aminddivided

[aminddivided]

“Sometimes Creator blinks. Sometimes She is not looking at me. Those instances can feel really, really long some days, but what’s going on Is that Creator is showing Her trust in me. She’s letting me know that I have the tools to cope with things, that I’ve learned enough in my walk with Her to walk gracefully through those moments when She blinks. And that’s when I should blink, too. Close my eyes and breathe, feel the unceasing current underneath everything, surrender to it, then open my eyes again to possibility and walk That’s how I learn to be graceful. Full of grace. In the blink of an eye.”

—

Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations

https://today.marquette.edu/2021/04/an-indigenous-meditation-from-embers-one-ojibways-meditations/

[aminddivided]

Do not weep for the temples are gone. Our faith was always a home one. Your home is your temple and you are its clergy. Your breath is your prayer. Your kind acts are your offerings. Your memory is your idol and your words are libation. You are enough in whatever you do. Grandiose was never our way. The glass of water left on the kitchen counter is equal to the lavish meal set out in their name. The Theoi love every little act, as long as it is meant with good intentions.

[aminddivided]

Pendulums 101

As requested by @birdsofthestrangestfeather, here’s my own little pendulums 101!  🌙✨

What is a pendulum?

In short, it can really be anything, as long as something is hanging from a chain or string and is able to swing. It can be a fancy crystal pendulum from Etsy or a local witchy shop, a necklace you already own, a pocket watch, or even something as minimalist as a string and bead/needle! Get creative; it doesn’t have to be fancy, any particular material, or bought, just as long as it works as a pendulum.

What do you do before you use a pendulum?

Cleanse, cleanse and cleanse! Unless you made it yourself (which if you did, you don’t have to keep reading unless you want to!) your pendulum has probably been through a lot! I’d recommend leaving it out in the full moonlight for some hours or overnight, running your pendulum a few times through sage or incense or even visualizing a white, cleansing light around your pendulum! Other options include letting your pendulum cleanse in sunlight, dirt and water. 

Do a little research if you have a crystal pendulum to see what would suit that crystal best and otherwise trust your intuition on what would be the best way to cleanse your new pendulum!

How to program your pendulum?

Just like people, pendulums have different ways of working. My pendulum swings back and forth for yes while yours may circle around! To figure out or establish how your pendulum says yes, no, maybe and unknown/I don’t know, you have to program your pendulum. 

If you want your pendulum to show you, ask it basic, obvious to answer questions. I’ll ask, “Am I six foot tall?” and my pendulum swings no so hard it nearly breaks! But when I ask, “Am I five foot three?” it goes straight to yes. Repeat this sort of thing until you figure out how your pendulum works so you’ll know when asking questions how your pendulum is answering!

If you’re more comfortable telling your pendulum how it’s going to answer, then go right ahead! Tell your pendulum to swing a certain way for maybe and another way for no, etc, etc. Make sure to test out the way you programmed your pendulum afterwards with basic questions!

Also, there’s always the option of using a pendulum board, which is a visual yes/no/maybe/unknown guide for your pendulum, to help program. You can also use these boards later on, if it’s your preference. Even when using one, though, don’t forget to test your pendulum and make sure it’s answering correctly with obvious questions.

How do you use a pendulum?

It’s quite simple and easy to use a pendulum! You simply hold the top of the pendulum between your fingers (I usually hold with my pointer finger and thumb) and keep a very steady hand. You don’t want to be shaky or moving it because this will obviously interfere with the actual answer. Once your hand and the pendulum is steady, keep it suspended above any surfaces and away from anything it would knock into. Then, go ahead and ask your question and wait to see!

How to read a pendulum?

Back to the programming of a pendulum, it depends on how you did that. Just be sure to give your pendulum plenty of time to settle into the answer and make sure it’s truly swinging or circling in the direction you think it is. If you’re not sure, you can always ask again!

Extra tips & uses for your pendulum 

Congrats!! If you’ve reached this point, you know a lot about pendulums! Buuut, I do have a few more points to make…

🌙 Start off with harmless questions. It’ll take some time for the pendulum to really be in sync with your energy, so gradually build up from things like, “should I eat this for breakfast?” or “would purple be a good color to wear today?” to the stuff that actually impacts your life.

🌙 Once you get in tune with your pendulum, you can expand your uses for it. You can ask for advice on things you’re indecisive about, talk to your spirit companions or guides, do readings for people and even talk to your gods. They’re very useful all the way around!

🌙 Again, always make sure to let your pendulum have enough time to answer you!

🌙 Whenever your pendulum is acting up, not answering like it usually would or the like, give it a good cleanse. Just like other witchy tools, pendulums like to be cleansed often, especially if you do readings with it!

Thank you for sticking around and reading this super long post. I hope you enjoyed and found this information useful! 

I absolutely adore my pendulum and use it often, so I definitely recommend that every witch give it a go! 

Also, thank you to @birdsofthestrangestfeather for asking me to put together this post! 🌙✨

[aminddivided]

pretty please an Apollo prayer so help keep me focused on my faith and practice, to ask for guidance 🙏

I'm going to rework this in a separate post to be more general, but I love this request and all the ideas it gave me!! Hope this helps, and keep looking out for the follow up if you're interested.

