Counselor Of Aphrodite🕊️

Aphrodisian Henotheist | Early Cypriot Tradition - Kemetic/Hellenic Influences | Devotee of Aphrodite of 2 years and Counting!

[counsellorofaphrodite]

Devotional Prayer - Goddess Aphrodite

I made a prayer about 2 years ago for Aphrodite on my small YT channel. I figured I would share it in case anyone was interested <3 My view and beliefs have shifted over time since writing this prayer, but I still worship and honor Aphrodite as my most high divinity in my life. The same prayer can also be read in word format in my FictionPress page.

[counsellorofaphrodite]

Hidden Symbolism Behind "The Birth of Venus" By Sandro Botticelli

Introduction

In this blog I plan to provide my own personal in depth analysis of Sandro Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus". Please keep in mind that I will be interpreting the painting from a spiritual lens. In other words, I am a Aphrodisian Hellenist who actively worships the goddess Aphrodite. Over much time analyzing the painting in my free-time I have come to a handful of conclusions about the painting that, yes, are highly theoretical, but never are they to be looked at as insignificant theories. I back my theories up with many supporting details surrounding known history of the goddess. I will provide a source to any information I recall here, if possible. Please understand that some of my knowledge on the goddess has been committed to long term memory, and thus, I can't remember where I read the initial knowledge from, though, such cases are rare.

The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli is perhaps one of the most well known renaissance paintings to date. It has it's own charm, it's own allure to it. However true, I am here to suggest to you that the way Sandro painted the goddess all those many years ago was actually pure genius considering some of the symbols related to Venus, or rather, from here on out, we will address her loveliness as Aphrodite. Please join me, and read on for a thrilling theoretical interpretation of this amazing artwork of our beautiful goddess-queen Aphrodite!

Atmosphere

The Atmosphere of the painting at first glance may evade some individuals. Most will say, "it's just a painting, what of it?". Fair enough, but did you know that the painting depicts something very significant? It's a depiction of the birth of Aphrodite without a doubt, but, furthermore, it's a depiction of her birth as she arises upon the shores of Cyprus. Specifically Paphos, Cyprus. That location in specific is said by many to have been the epicenter of her first cultus. You may still be wondering, what is the atmosphere of the painting? Well, simply put from my own analysis of the painting over many months, the painting depicts a since of primordial peace. Primordial as in, first, as in, beginning. It is said that Aphrodite is born from the castration of Ouranos, but take into account that much before Aphrodite arrived on mainland Greece, she was considered to have risen from the waters of Cyprus without any exterior reaction with the seabed, therefore, in theory, she was self-born. This in fact dates Aphrodite as one of, perhaps, the eldest Olympians, if not, the eldest Olympian.

Peace can only come through love, and love can only be found once peace is attained. Peace and love go hand and hand, hence why it is of my personal viewpoint that the painting depicts a feeling of primordial peace, and the love that follows it. Primordial peace is not the only feeling that can be felt when observing the painting, however. The painting also depicts a since of royalty, and elegance which is certainly fitting for a queen such as herself. This feeling is mainly observed when you look at the goddess herself standing upon her great scallop-shell. She's beautiful as ever, as the goddess of love and beauty should be. She's elegant in her hand placements, she looks at peace herself, however there is more to her hand placements that we must discuss in greater detail.

The Significance of Aphrodite's Posture

The significance of the goddesses posture in the painting might be considered a more "minor" part of the painting as a whole, but I assure you that is is perhaps the most symbology-rich areas of the painting. The first topic of focus would be the simple fact that she is in a specific and known posture known as the "Pudica" posture. Despite some of the early negative connotations in association of the word, I don't believe the goddess is "ashamed" of anything in this painting; or rather in any imagery she is seen to use the same pose. This posture has a far more analytical significance behind it, but it does require one to know a good amount of history surrounding the goddess herself. Fortunately for you, dear reader, I will provide you with that history.

