#and khari in physicality

[goodwillfidgetspinner]

loose concept character design sketches are like cocaine to me. I can’t stop making them

[aphroditesprincessmaggie]

The 7 Virtues of Hellenism & Aphrodite Worship

Xenia - hospitality, generosity

being warm and welcoming to others in Her name, just as She has done for us

Kharis - appreciation, gratitude

being grateful for all the gifts She has given us and showing it through ritual, offerings and prayer

Eusebia - reverence, veneration, piety

recognising that they are deities and showing them our respect. even us godspoused people must show respext to the ancient beings we love

Hagneia - moral, spiritual and physical purity

veiling is a great way to maintain purity, though some other ways include ritual bathing and spiritual cleansing

Arete - excellence, brilliance

follow the path of the gods, whoever's path you choose and follow it to glory

Sophia - knowledge, wisdom

learn, as much as you possibly can. learn about Her, the old ways in which She was honored

Sophrosyne - self-control, sound mind, balance

keeping a spiritual balance during rituals and prayer. try not to ask Her to do your hexes/jinxes/curses, do your own dirty work

[aphrogeneia]

Altars in Ancient Greece

A disclaimer before we get into it: this is a brief explanation of how altars functioned in ancient Greece. I am not telling you how you should set up your own personal altar(s). Rather, I hope this can serve as foundational knowledge for you to consider while figuring out what works best for you and your practice.

Pentelic marble altar from the ancient agora of Athens. Dedicated by the Athenian Boule to Aphrodite and the Graces. c. 194-193 BCE.

The purpose of the altar is to receive offerings for the deity. It is the sacred place where worshipers pour their libations of wine, deposit their gifts of fruit, honey, or cakes, and burn a portion of the sacrificial animal. Offerings in ancient Greece were a key component of religious life; it is how mortals express their honor and build χάρις (kharis, favor). The altar is a highly important point of contact with the divine, and is an essential physical element for any cult to be established.

In fact, we can determine whether or not a deity was worshiped in ancient Greece based on if there were any altars dedicated to them. A god or daimon with no altars was very likely only part of the mythological or literary tradition and did not receive any sacrifices or worship. Altars were generally dedicated to one god or a group of related deities. In rarer cases, they may be dedicated to the whole pantheon (example: the Altar of the Twelve Gods in the Athenian Agora).

An altar for a heavenly (ouranic) god would be a raised surface or pedestal, and it would be oriented towards the East. The typical Greek altar consisted of bricks which were white-washed with lime, or it was carved from stone such as marble or limestone. They could be plain, or they could be decorated with volutes and narrative scenes. They often had the name of the deity inscribed into them. Altars could also come in a variety of shapes, the only real requirement being that the surface on top was flat so it could hold the offerings.

More prominent cult sanctuaries may feature a large, elevated altar with steps leading up to it. There were also natural rock altars, or in very rustic sanctuaries, a collection of stones was grouped to form an altar. If one was worshiping a khthonic god who dwells on or within the earth, they would provide sacrifices at a low-lying altar such as an eschara, or a simple open pit called a bothros.

Indoor altars were very uncommon. At sanctuaries, the altar would be outside of the gods temple, often in front of the entrance. Though a sanctuary could contain several altars and sacrificial sites. Households would have had one in their courtyard for private worship. Other altars were located outside of public buildings or in community gathering places like an agora.

The reason for being outdoors was so that the gods who reside in the sky could observe the sacrifices being made and enjoy the rising smoke of the incense. Meanwhile, a libation poured directly onto the bare earth would seep down below to the khthonic gods. Every altar was ceremonially sanctified when its first sacrifice was performed; from then on, it was considered part of the property of the deity.

Below are my sources. I'll likely make a part two of this post where I go over some ideas for how we can construct our modern altars. Thank you for reading!

Ancient Greek Religion, Jon D. Mikalson

Greek Religion, Walter Burkert

Ancient Greek Cults, Jennifer Larson

[hellenicrisis]

A Collection of Greek Keywords for Hellenic Pagans (kharis, miasma, etc.)

Kharis:

Kharis means 'grace' or 'favour' and it is in reference to the reciprocal nature of our relationships with the gods.

Liddell and Scott describe it as, "A grace or favour felt on the part of the doer but more frequently on the part of the receiver in the form or thankfulness and gratitude."

It essentially means a favour done in delight. This can be both the offering we give to the gods, and the favours and blessings the gods bestow upon us.

Kharis is both the action of offering and worshipping and also what is built between a worshipper and a god through the actions of offering and reverence. It can be used like this:

'Giving an offering to the gods is an example of kharis.'

Or:

'I have built up kharis with Apollo over the years.'

Khaire/khairete:

Khaire or khairete are words that mean 'hail', 'farewell', or 'blessings'.

It can be used to greet someone, either as hello or farewell (I use it at the end of some of my posts). It can also be used at the end of a prayer.

Khaire is used to address one person or god, and khairete is used to address a group.

Miasma:

Miasma means 'stain', 'pollution', 'defilement', or 'stain of guilt'.

It is a type of spiritual pollution that a person or a place can collect through either happenstance or deliberate action. It makes us spiritually unclean but there is no damnation involved in miasma and thus is not similar to sin. Sin is more comparable to agos, which is mentioned later.

We tend to collect miasma while going about day-to-day life, almost like getting our hands dirty while working. The stain it refers to is always one of a spiritual nature; miasma is a strictly spiritual concept.

It makes a person or place ritually impure, hence it is inappropriate to interact with the divine while in a miasmic state. The gods are said to reject the offerings of a miasmic person or to vacate a miasmic place until it is cleansed.

Human blood is also considered to be miasmic when spilled outside of battle, though this is not the case for menstrual blood (although I tend to avoid praying and doing rituals during that week anyway as I consider it to not be my cleanest state possible. I use this time to tend to my altar physically instead, cleaning it and reorganizing it).

Miasma is very common, everyone gets it, mostly due to plain daily life, though sometimes due to deliberate actions. Miasma can always be cleansed.

Sources of miasma include:

Death in the home - Pollutes the grieving and the home. People and home need to be cleansed before interacting with the gods or going to temple.

Birth - Because of the blood involved. Mother and baby are considered by traditional standards to be miasmic for three days postpartum and both are generally cleansed at five days postpartum.

Intercourse - Both parties are polluted by the act and must be cleansed before interacting with the gods or going to temple.

M*rder/m*nsl*ughter - This collects both miasma and agos. The m*rderer becomes miasmic, and a place can become miasmic if a m*rderer is free and unpunished there. This does not apply to blood spilled in battle.

There is a line in Hesiod's Works and Days that refers to the action of cleansing oneself of miasma before interacting with the gods. It reads, "Never pour a libation of sparkling wine to Zeus after dawn with unwashen hands, nor to others of the deathless gods."

Khernips:

Khernips means 'handwash', or 'lustral water'.

It is basically Hellenic holy water. It is used to purify ourselves of miasma before interacting with the gods.

It can be made by dropping burnt herbs or laurel leaves (bay leaves) in clean water, or by dropping a lit match in clean water. Simply washing our hands in plain water can work symbolically as well if done with the specific intention of purifying oneself.

Agos:

Agos means 'curse', 'pollution', or 'abomination'.

