A Crow for the Theoi

He/Him, Ace, 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈, ENFP, Married to @delicatestar. Age: Millennial. Hellenic Polytheist. I primarily work with: Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Hermes, Dionysus and Athena

[theoi-crow]

If you're someone who feels like you were abandoned by the gods when you needed them the most, there's a scientific explanation for that.

First, I assure you the gods are still with you but your brain is on survival mode which cuts you off from your spiritual connections. Here's a more in-depth scientific explanation of how that works and what to do about it!:

Post by @theoi-crow · 7 images

💬 2  🔁 8  ❤️ 25 · Why is it hard to sense the gods right now? · I'm sorry if this question seems strange, but what do you do if you feel lik

[ateazure]

"and the stars look very different today..."

[theoi-crow]

If you're someone who feels like you were abandoned by the gods when you needed them the most, there's a scientific explanation for that.

First, I assure you the gods are still with you but your brain is on survival mode which cuts you off from your spiritual connections. Here's a more in-depth scientific explanation of how that works and what to do about it!:

Post by @theoi-crow · 7 images

💬 2  🔁 8  ❤️ 25 · Why is it hard to sense the gods right now? · I'm sorry if this question seems strange, but what do you do if you feel lik

[theoi-crow]

Hi. This is random but I read through the linked post on your pinned post as I've recently been struggling with feeling the Theoi as much and tried the journaling method with Apollon for the first time and it was such a great experience. I just wanted to say thanks for making that post since it helped me reach out better. 💛🧡

Hi!

You're very welcome!

I'm so happy to hear it's been working for you, it's always nice to know when my suggestions work so I really appreciate this, and I saw the post where you recommended my journaling method as well 🥹

If it's okay and won't be too weird, I also want to let you know that Apollo used you as a sign for me the moment you sent me this. (The gods will often have their followers send me messages/asks without them realizing they're answering a question on behalf of the god that I asked the gods themselves).

I'm currently working on my MA program in Greece and since this is their holy land, it makes me very nervous so I was having problems earlier trying to hear him. I wrote that post over a year ago and have been going through a lot with the Archaeology program here so I have been so busy that I literally forgot my own post about how brainwaves affect our communication with the gods and said: "Apollo, what is wrong with me." And suddenly I got this, "open Tumblr" vibe from him and you had just sent me this ask. It just felt like a big golden arrow from him and him going, "see? Your brain waves are in survival mode right now, breathe. Journal."

So I really appreciate you sending me this.

[the-owl-of-athena]

“There is so much incest among the gods, this is so wrong!”

Okay, I don’t know if people understand that the gods are actually cosmic forces far beyond our comprehension, not mere human beings who relate to one another through blood ties. In fact, they only take on human form so that our minds can comprehend them. It is a personification, not the god in their true essence. The human mind is not capable of fully grasping what a god truly is, and the myth of Semele exists precisely to illustrate this.

[khaire-traveler]

🧡 Prayer to Apollon for Test Grades ☀️

Apollon, The knowledgable, The far-seeing, He who holds fountains of deep understanding,

I ask that you grant me your blessing in the week ahead and the many trials that shall be presented to me in my classes. Grant me the strength to push through, the wisdom to hold my tongue, and the knowledge to ace my various exams. Guide my pencil as it marks the paper, and let it rest upon the correct answer, more often than not. Grace my gradebooks with A's, and my study sessions with focus and precision.

Be with me, Shining Apollon, as I attempt to complete these challenges. Embolden my heart and mind. Thank you for lending me your ear in this, my time of need.

Mighty Apollon, may your name be forever hailed! 🧡☀️

-

|| An original prayer written by me; please feel free to edit the language in your own personal use to fit your situation ||

[theoi-crow]

I'm in Delphi!

I spent the night at a hotel in Delphi and will be visiting the temple of Apollo and museum in a little bit but since it's my first time staying in Delphi, I brought my own little portable statue of Apollo, made him a few offerings and even got an oracle reading with tarot in the mix why? Because isn't it kind of poetic? Getting an oracle reading at the heart of where the Oracle of Apollo once sat? I think so... Anyway, let me know if there are things you want me to whisper while I'm at his temple for all who see this... Or better yet... What would you say to him if you were here... Not that you need to be, he's all around but I wanted to use this as maybe a little thought exercise...hmmmm, actually, here is a better question for those who wish to answer:

If you were in the ancient world and all you had was one chance to ask the oracle one thing, anything, what would it be?

[trash-bin-witch-deactivated2025]

I can't believe that it's 2025 and I have to come on here to clear this up.

Animal sacrifice has always been a part of Hellenic Polytheism. It is not "barbaric" or "backwards".

Animal sacrifice usually involved a quick and painless death for the animal, usually a large cut to the neck that would end their suffering quickly.

The animal was then cooked, and fatty parts of the animal would be offered to the gods, while the rest was consumed by the worshippers.

Animal sacrifice in this manner will always be more humane than the torturous lives and slow painful deaths in the factory farming industry. It's not even a fair comparison.

