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I for some reason forgot about this song for awhile but Apollo reintroduced it into my life and now it’s the only song I listen to.

No, I will never let you go

Give it time and we will grow

Ain't no fun in easy

I follow you, Apollo

I follow you, Apollo

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don’t post hellenic polytheistic “educational” content if you’re a beginner bc as someone who did. trust me you will be embarrassed seeing how misinformed you were. this isn’t me trying to be mean btw. it’s just not worth the effort and you will come to regret it. spend more time learning and less time trying to “teach”

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May Night (1906) by Willard Metcalf

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Eric Olson - Black Wave, 2012 oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

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Our sources suggest that religion happened not just in the rituals and at the shrines of sacred beings, but also in the way people imagined their relationships with the gods, in the stories that they told about those relationships, in the ever present kharis, and the presence of sacred beings in daily life. [...] Even when not testing institutional limits, narrative provided individuals with a place to play a leading role in the telling of their own religious story and understanding of the divine. Religious storytelling can be found in the memories of past rituals told by parents (such as Isaeus’ Ciron) who trained children in proper religious comportment, in the tales told by old nurses and mothers to infants, in the images woven by women into tapestries and fabric, in the chronicle plaques posted after seeing Trophonius at Lebadeia, or the images offered at shrines that represented and recorded divine encounters. The gods were present in these stories and at the location of storytelling itself, at the altars with attentive parents, by the beds of infants, near the weaving basket and loom. Certainly, it is well-recognized that in Greek religious thought, sacred presence and absence carried important theological and philosophical significance.

"Devotionalism, Material Culture, and the Personal in Greek Religion" by K.A. Rask

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Nymph Worship

Nymph: singular, a nature spirit in the Greek pantheon

Nymphai: plural form of nymph

First, let’s talk about what a Nymph is. A nymph is usually described as a ‘lesser’ Goddess in Hellenism. They tend to be localized nature spirits, though that’s not the only type of Nymph out there. What does that mean for your worship? Well, it means that most Nymph worship is going to be for the specific Nymphai in your area. While you may choose to worship some more famous Nymphai and ones from other areas, you’re likely to find that there are plenty in your own area that you can worship as well.

Types of Nymphai:

Here are some types of nymphs connected to nature:

Alseides (nymphai of glens and groves)

Anthousai (flower nymphs)

Asteriae, the (stars)

Auloniades (nymphai of pastures)

Aurai, the (breezes)

Crinaeae (nymphai of fountains)

Daphnaeae (laurel tree nymphai)

Dryades (nymphai associated with trees)

Epimeliades (nymphai of highland pastures, protectors of flocks)

Haliai (nymphai of shore lines)

Hamadryades (oak nymphai)

Heleionomai (nymphai from wetlands)

Hesperides, the (nymphai of sunset)

Hyades, the (celestial nymphai of the constellation Aquarius)

Leimakides (nymphai of meadows)

Limnades (nymphai who reside in lakes)

Meliades (apple tree nymphai)

Meliai (nymphai of honey, bees, and ash trees)

Naiads (fresh water nymphai)

Napaeae (mountain valleys)

Nephelai, the (clouds)

Nereids (ocean nymphai who are the daughters of Nereus)

Oceanids (ocean nymphai who are daughters of Oceanus)

Oreads (nymphai of grottoes)

Pagaeae (nymphai who belong to springs)

Pleiades (yup, like the constellation)

Potameides (river nymphai)

The second type of Nymphai are those who are associated with cities, or who serve in retinue to a specific Theos. Such as:

Lampades (torch bearer nymphai in retinue to Hekate)

Maenads (nymphai in retinue to Dionysos)

For the purpose of this post I’m going to talk about the Nymphai connected to the earth and nature.

Named Nymphai

Some Nymphai are specifically named in myth. These are usually Nymphai who are associated with specific plants, but also one’s who’ve played a role in a Theos’ story at one point or another, and one’s who are patrons to specific towns and cities. This is just a sampling of some of the Nymphai who are named in myth.

