fortune favors the brave

tyche•hotei•apollo•hermes•hades•plutus•the erotes « they/them » @theoi-crow's spouse « libra/scorpio/sagittarius » irl: @skylerisgay

[delicatestar]

Happy New Year!

May Tyche bless you with Prosperity, Hope, and Fulfillment this year!

[theoi-crow]

To the people that complain about how long the Iliad is:

Especially the parts where Homer goes on and on about the different cultural regions, but you just want him to shut up and get on with the story:

He was trying to immortalize them so their descendants will remember them, their history and what their ancestors had accomplished. This is how stories back then were told. They were told orally but with great detail. This aspect may be annoying to you but to archaeologists, historians and scholars, it is the equivalent of getting a compass and a treasure map with very specific directions.

Hope this helps!

[the-evil-clergyman]

Odysseus Confronting the Female Shades of the Underworld, from The Odyssey of Homer by W. Russell Flint (1924)

[theoi-crow]

Tag yourself, I’m the one that gets distracted by and wants to pet his pet snail or whatever the hell is beneath Odysseus.

The above is a live reaction of me whenever I go to a party and the host has a cat or a dog!

[delicatestar]

I'm the one that's slowly walking away, but also kind of invested in the drama 😂

Her face says, "Oooh, what's going on over there!?"

But her feet say, "I'm getting out of here before I get pulled into whatever is about to happen..."

[heylsgowt]

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[teawiththegods]

You're a woman and no one is going to call you a him, stop making trans people look stupid

“No one is going to call you a him”

Me thinking about all the people in my life who have referred to me using he/him pronouns and as “Dad” or “Uncle” 🤔

I’m not sure you know what the definition of “no one” is, hon, but that’s okay. I hope you heal from whatever is hurting you and Happy Pride! 🌈 💖

[theoi-crow]

During the time when being gay was outlawed in the 50s and being outed could legally get you killed, what category was one of the biggest groups that outted gay men?

The gay community itself.

Jaded gay men were outing their ex boyfriends for breaking up with them and their ex boyfriends in turn would out them back, and both men would get killed. And this happened a lot which is why a lot of gay men would rather commit suicide than go out with other gay men and possibly enter a toxic relationship they couldn't get out of, out of fear of being outted by their angry ex.

My point is that sometimes the LGBT community is it's own biggest threat and trying to gatekeep what is trans and what isn't is going to end up hurting the trans community itself rather than help it because we've seen this before!

Jessie is trans because he said so!

Don't be like those gay narcs that got their exes and themselves killed because I promise it will only hurt us in the end!

[mikeybooch]

Honor the goddesses in your lives, both mortal and immortal 

[theoi-crow]

My last Dia de Los Muertos in the USA!

The Mexican restaurant I've been ordering my food from (since I'm far away from home), also surprised us with a bag that said "Feliz Dia de Muertos!" full of candy and toys that were especially nostalgic to my parents and grandparents so they knew that was gonna go on the ofrenda! I'm just a little emotional about it being my last day of the dead here! I'm gonna miss it!

[delicatestar]

I miss him every day 🥺 It's our first year without our little son 🩷

[theoi-crow]

Sky: *who works with Hades is looking for my ancestors and working on my family tree because they enjoy it and have a lot of experience on it*

Ancestry research website: We're going to be down for 2 days for maintenance starting on Saturday.

Sky: oh no! Hades, I was really looking forward to spending time with you and doing ancestry stuff this weekend! Bummer...

Ancestry research website: *site corrects itself and will only be down for just ONE HOUR for maintenance instead of the original 2 days.

Me: Hades really said "not on my watch!"

[delicatestar]

the best part is, as far as i could tell, the site never went down at all (at least not for me) 😁

[theoi-crow]

Me *yesterday*: Hey Apollo, my first day of school starts tomorrow, can you wake me up in the morning?

Apollo: Okay.

Me *this morning getting sunlight in my eyes*: Ow is that the sun? *Checks clock* it's literally 6am...

Apollo: did you not want to wakeup at 6am?

Me: No!

Apollo: You didn't specify. go back to sleep.

Me *wakes up again with sunlight in my eyes*: Ow! Again with the sunlight...

Apollo: I thought it would be gentler than having an ambulance pass by.

Me: you call blinding me with sunlight first thing in the morning gentle?

Apollo: I didn't want to wake up Sky.

Me: fair *kisses Sky on the forehead* baby deserves the world.

Apollo: *nods*

[delicatestar]

is that what was going on before i woke up?? ☺️ahhh, you're both so sweet! (ironically, an ambulance is passing by as i reblog this)

have a good day at school!! and hurry home!! 💖

[crescentmoooons]

may this year be kinder and gentler to you

[theoi-crow]

Me and Sky: *asking Hermes for a big favor*

Hermes: okay but it'll cost you...

