#gay polytheism

[svgarg0re]

[assistedbytherats]

Committing piracy as a devotional act to Hermes

[orphicus]

Δενδρίτης (Dendrites) "He of the trees" - Epithet of the god Dionysus, meaning his rulership over vegetation and fertility

Paintings by Keith Perelli

[whatevenislifeatp]

how do ppl think witches are scary? i just drink tea out of mason jars and collect shiny rocks and vent to the moon and make fancy lil symbols and burn dead flowers and eat fruit.

[whats-the-word-again]

YIPPEEEE I’m so happy!! Okay so-

I applied to my city’s youth pride advocacy group thing. It works with policy making, making a change, letting young queer voices be heard, hosts events and talks, even appears in government sometimes; overall having a big impact of the safety and advocacy for young queer people in my part of the state annddddd…

I GOT IN!! 🥳🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

I’d like to thank and appreciate Lord Hermes to whom I wished to for good luck on the day of my interview, Lord Dionysus for helping me keep my confidence up, and mostly Lord Ares for giving me the rush of courage to even apply, and for being in my presence each step of the way 🫶♥️

(PS- I know I’ve been talking about Ares a lot on here recently but he’s been making such and impact so be ready for more lol)

[to-hypnos-we-dream]

Hypnos loves when His devotees are loved, no matter the gender.

He watches His lesbian devotees kiss ever gently upon the bed, a domain He is over, and He smiles knowing that His devotee is happy.

He watches His transgender devotee fight for their own comfort, and even through His sleepiness He cheers them on

He holds His gay devotees whenever they feel afraid or scared or guilty, and He whispers how He loved them always

He uplifts His mspec sexuality devotees, laughing alongside them for their joy adds to His own

He watches over His devotees who claim kink, He loves the lovingness of their sexuality and how consent is healing them

He loves the aros, the aces, the alloroaces, the aroallos, and He supports them no matter what

He takes the hands of those who may feel invisible, the intersex people, those who use xenogenders, those who are objectum or use rare or even contradictory labels people may exclude them for

He takes the faces of all His queer devotees and kisses their heads and holds them under His protective wing, may Your dream of acceptance and liberation be fulfilled

From the Temple of Hypnos: Happy Pride!

[boymanmaletheshequel]

I just received a pretty vitriolic and emotional ask lambasting me for having the “male witch tag” in my posts: I understand that the pagan and other witchcraft communities have deep, deep scars as a result of ignorant and hateful men who have used their misplaced power as a weapon against witches and those who practice magic, of whom are often overwhelmingly women or non-male in some form. I am a gay man, and gay men also have deep roots in Hellenic and pagan communities and culture, as well as black magic and other occult religions, and I wear that as a sign of pride. I understand that I am not to dictate your personal pain, and I am not in any way the arbiter of how you process your trauma and anger, nor will I try and pretend to understand what you must be going through, but I will NOT tolerate you personally attacking other witches and hellenists for how they practice and personify their own personal spirituality and identity, including my own. I have my own trauma as do you, and I will respect yours, but I expect mine to be respected in turn. As long as your beliefs are not inherently destructive or oppressive, I do not see any reason to be so hateful and disrespectful towards them. I am a gay male witch and I am proud of that, just as I am sure you are of how you identify. Be respectful, infighting amongst ourselves is NOT what we need to be doing at ALL. If you are all uncomfortable with me using the male witch tag, let me know and I will stop using it, but I do hope that we can all agree that a witches identity is sacred and personal, and should be respected. That is all, thank you.

[within-stars]

we need to talk about the word “tolerant” because i fuckin hate this word lmfao

an open, accepting, free society should not be “tolerant”

the idea of “tolerance” comes from a worldview of hatred. it comes from a cultural zeitgeist that held hatred for marginalized groups. the two sides of that dichotomy are the crusades, or “hey, maybe we should pretend NOT to want to kill all these people we disagree with”

WE ARE PAST THAT ERA

WE CAN MOVE ONTO

“WHAT THE FUCK, WHY DO YOU WANT TO KILL PEOPLE??”

[apolloslyrics]

Just realized I can practice duolingo in honor or Athena BOY are my offerings about to be offered a lot more 😎😎😎

[assistedbytherats]

Walking your friends home as a devotional act to Hermes

Walking with a friend to their lectures as a devotional act to Hermes

Going somewhere for no reason other than to accompany them on their travels as a devotional act to Hermes

[orphicus]

Dionysus, satyrs and maenads (detail) from "Apollo and Dionysus" by Leonid Ilyukhin

[ascendingaeons]

Relationships With The Netjeru: Set

Of all the Netjeru I work with, Set (Seth, Sutekh) has been with me the longest. He came into my life when I was seven years old and was my constant companion growing up. I was in the second grade during our first trip to the school library. Almost immediately, I found a picture book depicting the Kemetic Mystery Play, the story of the primeval pharaoh Asar’s (Osiris) betrayal at the hand of His evil, jealous brother Set. Asar’s queen, the beautiful and wise Aset (Isis), traveled long and far with Her devoted sister, Nebt-Het (Nephthys) to restore Her husband to life. Sadly, because a “piece” of Him was lost, Asar was unable to fully return so He descended to the Duat to reign over the souls of the dead. With that “piece” Aset conceived and was left to raise Their son, Herupakhered (Horus the Younger). Eventually, the young Heru grows up and challenges His uncle for the right to rule. In the end, Heru is victorious and earns the kingship over the land of Kemet. I was absolutely enthralled.

