#hellenic priesthood

[atheneum-of-you]

How would you go about becoming a priest with an invitation from the god? Like what resources, and what would you learn?

Honestly it depends on the god! Each god is different, and therefore there's no set way on learning priesthood because there is no definitive guide on each and every deities method. However, I can tell you how it works for me as someone training under Hermes (and I'll make a longer more in depth guide on my process sometime soon):

Studying:

A lot of researching your deity. Learn their epithets and how to spell/write/say them. Invoking a specific epithet will help you be able to draw on their power through your future tasks from them.

Also, become knowledgeable and understanding of how the ancient Greek themselves worshipped our gods. Particularly Ancient Greek Cults and Ancient Greek Religion should basically be required reading (both of which are available for free in my tiny library!)

Communication:

Constant constant CONSTANT communication with your deity. You'll be training under them personally, so get used to constantly running to them for guidance and tasks. Communication is key, and finding your best method for receiving answers will save you a world of headaches.

Training Tasks:

Tasks are required for training. Ask your deity what it is they'd like your task to be, and they'll provide you with one. Tasks heavily depend on your deity. My first task was delivering a message from a goddess to a potential future devotee because I train under Hermes. However, a task from Aphrodite may involve providing advice to a specific pair of lovers or even required self reflection. A task from Apollo will look different from a task from Hades. A task from Dionysus will look different from a task from Ares.

Shadow Work:

We should all strive to be our greatest selves for our gods, and this is especially true on the path to priesthood. The more we understand ourselves, the clearer things can become spiritually. This isn't a hard requirement! Simply something I personally think is incredibly important.

The path of priesthood is a long and difficult one, and nay seem fun looking in but it's definitely hard work and you should be sure that this is a path you really want to walk (not talking to you specifically but anyone and everyone considering priesthood).

I hope this helped!!

[thenightpriestess]

Im a very new nyx devotee any advice in general? Any meditaions she likes or simple ways I can honor her or things to dedicate to her? Also how did you find out you wanted to be a priestess? My path to finding nyx is very simular being interested in her as a kid and my interest has only grown!

Thanks for any info you can/feel like giving and blessed be

-🫂anon

Hello! I'm gonna start off by saying that everyone's relationship with a their deities will be different. I prefer to do rituals, energy work, spirit work, divination, etc for/with Nyx, but some people prefer things like clairsenses, astrology, meditation, etc. For general offerings, night blooming flowers, dark crystals, night imagery, and more can work well. Find what works best for you, and find out what works well to grow your relationship with Nyx. It often takes some trial and error, but the work can definitely be rewarding.

Now for the priesthood bit. I've been interested in clergy and religious lifestyles since before I started worshipping the gods. I was interested in nuns, and then druids, and when I started worshipping Nyx, I became incredibly interested in priesthood. I started researching, and eventually, I asked Nyx if priesthood was something she wanted me to pursue. So, I did more research, and got confirmations, and now I'm here. Everyone has a different path, so finding what works best for you and your god(s) is important.

Feel free to ask more questions or message me if you feel the need to ☆

[deinemuddalutscht]

Why Marvel spelled it "Khonshu"

First of all, there is not one correct spelling of this name as Egyptian hieroglyphics cannot be directly translated into the alphabet, and the pronunciation and spelling of the name have changed over the millennia.

To understand where this spelling comes from, one must first look at the history of the name: The spelling in the Old and Middle Kingdoms suggests that the name was pronounced something like χansVw. The V stands for a short unknown vowel that could not be recreated because ancient Egyptian script has no vowels. That's why direct transcriptions of hieroglyphics just write the name as "hnsw". The spellings Khonsu, Chensu, Chonsu, Khonsou, Chonsou, Khesnu, and Khensou are all derived from hnsw/χansVw, .

