking some crochet things and Im thinking of buying a woodcarving set for a dove and an owl

[ornate tree]

if you have the ability to you can look into electric andles which are LED not like actual flames

[tall hamlet]

What if you crocheted candles? Or added crayons to symbolize candles?

[ornate tree]

candles

that's also a cute idea!

[void pelican]

no but I could barely get any answers from Hypnos

[high crown]

I’m struggling with going to sleep is it a good idea to try to contact Hypnos??

[cedar radish]

possibly ! i’d also look into some mundane things to help as well

the gods can only do so much after all

[high crown]

yeah

its just hard to stay calm and be relaxed in a way

[cedar radish]

ik there’s some teas like lavender that help you relax

[high crown]

and I even if I do get to sleep I wake up and feel groggy

no matter how much i sleep

[cedar radish]

you can also start taking up relaxing hobbies that don’t involve or require you to stare at a screen like crochet

[high crown]

Oh

[ornate tree]

allocating a bed time ritual of turning off devices and relaxing into your sleep cycle may help

[high crown]

I try asmr

sometimes it does but sometimes it just dosent

(I’m very picky with sounds)

I hate tea tho

(I’m sorry)

Anyway thank you for the advice

[naive birch]

guys im communicating with hermes and apollo rn

trough dice

and idk if it works sometimes it makes sense sometimes it dont?

[drowsy shore]

im a beginner in hellenism, does anyone know how to communicate with your deity/know who your deity is?

[crude kelp]

I think the whole "your deity" thing is a bit of a misnomer. It typically just refers to a deity that you work with, but I think people may have gotten a little Percy Jackson-ed so they think they "have" a deity that's supposed to "claim" or reach out to them in order to do any sort of deity work
None of that is the case. You can work with any deity of your choosing so long as they're open to you (not really an issue for Hellenics).

To actually answer your question, I would recommend learning things like protection, cleansing, banishing, etc before getting into deity work however if you wanted to start with devotional/worship type stuff, you could absolutely start that rn with just a but of research into who you want to honor

[naive birch]

Guys is it normal for apollo to mess with people?

[finite merlin]

what do you mean? /genq

[naive birch]

hes like funny messing with me trough dice then i asked him if hes messing with me ,,maybe" then he answered normally

even though its kind of funny how perfectly he answered

i said stop saying Maybe so he stopped and did it agsin when i told him he could because he confused me

[ornate tree]

have you done a vetting session?

I only ask because Apollo is pretty like jokey in a few instances but it's still best to make sure

[naive birch]

he is joking the whole time. I told him as a joke ,,you are a silly god are you?" And he answered with ,,hard yes"

[naive birch]

yes

[ornate tree]

well I mean if you're having anymore of a joking kind of relationship with him then it could be that this is your experience with him it may not be Universal but it's not necessarily wrong

[naive birch]

yeah but im sometimes scared that he doesnt like me because sometimes his answers are kinda mean

[ornate tree]

have you established that you don't enjoy those types of answers

because if he is making you uncomfortable within your own practice by making you think that he doesn't like you then that means to be something that you discuss with him

[naive birch]

ok ill try telling him that thanks!!!!

It actually worked!!

[dusky oak]

Good morning, evening or night!! Hiii! so im new to this religion and i wanted some help on sorting things out!

What all things do i need to make an altar for Apollo?

[ornate tree]

tbh there isn't much that you need

nothing in an altar is required

but we do have some info that can help you start out #1114061636744007720 message

[naive birch]

guys i think apollo doesnt like me that much-

[ornate tree]

why do you think that?

[naive birch]

like he doesnt answer questions propaply and when i ask him if he likes me hes like no and when i ask if he hates me he says no-

but hades likes me hehe

[ornate tree]

i know you said you did a vetting session with him but can i ask how you did that session?/genq/nf

because if youve made it clear you need consistant answers from him and hes still acting that way it may not be apollo and might be another entity (or deity) tricking you

[naive birch]

i did that vetting session trough dice like 1,3,5 is no and 2,4,6 is yes and all were correct

(same with hades i did that an hour ago)

[ornate tree]

can i ask which questions you asked him? if you remember of course

[naive birch]

i dont remember actually

but i also cleaned his altar today and i also cleansed it and idk why hes like that. I also had an struggle lighting his candle

[ornate tree]

hm maybe you can ask to take a break from his worship? bc there may also be some hesitation on your end because you feel as tho he doesnt like you.

i dont think that him saying he hates you is very heathy due to you not know if they are jokes or not. unless you and him have made it clear that your okay with those kinds of jokes/statements, maybe stepping back might be best?

[naive birch]

i told him i dont like the jokes and asked him if he could stop them he said no.

and its not like the dice dont work because it works perfectly with hades-

[ornate tree]

then yeah i dont think personally that its apollo /gen

because gods should not be saying no to boundaries you are putting in place and if they are thats not safe for you /gen

[naive birch]

what should i do?

