lunarforager

[lunarforager]

Its been a while...

Hello again everyone!

I deeply apologize for being gone for so long and not updating any of my series. Mental health is a crazy thing and I have only just recently gotten out of a rut I've been stuck in for months. I hope nobody missed me too much, but I can promise I'm back and ready to talk all things Hellenism again!

Valete, my lovely friends!

[lunarforager]

the evolution of my Aphrodite shrine 🩷 2019-2024

[lunarforager]

Apologies for the sparse posts lately. Been severely lacking the motivation to do literally anything so I have been rotting in my bed :)

Hopefully I can post some stuff this week after I'm done with work and other obligations this weekend

Valete my friends, please take care of yourselves <3

[lunarforager]

Who is Athena?

Today's "Introduction to the Hellenic Gods" post is about the lovely Athena! She was the one I wanted to do next since I have a very personal connection with her. Athena is the deity I am currently trying to reach out to (so this post is acting as an offering of sorts) and she is also the deity I most associate most with my partner!

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Athena is the name given to the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, and handicraft. Her Roman equivalent is Minerva.

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Athena's birth myth has two versions that are very similar to one another. The first myth states that Athena was produced by Zeus' own thoughts and was 'born' by erputing from his forehead. In this myth there was no mother.

In the other version of her birth myth, Athena was instead a growing baby inside the goddess Metis who Zeus then swallowed. Athena then emerged fully formed from his forehead once again.

In both myths, Athena was said to emerge fully grown weilding both her spear and her shield and ready for battle.

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Pallas Athena is the most commonly referred to epithet of Athena. There are many explainations to how this epithet came to be, but most agree that it comes from the Greek word πάλλω, which means "to brandish". Pallas Athena refers specifically to the warlike attributes of Athena, with her being depicted in her full battle armor with her shield and her spear.

Athena Parthenos is another commonly used epithet meaning "Athena the Virgin". Athena, like Hestia and Artemis was a virgin goddess, but unlike Hestia (or Vesta) was not worshipped in that capacity. It was simply an attribute commonly given to her.

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Some interesting facts about Athena:

Athena is known to wield the shield Aegis, which is engraved with the face of the Gorgon, Medusa.

Athena was regarded as the patron goddess of heroic endeavours, hence why she continually helps the heroes of famous myths like Perseus, Jason, and Heracles.

Athena was often depicted in art wearing male battle armor and was treated similary to the male gods.

Athena created the first spider, Arachne, after challenging the woman in a weaving contest, which she lost, afterwards transforming her into an arachnid.

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My favourite literature and artwork depicting Athena/Minerva:

- The Iliad by Homer: In the first book of the Iliad, Athena is sent down by Hera to stop Achilles and Agamemnon from getting into a physical altercation. She grabs Achilles by the hair and warns him that fighting Agamemnon will lead him away from his destiny of greatness.

- The statue of Athena Parthenos (recreations) by Phidias: A statue of Athena meant to be housed in the Parthenon on the acropolis of Athens

- The Judgement of Paris by Lucas Cranach the Elder: Paris was asked to choose which of the three goddesses, Hera, Athena, or Aphrodite, he believed was the ‘fairest’. Each offered him a bribe to choose them, but Paris went with Aphrodite as the goddess offered him the most beautiful woman to wed, Helen of Troy. In this painting all three goddesses are depicted nude, which wouldn’t have been the case in ancient Greek art, as depicting any goddess, even Aphrodite, as nude was seen as sacrilege. This was painted in 1530, hence why the nudity wasn’t frowned upon.

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Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this post! I absolutely love Athena and all that she represents and so I was so excited to spend some time writing this up for you all. If you have any suggestions for who to write about next, feel free to DM me or leave me an ask! Also, feel free to reach out if you just want to chat! I love making new friends and would love to talk to anybody who wants to!