Aphrodite wasn't always viewed as this single-formed goddess, in fact, even in historical Cyprus, she was viewed as two-formed. No, not two-faced, let us not get ahead of ourselves here. Two-formed is in reference to taking up two different forms. Some of you may already understand that what I am referring to is her secondary form; Aphroditus. Yes, indeed I am referring to Aphrodite's phallic-form. Before Hermaphroditus was conceptualized as a separate being from Aphrodite entirely, Aphroditus was simply an extension of Aphrodite herself. Aphroditus was seen as Aphrodite's "masculine form", though I much prefer the use of the term phallic-form, just as her primary form may be referred to as her yonic-form. Her phallic-form was often depicted similar to her yonic-form, except the only difference was that she sported a phallus instead of a yoni, yet even with a phallus, she is still seen as very feminine, often shown still wearing a dress in her phallic-form. This in a way makes Aphrodite a two-formed goddess, or by modern definition, she could be referred to as being bi-gender. Don't even get me started on Venus Barbata, otherwise known as the "Bearded Venus" and later identified with Aphrodite's pallic-form, Aphroditus as well.

Shifting focus back to the painting "The Birth of Venus", we can infer a very compelling argument as to why Aphrodite is in her Pudica posture in the painting. The reason why, considering the history of the goddess is the observation that she is covering her private-areas with her one hand, and only one of her nipples with the other. This makes the statement very clear to me, at the very least, that Aphrodite could be being depicted as a bi-gendered goddess in this painting. Why? It's the simple fact that we don't truly know what she has in her private-areas in this painting, for all we know, most people will assume she has a yoni (vulva) under her hand, but she very-well could also have a phallus (penis). This point is observed further by noticing that only one of her nipples is covered. Traditionally woman cover their nipples, while men traditionally expose their nipples. The symbolism is hard to ignore. Aphrodite is indeed depicted as a bi-gender goddess in this painting, without a doubt in my mind. Again, this is my observation, so you are free to disagree if this theory doesn't resonate with you.

Symbolism Around Secondary Figures

We have been focusing all of our attention on Aphrodite herself in this painting, and while the goddess deserves that attention and more, let's shift our attention to the secondary figures in the painting. We can see two figures flying towards Aphrodite. These two figures are often identified as being Zephyrus (wind), and Aura (breeze). According to a the birth story of Aphrodite, it is said that she is born off the south coast of Cyprus, and arrived at Paphos which, again is often considered the epicenter of her very first congregation of worshipers. Zephyrus in this context is quite literally depicted as "blowing" Aphrodite to the Cypriot shores. Though keep in mind that even Zephyrus was not a figure that would have been relevant to Aphrodite until some time after she had reached mainland Greece much later in history. In this painting, Zephyrus (as is most "minor" figures in the mythographies) is simply a personification of what he represents, that being the wind that carried Aphrodite to Paphos. The same could be said for the presence of Aura in the painting, she is personifying a gentle breeze to complement the strong wind gusts of Zephyrus. Aura in myth was said to be the wife of Zephyrus, and hence, the two go hand and hand.

There is another singular figure in the painting that is often believed to be a depiction of one of the Horae (seasons). In the context of the painting it is believed that the figure attempting to cover Aphrodite is the personification of spring. However, it is of my own observation that this personification of spring itself depicted in this humanoid form is symbolic of something far deeper and far more meaningful than simply being the season spring. The figure represents Aphrodite's first home on Earth. She represents a warm welcome of the goddess to her homeland. Think of is as, the wind blows her toward the lands of Paphos, and than the people of Paphos (represented by the single Horae) welcome their golden queen with open and loving arms with a protective shroud to keep her safe, just as the goddess would do for her followers if they were to meet her in her highest-home, in heaven, (Olympus).