You cannot be against animal sacrifice unless you're vegan or vegetarian, because it is quite literally the most humane way to slaughter and prepare an animal that exists. It is done with respect and dignity to the life of the animal

Animal sacrifice is not just slaughtering an animal for fun. It is done for food in honor of a god, and only inedible parts were given to the gods.

Not to mention the fact that animal sacrifice is not just related to Hellenic Polytheism. It has been practiced by hundreds of religions for thousands of years.

You cannot be anti animal sacrifice unless you're also anti indigenous spirituality. You cannot be anti animal sacrifice unless you're also against traditional practices of millions of people of color. I can simply only speak for the indigenous community, but animal sacrifice has been a part of thousands of cultures all across time.

Just because you personally find it uncomfortable doesn't mean that it's wrong, backwards, barbaric, etc.

You're allowed to be uncomfortable with the idea of something. You're allowed to refrain from doing anything at all that you don't like. You should not restrict a humane way of meat consumption, because that's what it is.

Language that demonizes practices you don't understand and haven't researched is a gateway into the alt right pipeline. It's a gateway into bigotry. It's a gateway into racism. It's a gateway to anti indigenous sentiments. Please, please think about the words you're saying and the additional meaning behind them.

Google is free. Asking a person of color is also free.

Yes this was targeted to a specific post but I'm not gonna put that person on blast, because they realized their mistakes and apologized. I still felt compelled to talk about this because I see a lot of people saying the same thing. Do not go and harass anybody. We're all humans and we all make mistakes.

And if you've read this and you're still thinking "yeah well I think it's still barbaric" please unfollow me. Because those are MY ancestors you're talking about, not just ancient Greeks. If your instinct upon seeing a cultural practice you don't fully understand is to not research, but go "eew that's barbaric!" You do not belong on my account.

[theoi-crow]

Hey, as a native American person who has previously engaged in rituals involving animal sacrifices because it's also part of my ancestor's culture:

Seeing animal sacrifice as barbaric is just anti-POC, white nationalist, pro colonialist propaganda because plenty of indigenous and POC cultures still practice it in an effort to uphold and honor the practices of our ancestors to resist being religiously and culturally colonized and erased.

It is the number one thing colonizers use to demonize, colonize, and erase us.

The only difference between animal sacrifice vs buying meat is just the prayers and rituals that happen before/during/after the slaughter.

The priests that are permitted to do the rituals are and have always been skilled butchers because it takes very specific butcher skills and without these skills you can ruin the meat completely. A lot of the methods modern day butchers use were passed on from them over time.

Buying an animal and dedicating its meat to your god still counts as an animal sacrifice even if you weren't the one who killed it because most cultures who practice this require the act be performed by a skilled butcher but the person who is dedicating the meat is still acknowledged as also being involved in the sacrifice even if they only brought the animal and received the meat after the priest finishes.

Likewise, in the Hellenic ancient world it was the specialized butcher priests who did the killing, not the one who brought the animal to be sacrificed but it was still understood that the one who brought the animal was also a part of the sacrifice regardless of their literal involvement in the act. If you are engaging in rituals and prayers that dedicate it to a god, it turns the meat from regular non-sacrificed meat to sacrificed meat because the key component that makes it a sacrifice is dedicating the meat to your god regardless of your involvement in the actual act of killing the animal yourself. That is the "sacrifice" aspect of it. You are sacrificing this meat to your god even though it was the butcher who did the killing.

Animal sacrifice is also a part of the ongoing satanic panic that is anti-pagan, so buying into this form of propaganda while being pagan only hurts the pagan community and helps colonialists who are trying to oppress pagan beliefs because its anti-POC, anti-pagan, pro colonial, white nationalist propaganda. Don't fall for this form of fascist BS!

[theoi-crow]

I don't know who needs to hear this but your gods will NOT punish people for not believing in them.

They may help you learn to defend yourself, they may help you punish people who have wronged you and they may even speed up the process for justice to prevail against those who have been unjust against you but they will not punish people who do not believe in them simply for not believing in them. That's a waste of their energy and you waiting until they do is a waste of your very limited mortal time.

If they punished every person who didn't believe in them, atheism & monotheism wouldn't exist!

It's okay for people to not believe in your gods, just block and report anyone who is harassing you for your beliefs and move on instead of waiting for your god to do something they aren't interested in doing because they're here for you, not to waste time on someone who isn't even aware of their presence.

Their energy is too precious and your time is too valuable to waste on non-believers, just enjoy your beliefs and celebrate your gods being in your life!

[theoi-crow]

I always find it funny when people portray Hades as this young beardless guy while at the same time Zeus looks like this bearded old man because Hades is canonically much older than Zeus so I always pretend he got botox in whatever AU they are being featured in.

[theoi-crow]

If you're someone who feels like you were abandoned by the gods when you needed them the most, there's a scientific explanation for that.

First, I assure you the gods are still with you but your brain is on survival mode which cuts you off from your spiritual connections. Here's a more in-depth scientific explanation of how that works and what to do about it!:

Post by @theoi-crow · 7 images

💬 2  🔁 8  ❤️ 25 · Why is it hard to sense the gods right now? · I'm sorry if this question seems strange, but what do you do if you feel lik

[theoi-crow]

The grapes of wrath!