[ornate tree]

im not even saying its a trickster spirit since i know that some Hellenism worshipers dont believe in them but that its not apollo at the very least.

[naive birch]

i asked hades and he said its athena but she doesnt respond when i ask her if its her

[cedar radish]

i’d cleanse your whole space & dice first before communicating more too

[ornate tree]

genuinely tell him that if hes not truthful to you and wont respect your boundaries then the relationship you have is done and youll be taking the altar down

the issue is that it doesnt really sound like someone that isnt a trickster (be it spirit or god)

[naive birch]

ok i’ll do that

[ornate tree]

would agree w salem with cleanings and such!

[naive birch]

but why is ,,it” only there on apollos altar and not on Hades?

[ornate tree]

because its not trying to replicate hades

[naive birch]

i did that today actually!!

[ornate tree]

your space and dice?

[naive birch]

just the space have to cleanse the dice tmrw!!

[ornate tree]

then yeah i would hold off on doing anymore readings until you can cleanse them.

there is a chance its your dice

[cedar radish]

yeah i was gonna say

[naive birch]

cant be. Bc hades is normal like always. Not apollo though

[ornate tree]

but there is also a chance that what you think is apollo may not be

like i said its not trying to mess with or replicate Hades

just apollo

trickster spirits/gods arent exactly the easiest to follow logically

[naive birch]

ok thx

helped me allot

[ornate tree]

glad we could .gen

[naive birch]

Hades altar!! (Ik its not much but im broke atm)

but he loves it still-

[ornate tree]

Lovely!!!

tbh i love just giving hades my spare change

[naive birch]

same

he also has a bit of my cats fur (i have a bit cut out for an bracelet but i gave some of it to him) And he loves it most about my altar!!,

[ornate tree]

awww! my Hades ones is sad bc my puppy stole his dog toy for Ceberus and his hades satue (it was a plastic one from the Disney movie lmao)

[naive birch]

naww HAHAHHAHA

i was yapping about my ex boyfriend to him, even crying and his flame was like wiggle wiggle~

but he agreed that he was behaving like an asshole so-

[ornate tree]

😭 yeah he does that lmao

[naive birch]

hes so funny like i was like he’s such an ass right? I rolled the dice and he was like ,,yes.” And his candle started wiggling again

clear answer.

[spring epoch]

Really random and kinda not important but I find it easier to do work whenever I have Athena’s candles lit ngl

Just wanted to share that she’s awesome sauce and she gives me motivation 😼

[naive birch]

hades gives me my motivation hehe

[spring epoch]

Apollo is my main source of motivation but I like to think Athena roots for me doing my work lol

[cedar radish]

something i find kinda funny about me sorta being drawn to worshipping lord zeus is that i have a fear of storms 😭

[spring epoch]

I feel that😭

[sleek elbow]

Hi everyone! 🥰

[spring epoch]

Hiii!

[sleek elbow]

I’m new here, I just wanted to make some more pagan friends 😂 how is everyone x

[hollow coyote]

got inspired and wrote a poem for Athena lol, can someone tell me if its good and I should put it in her altar or should I change it?

Blue eyed goddess
Master of war
Queen of tactics
Athena Promachos

Athena Soteira
Save us from this world
The corruption on this earth
Makes people forget Earth

Nocturnal owl
Full of wisdom
You who forces me to sleep
Maybe because of you
Is that I love night

You, who weaves stories
Athena Ergane
Who weaves my life
And has done so since my birth

Thank you Athena
For you have saved my life

lol

did it on french class cause Im bored

[finite merlin]

this is beautiful! I'm sure she would love it

[winged leaf]

wowie, i got chills reading it! absolutely stunning!

[winged leaf]

felt weird posting this in the submissions channel because i already posted something there not long ago, but just wanted to share this as i thought it might be helpful for others who are interested in learning the attic calendar/ancient athenian festivals

i may be missing some information as a lot of this stuff is really elusive/heavily debated.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UF0CzYU29Sp51aVSeVLVtNZDQhlCzL27gN5J7rRFpfA/edit?usp=sharing

[ornate tree]

you can share as much as you'd like in submissions

[winged leaf]

ahh thank you so much (,:

[oak helm]

If we don't take myth literacy, doesn't it mean myths are just headcannons of the gods but in ancient times?

That's just from my understanding

[hollow coyote]

why does that make sense? why is it funny? wow, just, imagine youre reading a myth and youre like "oh, (Deity) ate" and the deity is like, "uhhh, isnt that kinda a fanfic?"