However, "Khonsu" is not the "authenthic" pronunciation of the name, because a) the English Khonsu is pronounced xɛnsu and not χansVw, and b) the original name for Khonsu contains the unknown vowel. It is even quite possible that Egyptians of the Old Kingdom used a different vowel for the name than the ones of the Middle Kingdom. In the Amarna period, the name was pronounced ˈχansə, and around 800 BCA, it was χans. Interestingly, the pronunciation ˈχansə seems to have survived in the Meroitic language in words like uṣiḫaanša. From χans, the spellings Chons, Khens, Khons, Hons, etc., are derived. In Coptic, χans became Ϣⲟⲛⲥ, from which the spellings Shons and Schons are derived. Additionally, there is a Hellenized version of the name: Chespisichis/Khespisíkhis, from which, for example, the Portuguese name for Khonsu, Quespisiquis, is derived. The Greek version did not become the dominant form however, unlike for other gods such as Osiris, Isis, Seth, Nephthys, Horus and Anubis (Ausar, Aset, Sutekh Nebet-het, Heru and Anpu are the actual Egyptian versions of their names)

For reasons that will be important later, I first need to explain Khonsus role in the Theban pantheon. Every ancient Egyptian city had its own hierarchy and local versions of gods and myths. Different attributes and tasks were assigned to different gods in different citys. Amun, Khonsu, and Mut were the patron gods of Thebes, though they were relatively unknown until Thebes became the capital city of Egypt. This led to the cults of these gods becoming extremely popular. It is hard to comprehend just how incredibly powerful the priesthood of Amun was.: the priests of Amun were rulers in their own rights during the 21st Dynasty, and in the Greco-Roman period people used the Temple of Khonsu in Karnak to make temple oaths that governed civil matters like debts, compensations, inheritance, and divorce. Thus, the priesthoods in Karnak held significant power within Ancient Egyptian society.

I believe Marvel had difficulty understanding that Egyptian mythology did not have THE ONE pantheon that stood above the rest of the gods, like the 12 Olympians or the gods of Asgard. The Ennead of Heliopolis, was very important in the city of Heliopolis as it had two primary functions: 1) It served as a divine council for resolving disputes among the gods, and 2) as a generation of creation gods. Cosmogonies (creation myths) were different in every city, with each city placing its local gods at the top of the creation chain. In Thebes, the Ennead also existed, but it played a significantly smaller role in the Theban pantheon since they were not considered to be the gods who actually created the world. Additionally, it partially consisted of different gods than the "classic" Ennead. Thus, the Theban Ennead primarily served as the court and council of the god-king Amun-Ra. While Osiris and Horus were still considered to be quite important compared to the rest of the Ennead, they were very much merged with the Theban versions of Amun and Khonsu. Tasks that were typically attributed to Isis in other cities, for example, were assigned to "Hathor chief of Thebes" (a local Theban version of Hathor, not to be confused with "Hathor within the Benenet": another local Theban version of Hathor who was revered as the consort of Khonsu-Neferhotep).

There are several Theban cosmogonies, but they generally follow this pattern: At the beginning, there was a creator god who was a form of Amun. This creator god had a son(s) who were sometimes deities like Khonsu and Tatennen, but also could be other aspects of Amun (for example, in some inscriptions, the creator god Amun Kematef creates his "son" Amun Irita, but Amun Irita is just another version of Amun. This differentiation is sometimes made in Theban inscriptions to distinguish Amun as the dead creator god from Amun the king of the gods and Amun as part of the Ogdoad). The creator god then creates the eight gods of the Ogdoad with this son. The ogdoad is a group of four male-female twin pairs that in other cities is the very first generation of gods. The Ogdoad then together creates some form of the sun god, who then creates the Ennead.

The new Kingdom period made Khonsu into A creator god and sometimes even THE creator god The depiction of Khonsu as THE creator god is much rarer and is due to a fusion with Amun-Ra. He was known as “Khonsu, the great one, who comes forth from the primordial water” (as seen on the statue of Harwa from the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty in the Egyptian Museum, the magical healing statue of Hor in the Turin Museum from the Thirtieth Dynasty, the healing statue of a priest of the goddess Bastet in the Louvre Museum from the Thirtieth Dynasty, the healing statue of Psammetikseneb in the Florence Museum from the Thirtieth Dynasty, and in the inscription of Mentuemhat in the temple of the goddess Mut at Karnak from the end of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty and the beginning of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty respectively). In his form as the creator god who emerged from the primordial water, he was sometimes represented as a double hawk-headed man with four wings standing on two crocodiles as a symbol of his triumph over chaos. Alternatively, he was rarely represented as a creator god in the form of a crocodile with the head of a hawk, lying on a pedestal. According to the historian Armour, the two heads of the hawk represent the sun and moon. They also probably symbolize Khonsu as a divine lunar equivalent of the creator sun god. In this form, he combines the sun and the moon in a single creature, thus, he could be conceived as a mythical complex personification of death and rebirth simultaneously.