-------------------------------

Hawk-Eyed Apollo,

I reach out to you.

Dear Archer please guide my arrow,

Focused and straight,

Toward my heart's target.

Allow me to aim clearly toward my goals,

Shooting true towards devotion to my faith,

And consistency in my practice.

I ask that your skillful hand guide me to remain steady and unwavering.

I trust that when I release tension,

I will hit my mark.

----------------------

Tip jar

Prayer requests are open

[aminddivided]

Prompt: A poem about the tough-love aspect of Apollo as a healer

Pour hydrogen peroxide on a cutand praise His name.

As a surgeon scalpels through layers of flesh,proclaim your love for Apollon Akesios,

who cuts away what harms you,who, laser-like, incinerates what is baneful.

The aspirin and warm compressare for after. Before the gentleness and tea

comes Apollon Lykeios, Paian,arrayed for battle, fever-bright.

——(free poetry requests are CLOSED, but I do take poetry commissions for a very small fee)

[aminddivided]

XXVII.

I sing now of the Mousai, Glorious patrons of the many arts, Whom wise Memory had borne By Kronos' highest-named son, Sweet-voiced Mousai, I call to you; O Mistresses of song, lyric and knowledge, Attend these sacred rites in your honour, And watch graciously upon my prayers;

XXVIII.

I call to you, O Polymnia, blessed one, Exalted muse of the sacred hymns, Yours is the gifts of the holy and divine, Who glorifies the deathless Gods, Inspiring deep devotion and words of reverence, Granter of faith, and love for the Gods above, Who is praised at the start of all holy prayers, Yours is the heartfelt private prayers, And the loud sung hymns of praise

XXIX.

I call to you, O Kalliope, clear-voiced, Great muse of epic poetry, Yours are the heroes' tales, who knows all Of their noble deeds and great victory, And of their sorrows and pitiful defeats, Inspirer of words, giver of the divine mths, Who gently guides the hands of epic poets, Recounting tales of Gods and men, and battles, Turning stories into legends, mortals into Gods

XXX.

I call to you, O Erato, beautiful and beloved, Rosy-cheeked muse of erotic poetry, Friend of Eros and those in love, Honey-voiced, summoner of passion, Who plays so beautifully upon the lyre, Singing of all the hearts desires, Inspiring words of sweet love and deep desire, That quicken the breath, and loosen the body, Kindling the hot untameable flame of love

XXXI.

I call to you, O Euterpe, bringer of delight, Lovely muse of lyric poetry, Who plays sweetly upon the flute, And guides the hands of poets, Inspiring lines of rhythmic prose, Yours is both the lyrist and lyre, The rhythm and rhyme, the poet and poetry, And words that soothe the soul, And charge the mind

XXXII.

I call to you, O Terpsikhore, rosy and fair, Honey-voiced muse of dance, Through the structured step of the waltz And frenzied dance of the maenads, You bring comfort and sweet joy to all, Yours is the rhythm, and sway, and whirl, Embodiment of the song and music, Gentle and nimble, blessing all ground Your feet touch as you dance

XXXIII.

I call to you, O Thaleia, joyous, Ivy-wreathed muse of comedy, Of country rhyme and rustic tales Yours are the tales of discourse and fools, Full of clever jests and your sharp wit, Bringing laughter and merriment to all, Clearing the soul anything but mirth, Removing any worries that weigh us down

XXXIV.

I call to you, O Melpomene, of great might, Melodious muse of tragedy, Who knows many tales and many voices, Your tales are the ones of sorrow, The bitter bonds of tricky, unavoidable fate, And tragic ends after greatness, Who sings of the doom of kings and warriors, Releasing the heart through melancholic tragedy

XXXV.

I call to you, O Kleio, of all knowledge, Clever muse of history, Who knows all of the ancient days, Of what has happened, and what may happen, Yours are the lessons of time from days past, And the wisdom past from generations down, Through you do we learn of the long-gone, Hearing their words, and good counsel

XXXVI.

I call to you, O Ourania, of the stars, Shining muse of astronomy, Friend of star-gazers and prophets, Yours is the art of the heavenly above And the stars that decorate the darkness, Cloaked in the deep sparkling dark of the night, Eyes turned to skywards, fixed upon the stars Watching, learning the secrets of the universe, Reading the starry night and distant lights, Searching for truth and understanding

[aminddivided]

Hail Hestia

Who calms the tempers

Of the most powerful gods

With a gentle word

And a seat

At Her hearth

Hail Hestia

Who gave Her seat

Steadfast even with

The lure of power

Hail Hestia

Who doesn’t need

A throne on Olympus

When every hearth

In Greece

Is Her palace

Hail Hestia

Who tends the flames

Who protects those

Who find shelter

At Her hearth

Hail Hestia

The First and the Last

Great Goddess of our lives

Who protects us

On our darkest days

And guides our hand

In the journey of life

[aminddivided]

Hymn to Hekate

Hail to thee, O Hekate,

Our Lady of the night

Guide to those who've gone astray

And bearer of the light.

We hark to hear the Muses sing

Of your exalted name,

Revered by our almighty King

And mortals all the same.