[ornate tree]

so myths aren't like "fanfic" or headcannons
but instead acting more like how parents will use stories of like a boogie man to keep children from getting themselves into danger.
they were stories written by people in order to showcase lessons and goals in terms that people could understand

[ornate tree]

Headcannons are like upg's

And in this case the myths (as well as texts on historical worship) are like canon you draw headcannons from.

(and if your going the route of where we are going spg's are like fanon: an agreed upon aspect of a deity that's not entirely rooted in canon texts)

[hollow coyote]

ohhhh, so like theyre stories or something like that about the deities to teach us things?

what are spg's?

lol

Im dumb on english

[ornate tree]

yeah! like the story of Echo and Narcissis was to explain where those things come from but arent meant to be taken literally. like your echo isnt an actual lady echoing your words back to you

and the first Narcissis didnt come from a man withering away by a stream, etc etc

[hollow coyote]

ohhhh, so like we should learn from them and not take them as literal things, more like teachings on morals?

[ornate tree]

spg is shared personal gnosis

[ornate tree]

kinda! its like folk tales a lot of times

like how various places have different origins for various things like plants or natural phenomenon

[hollow coyote]

ohhhhh, so like, myths explain things and teach us?

I should be studying for SS but Im bored and this is far more interesting than studying

[ornate tree]

upg (unverified personal gnosis) : Hekate likes pink flowers (this is a personal account not rooted in historical myth and may or may not be something she tells an individual) (Headcanon)
spg (shared personal gnosis) : Hekate likes the color purple (this is a shared account that is somewhat related to her existing mythos but isnt completely, but is something multiple people believe so it becomes spg) (Fanon)
vg (verified gnosis): Hekate likes dogs (this is a verified account that is backed up entirely by existing texts of her) (Canon)

[hollow coyote]

ohhhh

Imma go back to to studying, I need to learn and explain and relate differences and similarities between five religions and I always forget the books

my fault for not studying the last two weeks I could have studied

[ornate tree]

i know a few books but depends on religion

Christanity = Bible
Judaism = Torah
Islam = Quran

[hollow coyote]

its about Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, I got most of them on my head but some are hard to remember

[hollow coyote]

how did you know I had to remember those????

mind readers scare me, I saw a movie about that and I had nightmares

[ornate tree]

tbh they are the usual for world religion 😭

[hollow coyote]

fr

it is about ancient religions

and Im scared for next unit cause its ancient Greece and cause an error I made in a conversation everyone on the school knows that Im a hellenist and ahhhhh, I hate my life lol

[ornate tree]

ooo gl!

i loved greek mythos in school if anything blame your interest on percy jackson

[hollow coyote]

lol

I am scared for starting that cause everyone will ask more copies of homework and be more annoying to me

[ornate tree]

ah yeah def wishing gl 🫡

[hollow coyote]

atleast the teacher is cool and Im his favorite so yeah

lol

thanks

Imma go study more

[ornate tree]

bye!! hope you have a good study

[oak helm]

Chat what websites should I go to to do research on the myths of the gods 😔

I'm too broke for books 😔

[ornate tree]

theoi

[oak helm]

I'll try that 😼

[ornate tree]

https://www.theoi.com/

they have soooo much

and they site all their sources

would also see if your local library would be willing to order books for you on greek myth!

most times if you need to be secret about it you can pass it off as homework or school projects

[hollow coyote]

well, I memorized all the books and all, and now Im free, 30 minutes to do whatever I want, so Imma make a poem for Aphrodite, I cant seem to find many of her titles tho, I just found Ourania and some which say shes from a city, does someone know other titles??

[ornate tree]

https://www.theoi.com/Cult/AphroditeTitles.html#Poetic ( i love theoi)

[hollow coyote]

thanks a lot

Imma write a good poem now

[hollow coyote]

I got the books right, yipeeee, I just explained some "original ideas" and I maybe will get a 4/4

I love exams

[shut oriole]

I am somewhat excited, finished hermes prayer beads like a bit ago? I don't think it's very good but he likes it! So it's a win!

[winged leaf]

thats so beautiful!! im glad he likes it

[spring epoch]

Waittt making them out of kandi is so smartttt😭😭🫶🫶

[scarlet meteor]

What's that?/gen

It looks so pretty

[shell musk]

prayer beads can help one’s mindfulness during prayer, or each bead signifies something, or each bead is a different line in a hymn. prayer beads are a bit different depending on religion and person

[hollow coyote]

I found out some days ago that Aphrodite is sometimes a war goddess like Ares and Athena, because she means that you protect what you love even in war or something like that, lol, I dunno if that is true or anything so can anyone comfirm it? I dont really know where to find the info lol

[ornate tree]

yup!

Aphrodite Areia!

