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` ·. if you’re reading this i hope you have a wonderful weekend. be kind to yourself and to others. great things are coming and you deserve them all. sending love and great vibes your way, please accept
This isn't necessarily a post where I include a list of Gods, epithets, resources, and offerings for said Gods, but rather, hopefully soothing the worries of those of us who are starting the journey into the religion. As someone who was once in a religion that made other religions sound like something absolutely terrifying, my journey into Hellenism was once which was also... pretty terrifying, and this fear was mostly just from my own mind.
Anyways, my list of Advice:
You can literally just start praying. If you want to get more formal, you can absolutely get more formal, but you very much don't have to. I've definitely had my first prayers to some Gods be "hello, [God or Goddess's name], I want to worship You! Please lead me in my journey. Thanks!" I can promise you, the Gods are much kinder and more understanding than any of us fully know.
You can also just start worshiping in general. I feel like I've seen on occasion people worried about the Gods not "calling" to them. This is definitely not something that needs to happen pre-worship. If you find them interesting enough to pray to, then that in and of itself is enough.
In a similar vein, I wouldn't be too concerned about the idea of "signs". I feel like there's a tendency for folks to be incredibly worried about everything when first starting out - the behavior of a candle, the sighting of an animal, a strange dream, all can suddenly seem to take on jarring significance. But I can promise you, the Gods don't constantly give out signs, and frequently, these strange occurrences can be attributed to the mundane. When something comes from the Gods, you will know, trust me!
You don't have to worry too much about the idea of cleanliness, be it spiritual or physical. Khernips are cool, and I'd definitely recommend integrating them into your practice sooner or later. Hygiene is cool too! But if I'm being honest, we in the modern day are far more physically clean, and a lot less likely to regularly encounter the type of pollution that would have been encountered in ancient Greece.
The Gods will be at varying distances over the course of your worship. Sometimes, They will feel close, joyfully, burningly so. And sometimes, They will feel far, and prayers may even feel a bit futile. Both of those are perfectly okay, and neither of those will be permanent.
And, once again in a similar vein, you will likely not find yourself having constant, close mystical experiences with the Gods (i.e., conversations, visions, etc.). These experiences are rare and far between, and I would advise that you not make them a central part of your worship. They will come when the Gods deem you're ready for them, and you definitely won't be expecting it. Focus on the little things!
My final thing (for now) is that you also shouldn't put undue pressure on yourself to be doing some sort of big offering to the Gods. If that's what you can afford, that's great! But if not, fresh water, a small wildflower that you came across and picked*, or a small bit of a meal also count as a good offering!
And with that, my (much longer than I was previously planning on) list of things for beginners to keep in mind! A lot of this list is made up of things which I picked up along the way, and a lot of it is also made from my own personal hindsight being 20/20. I hope this is helpful to someone, and that it maybe soothes some of the (incredibly common) worries which so often accompany those who are venturing into the world of Hellenic polytheism!
are user boxes still a thing? no idea. but i made user boxes as my contribution to the community. they're matchy, too!! you're free to use them- just say Aterios made it.
i'm open to making these under request, just send me an ask with the deity you'd like a box for!! please be nice, too.
gods in this post: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Athena, Hermes & Dionysus.
I don’t know which current pagan needs to hear this but your life doesn’t have to revolve around your religion. Every act of self care doesn’t have to be devotional, every meal you make doesn’t have to lose a portion to sacrifice.
You’re allowed to be casually religious, a “Yule Pagan” if you want to steal “Christmas Christian” from the Jesus club. You’re allowed to dedicate a day or two to worship and just stare at the sky or ground and mutter the rest of the week.
Just because the world sees your religion as invalid doesn’t mean you have to go into overdrive and let it consume every aspect of your life.
