#hellenic god

[theholydivines]

i have given in and will now be pinning/saving christian posts on insta and pinterest (the ones that are like "it's never luck, it's always god") and just pretending god is pluralised because i want that sort of content and can't find any for polythiests, let alone hellenic polythiests. so. giving in

[unholyleaf]

Hail Apollon, Shining and Golden, Who Wanders the world, From his Grecian Home, to the wilds of Gaul, Worshipped far and wide, And with many names, All of which bear truth, For Apollo is truth, and is the light that shines in the darkness, For Apollo is the Lightbearing God, And Honor him, we do

[buggabeewitch]

The Gods are Ultimately Good

and i don’t just mean that because i want it to be true. our gods are not perfect, but they are ultimately good and want what is best for us mortals. in my experience, and opinion, a god will come to you the way you need to meet them.

let’s take aphrodite for instance. as an example, if you’re a minor, a feared god like aphrodite may still be scary for you to encounter, but she’ll come to you more gently. she’ll come to you for things like self acceptance when you’re teased for the way you dress at school, or for confidence throughout your “ugly” phases of puberty. she’ll meet you where you are. you don’t have to look at how adults worship her and form your worship around that. she doesn’t want that of you, you’re still a kid/teen! and also, just because aph may come to you as a big pink mama of self love, bubble baths, and pastel colors, doesn’t mean your worship of that aspect of her is infantilizing. infantilizing a god is a problem, but this isn’t how it takes form. you can regard and respect aphrodite as a powerful, fearsome deity without necessarily having to experience her that way.

there’s a lot of ways “the gods are ultimately good” takes form. a god will not groom a minor into spousal-ship. a god will not ask you to ignore your own boundaries. a god will not refuse to take no for an answer. a god understands your limits.

“the gods meet you where you are” is probably the best way i can put it. it’s important not to discount the way people worship and experience their own personal relationships with the gods because you don’t think they’re “doing it right” or because you think their way of worship is somehow disrespectful and ignorant of that gods full being. gods are complex and gods are infinitely so. by claiming someone’s worship is somehow not all encompassing you’re implying that yours is, or that you somehow know how to do such a thing. and you can’t! yknow?

i’m losing all the words i want to use as they come up, so if i have any more thoughts i’ll come back to this. i just wanted to spout some thoughts.

tl;dr: the gods will meet you where you are. don’t feel less-than because your worship isn’t like someone else’s. your relationship with deity is meant to be personal.

[the-horned-paladin]

Hello! I have read now some myths regarding Hades and Persephone (the hymn to Demeter) and I just , it just sits so wrong with me to think that he abducted her and it was unconsensual. Perhaps all the fiction had to influence me on that one , but still I just feel like their bond just give off love , although the historical sources do say otherwise. What do you think?

I think that we have to look at historical context to really understand their mythos. In Ancient Greece, the concept of consent from women is simply different from modern day consent. At the time the man interested would ask for the father's consent to wed, and if the father agreed the woman would be wed. Some interpretations say Zeus gave his consent before Hades took her. Some say he simply fell in love and took her. We also have to consider the fact that mythos has been changed and even bastardized by the demonization of pagan as well as non-christian religions by the spread of Christianity. Resources were destroyed en masse. There are God's whose stories have been lost to time because of this, i.e. Zagreus, and UPG from the scraps of information left are all we have. Further, these are deities. Humans have shared the stories they interpret of God's for centuries, but that doesn't mean we as humans know their whole story. For all we know, Hades abducting Persephone never actually happened, and was just a tale to explain why the seasons change. And just because two people love each other doesn't mean things are perfect between them. Persephone changed drastically as an entity when she became queen of the underworld. Ultimately, our current idea of consent is different than that of Ancient Greece, where these stories originate from. We also have a very faceted understanding of multifaceted spiritual beings whose stories may be changed, bastardized, lost to time, or simply lessons attempting to be taught. If we deny the parts of history we don't like, we ignore the parts of our gods that exist to teach us about life, true or not. I would suggest consulting Persephone and Hades in divination to determine what lessons you might personally want or need to take from the parts of their story that unsettle you. (Thats not to say I like it either, it's just a bit more complicated than we typically think)

[thegraveyardwitch]

Temple of Aphrodite

[buggabeewitch]

I'd love to start working with/worshipping Helios , and was wondering if you had any tips ? (That's fine if not though :) xx )

PS . Love your content and one day would love to commision you

Aw, thanks for the compliment! I hope one day we can work something out for you. Keep in mind I always discount for friends ;)

And as for tips for working with and worshipping our lovely sun god Helios, here’s what I’ve got:

This kind of goes for all Gods, but learn about his myths, retinue, consort, children, and family history. Connecting with a God comes from a place of wanting to learn, and what better way than to get to know him the way you would a person? Except unlike a person, just about everything you’d usually ask in conversation is written so I’d start there.

Remember that he’s a Titan god, learn about what that means. Learn specifically about how titans are worshipped as opposed to the others. I personally haven’t found that it’s much different, but it’s an aspect of him that important to keep in mind.

Bask in the sun, if you can, and say hello. I like to lay on my picnic blanket, looking up at the sky, and say a little morning prayer that I can share on my page after I post this. Enjoying the sun, or learning to enjoy it, is a good way to honor him and his “job.” If you’re sun sensitive, don’t worry! Seeking shade from the sun isn’t disrespectful at all, in fact it would honor his Power and great strength for guiding the sun on his aureole. Even just saying hello to him as you walk from your door to your car on the way out is a great practice.

Be receptive. In my experience, he’s very gentle and soft. He won’t shout so you may have to listen a little harder. I’m not a very experienced diviner, if you can even call me a diviner with as little divination as I do, so I don’t have any tips in that particular regard.

If you can get out of bed for sunrise, welcome him and wish him a safe journey. He’s done it for as long as time, but in my experience he always appreciates well wishes. Also, at sunset or at bedtime, I wish him goodnight in his palace. By doing this, you recognize his labor and honor it. It’s a great thing he does, driving that chariot. Without it, we’d freeze!! And if he did it poorly, we’d burn!

Personally, I make art. If you’re an artist, doing art of a God can be a great way to feel their presence. For example, when I made that Artemis icon, I felt her with me so strongly even though I had never contacted her before or even asked her to be with me. When I do art for pleasure, I usually have the mousai with me. When I do art for worship, I ask that God to be with me. It’s a great way to spend time with them while worshipping them.

My relationship with Helios is very personal, so try to make yours personal too! For example, my mood and well-being are very casually related to the sunshine. So I thank him for that whenever I can. Another example, if you’re a gardener, your plants well-being will be directly tied to sunshine (and other factors) so thank him for keeping your crops, flowers, etc in bloom and thriving! Try to think of some way the sun affects you personally, and go from there!

[buggabeewitch]

a page from my book!