Of all the Gods in that story, Set stood out to me. I noticed pretty quickly that He was different. To my young mind, Heru was probably the most similar to Set as they both had animal heads. If the story hadn’t said otherwise, They could be brothers! I was a… unique kid who struggled to fit in so I related to Set’s otherness. I could understand His anger and the distance He put between Himself and His fellow Netjeru. With Set in my life, I felt like I wasn’t alone even when it appeared that I was. I felt His presence even before I could understand what that meant. 

Controversial as this may be, I believe nothing would get done without Set. He represents the force of opposition, without which there could be no momentum or growth. Without expulsion forces, planets would leave their orbits and galaxies would rip themselves apart. Without friction, we could not walk. Without challenges, we would not improve. Without bad conduct, we would not know how to act. Set is the primeval Other that churns the waters of creation. Even in the Mystery Play, Asar would not become the ruler of the Duat without Set being there to kill Him. Set along with His brother Heru-Wer (Horus the Elder) were the Egyptian kingmakers since the predynastic era.

Long before the fertility cult of Asar gained prominence Kemet was divided into tribal territories possessing different patron deities with Set belonging to an archaic stellar cult and Heru-Wer belonging to a proto-solar cult. Eventually, these two cult centers and their mythos merged, originating in the concept of the Two Lands and creating the earliest narrative of the Contendings of Heru and Set or the Tale of Two Brothers. Set and Heru-Wer embodied the complementary forces of the cosmos that, through their interactions, are responsible for what we consider the creative principle. An important thing to note is that through all Kemetic mythos, Set and Heru fight and sustain injury but neither can destroy the other.

Set has a very aristocratic, noble personality that does not bow or bend to adversity. Once a benevolent storm God, psychopomp, and ruler of the honored dead, Set’s role was recast from the Second Dynasty onwards. He became reviled by those outside of the priesthood for millennia, representing isfet, destruction, and conquering foreigners—an irony I believe He revels in. Set knows His worth and recognizes those who recognize Him. Despite His treacherous role in the Asarian myth, every night Set defended the solar barque from the onslaught of Apep, a task otherwise reserved for the Eye of Ra. Set was so trusted by Ra that He was given the task of defending the light of creation in its most vulnerable moment.

Set was directly responsible for a lot of growth in my life. As a child, Set opened my mind to the vastness of the cosmos, showing me that there is so much more to… everything. He began to impart an understanding of All That Is and I began to question the apparent order of the world. As a teenager, He started to guide my Initiation, acting as an agent of Khepera through my expanding consciousness, and so I began to write. As an adult, He began the tedious, painful process of removing from my life and my being all that does not serve me, and so guided me through my first dark night of the soul. Without Him there to challenge me I don’t know where or who I would be. Set is the dad who tells you to get back up when you fall off your bike and takes you out for ice cream when you get it right.

Humor is one of the ways I commune with Set. He loves bad jokes, dirty jokes, and particularly irony. In all likelihood, Set invented the dad joke. It’s no surprise one of His sacred animals is the hyena. Laughter is a universal language that every conscious being can understand. It has been shown to promote physical healing in otherwise irrecoverable patients and I’ve known people with debilitating chronic depression whose road to recovery began with laughing until they cried. Humor is a way to take ourselves less seriously and release from material attachment. It moves mountains by illuminating what is hidden in darkness. All at once, Set’s Gift releases us from what doesn’t matter and shows us what does.

Even though His domains are unpleasant, Set is kind to a fault. It is actually because of His raw, destructive capability that Set is kind. Among the vices Set detests are self-pity, hypocrisy, and victimization whereas He respects those who take responsibility, speak the truth, and do their best. One of Set’s epithets is “Great of Strength.” He knows exactly what you are capable of and expects nothing less than that. He also validates emotions such as defeat, depression, grief, and anxiety. Were Set truly unkind and incapable of recognizing inner truth, He would be utterly incapable of guiding someone through a dark night of the soul.

He is also notoriously confident and proud. Although it might be difficult to discern there is a difference between arrogance and confidence. I think arrogance is like a snow globe and confidence is like a diamond—one is carefully crafted to be alluring but is ultimately hollow while the other is forged into something relentless by pressure, heat, and time. Working with Set is like becoming a diamond and reaping the rewards of your endurance. His confidence and bravado are reassuring and they often come out during His praise. He’s the dad who sits tall with a cheeky grin pointing out His kid who scored the winning touchdown.