Valete, my friends! <3

[lunarforager]

So i found some really cool color filters and i blacked out

[lunarforager]

What can I do to prepare for the Strawberry Moon? I’ve never really done anything on Full Moon nights before.

[lunarforager]

is it okay to put a crystal (specifically quartz) that I want to charge and use onto a necklace? I’d be using copper wire and iron chain.

[lunarforager]

something I’ve found really interesting about trying my hand at paganism (is that how you say it?) is that if you tell a Christian you have a different belief system than they do, it’s all “REPENT” but if you tell a pagan you have a different belief system than they do they shrug and go “baller, I’m glad you find comfort in that” it’s like???

[lunarforager]

let’s play a fun little game of “is it depression, anxiety, or is there a bad spirit fucking with me?”

[lunarforager]

i remember being so sad when i only had 2 deities after getting on this platform since all of my mutuals and many posts i saw were of people who had well over 5

i thought i was doing something wrong? maybe i did something wrong so that now i only have 2 gods working with me, maybe the gods don’t like me

and then it hit me

i don’t need an excessive amount of deities to work with in order to prove my practice is real and legit to me

and for now? two is enough

even though i know another deity might be trying to contact me at the moment, i’ll cross that bridge when i get to it

[lunarforager]

I reject the thought that Aphrodite makes you more physically beautiful or more 'conventionally attractive'

Rather, I believe the more you devote yourself to her, the more you are able to look at yourself and your flaws and view them as beautiful. Nothing physically is changing, but to you, it's like you've become the sexiest human alive. Aphrodite doesn't change your outer beauty, she changes your self love. And to be honest, I prefer it that way.

[lunarforager]

Roasting marshmallows with friends as a devotional act to Hestia

Took a while to get the fire going but some determination and a quick prayer later, we were cooking our lil treats.

Thanks @dreamsoftheworld for doing this with me!

[lunarforager]

psa hating monotheistic religions as a polytheist isnt cute. ur just as bad as those people you hate in said religion. its not tolerance, its acceptance we need. make it start with you.

[lunarforager]

I've been praying to my deities for comfort (mainly because of my anxiety), and whenever I do, it's always incredibly calming, I just really appreciate them

[lunarforager]

I didn’t have a suitable offering bowl or plate for Hades (all my bowls had been dedicated to other deities already), so I made a wee one myself !!

It’s far from perfect, but making it felt really comforting. It’s a bit of a simplified pomegranate, because I didn’t want the design to distract from the offerings themselves that’ll be placed on it (including real pomegranate seeds, haha). 🤍

[lunarforager]

gentle reminder that unless you are being disrespectful or harmful to yourself or others, there is no right or wrong way to devote yourself to your deities.

devotion is very personal and it looks different from person to person.

[lunarforager]

PSA to pagans and practitioners.

You don't have to speak your prayers or incantations out loud for a ritual or offering to be effective.

For the longest time, I tried praying out loud and speaking out loud during ritual offerings, and I was always uncomfortable. I tried everything, from using the ancient hymns, to writing my own prayers, even combining the two. Nothing worked for me, but I kept doing it because I thought that's just how things are done.

A ritual, prayer or offering is not less effective or special if you don't speak aloud. Not speaking is not an easy way out, it's not disrespectful to the gods, and it's not making the working less powerful. The thing that negatively impacts your practice is being uncomfortable.

If you work better silent, embrace it. It took me far too long to realise that working quietly is best for me. I'll put on some instrumental music in the background while doing my ritual offerings which helps me focus, and other than that, I enjoy listening to the sounds my materials make; the bay leaf crackling, the libation being poured, the sounds of setting things down on the altar. If I have to speak through that I feel distracted and nervous about forgetting what I'm supposed to say. I would much rather focus on my actions, my materials, my offerings, my energy, and my gods.

If you speak aloud and it works for you, fantastic! However, don't feel pressured to if you don't like it. We see so many people put on a show during rituals for social media. Don't think all rituals have to be like that.