[hollow coyote]

https://tenor.com/view/hai-gif-10567033442484308038

Imma use it on my poem

thanks oli

youre the best

[ornate tree]

yup! that might not be the correct spelling however you could go to theoi.com and look through her epithets page for "of Ares" or "Warlike"

[hollow coyote]

ohhh, I didnt look at that lol, I was looking at theoi.com but looking lower on the list

thanks lol

[ornate tree]

yeah no problem

[hollow coyote]

Ok, I did it, after some days of locked mind I got her poem, this ones longer than Athena's lol

Aphrogeneia
Goddess of love and beauty
You who creates peace and war
Beauty and love moves the world

Aphrodite Chrysea
You who outshines everything and everyone in beauty
You who moved the world because of your words
Your skin golden like the sun
Your words sweeter than honey
Your voice soft like waves breaking on the sand

Aphrodite Areia
You who inspires me to fight for what I love
Aphrodite Nicephorus
You who helps us win all of our love wars
Aphrodite Hoplismena
You who arms us with love and beauty to fight

Maybe you are tired of me
Maybe you dont like me using so many titles
so I will keep one and use it for some time until I change
Aphrodite Urania

You who has loved us since your birth
You who protects us from loveless nights
Thank you Aphrodite
For your golden love has helped us all

[winged leaf]

how lovely! :D

your poems are gorgeous!!

[ornate tree]

oh that's lovely 🫶

[hollow coyote]

lol thanks, when I get home Imma write it down and put it in her altar

[tranquil bronze]

lord apollo is absolutely slaying today

[winged leaf]

oh wow, indeed he is

beautiful photos ^^

[oak helm]

Chat what are some devotional acts I can do for Apollo 😼

And Aphrodite

:3

[brave ridge]

We have these that have a section of Devotional Acts:
#1114061252247945320 message

Our #1114061252247945320 & #1114061636744007720 may also be of use

I lied the first link has everything in the server in there

[odd cargo]

i have a candle for Loki and Zeus, i added some buttons to decorate them. Loki just set one of the buttons on fire and zeus kept throwing a larger button out of his candle T-T

[tranquil bronze]

i just noticed in the second and third photo,, if you look closely you can see a humanoid shape

bro is up there frfr /lh

[shell musk]

HE

[winged leaf]

just thought i would share this here as, up until now, aliakai was a youtuber i watched to get a general introduction into the hellenic faith.

tw: mentions of racism,||antisemetism||, ||homophobia||, a lot of stuff about Christians being a monolith, ||fascism||, ||police brutality||, and just a load of bigoted rhetoric.

if you consume her content or associate with her in any way i really encourage you to not to anymore 🫶

https://www.tumblr.com/memoriaedamnatio

[hollow coyote]

Found this on a thrift shop, reminded me of Apollo lol

[winged leaf]

thats so cool omg

if i got it i dont think i'd be able to light it 😭 its so pretty

[scarlet meteor]

Guys!! I wanted to start working with Hecate but I heard that she doesn't like being put in the same altar with other deities, is that true?

[ornate tree]

me looking at my Hekate, Nyx, Hel altar: 🧍

personally I find that that kind of distinction pretty much relies on you and your relationship with the deity involved.

some people say that you should never even worship Aphrodite and Persephone together but for others that's never an issue

[odd cargo]

do you have a pendulum/tarot cards? you should ask her! (i am a beginner but this is what i've been told!)

Loki doesnt want to let go of one of her candles, its like burning on hopes and dreams, i told Loki i have a new one for her and will place it down right after she lets go of the other one, but she told me she didnt want to let it go T-T

[ornate tree]

hm maybe you can light the new one and leave the old one as well?

[odd cargo]

i was about to say i dont have a holder for the new one but i actually do!! ty i will do so, and then take the old one away once its gone?

awh they let go of the candle, im putting the new one up <3

[scarlet meteor]

Tysm!! I'll try to

[scarlet meteor]

I've been using tarot for some months now, but I have no clue who I am talking to. When I want to talk with Apollon I just use tarot hoping that I'm talking with him, how do y'all know who you are talking with ?

[spring epoch]

I usually will use multiple divination forms just to make sure and super super in case but some people will ask for identifier cards or just vet them

[scarlet meteor]

Okkk!!! Tysm

[ornate tree]

tbh sometimes it's not an entity at all in my case but the cards themselves unless I'm specifically asking for an entity

[spring epoch]

It also depends for me yeah

I think my cards are like, the cards, but i use them to talk to deities when I/they want

[winged leaf]

personally for me when it comes to tarot i feel that im using them to tap into the collective universal conscious ?? im not the best at putting it into words yet but i believe that im able to connect myself with an external source of sort of energetic knowledge shared by everyone and channel what it wants to say through the cards, but then i also think tarot can be used to channel specific entities and to communicate w them too so i think it depends on your belief tbh

which is why i like to cast a circle/cleanse/protect yadda yadda before i do an indepth reading tht im gonna take any bit seriously bc negative influence yyk yk

[spring epoch]

YES that’s also very important I forgot 💔

[oak helm]

I'm violently SOBBING from all the drama that happened on tiktok with the missdefective stuff

[tranquil bronze]

what's this?

