just-a-simple-wanderer

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

“As if that hot sexy bitch couldn’t take the whole thing down with just one boob” was not a sentence I ever considered needing to read but I was SHOWN THE LIGHT. 🤣💜

I just saw a post about how Hera, Demeter, and Hestia should be the Big 3 instead of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. And while I understand the sentiment (✨Feminism✨🖕🏻Fuck the Patriarchy 🖕🏻✌🏻Girl Power✌🏻 etc) I personally think Hera, Demeter, and Hestia are not only quite content with their positions, they very likely helped orchestrated it to be that way.

One of the biggest mistakes worshipers, witches, and mythology fans make is thinking the 3 sisters are not powerful enough to take the thrones if they wanted them.

Demeter alone forced 2 out of the 3 Kings (1 of them being THE King) to bend to her will. One of those thrones could have easily been hers if she wanted it.

Hestia paved the way for Athena and Artemis, by CHOOSING her own path. She didn’t ask Zeus, she told him by swearing an oath that she would remain a virgin. And of course, Hestia gets offerings first and last. Pretty sure the one thing all the Gods can agree on is that Hestia is the best and that by itself is power.

As for Hera, she knows her position is actually far better than Zeus’ bc she has more freedom. I always compare them to the King and Queen in chess. The King is important enough to be the entire purpose of the game however he’s extremely limited. The Queen, on the other hand, is limitless which makes her the most dangerous piece on the board. You can see this in action in the Iliad. Hera is able to release her anger and fury for not being chosen by Paris and aids in the destruction of an entire city. Zeus, with all his power as King, can’t even prevent his beloved son’s death because his position of King does not allow it. And it was Hera who reminded Zeus that as their leader, he couldn’t save his son. So she knows the limits that come with that role. Why would she choose a position that only lets her move one space at a time when she can move whenever and however she wants? And she still has a crown on her head.

I get because of how patriarchal Ancient Greece was it’s easy to look at the hierarchy of the Gods as a reflection of that. But personally, I think the structure actually makes sense when you take into account the personalities of the Gods and what each position requires.

And as I said before, if Hera, Demeter, and Hestia weren’t happy with the current structure, it wouldn’t be the current structure. 😂

Also, we haven’t even talked about the wildcard that is, Aphrodite! As if that hot sexy bitch couldn’t take the whole thing down with just one boob.

Like come on, I thought we all already knew that our Goddesses are the ones who truly run the entire show?

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

Me: *fighting to stay awake but opens Tumblr anyway*

This post: *is the first thing I see*

Me: ……

@teawiththegods is it possible for Apollo to yell at TWO people for the price of one? 💀😩😂

Me: Im just so tired all the time and too exhausted to do any of the things I want to do! 😩

Apollo: Perhaps instead of fighting your exhaustion you should….go to bed.

Me:

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

I have never heard this myth before :o

What could have been...⚡

often considered to be the most important myth of Orphism. Zeus had intercourse with Persephone in the form of a serpent, producing Dionysus (otherwise Zagreus). He is taken to Mount Ida where (like the infant Zeus) he is guarded by the dancing Curetes.

Zeus intended Dionysus to be his successor as ruler of the cosmos, and even as child Dionysus was able to hold Zeus's thunder bolts when he would sit on his lap, which caused Hera to be jealous and fearful of his growing powers, that she incited the Titans to kill the child.

Distracting the infant Dionysus with various toys, including a mirror, the Titans seized Dionysus and tore (or cut) him to pieces. The pieces were then boiled, roasted and partially eaten, by the Titans. But Athena managed to save Dionysus' heart, by which Zeus was able to contrive his rebirth from Semele.

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

I know this is may be for a more aesthetic piece in regards to Hephaestus, but if this dog is going to be around Hephaestus as a pet as well, might I suggest something massive that may be considered scary but also friendly that can give the BEST cuddles. A gentle giant. 🥰

But, I think whatever dog Hephaestus should have as a pet should be a GREAT service dog! Maybe Hephaestus chose to have a service dog around to help him complete tasks if he’s having a bad mobility day, or just a bad day in general! So, the dog also has to be a breed that is intelligent, and also one that will not startle easily due to the amount of noise and activity in the forge. Probably one that bred to withstand heat as well - no huskies in Mount Etna! 🥵

I think Hephaestus would totally spoil his service companion too - that dog would be one of his best friends after all!

Sorry… I just suddenly have a lot of feels about Hephaestus with a service doggo 🥹💜

if you had to associate a dog to hephaestus, what dog would it be

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

Holy shit this is SO COOL! OP this is incredible, your art is amazing!