The 4 Elements

Yes. I am not joking there are undertones that do suggest the elements being present in this painting, let's discuss. First, and most obviously, the element of Wind is present personified by Zephyrus, and Aura. The element of Water is obviously present because Aphrodite was born upon the sea-shores of Cyprus. The element of Earth is represented by the great scallop-shell that Aphrodite stands upon (or further, the lands of Cyprus she is approaching). Finally, not so apparently, the element of Fire is represented by Aphrodite herself. Why? Aphrodite represents passion in many ways, and passion has a direct link to love itself. Not only is the goddess approaching her home on Cyprus, but she comes bearing gifts. Gifts to us mortals, the gift of love, and passion. Both feelings that give us all a since of warmth and comfort in our hearts. That isn't technically all there is to it either. Some may suggest that there is a fifth element in life, one that is often spoken about, but never fully realized. The element of spirit. The element of spirit can actually be represented by each figure in the painting in one way or another. Aphrodite is a goddess with her primary residence being the spiritual realm of heaven (Olympus). Zephorus, Aura, and the lonely Horae all represent personifications of what they are, but further are often referred to as "daimons", which often literally means "spirit". The word "daimon" is not to be confused with the later appropriated Christianized form of the word "demon". (To my own understanding is was appropriated by Christians, but I could in fairness be misunderstood here).

Other Miniature Symbolism

Last, but not least, we will discus the scenery of the painting in as much detail as I can from such quiet images in the painting. You may notice little pink flowers in the painting that exclusively follow the path of the wind (Zephyrus) blowing Aphrodite to the shores of Cyprus. This minor symbolism is in theory a nod to how it is suggested by theoi.com that in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, that flowers grow behind Aphrodite wherever she walks. Upon a long analysis of the painting, I believe the flowers depicted behind Aphrodite's trail are meant to be roses. Roses do tend to have pointed leaves under their pedals. Roses have long been associated with love in general, and thus with Aphrodite as well. The same can in fact be said about the color pink. Pink topically is associated with love, passion, pleasure, and many other lovely things of that nature, and so it's no shock as to why pink is a primary color associated with Aphrodite as well. Another background feature that is apparent, but often ignored is the depiction of a myrtle tree (or what I personally could make out to be a myrtle tree) nested behind the personification of spring. The myrtle tree is a symbol sacred to Aphrodite as it is said that the trees were planted near her sacred temples in Ancient times. This is perhaps the most significant historical reasoning as to why the tree is sacred to the goddess. However, in the mythographies of Homer it is said that Aphrodite turned Myrina, whom was one of her devout priestesses, into a myrtle tree after Myrina killed her previously engaged lover becasue he kidnapped her away from the Aphrodite temple. It is told that Aphrodite turned Myrina into the tree to protect her from further danger (I don't understand why, but the myths often make no since to me anyways).

The final minor but very significant symbolism I want to discus is something that is very difficult to notice unless you look really close at the paintings background scenery. This is where the this deep dive gets really juicy! If you look closely, you can see a row of what looks to tombstones on the very back of the island behind the personification of spring. You may wonder, why is there a cemetery in the goddess of life, love, and beauty Aphrodite's portrait? Well, there's a simple answer to that question. The first answer would be that it is suggested that Aphrodite was seen as a protectress of tombs, more specifically in Delphi she was seen as the protectress of the dead.

The second more thorough answer would be to reference some lines from the Orphic Hymn to Aphrodite translated by Platonist Tomas Taylor. In lines 6-11 we can read the following from the translation; "For all things spring from thee, O Pow'r divine. The triple Fates are ruled by thy decree. And all productions yield alike to thee: Whate'er the heav'ns, encircling all contain, Earth fruit producing and the stormy main". This is all to say that Aphrodite had rein over all three realms of our universe, the sky, the sea, and the earth. Let's dissect this further. In the excerpt "heavens" is just a fancy way to refer to the sky (Ouranos). In fact even the epithet of Ourania that is given to Aphrodite means "queen of heaven". The epithet is directly named after the personification of the sky itself Ouranos. "Earth fruit producing" is in reference to how Aphrodite is also a fertility goddess, not just of the body, but of the land as well, in fact the first known worship surrounding Aphrodite in Cyprus was in relation to her as a fertility goddess. Here's the juicy bit we have been waiting for. The term Cthonic often used to describe the dead is actually not exclusively related to the underworld. Cthonic truly means "of the Earth". The "under" world is the "world" below the heavens (Ouranos), the underworld is Earth. Think about it this way, the underworld is said to house the dead, well, were are the dead berried? In the Earth. Lastly the word "main" can be traced down as a word to reference the ocean, or the sea. Not only that Aphrodite was undoubtedly born of the sea to begin with. Hence the statement proven, Aphrodite indeed rules over all three realms of our universe. This evidence is hard to sway me from.

