Ink and Gold

Personal Worship, Hellenic Thriskeía with a focus on Lord Apollo (trans man, he/him, 25+, polythiest)

[kohlfeather]

My name in this space is Kohl (pronounced: coal/ko-le). I've been a polythiest since I was 14, and now I'm over 25.

I have only begun worshipping the Theoi within the last 3 years, lead by Lord Apollo who helped lift me out of the gutter and into helping others.

Closest:

♡ Lord Apollo ♡ Dionysus ♡ Hermes ♡

Hopefuls:

◇ Zeus ◇ Hera ◇ Ares ◇ Hestia ◇ Herakles ◇ Aphrodite ◇ Adonis ◇ Thanatos ◇ Hades ◇ Hypnos ◇ Pasithia ◇ Tuatha De Denann ◇ Peitho

Original posts are tagged kohlfeather yapture, readings are tagged kohlfeather readings. If you'd like a tarot/oracle reading feel free to ask but I will only do up to 3 cards.

[khaire-traveler]

💞 Subtle Anteros Worship 🏹

Send a kind message to a loved one out of the blue

Engage in random acts of kindness towards strangers

Write kind messages on paper slips and distribute them (or put them somewhere anonymously for people to take)

Make a kindness jar for yourself filled with paper slips that say positive or encouraging things

Get a candle that reminds you of him (no altar needed)

Keep a picture of him in your wallet

Wear jewelry that reminds you of him

Volunteer for/donate to organizations that support survivors of domestic violence, single parents, or abused/neglected children

Remind those that you love that you love them out of the blue

Practice gratitude to those who treat you kindly, especially if its someone you struggle to be kind to

Leave behind relationships that are incredibly harmful to you; prioritize your mental/emotional/physical well-being

Practice advocating for yourself, especially in situations where you find it difficult to say "no"

Keep imagery of feathers, wings, bows and arrows, scales (specifically Aphrodite's scales of love), the ocean, Eros (they're paired together often in mythos and art), mirrors (love must be reflected/reciprocated to thrive)

Keep stuffed animals of sea creatures, birds that you associate with love, animals that you associate with love

Give someone you love a spontaneous gift

Show compassion for others; show compassion for yourself

Take a self-care bath/shower

Meditate by the ocean, sea, or a body of water

Show appreciation towards yourself and your own hard-work; thank yourself 🩷

If you have one, ask your crush on a date or make the effort to get to know them better

Wear something that makes you feel attractive/confident

Spend quality time with loved ones

Support your loved ones through difficult times; ensure that you're also receiving the support you need!!!

Support loved ones who are going through a difficult relationship or a break-up

Be kind to yourself during break-ups; focus on self-care

Write a letter you'll never send to those you feel have scorned you; say your piece, then destroy the letter

Practice healthy conflict resolution skills, especially if it's difficult for you

Set boundaries with loved ones; become familiar with what your boundaries might be

Go out of your way to surprise someone you love with something thoughtful for them

Hold onto gifts given to you by those you love; get rid of those that cause you pain

Remind yourself of your own value; put up sticky notes or reminders of how important you are

-

I might add more to this in the future, but for now, this is my list of discreet ways to worship Anteros! Take care, and may Anteros bring luck in love to you, if you wish him to! 🩷

Link to Subtle Worship Masterlist

[inkpressedpetals]

[kohlfeather]

tw eating disorder, body image issues

very negative self talk I have to bleed out

I can't be happy about anything I see in the mirror but the lack of curves is making me feel awful.

I remember before I transitioned I had massive body image issues. I always saw myself as too fat, too broad. Even now my roommate tells me all the time how broad I am and that no matter what I do or how mich weight I take off I'll always have a body like a box. He said that when I asked him to stop constantly comparing me to cartoon characters.

I wanted an eating disorder so much as a kid, but I couldn't make myself stop eating. I won't do it now either. But, my Gods I wish my body was different. I wish I didn't do all of this to it.

I know I could ask for help to love my body but I look at it and think its pure delusion to try loving this, knowing full well no one else would. No one would see this and think its fine, I have to change it. Give it at least one appealing feature.

[elminx]

Y'all want the real shit, but can't handle that somebody else's spiritual catharsis is going to sound like ranting nonsense if it's not meant for you.

[kohlfeather]

My project has me thinking about Hestia and how she goes first and last. I wonder if that could be seen as putting your house and family first and last?

First as in caring for them, sheltering them, providing, uplifting. Last as in knowing the whole world doesn't revolve around your household and sometimes sacrifices must be made for broader society and to do what's right.

Make sure your house has food to eat, but avoiding excess to ensure your neighbours are also eating even if it means taking food out of your pantry. First and last.

Idk, just a thought.

[kohlfeather]

I need to focus more on school but still feel immense guilt for taking focus from the Gods

Saying a prayer to Apollo on my way to the bus makes me feel better. Feel good even. But then I still feel like an asshole for not giving proper attention to everyone else.

I feel like the answer is to focus on school, do the best I can, the Gods brought me here to succeed.

[echo-loves-flowerboy]

Losing my mind wdym Zeus fucked Alcmene for 36 hours straight and that’s why Heracles is such a gigachad???

Insane assertion, you’re such a whimp cuz your dad lasted 20 second get fucked source

[kohlfeather]

I'm preparing a 3 week class on keeping house for different abilities and downloaded a magical housekeeping guide (it has some good ideas in its witchy - even if I heavily dislike the aesthetic) and!