I ADORE the idea that Hephaestus’ prosthetic arm that he made himself is not necessarily made of metal, but made of hardened lava that he can then liquify into near or full on magma while he is working in his forge or something! Or that his hair can become fire! I often see images with Hestia having fire for hair but not Hephaestus!

This is SUCH an amazing view of him and I love it and I really vibe with this. And I LOVE when he is pictured with assistance gear like wheelchairs or crutches like this but is still obviously working and living his life and enjoying it.

Hephaestus is disabled and he is powerful and mighty and amazing! And look at that smile!

❤️🧡💛❤️‍🔥

Hephaestus :D

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

I love memetic communication when it gets to the point of being incomprehensible because can you imagine showing someone this picture

And asking them what Greek god it represents

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

Excuse me I love this so much? Stop this is so good! 😭😭😭

Our lord of grapes and cats and tearing things apart in fits of madness

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

✨The food of the gods✨

I usually take these off before offering but that was too funny to not leave it.

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

Repurposing Modern Holidays for your gods!

Hey it's been a while!

A lot has happened in my life but I wanted to make a quick post about something that has greatly helped me incorporate the holidays for the gods into my life:

I was inspired by Valentine's day (which I have renamed "Love Day" when I repurposed it and dedicated it to Eros, Aphrodite and Ares) to talk about: Repurposing Modern Holidays!

You can repurpose any modern holiday and use the energy it generates to dedicate to your gods.

This can also help you better incorporate their celebration into your life without life getting in the way (like not being able to take time off from work/school, etc).

It's not something that's necessary, you can celebrate your gods anytime you'd like But I wanted to post this for people like me who might want to join in the general celebration of whatever holiday is being celebrated and repurposing its energy for the god whose vibe matches it!

I did this last year with Christmas and celebrated the birth of Dionysus instead. It was the first time I was able to celebrate the pagan aspects of Christmas again!

Today Cupid and Eros are everywhere!

They're in movies, pictures, "Be my Valentine" cards, etc. They have taken over our collective consciousness and have become the epitome of what we imagine love to look like.

Out of all the popular holidays, this is the only holiday one where the visual representation is a Greek/Roman god (at least it is in the US, please ignore this if it's not true where you're from!).

Why would you want to repurpose a holiday instead of making up your own?

There are plenty of reasons to make up your own holiday, especially for days that are of sentimental value to you like winning your first gold metal and you can also repurpose a whole month like dedicating all of October to a witchcraft god like Hecate.

Most places force people to take federal holidays off so why not dedicate those days to your gods?

Every holiday has a specific vibe to it, for example, today I saw a lot of people carrying flowers so you can also dedicate this day to Persephone along with love gods like Eros, Aphrodite, the Erotes, etc.

Every holiday also collects a specific kind of energy, and it collects a lot of it made by the general public who are already celebrating it. You can gather all of that energy and dedicate it to a specific god who you think will like it.

Here's an example of American Holidays one can repurpose the gods they can potentially repurpose it to:

Disclaimer: I'm using the American Holidays as an example because I live in the US but you can do this with any country's holidays, also the gods I recommend are just examples, you can also dedicate the holidays to whichever god YOU would prefer):

Valentine's Day: Eros, Aphrodite, Psyche, The Erotes, Persephone (cus of all the Flowers), Ares (because of the passion)

April Fool's Day: Hermes, Dionysus, Eros (because he canonically likes pranks)

Easter: Persephone, Demeter, Aphrodite, Dionysus, etc.

Mother's Day: Hera, Demeter, Aphrodite (or any of the goddesses that have children)

Father's Day: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades (or any of the gods that have children)

Memorial Day: Zeus, Athena, Ares, Hephaestus (he makes weapons)

Independence Day: Athena, Zeus, Ares, Hephaestus (he makes fireworks)

Labor Day: Hephaestus, Hermes, Artemis (because of hunting), Apollo

Halloween: Hecate, Artemis, Persephone, Hades, Hermes, Thanatos (any of the death gods)

Thanksgiving: All the gods but especially food and family focused gods like Demeter, Hestia, Hera, Zeus, Persephone, Leto, Apollo, Artemis (because of her love for her pact), etc.

Christmas/Yule: Dionysus, Demeter, Zeus, Semele, (any of the winter gods)

New Year's: Dionysus, Apollo, Fortuna, Zeus, Hermes, Hephaestus (fireworks but also starting fresh new projects)

These are just the general vibes that I get from different holidays and the gods that I would assign them to but you're welcome to do what you feel is best for you! Remember that this post is designed to give you ideas that'll make it easier to incorporate your gods and their celebrations into your everyday life!

I hope these help!

