. ݁ ⋆ ࣪˖ 𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎 ଼⋆ ݁

⋅·⋅ ❩ 𖥸 ❨ ⋅·⋅ your local hellenic polytheistic witch 23 | ares devotee

[chthonic-witch]

i’m Aradia

˚₊ ⋆˚࿔»-♡→ 24 • 𖤓 ♍︎ ☽♏︎ ↟♌︎

⤷ Lady Hestia first and last, but i mainly worship Lord Ares, Lord Thanatos, Lady Hekate, and Lady Aphrodite and of course, Lord Zeus ⟡ ݁₊.𖥔 ݁ ˖

⤷ i am a practicing witch of 8+ years, and focus on cartomancy & candle magic ! my religion and spiritual practice are separate for the most part, aside from the occasional candle offering 🃖 ⟡ 🃁 ⟡ 🂭

⤷ this should go without saying, but dni if you’re racist, pro-israel, anti lgbt+ ˚. 𓆟 ·˙‧̍̊ 𓆝.° ｡

[deathlessathanasia]

“Myth is integral to religion, therefore; it is not a fancy wrapping paper which must be taken off in order to get down to the realities of cult. Yet the role of Greek myths, it need scarcely be stressed, is very different from that of sacred books. At the most drastic, intellectuals felt able to dismiss the whole mythic representation of deity as what came to be called theologia fabularis, “mythical theology,” an invention of poets, while still treating the cults as a valid mode of access to the divine. For them the myths were indeed just a wrapping, and a very deceptive one. The only alternative to rejection, for the philosophically trained, was allegorical reinterpretation. But even for those outside those very restricted circles there was little about the myths that was stable or dependable, or so at least it appears to an outside observer. Stories about the birth of deities, we have seen, were fundamental, the staple of cult hymns. But the poet of the early Homeric Hymn to Dionysus already contrasts what he declares to be his own true account of the god’s birth with no fewer than five “lying” counterclaims. That was one way to navigate the currents of endless variants without being swept into skepticism: one account is true, all others false. To a large extent the variants are regional, and we can suppose that worshippers accepted the version of the myth that they were born to; the claim that Apollo was born in Lycia will not often have been heard on Delos. Similarly, though we may be aware that the myths associated with a particular sanctuary change over time, we should not necessarily project that awareness onto those who frequented it. But it is very uncertain to what extent we can postulate mythological consensus, an agreed local version, even at a particular place and time. Since priests did not recount myths, there was no obvious mechanism by which even a powerful cult could communicate a standardized account from the center. Temple sculpture, where it existed, could scarcely alone carry such narrative weight. In some cults, as we have seen, foundational myths were repeated again and again by pious choruses. If the same hymn was rendered on all occasions year in, year out, its version could indeed establish itself as standard. But at great sites such as Delphi and Delos, frequented by sacred missions from afar, different choruses sang different hymns. Stability is likely to have been the exception rather than the rule.

Myths lacked fixed form; nor was there anything resembling a canon of myths known to everybody even if in divergent forms. Two consequences follow from the absence of a canon. On the one hand, the question of what myths were known to whom is always an open one. One can guess at a core of “archmyths” that were very generally familiar, because often alluded to or depicted. But that criterion can produce surprising results. At Greek sacrifices, mortals received the best meat, and the gods had to be content with fat and bones. Hesiod explained that the unequal division had its origin in a deception exercised by Prometheus “at the time when the gods and mortal men had a dispute” (or “were separated “at Mekone” (Theogony 535–36). Hesiod’s myth relates the practice, satisfyingly, to a time of interaction and perhaps of division between gods and mortals, a time therefore when the order of the universe is being constituted; he also links it to Prometheus, the central figure in other myths that concern dealings between mortals en masse and gods. But though allusions to the unequal division are quite common, no other source of the classical period appears to relate it to Prometheus or Mekone or a dispute/division between gods and men. Are we then entitled to say that “the Greeks” explained the division of meat at sacrifice by reference to the trick of Prometheus? The core of myths universally or all-but-universally known may be very small. But if the core is small, the periphery is uncontrollably large. Any story about gods and heroes that any Greek heard or saw and remembered on any occasion was a part of their conception of the gods. Many Greeks from very early on rejected many stories about the gods as untrue, because unworthy of divine dignity or morality, and they were free to do so; but there was no mechanism whereby stories of “gods in sundry shapes, committing heady riots, incest, rapes” could be put under a ban as uncanonical. Since there was no canon, it was equally possible for moralists to reject such stories, and for unreclaimed man to revel in them.”