The writer says in it directly that she worships Hestia!!

And it occurred to me that I really could dedicate the creation of this course to her lmao

[goth-queen]

[saeraaaa]

how I feel when I do a reading about my love life

[sapocipo]

What about the interpretation that Adonis was eager to hunt the boar to prove his masculinity?

-‘Who lives and must not die’. The myth of Adonis in Hellenistic poetry. Aleksandra Klęczar

The iconography of hunters involved in boar hunting suggests to identify, in all cases examined, young individuals and not yet adults. It is not difficult to imagine that this activity could be related to the male rite of passage, according to the rituals seen in many traditional societies, that explains the successful defeat of a fierce wild animal, e.g. boar, as a test of manhood

-Exercise of Dominance. Boar Hunting in Mycenaean Religion and Hittite Royal Rituals, M. Hutter und S. Hutter-Braunsar, Offizielle Religion, lokale Kulte und individuelle Religiositat, Ugarit Verlag Munster, 2004, pp. 117-135

In Aegean art the hunt centers on deer and boar. The boar hunt has not been considered in this review because as of yet there are no clear associations with any of the feasting scenes. It may be that the boar hunt was a separate activity, reserved for the elite and, as we know from later sources, a sign of manhood and therefore a restricted rite of passage.

-A SURVEY OF EVIDENCE FOR FEASTING IN MYCENAEAN SOCIETY

This interpretation doesn't mean that he would be underage by our modern standards (especially considering that that I found one source that, weirdly, outright states his age as being 18-19,) it just means that in the Mycenean society he wouldn't be considered an adult because he failed this rite of passage

[sapocipo]

Just printed the second paper and there are some cute depictions of boar hunt

[vigilantlight]

Regional Variation within Hellenic Polytheism

I feel like not enough time is spent in HelPol spaces discussing the regional variation of the religion, beyond occasional hat-tips to the preference shown to certain theoi in certain regions. In an attempt to get many thoughts out of my head in an orderly fashion, some blurbs: ಄ The majority of helpols are, whether consciously or unconsciously, practicing more or less a variation of Athenian (or generally Attican) polytheism. This is just due to source survival bias. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, but it often isn't discussed openly, nor do many authors take the time to specify that we're aware in the records of regional variance. ಄ Additionally, records hugely skew towards civil worship (as opposed to household or rural worship), which both reinforces the regional bias towards more heavily developed at the time regions of Greece and obscures by ommission many aspects of daily life for the average Hellene that we can now only really infer ಄ Cultural conflation is an issue here, and one that does matter. Although certainly no one is arguing that Thessaly is any more or less Greek than Laconia, the way we interpret the idea of a unified 'ancient Greek culture' is very modern, and removes a great deal of political and cultural context. Responsible reconstruction requires acknowledgement of both intracultural and intercultural forces, and the fuzziness of the boundaries between what is and isn't 'the same culture'. As modern, often foriegn, practitioners we need to be careful that we're not partaking in intermingling regional disparities based purely on preference without acknowledging the complexity of their origins.

಄ That said, what we do know of the differences region by region are difficult to compare in a direct manner, both because to do so would often water down the nuances of why things developed differently, and also because exceedingly few of our primary sources engage in such comparison through the lens of the time. Instead, I believe that regional examination should be done in as holistic a contained manner as possible, and the urge to compare be treated a secondary to the need to see how complete a given picture can be on its own first.

಄ It is, at times, treated as a sort of badge of honor to go out of your way to not center Attican HelPol in your personal practice. Quite simply, stop that. Specifically I'm staring at some of the exotification of Laconia/Sparta that goes on in certain spaces. By all means, decenter Athens. But there's nothing morally superior or inferior about reconstructing based more on one region than another. ಄ There is nothing inherently wrong with using information we have about the regions with more surviving record to fill in the gaps of how we understand those towards which we do not. This is a very intuitive and academically sound way of trying to gain a clearer understanding of the landscape. But this should be done knowingly, and not because it's become normalized for authors to not bother to specify what comes from where, where relevant. ಄ If you've ever wondered about some of those unsual, fringe epithets for your deities that seem incongruent from most of their aspects, look into their regional worship and the surviving folk belief of their major hubs of antiquity. It very, very often answers the question.

[inmyskin2002-deactivated2025082]

being mutuals isn’t enough we need to eat breakfast in the garden together

[bodhi-devotee]

@sag-dab-sar @hillbillybubbeleh @cant-find-sibi @faun-writes @i-petalouda-tou-apollona @kohlfeather @lyreofalthea @twunkish-cleric

don’t mind me, just tagging all my moots i’ve interacted with recently :P

[kohlfeather]

oh dude yes please, I'll make us hibiscus and jujube tea

it tastes very red

[divinationsanctuary19]

Your daily dose of Apollo

[sagwajom]

Some drawings I drew and devoted to Lord Apollon, Lady Aphrodite, and Lord Hermes!!!!!!

[echo-loves-flowerboy]

Aphrodite’s missing person report for her evil toddler

source

[artandbeauty71]

EVERYONE LOOK!!

Baby Hermes w his turtle bestie🥹🥹🥹

[echo-loves-flowerboy]

MY EVIL SON!!!!!!!!!!!!