However, what are your thoughts? Do you agree? Disagree? Let me hear your thoughts in the comments. I hope regardless of your impression of this blog post, you at least had a good time reading the interpretation of the painting.

[counsellorofaphrodite]

In Defense of Aphrodite! - A Devotional Work!

Hello all, this is a thing I wrote a while back, but now that I have a blog, I figured I would share it! I get so annoyed by people giving Aphrodite flak and dishonoring her by the words they say. While I understand that most of these individuals are not pagans, or even Hellenist for that matter, I still think it is disrespectful. For those of you who are not Hellenist out there or worshipers of Aphrodite, please understand that she is a goddess, and that there are people who do honor and respect her. So, if you are a non-pagan and you put yourself in the shoes of an Aphrodite worshiper for a moment, you would see why we are annoyed, and quite frankly why we are angry about the recent trends spreading about our goddess on TikTok.

In Defense of Aphrodite:

What this post will cover:

What she is not!

How she shows love!

How she shows beauty!

She extends herself far beyond just love and beauty!

She is a mother figure!

She is not a monster!

What she is not!

People, pagans included seem to shun Aphrodite. They mock her and belittle her. They assume that because in myth she is portrayed as jealous, sadistic, and uptight, that it must be relative to her true nature. However, this is not, and never was the case. Aphrodite is not a monster; she doesn't "curse women who are compared to her in beauty". She definitely doesn't "take away your beauty if you ignore her". She is totally not the "whore" that modern media has reduced her to. She most certainly is not an advocate for the lesser-known toxic femininity that people often cast her with, otherwise known as a diva. She is SO much more than what people see!

How she shows love!

If you would just get to know her, and begin to be one within her bliss, she will show you her truly loving, caring, compassionate, patient, and unconditional nature. This is when you begin to love her as she loves you. When you get to know Aphrodite you see that there is more to life than just slugging through pay-check after pay-check, that there is more to life than what the media will advertise to you, that life itself is beautiful. Life is her gift to us, and thus we should cherish this gift. She animates our soul, and fills us with wonder, and amazement to explore the world, and to explore life with curiosity. Life is such a special and sacred thing. She cried for Adonis when he perished, but this is not just her sadness for the death of her mortal lover, this is the sadness that she feels when each and every one of us dies! That is how much she truly loves us! She cherishes every waking second she gets with us before it's our time to go. She is love incarnate!

How she shows beauty!

Aphrodite can teach us one major thing about beauty, that is, that it is subjective. Beauty is, and always has been in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is not the caked-up face that society has forced upon most women, true beauty comes naturally. You are already SO beautiful and you don't even know it. Beauty is not reserved for celebrities, or models. Beauty is not the stereotypical body standard that plagues society these days. Beauty is for all! Men, and women alike can rejoice, and appreciate the beauty in themselves, and in our world! There is beauty in us, in the rustling of the trees on a windy day, within the hearts of the ducks swimming gracefully upon the pond, within the eyes of any living creature. Aphrodite is beauty incarnate! If you just look for her, she is everywhere!

She extends herself far beyond just love and beauty!

Aphrodite is the goddess of all love and beauty, but she is SO much more than that. She is also the goddess of pleasure, passion, romance, and desire - none of which are inherently sexual in nature but can very well be sexual in nature if one wishes. she is the goddess of the self; self-love, self-care, self-adoration, self-confidence, even self-discipline - the list goes on. She is the goddess of the heart and is a heart healer. You can vent your sorrows to her, and she will listen, and she will guide you to healing. She will speak to you, be it in your subconscious, or in your heart itself, she will heal your sorrows and your pain.

She is a mother figure!