It can be considered as a step up to miasma and, while not quite the same, it could also be considered comparable to sin. It is brought about through deliberate actions and it is very difficult, if not impossible, to cleanse. Agos can also invoke the divine wrath of the gods, so it does involve a form of damnation

Some things that cause/invoke agos include:

Having intercourse inside a temple

Temple robbing

M*rder

Bloodshed inside a temple or on sacred grounds

Broken xenia

The refusal to properly bury a family member or a soldier (even an enemy soldier)

K*lling someone who is under the gods' protection

Offering human blood to the gods (due to its miasmic nature)

Agos is hardly as common as miasma, so it is not something the general practitioner should worry about.

[thecomicsnexus]

TMNT: 40TH ANNIVERSARY COMICS CELEBRATION

July 2024

By Kevin Eastman, Edgar Alan Poe, Jim Lawson, Tristan Jones, Gary Carlson, Chris Allan, Erik Burnham, Lloyd Goldfine, Ciro Nieli, Andy Suriano, Tom Waltz, Ronda Pattison , Tom Napolitano, Steve Lavigne, Paul Harmon, Frank Fosco, Adam Guzowski, Sarah Myer, Luis Antonio Delgado, Shawn Lee, Khary Randolph, Emilio Lopez, Michael Dialynas, Pablo Tunica, Freddie E. Williams II, David Petersen, Ken Mitchroney, Aaron Hazouri, Dan Duncan, Sophie Campbell, Jodi Nishijima, Stan Sakai, and Emi Fujii.

Come and enjoy stories that will remind you of the 40 years of turtle history.

SCORE: 10 *

* Assuming you are familiar with these iterations.

This is a strange read, and curiously, there are three or four highlights for me, and they are not exactly the ones you would imagine.

Spoilers after the break...

The first story by Kevin Eastman is in the Mirage section of the book but... well... I'll leave at that... I wouldn't call it the Mirage we knew.

There is a story by Lawson and Lavigne with the Rat King that... it's fun. But, you know... I wouldn't even try to fit it in canon... the amount of continuity physics you need to bend to place this story is not worth the time. Just enjoy as a new story by these two iconic Mirage artists.

This other story by Tristan H. Jones and Paul Harmon requires more analysis. I'll revisit it on my gang wars video and try to give it more context... but unfortunately... it's just too vague. All I can say for sure is that it happens in the future of that incomplete saga, but the narrator just takes too many artistic choices to be taken at face value.

Also... I believe this is the first official (frontal) appearance of Agent Bishop (unless I got the character wrong, but Jones already tried to introduce him in this saga). I think he is still holding on to it, and I really hope he gets to tell his story. I wouldn't mind a mini-series... just saying!

The Volume 3 story was... not for me. The dialogue alone felt tired.

The Archie adventure was short, eventful, and funny... and it looks amazing too!

In just four pages a new character was introduced and... a new love story was implied! And it's not just a gratuitous cameo... this is a funny sequence.

The Saturday Morning Adventures (the de facto 87 story) looks amazing as usual, but I didn't find the story that interesting. However, it started a theme that would run across most of the stories in this special after this one: Master Splinter.

The 2003 story is a... loose canon?

Hun is Slash, and Shredder is back... so make of that what you want. All I'm going to say is that this felt a lot like watching the beginning of a 2003 episode, with the narration setting the tone.

The 2012 story was one of the least interesting in the previews, but I have to say... it was probably one of the best. It brought back a villain and it technically serves as an excuse to continue the series?

But to me the best thing about the story is the art. I am surprised Ciro Nieli didn't do more comic book work for the Turtles all these years. In fact, if they somehow decided to continue the 2012 universe in 2D in this style... I'm all in. Well, who am I kidding... I would be in anyway... but this looks amazing.

Andy Suriano did probably the most interesting story in the book. Now, I am not sure if his style doesn't translate well to static panels or what the problem is with the comic format... but it doesn't matter... this small story brought in a lot of things that ended on the editing floor after the show's second season was reduced to a few more episodes. There was a rumor about a female turtle, and not only it is here in all its glory, but there is also a brother?

And come on... it's so Lou Jitsu to die with a cliffhanger.

There are two IDW stories. One is another Splinter story, but the other one is perhaps one of the best in this book.

The Ronda Pattison story takes place just before the Armageddon game, and it shows the five turtles in full sibling dynamic (even Jennika). It was refreshing to see these turtles having fun for a change.

There are no stories by the new team, but... well... that's just starting.

[wisdom-devotee]

Beginner’s Guide to Hellenic Polytheism

I KNOW this is a really long post but my intention was to just note down everything that I think is important for beginners and that’s A LOT. It took me forever to learn some of these things but they’re so important, so buckle in. I hope this helps some people.

If I’ve missed anything, please feel free to let me know what you’d like me to add. I’ve been working on this for two days, so if there are typos, I’m so sorry.

The sections I cover here are key terms, mythic literalism, deity work vs deity worship, FAQs and General Advice.

Some Key Terms

Hellenic Polytheism: Hellenic means Greek, and Polytheism means worshipping multiple gods. So, Hellenic Polytheism is the worship of the Greek Pantheon which is also referred to as the Theoi. The religion is also referred to as Hellenism, Hellenismos, or abbreviated to Helpol. The people who practice could be referred to as Hellenic Polytheists, Hellenic Pagans, or Hellenists.

Hellenistic: you may see the term ‘Hellenistic Polytheism’, but this is my PSA to ask people not to use that, as it’s incorrect. Hellenistic refers to a specific period of Andient Greece, from 323-32 BC, and your worship is almost definitely not specifically focused on that period.

Ouranic: this is the term for the heavenly gods. Be aware that there is some overlap between Ouranic and Chthonic deities. Whether a deity is Ouranic or Chthonic will effect things like prayer position (palms up for Ouranic) and whether offerings can be eaten or drank (yes for Ouranic)

Chthonic: this is the term for the underworld gods. Be aware that there is some overlap between Ouranic and Chthonic deities. Whether a deity is Ouranic or Chthonic will effect things like prayer position (palms down for Chthonic) and whether offerings can be eaten or drank (no for Chthonic) side note - when it comes to hero worship, I personally treat them as if they’re chthonic.

Kharis: this means reciprocity, and also refers to the relationship formed between us and the gods. Arguably the most important aspect of Hellenic Polytheism is that when you ask something of a deity, you must give an offering in return. Size of what you’re asking for should correspond to size of the offering, or if you’ve given many little offerings without asking for anything you can use that as why you should be given the Big Thing.

Xenia: guest-friendship, hospitality. The idea that any stranger could be a God in disguise, so treat everyone respectfully. It’s an Ancient Greek social custom that a lot of Hellenic Polytheists see as important today. Simply put, in modern times this most often just means being kind to strangers. There’s a lot more to it than that though, so look here. Know that Xenia is a two-way thing, so you have to be generous to your guests but they must also respect your home.

Eusebeia: basically, piety. Respecting the Gods. This is really the only ‘rule’ of Hellenic polytheism. There’ll be different ideas of what is considered respectful, but as long as you have good intentions and don’t do anything you KNOW would be offensive, you’re okay. Don’t insult the gods (any of them), don’t ask for anything without offering something else, and don’t treat yourself as equal to or higher than the theoi.

Hubris: excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence, often the fatal flaw of a lot of Greek heroes in mythology. Specifically, this is when you act better than or equal to the gods. You are not.

Libations: a type of offering, in the form of a liquid. Usually poured on the ground but can be drank (unless it’s to a chthonic deity) if you’re a closeted Hellenic polytheist who can’t just pour some liquid on the floor every time you want to offer it. My advice for food offerings/libations to chthonic deities if you’re not openly a hellenist is to offer leftovers, rotting food, or something you otherwise know will go to waste.

