#IM MEANT TO BE BEING A HELLENIC POLYTHEIST

[of-thunderstorms-and-candlelight]

me: I'm over my martyrs and saints and especially joan of arc phase

gerard way and my bestie whose gender they stole: :)

[olympianbutch]

do you believe in evolution while being an hellenic polytheist? im struggling to imagine gaea creating dinosaurs and stuff

Χαίρε!

To make a long answer short: yes, I do believe in evolution. In fact, I'm currently in a class called "Bones, Stones, and Human Evolution."

Hesiod's Theogony is not meant to be a play-by-play of the history of the kosmos. No Greek cosmology is. If anything, it's intended to give audiences an idea of how the world around them is structured, how it works, and where they stand in it. It also tells us where the gods stand in relation to us and each other. Myths are not literal histories—they are points of familiarity. They paint comprehensible pictures of the natural world that are intended to be understood within a specific cultural context and at a specific time.

Our understanding of the natural world has changed, but that doesn't make the stories any less valuable or the gods any less real.

[dionysianfreak]

Number 6 and number 12! For the Polytheist asks

6. Are there Gods you willfully don’t follow? What are the reasons behind this choice?

im gonna answer this exclusively in context to the Theoi because i don't worship outside of the Hellenic pantheon. the reason for that is simple — because i don't want to. i don't believe there are any Theoi i purposefully avoid, but there are some that i dont feel I should worship now. Artemis, Demeter, and Aidoneus are a few that im in this boat with. it's mainly because it doesn't feel right currently. i tend to feel a blockage between Deities im not meant to meet yet, where the voice inside me and my gut all say "no. not yet. do not come closer". i felt this way about Kore for a while, but when it was time for Her to enter my life that block suddenly lifted. i felt a surge of love and need for Her, like a crow spotting a coin. and the shift was almost overnight. the same has happened with others as well.

so, tldr; there are no Theoi i refuse to worship, only some where it is not time for us to meet. i trust my gut and i trust the Theoi, so i believe the days will come where i need those i dont know now the most.

12. How important is mythology in your practice? How much credit do you give it?

mythology is basically nothing in my practice. the only times i really think about it is in the context of festivals or when explaining the mythological background of the Gods. i see mythos as entertainment, just pure stories. i dont believe at all that what happened in mythology happened in real life or that the Theoi participated in the stories at all. i see it as a beautiful way to connect with the Gods and understand how They evolved and we're seen in antiquity.

i hold some associations from mythos as sacred, but that's not a literal belief and it's exclusively birth myths such as Aphrodite rising from sea foam and Dionysos being dismembered and reborn. these are sacred to me because they influenced worship and associations, or they explain them. if a myth influenced theology that is when I consider it. but, in the end, they're all just stories written by men to entertain and honor the Gods. and they did so beautifully.

thank you for the questions !! 💓💓

[teawiththegods]

this is super embarrassing so im sending it on anon. im a fellow Hellenic polytheist and have been following you for ages, and I read about the jk Rowling thing from twitter and then on your blog. I trust you to give me a fair, honest answer. I used to love the HP books/movies and was hardcore #ravenclaw. I’m also nonbinary. my partner bought me an amazing retro hogwarts crewneck, but now I’m literally uncomfy wearing it. am I still supporting jk Rowling by wearing my crewneck?? It’s so soft :��(

Don’t be embarrassed, love! You aren’t the only one struggling with this right now. I think a lot of people are trying to figure out what to do now and how to balance their feelings about Rowling with their feelings regarding the world of Harry Potter.

The way I see it, Harry Potter belongs to us. Not to her. We have put so much life, spirit, love, and sparkle into that world that it is it’s own separate thing away from Rowling and protected from her awfulness (well not all of it but we improve those parts).