Aphrodite is a mother too, and if you are one who has a not-so-great mortal mother, Aphrodite will take you into her arms, and openly accept you as her own child - though you are not her blood born child, and most certainly are not a demi-god - she will still take you as her own, especially those who lacked the parental love they needed in childhood. She loves her children very much and will do anything in her power to protect them. If Eros is anything to look at in myth, she doesn't let him get away with Psyche so easily, and I feel that as a mother, she was just trying to better understand Psyche before letting Eros pursue her fully. She wouldn't want anyone to hurt Eros. She gives this same loving motherly protection to all her children. She loves us so very much!

She is not a monster!

As we can see, Aphrodite is not a monster, she is not the vile goddess myth portrays her as. She is lovely in nature to say the very least about her character. She loves all, and wants us to realize that beauty is subjective, and that everyone holds their own beauty inside and out. I pray that Aphrodite blesses and protects each and every person who reads this! <3

[counsellorofaphrodite]

Do you have to follow ancient tradition to be an Hellenic Polytheist?

Hello! Welcome to my very first official passion blog post! I hope you enjoy reading it and do let me know what you think! <3

I would like to start right off the bat and say that Hellenism, otherwise known as Hellenic Polytheism, can be a very vast topic to explore, and even with the depth that I provide in this post, I don't think I will ever be able to convey everything correctly. It is also important to note that this post is mostly theoretical, and philosophical in nature. My sources you may ask? Well, that's just it, my sources are the many things I have read, and learned over the past year about being a Hellenist. I cannot provide a direct source to what I know as to me it is now common knowledge.

I will go ahead and say that I do not represent the entirety of the community who worships these gods. I am just one person, and this post and my blog is just my perspective on our shared spirituality. I don't know everything, and frankly, I am sure neither do you, dear reader. Let us all remember a remarkable quite by Socrates;

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing" - Socrates

This post will discuss the following:

A general definition of what a Hellenic Polytheist is.

A description of what ancient traditions and customs were like.

How ancient tradition, and customs can change to accommodate our modern era

Do you have to practice ancient tradition to be considered a Hellenic Polytheist?

What is a Hellenic Polytheist?

To answer this question simply, an Hellenic Polytheist is a individual who practices Hellenism - the ancient Greek religion. A Hellenic Polytheist simply believes in the gods of Greece as being the divine powers over the universe itself. One who is not familiar with these gods may know their names from just pure happenstance. Their names consist of; Zeus, Hera, Apollon, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, Athena, Dionysus, Poseidon, Demeter, and last but certainly never least, Hestia. Yet, there are countless of other gods, daemons, heroes, titans, and primordials that fall into the pantheon of the Greek gods. However, some Hellenist only worship a handful of gods, or all the gods, or just primordials, or perhaps just titians, and some even worship only one of the gods. The range of gods that you worship in Hellenism can vary from person to person, just as it varied from city to city in ancient times. Interestingly enough, Hellenism even has an element of animism to it.

A great example would be the many personified deities the Greeks had. Thanatos - the personification of death, and Hypnos - the personification of sleep, are just the tip of the iceberg when talking about personified deities. Another example of animism in Hellenism, would be the many nymphs whom are believed to frolic around in the forests, seas, rivers, and more. Both personified deities, and nymphs seem to be powers whom encompass the human condition, or nature itself. Mother Gaia is another example, whom is seen as mother nature, or the earth herself in some views.

What did ancient tradition look like?

What about the tradition behind the worship of these gods? Well in traditional Hellenism, there were structures in place that would determine if you were ready to approach the gods in worship. Typically, in ancient Hellenic tradition one would have to rid themselves of any "Miasma" or otherwise known as "spiritual dirtiness" before ever approaching the gods for worship or prayer. The concept of Miasma is not to be confused with the Christian concept of "sin", rather Miasma was seen as a spiritual fifth, often acquired by being among the dead - this included being in the presence of blood, death, illnesses, or fighting in a war. Some claim that Miasma can also come from sexual acts. With Miasma being such a feared thing in ancient times, purification became an essential part to the practice.

When addressing the gods after a purification of Miasma was completed, one would then commence in ritual, or prayer to the gods. Most often the first and last prayer of the ritual was given to Hestia - the goddess of the hearth and home. It was believed that Hestia was the center of the home, and without her fire burning within the home, the home would surly parish. Of course, a home does not have to be a building, it could also be a family, or a group of people you are close with. Most often after addressing and giving to Hestia, libations would then be poured to other gods.