Altar: traditionally a place used to put physical offerings and food offerings for deities. Some people have an altar to each deity, some people have one altar for all their deities. These can be as big or as small as you want. People may use shelves, drawers, boxes, windowsills, etc, and I don’t even use mine for food offerings, only for physical ones because I usually eat the food offering (I don’t like the idea of wasting food). My altars also just serve as a dedicated space for that deity in my life.

Hero worship: this is the worship of ‘heroes’ in Greek mythology, which includes literally any mortal. For example, I worship Odysseus of Ithaca, Penelope of Ithaca, Helen of Sparta, and Tiresias of Thebes. I’ve been asked a lot about how hero worship differs from deity worship, and you can find that answer here.

Devotee: there is a lot of disagreement on what the difference between a devotee and worshipper is, but for me, I’m devoted to Athena as I feel I have the closest bond with Her of all my deities and I honour Her the most. This partly comes from my feeling that She has been with me for much longer than I’ve been aware of Her presence, and that also so much of who I am and what I value comes under Her domains.

Patron: this basically means that if part of your identity comes under the domain of a deity, then that deity is your patron. There can be occupational patrons (like Hermes is the patron of merchants) or to do with things like gender (Hera is a patron for women. Yes this includes trans women, transphobes are not welcome here.) You can have more than one patron, and you don’t need to worship all of the deities who would be considered your patron.

Epithets: these are titles given to deities. There are two types - cult epithets, which describe the aspect of a deity you’re focusing on (like Athena Ageleia, meaning ‘Protector of the People’) since they have a lot of domains and it’s important in prayers to specify what you want. Then there’s poetic epithets, which are adjectives, often used to compliment a deity. I like using these to make my prayers seem more sophisticated to be honest (example: white-armed Hera)

Unverified Personal Gnosis: gnosis is spiritual knowledge. If it’s unverified, that means that it has no basis in historical sources as far as the person is aware, and they don’t know anybody else who has the same experience. You will often see this abbreviated as UPG. Personally, I think UPG is really valid, considering a lot of things are unknown to us due to the loss of sources overtime.

Shared Personal Gnosis: gnosis is spiritual knowledge. Like UPG, Shared Personal Gnosis (often abbreviated as SPG) doesn’t have any historical backing as far as the people who believe it are aware, but it is shared by multiple different people and therefore seen by some as more valid than UPG (though I’d argue that all SPG is UPG before you know that other people agree)

Verified Personal Gnosis: gnosis is spiritual knowledge. It being verified means that there are historical sources to back up the belief, and this is commonly abbreviated to VPG. You are more likely to come across the terms UPG than SPG or VPG, and most of what Helpol people on tumblr discuss is UPG, even if they don’t state that directly.

Reconstructionist: these are people who try to ‘reconstruct’ the ancient religion, recreating ancient rituals as best they can and doing things as close as they can get to how the ancient Greeks did based on our historical sources. An important note here is that we will never be able to do this perfectly and that’s okay. For example, I would hope none of us are making animal sacrifices.

Revivalist: these are people who try to recreate the ‘spirit’ of the religion, though not with the exact practices that the Ancient Greeks used. Revivalists are more concerned with the values and beliefs of the ancient religion than they necessarily are with how it was practiced. I personally feel like I fall somewhere between the two, but I also think both are really valid!

Mythic Literalism

Mythic Literalism is the idea that the stories we see in any mythology actually occurred. In Hellenic Polytheism, this is not how we tend to look at the Greek myths. And it’s not how the ancients saw them either.

Greek mythology has always been interpreted as symbolic. For example, Hades kidnapping Persephone is mostly accepted to be about mothers in Ancient Greece being separated from their daughters once they marry. It does not mean that Hades, the God, kidnapped Persephone, the Goddess, and that people who worship Hades are evil because Hades is a kidnapper. This myth can also be interpreted through the lens that death separates families.

This is important because the Gods all do things that are, by today’s standards, incredibly immoral - and a lot of them were even immoral in antiquity. It is important to not take the myths literally to avoid feelings of guilt over worshipping something horrific.

And yes, this applies to Zeus. He is not a rapist, He’s a male fertility god. In myths he does bad things because he represents kings and kings can abuse their power. Things like that.

But it’s still good to research the myths! It’s good to learn the ways in which these deities were understood and what their domains can represent. Myths also help us to feel more familiar with our deities. Additionally the myths tell us not to be hubristic, and things like the Iliad tell us about Oaths and Offerings and Xenia. These are important parts of helpol.

Deity Work vs Deity Worship

I’m going to preface this section by saying that I worship deities, I don’t work with them, so even though I’m doing research on this please take everything I say about deity work with a grain of salt and note that the rest of this post might apply more to worship, because that’s what I’m familiar with. Lastly, my intention here is not to place a value judgement on either type, I just want to try and make a full explanation for anyone out there looking for one, since I’ve found it to be kind of difficult to find.

From my understanding, deity work is common among witches, and usually involves asking a deity to help with your spells or other forms of magick. When you work with a deity, you are asking them to mentor you in a sense, and there’s often a specific goal in mind that they’re hoping to achieve with help of the deity. Additionally, because of that goal-oriented relationship, deity work has deadlines(?). Like, once you’ve achieved the goal you had, the deity will stop working with you

There are similarities, as both seem to involve reciprocity and offerings, and both involve cultivating a relationship with deities, even if the nature of that relationship and the reason for offering is different.

Deity worship doesn’t have a set end-goal. You CAN stop actively worshipping a deity, but this doesn’t usually come after a specific goal is achieved because there isn’t a goal in mind. Worship is more about honouring the deity. Khakis is built out of admiration, respect and love for the deity. This is why we pray, make offerings, etc. it’s all to honour the gods. We do ask for things in deity worship, but that’s not the entire point like it is for deity work.

FAQs

Do I need to be called to worship/work with a deity?

Nope! You are 100% allowed to reach out first. You can do that by praying or making an offering. Remember to research the deity first, so you know what epithets to use, know what symbols they’re associated with, have ideas for offerings, etc. Also, if a deity calls to you, you are not obligated to worship them. Acknowledge them and move on if you don’t have time, energy, or interest in worshipping them at that time.

Where can I find information on deities?

The main site that I think everyone uses is theoi.com, which has really in-depth pages on a lot of deities, with their myths, lists of epithets, family trees, etc. it’s a really useful resource!

Do I need an altar?

No. They’re nice to have but you don’t need one straight away. It took me two years of worshipping to get any altars, and even now I don’t really use them how you’re ‘supposed’ to.

Are there any sins in Hellenic Polytheism?

No, just don’t disrespect a god (don’t disrespect any of them, even the ones you don’t worship should be respected). Also don’t show hubris.

Deity X and Deity Y don’t get along, but I want to worship both, what do I do?

Disregard mythic literalism and remember this is a polytheistic religion. The gods know they are not the only god you will be worshipping, and they are chill with that. If you really want, you can separate their altars if you have an altar per deity, but it’s up to you completely.

Other General Advices

This post is a starting point, nothing here is very in-depth. Do more research if anything on here is still confusing to you. Feel free to ask people here on tumblr, I’m sure most of us would be happy to help.

