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putting my money where my mouth is and drawing hermes with a beard

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It's been years since I've said this, so I'm bringing it back. Drawing Hermes looking like a twig couldn't be more inaccurate. Ancient Greeks did not depict him that way and he's the god of athleticism, competition, wrestling, and boxing. I'm out here fighting evil

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I made a TikTok about reciprocity and votives in ancient Greek religion and their importance in modern Hellenic polytheism. :)

I am very proud of it!

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not apollo specific but i did feel really bummed when i wasn't able to put my altar near a window.

some extra lighting could help (battery operated wall sconces if ur feeling fancy, but even little stick on LEDs would make a difference) or more candles so it isn't gloomy All the time

and it sucks but like. i just tried to ignore it when it bothered me to have my altar in a gloomy corner. i tried to focus on what the altar was doing for me. tried to find any ways to make it special since i couldn't have it where i wanted it.

What do other worshippers of Apollo think/feel about having their altar somewhere that isn't in sunlight? It's probably not a big deal, but part of me feels a little bad and disappointed about it.

My current plans are on a shelf of a bookcase in my room, but it's kinda in a corner so it's always a little dark over there even if my light is on and the window is open with the sun shining through. There's not any other place with enough space for the things I'd like to have for an altar, and I just feel a little bad about the only spot I can put it being kinda dark and gloomy-feeling. Any suggestions, advice or input?

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i was intimidated by her at first too lmao

i do often approach her with a bit more formality than some other gods (like i call hermes 'my guy' and i can't imagine doing naything similar for hera) (she's The Queen ! to me that means i put a bit more respect on her name)

which doesn't mean that i never approach her casually, or that i will be punished if i don't meet an appropriate level of respect. but i feel like starting off a bit stricter is the way to go. (i feel that way about most of the gods tbh ! when you're just starting out worshiping them, it's like you're strangers. and it would be weird to already act like you're besties)

as far as sources, theoi.com always a gr8 place to start.

and how to honor/worship her, that's different for everyone. for me, she has a really obvious place in my life. i'm married, and she saw me through that transition.

i found her as i settled into the role of housewife. i know her as the head of household, equal to her husband. i know her as a source of authority, as the confidence that gives one a sense of authority. as the sense of ownership over domesticity- saying ‘this is my realm, and i am it’s ruler’.

i know her as power, and authority. as self-determination. 'i am only who and what i decide to be.'

i know her in the gentle, life-giving rain, and the greenery that flourishes after it. i know her as the sunsets and sunrises that make everything golden.

and based on your username, it might be specifically relevant to you that hera also had the epithet Antheia !

Hii! So, does any Hera devotees can help me? Because I got signs from her and if I'm really going to work with her, I want to know as many things as possible. But it's kind of hard searching for her epithets for example, and I don't know how to honor her or what she will possible want to work with me :(

If anyone can help me, please send me a DM or something because I'm kind of scared since she's such a powerful Goddess (not that the ones I work with aren't, but you get what I mean lol)

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oh and i want to put athena on my altar. she's like. on the periphery of a lot of the gods i worship or want to worship ?

in rome, the capitoline triad of jupter, juno, and minerva (and also in etruria, tinia, uni, and menrva

in etruria, menrva was seen a lot with hercle

she popped up a bit in my arcadian research for hermes, and i want to follow that thread a bit

in general it feels like im weaving more and more threads in this little cluster of gods, finding and creating more and more connections. the image my brain just gave me is like a web diagram where im trying to draw lines between every circle. or a spiderweb made of thread and im weaving more and more thread in between the spokes or whatever.

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some rambles about my practice this month:

i am putting off playing new dragon age game until at least tomorrow bc it didn't feel right to start it while Serapis is still in pieces and Isis is off searching for him. it felt right for me to hold off until the Hilaria or later.

i am going to buy statues for hera and zeus for my anniversary (we will be married for 7 years on the 21st 💘💞💖💗💞💘)

noumenia today (bc i was busy yesterday) and im still going by calendar months instead of lunar months

festival for maia as herald of seasons in a couple weeks (there's a local event that i consider the Start of Winter this month)

trying to fit heracles on my altar

actually i just i need a bigger altar. i always need a bigger altar lmao.

i need to follow a tinia/uni thread. etrupol is very interesting to me in general but those two specifically are occupying some space in my brain.

not specific to this month, but im working on some new art to use for icons (and i would eventually like to sell prints of my art for other people to use on their altars!)