Great Mother, cloaked in saffron robes

We pray your strength to lend,

You stand with us at all crossed roads,

And at our journey's end.

With ease you walk between the worlds,

The winds dance to your tune

With magic in your fingertips

You wait beneath the moon.

[aminddivided]

Bone correspondences

A little while ago, I realized that there is NO info on what bones to use for what. I was clueless and had no idea where to begin. Research was fruitless and asking others came with no results.

So I sat down during preap algebra 2 and made my own list.

These are my own correspondences, based off of what I felt like and remembering bits of spells I’d thought about. They are 100% my own, taken from no one.

Please give me credit if you use it anywhere else :)

I also know I haven’t included every bone out there, if I missed one msg me, I’ll give it some thought and see what happens! :D

▪Teeth- communication, learning other language, news, defense

▪Skull- thoughts, divination, communication, spirit work, astral

▪Spine- support, confidence, level headed

▪Arm- help, blocking (curses, hexes, psychic attacks, etc)

▪Wrist- flexibility, hard work

▪Hand- art, artistic ability, creativity, energy

▪Fingers- fluidity, progress, endurance

▪Nails/ claws- fighting, protection, finding things out, knowledge, struggle, balance

▪Rib- agility, protection

▪Hip- ebdurance, keeping it together

▪leg- endurance, travel, strength

▪Ankle- movement, moving on, catalyst

▪Foot- endurance, moving on, leaving things behind, hard work, independence, luck

▪Toe- balance, help, prosperity, money, changing luck (for the better or worse)

▪Tail- (like actual bones in the animals tail, not the tailbone) agility, secrecy, alarm, cursing

(Edited to include:)

▪Antlers- strength, endurance, masculine energy, Cernunnos, protection, more centered toward nature and earth, deflecting curses, and hope.

▪Horns- wealth, the home, determination, aggressive protection, more centered toward that which is man made, and cursing

▪Wings- adventure, deviating from the norm, sending/ receiving messages, travel, starting a new adventure/ path, hope, luck, wishes, comfort (let it be amplifying or taking away) The type of bird would also affect the correspondences; the wing bones, to me, would increase the things the bird stands for

[aminddivided]

@hellenicclown yeah so you were right, I did a bunch of cleansing stuff and then tried divination for the first time. I was kinda skeptical but it actually worked I think??? I got to know the pendulum first and asked it to show me how it communicates (so basically just how it shows yes/no/maybe answers), then asked if any deity wanted to talk to me (yes), if it was Athena (yes), and then asked her if she was mad at me (yes :/)

I asked some questions to try to figure out why (got a bunch of “no”s), and eventually asked if she was annoyed that I claimed to want to live by her values and involve myself in things that are important to her, but then fail to commit much to that. And she said yes to that. So I asked if she wants me to stop worshipping her (no), and then asked if she wants me to keep worshipping her (just to be sure) (and she said yes).

I asked if she wants me to do my schoolwork regularly (which I want to do but untreated mental illness makes everything so difficult all the time) and make learning and knowledge a priority in my life (yes). I also asked if she likes it when I do crafts as a devotional act to her, and got “maybe”, which I asked if I should interpret as “sometimes” (yes), but that she prefers academic acts over crafty acts (yes).

So basically Athena thinks I’m superficial and lazy, but at least she hasn’t given up on me yet!

How do you tell if a god doesn’t like you or doesn’t want you to worship them? Preferably without being like, spontaneously stuck dead?

The gods mainly seem to communicate to me in Vibes (probably because I’m too afraid to try divination yet and too stupid to pick up on signs) and while I don’t have a ton of experience with different gods yet, it’s been mainly positive. Hestia in particular seems to respond best to me, Hades tolerates me, Apollo seems to like me okay as well, but my only problem is with Athena. She hasn’t done anything to me, but I just get this weird... cold, unfriendly feeling? Whenever I pray to her or do anything to her part of my alter. Idk if I’ve done something to offend her or if she just dislikes me, or if I’m imagining it because I’m intimidated by her or what, but it’s unsettling and i don’t know what to do to make it better. Do I just leave her alone or????? Help

[aminddivided]

🌿Healing salts🌿

Salt is very purifying, cleansing, and healing, combine it with some various healing plants and you’ve got amazing healing salts for baths, cooking, aromatherapy, and spells. It’s also a great way to preserve your herbs!

🌿 Here’s what you need:

-Salt (regular sea salt is fine but Himalayan or Celtic salt correspond more with healing in my opinion)

-fresh healing herbs/plants of your choice (can be dried but I’ve had better results with fresh)

-mortor and pestle

-somewhere to store it

🌿Here’s some recommended healing herbs/plants:

Basil- protection, prosperity, happiness // anti-inflammatory, anti-nausea, appetite stimulator

thyme- healing, sleep, soothing // soothes respitory system, antiseptic, decongestant

peppermint- energy, health, vitality // nausea &vomiting, IBS, bloating

garlic- protection, banishment, healing // anti-bacterial, anti-viral, reduces infection

lemon peel- cleansing, purifying, joy // antioxidants, immune boost, kills germs

sage- protection, cleansing, wisdom // cough, antibacterial, soothes inflammation

oregano- luck, health, family // anti-virus, allergy relief, anti-inflammatory

orange peel- optimism, happiness, strength // immune boost, vitamins, antioxidants

lemon balm- healing, psychic abilities, uplifting // anti-anxiety, sleep, indigestion

parsley- calming, protection, passion // energy, circulation, digestion

rosemary- cleansing, divination, love// soothes sore muscles, soothes cough, improves memory

cinnamon- comfort, love, protection // anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, kills germs

