#manteia

[godbirdart]

「 MANTEIA 」 🪐

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[koraki-grimoire]

Witchcraft in Hellenismos

Disclaimer: This post is non-exhaustive, and though I'll try to equally spread my focus, it will inevitably lean towards the kinds of magik I personally practice.

Often, in modern pagan circles, people are under the impression that Ancient Hellenismos either didn't have or despised witchcraft. This is largely from three causes. The first is simply misreading, or failing to come across witchcraft in the Hellenism they research. Second is only reading about or adhering to branches that didn't like witchcraft (usually due to it being perceived as hubristic) and therefore assuming that's the most popular opinion. Finally, sometimes people apply their assumptions based on Christian and Germanic culture to Hellenismos, and assume it carries the same attitudes.

In actuality, the view of witchcraft was historically more neutral. Witches weren't typically seen as hags, but maidens, respectable men, priests, and more. It should also be noted that, frankly, "witch" is a slightly tonally incorrect translation usually applied to the word "pharmakis."

For historical attitudes towards witches, we can read works surrounding mainly Medea and Kirke, as well as Hekate if we go past pharmakeia.

But pharmakeia and nekromankia (necromancy) are far from the only forms of witchcraft or magik--which in Ancient Greek would be "mageia" or "goeteia" depending on time and place, but will simply be called "magik" here.

So, with that very long introduction, let's get into types of magik.

Pharmakeia - Herbal Sorcery, Witchcraft

Pharmakeia is perhaps the most recognizable form of magik in historical Hellenismos. As mentioned, it was associated with the heroine Medea, as well as the goddess/nymph/hero (it's complicated) Kirke. This was magik performed using the aid of herbs, and both historically and now blends magik and science. It includes brewing poisons, casting curses, potionmaking, transmutation, and more. Kirke, famously, used pharmakeia to transform men into swine, whereas Medea tended towards poisoning, but both had variety in their craft.

Generally, when pharmakeia is translated, it's done very broadly compared to other kinds of magik. For example, pharmakeia is usually translated, especially in the Odyssey, to "witchcraft" or "sorcery." Pharmakis--the word for a practitioner of pharmakeia--is usually translated to "witch." This often leads to misconceptions of witchcraft in Hellenismos being specifically oriented around herbs and transmutation, when that's only a small piece of the picture.

Nekromankia/Nekromanteia - Necromancy

Nekromankia is far more famous now in its Anglicized pop-culture form, but it was most certainly present in Hellenismos. It's important to clarify that in Ancient Hellas, nekromankia was magik pertaining to the dead, not things such as zombies and raising the dead. In Hellenismos, the maintenance of good relationships between the dead and the living is of great importance. There were plenty of festivals devoted to placating and celebrating the dead--not to mention the monthly Attic holiday Hekate's Deipnon, devoted to honoring Hekate, goddess of nekromankia. So, unsurprisingly, there were witches who gravitated towards this as a craft.

Multiple Hellenic deities were associated with nekromankia, the most notable of which being Hekate, but also Persephone. Though, of course, any khthonic deity--especially khthonic theoi who also had non-khthonic aspects--were relevant, such as Haides or Hermes. A practitioner of nekromankia would be referred to as a nekromanteías.

Manteia - Divination, Oracles

It should be noted that manteia is heavily contested as being a form of witchcraft or even magik in Hellenismos, but it certainly meets the qualifications. The main reason this debate exists is controversy around magik in Hellenismos in general, since as most Hellenists know manteia is so central to so much of our religion, and those who dislike magik are insulted by it being considered that. Additionally, the definition of magik is constantly in flux--it's debated in modern magik circles, and it's even harder to apply a definition we can hardly agree on to an ancient culture with its own independent definitions.

Manteia is, most simply, the power to give prophecies, divination, and the use of oracles. It's the power of the Pythia (Delphic Oracle), it's in the Olympian Alphabet Oracle, it's every single seer and prophecy and divinatory method known to us.

Someone who practices manteia is called a mantis (usually translated as "soothsayer" or "diviner") or a khresmologos ("oracle"), depending on station.

Heliomanteia - Solar Magik

Heliomanteia is hard to find detailed historical information on, but most simply, it's magikal invocation of the sun. This is generally done by attempting to harness the power of the sun, or by requesting the aid of solar deities (namely, Helios).

Interestingly, Helios had many associations with witchcraft and warding off evil. It could be assumed that, due to the qualities attributed to Helios, heliomanteia would be best used to reveal truth, ward off evil, harness the power of fire, promote life, and similar.

Presumably, a practitioner of heliomanteia is a heliomantis.

Goeteia - Magik, Charms

Goeteia (in modern times "goetia") is a term for magik that fell out of style for general magik around the 5th century BC in favor of mageia. It, additionally, was shoehorned into a dichotomy of theurgy (divine, "professional," and virtuous magik) and goeteia (low, malicious, and fraudulent magik). This was largely due to political and social overhaul. The name became associated with fraudulent and harmful magik, and talk of goeteia in Ancient Hellas is a major source most anti-witch Hellenists use.