We made what Harry Potter is today. It’s ours. So you don’t need to give it up just bc JK Rowling is a pos. I don’t think it’s fair to assume people will or should just throw away such a meaningful part of their childhood. Because truthfully Harry Potter was and is more than a book or a story for pretty much all of us. It marks certain times in our lives that were special or it was the comfort during the darker times. It was how we made friends or found romantic partners. It goes so much deeper than just a book or even a fandom. Every Harry Potter fan I have ever met always has some deeper story or reason as to why those books and that world meant so much to them.

So for you and for anyone else reading this who is struggling to figure out what is the “correct” thing to do in this situation. You don’t need to give up your love of Harry Potter. You can acknowledge the awfulness of JK Rowling while still wearing your Hogwarts shirt. It’s okay.

I also want to stress, in case my intial post about the topic is influencing anyone, my feelings regarding the Harry Potter franchise go deeper than just JK Rowling and her being a garbage person. My feelings on it had already been dying and all this with Rowling sort of put the final nail in the coffin. But those are just MY personal issues with the franchise and does not at all reflect what others should or shouldn’t do in regards to this situation.

I think we all have to make the decision that feels right to us, but like I said it’s completely okay to still love the world of Harry Potter. You don’t need to give it up.

However I DO think we all should take this opportunity to make sure we are supporting trans authors and stories featuring trans people. If anyone wants to share any recs pls feel free to do so! 💕

[asklepiad-apollon]

I know your young and as far as I know dont have kids but I was wondering if youd ever be willing to make a post on ways to involve your kids in the religion based on your experience being raised in it? Most of us were raised Christian and didnt have the experience growing up Hellenic and im sure im not the only one who struggles with ideas on how to include my future kids because of it!! I think itd be really cool to have your input!😊

Yeah, absolutely, I’d be happy to help! I’m only turning 19, so I’m not close to having kids just yet, but I’d be happy to give some advice! Just before I start though, as a note: Hellenic means Greek so the proper term for a Hellenic Polytheist specifically is a Hellene, not Hellenic. (sorry if that’s what you meant! I just see it’s a common misunderstanding. 💛) 

But my first advice as to involving your kids in your religion is to start off with stories. I grew up hearing stories, much like many kids from around the world did. Many kids in America grew up hearing stories like the Three Little Pigs or Red Riding hood, and they almost always remember the stories when they grow up. In a slightly more applicable idea, some Slavic children grew up hearing of Baba Yaga, a warning for them to behave. A kid’s imagination is their most powerful tool, and telling stories before bed is a wonderful way to leave lasting images in their mind.

 My parents told me such stories of the Greek myths, but instead of wording them as if they’re 100% fake, it was like, the tales of them as if they actually existed, even if the gods do exist in a time and “dimension” different to ours, if you will. I heard stories to teach me lessons, like Orpheus and Eurydice as well as Eros and Psyche (which taught the lesson to be patient and to trust in true love) and the important myths of each deity, such as the myths of Dionysos and Apollon and Artemis and Athena and Zeus, etc etc etc. 

Since the stories were told to me through words, and not in modern mythology books, the stories I learned were much different than what many people who did not grow up Hellenic Polytheist heard. Zeus was never a bad man to me; in fact, he was one of my household deities. Stories were told of his kindness, of his care, of how he punished those who hurt others. Stories were told of his hospitality and love to everyone, even strangers. Many of the other stories, including the stories of Medusa and Hera and Orion were not told in such a bad way that most people know of.

Other ways is to simply just involve your kids in things you do in your worship. If you’re baking a loaf of bread to give to the Gods during one of the holidays, let them join in! Explain to them what you’re doing and how the Gods will be pleased. Teach them small prayers to follow along to, just keep them involved. If you’re making an offering, explain what it is you’re offering and how that specific God(dess) loves items such as these. 

Teach them the Gods’ power; the great thunderstorms that rage on outside is Zeus’ strength. The beautiful waves at the sea are Poseidon. In the crops we eat, there is Demeter’s kindness. In our home, Hestia watches over us, and builds a community with our families. Showing them the beauty in the religion and in the Gods is a great step; just teach from the heart!