🌿How to make it:

-Add a small handful of salt and the herb or herbs of your choice in your mortor and pestle (how much you use depends on the size of your mortor and pestle and how strong you want the salts to be)

-Grind them up until they’re mixed well and infused, the salt will most likely change color.(it’s easier to tell with fresh plants, with dried plants it’ll be more of a powder when it’s done). I like to use this time to focus on the intent!

-Pour it into an airtight container and you’re done, enjoy in a bath, in food, in spells, scrubs etc.

** please do research before consuming any herbs or plants you aren’t familiar with, especially if you’re pregnant or on medication.

[aminddivided]

Free Ancient Greek Divination Resources

It’s no secret that divination is key to Ancient Greek religion. However, knowledge of Ancient Greek Divination is lacking. Therefore I shall provide these resources for everyone to learn and grow from — you will succeed. 

Here is a collection of free pdfs over various types of divination and how divination was done in Ancient Greece for everyone’s pleasure! Thank you to all my followers for giving me the motivation to do this — it means so much! As I grow I will continue to create more of these <3

Keep reading

[aminddivided]

Gods and Divination

Sarah Illes Johnston differenciates the prophetic nature of divination that comes from prophecies and dreams to the ones like dice-casting and ornithomancy. Although both can be divine-inspired, the former two are naturally developed whilst the other ones must be learned. As a polytheist, knowing the divinatory ways associated with your deity can be quite a nice way to improve your relationship with said deity.

That being said, I'll list some gods here that were associated with divination methods, oracular shrines and whatnot:

Apollon, being the God of Prophecy, is related to most divinatory arts. The Oracle of Delphi was said to be able to make prophecies inspired by Him. Also associated with: Dice-casting (cleromancy), bird-watching (ornithomancy/augury).

Hermes, being the God of travels and roads is most associated with many aspects of those who travelled throughout the world - Seers being some of those. In his Homeric Hymn he is said to have received the power of divination from Apollon himself. He's particularly associated with astralagoi/psephoi - the alphabetic oracle, which uses dice-casting techniques (cleromancy) to predict the future.

Helios, the Sun-God had association with divinatory practices, as said by Apollonius, who uses a form of pyromancy (fire-based divination) after offering frankincense to Him.

Zeus, the King of the Gods, is said to have near all-knowing wisdom, with some saying that Apollon's prophetic power is essentially based on delivering Zeus' designs and divine will to the Cosmos. Zeus had a whole bunch of oracles associated with Him and in many moments of the Illiad where Calchas, the Seer is present, he predicts the future by usage of birds omens (ornithomancy) that deliver messages from Zeus.

Hades and Persephone, the King and Queen of the Underworld, were both honoured in the Nekromanteion - a temple structure that housed many divinatory practices regarding the dead (necromancy). Spirits, daimons and other chthonic gods were mostly associated with this form of divination.

Poseidon, the God of the Seas, also had association with oracles. Pausanias mostly relates him to the one at Delphi before Apollon claiming it as His own. Like many gods here listed, He is said to send omens in the sacrifices offered to Him, particularly bulls.

Selene, the Moon-Goddess also had a shrine and oracle described by Pausanias. The Goddess would answer whatever they wanted to learn through dreams, said shrine was also shared with her brother, Helios.

Many, many other Gods had their own ways of sending omens, communicating or helping people to read the future. Those are just some of Them in a list that I hope you guys find useful.

Oh well, I can't stress enough how important divination was and still is to worshipping the Theoi. Learning about it can be intimidating at first, but I hardly believe that you gonna regret reading about it.

Anyways - off I go!

Eirene! (Peace!)

Sources: Pausanias' Description of Greece; Ancient Greek Divination by Sarah Illes Jhonston; Greek Folk Religion by Nilsson; The Homeric Hymns.

[aminddivided]

A Guide to Greek Alphabet Divination (Runes)

As many may already know, Runes are a popular form of divination in order to communicate with the gods! However, aside from the popular Norse runes (elder futhark) that everyone might be aware of, did you know that there’s also a form of “rune casting divination” for the Greek alphabet?

First found inscribed in Olympos, a city in ancient Lycia, the Greek alphabet divination system uses the 24 letters from the Greek language and assigns them meanings, and based on what rune you pull, can give you advice from the gods on your current situation!

There were many Alphabet Oracles in ancient Greece, and the idea of reading the Greek alphabet for signs of the gods is one of the oldest divination methods that we know of.

How do I create my “runes?” 

To create your runes, any way of making them works! Historically, they would be painted onto pottery shards, but any way you can think of to have them accessible to throw/draw is completely okay. I have personally used black stones with gold paint on them.

You create one piece per letter, and in total there will be 24. Each letter will be listed and elaborated on later on in the post!

