this might be sparta

((hellenic/hellenistic research blog))

[lakedaimonia]

[unmaskingthedivine]

Shadow Work Masterpost

Understanding Shadow Work

Part 1: What is the Shadow?

Part 2: What is Shadow Work?

Part 3: How Does One Prepare for Shadow Work?

Types of Shadow Work

Intro

Part 1: Journaling

Part 2: Introspection

Part 3: Emotional Awareness

Part 4: Dream Work

Part 5: Memory Regression

Part 6: Meditation & Altered States

[perse-phoneee-deactivated202007]

21 Day Newbie Devotee Challenge!

Are you just starting a relationship with a deity? Or have you been working with a deity for a while, but feel as though you’re stuck in a rut? Or do you just want to take the time to research your deity a little bit more? Despite being called the “Newbie” Devotee Challenge, this challenge is perfect for both beginners and well-seasoned devotees! This challenge is perfect for helping you reflect on both your deity, and your practice.

Tag all posts with “newbie devotee challenge” so we can all see your hard work! And please reblog this post if you plan on doing this challenge!

Day 1: Name the deity you will be working with for the remainder of this challenge. Give a quick overview of your relationship with that deity.

Day 2: What initially drew you to that deity? (Did they call you? Did you call them? How did you discover their identity? Etc.)

Day 3: Does your deity have any alternate names or epithets? If they do, what are they, and what do they mean? What does the name you call your deity mean?

Day 4: What symbols/animals/plants/etc. are associated with your deity? Start out by listing the ones that you know. Then, do a little research to see if you can find more. In a separate list on the same post, list those ones, too. Make note of which ones you think fit and don’t fit your deity.

Day 5: Describe your favorite story/myth that involves your deity. Discuss why this one is your favorite, and if this story/myth somehow influences your practice.

Day 6: Describe your least favorite story/myth that involves your deity. Why is it your least favorite? (Is it because it shows a different aspect of your deity that you don’t see often?) Try to turn that negative into a positive, and use this as a learning experience.

Day 7: Discuss your UPG for your deity. What inspired those UPG? Afterwards, do a little research and try to find other popular UPG. Do you agree or disagree with that UPG, and why?

Day 8: Describe what you have placed on your altar for this deity. If you don’t have an altar yet, discuss what you would put on the altar if you had one. Is there anything “missing” on your altar/are there items you wish you could add? What are they, and why do you want to add them?

Day 9: Discuss your daily/weekly/monthly/etc. worship “schedule.” What do you do for your deity? What offerings do you give? How often do you pray? And so on. Are you happy with how much/little time you give your deity? If not, what could you do to change that?

Day 10: What method(s) do you usually use to contact your deity? (Tarot, godphone, etc.) Why do you like using that method?

Keep reading

[lakedaimonia]

tbh at this point i’m ready to have a discussion about tykhe of the caucus, because flipping coins and drawing cards to decide presidential candidates has her mark all over it

[honorthegods]

Hera and Zeus by jun-pierre shiozawa, 2009.

Some time after the Titanomachy, the great war between the gods and the Titans, Zeus fell in love with Hera. The goddess spurned his attentions because he was already well-known for having dalliances with various goddesses and nymphs. So Zeus transformed himself into a cuckoo, and appeared to her in a rain storm as a bedraggled and pathetic bird. Hera felt sorry for the poor creature, and caught it to be her pet. Zeus enjoyed the goddess’ attentions, and he made himself amusing to her in return. When it became clear that Hera loved the cuckoo, Zeus assumed his real form. Having thus won her heart, Hera willingly acquiesced to his offer of marriage.They were wed in the beautiful Garden of the Hesperides, where Gaea created a tree with golden apples in honor of Hera. Zeus and his Queen then journeyed to the Island of Samos for their honeymoon, which lasted for several centuries.

Today, Hellenic polytheists celebrate the Theogamia, the anniversary of the sacred marriage wedding of Zeus and Hera, and commencement of their joint rule over the universe. 

[temples-wreathed-in-laurel-deac]

I feel like Hera isn't talked about enough

Like obviously she is important, and I don’t think people ignore her. But most of the time I feel like when people talk about her they are subconsciously always thinking of a “take no shit” woman and her marriage aspect. Her other dynamics that need noticing.  

Hera being a foster mother to the children without a home.

Hera banding together with Aphrodite and raging when a queer couple’s rights are denied

Hera being the loudest voice in Anti-Domestic Abuse marches

The kind soothing mother who strokes your hair with the gentlest hand when you need comfort

The voice encouraging the young girls who want to be powerful, who want to make a difference, telling them that they can do anything they wish to achieve

Hera fueling the fire in little girls when they are told they can’t do something because of their gender

Hera being the calm of Zeus’ storm and the flame that fuels the wildfire

Hera protecting young mothers

And Hera helping all children spread their wings when its time to go

Hera being there for people who need a mother in any way, guiding them out into the light and teaching them to stand on their own

Hera listening to couples problems and being with them during couples counseling

Hera being the regal, fair stranger that you are sure is too feminine to do any harm, but hurt any of those she loves and there is no stopping her wrath

Her showing girls how to walk, talk, and act like a queen, but to also be humble and generous as well

Just Hera 

[hellenismnow]

Delphic Maxim #12

12. If you are a stranger act like one.

Thoughts?