Libations where an essential part of ancient Hellenic practice, and they were often the only type of offering given to the gods by some. For some, Hellenism is not Hellenism without the offering of libations. Libations were poured liquids. The liquids would consist of water, or wine most often. It was said that libations poured to the gods should not be drank, but instead poured into the ground to return the liquid to the gods. After all you offered the liquid to the gods, it is technically now theirs.

There were likely many other types of offerings given to the gods in ancient times. In fact, some have excavated votive offerings to the gods that were buried in the ground. There is so-so-so much more that goes into ancient Hellenic practice, however, I cannot go through them all here, as that would literally require me to write a book. Goodness, even the customs, and ancient traditions are a huge mouthful to explain - this is just the very tip of the iceberg.

How ancient tradition, and customs can change to accommodate our modern era

One might say that the ancient tradition never changed and will never change. However, is that really the case? How could it be? Everything changes at some point, right? Well, it depends on who you ask really. Re-constructionists (Recons) of the ancient Hellenic practice would argue that one should practice the exact way that the ancients practiced the tradition. The thing is this is a very hard thing to replicate to full accuracy in the modern day. There are people out there who have tried to replicate an ancient ritual to the gods to an absolute spitting-image. The problem? They still had to substitute items into the ritual because they simply didn't have access to the items that the ancients used for their honorings. So even Recons must stray away from tradition.

Revivalists are more lenient and would tell you to take what vibes with you and leave what doesn't vibe with you (for the most part). A revivalist is more likely to accept the fact we live in modern times, and our world is modernized, and because of this, we can honor the gods in modernized ways, as we see fit, so long as we remain respectful of the gods. The practice is modernized, but the gods are still ancient.

Other worshipers of the Greek gods may not even identify as Hellenists, and may be eclectic Witches, or Neo-pagans. This goes to show that Hellenism - the tradition, isn't what connects you to the gods. What connects you to the gods, is in fact - well, you! Yes, you have the ability to connect to the gods just as you are now.

In our modern world, it can be hard to cling to the past. This is why recons may be annoyed with revivalists, or Neo-pagans. Recons tend to have a harder time accepting the modernization of ancient practices, while revivalists, and other groups do not have this issue (again for the most part). A thing we must realize is, change is inevitable. Even the physical planet we live on itself has morphed its shape with tectonic movements countless times. The seasons too, are a great example of change. Everything goes through changes and phases. The sooner we take note of this the happier we will all be.

Do you have to practice ancient tradition to be considered a Hellenic Polytheist?

I must reveal for those who are concerned that I am not a Re-constructionist, although I am to a slight degree, I am mostly a revivalist. You could even consider me to be a hybrid; a Recon-Revivalist. it is my personal belief that tradition is only secondary to divine relationship and communication. You do not have to stress about performing an ancient ritual to absolute perfection in order to have a connection to the gods. To me, Hellenism is about the gods, and how you connect with them. In ancient times there would be communal rituals and cleansings of miasma, that multitudes of people would be able to participate as well as city-wide festival celebrations, and worship rituals. These people were capable of honoring the gods in the same environment, so it is no shock that they would have similar ways of worship to each other.

However, we live in a modern world, and we are modern people. While ancient tradition provides a much needed insight into the way the ancients went about worshiping their gods, and I do think it is only respectful that one would at least consider trying to do worship the way the ancients would have conducted it, that doesn't make it the end all be all for what Hellenism is. Think about the vast amount of philosophers, and philosophical wisdoms, and ideas passed down from the ancients. Not a single one of them thought about Hellenism, or the gods in the exact same way (to my knowledge). Due to this, we can come to realize that philosophical thinking is not something limited to the ancients. Everyone can think about life philosophically and come to see what they truly believe about themselves and about the world.