I’ve made my alphabet set. How do I use them?

In order to call upon the Theoi to get an answer, you can firstly call upon them in an invocation. After you have called upon them or asked your gods to give you an answer (sometimes no formal structure is needed) you can reach into a bag which contains the letters and pull out one at a time and read that, or you can grab them and throw them and look for patterns or groups of letters that are clumped together. 

THE LETTER MEANINGS

Α - Alpha - “The God Apollo [Apollon] says you will do everything successfully.” With his luck and good fortune, the current thing you are working on will turn out well and you will be the leader of your situation and have good transactions with others.

Β - Beta - “With the help of Tyche, you will have an assistant [Boêthos], who is the Pythian Apollon.” You might be at a time in your life where you’re struggling, but this divine-coded letter tells you that the gods that you worship are going to help you soon, so the signs you get might be more prophetic in nature. 

Γ - Gamma - “Gaia [Gê] will give you the ripe fruit of your labors.” It is time for you to take a break and admire the hard work you have put in. Gaia will reward you, and you will have abundance in happiness, emotional fulfillment, food, or all of the above. 

Δ - Delta - “In customs inopportune strength [Dunamis] is weak.” Timing is everything. Wait for the right time to act, and do not act to hastily. Wait for your time, but at the same time, use your strength for good to make a change in your situation.

Ε - Epsilon - “You desire [Eraô] to see the offspring of righteous marriages.” You need to surround yourself with good friendships, romances, allies, or relationships in general in order to get the most out of it. Surround yourself with positive people or situations to bring yourself up in a righteous way.

Ζ - Zeta - “Flee the very great storm [Zalê], lest you be hindered in some way.” If you’re already struggling, know when to pick your battles. Sometimes flight is better than fight, and only you know your own limitations. 

Η - Eta - “Bright Helios [Hêlios], who watches everything, watches you.” Helios knows that in the past you feel like you have been wronged. As the enforcer of oaths and promises, if you are honest with yourself and the situation the truth will come out and you will be aided.

Θ - Theta - “You have the helping Gods [Theoi] of this path.” If you are taking a plan of action do not worry! The Gods are guiding your way and you are in good hands. 

Ι - Iota - “There is sweat [’idrôs]; it excels more than everything.” Within your situation, there is going to be a lot of work. The gods recommend you buckle down and work as hard as you can, and it will not be easy. But it will be worth it.

Κ - Kappa - “To fight with the waves [Kuma] is difficult; endure, friend.” Now is not the time. You should wait until the vicious waves die down, and then take action.

Λ - Lambda - ““The one passing on the left [Laios] bodes well for everything.” Something that may seem really bad currently or in the future is actually going to turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Pay attention to your intuition!

Μ - Mu - “It is necessary to labor [Mokhtheô], but the change will be admirable.” You might feel distressed right now and that nothing is going right. But keep working to change either your situation or yourself, and the results will be in your favour.

Ν - Nu - ““The strife-bearing [Neikêphoros] gift fulfils the oracle.” Something will be given to you and enter your life. While it might not be obvious at first, this is the first domino in a line of changes that will happen in your life and make prophecy come true. 

Ξ - Xi - “There is no fruit to take from a withered [Xêros] shoot.” Being bitter and angry is not the way to go about things. Don’t keep trying to pull water out of a well that is empty, and know when to let go. 

Ο - Omicron - “There are no [Ou] crops to be reaped that were not sown.” In order to get things out of the situation, you have to plan ahead. What goes around comes around. 

Π - Pi - “Completing many [Polus] contests, you will seize the crown.” After many trials, you will achieve your goal. Persistence will give you your rewards, and do not be afraid to use your talents. 

Ρ - Rho - “You will go on more easily [Rhaion] if you wait a short time.” You should act, and quickly. Now is the best time and waiting longer is not a good idea. The stars are aligned and while it not be easy, there is no better time than the present. 

Σ - Sigma - “Phoibos Apollon speaks plainly [Saphôs], ‘Stay, friend.’” The gods want to inform you to wait for more information before you make any decisions. In this time, relax, and let the signs come to you.

Τ - Tau - “You will have a parting from the [Tôn] companions now around you.” Soon, people in your life might not stay the way they are. Friends might leave or enemies might leave. You might grow apart or distance or travel might force you away. Be wary of this, and act accordingly. 

Υ - Upsilon - “The affair holds a noble undertaking [Yposkhesis].” The task at hand is certainly a grand one, but with confidence, you, the hero of your own story, can pull through. You must acknowledge your strength, but also acknowledge the size of the task. 

Φ - Phi - “Having done something carelessly [Phaulos], you will thereafter blame the Gods.” Something is going wrong, and you may be trying to blame other things than the cause of the problem. Don’t resort to pointing fingers. The Gods will help you if you do not take out your anger on them or others needlessly. 

Χ - Khi - “Succeeding, friend, you will fulfill a golden [Khruseos] oracle.” Luck is on your side, and by mere chance, things might fall into place. The answer is positive, and you might be pleasantly surprised at all the riches that the world gives you in addition to your solution.