Me: What do you want

Hermes: I'm craving the good stuff!

Me: the good stuff?

Hermes: Oh yeah, you know what I want, you know what I mean, give it to me, give me the good stuff.

Me: *gets Hermes what he wants*

Hermes: Yeeeeeeah boiiiiiii!!!!

He's living his best life!

[delicatestar]

Honestly, Hermes knows we have his back in the chicken nuggets department and he always comes through 🥰

[theoi-crow]

hi. i hope youre doing well. i really really love your blog, its truly inspiring. i was wondering though if you could give me some advice.

ive been trying to build a relationship with Ares for the past couple months, and it had been going well. I'd sense a comforting warmth whenever i lit a candle for him and journalled, but one day, i dont wanna get into details but, I said something to him while he was around and immediately, the entire room went cold, like he quickly pulled away from me. i felt and still feel terribly guilty for offending him.

it was like two months ago and since then, i havent been able to reach him or sense him like i did. i feel terrible and i think it's affected my relationships with the other Gods im learning about/trying to get close to. i just dont want to offend any of them.

is there any way i can properly apologise to Ares, and the Theoi in general, i suppose? i know i need to work on taking my relationship with Them a day at a time, and i wanna start fresh. any advice would be so much appreciated. thanks.

Hey, I'm sorry this took me so long to reply to, I've been having a rough time and am currently going through a lot.

I don't think your problem is with Ares himself but with your Shadow Self:

I strongly encourage you to look at your upbringing in relation with religion, especially if it's a religion your family still practices and how it has conditioned you to see the gods.

A while back I talked a bit more about how your upbringing affects your relationship with the gods because your subconscious mind is shaped by your childhood (most of the links are broken in the post because I changed my name but the shadow work link still works): (LINK)

I recommend looking into why you perceived him to react this way and if what you said was something that previously got you in trouble with your care-givers?

For example, in the beginning of my worship, playfully calling the gods "losers" was a biiiig no because I came from a very strict religion that saw it as blasphemous. It's another reason why I can't be formal with the gods without feeling a wall between us since I was raised to believe God was unreachable and only the priest could reach him on my behalf so I was expected to be very respectful and formal so the priest could put in a good word for me. It was a miserable experience and I always felt alone in my spiritual journey.

I later learned the gods are a lot more willing to go at my own place and understand we are human with human flaws and human needs. Here's a post I strongly encourage you to read: (LINK)

Things to think about:

Are you new to working with pagan gods?

There's no shame in being inexperienced but you might not be familiar with pagan deities which are very different from modern religious figures and have been literally demonized by Christianity and perpetuated by the Media. (A perfect example of this is Apollo Luciferos and Lucifer: LINK and how the media portrays the gods: LINK)

What do you expect from Ares?

Your expectations of a god do affect how you see the god,

for example, I have a lot of shadow around working with people who have a lot of Apollo energy and so my relationship with Apollo often requires extra help, either from other gods or my spouse who has an amazing relationship with Apollo. I have also noticed people who have problems with Aphrodite's domain have a hard time working with Aphrodite.

Is there a domain that falls under Ares that you're having problems with?

Your own psychology.

Sometimes our psychology affects our relationship with the gods or cuts communication.

For example, I recently broke an ancestral curse and while that's great, it has triggered a lot of PTSD attacks as I clean up the fallout of that broken curse. Unfortunately one of the side effects is that I'm currently unable to talk to the gods. Not because I don't want to but, I just can't and I know my current mental state is temporary but it is a good reminder of how your current mental state affects your ability to sense the gods.

Did something change while you were talking to Ares or did guilt strike right after?

I honestly believe you did nothing wrong and sense your shadow self might be trying to keep you from working with Ares. I hope things have changed since you sent me this ask and will leave a few links in case they help further:

Imposter syndrome: (LINK) and (LINK)

Ares and boundaries: (LINK)

I hope these help!

[delicatestar]

These are excellent points that could be helpful for so many people and their relationships with so many gods in various pantheons!

Good rules of thumb:

If you find communication with the gods difficult, check your current state of mind.

If the gods tell you something that seems harsh, critical, or just straight up mean, check your current state of mind.

If the gods aren't responding, check your mental state.

Also, it's probably best not to read cards or do rituals when your own mental state may lead to you filtering any messages you receive through biases, fears, and doubts. You won't hear what they're trying to say; you'll only hear your own fears and insecurities reflected back at you through the gods. Instead, it's better to refrain from doing any kind of divination or spiritual work until your mental state is calmer and more stable.