So, do I have a personal philosophy? Well, yes, but I would say as I learn, and grow myself, it can change as time goes on. I would say I have a tendency to take things from many different ancient philosophers. For example, I agree with Sallustius that the gods are pure good and are never the cause of unrest and heartache in our lives. That said, there are also many other things I believe in that are not of ancient context. I believe that true Hellenism in the modern day is most easily experienced in the eyes of the individual. In ancient times it was a communal tradition, now days it is harder to do so, and because of this it is much easier to be a solitary Hellenist rather than a Hellenist that is a part of a community. Not many of us have local temples to our gods, and that is a valid and real thing to understand. Our homes are our temples now.

I know the idea of straying away from strict ancient tradition may put some individuals off from my blog. However, I am willing to take that risk in order to be able to provide a safe place for fellow Hellenists to gather and read my blog; a blog written from the hands and mind of a Hellenic polytheist, for the eyes of other Hellenic Polytheists, or aspiring ones.

Conclusion - Do you need to practice ancient tradition?

So, in closing, to answer the question each and every one of you have been waiting for; no, you do not have to practice ancient tradition to be an Hellenic Polytheist. Just do you, stop batting around the thoughts and opinions of a million other people in your head, and get up, walk to your alter(s), and just pray. Connect with the gods, speak with the gods, grow a relationship with them. This is true Hellenism in my eyes. The relationship that you have with one or more of the gods is priceless, and it is something no human being could ever take away from you. So, cherish that relationship. Of course, this view could be seen as subjective, and that's okay, people deserve to think what they wish, but this will not change my personal viewpoint.

Above all respect each other's practices. A hardcore re-constructionist, and a more lenient revivalist are one in that when we consider that they worship the same gods. Neither of these groups should be viewed as any less of a Hellenic Polytheist either. We must learn to co-exist with one another without getting into arguments. Arguments only lead to a bad situation for each party involved. So, to settle this dispute, if at all possible, perhaps recons could be more lenient and accepting of revivalists and their more modernized traditions, and revivalists could perhaps explore parts of ancient tradition do resonate with their practice and incorporate those parts of ancient practice into their own.

I personally do find it important to consider ancient ways of practice when starting out your path, as the last thing we want to end up doing is appropriating a culture - that would be a no-no. That stated, I do also feel it is completely valid if one wishes to stray a bit away from tradition. Do you like offering libations? Yes? Good for you! Own it, it's your practice. Say you don't enjoy giving libations due to the possible inconvenience of having to return the liquid to the earth, or maybe you do not like that you can't consume the liquid offered to the Chthonic gods according to tradition. That's A-okay. You don't have to do libations, you can simply offer votive offerings like stones, rocks, crystals, anything physical really. Perhaps devotionals are more your speed. Good! Write a song, or a poem, or a story in honor of the gods and offer that work to them.

Whatever you are doing, you are doing it for you. You aren't doing it for anyone else but you. So, understand, especially those new to Hellenic Polytheism, that when I say it is okay to stray from tradition, that it is absolutely okay. Individual practice is individual practice, and it is very sacred to the individual, and no one can tell you how to do your individual practice. Don't listen to the people who try to control your practice for you. There is no way you can do your own personal practice wrong. The only way to go with your own practice is up.

-Sabrina the Polytheist

Thank you all for reading! If you wish to learn more about Hellenism, or perhaps start learning about Hellenism, here are some sources that I would recommend:

Hellenic Polytheism : Household Worship by Labrys https://www.amazon.com/Hellenic-Polytheism-Household-Worship-1/dp/1503121887/ref=sr_1_1?crid=UVH9MRG9RL5K&keywords=hellenic+polytheism+household+worship&qid=1691612186&sprefix=%2Caps%2C299&sr=8-1 (This is a stable in the Hellenic Polytheist community, this book tells you in detail how ancient tradition was conducted in the home: can be found on Amazon for $14.00 USD!)

https://www.theoi.com/ (A site to learn about the many gods of the Hellenic pantheon, as well as to read up on myths)

https://hellenicfaith.com/ (This site showcases a multitude of information about ancient tradition, philosophy, and worldviews)

Pic the Pagan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQmVTgvWkXrbdod_Ni1XFUw (is a well-known Hellenic Polytheist content creator, he creates short form V-log style videos that are very insightful, I do recommend you check him out).