 - On Greek Religion by Robert Parker

[florian-luster]

ᴀ ᴅᴇᴠᴏᴛɪᴏɴ ᴛᴏ ʜʏᴘɴᴏꜱ

ᴀ ᴅᴇᴠᴏᴛɪᴏɴ ᴛᴏ ʜʏᴘɴᴏꜱ

[unis-verse]

I honor Zeus when i speak against injustice and when i offer hospitality to friends and strangers.

I honor Hera when i celebrate my womanhood and when i seek out time with my family.

I honor Poseidon when i admire the beauty of the sea and when i clean garbage from the sand.

I honor Demeter when i sow seeds gently into the earth and water the soil, and when i eat the food of my own garden.

I honor Hephaistos when i use my hands to craft and create.

I honor Aphrodite in showing my love for others and in learning to love myself.

I honor Athena when i seek out a new course of study or skill, and in my pursuit of a higher education.

I honor Ares in my rage against the cruelty and injustice i see all around me, and in my relentless fight to defend against it.

I honor Apollon when i strum my guitar or sing along to my favorite song, and every time i lay a bandage over my skin.

I honor Artemis in my admiration of the moon, and when i step foot into the woods to observe the flora and fauna around me.

I honor Dionysus in my enjoyment of merriment and festivities, and in taking care of my mental health.

I honor Hermes when i inscribe my thoughts onto paper, and when i speak in a second or third tongue.

I honor Hestia when i tidy my home, knead bread or cook on my stove, and in every flame i light.

My very life is worship; my breaths are hymns and the Earth is my temple. May everything I do bring praise to the mighty and beloved Theoi.

Hail the immortal Gods!

[trash-bin-witch-deactivated2025]

No because some of y'all fuckers need to act your title.

You're calling yourself a priest? Act like one and organize an event. Historically that would've been your like, main job. Do your main job, I beg of you

[thedansemacabres]

On Helpol tumblr there has been some discourse on the worship of Ares and it is completely justified for a personal practice why someone would not honour him. However, though, I would enjoy to bring up points from history on a reconstruction angle on why to worship Ares. I appreciate the critical examination into who and what we worship—we should be more critical of stately portrayals of the divine and understand ancient politics less we reconstruct something wretched. These points are sourced from Cults and sanctuaries of Ares and Enyalios: A survey of the literary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence by Matthew Paul Gonzales.

It is deeply historically attested, for anyone thinking that it was not. The anti-Ares classical sentiment can be traced back to WWII for reasons that do not need explaining. The emphasis on his pathetic myths also partially stem from this.

Ares was and is deeply concerned with justice and Dike is described as his lead. He is shown as the blood vengeance in particular, which still does have modern importance—many of us endorse the guillotine. This could inspire modern worshippers to take to action for causes to support good, justice, and love in their communities. Love and war, mayhaps?

He is also connected to peace and restraining violence alongside war-like desires. This is depicted in the homeric hymnal.

Ares is also close to defending land, especially that of floral and agricultural bounty: he is often positioned with fertility goddesses, such as Aphrodite, Despoina, and Cybele.

He is a vengeful protector, when people are wronged or land is stolen and waged against. Athens used this for defending their land—chaining Ares to the land meanings bringing in his power to serve you and your land’s interests. I do not endorse the usage of this to support oppressive regimes, but it could be adapted in a more liberation focused fashion.

Through Ares, some facets of prosperity is given, and I do not take it as a coincidence he is paired with Athena, who directs while Ares rushes.