Ψ - Psi - “You have this righteous judgment [Psêphos] from the Gods.” Truth will be brought forwards, so be careful in your actions. The Gods are watching, and they will be fair, honest, and unforgiving to those who deserve it. This includes those who might be harming you, as well.

Ω - Omega - “You will have a difficult [Ômos] harvest season, not a useful one.” The times will be rough, and you will not get what you wish for at the end. You also might be forced to make tough decisions that you are not ready to make.

And those are the letters! Happy letter-casting! 

[aminddivided]

I’m looking into miasma again (previous research here, here and here) and the more I read, the more I’m struck by the gap between ancient texts and modern interpretations. Among Hellenic polytheistic communities, miasma is generally defined as the ickiness of mortal life, as in this explanation by Elani Temperance:

Miasma occurs whenever the space or person comes into contact with death, sickness, birth, sex, excessive negative emotions and bodily fluids. It also comes from a lack of contact with the Hellenic Gods. […] The most important things to remember about miasma is that it holds no judgment from the Gods, and that everyone attracts miasma. It’s a mortal, human, thing.

Or in this similar one by shipping-the-gods:

Miasma translates to the vague word “pollution”, but it isn’t as bad as you might think. It’s just the everyday things we hold onto throughout our lives as humans. It is humanness, and nothing to ashamed of or scared of. 

If these definitions were historically accurate, we would expect to find a number of ancient texts describing purification from miasma before a ritual. However, I went through all instances of the word “miasma” in ancient texts, using the TLG Text Search tool, and to my surprise, this usage does not appear a single time. Let me repeat that: there is not a single text in which a regular person purifies themselves of miasma before a ritual. All attested purifications from miasma are expiatory rituals designed for criminals.

Instead of miasma being “everyday things” of which the presence “holds no judgement from the Gods”, in ancient texts it has the following causes (excluding fragmentary texts and passages with vague context):

murder (by far the most common, mentioned by ten authors)

murder of a family member

murder of fellow citizens

murder of animals (only in Plutarch)

abandonment of a person to death

eating human flesh

incest, both contemplated and acted upon

adultery

refusal of suppliants

crime against a member of the priesthood

dedication of plunder taken from Greek people to the Greek Gods

taking offerings from temples

death in a sacred space

non-specific crime

using bad language (only in Charondas)

In the above contexts, miasma is often coupled with the words ἀσεβής (impious), ἀκαθαρός (impure) and ἀνόσιος (unholy). It’s also worth noting that there are no mentions of miasma in the poetry of Homer or Hesiod; its earliest appearance is in Aeschylus’ plays.

The only causes which overlap to some extent with modern understanding are the following:

natural death and funerary rites

pollution associated with birth and death (mentioned by Diogenes Laertius in the phrase “death, birth and all miasma”, though it should be clarified that this is in relation to Pythagoreanism, not to the mainstream cult)

certain diseases, disabilities and disfigurements (explainable by the fact that illness and physical deformities were considered to be signs of moral failure)

In summary, what ancient texts tell us is that miasma is not a morally neutral and inherently human occurrence. Its most normal cause is death, and possibly also birth; but more commonly, miasma is caused by (what the Ancient Greeks considered to be) severe physical impurity and by crime, specifically crimes against another person, especially one of the same family or social group, and crimes against the Gods.

Nevertheless, as I’ve discussed in previous posts, the impurities described at the beginning of this post do exist in Hellenic polytheism; the term for them is not miasma but lyma, a mild form of spiritual (and physical) pollution that can simply be translated as “dirt”. From Homer onwards, it’s lyma, not miasma, that ancient people purified themselves of before ritual.

So how did this confusion arise? How did the current definition of miasma, as used by Hellenic polytheists, come to be? I would point in part towards Christian and Christian-influenced texts, which understand miasma as a softer, less specific kind of impurity; in 2 Peter 2:20, for example, it refers to worldly things, as opposed to the holiness of God. It’s also worth noting that of the 923 occurrences of the word “miasma” in Greek literature, over 600 are found in Christian texts.

But beyond ancient interpretations, I would also point towards the nature of the modern Hellenic polytheistic community. Since many worshippers don’t have access to scholarly resources, and even fewer can read ancient texts in their original language, much of the information found online is essentially from a handful of (often simplified) sources. As that information travels, it gets reinterpreted and expanded upon via UPG, while still being presented in an authoritative manner. Somehow, along the way, we decided to call all spiritual pollution miasma; somehow, along the way, we assumed that miasma was caused by mortality; somehow, along the way, we interpreted it not as a defilement but as a distraction from worship. In short, somehow, along the way, we created for ourselves a whole new definition of spiritual pollution which has almost nothing to do with the ancient understanding of it, and yet which is almost universally accepted among modern worshippers.

This is not inherently a bad thing; in fact, I find it quite fascinating. I would still highly encourage my fellow reconstructionists to use the ancient definitions of miasma and lyma in their worship - because we strive to be close to our religious ancestors, because these terms preserve a nuanced view of pollution which is lost in the all-encompassing “miasma”, and because they lessen the otherwise strenuous expectation that we should go through elaborate purifications before each ritual. But if the neo-definition of miasma, or your personal definition, suits your own practise better, I’ll not be the one to stop you from using it.