Don’t believe everything you see on tiktok/tumblr. We’re all still learning, a lot of us are wrong about stuff. Do other research and let yourself form your own beliefs. As I’ve said, even parts of this post should be taken with a grain of salt. I’m no expert, I just want to try to help.

If you’re going to make your own posts about helpol stuff, advice I’ve seen before that really stuck with me is ‘keep some things scared’. You don’t have to post everything. I, at the moment, don’t post my prayers or photos of my altars. Those things are what I keep scared, you should have your own things. They don’t have to be the same as mine.

You have nothing to be afraid of. The gods can be intimidating when you’re starting out, but they know we don’t have as much readily available information about this stuff as the ancient greeks did. They also know you’re new, and they will be patient with you. Don’t be scared.

You can offer anything. Digital offerings are as valid as physical offerings. Devotional acts are valid too.

Know that you will never be done learning. Accept this and commit to trying to learn anyway.

Know how to tell signs from the gods apart from just General Happenings of the world. Here is a good post on that. I have a series on my blog tagged #signs from deities, to show the kinds of things I personally recognise to be signs and to show how frequently/infrequently those can occur. I would suggest keeping your own record of those, whether or not you share it is up to you. The reason is to reflect on your journey and, if you ever doubt your gods, you can look at those lists to remind yourself of how they’ve been there for you previously.

Doubt is healthy, it’s okay to doubt things. Don’t feel bad for this, the gods understand. Let yourself question everything you feel the need to question.

Similarly, anger is healthy. It’s okay to be angry at the gods, but don’t disrespect them because you’re upset. Handle your anger well. You won’t get punished for being upset.

The Hellenic Gods aren’t generally believed to be all-knowing, however it is believed that they can hear us when we call their names, which is why prayers start with invocation of a deity’s name and an epithet.

[the-gods-and-me]

HELLO MY SIBLING IN HERMES!!! i have a question

you've mentioned before that you have a devotional journal !!! how do you keep it and what things do you write in it :( <- guy who wants to start but is clueless

ISAAAAA MY SIBLING!

i have two main ones; a physical one and a digital one.

my digital one is on an app called Notion and that shit is organised by deity, time and date. i tend to write whatever interactions i have with the Gods in it, and each conversation has a different page. for example, if i talked to Athena and Hermes in one day, i'd date the entries and write two separate ones.

my physical one is much more disorganised and it's where i keep a lot of my research, opinion pieces, prayers, lists, thoughts, etc. i do tend to copy up my favourite entries into my digital journal, though!

as for starting out, i'd say do an "about me" piece. i have a page just saying who i am in general. likes, dislikes, anything in that vein. any thoughts you have about your deities, anything worth noting down, shopping lists for altars (i have my Christmas list in there!), anything really!

another tip, write letters directly addressed to your deities, as if you're speaking to them. it helps build kharis, and is a good way of updating them if something goes wrong or right.

thanks for the ask Isa, my dearest sibling in Hermes, have a wonderful day!!!

[docgold13]

The DC Animated Universe - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

Elseworlds Addendum - Cyborg

Victor 'Vic' Stone iswasthe son of the brilliant scientists Silas Stone and his wife Elinore Stone. Blinded by their ambitions to enhance their discoveries, Victor’s parents subject their son to various procedures to augment his intellect and physical attributes. While these experiments were ultimately successful, young Vic grew to resent his parents and the ways in which they had used him as a test subject for their tinkering. Vic excelled in high school and became a celebrated athlete, yet found himself depressed over how little interest his parents had in his more commonplace interests and achievements.

A lab experiment gone awry caused the death of Vic's mom and Vic himself was severely injured. Desperate to save his son's life, Dr. Stone utilized an experimental cybernetic exoskeleton to sustain Vic. The young man was transformed into a cyborg, equal parts human and machine.

Young Vic was furious and despondent over what has become of his life, the death of his mother, his father’s unscrupulous actions and the loss of his humanity.  He slipped into a deep depression yet was shaken out of it when he became aware of a plot to attack the United Nations.

Utilizing the various powers provided by his cyborg form, Vic was able to thwart this scheme and save the delegates who had been attacked. He ended up becoming a member of The New Teen Titans, finding a sense of kinship with fellow outcasts such as Beast Boy and Raven. He took on the code name of ‘Cyborg’ and would go on to serve in multiple iterations of the Titans as well as the Justice League.

Although Cyborg was not a part of the original DCAU, the character featured prominently in Super Friends: Galactic Guardians as well as the Teen Titans animated series, Young Justice and additional animated features (voice by actors Ernie Hudson, Khary Payton, Zeno Robinson and Bumper Robinson respectfully).

Cyborg first appeared in the pages of DC Comics Presents #26 (1980).

[notalkingbusiness]

The Book of Carol & The Heroine's Journey - Part 2: The Search

The Search sees our heroine in mission mode - she's left home and she's determined to find her loved one. She'll do whatever it takes to have them safe in her arms again.

According to Carriger, The Search's beats are as followed: the heroine being isolated, the heroine using disguise, the heroine finding friends to help her in her quest, and the heroine visiting the underworld. 

Ready to find out how these beats could be used in The Book of Carol?

(1) The heroine’s loss of family yields isolation/risk.

The heroine's mission takes her far from home, far from those who love and protect her.  

We all know that Carol can handle herself, but she's still going to be physically and emotionally vulnerable throughout her entire journey.

Carol is venturing into the unknown and she's going to be extremely isolated.

She's got no-one to watch her back.

She's also got no-one to hold her back and stop her from unnecessarily putting herself in danger.

The fact that Carol has no-one to hold her back is a worry because, like most of us, Carol doesn't always make the best decisions when she's in a bad headspace. Granted, things are different this time around. She's not indifferent as to whether she lives or dies like she was at the end of S6/S10b. She's not hellbent on revenge like she was in S10.

Spoiler Alert - I think mistaking a walker for Daryl will be the ultimate moment of isolation/risk for Carol, even if the actual scene is relatively short. What could be more isolating than the love of your life being a member of the undead? All the fight would drain out of her in that split second, she'd be ready to curl up and die.

We've seen how Carol reacts to her loved ones being zombified before, but Carol cared about these individuals in a familial and platonic capacity. I'm interested in seeing how the show makes it clear that this one is different - how this prospective loss wounds Carol like no other. Obviously, Melissa's acting choices will be doing the heavy lifting in this scene. As we know, her choices are always very expressive and she pays close attention to detail. Like, every micro expression has to be *perfect* level of detail. As attested by Khary Payton: "We were going through a scene once and she started to cry and she stopped and said she was sorry because she was crying for the wrong reasons. Most actors would be like, “Who cares? I’m crying. It’s the emotion needed.” She wanted it to be specific to the moment in time."

I have no doubt that Melissa will act her heart out throughout the whole show, I'm just hoping that the script is as strong as her performance. After Caryl reunite, I think Carol and Daryl need to have a conversation about that moment when she thought he was a walker. They need to use their words and explain their feelings for one another. We can't just rely on subtext, not when there are important conversations to be had.

Carol needs to explain why she can't lose Daryl. Daryl needs to explain why he can't lose Carol.

(2) The heroine employs disguise/subversion and alters her identity

The heroine is a shapeshifter. She employs disguise/subversion to keep her safe during her journey.

Carol is an expert when it comes to disguises and subversions. We've seen this many times on the flagship show: she somehow managed to steal a grenade without anyone noticing, she secretly stormed Terminus, she infiltrated the wolves, the list goes on.

