#devotional paganism

[abwatt]

Full Moon, 30 August 2023

Crossposting from the Zucker's site...

It's the full moon in Pisces, at 7° Pisces (tropical), perfecting at 9:36 pm tonight (30 August 2023). This part of Pisces is associated with the Titan Okeanos from Greek/Mediterranean mythology — "great ocean", the wild and unconquerable world-girdling salt-water river. It's a good time to give thanks for your sources of fresh water, and to pray and act for the health of the ocean, and the role of fish in both your diet and in their natural role as the inhabitants of the great waters. 

The Moon is also in the Twenty-Seventh Mansion of the Moon, which is associated with stars in the constellations of Pegasus and Andromeda, and it is associated with magics that create prosperity for yourself — and wreak havoc among your enemies. Medieval Arabic navigators and astrologers associated it with the sound/letter "MIM" and the angel/djinn/spirit named "Alheniel/Alhens." 

You can think of a "Mansion" as like a stretch of highway or important state-number road, and it's the distance that the Moon travels in a single 24-hour period; the 27th Mansion is something like a stretch of road that passes through a quaint town with a lot of good bars, boutique shops, and great restaurants... that also happens to have a lot of fresh water swamps, ponds and lakes on one side of the road, and salt-water marshes, tidal pools, and dune-shielded beaches on the other. Maybe there's a boardwalk with arcades and games, too. "Alheniel" is kind of like the mayor or governor of this place, 'officially in charge' — but Okeanos is the Big Guy in town. 

so... there's a framework for imagination, visualization, journey-work, prayer and magic. Enjoy!

[oncyprusshores]

An Open Letter to Aphrodite

Glorious golden Aphrodite, my sacred love,

As I think of you- of our time together, of your many myths and legends, of the beautiful art created in your image- my mind races with adoration and devotion. But when I sit to write those musings, no words feel adequate. No single word, sentence, paragraph, or paper could ever hope to convey the joy you bring to my life; in fact I suspect now that no earthly expression could ever hope to illustrate the exuberance in my heart.

It's beautiful to have a connection that intricate, a tie between mortal and goddess that defies definition and can only exist experientially between the two of us. And the wonder of it all will never be lost to me. No, I will never get over the fact that the gold-crowned goddess of love, pleasure, and beauty exists. I will never shake the high of realizing that there are higher powers- and that one of them is the embodiment of all I cherish in life.

When I think of my sexuality I no longer feel shame. I do not chastise my own feelings- Feelings given by nature, inextricably woven into our DNA. I don't repent for living a life I love, I merely have to smile in the knowledge that you're with me in that moment. 

I dedicate my life to you not only to be your hands on this earth, but to share all life's joy with you. Verily, when I heard you were the 'laughter loving' goddess I knew I found my place.

Let's laugh together then, Aphrodite. Let's laugh in the good times, moan in the better, and cry together in the worst. Let's live to taste the world, savor every beautiful moment, and always discover new delights.

I love you, Aphrodite. In a way you understand more than I could ever describe. I love you, and I can't wait to spend another lifetime at your side.

[herculine-2017-blog]

September 1, everything is beautiful

[northern-seidmadr]

I’m not planning on rushing into anything but I’ve been having thoughts about things. What kinds of things do you think are reasonable oaths to make TO a deity? I wouldn’t really know where to start.

[queenofgoldenlilies]

Pendant doubts.

New post from Monarch of Cups from http://ift.tt/1FR5kML

[roguesareth]

More opinions

Any gods that would fuck up your life because you declined doing something ( it went against your beliefs, moral code, impossible, not feasible ect) is not worthy of worship and I honestly think most of the stories people spout about such and such deity punishing them for something so trivial is a bunch of bullshit ( like that person claiming Loki got their child taken away for mishandling a statue-and the person wasn’t even Lokean, or other stories where someone falls seriously ill because they put the wrong trinket on their altar, or ended up homeless and suffering because they refused to do something their god asked. Its bullshit)

[northern-seidmadr]

Godbothered: The Different Types of Divine Relationships

Working “With”

I view “Working With” as an informal relationship between a Divine figure and a person which does not involve Devotion or Worship on the part of the Mundane. To me, it’s a relationship wherein the Mundane works together alongside the Divine on a task centered around the self; in this case the Divine is more like a team leader- guiding, educating, and delegating, but also sometimes helping out and lending support. That teamwork is geared towards achieving a personal goal, accomplishing the work necessary to achieve a desired end result, learning a lesson or skill that is important, or other such things.

As an example, for a long time I Worked With the Goddess HT-HRT (Hathor) in order to learn an important lesson about self care and self love- and the power of my own internal beauty. While that eventually turned into a Devotional Relationship on my part, it does not change the fact that, in the beginning, it started as a Working Relationship wherein we worked together as a team; when the lesson was learned and task accomplished, she left me.

