My crippled hands make crippled art to honor my Crippled God and I am so grateful to be in the glow of His fire and glory

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My crippled hands make crippled art to honor my Crippled God and I am so grateful to be in the glow of His fire and glory
On this solstice we honor the Theoi who rule the sun and fire
Hail to Helios and Apollo. The former who personifies the sun itself, drives his chariot everyday to ensure the continuation of its cycle, and captures the nourishing aspect of the sun. The latter who shines the light on what must be done in our lives so that we may move forward with courage and wisdom and inspires us to own our truth.
Hail to Hestia for the keeping the fire of the hearths intact that we may take care of hearths (metaphorical and literal) in our physical homes and the hearths that we carry in our hearts
Hail to Hephaestus, Prometheus and Apollo for the creative fire that inspires us to create and innovate our lives so that we see how much we can achieve with our own hands and the fire in our hearts
Hail to Hekate as Torchbearer who inspires us to be the guiding light in the lives of those who need it the most and for some ignites the spark of oneās witch fire.
Hail Theoi!
Iām worried that Iāve offended Hephaestus. Iām disabled, and it really spoke to me that there was a god of disabilities, and I started worshipping Him for that. But then I read an account that Hephaestus became disabled when Zeus threw him from Olympus, and Iām worried I offended him by worshipping that aspect of him. Is he the god of disabilities? Is that an okay thing to do?
Hello, love!
Itās completely okay to worship him as the god of disabilities! Itās pretty much become an official association of his in modern times and many of his worshipers are disabled and worship him for that reason! So no worries, hon! You didnāt offend him at all! Based on what I heard from his worshipers and my own experiences with Hephaestus I think he is quite happy to be seen as the god of disabilities and to be able to support his community any way he can! š
I like to sit here and think about Hermes keeping in constant contact with his seventeen aunts and one uncle, giving them companionship especially with Calypso whoās all alone and has no one else really. Itās no wonder Hermes is the god of astrology and astronomy given his mom is a literal star personified and so are over half of his aunts and one uncle.Ā
I also think about his great relationships with both his step moms Hera AND Leto (Leto was originally one of Zeusā official, recognized brides, you canāt take this away from me). The two love him and spend a fair amount of time with him, having a mutual affection between them.Ā
--Finally I like to think about Hephaestus, Athena, and Hermes having annual meetings about whatever theyāre going to create/invent next to share with the world. And no, Hermes being there isnāt a joke, heās also an inventor too like the other two.Ā Ā
It is my own personal religious conviction that Hephaistos deserves more worship.
Sometimes I think about a podcast episode that @thepastelpriestess put out (I think it was you who does "Tea With The Gods" right?)
Anyway, she talks about how Hephaistos' domain isn't quite so prevalent in modern society as it once was, and this contributes to his comparatively smaller following. I believe she then starts the conversation on how to... I don't want to say "modernize" Hephaistos because it implies changing him, which she is Not implying. But I guess rethinking our understanding of him and how he fits into our current world.
We already do this for other gods quite naturally. How many of us have prayed to Hermes for car troubles or public transportation woes? But the progression from horses and chariots to cars and buses is a logical step within our cultural narrative.
What is the "progression" of a blacksmith? That beautiful art certainly still exists, so instead of a progression, let's talk about expansion.
I don't recall what Jessie suggests specifically, but allow me to contribute some ideas to the conversation:
Computer programming / software engineering
Any kind of building or physical engineering from bridges to prosthetics
Architecture
Small scale building projects as well, such as home renovation, building birdhouses with your children, etc
Car repair and maintenance. (The driving of the car is Hermes, but the mechanics is surely Hephaistos)
Fixing/repairing any physical object that doesn't clearly go under another deity's domain (darning a sock might be Athena, but perhaps fixing the sock drawer or cleaning your computer keyboard would be Hephaistos)
Also, holding firm to your sense of self-worth, and refusing to allow others to take your dignity from you.
This one is pretty nebulous, so let me explain. Remember Hephaistos' origin story? Chucked off Olympos and rejected by his family? And then he came back and forced others to acknowledge his skill and worth (through the chair trick)? He was still ridiculed throughout many stories, but he never let that get to him.
