#deity devotee

[boymanmaletheshequel]

An altar for Hermes 🛐

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Hello there! Yes, YOU! the little hellenist reading this post! Have you been wanting to start taking your worship of Hermes a little bit more seriously? Because I have, and I have just the thing for you! Hermes is a trickster, but also a very fun, very intelligent god who loves his followers, and is more than willing to grant his protection and deliverance unto them! Wether you’re a lawless little anarchist like me who seeks his protection from the not always fair side of the law, a traveller or wanderer who is looking for some shielding and luck on the road against the backdrop of a big, scary world, or simply a mail carrier who sees the king of mail himself as an idol to be followed, allow me to offer some ideas on how we can craft a little altar space for the hectic and honorable Hermes!

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• STEP ONE: colors and cloth:

When it comes to the domain of color, there’s actually a lot of mixed opinions when it comes to Hermes, as he’s one of the only Olympians whose sacred colors are not really divulged explicitly. Some say that red and green are the colors traditionally associated with him, but I feel like most devotees I know or follow seem to associate him with blue, yellow, and orange. Therefore, any cloth, a base fabric or cloth, the first thing you’ll add to your altar as the base everything else sits upon, would probably be best suited in this color scheme! You also may want your cloth to have more character, and it never hurts to have some symbolism on your fabric, which I’ll get to shorty! You can usually find cheap fabric at craft and thrift stores such as Johanns, Value village, or other local shops!

• STEP TWO: dishes and vessels:

The next thing you’ll want to add to your altar are some of the larger, more utilitarian pieces you wish to decorate with, these can include things like tarot decks, teacups or plates to hold offerings, offering bowls, candles, or books. It is also a good idea to select bowls, dishes, and teacups that line up with the iconography and sacred symbolism of the god the altar is dedicated to. For example, in my altar to Freyja, I have a small teacup with strawberries on it to honor her favorite fruit in Norse mythology! For Hermes, there are a couple different common icons you can look for, these include ironically, strawberries as well, as well as hawks, feathers, coins, gold trimmed and detailed, or gold painted pottery, String instruments, and the Greek key pattern!

• STEP THREE: Idols and tributes:

Another important way to respect your altar and it’s god is to decorate it with Idols of them, like statues, sketches, or other artworks depicting them! You can also donate tributary items to the altar, such as little figurines or charms of things associated with them, for example, my Artemis altar has a small porcelain cat figurine, and my Freya altar has a guilloche heart trinket. In an altar for Hermes, perhaps a statuette of a cherub with a lyre or harp, or a figurine of a mail carrier, or of one of Hermes sacred animals like a cow or ram, would make an appropriate idol for your altar space?

• STEP FOUR: traditional offerings:

Some traditional offerings like food, drink, crystals, herbs, flowers, etc. are an important, and very easy offer to make to your altars, and can easily be placed in the vessels and dishes you keep on the altar space. These offers vary drastically and personally on the god associated with them, but I’ll list some examples that I think would be good fits for Hermes below!

🌸 Crocus, Hydrangea, baby’s breath

🫚 olive oil, myrtle, sandalwood, Saffron

💎 citrine, blue lace agate, blue topaz, Aquamarine, Pyrite.

🍗 strawberries, olives, honey.

🍷beer, milk.

• STEP FIVE: ICONOGRAPHY:

The final step to creating your altar is the use of divine iconography. These symbols, emblems, and motifs celebrate your gods lore, history, and sacred things. You can honor this by finding things donning the iconography associated with your god! For example, almost all of my altars utilize antique painted porcelain or ceramics in some way, I have a porcelain sugar dish painted with strawberries for Aphrodite, a tea plate with wheat sheathes for Demeter, and an antique English teacup with Lilacs painted on it for Pan! Some of the sacred symbols and depictions of Hermes included, but are not limited to: strawberries, olives, lyres, sandals, mail and postage insignia, crocuses, rams, hawks, and coins! Depictions of all of these things on porcelain, pottery, fabric, or otherwise or on their own, are great ways to make clear your altar is dedicated to Hermes!

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Now that you have your very own space to worship and to commune with the hectic, humorous, and helpful Hermes, use it! Talk to him about your travels, bid on him to protect you from your hijinks, legal or otherwise, pray to him to guide your packages safely to you, and to guide you safely on your journeys! Enjoy your new altar space, and may lord Hermes bless you with riches, protection, and travels!

If you like this post, and wish to learn more about the gods of Hellen, Hellenism, paganism, and much more, please consider giving me a follow! I post every single day :) have a blessed day. 💙🏛️

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[thescarlettbitch]

Worshipping Inanna / Ishtar

This is an informative post about how Inanna was worshipped, or believed to be worship, back in her time, and at the end I'll share how I worship her.