Khonsu-Re was known since the late New Kingdom, but he lost significance during the Greco-Roman period. We often imagine the triad consisting of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu as a father, mother, and child dynamik, but like everything in Egyptian Mythology, the family tree is more of a cycle: Mut could be the mother, daughter, and wife of Amun(-Ra), Amun was the father of Khonsu, but at the same time, Khonsu was also seen as a form that Amun takes at night or at the beginning of the new day, and Mut was the mother of Khonsu, but she was occasionally also referred to as his daughter. ("Khonsu who arrives as an infant after old age, made by his daughter, fashioned by his J-serpent, through her [Mut], he is greatest of gods and goddesses. That she gave birth to him in Thebes was in the form of an august child, the rn/i-scarab, in his manifestation of Khepri"). The reason for this is that the births of the sun and moon were not understood as one-time events but as events that repeated every day, month, or year (daily birth of the moon symbolizing the rising of the moon, monthly births symbolized the beginning of a new moon cycle, and yearly birth symbolized the beginning of a new year and the start of spring). As the sun and moon, Amun and Khonsu are children who grow old, die, and are then reborn in an ever-renewing cycle.

Khonsu as A creator god is the more commonly attributed role to him in Thebes and is more associated with his role as the son of Amun rather than as a moon and sun god. The khonsu cosmogony makes him into the second god to emerge from the primodial water after Amun-Ra Kematef. Basically Amun ejaculates the into the waters, Khonsu then swallows the seed, becomes pregnant by it and travels to earth to give birth to the Ogdoad on the so called island of flames. In a way all gods can be considered the sons of Amun(-Ra) but Khonsu fills the role of THE son of Amun: the firstborn, the heir, the most important, and the most revered. This position naturally aligns him with Shu, who in the Heliopolitan cosmogony is the firstborn son of Re. In fact, Khonsu adopts many aspects of Shu: like how he is regarded as a wind god and the holder of the sky. Early Egyptologists even thought that Shu and Khonsu were the same deity. I still have an annotated version of Herodotus' work from the 18th century, where the footnotes claim that Shu in Thebes was called "Khonsu Neferhotep." The confusion arose from some Ancient Egyptian inscriptions that used "Shu" as an epithet after the Khonsus name, which literally gives the name Khons-shu or Khonshu (as I have already explained, Khons/Chons was the spelling usally used during the late New Kingdom). But the Shu in Khonshu was not just an epithet but this merged form also had its own cult.

God splitting happens when an epithet becomes so interwoven with a particular epithet that it forms its own subaspect of the "main" deity. Like how "Hathor in Benenet", "Hathor, chief of Thebes" and "Hathor, chief of Dendra" are all aspects of Hathor with the epitheth stating which role they take on in the pantheon. Distinguishing between different forms of the same god can be quite important since there can be significant differences when it comes to their priesthood, temple attributes and their place in the Egyptian family tree. God splitting was very common fo Khonsu in Thebes: "Khonsu-Neferhotep," "Khonsu-pa-ir-sekher," "Khonsu-pa-chered," "Khonsu-wen-nekhu," "Khonsu-Shu," and "Khonsu-Thoth" all had their own small priesthoods in the Karnak Temple Complex. The priesthood of Khonshu did not have its own temple, unlike "Khonsu-pa-chered" or "Khonsu-pa-ir-sekher," but was housed in the main temple of Khonsu in Thebes, the so-called Benenet.

Essentially, all offshoots of Khonsu are differnet aspects for Khonsu-Neferhotep, who had by far the largest and most important priesthood. And Khonsu-Neferhotep is the aspect of Khonsu that gained the most importance. Therefore Khonshu is a part of Khonsu-Neferhotep and Khonsu-Neferhotep is a part of Khonsu. That is why Khonsu during the Old Kingdom was so different from the Khonsu of the New Kingdom period: The theban version of him eclipsed basically all of the bloodthirsty, cannibal versions of him that might have existed in other city during the Middle Kingdom Other Khonsus in other cities. That is essentially why it is so difficult to understand Khonsus's original role in the Old and Milde kingdoms aside from the bloodthirsty underworld deity. It even debatable to which extent the Khonsu in the pyramid texts and coffin texts was a moon god to begin with and when he first became associated with the falcon. It is difficult to say who Khonsu was before became Khonsu-Neferhotep, the patron god of Thebes. Therefore it might be more accurate to say that Khonsu-Neferhotep isn't just a partial aspect of Khonsu, he straight up became THE Khonsu. We do not even know what the cult of Theban Khonsu was like before Ramesses III built the Benenet and Hatshepsut grouped him together with Amun and Mut to triad, because nothing of the Pre-Benenet temple survived, just the knowledge that there existed one.