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

Okay, I don’t consider myself a Christian and I wasn’t really raised in a religiously Christian household. However, based on the family around me and my environment, I still hold some religious trauma and so I will admit I’ve been… wary of the Christian God. I feel like I’ve made more of my peace with him since becoming a pagan (which I find somewhat hilarious - believing in other gods helped me come to terms with the “jealous god”??? SCANDALOUS!) but I’m still constantly working on my relationship with set Christianity.

That being said……..

What Lorelei just said here? Especially the part about “No god before me. Didn’t say anything about gods “with” or “alongside” me, did it?” and the Bible being the same as Christian mythology seeing as God did not write the Bible himself just… this really hit me hard. For various reasons that I’m not comfortable right now sharing.

But I do believe this is going to possibly change the way I look at some things. Especially the gods and most especially the Christian god. So thank you @crazycatsiren, because even though this wasn’t for me I really benefitted from it.

I heard you were a Catholic and Hellenistic polytheist. Can you tell me how that's been? I heard from a friend who isn't Catholic she interpreted "though shall not have any other god before me" as God being served first before any other god. I'm looking more to work with Gods like Athena or Apollo. I was wondering how to go about that? Like I enjoy asking Athena for assistance for energy or motivation when I study. I usually just put things like olive oil or milk on my altar for her. Also, as a Catholic I would really like to know how you go through with this? Sometimes a relative on FB preaches to me about how much God hates other gods and those who work with them. I've only been a practicing witch for a little over 6 months. I've accepted I may just be a heretic to the church and that's fine but how do you get along with it? I still have some anxiety, naturally, but it's nice to hear other's opinions.

Hellenic polytheist, not Hellenistic. There is a difference.

I don't think of the Ten Commandments as rules. Who's there to enforce them anyway? Certainly no one I care or respect to let dictate my life. I'm taking my free will and running with it. Besides, I consider the Commandments to be suggestions/recommendations anyway, like the Delphic Maxims.

No god before me. Didn't say anything about gods "with" or "alongside" me, did it? Besides, Bible stories are Christian myths. No different from ancient Greek myths. God didn't write the Bible.

Gods aren't the ones who aren't able to get along and peacefully coexist. If they were that petty, they wouldn't be gods. Humans, on the other hand.

And I love being a heretic. Heresy is fun. Pissing off the Catholic Church? I own that shit. I eat tradcaths for lunch. I just don't give a fuck about other people's opinions. Life is too damn short and I'm too old to care about what everybody thinks of me. My faith is my own. It's literally no one else's business what I do with my imaginary friends.

Also? If sky papa doesn't like what I've been doing all this time, I'd think he would've let me know more than 15 years ago. I was a Catholic way before I was a Pagan after all. He was in my life before the Hellenic gods.

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

Working on it…

forgive the version of you that didn’t know any better

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

I want to speak positively about something that’s a matter of personal care for me: messy devotion.

Sometimes watching other people online might make you feel like you are doing everything wrong. That’s not true. Don’t let yourself overly focus on curating a flawless schedule of devotion and altar-keeping if this is not your thing. I know that sometimes seeing “guides” online might make you feel like doing something “off” such a guide is a direct insult to the Divine, but that’s not true.

It is true that Greco-Roman Gods were often praised according to strict rites, but please remember that this is true for a state cult mostly and usually applies to very well-known and written down cultus forms. Some were different. Regions of the Ancient world worshipped differently. Cult of XYZ in one area of the Mediterranean is not comparable to the cult of the same Deity in the nearby city, etc. It’s okay if your devotion is not like devotion of state cults. You’re not doing it wrong.

You’re not obliged to have a fancy altar. You don’t have to buy a bunch of stuff. You don’t need to own rare herbs or precious stones or expensive statues. Some people do it because they can, some people put money away for it willingly, and some just… never do it. And it’s okay. You don’t necessarily need an altar, but if you feel like getting one - it can be as simple as an object of your choice laid out at the spot of your choice. Sacred space, sacred thing, and devotion make up an altar. Don’t feel obliged to put money into things you can’t afford.

Not only that, but you don’t need to follow schedules of holidays either. Not every single citizen of the Ancient cities followed every single holiday. People split into groups of followers for a reason, and not every holiday is an all-Gods day. It’s also okay if you skip your Deity’s sacred day, too; there’s not a single proof that these days are appointed by the Gods - it’s sort of an extra way to show respect, but They will understand if you can’t.

You don’t have to learn Greek or Latin to read prayers. You don’t need to read them or sing them or remember them in the first place. There are countless of prayers written by people who were not priests. This is an individual experience. You don’t have to have a scheduled prayer time, you don’t even need to talk to pray. There are so many ways to call onto a God.