[oak helm]

So basically a girl from tiktok insulted king zues and it sparked a lot of controversy and instead of accepting her mistakes and apologizing she instead said that "a bunch of preteens attckes her"

[odd cargo]

i was asking loki and zeus about it, i haven't been working with them for long but from tarot cards i read zeus was unhappy and wont contact her anymore, but loki was pissed

[ornate tree]

one thing i will note is that your version of a deity is not the same as someone elses

[hollow coyote]

was it that girl that treated Zeus like a friend or something? I saw that video and I was like uhhh wtf

[ornate tree]

not everyone has the same realtionships with their gods and some have less formal bonds and its not wrong just bc its not what you would do

saying that you asked a god and they said they wont work with her anymore is unfortunately not going to work as they dont work with the same exact version you do. Maybe she interacts with epithets, maybe she has a knowing and less formal relationship.

But speaking on behalf of a deity because you asked the one you speak to can in someways be viewed as god phoning bc no one but you can verify thats what the god said

[tranquil bronze]

what the flip is that the person who was getting king zeus to react to thunderbringer disrespectfully?

[oak helm]

Yeah

[tranquil bronze]

tears in my epic the musical eyes /j

i saw a snippet of that tiktok and ew???

[odd cargo]

were you reacting to me? i didnt mean it as godphoning- just trying to share what i got- srry!!

[ornate tree]

ah yeah sorry. and I get that!

but as I said asking your deity about their relationship w someone else can be something they aren't truthful to you about bc relationships like that are private in a lot of cases

[odd cargo]

i wasn't exactly asking on their relationship, just was wondering what they thought about it, pracising my divination/tarot card reading and trying to strengthen my relationship with them :)
Didnt know it could be viewed like that, ty!!

[bronze shale]

I don't like it whedn people insult the gods themselves for the characters they're portrayed in. People hate the God, King Zeus because of his CHARACTER in EPIC. I say that too, but I'm separating the character from the actual divine being. But oh well, what can I do about it

[bronze shale]

..Can I be sent the link, I have no clue what you mean by "reacting to thunderbringer disrespectfully"

[oak helm]

Unfortunately the video got taken down due to a lot of backlash and controversy surrounding it

[bronze shale]

Ahh, I mean, isn't this good? That the video was taken down?

[oak helm]

But the way she spoke to zues is by insulting him a lot by calling him names like "bitch", " fucker" or any swear word is thrown at him

[bronze shale]

That's so sickly! :(

[oak helm]

It's not in a joking manner since it's clear in her voice she meant it

[bronze shale]

Like yes, Zeus isn't portayed in media as.. good, but that doesn't mean the God isn't, from my understanding, right?

The media =/= the reality

[oak helm]

Not because here's the catch.. She's a myth literist

[bronze shale]

Oh no.

[oak helm]

And she also uses candle divination, not the wax but the flame itself which is already bad enough

[bronze shale]

I'm a beginner so may I ask why this is bad?

Trust me when I say I love to do research on my own using external sources like books and websites and don't use tiktok or social media for information- But I did see a lot of people at some point, say that candle divination wasn't the most accurate source of reading? (heavy question mark?)

[oak helm]

From what I've heard they aren't reliable since there are some outside elements that could affect the flame in the candle iirc

[bronze shale]

Yes, that's what I just meant! Unreliable due to flame physics and other external factors like wind.

[oak helm]

She also called zues a "nasty bitch" which is so wrong on so many levels

[bronze shale]

Oh no D:

[bronze shale]

That's os incredibly disrespectful on so so many levels oh my gods.

[shell musk]

Flame divination isn’t a new practice, and like with any divination method takes a lot of practice to accurately read. Not defending this creator since she sounds icky, but am definitely the practice itself

Also, I definitely understand the frustration /g But repeating exactly what was said isn’t productive. The creator said their horrible take, took her video down, and now has to live with what she said. We shouldn’t dwell on it. Instead we should take about how cool Zeus the character and Zeus the God is!

[oak helm]

Yeah!

[bronze shale]

I'm not sure how to respond to this so ... Have a "thanks!!" from me even though it isn't the appropriate response. But I see your POV, and I agree ^_^

[oak helm]

I'm going to let the gods fix myth literalism because if I try to fix it, I'm going to jail /j

[bronze shale]

HELP?