 It’s just little things; it doesn’t have to be forced into their brain in order for them to pick stuff up. Involving them in stories, little worship activities (like making a Martis bracelet) and showing them how important this is to you and how the Gods are around us all is a wonderful start. 

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. 💛

[princedez]

Journey as a pagan witch

The pagan road. It's been quite a journey for me. My grandma that raised me was a Mexican catholic. She came to the US when there wasnt many Spanish speakers and she met a Cuban lady. Cuban lady taught her about saint magic and how to cleanse with an egg and reading cards and learning some herbs from wicca books and hoodoo books in español. I read these books as early as 10 and was confused how in Catholicism they said we had only 1 God and how in a wicca book there were many, such as Aphrodite.

Then at 13 when i was an unsatisfied atheist i met a guy that showed me his book on Wicca. So i thought "this is it. It speaks to my heart!" And i started buying Llewyn books from Barnes and Noble and calling myself a Wiccan. Until at 17 i joined a site called Wiccantogether.com and learned actual Wiccans are only wiccan if they get initiated into a British Traditional Wiccan coven. So i started calling myself a neo pagan.

I got locked up and could only remember the goddess Kali and the Great Mother Goddess type figure in Wicca. It didnt help me. I kinda went agnostic but never stopped believing in witchcraft.

In 2012 i met a theistic satanist for lack of a better word and i tried to convert to please him. Learned about the Goetia but they werent for me.

Then in 2013 or 2014 i learned about Traditional Withcraft, more specifically British Traditional witchcraft and even joined a coven which i got kicked out of. But on my own time started praising Dionysus here and there after learning of Him through the first season of True Blood.

Now that I've made my devotion official, Im being led to start praising His retinue too. Which is interesting because Im finding deities like us to meet their family and friends.

Im still not calling myself a Hellenic polytheist because i believe all the gods are real somehow and i have some curiousity about Gaulish polytheism and Celtic polytheism because on my white side I have a lot of French and a little bit from the UK too. And i do read into Aztec mythology even though most of my native ancestors were Chichimec which meant in Nahuatl (sp?) "The barbarians".

Tw: r*pe

But last week a friend of mine was raped similar to how i was raped the first time. She didnt wanna report so i asked if i could curse him. A peer of mine as a Dionysus devotee tried to tell me we cant do anything for justice, not being priests/priestesses, he was coming from the tradition of Bacchic-Orphism. Not witchcraft and felt we need Foundation before becoming witches (but that dont seem to be the case with secular witches i find). He said all i should be doing right now is devotional stuff. Praying.

But i couldnt just twidle my thumbs and do nothing other than pray for healing, after i told my friend I'd curse the guy. Because these fuckers abusing the sacred drink (alcohol) to enact violence deserve to face consequences.

So i went around my peer's advice and decided "oh..but what if i devote this work to Hecate?"

It's not my first time attempting a spell that asks for a deity's help, because a lot of wicca books with spells success those kind. But it was my first time trying to ask a deity for help in a spell that was also a friend or apart of "Dionysus retinue" and i wasnt sure how it'd go.

I asked Hecate for help in it.....and i got a pretty damn creepy eye from the candle wax. I took it to mean, someone seen or heard me...this may be a sign of success. A Hellenic witch told me my first impressions are likely the meaning.

I just gotta say, it feels weird to know I've been a polytheist since 2006 but only now the gods are making themselves known in my life (my UPG, secular witches are totally my friends yo). And i imagine including deities in my magic is gonna make my magic different...but it does feel kinda good to know Hecate has seen this rapist's face and approved of my actions. God approval is pretty validating to know i did the right thing (imo).

I'd like to know other people's evolutions as a pagan and/or witch, because i dont imagine im the only one thats had quite a journey and i have met people go from polytheist to atheist.