The goes (practitioner of goetia) was maligned, seen as hubristic and either trying to go against the power of the gods or intending to scam others. Plato famously portrayed them as malicious frauds, and he was not alone. Since the term "goes" is generally translated as "witch," it's not a leap to figure out why this lead to a lot of anti-witch Hellenists.

However, before this (and technically after), "goeteia" simply meant magic, charms, and similar. As a unique practice, and not simply an umbrella term for witchcraft, it can be considered channeling, a relative of nekromankia, or baneful magik, depending how much one leans into the later definition.

Theourgía - Deity Work, Divine Magik

Theourgia (in modern times "theurgy") quite literally translates to "deity work" or "god(s) working." It is ritual, sometimes magik, done with the intent of invoking one or more of the theoi. This was the ritual magik often performed by priests. In fact, it could be considered the mainstream magik of Ancient Hellas--assuming, of course, that one considers it magik.

It's not only historic magik that was central to the religion, but sets historical precedent for the controversial phrase "deity work." The existence of theurgy as the "higher form" of magik in Ancient Hellas is singlehandedly enough evidence to prove the phrase is not and would not be considered inherently hubristic. It should be noted that this form isn't inherently superior, but if you asked Plato, he would disagree.

There are certainly more forms of mageia in Ancient Hellas--For example, I skipped over amulets (periapta), which were almost incontestably the most common magik in a lot of Ancient Hellas, since they could technically fit under some other crafts and because they're the easiest to research on your own. It's a similar case with potions, too.

One important takeaway is the hard line between magik, religion, and science is a fairly recent invention. Pharmakeia could act as medicine, not just sorcery. Many potions were also medication. Frankly, the more women were involved, the more practical it tended to be, with 'spells' often being genuine aids to childbirth and/or birth control. This didn't make them any less magikal, and the magik doesn't make it less real.

And I hope I made it very, very clear, but witchcraft has always been in Hellenismos, and isn't inherently hubristic. That is a myth, and is rooted often in historical (and modern) classism, misogyny, xenophobia, or similar. Always consider your source's incentive to stigmatize before discounting all Hellenic witches.

[terra-tortoise]

tundra thursday (:

[chickensinliterature]

Magic and Divination from CHICKEN by Annie Potts 

This post welcomes you to our new page “Chicken Recommended” wherein us chickens get to bring you some things we particularly like and care about.  Click here.

“Chickens play a role in divination for many cultures. The Azande tribe of Sudan feeds chickens benge, a substance poisonous to them, and determines the answer to a problem depending on whether or not the birds survive. Africans taken to America as slaves brought with them beliefs about divination and magic; one traditions deemed that ‘the avid scratchings of a wildly feathered, “frizzled” chicken in the earth [revealed] that some dangerous unknown maleficence lay beneath the surface’.The Pwa Ka Nyaw Po of Myanmar and Kariang or Yang tribes of Thailand use bamboo splinters insertied in the holes of chicken bones during rheir fortune-telling ceremonies, and decisions are based on the angles thet the splinters arrange into when placed inside the perforations.

The role of chickens as soothsayers goes back to ancient times. In Greek legend Alectryon was sent to guard against intrusion while Ares and Aphrodite conducted and illicit affair. Because he fell asleep at his post, leaving the two lovers to be discovered by Helios the sun, Alectryon was turned into a rooster so that he would forever remember to announce the coming dawn. Fortune-telling involving chickens is therefore called alectromancy, from the Greek for alectruon for ‘cock’ and manteia meaning ‘divination’. Alectromancers interpret chicken entrails during ritual named haruspicy; they examine stones found in the stomachs of roosters (a practice called alectorii); and they observe chickens’ appetites through a process called oraculum ex tripudio. For the latter method a circle is created using the letters of the alphabet, each sprinkled with an equal quantity of grain. A rooster or a hen is placed in the circle and observed to see how quickly he or she eatsand which letters are favoured. The letters chosen spell out a prophesy—a gallinaceous precursor of the Ouija board. 

The Etruscan civilization of ancient Italy and Corsica used another version of alectromancy: a high priest interpreted the order in which hens pecked at corn. The Etruscans also originated the wishbone custom—the practice of pulling apart the chicken’s dried clavicle bone to determine who gets the longer fragment and is thereby granted a wish. Both traditions were adopted by the Romans when they colonized Etruscan society at the end of the sixth century BC.” 

Painting of Woman Feeding the Hens from Tacuinum sanitatis, a medieval health and wellness book (ca. 1370-1400).

[writingwitheli]

100 Themes #53-Future

"Y'know, Aenor, symmetry is rather interesting in friendships," Father Cross pointedly mentioned. He was careful to keep his pace mirroring Aenor's, but they were both very practiced in the art, so they didn't need to focus on it too much.

  Aenor glanced back at the temple. "I still can't be sure we're exactly friends." Dormentis wasn't exactly a friendly person. Neither was Aenor, but his point was still there.     

Father Cross shrugged. "You're monks, angry stubborn monks. You spend time together. Its a symmetric match. Of course you're friends."    

Aenor shrugged, "terms don't exactly matter, I doubt he'd jump at the chance to call me friend. Besides, I imagine that wasn't your point."    