[tranquil bronze]

that actually sucks bc as someone who reads and consumes a lot of Greek mythology retellings,, I tend to separate how the gods are characterised from the actual deity themselves,, like in a genderbent retelling of the myth of orphus and eurydice that i recently read, lord apollo was characterised as a horrible father figure to the protagonist but that never changed how i viewed him as a devotee

I think ppl who worship the gods rlly need to learn how to separate the fictionalised version to the actual versions of them

bc that's just rude and mean to think the gods are just how they're portrayed in popular media

[winged leaf]

well said

[tranquil bronze]

bit of a dumb question,, but are heroes worshipped in hellenic polytheism? like heracles and achilles?

im not planning on doing so but it popped in my head

[brave ridge]

They can be yes!
https://sacredhaven.ca/achilles

https://www.theoi.com/Cult/HeraklesCult.html#:~:text=HERAKLES was an Olympian demigod,of his birth in myth.

[spring epoch]

Hero worship is so awesome sauce I haven’t seen it often tho😞

I’ve been thinking of it a wee bit though, so I might sometime in the future😁

[shell musk]

not a dumb question!

this blog goes a bit into how hero worship acted in ancient Hellas. but for a modern day sense, you definitely could treat them as working with/worshipping any other entity

#1114061252247945320 message

[bronze shale]

Hey, I've got a question. I've been curious, do helpols believe in the underworld/putting a coin under a ||ceased|| person's tongue [in order to cross river styx]?

[oak helm]

I do honestly

[winged leaf]

making a list of elemental/element related deities and coming upon the extensive list of river deities in the greek mythos is actually so overwhelming 😭 if im counting properly theres over 100 listed on the theoi website

and thats just for rivers holy

IDK WHY i have done this to myself im already 14 pages in on 10 point font and im not even past water related deities LOLLL

should probably just group them all into potamoi for the sake of my sanity ok im done thank u

[shell musk]

omg yeah there’s hellaaaa 😅 godspeed

[ornate tree]

🫡gl solider

[winged leaf]

[bronze shale]

same-

[hollow coyote]

Little altar update

I bought some statues

Might get inspired tomorrow to do more poems lol

[ornate tree]

CUTE!

[hollow coyote]

Got inspired again lol

Athena
Why is it that you reached out to me?
Why do you even stay near me?
Is it to teach me?
To guide me?

I have followed you since my young
I didn't understand the world
I was confused before you
I was trapped in a world that wasn't mine

I didn't belong there
I belonged under your wings
Under the owl’s beak
Athena

I thank you for guiding me through my days
When I didn't understand you
I was confused
Now I am not

Thank you for guiding me to a place where people understand me
Thank you for everything
I once asked you
“Have you been with me since my birth”
Out of pure curiosity
you said “Yes”
I thank you for that
for choosing me when I didn't belong in that place

For all the sleepless nights
I make this poem
To thank you for all those time in which you helped me
Thank you Athena

new poem

might do a poem for Aphrodite today if I got time

[shell musk]

how lovely!!!

[oak helm]

I'm not that educated on worship and I feel like I've been neglecting Apollo on worshipping

[ornate tree]

so long as you and Apollo are comfortable and okay with the amount of worship you are doing then that's all that matters

[oak helm]

this is why we love you oli /p

[ornate tree]

🥺

[spring epoch]

I love when I like think about Apollo and am immediately blinded and then see 7 crows😭

[wooden echo]

Y'all i need help. i don't know where to start 😭 i wrote down research on everything i could find and then did research on individual gods/goddess' and stuff and wrote down their favorite stuff and their signs and associations and everything but now idk what to do 😭

[ornate tree]

might help to understand what you want out of communication and worship/working w the gods

it might also help to learn about the differences between working with and worshiping as well as getting your basics down

I would also maybe look into God's that interest you about different things and see about formally making a Space of worship for them

[wooden echo]

I just want to have a healthy relationship with religion. I have ||religious trauma with Christianity|| and hellenism has always kind of peaked my interest. i was always fascinated by greek mythology and i do remember when i was younger and just learning about the myths, believing that the deities were real. I really just want a relationship with them and nothing really physically, like items. I do know already what Gods/Goddesses that interest me, there's quite a lot including Apollo, Artemis, Hades, Persephone, Hermes, Nyx, and Aphrodite. i want to be able to make a mini altar for all of them but i don't really know where i would hide it or where i would even get the stuff for it.

[ornate tree]

have you considered looking into digital options for the time being?

I know that being closeted means that you have less options in terms of how to make one as well as how to properly hide one but I find that digital alters are really helpful for that as well as mini ones that you can maybe fit in your wallet fit in a shoe box if you have one a lunch box like one of those old plastic ones or something like that

alters don't need to be super ostentatious and it can be a little bit daunting to hop into making one when you've seen others with big huge Altos that have a lot of space or a lot of elements to it when it can generally just be a simple as a space that you use to curate your worship for your gods in a way that's comfortable and safe for you

[wooden echo]

i have thought about making one on minecraft or something similar. i used to keep a bunch of old shoeboxes but i think my parents got rid of them when we moved. i can try to make them in mini shelf containers and then hide them either in my closet or in my window bench (it can open for storage but id have to move everything off of it first including a gecko.)