In any case, Khonshu primarily embodied Khonsu's aspect as a sun and creator god, which is why I have focused so much on these aspects. Therefore, he is referred to in inscriptions in various ways, such as: "He who sails to Western Thebes daily, who leaves offerings for the Great Ba of Kematef, who is there as Amun, in the Underworld chamber with the Bas of the Ogdoad." or "He who enters Manu bearing offerings for the Father of fathers of the Ogdoad, so that his face lights up and his heart rejoices upon seeing him, as the august child when he enters the Eye-of-Re (Thebes)." Or "He who returns pregnant from the Grotto of Nun with the prestige of his father in his body." Basically some priests of Khonsu-Neferhotep thought that the myth in which Khonsu becomes pregnant by drinking his fathers semen, and then fucks the universe into existence with Hathor is a linguistic masterpiece that deserved its own cult.

Presumably, the cult around Khonshu had something to do with ancestor worship, as it describes how Khonshu leaves offerings for Amun Kematef and the Ogdoad. In the Theban tradition, the first creator god and the Ogdoad are often described as being dead gods, which contrasts sharply with the idea that Amun should be the king of the gods. This is why there is a differentiation between Amun Kematef, the dead first creator god, and Amun Irita, the living creator god and king of the gods. Simultaneously, the epithet "Father of the Fathers of the Ogdoad" is used to distinguish Kematef and Irita from Amun of the Ogdoad. Some cosmogonies, like the Khonsu cosmogony, avoid this confusion altogether by simply replacing the last pair of the Ogdoad (Amun and Amunet) with the twin pair Nia and Niat. Technically, there is also a fourth generation of Amun, because the sun god that the Ogdoad collectively conceives (don't ask me how they managed that. The gene pool of the Ancient Egyptian Gods is just a puddle at this point) is often another aspect of Amun, like Amenope.

[theic-manic]

🌼🌞 Apollonian sideblog coming soon

Which means that some of the informational megaposts on my linked post will be rewritten, updated and posted ONLY on my future sideblog, same applies to my planned educational content (see below).

What does this mean for my main account (the one I am posting from currently)?

This account, Theic-manic, will be a mixture of fandom, occasional demonology, Satanism, witchcraft, paganism, general Polytheism content from a variety of pantheons and other esoteric content in addition to some memes.

However, educational content on Hellenism, Roman polytheism and paganism, my divination readings, and whatever else that I classify as religious will be posted on the new sideblog.

🛑 Asks on my main/current blog will be switched off.

If/when I have capacity to run a discord server, I'll also share it on the sideblog.

I haven't created this sideblog just yet.

However, if you're interested in following my future sideblog please be sure to keep an eye out for my future update via a post (I will also edit my pinned post accordingly).

In the meantime, please comment with topics you'd like to see me cover on this future sideblog!

Future topics list, as at writing 26th October 2024:

- Worshipper > Devotee > Clergy (Priesthood) > Hieros Gamos > Godspousing > sacred prostitution as a series, from a non-reconstructionist POV.

- Interpretatio Romana and Interpretatio Graeca

- Oracles

- Rewriting some posts linked on the pinned post such as Deity identification via tarot, Deity soul parents and any others I identify as requiring an update.

- How to use weekday magickal and spiritual correspondences to become acquainted with Greek and Roman deities you're unfamiliar with, followed by a post with advanced information/ instructions on using this method to transition from Worshipper to Devotee.

- LGBTQIA+ within Hellenic and Roman pantheons.

- Cledonomancy, Orinthomancy aka augury, symbolomancy, tarot and other divination methods.

- Either weekly or fortnightly channelled divination.

- Deity identification methods, including why learning their epithets can help improve this!

Thank you ��🌼

[seaofwine]

i've been offline - at least off tumblr - for about a month at this point. this has been for many reasons, but there are a couple that i want to talk about. first: i find it incredibly difficult to articulate what my practice is now. while it is still deeply rooted in arkadian reconstructionism, there is so little about tegea that exists in the written record. at this point, i am okay saying that i have shared what i can.

to be honest, the further along in my practice I get, the harder it becomes to put down in words. in short: i feel less confident sharing religious content online. the ways people experience the divine will be as varied as there are worshippers, which is a good thing. religion is meant to be personal to you.

for me, i'm at a stage in life & my religious practice where i see now just how much i don't know. sometimes that is the wisest thing you can say.