Working “For”

Where “With” relationships are focused on the Self where the Divine and Mundane operate as a Team, the “For” relationship is often a bit different. Instead, in this case the Mundane is doing jobs for the Divine and carrying out actions that the Divine has tasked them with.

These tasks may be as simple as passing on messages to the Divine’s followers, providing a service in their name, maintaining a temple in their honor, performing Spiritwork for them, or other such jobs. Either way, the Divine does not act as teacher, guide, or teammate in this circumstance, working with you to achieve a goal of your own… But purely as a boss whose actions and authority are not questioned; you have a task to complete for them specifically- to their specifications as delegated by them- and nothing more.

Several people (such as Devo, here and here) have compared it to the Divine figure being your co-worker or boss in the work place. I feel like this analogy is particularly accurate- especially within my own Working relationships with the Divine. Like with your boss or co-worker there is a need for respect toward the Divine figure, a recognition that they are above you, and careful attention paid to the rules of conduct… But ultimately in these relationships there is often no explicit need for commitment, oaths, devotion, or worship; they are not permanent relationships, only temporary ones.

Worshiping

Worship is a purely formal relationship between the Divine and the Mundane. It includes the formal performance of religious rites, provision of Offerings, dedication of items in their name. regular prayer, erecting shrines in their honor, and more.

This is something I’ve always felt is one sided, though, personally. This is because, to me, it is not something to be done with the expectation of reciprocacy- but instead out of pure love, joy, and care for the deity with no requirement that the Divine figure reciprocate the emotions. In other words, it is a collection of actions performed specifically to show gratitude and love to the Divine figure in question; the little things done daily that show the Gods that we are here, we recognize them, we care, and are thankful.

Oathed Relationships

An “Oathed relationship” is one of the biggest decisions you can make in my opinion. However, there are several types of Oathed relationships… But what I usually refer to when I speak of Oathed Relationships are those relationships involving Minor Oaths.

Minor Oaths tend to look more like formal “Working For” or “Working With” relationships where the bond is bound with an Oath rather than a casual acknowledgement. Usually such relationships are set up with a time limit in mind, after which time the Mundane is considered to have fulfilled their Oath. At that point they can, of course, be walked away from without repercussions for doing so.

But there are also Major Oaths as well.

Devoted Relationships

Devotee / Devocant is one of the “Major Oaths” in my opinion; to me, taking such an Oath to a Divine figure goes beyond simple Devotion; being a Devocant involves many things: The first is providing the Divine with all of the standard acts and items of Worship. The second is also doing jobs for the Divine as delegated by them. But most importantly, the third means becoming the Priest(ess), or other Clergy member of that Divinity; to live your life in complete service to them themselves, their faith and religion, and their people and community.

I believe that becoming a Devocant / Devotee is a life long commitment and comes with serious repercussions if broken; with a Major Oath such as this you are (in my eyes) promising to serve that Divine figure and their community for the rest of your life– especially if the Oath was made in Blood.

Source

[northern-seidmadr]

Man, Ive been researching Hellenic polytheism for a while now, and Im gettin some serious mixed messages. Some dudes say "approach the gods like your old friends, they'll always be there for ya" and other dudes say "the gods are your masters and you better treat em as such or else." Like, you gotta have an altar, pray every day, sing hymns, give offerings, or else youll fall outta their favor. Like its an all-or-nothing thing, a full time job. I wanna join in but I cant commit to that, ya know?

I get you anon, I’ve had similar thoughts. Nothing against Hellenics at all, but there are times where I’m really grateful for the relationship I’ve been able to develop with the Norse deities because I could NOT keep up with Hellenismos ritual and service.*

I’m good on most days if I can get myself and my kids fed and do a load of laundry. Even that can be a real chore. And that’s just on the mundane and physical end.

Then the spiritual side, I don’t want to feel miniscule and unimportant, and when gods get so big and are so old, I feel so insignificant that it gets really hard to worship. It’s one of several reasons I’ve drifted away from Yahweh and Jesus because there are so many people over so many centuries who have worshiped them, worship them now, I feel like it doesn’t matter if I do. Not looking to be a special person among any pantheon but I don’t want to be an ant, either.

Maybe it’s how I love the underdogs and the wallflowers and the ones who are forgotten, but I gravitate to people (and deities) who aren’t as well known, who speak in whispers because there aren’t many ears listening, and the ones who have waited for us to notice them.

I wouldn’t ever say that we can “shop” for gods as if looking for a bargain at a swap meet, but there is something to be said for finding worship and gods that fit you, your life, your expectations, your needs, and ones you genuinely connect with.