In narratives, a good disguise or mask should be speaking to some deeper truth about the character. All masks should ultimately be revealing of their wearers.

I'm not entirely sure what Carol's disguise should look like in TBOC. It could be as simple as donning camouflage like she did just before the Terminus raid, or she could adopt a persona (like when she called herself Nancy). Either way, Carol's disguise should reveal a deeper truth about her - about where she's been and where she's going.

It's worth noting that these disguises/subversions don't have to be literal/physical. I think Carol could alter her identity in a symbolic and permanent way by dropping her last name. She could refuse to provide her last name every time she's asked for it. She could insist she's only to be known as Carol. Carol's name change is long overdue, and I think it would be quite fitting to finally drop Peletier (a surname of French origin) while on a quest to rescue Daryl in France.

Of course, after dropping her surname, Carol would be free to take any name she chooses. If we're lucky, we might get to see her call herself Carol Dixon before S2 closes. I want that to be the reason why she's wearing a ring.

I want her to be wearing that ring because Carol and Daryl chose each other.

(3) The heroine appeals to and forms a surrogate network (found family)

Heroines are social creatures. They don't want to go it alone, but the initial stages of their search forces them into isolation. Until they start making friends, that is.

This is where Ash comes in.

While we don't know the full extent of Ash's role, it seems likely that he's going to help Carol fly across the Atlantic - something she wouldn't be able to do by herself. This is textbook Heroine's Journey - this framework is all about collaboration and connection. Heroines like Carol don't privilege themselves above others - they're big enough to recognize when they need help. The heroine's friends make up for skills she's lacking and vice versa.

The Heroine's Journey provides writers with a great opportunity to create a diverse cast of supporting characters because the heroine is going to be encountering lots of different people on her quest. It's also important to stress that you can't have meaningful diversity and inclusion without depth. Minority characters, such as Ash, need to feel three-dimensional. We don't want him, or any of the supporting cast for that matter, to feel like non-player characters.

I want to emphasize that diversity behind the scenes is just as important as diversity on-screen. TWD wasn't always an inclusive space for minority writers and creatives.

In Conversations with Women Showrunners, Angela Kang shows what BIPOC creatives were up against. Writers of color, particularly black writers, would struggle in Georgia because there were symbols of the Confederacy everywhere. Some symbols were immediately obvious - like Confederate flags flying. Other symbols of a segregated past were baked into the built environment. For instance, the team would go location scouting and some buildings would have four bathrooms because they were built in an era of racial segregation.

In the early days of TWD, Angela Kang "went for days without seeing another person who was an Asian American other than the actor on my show, Steven Yeun [...] When I was on staff while Steven was there, there was a year when there was another Korean American writer on staff with me and it was so unusual at the time.  Like, there’s two of us!  That sounds so horrible, but it’s very common to be “the only one.”  And it becomes your job to represent every underrepresented group somehow.”  

Can you imagine the pressure of trying to represent every underrepresented group? No writer should be under that kind of pressure.

Things did get better on TWD; it slowly became a more inclusive and diverse show. Ultimately, Kang says she was proud of TWD's on-screen diversity. And she says that things were getting better behind the scenes - "It's not perfect, but we're trying".

TBOC needs to keep trying too. It would be beyond disappointing if TBOC went backwards in terms of representation. The end product would undoubtedly be poorer for it.

TBOC needs to carry the torch and keep trying to make the show more diverse and inclusive, both on-screen and behind the scenes. Diversity makes for a better show, as does listening to a multitude of different voices.

(4) The heroine visits the underworld, aided by friends and family

Visiting the underworld essentially means the moment of confrontation with the people who took the heroine's loved one.

I think we're probably going to get two big moments of confrontation in Carol's story. I think there's going to be one big fight just before Carol meets up with Daryl. After Carol and Daryl have reunited there's probably going to be another big confrontation so we can see Caryl fighting side by side.

I enjoy seeing Carol kicking ass and taking names as much as the next Carol fan, but action scenes are not the most important scenes for me. I don't want the action scenes and the moments of confrontation to overwhelm the narrative. Heroines don't care about revenge; they just want their loved one back. Carol and Daryl shouldn't be hunting down every last kidnapper/French tyrant. They should do their bit and then leave France as soon as possible. They need to leave Daryl's Parisian ordeal behind and pursue what's important to them.

The people in power need to remember that TWD resonated because it was a deeply human story. It was about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.

I'm watching TBOC because I care about Carol and Daryl. I want to see them together in every sense of the word. I want to see their shared future.

Final Thoughts on The Search

I don't know when Carol and Daryl will reunite, but The Search is likely going to take up a lot of Carol's screentime. It's really important that The Search keeps us engaged. I definitely don't want to see a stoic version of Carol who's only there to blow things up - that's not interesting to me. Blowing things up is not character growth for Carol.

Carol's search needs to stand on its own - it needs a solid emotional core.

The Search will feel rewarding and compelling in its own right if Carol has meaningful interactions with others. Strong dialogue is absolutely critical. Carol needs to talk about her feelings. She obviously won't be an open book to her new friends, but she could make some tentative steps towards admitting how she feels about Daryl. Laying this emotional groundwork will make Caryl's reunion a hundred times more powerful.

That's a wrap on The Search!

Do let me know if you have any thoughts or questions on this one.

Do you have any ideas as to how Carol might use disguise?

Do you have any thoughts on how the aftermath of *that scene* (spoiler listed above) should be handled?

What would you like to see in Carol's new friendships?

I hope you'll join me for The Ascent where everything will be coming up (Cherokee) roses for Carol and Caryl. I'm going to be talking about Caryl's reunion and what makes a good TV reunion. I'll also be talking about what comes next for Caryl and what we ultimately want for these two characters.

Thanks for reading :)

[hyakinthou-naos]

Hi, I’ve been a Hellenic polytheist for around a decade now, and recently have found myself in somewhat of a crisis of faith. It’s not that I no longer believe in the Theoi, just that I’ve been… uninspired lately? I guess that’s as good a description as I can articulate right now.

In prior seasons of life, my faith wove seamlessly into the fabric of my being. It felt effortless and connected to everything I was and did. These days it feels awkward and clunky, an afterthought to the rest of life. I think about my faith in prior years and feel so incredibly disheartened by the loss of psyche.

A recent discussion of the matter with my therapist culminated in the idea to revisit this devotional blog I had made (and immediately abandoned) last summer, in hopes of finding both community and inspiration. Your online temple was one of the first pages I found that brought back that spark of excitement in faith. I know I am extremely new here, but I feel compelled to ask you:

Do you have any ideas for cleansing such pervasive miasma, or any advice on becoming reconnected to faith?

Either way, I thank you for your time. My best,

Leda Euphrosyne

Dear Leda,

Thank you for your question. I want to start by saying that you are not alone in what you are experiencing - doubting or being unsure of the Theoi's reality is a very common occurrence. I even touched on my own experience in this area in This Ask.

Now, regarding Miasma.

The term Miasma (ΜΊΑΣΜΑ) - as it was used in Hellenic Greece - refers to severe spiritual pollution and/or spiritual impurity. Acts that create Miasma include homicide, close contact with dead animals or people (this sometimes includes funerary practices), sexual crimes, and desecrating sacred sites.

Unless you have committed some kind of crime, I do not think you need to be cleansed of Miasma.

What you may be thinking of is Agnēia (ἈΓΝΕΊΑ) which is more comparable to ritual impurity.