Athena is as vast as the cosmos, with so much knowledge i cannot even begin to comprehend. i can tell you about her epithets, i can tell you what they mean to me. she is my goddess (said with the reverence of 'my captain, my captain'), i am devoted to her, i revere her; but she is beyond my understanding. i don't understand divinity, and i would not speak on their behalf.

i have received asks in the past that i struggled to answer; things like, "how do i know Athena is reaching out to me?" or, "what offerings does she like?" I can tell you that, at least during Panathenaea, that a peplos was placed on her altar; a gift from the weavers of the city for her festival. I can tell you the story i was told by a mythographer in Athens, of how glaukopis came to denote the color blue. i can tell you that olives and olive oils are lovely offerings, or that it could be nice to crochet, knit, or weave an altar cloth. all of these things can be sought out and sourced.

i can't source the personal things. i can't tell you to do what i do, because i don't always know why i do it. i know that Athena is there because she meets me where i am. i sew and weave as a devotional act, so when i was having a bad day, i knew she was there when i stepped over a spool of thread on my way home. i love owls and collect them for her, so i knew she was there with me during the most nerve-wracking exam of my life when i looked out the window and was face-to-face with an advertisement for a company whose logo was a giant cartoon owl.

that being said, it makes sense then that i'm also personally uncomfortable with and wary of the influx of people claiming to be priests and priestesses. i won't rehash it because @loemius made a great post (literally the one underneath this one) addressing the fact that titles hold weight.

e-temples are a great way to connect with people & to express your worship in a subtle way, especially if you cannot openly worship at home. i think they are wonderful. however, any community with implied or enforced hierarchies centered around religious expression are things to be cautious about. this is doubly the case if these are run by minors.

i've been trying to work on a collaborative post about modern priesthood, but i keep coming back to the same problem. the structures that allowed for & educated Hellenic polytheist priests just don't exist in an accessible way today. in short: i don't know.

people are fallible, people make mistakes. always do your due diligence to double-triple-check the things people are telling you online, myself included.

[pearlsandjustice]

Thoughts on Priesthood

I have seen an influx of people in our community here on Tumblr discussing the topic of priests. As someone deeply fascinated with religion, both in relation to my own practice and to the concept as a whole, I have spent a lot of time thinking about this and am interested in sharing my ideas. I have considered many positions on this and my beliefs have grown and changed into a form I feel comfortable sharing and discussing.

To preface:

This is simply my own view that I absolutely cannot claim is the "right" one. It is natural in the study of any religion that there are endless debates about aspects and practices of that religion, and I don't have any issue with those who think differently than me, as long as they are also respectful to those whose opinions differ from theirs. There is room for Hellenic Polytheist belief to be practiced by many different groups of people in many different ways. There always has been.

Ok, my thoughts.

The way I overall approach religion and tradition of course forms the basis of my perspective on this particular subject. So I will try to quickly summarize my belief on that.

We need to protect the core spirit and overall intents and ideas of how the gods were traditionally worshipped. We should carefully study everyday worship, cult worship, and everything else because it is all very useful and important to building a practice that honors the gods. However, for our religion to survive and remain sustainable in the modern day, I believe some aspects of practice must be adapted to the lives and needs of the modern worshippers. It is not as if ancient practice was, in every detail, sculpted by the gods themselves. No, it was in many ways sculpted by those who followed it, practicing religion in ways that were important to them. I think we should be able to adapt pre-existing practices or create new practices as long as the changes we make are not things that would harm people or offend the gods.

My beliefs on that matter inform my beliefs on Priesthood. I believe there is a place for priests in modern Hellenic Polytheist practice (even though they may look different than they would've for the ancient Greeks) because I believe, if properly employed, they can serve important purposes to worshippers and make our community and collective practice stronger.

Our religious population is very decentralized, and in many ways this is a blessing. I am by no means advocating for a strict, organized orthodoxy. I know many of us have left large organized religions and have seen the difficulties and evils that can often arise from a large religious group structured in that particular way. I have had a similar experience. So no, that is not what I want. My opinion is simply that on a more grounded scale, within smaller communities or organizations, it may be important to have those who serve clerical duties, the function of "priest". Those who may act as a sort of leader. Not the type of leader who rules over or dictates our practices, but those who can give advice and spiritual support, and bring groups of worshippers together in community.