Ritual sex - her high priestess would have ritual sex (whether it was true sex or symbolic is unknown) with the new king to ensure his fortune.

Gender non-conformity - her cult was primarily composed of those outside the binary, and shows men and women adopting the opposing dialect and engaging in sex with each other.

Music and art - most of her myths are in the form of Hymns, and most of her followers were artists, musicians, or dancers. Specifically, war dances would be done in her temple.

Libations - a libation is the ritualistic act of pouring a liquid offering straight from a container onto the earth. In depictions, the person doing the offering was naked.

Unfortunately, due to the passage of time, many specific rituals have been lost. I've scoured and this is really all I can find about her ancient original worship, and a lot of it is disputed because no one knows what was a metaphorical ritual or an actual ritual.

That being said, here is how I worship her in the modern day.

Self-confidence - Inanna was not one to be meek, it is said by many experts and proven in her myths that she was headstrong and didn't care how she was perceived. To honor her, I wear whatever I want. I have a very alternative style and I used to fear people looking at me. She has helped silence my worry and in turn, helped me gain confidence.

Non-conformity - I'm nonbinary, and although my femininity is a major part of my identity, so is masculinity, and so is androgyny. Learning that she had a queer cult following was so liberating, as before learning that I felt like it was wrong of me to work with her. So every little thing I do that isn't in the social construct of the gender binary is for her.

Libations - lucky for me, this is one area of her ancient worship that can be done in a modern setting. I don't have a "proper" container, I just use a normal glass. I've done it with water, coffee, tea, lemonade, and even kool-aid.

Honey/Butter cakes - in, I believe, Inanna and The God Of Wisdom, Enki welcomes her with honey/butter cakes and alcohol. I have only made a honey cake once before and it was shit, but I plan on trying again soon to combine both into a honey bourbon cake. I know they didn't have bourbon back then, but it's a local good I can find and adds a personal touch.

Self love - my fiancé lives across an ocean, so some things we can't do together (both living with family and thin walls), so to honor and worship her, self love is a great way for those in similar situations and she enjoys it from what I've seen.

Offerings - usually dates, sometimes cherries, often lemonade or tea, and more recently honey whiskey. These offerings might not be "traditional" in style, but they work for me and her. I have a small glass from an old Costco tiramisu and an iridescent bowl I got half off at our local grocery, both have an 8pointed star on them. Usually I sit them out for days at a time, or at least over night, and then either ingest them or just toss it in the trash (any other alternative isn't doable in my current situation)

Music - I listen to a variety of music with her, songs about sex, love, anger, fighting, injustice. She loves it, and if you want more detail on this I have a post about the songs on her playlist here.

Driving with the windows down - I love driving, and I feel like doing so with the windows down is an easy multitasking way to cleanse myself and invite good vibes in. Usually I do this while playing her playlist.

Making posts - it may seem a little silly, but a way I honor her is keeping her and her family alive. They are old deities, their civilizations and worshippers lived about 6,000 years ago, and some of her family have had their names lost to time. Making posts about them helps get word out, and keep them "alive".

Digital temples - I play the sims 4 and I saw someone talk about how they wanted to make a temple to their goddess in the game, so... I'm making my own. And will probably have my sims "worship" her via a club. Some people don't see this as an act of worship, but I do. As @thrashkink-coven said in this post, the gods are as modern as they are ancient. I know she enjoys it.

I will go through and make a full post detailing specific UPGs (personal practice things not backed in historical fact) with her, for anyone interested.

[lavenderwaterfall]

What does being a devotee of a specific deity mean to you?

I keep wanting to make that step of making myself a Psyche Devotee but then something stops me every time and I don't know what it is. Fear I'm not ready or wanted as much? ,

[devouredbyflame]

The Meticulous and Organized Nature of Loki

Most people tend to equate Loki with “chaos” and being a prankster. They say that He gets enjoyment out of destruction and random stuff. I, however, have had a different experience of Himself. 

Something I have learned through my years of being intimate with Loki is that He is impeccably meticulous. He is organized and timely. He has plans within plans. He does not tend to work based on randomness whatsoever. It may seem like it is. He puts meaning into everything He does. He means what He does in a way that there is also a dual meaning or purpose that is never clear the first time around.

Whether or not we see what His plans and focuses are, that’s completely different. It may seem like chaos to us. In reality, it is smaller pieces to a much larger scaled puzzle. These pieces fall into place exactly when they are supposed to. The pieces that we see are, themselves, a working puzzle. It takes a lot more than just it being ‘chaos’ to be a work of Loki’s.