Either way, my advice for you would be this:

1. Set aside an evening to reconnect with The Theoi/The Gods. Make sure that you will have at least a couple of hours where you will not be interrupted.

2. If you currently have an altar, prayer space, or shrine - clean that space both physically and spiritually. Wipe down surfaces, dust off objects, and remove any old offerings. To spiritually cleanse the space you can say a prayer, use incense, or (my personal favorite) use sound to cleanse the space. You can use a bell, clap your hands, or even bang pots together if you'd like.

3. Cleanse your physical body. Whether this is just washing your hands, or a full on spiritual bath with candles and herbs - wash away any dust or dirt you may have on your person.

4. Cleanse your body spiritually. Before approaching The Theoi, take a moment to ground and calm yourself in whatever way works for you. Some people like to listen to music, some like to use incense, and some like to chant. Whatever works best for you is totally fine. Take time to get into the right headspace before moving forward.

5. Speak to your Gods. Call upon them and invite them into your home and your space. Tell them what you have told me, let them know how you are feeling and what you are going through. 5.5 Before or after your conversation, provide an offering of some kind. It doesn't need to be anything extravagant - a glass of water is just as wonderful an offering as anything else. (If you need to ask anything of your Gods - I would provide your offering first as a show of good faith and to help with building Kharis).

Allow yourself to be honest - internally and with the Theoi. If you feel like the Theoi are with you - then they are; if you feel like the Theoi are make believe - then give yourself permission to play pretend.

I hope this has been at least somewhat helpful - if you'd like any more advice or guidance our askbox and DMs are always open.

Eirene, peace and farewell.

- Aön

[averyghe]

Khari - The giants that ruled the Earth, more than a hundred thousands years ago.

Average height - 3 meters. Life expectancy - about three hundred solar years, with the fifty year old khari being considerate adults. Khari are hermaphrodites, who procreate by laying up to five eggs. The young(Kharling) upbringing is seen as a communal task. Their most notable physical characteristic are four arms. Two upper arms are vary in their size, as those members have, atrophied in the lineages of the castes which were not akin to a manual labour. The lower pair of arms as well as legs, in case if they were severed are known to be capable of slow regeneration, some times with the loss of limbs mobility or sensitivity.

They came aboard the gigantic colony ships - Rakhanas, carrying with themselves knowledge, riches and weapons of mass destruction. They quickly became the sovereigns of the primitive world, partially enslaving its population.

The Khari society is differentiated into several castes. With the four main ones, each being differentiated into over three hundred castes.

The highest being the Ranakh - Nobles, officials, and scholars of the Khari society. The one you can see on the illustration is one of the Lesser lords of the Toakhar House, with its emblem being a white bird on the red Sun, surrounded by four stars representing four families comprising the clan.

Members of this caste usually braid their beards according to the amount of children they have as well, as having one lock on the side of their head according with the importance of their lineage.

The rulers are followed by the Three-Eyed ones - the smallest of the castes. Mystics, tradition keepers and future tellers, they are born with the third eye capable of seeing what the other two can’t. Attributes of this caste are Chuki(Sacred amber beads), as well as braided moustache…

Torratha - The warriors, are trained from their childhood to be proficient with all types of weaponry, with the specific attention being given to the three martial arts - Davan-Dara(Art of the Halberd), Yolbarakh-Dara(Art of the Phosphor Musket). The also trained to wear a power armour(Tayom) - Designed to help them fight in the gravitational environment their massive bodies aren’t used for, with the help of pneumatic joints, and the tube which pumps stimulant drugs into their breathing cavity. Memebers of this caste shave their heads leaving large unbraided moustache.

The fourth caste - are Donth. Up keepers of the flying cities - Enginers, craftsmen, and inventors. They as well work as scientists of the natural scientists, weapon smiths, and transport operators. They aren’t allowed to braid their hair, except for a small topknot up their forehead. The emblem of this caste is an Upside down triangle, or a pyramid - Symbolizing the power of science over the laws of nature.

Workers were the ones to create the Omri - Robots with the Inteligence levels of a child, used to do all the kinds of the work - From cocking and gardening, to being used as a canon fodder, in the wars.

The humans(and other sentient species that became slaves in Khari civilisation) are viewed as the lowest caste - often used to do dirty and dangerous work. They are living in a large communities on the lowest levels of the flying cities - often dying before they reach adulthood by being smashed by the machinery, eaten alive by the animals known as Khro - that inhabit sewer collectors, or simply by falling from the city, while making repairs on outside. Due to being seen as barely above animals, they aren’t allowed to wear clothing, except very rarely a set of protective gear for their working environment…

Lower then them are only Suthan-Au – or a Musk Beast in translation. A genetically modified animal, body of which contains a highly nutritious materials, and being capable to regenerate several times, after the large parts of the meat and fat tissue being removed. They were created for the space travels that could last for centuries… Some sources say that originally they were a civilised race, related to Khari… The beasts still have a peculiar levels of inteligence. They are certainly capable of complex emotions, such as love, grief, greed, or hatred…

[THIS IS A CONCEPT FROM AN ABANDONED PROJECT]

[that-cunning-witch]

How do the gods interact with you? How do you know they approve/disapprove of a particular offering or action? How does that mutual connection that a lot of people talk about manifest?

This is a huge question to unpack because it really depends based on what you're looking at. Mediterranian, Celtic, Asian, etc.

I would love to answer your question and I've been pondering for a couple days on how to answer this question. I think the best I can do for now is talk about *my* experience and *my* perspective as a Hellenic Polytheist and just keep in the back of your brain that this is not universal whatsoever.

I'm gonna go a bit out of order with your question. I'll answer your third question first, then your second question, and then finally the first one. Hope that makes sense!

In Hellenic Polytheism, the basis of maintaining relationships with the gods is referred to as kharis. While there isn't one definition as this word isn't exactly translatable in English, the best I can describe kharis is the act and upkeeping of cyclical reciprocity. You give time, worship, offering, love, etc. to the gods and they give in return. Your kharis to the gods is not built on wanting things from them but rather loving them unconditionally.

But how do you know this cycle of kharis is being maintained on the god's part? If part of kharis is maintained with offerings, how do you know they accepted the offering?

In Ancient Greece, a lot more could be done. Specifically by looking at the remains of sacrificed animals to see if they were perfect. If they were imperfect, that meant the gods didn't accept the offering. However, for several (hopefully obvious) reasons, this isn't done any more and shouldn't be done anymore. Aliakai has a great video explaining why animal/meat offerings shouldn't be done anymore. Note that this is the opinion/beliefs of some helpols, not all. Some still choose to sacrifice meat product and that's totally okay, that doesn't make them any less of a helpol! But what does this have to do with anything?

Well, if we can't figure out the god's approval that way, what can we do instead? Feel happy!

When giving an offering, if you feel happiness, an overwhelming sensation of joy, or just overall positivity, then that's the gods expressing their happiness with you. Think of the Kharites and how they're the personification of happiness and joy if that helps. However, if you don't feel anything or feel negativity about the offering, chances are that's the god(s) disapproving of the offering.

Something to note here is that feeling anxiety does not automatically mean it failed. As someone who has a big problem with always feeling anxious and wondering "am I doing the right thing?" feeling that anxiety in the back of the brain can be worrying as you begin to spiral and wonder if it all failed and if it's your fault. The answer is no. I've noticed that when I cleanse myself prior to ritual/prayer/offering, it helps my brain calm down and I'm able to shelf away my anxiety-ridden thoughts for the time being. However, I know that won't work for everyone. The best I can say is that as long as you feel happiness or joy somewhere, that's the gods approving of the offering. Once you get that message for the first time, the anxiety quickly becomes less and less with each additional offering you give to the gods over time.