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Hera is more than just the nonchalant suburban mom some of yall paint her for.

Hera is just as much an old queen in New York picking up stray queer kids and giving them a place to stay.

Hera is in the women putting on a full face for a 16 hour shift in a dementia unit and comforting confused and frightened people who think they’re 11 and can’t find their own mom.

Hera is the first in line at ANY right for marriage rally. She doesn’t care if you’re marrying six people or just one person of the same sex, she is there.

Hera is in the “Did you eat?” No? Here, have this.”

Hera is in the older siblings help dress their younger brothers and sisters for the day, for the ones who have stepped in for their parents to get away for a night or who have stepped in permanently.

Hera is woven into the fabric of handfasting ties and hides between the stones of wedding rings, promising the same good blessing to each band from Kay Jewelry and Walmart.

Hera is in the mom splitting the dollar cheeseburger from McDonald’s with her toddler in the backseat when that’s all they can afford.

Hera is in the quiet moment you embrace your spouse(s) after a long day, just holding each other and relishing in the warmth.

Hera is in the kind hearted folks who pick animals off the street and take them home, nourish them back to plump little things rather than skin and bones.

Hera is in promises of any kind, from childhood pinkie swears to vows on an altar.

Hera is in waitresses, nurses, customer service, any pink collar job that takes the blunt load of the shit in people’s days.

Hera is in the rural women across the globe whose back doesn’t break under the weight of physical labor and family needs. Her hands watch over the backs that do.

Hera is the mom fighting for silent dances, better ramps, bus accessibility and equal opportunity for the disabled children who are so often left out.

Hera is in the women in beat up jeans and dirt who wish for the days their hands were delicate enough for nail polish.

It is with great respect that we should regard the Queen of the Gods, mother to all and protector of humankind.

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this temple also had offerings of styli (probably for writing) and simple bone pipes (the musical instrument)

im CRYYIIINNNGGGGGG theyre offering fucking. pencils. and recorders. you remember that plastic piece of shit everyone had to learn in like the 3rd grade. dear god.

Among the votive offerings, there is a considerable number of bronze strigiles, which are of ordinary type and date to the late 6th or 5th century BC. Because they were used for scraping off the crust of dust, oil, and sweat after sports, Kotera-Feyer suggests that they might have been dedicated by athletes. However, [...] no other athletic equipment such as discuses and weights was found at Perachora, and Kotera-Feyer notes that strigiles surprisingly occur in sanctuaries of female deities among which she cites the Heraion at Perachora and the sanctuary of Athena Alea at Tegea. Votives at the latter place include statuettes of breast-holding women, which indicates that she was also concerned with female fertility. The occurrence of strigiles in Corinthian child burials of the Classical Period proves their association with children. Since sports played an important part in the education of the youth, the strigiles might relate more to the upbringing of children than to athletic success. Thus, they could have been dedicated by parents in order to thank or ask Hera for the safe growing up of their children. -the significance of votive offerings in selected hera sanctuaries in the peleponnese, ionia, and western greece by jens david baumach

actually crying at the idea of parents essentially offering their kid's outgrown cleats or baseball mitts to hera

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Among the votive offerings, there is a considerable number of bronze strigiles, which are of ordinary type and date to the late 6th or 5th century BC. Because they were used for scraping off the crust of dust, oil, and sweat after sports, Kotera-Feyer suggests that they might have been dedicated by athletes. However, [...] no other athletic equipment such as discuses and weights was found at Perachora, and Kotera-Feyer notes that strigiles surprisingly occur in sanctuaries of female deities among which she cites the Heraion at Perachora and the sanctuary of Athena Alea at Tegea. Votives at the latter place include statuettes of breast-holding women, which indicates that she was also concerned with female fertility. The occurrence of strigiles in Corinthian child burials of the Classical Period proves their association with children. Since sports played an important part in the education of the youth, the strigiles might relate more to the upbringing of children than to athletic success. Thus, they could have been dedicated by parents in order to thank or ask Hera for the safe growing up of their children. -the significance of votive offerings in selected hera sanctuaries in the peleponnese, ionia, and western greece by jens david baumach

actually crying at the idea of parents essentially offering their kid's outgrown cleats or baseball mitts to hera