You can read the rest of this post here:

[dea-abundantia]

this essay has been months in the making and it's still a bit rough but here! it's also gonna be up on @romanpaganism , which is a decolonial roman religious blog run by a friend :)

[ari-oreo]

hi! so, i've been sharing this with my friends and thought other people may want to follow this saga tooo. i'm a christian witch and i have an altar and everything for the christain god (who i'll be calling big dad or group dad in most posts from here on) it's been kind of difficult for me to find things to put on the altar or as offerings, so everything i give is based on vibes and it seems to me that he likes them cause they last a long time. soooo; the point if this is, i'll be logging the offerings i give and how long they last for everyone interested! (cause this is almost comical)

on new year's eve, i cut up a green apple and a red pear, i gave most of it to my family and kept a small portion for offering. I covered them in cinnamon too, this was for prosperity and stuff since it was new year's/"starting the year off right" thing. this offering lasted for TWELVE DAYS! i asked like every other day if he was done but he just wasn't yet! they literally shrivelled up! i just gave another offering, i'll update when he's done with this one!

[notsonini]

DEITY CONVERSATION PART 5 (?)

Does Lucifer keeps making fun of you too if you suddenly stutter and mispronounce a word ? LIKE I SWEAR HE KEEPS LAUGHING AT MY FACE 😭😭🙏

Me : honestly meditating peacefully feels so good. I haven’t felt this good in a while.

Lucifer: yeah right? That’s why I keep telling you to do it.

Me: specially after this calming bath ? I feel so refreshed

Lucifer: yeah .. are you veiling too ??? 😍

Me : uugghh I put have towel in my hair cause I washed it and I dont wanna open it right now. But yeah I guess for now it can be used as a bhel too-

lucifer : ….

Me: ….

Lucifer: ….

Lucifer : yeah you can definitely use it as a “bhel” for now

Me : no waIT-

Lucifer : *burst out laughing at my face*

Me : no listennnn I meant veil ok 😭

Lucifer : keep that “bhel” on yes *literally laughing at me*

Me : dontttt

Lucifer : it’s ok you are having the “bhel”good good

The way I knew this was coming 😭😭😭

[ravenandmoon]

One thing that made me grow as a worshiper is that I progressively became more specific about which deties I'm devoted to. Aphrodite Areia, Apollon Mousagétês, Hekate Enodia. It didn't happen right away after two week of telling I was devoted to...No. For example, I started being really close to Artemis and Dionysos during winter and then months after that I started worshiping Erebos...and only then I started to say I'm devoted to Apollon Mousagétês, because i'm not devoted to Apollon Phoibos (which I worship). This made my devotion to Him way easier.

Obviously this is a "me and my practice" thing but honestly, this made everything way less overwhelming for me to be specific when I can. I still struggle though.

[faeyramaeyra]

Tip-Jar

[thescarlettbitch]

Inanna and Ereshkigal from the Sumerian pantheon (my girl and her sister) - Inanna is an s/a Survivor who hunted down and killed her assailant, along with being the queen of the heavens, goddess of sex and war. Ereshkigal is the goddess of the underworld.

Hela and Freyja from the Nordic pantheon - Hela is the goddess of the underworld and Freyja is the divine feminine war and fertility goddess (feel free to fact check that)

Bastet, Isis, and Sekhmet from the Egyptian pantheon - Sekhmet is the goddess of war, Isis is the protector, healer, and mother, and Bastet is the warrior goddess of fertility and home.

On the male/male presenting side, Set (Egyptian), Loki and Thor (Norse), and Enki (Sumerian) are good options as well.

I would also argue for Persephone and Khione from the Greek pantheon.

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts around social media talking about people hearing the call of Hekate, The Morrigan, and Lilith.

I’m not here to dissuade any of that, just want to remind my fellow pagans and witches that there are a plethora of other deities you can work with in regards to what we’re all currently going through and anticipated to go through.

As a Hellenic Polytheist here are some of my suggestions:

Aphrodite (especially her war side, yes Aphrodite has a war side)

Ares (THE feminist of the pantheon, I will die on that hill)

Artemis (protector of women and children, killer of dickheads, a witch, and a primal goddess. Don’t sleep on her!)

Athena (THE strategist. She’s going to lead you to the path of victory)

Dionysus (THE revolutionist. Dionysus is the destroyer of empires and harbinger of change. Especially in regard to women. Their maenads are lethal to men who try to oppress and suppress them)

Eris (MY GIRL! I mean this bitch started the Trojan War with an Apple. Do I need to say more??)