We now look at the first question. How do the gods interact with you? This varies from person to person, but there are several ways they can contact you and speak with you:

Divination (ex: tarot cards, oracle cards, psephoi, etc.)

Symbols connected to the god in question appearing (sun rays filling your house despite being cloudy earlier, sudden rain or thunderstorm, spider in your room, rainbows, butterflies flying around you, etc.)

Sensing their presence via the clairsenses (clairaudience, clairvoyance, clairsentience, etc. but please make sure that you don't have any physical or mental conditions as what may be a clairsense may actually be a symptom of a larger problem)

Seeing them or their symbols in a dream

An offering or gift from them (ex: you've never worked with Athena before but you somehow pass an exam you didn't think you would pass)

This list is not exhaustive in any way!

One last thing: a lot of the time when people ask about how the gods interact with us a reason they're asking is because they want to know when a god is contacting them to work with them. Several cultures have different ideas on who should contact who first, but in Ancient Greece, humans are supposed to be the ones to contact the gods first. There are obviously exceptions, but overall, it's typically the gods that are doing the waiting.

According to Porphyry in Life of Plotinus (also referred to as The Enneads by Plotinus, but Porphyry was an editor), "Amelius was fond of sacrifices, and used to busy himself with rites of the new moon, and rites to allay fears. He once tried to get Plotinus to participate with him, but Plotinus said: 'They must come to me, not I to them.' We did not know what consideration led him to make such a grand pronouncement, and did not have the nerve to ask him."

I hope this answers your question anon! Feel free to send in another ask if needed

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Using multimode propulsion for more efficient trips in space

Over the span of two projects, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign investigated using a propulsion concept known as multimode propulsion to get spacecraft to the moon and developed a technique to design optimal multimode transfers.

NASA provided the team with four real mission scenarios. The goal was to explore how a multimode propulsion system that integrates both a chemical high-thrust mode and an electric low-thrust mode—while using the same propellant—can succeed. They examined using a standard 12-unit CubeSat to accomplish four distinct missions.

"We showed for the first time the feasibility of using multimode propulsion in NASA-relevant lunar missions, particularly with CubeSats," said aerospace engineering Ph.D. student Bryan Cline. "Other studies used arbitrary problems, which is a great starting point. Ours is the first high-fidelity analysis of multimode mission design for NASA-relevant lunar missions."

The study that looked at four NASA-relevant lunar trajectories, "Lunar SmallSat Missions with Chemical-Electrospray Multimode Propulsion," is by Cline and Joshua Rovey from the University of Illinois, Khary Parker and José J. Rosales from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and Stephen West from Space Exploration Engineering. It is published in the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets.

Cline said one of the advantages to multimode propulsion over a hybrid system is there can be a big savings in the dry mass of the spacecraft. Needing only one fuel tank, for example, saves mass and volume.

"Multimode propulsion systems also expand the performance envelope," he said. "We describe them as flexible and adaptable. I can choose a high-thrust chemical mode to get someplace fast and a low-thrust electrospray to make smaller maneuvers to stay in the desired orbit. Having multiple modes available has the potential to reduce fuel consumption or reduce time to complete your mission objective."

There are also advantages over hybrid propulsion systems which have multiple propulsion modes but each use a separate propellant.

"I can choose to use high-thrust at any time and low-thrust at any time, and it doesn't matter what I did in the past. With a hybrid system, when one tank is empty, I can't choose that option."

Cline said, to complete each of the design reference missions for this project, they made all the choices manually—that is, when to use high-thrust and when to use low-thrust. Because it was all manual, the trajectories weren't optimal. Following this work, Cline developed an algorithm, a set of equations, to automatically select when to use high-thrust and low-thrust to ensure that the resulting trajectory is optimal.

"This was an entirely different beast where the focus was on the development of the method, rather than the specific results shown in the paper. We developed the first indirect optimal control technique specifically for multimode mission design. As a result, we can develop transfers that obey the laws of physics while achieving a specific objective such as minimizing fuel consumption or transfer time," Cline said.

Cline first solved a simple two-dimensional transfer between Earth and Mars that decides the optimal times to use high-thrust, low-thrust, or just coast. He then solved a three-dimensional transfer to geostationary orbit that minimizes fuel consumption.

The study that developed the method, "Indirect optimal control techniques for multimode propulsion mission design," is by Cline and Alex Pascarella, and their faculty advisers, Robyn Woollands and Joshua Rovey. It is published in the journal Acta Astronautica.

"We showed the method works on a mission that's relevant to the scientific community," he said. "Now you can use it to solve all kinds of mission design problems. The math is agnostic to the specific mission. And because the method utilizes variational calculus, what we call an indirect optimal control technique, it guarantees that you'll get at least a locally optimal solution."

Cline said multimode propulsion is emerging, enabling, and enhancing. "It's an emerging technology because it's still being developed on the hardware side. It's enabling in that we can accomplish all kinds of missions we wouldn't be able to do without it. And it's enhancing because if you've got a given mission concept, you can do more with multimode propulsion. You've got more flexibility. You've got more adaptability.

"I think this is an exciting time to work on multimode propulsion, both from a hardware perspective, but also from a mission design perspective. We're developing tools and techniques to take this technology from something we test in the basement of Talbot Lab and turn it into something that can have a real impact on the space community."

IMAGE: Earth–Mars minimum-fuel trajectory when the CubeSAT is coasting, as well as in mode 1-low thrust and mode 2-high thrust. Credit: Acta Astronautica (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2024.07.020

[a-creature-as-bright-as-the-sun]

Howdy! I am thinking of coming back to this blog because I feel like it was important to me. Will be using it at least for a little while.

About me:

26

Transmasc/nonbinary/genderfluid-ish/bigender-ish

White

Primarily worships the Theoi (Hellenic, or Greek, gods), with a few additions

I am not a reconstructionist. I take my religion seriously, but I take my cue from the gods, not internet randos or even tradition 🤷🏻‍♀️ I've have never had an issue when approaching the gods without having washed my hands or face (and I generally forget, even when I did decide to incorporate it into my practice) or such like that. I do follow guidelines for core things, like not offering blood, etc. But I play pretty fast and loose with the rules, so you've have come to the wrong place if you are looking for a resource on reconstructionism. If you harass me about not adhering strictly to tradition and ritual structure, I will block you.

I worship the gods, not work with them. I am not a witch at all! I occasionally do divination (which is not witchcraft) but that is it!

Gods I Worship:

Main:

Aphrodite

Aristaios

Hermes

Apollon

.

Ares

Occasional:

Zeus

Set

Lugh

.

Persephone

Dionysus

Interested In:

Hephaistos

Artemis

Skadi

Khione

Jesus (in combination with Dionysus, specifically)

Hera

Agathos Daimon (household spirit)

Freyr

Inanna

Loki

Nut

Ra

Geb

Sobek-Ra

Anubis?

I'm am for sure forgetting someone, but brainfart lol

Some Personal Views:

Fuck terfs! The gods love trans people!

Fuck nazis, fuck white nationalists, fuck folkists! Hatred has no place in this community.