Father Cross nodded slowly. "With marriage, two become one. It creates a separate order of balance, and adds weight to one side of the scale."    

The elf laughed, "So first you insist we're friends and then you tell me I should stop being friends?"    

The old man shook his head, "Of course not, I wouldn't expect that of you. But there are ways to regain balance other than leaving the scale."    

Aenor stopped and took a deep breath. Father Cross was usually determined to get him to socialize, but this was new territory. He was an elf, there was no need to think of romance so soon. Besides, he was a monk, and thought that alone would have been enough reason to keep possible suitors away, let alone his actual personality. "You suggest marriage?"    

Father Cross smiled, "It would make good balance in your life. Besides, we all know what happened when I wasn't around to take care of you." The church itself had been fine, Aenor had made sure of it, but the elf himself had begun to fall apart.    

The mention of that situation brought Aenor to anger. "What would you know about symmetry? Aren't you supposed to be dead? After life there is death, that is symmetry and balance, life after death is simply out of order."    

The human frowned. "I suppose, but it's for a greater balance. I have an important announcement to make after everyone's calmed down from the wedding. Besides, you already have a perfect choice."    

"I do not. I highly doubt there's anyone out there that would balance properly with Manteia, let alone one I wouldn't hate."    

Father Cross laughed lightly. "Eveline is rather similar. She has traits you miss, in the same way Manteia makes up for empty space in Dormentis."    

Aenor smirked, "You would suggest I marry a whore?" He liked finding flaw in the expectations of religion. He could, but it wasn't like she would become pure or lawful from his influence. If anything, she would probably only corrupt him further.    

Father Cross nodded, unconcerned. "She is devout, even if it's a different type of devotion. She would be a good influence on you."    

"A good influence, next you'll suggest I wear my hair parted to one side and get a tattoo of the orc god on my left wrist."    

Father Cross frowned, "Flawed symmetry is still better than no symmetry. You need balance, all good things must come with the bad. Besides, you like her well enough, and I doubt she would really refuse. You should at least consider it."    

Aenor shrugged. He wasn't entirely opposed to the idea, he just didn't like that it was being forced upon him. Besides, he wasn't sure that Eveline liked him enough for a permanent bond, he wasn't about to suggest the idea to her. There was another reason he didn't think it wasn't a good idea, involving lots of pain and family, but he couldn't exactly remember what it was at the moment.    

For now, he decided, it wasn't worth thinking about. He needed to focus on properly digesting the poisons from earlier, anyway. 

[writingwitheli]

100 Themes #50-Party

It was horribly cheerful for having such a depressing atmosphere. Aenor had to use his training to keep from stepping all over the fragile bones on the ground. If anyone ran into the waiting service, a limb would fling off, but everyone would laugh about it in the end. The chandeliers were nicely bleached, at least, the magically flamed tips of the rib bones illuminated far more of the room than they should. 

  The food was surprisingly normal, even if it was oddly arranged. A normal layered cake that Dormentis had baked (though he would forever deny it), but was black with skull decoration made of sugars. The meats and drinks had been gathered by vague associates of the Band, so Aenor was fairly glad he was trained to withstand poisons.  

The guests were honestly about exactly what he'd been accepting. Most of them wore funeral attire of some sort, many were monks or clerics, but there were plenty of mercenaries and other things. It was actually the first time he'd met some of his own (sort've) family. Telosai he'd known, but then there was a younger human monk with green hair, a strange bird creature dressed in white, and a few others. Apparently the bird was an author that Mantea had read the work of, but it was still a bird so Aenor wasn't too sure how he should feel about that. There were all types of people, and he was fairly sure most of them were dangerous, he didn't need to know them to see their weaponry or stature.   

Everyone was dressed in some fairly formal outfit, though they didn't seem sure why. Half of them were in white dresses or bright formal attire, the other half wore funeral attire. Manteia's dress had still managed to get attention, despite the oddity of it all. Aenor had decided that he didn't care enough to dress up, monk's attire was suitable for any situation, even if he was of the wrong church.  

The speech he was supposed to give was a point of burden. He didn't want to believe that he was the closest male to the subjects of honor, but he was pretty confident that he was the only person that would make sense. Dormentis wasn't exactly the type of guy to make normal friends.  

Telosai had suggested amusing stories centered around the bravery of the other monk, but Aenor knew better. That would just be awkward, there was no point in praising the guy he'd never said anything other than insults to. That just wasn't going to happen, no matter how many people died over it.   

So of course the speech was going to be as degrading as it could get, though he had conceded to Father Cross's advice and laced it with subtle compliments, it wasn't like anyone would notice.   

When he'd stood, Eveline had given him a knowing smirk and Telosai had given a hopeful smile. Aenor hadn't really bothered writing out the end of the speech, he knew he wouldn't get to the end. Really only the first four paragraphs or so were written out, after that was just a list of insults that he'd go on about for a while.  

His guess had been correct, the occasion had caused quite a bit more patience than normal, but Aenor had barely started the third paragraph when he'd been tossed out through the stained glass window.   

In the mean time, Manteia stood to dismiss everyone for the reception. Weddings were strange.