What this topic does highlight is how easy it is for what is essentially UPG to get widely accepted by the Hellenic polytheistic community. Our religion is growing and thriving, and as it develops, new understandings naturally arise - which is great! But it’s just as important that, as a community, we strive towards giving an honest representation of what is new and what is historical, so that each individual may make an informed choice of what suits their practise best.

[aminddivided]

A follow-up on pollution and purification

Since last week’s post, a few people (@michi-izkur-ereshkigal, @veiledindevotions, @terrasunshine) have asked me for more reading material and ancient sources on the topic. I hope this post is useful to them and to anyone else interested, and that it helps support the claims I made last week!

First, I would like to repeat that the subject of ancient religious terminology is very complex. It’s hard to pigeonhole every term as a specific definition. Concepts overlap, they change with time, and they’re sometimes lacking in documentation.

As a result of this, researchers’ interpretations of religious terms vary. While most agree that serious moral pollution is miasma, the terminology for common, mortality-related pollution is debated: Jean Rudhardt is of the opinion that it’s lyma, while Andrej and Ivana Petrovic call it miasma (in their interpretation, serious moral pollution is agos), and yet others don’t name it at all. The important thing to be aware of is that, regardless of scholars’ opinions, there is a variety of terms for religious pollution and purity.

Another thing to be aware of is that the boundaries between severe pollution and common pollution could get blurred very fast. Contact with a dead body, for example, is lyma - but if you leave it lying there for too long, its pollution becomes miasma, because you’re denying the Dead their funerary rites, which is a crime against the Gods (but which is still rooted in physical pollution, since an unburied body spreads disease).

All that said, let’s move on to a few sources on the topic. These are only the tip of the iceberg, since this kind of research is done through broad reading and looking at contexts in which the terminology appears. Still, I find the quotes below to summarise the subject quite well.

Ἀμβροσίῃ μὲν πρῶτον ἀπὸ χροὸς ἱμερόεντος λύματα πάντα κάθηρεν…

First, with ambrosia, she washed away all the lymata from her lovely body… (Homer, Iliad XIV 170-171)

Ἔνθα σ’ ἐπεὶ μήτηρ μεγάλων ἀπεθήκατο κόλπων, αὐτίκα δίζητο ῥόον ὕδατος, ᾧ κε τόκοιο λύματα χυτλώσαιτο, τεὸν δ’ ἐνὶ χρῶτα λοέσσαι.

There, having laid down the burden of her womb, your mother sought out a stream of water so that she could wash away the lyma of birth, as well as to bathe your body. (Callimachus, Hymn to Zeus 15-17)

Ὦ δύσμορ᾿, οὐδὲ τῷ χρόνῳ φύσας φανῇ φρένας ποτ᾿, ἀλλὰ λῦμα τῷ γήρᾳ τρέφῃ;

Ill-fated man, will you never seem to grow sensible with time, or do you foster lyma in your old age? (Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus 804-805)

The first two examples show lyma as something very physical, a kind of dirt that is washed away (kathairo, from the same root as katharmos) by purifying agents (running water, ambrosia). Generally, it seems to refer to the ickiness of everyday life, including events like childbirth, death and sex, and fluids like blood and sweat. But even in its physical form, it’s still broader than just the fluids themselves: cleansing practises after birth or death show it affected the entire household, not just the people who touched it physically.

However, it also seems to have gained more abstract qualities, as the third example shows. Here, Oedipus is berated for acting indecently and staining his respectable age with lyma. I would interpret this as a moral ickiness he should rid himself of, but something closer to a nuisance than a real offense.

Βρίζει γὰρ αἷμα καὶ μαραίνεται χερός, μητροκτόνον μίασμα δ’ ἔκπλυτον πέλει.

The blood of my hands is becoming sleepy and vanishing, the miasma of my mother’s murder is washed away. (Aischylus, Eumenides 280-281)

Χεῖρες μὲν ἁγναί, φρὴν δ’ ἔχει μίασμά τι.

My hands are pure, but my mind carries miasma. (Euripides, Hippolytus 317)

These two examples show miasma as the consequence of something terrible: a family murder in the first case, and thoughts of incest in the second. Orestes’ miasma in the Eumenides, like lyma, is linked to something physical: he literally has blood on his hands. However, since the blood comes from such a serious crime, it requires much more than purification by water/ambrosia to be cleansed.

The second example shows that miasma, too, can be intangible. Phaedra may be physically pure, but since she is obsessed with thoughts of incest, she still carries miasma. As the play will go on to show, this is an offense just as serious as Orestes’ physical murder of his mother.