Aba- Naiad of the town Ergisce in Ciconia, Thrace

Aigeiros- Hamadryad of black poplar

Asopis- Naiad Nymph of a town by the same name

Balanos- Hamadryad of evergreen oak

Bateia- Naiad of Sparta in Lacedaemonia

Daphne- Naiad who became the laurel tree

Io-Argive Princess and Naiad who was loved by Zeus

Karya- Hamadryad Nymph of nut trees, including hazelnut, walnut, and chestnut

Khloris- Oceanid and Goddess of flowers

Klytie- Oceanid who loved Helios and transformed into the heliotrope flower when He left Her

Kraneia- Hamadryad Nymph of cherry trees

Leuke- the white poplar tree

Lotis- Naiad who transformed into the lotus

Minthe- A Naiad who was transformed into the mint plant

Morea- Hamadryad of mulberry trees

Pitys- Oread Nymphs who transformed into the pine tree

Ptelea- Hamadryad of elm trees

Syke- Hamadryad of fig trees

How to Worship Nymphai: Building a Shrine or Altar

When you’re talking about worship in Hellenism, a lot of people think about shrines and altars, since they give us a place to actually give offerings. Altars were historically built with the idea in mind of “how do I get this offering to the Theos it belongs to?” That means that Ouranic (heavenly) altars were raised up towards the sky. Khthonic (relating to the earth and death) altars were usually dug into the ground as the Khthonic Theoi were thought to reside under ground.

Altars for entities like Heroes and Nymphai were kind of odd. Some people would build them as khthonic altars, some people would build them as Ouranic, and it was’t uncommon to find that their worship was mixed with elements of both Ouranic and Khthonic ritual. Shrines and altars to the nymphai were almost exclusively built outside though from what I’ve seen. They were also built near where a Nymph was thought to reside when possible.

Personally, I like to have my altar for the local Nymphai outside, and raised up, similarly to how Ouranic altars are built. You don’t have to do it that way, it’s just the way I handle it. I also try to build any altars dedicated to the Nymphai with natural materials. So, for example, an altar for the local Nymphai in my area may be a flat stone on the edge of the forest near my home.

Giving offerings

Since Nymphai are regarded as living in or around the area where you would be making offerings, the need for Ouranic ritual, which is designed to send the offerings upwards, isn’t really there. There’s two ways I’d say you could approach this.

The first would be that you can give offerings in a khthonic manner, since Nymphai are khthonic in their connection to the Earth. This would mean pouring libations to the soil, and either burning or burying other offerings.

The other way you can approach offerings is to simply set any offerings before your altar or shrine, and leave them there for the Nymphai. An example of this would be to set an apple on your shrine as an offering, and leave it for a set amount of time before cleaning it up. If you are leaving offerings outside in local habitats be sure that you're using foods or plants already native to the area, and things that won't poison any animals who might eat it up.

Personally, I follow khthonic ritual when giving offerings to the Nymphai. I pour libations into the soil, I bury fruit, and I give the offering in it’s entirety to the Nymphai. I don’t consume any of what is meant for the Nymphai. Again, you don’t have to do things the way I do.

Types of Offerings

Any of the classic offerings can be given to Nymphai. These include:

Bread

Cheeses

Fruits

Flowers

Grains

Honey

Incense

Meat

Milk

Olive Oil

Statues (please don't be littering and leaving statues in the woods though)

Wine

You can also give them offerings from the surrounding area. If you have blueberries that grow wild in the area, then blueberries may prove to be a great offering. Again, I suggest sticking with things that are natural. Since Nymphai are nature spirits, giving them something plastic may not go over real well, especially if you’re leaving the offering outside in nature. Basically, be sure you’re not littering and leaving things that aren’t going to decompose when leaving offerings in nature. And please make sure you're not accidentally introducing invasive species of plants via fruit/seeds/ect.

Devotional activities would probably relate closely to the Nymph in question, though I do have a few general ideas.

Clean up the area where you believe the Nymph resides

Get involved in local conservation efforts

Go on nature walks and admire the influence and beauty of the Nymphai in your area

Nymphai and Prophecy

Nymphs, like many rustic deities, were considered to be connected to prophecy. Nympholepts were devotees of local Nymphai who also worked as prophets. Astragaloi, a form of divination using knuckle bones from sheep, was popular for communicating with Nymphai, and sets of astragaloi bones have been found in multiple caves where Nymphai were worshiped.

That’s certainly not the only option you have though when approaching Nymphai with the intent of divination and prophecy, and a little exploration and trial & error may turn up local Nymphai willing to communicate via other methods of divination.

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My watchful mama

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disabled worship is beautiful worship!

neurodivergent worship is beautiful worship!

mentally ill worship is beautiful worship!

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Not to mention that the Triple Goddess "archetype" reinforces gender roles/stereotypes and sometimes bioessentialism when placed in the "right" hands.

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Friendly Reminder that the religion is called Hellenic Polytheism and you are a Hellenic Polytheist.

It is not Hellenism, Hellenismos, Hellenistic Polytheism and you are not a Hellenist or Hellenic.

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Minoru Tomoda, from JCA Annual 3 (1980)

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Transparent detail: Full Worm Moon. Photo by rami-astro.

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Selene

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Incoming blizzard

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All roads lead to Apollo

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All roads lead to Apollo