In modern day, this would look like:
Holding fast to your principles and refusing to bend them under pressure. (I don't want to give examples as this is highly subjective, but you'll want to consider your core values and live a life according to them. Refusing to compromise your core values affirms to yourself that you are a valuable person.)
Setting and maintaining healthy boundaries (and respecting those of others)
Keeping your promises to yourself and to others
Building a core conception of yourself that does not rely on the opinions of others.
These are only one person's ideas that hopefully will become part of a much larger and more diverse dialogue.
If you like audio formats better than text, "Tea With The Gods" by the ever-delightful @thepastelpriestess is on Spotify, and I believe she's planning on making more episodes when she has the time and energy to do so. Might be worth a follow.
Dionysus and Hephaestus
I usually stick to writing about cult practices and avoid mythology, but this topic is a bit different. To be fair, the two gods we are going to talk about are also different from the rest of the Pantheon in their respective ways, so it makes sense.
The myth is Hephaestus' return to Olympos, so let's summarize it quickly (I will be using the version brought to us by the late greek author Libanios): Hera, ashamed of her Hephaestus for his lameness, banished him from Olympos. As an answer, he crafts her a throne and sends it to her. Hera, upon sitting on the throne, quickly realizes that the object has invisible bonds that ties her in place. No one among the gods is able to free her, and so they realize they need to bring Hephaestus back because he's the only one to know how this throne works. Ares tries first, through force, but Hephaestus sends him away with fire. The only god who succeeds to convince Hephaestus to come back is Dionysus, who manages to do so by making him drunk.
As a reward for his success, Dionysus is made an Olympian proper. As we can see, the myth serves the double purpose of justifying Dionysus' and Hephaestus' place amongst the other Olympians. I could go on and on about the themes of the myth but this is not the purpose of this post.Ā
Instead, what I want to go through is the representations we have of the myth and the importance of Dionysiac imagery surrounding Hephaestus. Letās look at some depictions found on pottery.Ā
1)Ā The Francois crater, 570 - 560 B.C
2) Kylix, archaic, undated.
3)Ā Harvard Krater, ca 500 B.C.
4) Toledo Skyphox,Ā ca. 430 - 420 B.C
5) Munich Pelike,Ā ca. 430 B.C.
It's interesting to note how the depictions fit their stylistic periods. As such, the ithyphallism of the satyrs, silens and the donkey is very present until the entrance into the 5th century. In the last example I've chosen, the drunk Hephaestus is not shown on a donkey, but instead being supported by a satyr.
I'd argue however, that Hephaestus' association with the donkey further links him to the dionysian realm, as it is an animal we find most often associated with Silenus, and later with Priapus. Both of which are heavily linked to Dionysus.The representations of the return of Hephaestus take the form of a dionysiac procession where Dionysus is triumphant.Ā
Despite the popularity of this myth in artistic and lyrical depictions, there doesn't seem to have been any particular connection between Hephaestus and Dionysus in festivals. The myth itself rathers tells about the creation of a stable pantheon. It is notable, however, that those two gods, whose epiphanies are linked also happen to be the two most different gods of the pantheon. They both are outcasts who owe to eachother their respective recognizition as gods of Olympus.Ā
Further reading:Ā
Hedreen G., The return of Hephaistos, Dionysiac processional ritual and the creation of a visual narrative, In: Journal of Hellenic Studies 124, 2004
helloooooo any hephaestus worshippers out there?? if youāre comfortable w sharing, what kind of things do you have on his altar? our relationship is fairly new and kind of casual but iād like it to be deeper and to start i want to give him an altar but........ idk what to put on it
my space is limited and iām a revivalist but i will take recon tips if thatās what you have to offer
also, terfs/nazis/bigots leave me alone
my girlfriend is highkey thinking about become a hephaestus devotee and i, for one, am extremely stoked. for now, sheās taking it slow and doing research while she continues to work on her relationship with him, but i figured iād poke the community anyway.
so, any hephaestus devotees out there willing to let me direct her to them for some wholesome community vibes? š