I assure you there were mentally ill, disabled, health-compromised devotees before. There were people who could not do things neatly and there were people who couldn’t afford it. There’s not a single record of exclusion of such people from worship. You’re not excluded either.

All in all, you need very little to be a “proper polytheist”: you need faith. That’s all.

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

Ah, so I made a very awful discovery about a blog I used to follow. This person is quite literally transphobic. I am sharing this with the helpol community with the intention of spreading awareness.

@oflightandprophecy is their name. I have since blocked them. I was very civil; I didn't really know how to respond to their bigotry, being a trans person myself, so I just kind of thanked them for clarifying then ran away. 💀 Here are the screenshots of our interaction:

To clarify, this person was claiming that the gods do not support trans rights activists nor people who do not believe gender is based upon sex. Frankly, this was very disappointing to discover, and I am truly fucking disgusted with this viewpoint. I do not have the words to describe how vile this is to me. My advice to everyone out there is to block people like this. We really don't need this within our community.

How truly fucking despicable to spread a message like this.

Edit:

Here is another person for you to block. 💀

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

Hey, I’m Sarah! 💙

I am a neurodivergent, mentally ill, migraine suffering, asexual Hellenic polytheist with she/her pronouns. I’m new to fully worshipping, but I’m not new to the community. I’ve been in and out researching and observing for years. While I consider myself a pagan, I’m not sure I consider myself a witch - yet. I’m focusing on myself and the gods first. While I still may post witchcraft related things, please respect my boundary.

*****

I am a reader of YA fantasy and scifi, a detailed plotter but a disaster writer, and an animal lover. My family consists of my mom (who I live with), my dumb of ass black cat (adopt, don’t shop!) and some spoiled hermit crabs (do your research and don’t listen to pet stores - hermit crabs are NOT easy pets!). I have a BA in English and I still have no idea what I want to do with my life. But I’m still young, right? *strained smile*

*****

This is my sideblog, so if I follow you, you will be followed by the-ace-reader, not this blog. I may also end up dming and/or sending asks from there.

*****

As for the gods I work with, there are currently quite a few, much to my slight chagrin. So much for going slow. 😅 But here are who are currently helping me out, both regularly and just off and on…

Regulars

Hermes - helps me find reasons to stay alive, challenges me to take risks, and teaches me how to live and not just survive

Hestia - helps me find joy in my home, in the little things in life, and in my family and friends

Dionysus - helps me with my mental health, even if it seems never ending

Apollo - helps me with my physical health, even if it’s one thing after another

Demeter - helps me with my food and eating issues, even if there are setbacks

Pops In and Out

Artemis - reminds me to care for my pets and also reminds me to go to bed

Aphrodite - reminds me she’s there when I have more energy to work with her and that self love is important

Zeus - is just a presence that sometimes makes himself known so I know I’m still on the right path and I don’t suffer in self doubt… too much

Hades - occasionally appears behind my shoulder when I’m about to spend money I don’t have and raises an eyebrow in disapproval, to varied success levels because I am a dumb, stubborn bitch and he can only do so much for me right now

*****

If I post anything offensive or from an offensive or problematic blog, please feel free to let me know. I want my blog to be a safe place. I have no time or energy for bigotry.

*****

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

I feel like today may be a deity research day. It’s usually chore day, but my back is killing me so I can’t help as much as I usually can unless I want to kill myself.

So I figure I might as well do some studying if I’m gonna be on my phone! 😭😂

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

Thank you so much! This is so much awesome information! I’m so happy my little post actually means something! Thank you for confirming! 💜

I really appreciate all the work you put into that!

This may be a UPG for Hermes but…

Has anyone thought of Hermes in the sense of writing and reading?

Like, in my research of him to get to know him, I’ve seen the thought/myth that he helped create and maybe translate the Greek alphabet. And some of his epithets are things like “Hermeneutes” (Interpreter, Translator), “Diactorus” (Guide, Messenger), and “Angelus Athanaton” (Messenger of the Gods).

And while it seems most associate him with verbal languages and speeches and the like, I like the idea that writing and reading fall under his purview too. I usually see these things attributed to Athena and Apollo as the gods of wisdom and knowledge respectively, but I don’t think I’ve ever really seen them put into play with Hermes.

But we wouldn’t have books, wouldn’t have writing, wouldn’t have language without Hermes’ help.

And what is reading and writing if not passing some sort of information or message or story on through language, from the author to the reader?

Idk. I just… I’m really interested in reading, writing, and language; and, when I look further into witchcraft, one of the first things I’ll probably do is research sigils. And I feel like Hermes is a god that can help me with this, despite him seemingly not usually brought in to help with that kind of thing - passed over for Apollo or Athena. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! But maybe remember to give Hermes some love the next time you’re reading something.

Like this post. 😂