I hope this explains the nature of miasma and especially lyma, as represented in ancient sources, a bit better. As for modern discussions of the subject, here are a few accessible references:

Andrej and Ivana Petrovic’s book Inner Purity and Pollution in Greek Religion (2016) is available at Google Books

Andreas Bendlin’s chapter “Purity and Pollution” in A Companion to Greek Religion (2007) is available as a PDF

Alain Blanc’s article “Λῦμα et λΰμη («saleté» et «mauvais traitement»): quel lien sémantique?” (2002), on the meaning of lyma and related terms, is available here

[aminddivided]

Heya! It’s the same person who asked about where you got your lyma information.(Really appreciated how you went into detail and it show you really care). I was wondering if you could talk me further through how we pick up lyma through the day? I sometimes veil when I feel particularly vulnerable and don’t want bad energies, as I felt they catch in our hair, however that was when I thought it was miasma. This probably isn’t an reason they used to veil but it’s why I do (btw I’m not hellenistic)

Hi again! I’m glad my answer could be helpful to you :)

First things first: I’m not sure what you mean when you say you’re not Hellenistic - that you’re a Hellenic polytheist but don’t follow Hellenistic (323-31 BC) religion? Or that you’re a polytheist/pagan of some sort but don’t identify as a Hellenic polytheist? Either way, I’ll answer from my perspective as a recon-leaning Hellenic polytheist, but feel free to discard any information that isn’t relevant to your practise.

On to lyma. Unlike our modern concept of “bad energies”, lyma is a very physical thing: in many contexts, it simply means “dirt”. Strabo (Geography 5.3.8) uses it when discussing the sewers of Rome:

ὑπονόμων τῶν δυναμένων ἐκκλύζειν τὰ λύματα τῆς πόλεως εἰς τὸν Τίβεριν

sewers able to wash away the lymata (pl.) of the city into the Tiber

The understanding of lyma as spiritual pollution, not just dirt, is entirely founded in this physical reality. Just like it would be improper to walk around caked in dirt, and even more so to go to a meeting with your boss or professor caked in dirt, it’s improper - in other words, impure - to approach the Gods in that state. I find it telling that all the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern religions I know of have a similar concept of not putting the Gods in the presence of physical dirt. One example of many is Hittite cleanliness laws, which stated that water for the Gods and the king (as their representative) had to be brought from a pure source, food products had to be perfect in quality, hands had to be washed and kitchens swept before food preparation, the king had to wash and change clothes before ritual, and certain priests were even supposed to shave their body hair and cut their nails short to keep clean.

All this is to say that physical and spiritual dirt go evidently hand in hand. In many cases, when lyma appears in ritual context, it’s hard to tell if the author is referring to something physical or spiritual - personally, I’d wager it’s both, or rather it’s the same thing. For example in Euripides’ Helen, 1271, sacrifices to a dead sailor are done far off the coast

ὡς μὴ πάλιν γῇ λύματ᾿ ἐκβάλῃ κλύδων.

so that the tide doesn’t carry the lymata back to the shore.

Likewise, in Homer’s Iliad, 1.312-317, lyma is washed off before a sacrifice to Apollon:

Οἱ μὲν ἔπειτ᾿ ἀναβάντες ἐπέπλεον ὑγρὰ κέλευθα,λαοὺς δ᾿ Ἀτρεΐδης ἀπολυμαίνεσθαι ἄνωγεν·οἱ δ᾿ ἀπελυμαίνοντο καὶ εἰς ἅλα λύματα βάλλον…

They boarded and sailed over the watery road, and the son of Atreus commanded the men to cleanse themselves (litt. “get lyma away”). So they cleansed themselves and cast the lymata into the sea…

This means that in our day-to-day lives, we become ritually dirty by picking up lyma in a lot of simple ways: by riding a dirty subway, being exposed to car fumes, getting scratched by our cat and bleeding, picking our nose, going to the toilet, having sex, catching a cold… Anything that involves dirt and bodily fluids, in short. When it comes to hair specifically, binding and veiling has a practical purpose: unbound or unveiled hair gets in the way, and hair that gets in the way gets dirty. I know this very well, as someone with hair long enough to sit on - if I went out with my hair unbound, depending on the weather, it could be tangled and icky in minutes. Binding it is simply the logical thing to do.

Now certain customs, and certain uses of the word lyma, show that it can also be something non-physical (or at least less physical - I honestly don’t know if the Ancient Greeks conceived of it as something tangible but unseen, or as something more akin to our “bad energies”). An obvious example is birth and death, which were seen as polluting the entire household, not just the people physically in contact with the birthing/dying. Likewise, as I quoted in that other post, lyma, like miasma, can stem from the mind.

This broadens the possibilities for picking up lyma even more. Did you walk past a morgue today? Bingo, you’re spiritually polluted. Do you work as a midwife? Bingo again. Having unhealthy thoughts? Bingo. (This would explain, in my view, why a lot of people don’t feel like they should approach their altars/shrines when their mental illness is particularly bad - it’s lyma.) Luckily, as I outlined in my original post, this sort of pollution is very easy to wash away.

Now back to hair. I wrote at length, three years ago, about the symbolic and religious role of hair in pre-Classical Greece. My research methods weren’t very good at the time, which is why I’ve since taken the essay down (though you can still find it here; just request permission and I’ll give you access). It’s clear, however, that hair had symbolic meaning, and that there was a link between cleanliness and bound/veiled hair, in opposition to unclean situations and unbound/unveiled hair. So I would say that non-physical lyma affects hair as well, possibly more than other parts of the body, hence why we bind/veil it (among other reasons, including modesty). It’s certainly why I bind mine.

I hope this answers your question and that I didn’t go off on too much of a tangent - have a lovely day :)