[ornate tree]

so it might be worth it to think about making your space a more mundane rather than magical one at least in terms of how it looks outwardly this could be like utilizing your window space as a altar for Apollo & Artemis because that's where you get the most Sun/moon

or using a vanity/bathroom space as an altar for Aphrodite because that's where you do things related to beauty and like self-love if that makes sense

these are just options and you definitely don't have to use them lol
but all of that could work it ultimately comes down to what's the safest for you as you don't want to be putting yourself in danger of having a bad reaction from your family especially if you still live with them

[wooden echo]

yeah

[river ember]

y’all I came with a cool idea as a hellenic twist to the 12 days of Christmas
Where one would dedicate each of the days to each of the 12 Olympians and do something as simple as wearing their colors or as complicated as doing a whole ritual for them
I like having something festive that fits in with my religion for the holidays :}
Im prob gonna do it from the 12 to the 24th because I just thought of this lol

[wooden echo]

omg that's amazing

[winged leaf]

i love that!!!

[wooden echo]

could someone send me a website or document that has all the hellenic holidays and calendar stuff??

[winged leaf]

https://www.hellenion.org/calendar/
be suree to cross ref and stuff ofc

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UF0CzYU29Sp51aVSeVLVtNZDQhlCzL27gN5J7rRFpfA/edit?usp=sharing
i also made this a little while ago but its missing some festivals i need to add quite a bit to it

[wooden echo]

tysmmm

[oak helm]

Do any hellenists believe that Demeter actually causes the seasons?

[ornate tree]

I cannot speak for every Hellenist and I am not a specific one however I believe that belief in this is working in tandem with science we know the scientific reason why the seasons change but in terms of mythology Demeter was used as the lesson folks would give because we didn't have the articulation to express why seasons change scientifically at least till like children and people who weren't renowned scientists

Myths at their core were never meant to be taken literally they were used as stories to help people explain what they were dealing with

[oak helm]

Is it ok using my online name to the gods because I really don't like my real name 😔

[ornate tree]

if thats the name you prefer to go by sre

sure*

[oak helm]

Wowzers

I have a chonky 7 day candle for Aphrodite, Apollo and Hermes but I have a scarcity mentality so I'm scared to use them

[ornate tree]

valid!

[ornate tree]

the myth of hades and persephone is where her ruling over the seasons and changing them comes from. as her daughter goes into the underworld she feels sorrow so deep she refuses to do her tasks of keeping crops alive hence changing the season

thats why i said myths arent a thing you take literally in my above comment. im explaining the myth as you said you dont know much about her. /nm

because you said "i dont know much about her" so i explained it

[oak helm]

Sorry if i have a buttload of questions but how does Hestia help us connect with the gods

[ornate tree]

hestia is the "home" of the gods she keeps the flame of harth lit on olympus and thus the homely connection to the gods through that (imo)

[ornate tree]

i keep forgetting to ping you

[oak helm]

It's fine honestly it's just a bit annoying 😔

[cedar radish]

same ! it’s like a little reminder that no matter what there’s some connection to the gods

[ornate tree]

again sorry i dont like pinging people as it makes me uncomfortable and i also dont really ping reply if its a message below another one! ill try harder to remember

[oak helm]

I heard some people say "you can look at the gods myths to see what they like for offerings" but I thought we don't take myth literalism

I'm just a lil confused

[ornate tree]

okay so just because we don't take Miss literally doesn't mean that we can't take inspiration from them based on things that they as gods are associated with

so for example people associate the gods with their myths but they don't have to be taken literally.

in this case Athena is associated with like spiders not because she literally made spiders but because the creation myth of spiders is associated with Athena does this make sense

taking inspiration of myth doesn't mean that you're taking the myths as literal.

[oak helm]

Oooh

My brain is getting smorter

https://tenor.com/view/brain-gif-22265960

[ornate tree]

[tranquil bronze]

i had a toploader, photocard sleeves, stickers, washi tape and a dream (an offering to lady aphrodite)

[shell musk]

LOVE IT

[river ember]

I love all the stickers you put on it :]

[novel fiber]

Does anyone here worship Aphrodite in her epithet of War?

[ornate tree]

I do

[tranquil bronze]

once a photocard of hades!apollo comes out i will be bouncing off the walls /pos

[slow pendant]

Spoiler just in case for a faceless figure

My statues for Kharon and Hygieia came in! Im so excited to put Kharon on my cthonic altar and Hygieia with Apollo and Asklepios on one of Apollo's altars!