For example, I was incredibly stressed over the past month and wasn't allowed to read tarot at all. Apollo asked me to wait until my mental state (in this case, my anxiety and stress) was calmer so that I would be able to properly hear the messages I was going to receive.

[theoi-crow]

IMPORTANT!

My content is about Greek Gods and does not apply to closed religions and closed practices!

As someone who is both Native American and careful to not appropriate from others, I do not support the appropriation of closed religions and practices. My posts are about the Greek Gods and can be applied to gods of religions that are considered open (most notable those whose religions died from the Christianization of Europe, were gone for hundreds of years and are being rebuilt by modern pagans.)

This does not apply to closed religions that are by definition closed to anyone who was not born into, or initiated by the respected officials of their corresponding religion or cultural practice! Please respect closed religions, and do not apply my content to closed practices!

[thyming-deactivated20220220]

This blog is a safe-space for people with any gender (including genderqueer), sexuality, religion and origin.

All of you are so beautiful. Please feel welcomed, accepted, wanted and loved on my blog. 🌱🌷

[theoi-crow]

Please stop using the word Demon to describe Toxic Entities!

I have come across so many videos and posts where a fellow pagan is shaming people for having conversations with their gods in their heads and saying things along the lines of:

"Those aren't gods, those are DEMONS!"

Why are you using a Christian construct?

Technically according to Christianity, ALL GODS that are not the Christian God are demons! That's LITERALLY what a demon is according to the modern use of the word:

The original word for demon comes from the Greek word Daemon, which translates to:

The gods inspire divine thought within us.

According to the Romans: It meant a tutelary deity AKA a patron god: (LINK)

These terms were later redefined as our modern use of the word demon.

Basically demons are gods the church refuses to accept as actual gods because their religion only acknowledges one god while the rest are demons.

According to the modern use of the term you are worshipping a deity that is not acknowledge by the church and therefore a demon. Your deity is a demon.

Why are you using a Christian construct when describing toxic entities when you are not apart of that religion?

Do I believe in demons?

No, because I know that's a Christian construct that does not describe the world around me, but I do believe and defend myself against toxic entities like monsters and corrupted human souls that are in every culture and mythos.

So please de-christianize your vocabulary and use something else.

[teawiththegods]

Has Apollo ever stricken you down with sickness? My relationship with him has been dicey as of late and I’ve come down with what appears to be a cold. I hardly ever get sick, and I just got sick out of nowhere. I keep trying to tell myself that it’s not him and he would never do this to me but there is still that part of me that thinks otherwise. Any thoughts? Also, when you’re having a rough time with your deities, do you find it best to step back for a bit or work through it with them? Thanks!

He hasn’t and I personally don’t believe he ever would do something like that at least not as a punishment. I could see him doing it if it was going to benefit you in some way such as getting you to finally rest, to stay home instead of going some place that might not be good for you, or even forcing you to go to the doctor. He’s not going to make you sick just because your relationship is “dicey”. He’s not malicious or petty like that. @theoi-crow can especially attest to that because he and Apollo have a very…ill say difficult…relationship but Apollo isn’t out there messing with Nathan’s health because of it. Actually quite the opposite.

You have a cold because sometimes humans get colds even when they don’t normally get colds. It happens. No divine influence needed.

As for your second question. It depends on the situation tbh. I’ve done both. If this is related to the Apollo situation I would suggest taking a step back to process some things. You know thinking a god is going to make you sick because of issues in the relationship is something you should probably look more into. Because in my experience beliefs like that stem a lot from our own trauma and life struggles. So it may be helpful to think on why you thought Apollo would punish you with a cold just because your relationship is a little rocky. There could be some things you have to heal from.

[delicatestar]

Anon, I'm so sorry you're sick! I hope you get better soon! 💐 I think Jessie's right; Apollo isn't petty to his followers. He can appear so in the myths sometimes, but he is also a fair god in my experience. Please don't worry about that. Now is the time for self-care, rest, and recovery. Lemon ginger tea, chicken soup (or something spicy), and a cozy place to lay your head. Maybe indulge in something you usually don't make time for, without feeling guilty that you're "wasting time" or not being productive.

Healing and recovering from illness are very productive and important. Your health is important to Apollo, even if you feel like your relationship isn't as steady as you'd like. When you're fully recovered, that's the time to examine what your relationship with him is lacking and then think about how to get it there. For now, though, please focus on yourself. First and foremost, Apollo is a god of healing, the father of Asclepius, and the grandfather of Hygeia. You can honor him by taking care of yourself and supporting your body while it recovers. Apollo will be there when you're better :)

May you gain lots of useful, helpful insights about yourself and Apollo, and build a stronger bond with him through increased mutual understanding and trust. ✨🌟