Hello, It's Ryan. Thank you for the reading. But what do I offer Hades and Persephone? And how do I communicate with them?
Lucien's unofficial guide to deity communication (and Hades and Persephone):
Usually when deities are interested in someone, they want to help you personally grow in exchange for veneration and offerings. An example of this exchange could be: Hades helping a follower with a protection spell, and then the follower of Hades doing a devotional act such as playing a cool song for Hades in return.
Personally in my work with Hades he is like a father figure who informs me when people overstep my boundaries, and reminds me that I deserve to have boundaries. I have been doing a lot of thinking about death with him lately because I have lost two very important people in my life, and Hades has helped me immensely with being at peace with it. I keep pictures of my family that have passed on Hades and Persephone's altar, and ask them to guide and protect them. Recently Hades asked me to go looking for bones to put on his spot on my altar.
You can begin communicating with your deities via meditation. Just sit somewhere quiet, or go for a walk, or do some art, meanwhile thinking about your deities and holding them in your mind. Try to picture what they might look like - don't worry about if you're right or not. This is an intensely personal practice and you do not need to judge yourself against what others think.
Imagine yourself having a conversation with your deity, if you can. Try to picture the scene in your head. Where are you, what are your surroundings? What do you want to discuss with your deity? The first few times you may only get very dull, far away responses. If this is the case you may have ignored your internal intuition (I'm guilty of this!), and must build it by flexing it like a muscle. After your meditation, write down anything noteworthy or that you want to remember. The first time I contacted Apollo he called me by a nickname that is now very special and personal to me, and asked me to make him a playlist.
A good way to build a relationship with your deity is to research them! Not just on wikipedia- sites like THEOI.COM are full of primary sources from ancient Greece about the gods. You may want to start a notebook or file in your phone for the things you discover. It can be good to research epithets, symbols, and mythology of a deity when you are starting work with them.
Every now and then, give an offering or devotional activity to your deities. In your mind or outloud, communicate that you are giving them ______ as an offering.
💀🍷Hades offering ideas include walking in a graveyard, coins, crystals (in my experience he likes selenite, obsidian, and moonstone), mint, cypress, dark fruit, alcohol like wine or whiskey, and incense.
🦇🥀Persephone offerings include healing your relationship with your mother figure (or cutting her off if necessary), flowers (particularly daffodils), wine or beer, bread, and dark fruit. In ancient Greece, common offerings were water and meat. You don't need to spend any money on offerings if you don't want to. A simple cup of water set aside for them and poured out after a few hours is sufficient!
Most importantly, trust your gut and your feelings. You should not feel scared or threatened by a deity, and you can always choose not to work with them. Deities will not ask you to make binding contracts with them early in your relationship. Boundaries are important, and if they do something you would be uncomfortable with a friend doing, you can assert your boundaries.