Demeter (Also a witch and single handedly brought two of the 3 kings to their knees and almost destroyed the entire world because she went against the patriarchy. This is the goddess you want to fight alongside of in this battle! Stop sleeping on her!)

Hera (Arguably the most terrifying deity in the entire pantheon. Even Zeus is terrified of her. She lead the Greeks to victory in the Trojan War using her rage, spite, and power. And she can do the same for us!)

There are of course other deities especially in other pantheons. And you can absolutely and should lean on the deities you already have relationships with. This is just a suggestion in case you would like to connect with a new deity for the collective work we are preparing to do.

As always, if you have any questions about the deities I listed don’t hesitate to ask! 💖

Happy hexing and dismantling oppressive systems, my darlings! 😘

[skively]

— Aphrodite is iridescence, like the shimmer of pearls and seashells, like glittering jewels in the sea

[thescarlettbitch]

Sometimes communicating with your deities is like

Me: *lights candles* *lights incense* *grabs tarot cards* Hello Oh Great And Divine One. Please come and answer my questions.

And other times it is like

Me: hey can you high five my right hand if this is a good idea and slap me in the face if it isn't.

I've done both interactions with alarming regularity.

[evercelle]

divorce era for today's warm up :)c

[thescarlettbitch]

I've worked with Inanna for years now— not always a strict practice, but a practice nonetheless.

And, as a fellow disabled autistic, I'm always talking to her. Very rarely do I have a formal start and end to a discussion with her. I ramble in my head or mumble to her all day about everything. Sometimes, it's just a good morning and a goodnight, but other times it's "Ugh, my sandwich is cold and my coworker is pissing me off. I don't need help or anything I just want to tell you about it. My feet hurt and my back hurts and I'm so tired. What do you think I should have for dinner? Any requests for an offering? Oh— while I was playing the sims earlier this happened! Can you believe that? That's so weird! I can't wait until I go home— I wonder how my friend is doing?" Just straight... chilling.

Yes, the deities are a higher power that you work with and respect, but how you interact with them is based on your level of comfort and their's. Inanna LOVES listening to me ramble on and on, and I love rambling. I wear a necklace that I devote to her, and I touch it when I talk.

Everyone's practice is different, and it's personal.

does anyone else talk to the deities they worship casually, like a friend or mentor 😭 I'm autistic so it's already very awkward with them, I feel like it'd just feel fake and forced if I tried to talk all fancy rather than opening up and expressing myself to them in the most genuine way possible for me

I also think I do a lot of things weird/wrong, when I pray I "tune into their presence" and will often sit in front of their altars rather than holding my hands up (cough cough pots I pass out when I reach up) and I still give offerings when I'm struggling with hygiene because of being disabled, which I know may make me "dirty" . . .

I've always viewed the gods as patient and understanding of my struggles, and my practices are unique to me (I mean . . . even the way I believe in them is very unconventional) but even so, sometimes I wonder if all of these "mistakes" and "excuses" I do are disrespectful, does anyone know? I don't want to come off that way, I just get very intimidated by religion so I try not to push myself too much, but I'm wondering if I'm doing this whole thing wrong . . . sometimes I'll even forget to pray or give offerings for months . . . I really don't want to come off the wrong way. Does anyone know if I'm being rude by taking things too easy ? :(

[dea-abundantia]

home sick so i made a cute poster thingie for my goddess! :)

[ari-oreo]

Offering Logs Pt 2

hi guys! so, it's time to update the altar logs! on monday of this week, i put out another offering. it was about five grapefruit slices and differently proportioned cuts/slices of a whole kiwi (and i think it was only one), all drizzled in honey. as you can probably tell from my updating so soon, this offering did not last nearly as long as the first did. this lasted 5-6 days in total. group dad liked the kiwi, but (much to my surprise) did not like the grapefruit.

i know this for two reasons:

1.) the kiwi was dried up, while the grapefruit didn't dry at all and actually molded a little bit.

2.) i just asked, i used pendulum divination and he said he didn't like the grapefruit.

the reason this was so shocking was because I had (personally) been mentally associating him with grapefruit to a certain extent. it was partially because the bitter taste that grapefruit can have reminds me of alcohol but oopsie i guess. i'm going to hold off on giving offerings for a bit, for personal "safety", you could say. my mom was in my room a lot these last few days and (though she never looked directly at the offering or said anything) i'm worried she'll get suspicious or upset, so i'm being careful. thanks again for joining me, see you all next time!