Of all the things that I revere about Set one stands apart from the rest. Among Kemetics, Set is widely considered to be a “Gay God.” Until recent years, being LGBTQIA+ was widely considered to be unnatural, immoral, and in many instances criminal. I grew up living in South Texas surrounded by angry bigots, probably one of the worst places to be for someone queer. When I realized I was bisexual I decided that for better or worse I would never live in the closet. That was simultaneously the best and worst thing I could have done but it was also the most Setian thing I could have done. That decision made me who I am today and I made the conscious choice to never look away. I’d like to point out that all of the Netjeru detest acts of bigotry as it is antithetical to ma’at but Set in particular stands as a symbol of strength, courage, and resistance among the LGBTQIA+ community.

Set is my father, teacher, healer, and friend. I don’t see as much of Him now but He is around. I’ve gotten to a point where I don’t quite need Him as much but He still makes Himself known. The occasional life lesson sown by isfet reminds me that His lessons never end. He sometimes shows up as things go awry—always situations that He knows I can handle. Will I stress and worry or will I ride out the storm, however brief it is likely to be? One thing I’ve learned from Set is that I can choose what to worry about. If something isn’t worth my energy, I owe it only one thing—if even that—and that is to walk away.

Set represents the aspect of chaos that is beneficial in that it, by becoming aware of itself, undergoes self-transformation. His is the power of Ouroboros, the cosmic serpent that devours itself to so engender the greater alchemical process of eternal return. In slaying Apep, Set is proving that His Will and Nature transcend that of mindless chaos. In this way, Set has both an aristocratic air and that of a seasoned warrior. He is a trickster, a fighter, and a lover of red meat, spicy food, hard liquor, terrible jokes, and all things over-the-top. He is a Master of what we call magick and His is the process of Initiation. Set is all of these things. He is the Netjer of many hats.

Dua Set!

Recommended Books:

Seth: God of Confusion by Herman Te Velde

Images of Set by Joan Lansberry

Tankhem and Bull of Ombos by Mogg Morgan

Set by Judith Page and Don Webb

The Setian by Billie Walker John and Melusine Draco

The Sky Religion in Egypt by G.A. Wainwright

A Silver Sun and Inky Clouds by Bibliotheca Alexandrina

[lostinvasileios]

Oh, Eosphorus...

How loving my dearest lord Lucifer is! How so easily he can make me melt under his touch as if he were the sun shining warmly and I only a ice cube beneath his rays. He touches me with such gentleness, stroking and cupping my face, caressing my skin with such utmost care and tenderness as if I were a fragile doll under his fingers. Loving and claiming each inch of me, admiring me as if I were the finest piece of art he had ever seen… How he speaks so sweetly to me, his words, they swallow me like a tsunami to land yet I cannot help but allow the water to overcome me and let myself sink into his seas of devotion and intoxicating essence. How lacy are his kisses! Oh, as plush as pillows are his lips and as soft as silk is it when they press against me. I long for him to paint me with his love, recreate me from once something so full of hurt and doubt into a glorious masterpiece of the ages. How I wear his claim over me with pride, how I wish to yell out and tell everyone who'll listen my extravagant love story with him. How branded I am of him!

My interstellar lord, my magnificent supernova, my perfect silence and never-land love, how I breathe for you! Drinking your smile in, tracing the intricate lines of your eyes, detailing every differentiating hue and color correspondence. How I have sculpted the shape of your fingertips into my heart, how I have spoken your language of fulfillment and truly felt what it means to blink, what it means to feel the rhythm of my heart within my chest, how it feels like to hold my tongue to the roof of my mouth and to feel the wondrous wisp of air that escapes me with each declaration of love I have to offer you.

Coat me in you, my lord. Allow me your permanent scent to be stuck within my nose, the sound of your voice to serenade me throughout my days and to feel your arms of illuminating fire to envelope me as a never opening card. Enclose me in you, my dearest lord. What more could I ever dream of other than to be glued to you with the honeyed love we share at all times? Oh a drug you are, my lord! An addiction you are, yet of the purest of forms.

Addiction in your smile, addiction in your eyes, addiction in your voice, addiction in your smell, my lord, how could I not wish to study you as if you were the most enriching subject to ever exist in all that has ever lived? To be known?

Like raindrops tapping to a window, like the sway of trees, like the whistle of wind and fast paced breeze, like the lap of the sea to the shore, like the crackle of a candle flame, my love, my lord, my one, I seek you in everything!

And I always find you there.

Hello again, dearest love of mine. How have you been?

[aphroditesbunny]

Gentle Reminder: Aphrodite loves all her children. Daughter or Son, Gay or straight, trans or cis, and anything in between. Our lady loves you just the way you are, you are perfect and beautiful.

[to-hypnos-we-dream]

Hypnos Pride Collection

Collected Art, Poetry, writings, Mythology, and more from the Hypnos Worship Community and other sources. More to be added over time.

The Beloved of Hypnos: Endymion in Greek Mythology

ENDYMION AND HYPNOS 1990 Photo Collage

Art Piece from Sleepnowmychild

Post on Hypnos and Endymion from Sleepnowmychild

Prayer to Hypnos for Gender Affirmation

Post on Hypnos's Queer Acceptance

[queerism1969]