But instead of the usual book it's just Dionysus's Maenads tearing Orpheus limb from limb for rejecting their advances after he looked back and lost Euridece forever so Dionysus turned them all into trees 'cus yeah it was kind of a dick move to do that to someone clearly mourning his beloved.

[auroradiation]

[gr3y-names]

[theoi-crow]

This is even funnier because Apollo himself has actual statues of little mice on his temple steps!

Apollo Smintheion

[theoi-crow]

Drawing Apollo as a devotional act.

Trying to bribe my golden boy into helping me with knowledge acquisition I'm gonna need super soon. Wish me luck!

PS, he kind of has golden eye versions of Billie Eilish's eyes in my mind's eye for some reason and his hair is dirty blonde, but otherwise he looks like a broken hearted poet, tragic artist or love sick musician. My goal is to draw a realistic version of this sketch but it's surprisingly hard to find male models with Billie Eilish eyes. If you have any idea of celebrities or male models who fit this description please let me know!

[theoi-crow]

This song makes me think of Apollo playing music and singing.

Its very cozy.

More information about the actual singer and history behind this song: Peter Pringle re-creates ancient Greek music with the kithara. This little snippet is apart of his extended video where he explains more about ancient music: (LINK)

[theoi-crow]

He starts singing at 1:15

[theoi-crow]

Me: Aphrodite is such a loving mother.

*Note: She's my patron deity and I always forget she's not always kind to others because the gods have autonomy and I'm so used to her being kind and funny. Also, I saw a Tik Tok video of a girl who was very vain and angry that Aphrodite refused to work with her saying things like, "I'm hot! I assumed she would love to have someone hot as a devotee but I guess she hates competition!" I was like, "no bestie, you're approaching her with so much vanity and hubris that even Narcissus himself would call you a narcissist."

[theoi-crow]

Tumblr vs Tiktok

For Hellenic Polytheist resources and information:

Please pay attention to where you are getting your information from and what the motives are for those giving it to you, and why. Also, please pay attention to how accessible it is for the platform to give information.

Tumblr:

- This platform makes it very easy to access information in posts via links.

- The people posting won't get much out of sharing information so the ones who share information tend to just do it because they want to, and their information is easy to analyze and determine if it's useful.

- The Format via Reblogs also makes it easy for others to challenge the information on posts who get popular. The button that lets you see the discussion and reblog history also makes it easy to see what previous people have said in case there have been challenges, which is good for those doing their research. You don't want one person to be the only one with that source, and if their information is not very concrete you want others to challenge that.

Setbacks: people who have reading disabilities like dyslexia or are visually impaired might have problems with long posts so getting information via a visual format might be better which is why Tiktok is popular.

Tiktok: is great for entertainment and inspiration but as a tool for information it can be a headache.

- getting links from videos is hard because the poster has to post their sources on the video itself, on the information about the video section or put the sources on a pinned comment which is very limited, so most people have a "trust me bro" attitude when giving information and not adding sources. This also makes it hard to determine which information is good and which isn't.

- challenging misinformation is difficult: You can't always count on stitched videos to challenge misinformation because someone's stitch feature might be disabled and the ones calling out the post might refuse to use OP's name so even when people try to do call out posts for misinformation it'll have a "he said, she said, but I won't say who," game of telephone vibe about it.

- People get paid via engagement so the information will often be hyperbolic and scary. Scare tactics trigger people's survival instincts which will make them more likely to engage in someone sounding the alarm and triggering your fight/flight instincts. Your fear makes them money so the information will be very volatile.

- Short Format for engagement: Even when there is an option for 10 min. videos, a lot of people will still choose to use short videos so you are forced to click on their other videos if you want the rest of the information. This will cause more engagement and thus more money for them. This is also a nightmare when the algorithm suggests part one of a video posted 3 years ago and you have to go looking for part 2, and the person didn't bother to make a playlist.

Video and Audio alternatives: YouTube and podcasts: YouTube videos can be very long in order to fit as much information as possible and often have links and resources added to the information about the video section and there are some podcasts that I've been told are very resourceful (I haven't listened to podcasts myself so please feel free to add suggestions if you have any!)

I'm not trying to discourage people who use Tiktok as a resource, there are some good videos out there, but because of the nature of the app, accessing that information without having people prey on your emotions is hard because you being upset makes them money and that's what bothers me the most about the app.

All I ask is for you to keep these in mind when you do open Tiktok for information. Tiktok is great for funny memes and cool videos but when you bump into a video warning you that "Hera hates devotees who," or "Artemis gets mad when devotees," or "so and so has declared war on Apollo," or "so and so is planning to curse the moon," please remember that it is an app design to rage-farm your attention and turn it into money so posters will say ANYTHING to get views and as people continue to get laid off, the videos will get even more desperate and the rage bait will be even more intense.

The gods are a lot more forgiving and accommodating than people on Tik Tok make them seem.