The other night I prayed to Apollo and asked Him to bless me with good health and strength for the next day... and the next morning I woke up feeling extremely nauseous and had a bad stomach ache and migraine. I felt ill the entire day. I think maybe this was Apollo sort of putting me in my place and reminding me not to get too greedy with things I ask the Gods for. Especially without properly reaching out. I'm very sorry, Apollo. I definitely learned from that lesson!
maybe this is a common experience, but for the longest time i thought i had no sort of godphone, at all.
i mentioned this in my post yesterday but i am neurodivergent, and i tend to take things pretty literally without realizing it. seeing so many people say they talk to their gods, they hear them, they are able to speak to them and get a response...i was baffled, because i had never had an experience like that!
i converted to paganism when i was 15, and only started working with deities when i was 19. i thought i was doing something completely wrong up until (relatively) recently, and i'm 22 now. i thought i wasn't tapped in at all, that i would never be able to communicate with my deities, that i wasn't meant to work with them because i couldn't hear like other devotees.
and then i was informed that that wasn't the case! and my communication with loki and freyja is very clear and developed, i just wasn't looking for the right signs because i was expecting to be able to actually...hear them talk to me.
so if you're unsure about your ability to communicate with your deities, take the lesson from me and know that you might just be reading too into it or not looking for the right signs! and in my case it never hurts to double check through tarot or pendulum.
please also make sure to do your research, get your information in the right places, and ask for clarification when needed!
Honoring love and beauty as a mentally ill worshipper 🕊
Sometimes we can't afford to do big gestures for our gods, especially if you suffer from mental illnesses such as depression or you are a neurodivergent person. These are some things that I practice in my daily life to pay tribute to the love and beauty in my life as a young woman who is neurodivergent and has depression.
🩷 Wash your hair
🐚 Put on your favorite makeup while listening to romantic music
🩷 Apply some body cream after bath
🐚 Say out loud some compliments for the people you love (partner, friends, family)
🩷 Take your time to inhale and exhale
🐚 Have some sweet treats for you once in a while
🩷 Get out of bed
🐚 Wash your teeth
🩷 Do your skincare
🐚 Brush your hair, apply your favorite oil if necessary (I use argan oil only on the ends of my hair)
🩷 Don't starve yourself, try eating homemade food if you can
🐚 Drink water
🩷 Don't isolate yourself, speak to your loved ones online if you can't meet them
🐚 Exfoliate your legs in the shower
🩷 Apply nail hardener and/or nail polish
🐚 Get back into old hobbies
🩷 Cut your nails at home
🐚 If you have trouble sleeping at night try taking short naps
🐚 Light a candle for Aphrodite
🩷 Do some craft for a loved one
Being depressed and neurodivergent is hard, you don't have to do all the things this list says, with taking your time to think about the good stuff in your life first is a big step and Lady Aphrodite will apreciate you trying to love yourself.
It's not much but I did the best I could for now. I hope to get a statue for Her soon.
I had a dream that I offered Her an apple and a orange, so yesterday I did just that! I think she liked it, so I'm keeping it there for a little bit. I really appreciate how patient Aphrodite has been with me 💗
Hey if you’re schizophrenic/psychotic I just want you to know that you’re a wonderful person and that you deserve so much better than the demonization, marginalization and stigmatization you face in this society.
Please consider reblogging this/other positivity posts for schizophrenic/psychotic people every once in a while. If you have more than 100 followers, odds are that a couple of them experiences psychosis and that they rarely see positivity posts for people with their symptoms.
the following are the 22 major arcana tarot cards and their associated hellenic deities. they are each sorted into two sections: gods associated with the literal interpretation of the card (for example, when the death card actually indicates death), and gods associated with the meaning of the card. I did not include the reversed meanings because there are several ways to interpret reversed cards, and therefore associations should be made on a case by case basis.
0 - THE FOOL
the card: Apollo, Hermes
the meaning: Hermes, Dionysus
I - THE MAGICIAN
the card: Hekate, Circe
the meaning: Hekate, Hephaestus, Athena, Hermes
II - THE HIGH PRIESTESS
the card: Hekate, Hera
the meaning: Hekate, Hera, Demeter, Persephone
III - THE EMPRESS
the card: Hera, Persephone, Aphrodite
the meaning: Hera, Aphrodite, Demeter, Rhea
IV - THE EMPEROR
the card: Zeus, Hades, Kronos, Poseidon
the meaning: Zeus, Ares, Athena
V - THE HIEROPHANT
the card: Hermes
the meaning: Dionysus, Hestia, Hekate
VI - THE LOVERS
the card: Aphrodite & Ares, Eros & Psyche, Hermaphroditus
As a dodecatheist Hellenist, it's important for me to follow the practices of the ancient Greeks. However, paganism offers us the freedom of syncretism.
So, while the Wheel of the Year is first and foremost Celtic and Wiccan, it's close to my heart because it celebrates the power of nature.
So here's a list of the different Sabbats and the Greek gods associated with them, which we can celebrate.