All that said, though, it is good and viable to tailor your practice to your life no matter the pantheon. It’s your relationship with your gods. If you cannot do this Expected Practice every day but you can do that Less Common activity instead, then do that one every day. Make it your own.

*I know full well there are ways to worship all gods that don’t take a lot of time, money, energy, but then there’s also the common expectation among other pagan paths (at least on tumblr) that I KNOW I could never live up to. And it would damage me to try.

[northern-seidmadr]

I really love how homey Norse paganism is for me. The deities and spirits all feel like family, friends, caring mentors, warm teachers, tender companions. I’m glad that I haven’t had many pings from other pantheon because I don’t know if I could pay them enough heed, since I like the relationships here. Heathenry has problems, but I like my practice.

[northern-seidmadr]

Close your eyes and build up a mental picture of the god. When you can hold the image easily, repeat your prayer, and wait for a reply. You may find it helpful to precede this activity by a systematic relaxation of muscle groups, or by slowing and counting your breaths. If you are experienced in pathworking or shamanic journeying, imagine a door leading from your room through a passage to the Midgard that lies within. Using the arrangement of the nine worlds on Yggdrasil as a map, seek the one where your deity is most likely to be found and build up an image of his or her home or temple. Ask to enter, call on the god, and hold your conversation there. An ancient practice was to lie down and wrap oneself in a cloak or hide for such journeying and communication. With regular practice, you will find it easier to sense the presence of the deity, and eventually you may find that not only is your god always waiting when you journey inward, but that awareness of his/her presence comes to you when you are in a state of “ordinary” consciousness, so that worship becomes companionship. I believe that in the old days those who were known as “friends” of specific gods experienced the relationship in this way. Such an awareness may at times become quite powerful, to the point where it is necessary to explain to the god that you need to be able to work without distraction, and limit the interaction to appropriate times. Do not, for instance, contemplate your god while operating a moving vehicle (unless of course he is a better driver than you are). Carrying on conversations with the god in your head is not pathological so long as you do not do it aloud in public or when you are supposed to be doing other things. The gods will also tell you what they desire in the way of altar ornaments and offerings. Again, you may find it necessary to explain that times have changed, and items such as gold armrings and fresh horsemeat may be hard to come by. It is reasonable to ask a god who wants something to cooperate by helping you to find/pay for it. In many ways, an active relationship with a god is like being in love– seductive and inebriating. If the relationship is to endure, common sense and courtesy are required on both sides.

http://hrafnar.org/articles/dpaxson/norse/worship/

[northern-seidmadr]

Worshipping the Gods

”Veiztu hvé rista skal, veiztu hvé ráða skal? veiztu hvé fá skal, veiztu hvé freista skal? veiztu hvé biðja skal, veiztu hvé blóta skal? veiztu hvé senda skal, veiztu hvé sóa skal? (“Havamál”: 144)

Among the best-known stanzas from the Havamál is the one quoted above, which summarizes the skills required for runecraft and religion. The first two verses, in which the High One refers to inscribing, reading, coloring, and interpreting the runes, are often quoted. The second pair of lines are less familiar, but the verbs used contain the essence of Germanic religious practice. The first one, bithja, bears a family relationship to the English “bid” and is usually translated as “ask”. According to Grimm, the term has the implication of supplication. The second, blóta, refers to the sacrifice in which the blood was used to bless the people and the meat eaten after it had been dedicated to the gods. The third verb, senda, can be translated as “send”, with the implication that it involves getting the message to the gods, while the fourth, sóa, means to make an offering that is in some sense “squandered”, perhaps one which is destroyed or left to the elements rather than being shared. Together they summarize the principal ways in which the people of the North worshipped their gods.

The word “worship” comes from the Old English weordhscipe meaning to honor or give worth to something. Worshipping the gods can involve honoring them with prayer and praise, and pleasing them with worthy offerings. To worship the Northern gods today, we must go beyond the meanings other religions have given to those words to their origins, and reinterpret them in a way that will be in harmony with ancient practice as well as meeting modern needs. If we wish to enjoy the presence and friendship of the gods, we must know how to give them what they want from us and how to ask them for what we need.”

Source, bolding mine.

[queenofgoldenlilies]

Wk 4- Feb. 23- Depression, distrust, devotion, compassion, companionship, confidence.

New post from Monarch of Cups from http://ift.tt/1Gkmj7v

[queenofgoldenlilies]

The Pagan Experience - Wk 2- Feb. 9- Earth

The Pagan Experience – Wk 2- Feb. 9- Earth

The prompt for this pagan experience week is earth.

I have been doing something I never thought I would be able to, I’m taking a new spiritual practice of walking in the woods as a devotional activity for G. (who apparently is deciding to show who he is).

I’m actually getting out of the house, covering my hair as by their suggestion and because it helps, picking up my cane and going, and I like…