[slow pendant]

Loveeeeee Aphrodite Areia!👏🏻💖

[ornate tree]

LOVE!!!

[slow pendant]

Thank youuu🥺🥺🥺💖💖💖💖

[ornate tree]

the kharon one is especially haunting but in the best way!

[slow pendant]

RIGHT i saw that and was like I need rn 👏🏻

I agree I think part of why i love it is that hauntingness like gives perfect timelessness of being an underworld ferryman

[oak helm]

wait what are epiphets because all i know is that im worshiping aphrodite

[ornate tree]

Epithets are different aspects of a god. So Aphrodite is the goddess of love and war. If what you want is just her war like aspect you can call upon Aphrodite Areia and ask for her help.

there are also place based epithets, as the Ancient Greeks believed that how a deity was worshipped in a specific place was a tad different. So the Aphrodite of Athens may have been different than the Aphrodite of Cyprus

[full pelican]

I'm pretty new to Hellenism, and I already find myself doubting the gods. Having just come off of my old religion, I hope you can imagine why. It was a massive shift in a relatively short amount of time going from there to atheists to Hellenist, and now I'm starting to doubt Hellenism. I really don't want it to be like the old one, and the old arguments against christianity are creeping up again against Hellenism. Part of this is because people have been really starting to question my faith and since I haven't really gotten my foot in yet I didn't really have any good answers for them. Does anyone more experienced Hellenists have any advice on how to deal with doubt of the gods and how to reconcile with it?

[brave ridge]

Doubt is actually quite a normal part of the process when changing religion and belief practices. Many religions Tie the belief to your way of life (doing certain things every day/repeatedly) and when one isn't doing that anymore- or doing something different - it's reasonable that doubt will spring up. That's human nature and that's okay

You don't have to answer these questions here, right now or at all you can also change your answers; just think about these every now and then as it may help to understand your doubt

• what initially drew you to hellenism
• was it something different that drew you to being atheist/any other belief
• aside from religious belief, did anything else change when changed religions? Why?
• is there an exact point of doubt you have, or is it general feeling?
• what are you doing to help feel more secure as a hellenist

Some literal thing you can do is incorporate bits and pieces of the faith into you general practice. Saying "in honor of (entities name) i make this" after doing spells, or activities that relate to them. You can also try communication with them if you feel talk with them (or talking and them listening) would be helpful

[novel fiber]

Shortly, I'd personally say don't act as if changing religions/beliefs will heal your religional trauma (i learned it the hard way, trust me). Facing the religious trauma first is actually a good way to touch onto witchcraft in general, and hellenism as a form of belief. Do a lot of shadow work, without interference of deities, then you actually take a step forward.

Doubt itself is something that makes you get in touch with reality, and that is good. Questioning, is good, and is not a form of disrespect, hence taking a break and doing more research would benefit you most in this kind of situation.

[oak helm]

is it ok to celebrate the wheel of the year instead of the greek one as a Hellenist?

[shell musk]

yep!

[shell musk]

ping

[oak helm]

tyyy!!

[shell musk]

you might resonate with this reddit post /npa https://www.reddit.com/r/Hellenism/comments/qo35qn/struggling_with_faith/?rdt=39556

[full pelican]

Thats pretty much where i took it, it described my problem perfectly

[ornate tree]

hi so very sorry about this but I do think that when it means people can read for free it's sharing illegal PDF versions of these books which may or may not be under copyright depending on when they were published.

as a server we can't have illegal pdf files as a resource as that goes against discords TOS on piracy

[slow pendant]

Its totally okay! I get that completely and deleted it 🙂

[ornate tree]

thanks for that! we do think it's a neat resource and if it was just the links to the books that would be one thing

[slow pendant]

Yee of course and np! I get that!

[wet granite]

we do! we have an introject of her actually in our system, she's a very interesting deity to us

[wet granite]

🌅Oh! Does anyone have any good resources to learn more about Hekate?

Oh, no pk?

[ornate tree]

we have pk it just may not have perms here atm

[wet granite]

Ohhh. I see. Not an issue.

[brave ridge]

Pk doesn't like forums unfortunately

[ornate tree]

:(

[wet granite]

Ahh. Makes sense.

[ornate tree]

but yes! would suggest theoi.com (it's an amazing website)
and these:
#1114061636744007720 message
#1114061636744007720 message

[wet granite]

Thank you very much!

[ornate tree]

yeah ofc!

[warm crow]

Do all mythology have lessons behind them, or only some of them that are written for entertainment purposes? [i suppose this can be a question for any practice involving myths, but im mostly a hell-pol atm]
because I'm attempting to try to make sense of the story of Hermaphroditus. And from what I could get so far is it does explain how they became the "intersex icon" for people. But I want to try to see if there's more to understand.