Worship is also used to avoid conditions; Apollon to keep the plague away, Ares to keep war and strife away, such as his homeric hymn entails.

Courage is also stated to be a condition he gifts.

Lastly, I find it of vast importance to establish modern ideas of gods that are honest to the historical record and finds fluidity in them. Gods can change and they can be discussed with. Perhaps this is my Roman pagan influences, but we can influence and argue with the gods on points we believe in—for justice and ultimate good, as Zeus does mandate divine justice. We can show Ares, more than he already knows and has, the importance of supporting the revolutionary, and we can invoke his power in fighting for the sovereignty of nature. I am also personally fond of the feminist interpretations of him, and while not likely accurate to history, we should be adapting and developing with the gods in the modern period. Ares as a symbol of violently defending women against patriarchy is ripe for expression and movement, though not without due issues.

We should be striving towards ultimate good and Ares’ power in the modern era, with a modern lens, can continue to give weight to this pursuit. If he can encourage us and take a stand against the machismo ideas of “spartan” ideals that dudebros often have, we can make beneficial cultural changes. The gods do not just belong to history, they are history, and Historia is here to inspire and defeat us at every turn. 

I will say my dea Bellona is more of the historical revolution divinity that people want. She has a lot more of the epigraphic record to support this, but nonetheless, there are many reasons to honour Ares outside of war. Especially in his connections to nature and fertility, which strikes my heart happily as a sustainable agriculturalist. If it is Ares that can motivate more Hellenic pagans to embrace liberation and revolutionary ideas, that is something to preserve.

And regardless, if I can worship Ker without expecting much benefit, we can easily worship a god that is not literal murder. 

[hisfluer]

to sing, o! to sing to worshipful hestia! to  rejoice, o! to rejoice before she who lays the  banquet, who stokes the ever luminous fire so  that the home where i rest my head is wrapped in soft protection. kind lady of the hearth, i sing to thee — kind lady of the home, i worship thee. i pray to you to create a place within this wild world that is safe for me, where i may lay my  weary head, and eat without knowing hunger.  bless my home, o luminous goddess, with your  protective hands that knows the wills and ways of the fire — keep its rage banked so that i  may rest in the plentifulness of its blessing. 

[chthonic-witch]

[hypnotic-wine-dove-deactivated2]

ৡ Hestia is the warm buzz in your heart as you sit with your friends, revelling in the company.

Hestia is the first bite at the family gathering that leaves you wanting more.

⚡︎ ˖ ࣪ Zeus is the pounding in your chest as you stand up for others, using your voice when they can’t.

Zeus is the gladdening feeling as you uplift or comfort the bullied and misunderstood.

༗ Hera is the boiling in your blood when you hear misogynistic comments.

Hera is the burst of pure love as you care for a child, an animal, or as you embrace your partner, holding them tenderly.

[chthonic-witch]

[chthonic-witch]

[ombrokharis]

I am extremely soft when it comes to Zeus’s household cults. There is something so deeply tender about the King of gods and humans existing as a personal protector of the courtyard, pantry, and children.

[chthonic-witch]

—epithets of Lord ares—

[chthonic-witch]

hot take apparently:

there are rules (rules isn’t the right word necessarily, but for lack of a better term i will use it) in hellenic polytheism and if you call yourself a hellenic polytheist but aren’t doing things like praying to Lady Hestia first and last, practicing the big 3 (eusebeia, sophrosyne, and kharis), and keeping yourself free of Miasma (all you have to do it wash your hands before you leave an offering or pray - you’re not actually practicing hellenic polytheism :) there are a bazillion ways to associate the gods with your spiritual practices but it’s extremely different from the actual religion! anyways, Ave Zeus and Lady Hera, Ave Hestia, and Ave Lord Ares!

[pearlsandpeacocks]

— Aphrodite taught me to love, and that's why I love her like a son loves a mother, like a poet loves his muse and like a joyful man loves life.

[chthonic-witch]

[pearlsandpeacocks]

— You cannot reach the gods without first paying respect to the King and Queen of Olympus.