[lakedaimonia]

i tend to approach this as a matter of xenia, the hosts are obligated to be hospitable, but so are the guests

i also see it as, if you're an outsider, don't act like you know everything about a place or people, chances are you'll be wrong and make a fool of yourself, be open to new knowledge and trust that those around you know what they're talking about

[museum-of-artifacts]

Thracian chariot with horse skeletons found in the village of Karanovo, 1st century AD

[sir-orfeo]

The sleeping and the dead, how alike they are, they are like a painted death.

The Epic of Gilgamesh, version by N.K. Sandars (via sir-orfeo)

[studentandfox]

The popular view of Egyptian civilization as dignified and austere is incorrect. It comes from the massive temples, the grisly mummies, the crumbled and ruined tombs. Yet the temples were once bright with paint and aglitter with gold; the mummies were men, women and children who enjoyed life so much that they went to unusual extremes in the hope of perpetrating it; the tombs were Houses of Eternity, equipped with “every good and pure thing” for the enjoyment for life everlasting. We are not insulting the Egyptians or falsifying their view of the world if we catch a glimpse of them telling bawdy stories about the gods, getting drunk, writing sentimental poems to their sweetheart, or lecturing their bored children. If we laugh at them just a little, it will not diminish them; and if we fail to see that we are also laughing at ourselves, we are missing the best part of the joke.

Red Land, Black Land by Barbara Mertz (via shezep)

[thetwistedrope]

The first basic motif of Maatian ontology is the potentiality and power of being. At the time of creation, God, the Creative Force, exists as an inactive circle (dbn) or seed of spiritual matter-energy, immersed and floating in and one with the infinity of precreation. It is an ontological situation characterized by four basic aspects: darkness (kkw), fluidity (nw, hhw), invisibility (imnw) and unboundedness (tnmw). The Creator, in his name Atum, is “floating” in the waters without movement during precreation (CT VI, 344). This condition is further defined as one of nnw-inertness and the aloneness of the Creator. Thus, he describes it as a time when “I was alone with the waters, in inertness” (CT I, 28). The process of creation, as the texts (CT 76) show, leads to transformation of darkness into light, i.e., sending forth light and “giving brilliance to darkness;” fluidity into concreteness, producing the vault of heaven and what is in it as well as earth; invisibility, then, into visible forms and unboundedness into boundedness through Maat, the very embodiment of order. Thus the Creator in his name of Atum says, “I am the begetter of repeated millions out of Flood, out of Waters, out of Darkness and out of Unboundedness” (CT 11, 5-6).

Ma’at, the Moral Ideal in AE, Karenga, pg 177 (via thetwistedrope)

[vcramonantigo]

Marble statue of Aphrodite Period: Hellenistic Date: 2nd century B.C. Culture: Greek

[lakedaimonia]

[lakedaimonia]

[lakedaimonia]

[archaeologicalnews]

3,400-year-old naked statue of ancient Egyptian fertility goddess Astarte found in Israel

An ancient statue dating back to the late Bronze Age and depicting a naked standing woman has been discovered at the archaeological site of Tel Rehov, about 124km north of Jerusalem. The statue was found by a seven-year-old boy during his trip to the site, the Israel Antiquities Authority said.

The 3,400-year-old clay figurine was prepared by pressing soft clay into a mould. Authorities did not disclose the dimensions of the figurine but it looks to be a tiny one, which fits well inside the palm.

Some experts argue that the small figurine represents Astarte, the celebrated goddess of fertility, sexuality and war in the 18th dynasty of ancient Egyptian kingdom. Astarte was also worshipped in Canaan, what is now Israel, during the era. Read more.

[agitatedtortoise]

@antlering @bookofwisdom

[classicsenthusiast]

What's your opinion about the Greek mythology being similar to Roman?

Although this is a fairly simple question, I’m going to answer it a bit more in-depth. So!Religious syncretism is a term which refers to the combination or melding of religious symbols or gods in order to include them in one’s existing religious framework (like Isis getting heavily Romanized before being introduced into their culture, but still being included). Often, this term is used when referring to taking in new gods. However, when the Romans, who were heavily influenced by Greeks (both those residing in Sicily and in Greece proper), wanted to find ties between their gods and the Greek ones, they decided to take pre-existing deities they had worshipped and to give these gods a sort of… Greek spin. So Mars, the manly god of agriculture, also becomes like Ares, a god of war. This didn’t happen to all of their gods, as some religious rites performed by the Romans did not come from Greek or become beholden to Greek methods of worship. Furthermore, one Greek god, Apollo, came over as he is in Greek mythology, since there was no exact Roman equivalent for them to tie his many, many talents to. Basically, the Romans really liked how old, established, and interesting the Greek gods were, and they decided to create in their own gods that same sense of authority by tying them to the Greeks (think Vergil tying the genealogy of Rome back to Venus/Aphrodite). They wanted more credibility, so they took it from a source they loved. It is also interesting to note, as I mentioned earlier, that Rome kept building upon its existing framework of gods over the years by Romanizing and incorporating the gods of peoples they conquered, like Isis or Cybele, into their worship. However, these gods were not included in the “main gods,” and were simply tacked on at the end of a line of new ones. I hope this answers your question :)