#beginner helpol

[eclipse-is-satan]

Does anyone have any tips about feeling closer to the Gods and building kharis? I've already looked into it and got some but I want as many opinions as I can gather. What are some things you guys do to feel closer to your deities?

[beatingdrumspouringwine]

Advice for beginner Hellenists

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!

[madamekudo]

can i see the Apollo altar??? pleeeeeaaaaaassseeeeeee?

(ONLY IF YOU WANT TO OFC IM JUST CURIOUS)

YES YES OFC I FIND A PHOTO 🥰🥰🥰

it’s very small but it was all I could do at the moment :(

I love getting asks yippee

[ofdaisychainsandpeninkstains]

hey does anyone have advice or ideas for low effort worship that would still be recognised or appreciated by the gods?

i have been wanting to connect with lady hestia for a while, I made an altar not long ago, but since I made it, its just, sat there, because I've been wanting to connect and worship and all that, but Ive been going through a bunch of mental health stuff for a while and its been hard to do anything that isn't an afterthought, and by that point it feels like I just shouldn't do anything because I feel bad always making things the afterthought, but its been really hard trying to do things properly and to be honest I don't really even feel like I should be doing this because I'm not putting in the effort I should and I don't really know what I'm doing

so anyway, anyone got advice?

[bardic-sunshine]

being relatively new to helpol but believing in it more than I've ever believed in anything is crazy but it also has me nervous 😭

I have a tiny altar for Apollo in my windowsill and I like to dedicate my caffiene intake to Hermes. I open my curtains to let in the sun during the mornings, and I pray at night (with casual wording so my brain doesn't explode), and I'm planning to make some little e-altar/e-shrine things for each of them, since that's the most I can realistically manage for now. I'm happy with this in a way I'm not used to feeling, and I like it.

and then it rained, and I just went "oh. ty Zeus :)" and went about my day. and then it was windy when I went to grab a package, so I went "hi Aeolus, thanks!" and went back inside. I murmured something to Hypnos when I fell asleep last night and I don't even remember what, but I know I had the gods in my thoughts.

like. what is going on 😭 I'm grateful for the most random things now, more than I ever was before, and I'm thanking the gods for them even if I'm not sure I should be 😭

part of me is going ????? is this rude? is this disrespectful?? am I okay for doing this?? but then part of me is just like. I love the gods, and I don't need to be afraid of these things because the point is that I'm trying and I think they get that. plus it's a polytheistic religion, so it's totally okay to be thankful to gods I'm not actively worshipping <3

BUT ALSO I'M STILL NERVOUS 😭😭😭

[sweetnymphie]

Beginner helpol rant post

Does anyone else struggle with feeling awkward while they pray?

I've been devoted to aphrodite for a while now but I cant help but feel like I always mess up and make it seem like I dont know what I'm doing, even though I try really hard to learn despite my learning struggles.

I know I'm probably just overthinking everything but I just wish I could be better for my lady already and not embarrass myself in front of her.

Nonetheless that wont stop me from always trying my hardest for her ♡

[mybeloved-hyacinth]

Intro Post

Basic Info

Hey. I'm Cibris but you can call me Hyacinthus on this blog. I'm a guy, I use he/him pronouns exclusively. I'm also 19 and lovingly taken (I'm matching with my boyfriend, so our intros are similar in format).

I'm researching Hellenic Polytheism with my boyfriend, but I don't think I've done enough to consider myself a Helpol yet. I have a little more info below about what I want to do in my practice.

I am part of a plural system like my boyfriend. I am a traumagenic system but don't feel it necessary to pursue a diagnosis. We're bodily over 18. I don't have a syscourse stance, I don't particularly care. Every system is safe here, though, I won't exclude anyone for their identity or stance.

Worship Info

I want to worship Apollon first, and I would like to take part in some hero worship (specifically Hyacinthus, if you couldn't tell). I would like to incorporate spirits and ancestors in my worship, and I'm also interested in incorporating angels and demons into my practice. I dabble in witchcraft occasionally too.

Blog Info

This is not a roleplay blog. My boyfriend and I chose this theme to represent us on our blogs. I am not Hyacinthus, nor do I think I am. While I use the name, I do so because I know my actual name is... not a typical name and it may throw some people off. I simply mean to make it a little easier for those people to find a name for me.

I mostly just want to talk about paganism with people and make some friends here. My DMs are open for 18+ and asks open for anyone. I don't usually respond to DMs from ageless blogs so please make sure you have an age or at least age range somewhere visible before you DM me (or I suppose in the DM itself).

Just as a warning, I often struggle with tone and tend to type quite formally, which seems to make my texts sound a bit passive-aggressive. That's usually not my intention, I struggle with autism which causes these things.

This is a side blog so unfortunately I can't follow back from here, and I do not feel comfortable giving out the main blog.

DNI

I don't have a DNI. I don't believe they do anything productive. Instead, I block freely. Please do not be offended or take it personally if I block you, it's rarely ever a reason to do with you as a person. I cater my feed to my liking and sometimes I need to block people to keep my feed like that. I don't owe anyone a reason for blocking them either.

Userbox Hoard

That's all.

Again, my DMs are open for anyone 18+, feel free to ask about me, my learning/research on paganism, or if you'd like to be friends.

[the-apartment-complexxx]

Hello, all! I am Harmonia! I’m simply making a little intro post!

This is what I look like! Not my art, it’s a picrew!

My pronouns are she/her! I enjoy doing crafts, and I am an Aphrodite worshipper!

Here’s an altar Grem and I made today! It’s very pretty!

Here’s some art I’ve done for Lady Aphrodite! The drawing of her is based off my favorite interpretation of Mother Aphrodite: (not mine, found on Pinterest!)

Today our dear @moony-buckets decided to join helpol as well! They kept asking me for advice, and it felt very nice despite also being a beginner myself! Then they told me I reminded them of Lady Aphrodite and she must be proud of me, I was oh so flattered!

That’s all I have to post for now! Lovely to meet you all! 🌸