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original context was about religious wandering, a kind of 'grass is greener' sort of thing. looking for more answers or more meaning in new things. and i reblogged it and said smth about how i had done it a lot, but i kept coming back to the same handful of themes and things, so i just had to dig in there.

but this did really sink in to my brain as 'you will never find a temple that fits you perfectly. you have to build it.'

Oh My Fucking God I’m thinking about that post and in the tags I said im gonna start digging but like. Isn’t that the perfect metaphor for what im not fucking getting.

I keep expecting to unearth something whole and complete and perfect for me but that doesn’t happen like. Ever. I gotta build it.

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wheres my post about how i kept trying to unearth a whole practice that would fit me, but it turns out i had to build it myself.

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also: religion is kind of like personal science.

scientific method that shit.

Observation/Question is your motivating factors. your goals. your aspirations. what is your purpose for doing this ? what do you want to get out of your worship ? (a smaller example would be like. how would you celebrate a specific festival?)

Research is. research.

Hypothesis is the basic planning of what you want to happen, in tangible terms. it is writing a ritual, or plotting out your festival calendar. it is applying the research to your goals to make something that you can do in your own life.

Experiment is the work. do the ritual. make the altar. so on and so forth.

Collect Data/Analysis/Conclusion - what happened during the Experiment ? how did you feel during it ? how do you feel later, after the fact ? did it go how you planned ? did you get what you wanted ? will you do it again ? why/why not ?

and then return to start for the next thing !

i recommend a journal to help you organize your thoughts (in whatever format you prefer) any spark of inspiration, any connections you make, anything you learn that really makes you excited, these are all good things to write down.

one of the hardest things about being pagan is doing everything by yourself, but imo that's also one of the most exciting things ! my practice is personalized completely to me ! i am building it myself ! and it is changing as i am changing ! isn't that so fucking cool !!

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newbie pagans, i am speaking directly into your ear:

if you are doing anything to worship the gods, and it is coming from a place of sincerity, and good intentions, you are doing just fine.

you do not need someone to tell you that you are doing things correctly.

i understand how frustrating it can be to not have any measure of 'doing it right' Trust Me, i get it. but it doesn't help you long term to seek outside validation after every step.

You are your own authority on your own practice. You are the one who is going to be developing your spirituality for the rest of your life.

you won't be punished by the gods for burning a candle the wrong color, or having a small altar, or only offering water, or only praying in your thoughts bc you don't want to be overheard by family/roommates.

there are less rules than you think. there is only as much structure as you want. and it is infinitely more helpful to ask yourself "does this work for Me?" or "what Exactly am i hoping to get out of this?" than "am i doing it Correctly?"

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there are actually many evidence-based gods, but they’re moments not entities. we are too used to everything being material or spiritual and too unused to capturing the temporal, which why it’s so difficult to notice them. however everyone bears witness to their presence.

for example one god is when the garlic and ginger hit the frying pan.

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People will wonder why Hermes and Hypnos have a similar look/aesthetic even though both are sleep and the leader of dreams (Hermes' is just more overt and older). They will wonder when academics are under the consensus that Hypnos is just an epithet of Hermes who got a life of its own when the above is taken into account, while wings are prominent and both are born to a nighttime star goddess that is a leader in the heavens/space and also a khthonic deity. People will see that both are a giver and taker of sleep but Hermes expounds on it by also giving dreams and being death in some circles and guide of souls, as Hermes is the god of the unconscious and says I wonder why. Hermes doing what Hypnos does but doing so much more is why people that study this professionally are convinced Hypnos is just an aspect of Hermes that became its own thing.

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i guess The thing you have to get used to when worshiping lesser-known deities is that you have got to be okay with being vibes based. divination helps, but you Have to be okay with extrapolating.