Fuck mythic literalism. Please pick up a book and stop lying about Persephone and Aphrodite hating each other. The Theoi don't have irl beef, you can worship any of them with each other—they are a *family.* Additionally, gods were often worshipped together *because* of their beef in the mythos. Persephone and Aphrodite, Athena and Poseidon, Athena was given Pallas' name as an epithet even though she killed her (though they were admittedly friends/adoptive sisters)

The gods aren't going to smite you. This is mainly from a hellenic perspective because I'm am most educated about it. If you don't give an offering in a long time or something similar, you don't have to grovel and beg for forgiveness or offer an extravagant gift. Just give them an offering, talk to em/them, and don't worry about it. Kharis can always be reestablished. An exception to this would maybe be if you broke an commitment to a god. THEN asking for forgiveness and giving a nice offering would be appropriate. But they won't kill you or anything. People've who've have done this have mentioned that the blessings gifted to them by the gods were simply revoked, maybe added some additional misfortune. Which is pretty easily rectified, from what I understand. You can make amends. The gods are deeply accepting, understanding, and forgiving. They are not human. We don't live in a myth, and you do not need to fear any real harm from them (*especially* physical)

Related to the above, you cannot offend the gods on accident. If you learn later that you did something that they would rather you not do (in relation to your interactions with them), that's okay! You can do better now, the gods won't hold it against you if you didn't know ^-^ Now if you INTENTIONALLY try to piss them off, disrespect them to spite them in a fit of anger, then it is apology time.

Finally, no DNI. Just don't be an asshole and we're golden.

[hestiashearthfire]

Devotional Acts as an Extension of Kharis

Lately I've been thinking about devotional acts. If you know me, you know I tend to be rather traditional in how I approach my worship. I enjoy giving libations and physical offerings more than devotional acts, although both are certainly attested to in antiquity. I tend to see libations as a central part of how I pray, and so devotional acts tend to fall by the wayside.

That doesn't mean I don't do devotional acts at all; I do, and I enjoy them as ways to feel closer to the gods. For example, I clean my house as a devotional act to Hestia, and take my medicine as a devotional act to Apollo and Asclepius. Devotional acts help remind me of the gods' presence in my life, even when I'm not at my altar or in prayer.

But today, as I took my medicine, I was thinking, "What if it's the other way around?" Usually, when I see fellow Hellenic Polytheists talking about devotional acts, it's as an offering to the deity in question. That's fine of course, but it struck me as I was going about something necessary for my well-being that perhaps Apollo is as much involved in this process as I am.

Maybe he's reminding me to take my medicine as much as I'm taking my medicine out of love for him. Maybe the gods are interacting with us as much as we are with them. I don't think this idea is new at all, and I'm sure it's been thought of, but it hit me hard this morning.

What a wonderful feeling to know the gods care for me enough to be involved in my little life. May I never take their love for granted.

[sylviareviar]

NAME: Sylvia Reviar

AGE: 16

SPECIES: Human

GENDER: Female

ORIENTATION: Panromantic demisexual

PROFESSION: Student, animal shelter volunteer, Phantom Thief (Persona 5 verse), Pokemon rehab researcher and Pokemon Trainer (Pokemon verse), turbo duelist (Yu-Gi-Oh! verse), mage or bard (Fire Emblem or other fantasy verses)

——————————————————————��——- { PHYSICAL ASPECTS }

BODY TYPE: Short and slender. Depending on the verse, if she does any kind of fighting, she sticks to moving quickly and avoiding attacks by nimbly dodging, and doesn't hit hard as a result, but her magic stat is usually pretty high.

EYES: Cerulean blue

SKIN: Very light white, a little pinkish, with freckles on her cheeks and nose, and a little bit on her shoulders.

HEIGHT: 4'11. Like I said, she's teeny-tiny.

—————————————————————————- { FAMILY }

FAMILY: She's adopted, so she doesn't have any distant relatives, however Khari Reviar is her adopted father. He doesn't have any siblings or living parents, though. In the YGO verse, she has an adopted grandfather named Klaus. That's the only verse where her family is different.

SIBLINGS: Jack Reviar, her older brother, and Lucy Reviar, her younger sister. Despite being in the middle, Lucy has often stepped up to protect her, making Sylvia sort of the youngest in spirit. In YGO, she doesn't have any blood related siblings, but Toru is her adopted brother.

ANY PETS?: Typically, no, but depending on the verse, she may have a pet horse living with her family. In P5 and YGO, her family owns a farm, and one horse she has bonded particularly close with is a black horse named Opal. In the Pokemon verse, of course, there are lots of Pokemon around her. In fantasy verses, she has a pet raven named Fleck. In Fire Emblem, she has no pets, but I may give her Opal again as a mount.

—————————————————————————- { SKILLS }

Sylvia is an artist who tends to be a jack of all trades. While her forte isn't in physical activity or movement, her real strengths lie in her love of art, music, writing, acting, and playing. In every verse, what makes her unique is her ability to skillfully draw and play music or sing. Whenever she is in combat, she usually also has surprisingly strong magical powers, sometimes to the point that it's difficult for her to control them, and they can end up going wild and hurting her or the people around her as a result. She is also rather intelligent, and gets high grades consistently in class, but because of her autism and undiagnosed ADHD, she relies quite a bit on accommodations such as extended test time or wearing headphones while studying. Her creative mind makes it so she is never bored when she's alone, meaning she doesn't often seek out other people, but gets lonely more easily as a result. When she gets so caught up in her own world, it's sometimes difficult to pull her out of it without startling her.

—————————————————————————- { LIKES }

COLORS: Pink, white, blue, purple, and any pastel color

SMELLS: Fresh baked bread, berries and fruits, any kind of evergreen, flowers such as roses, lavender, and cherry blossom, and snow.

SOUNDS: River water, cats meowing, music (in particular, she loves higher-pitched melodic sounds, like glockenspiel, music boxes, and flute), the sound of hooves or heels on the hard ground (for some reason it's just satisfying), and the sound of using a keyboard.

TEXTURES: Anything super soft and fluffy or fuzzy, like blankets, hoodies, and fur.

FOOD: She likes many kinds of food, but her absolute favorite are steak, as well as pomegranates and blueberries.

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES?: yes [ ] || rarely [ ] || no [X]

FAVORITES: Anything that looks beautiful. She loves the stars, the sky, flowers, animals, the sea, what lies beneath the sea, friendships, sunsets, anything within which she can find beauty, she loves. She also likes happy endings in stories, and fairy tales that sometimes put a twist on the story, and she loves games with colorful aesthetics and graphics. So long as it's cute, most likely she likes it.

—————————————————————————- { OTHER DETAILS }

SMOKES?: yes  [ ] || no [X] || occasionally [ ]

DRUGS?: yes [ ] || no (unless they're prescribed) [X] || occasionally [ ]

DRIVER LICENSE?: yes (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's verse) [X] || no (most other verses, but she can drive a tractor in Persona) [X]

EVER BEEN ARRESTED?: no [X] || yes [ ] || almost/detained  [ ]

—————————————————————————-

DONE. now tag other 15 people to do it.

Oh god I don't think I even know that many people. Ok if you're a multimuse just choose whichever muse you want.

Tagging: @electricea @tvstarkuma @the-flower-karasu @phantomuheist @tophatz @jokerxkurusu @nijimx @silver-strings-of-fate @webbedphantom @orphemiss If I missed you just assume I tagged you too because I genuinely can't remember everyone off the top of my head.

tagged by: @tres-fidelis