What is a Priest (to me)?

To inform the next sections of this post, I will clarify what I in particular mean when I refer to priests or their duties. In multiple religious practices, "priest" or a similar or equivalent descriptor is used to describe those who fill many or all the following roles. (Or at least in theory fill that role, I know the realities of some religious groups can be less than ideal)

Qualifications:

Has studied religion extensively (and will continue to do so), focusing on the religious beliefs and practices of their specific group, the worship of their specific deity, etc. They have a wide and reliable body of knowledge on these subjects.

Is prepared for and committed to dedicating their life to religion, giving up much of their time, energy, and often other aspects of their life to this dedication. They may do other things, but in particular their duty as a religious figure is one of the most important parts of their life and sense of purpose. It is not a commitment to be taken lightly.

Has the ability to put their knowledge and experience into action to perform priestly duties.

Is recognized either by a specific religious organization or more generally by the people of the religion as a member of clergy. They don't just say they're a priest, that role is validated by their relationship to their church, religious group, or community. They function as and are seen as a priest by other members of their religion.

Purposes/ Duties:

Performing or leading rites and rituals. This can range from initiating a religious event or giving a simple blessing to much more significant ceremonies. Of course, in many scenarios non-priests can do this, but if a priest is available they will typically fill this role. In many religious traditions, highly important ceremonies such as weddings and funeral rites can only be performed by religious leaders like priests.

Acting as a leader in the religious community. Often, such religious leaders help to bring together groups of people through worship, and may sometimes directly help to plan and organize religious services or community events.

Teaching. Priests often teach about and encourage worshippers to think about their religious stories/myths/texts, the history of their religion, traditional methods of worship, etc. More experienced priests may also sometimes help guide those who are interested in potentially becoming priests themselves.

Facilitating communication and relationships with deity. A priest may give religious guidance, provide suggestions on how to strengthen personal practice and divine bonds, or in some cases directly help a worshipper communicate with a deity or spirit by guiding them in prayer or divination or consensually performing prayer or divination on their behalf. (The way a priest goes about providing spiritual guidance may look very different depending on the priest)

Priests may be expected to also give more general advice and support and help the community in more ways than just religiously, but again, this is variable.

This is what I am generally thinking of when I speak of priests. And yes, I think we can benefit greatly from people fulfilling these roles. And I know there are others who think similarly.

Troubles

Of course, there are some issues that people in our community have noticed. Because our religion is so decentralized and many of us are not even members of any specific organization/ fellowship/ congregation/ temple, there are some people who claim to be priests who do not have as thorough of a religious education as is ideal or are not prepared to take on the responsibilities of Priesthood. I am not accusing anyone in particular of anything. I have seen quite a few people in my time in our communities who are doing a great job of fulfilling these responsibilities or working towards doing so. And I do not mean to discourage those who truly feel called to become a priest, of course. I have established in this post that I think priests are awesome. They can strengthen our community, provide guidance to us, and help us all grow and become stronger in our religious practices if we choose to interact with them (which nobody is obligated to do, of course. If your particular method of worship or belief system does not include priests that's alright too). My intent with this particular section of the post is just to encourage critical thought. And maybe, if you're considering calling yourself a priest but aren't sure if that's the most correct label for yourself, you can consider alternatives. If you contemplate this and think priest is the right word for your path, even if your idea of what a priest is differs from mine, that's also fine, as long as you clarify to people that you are not a guide or teacher if you are not, as people may assume you are the type of priest who would fill those roles.

Becoming a Priest

I am of course not an authority on the process of becoming a priest, and I have not done it. This part is a combination of the things I *Do* know about it and just my thoughts and ideas on the subject.

Becoming a priest is a process that in most cases takes a number of years. It seems like a lot of work, because it is. Being a priest, a good priest, is very difficult. As far as I figure, not many people are cut out for it. You could be the most devout worshipper of a god ever and still not be meant to be a priest. Its not like it's a badge verifying you've reached the Ultimate Stage Of Worship. It is not an end goal and it does not make those who become priests better than anyone else. It is a specific and laborious vocation. And it's an important one. To anyone who has made the difficult decision to become a priest and is diligently pursuing that goal, I wish the best of luck. Whether you have aligned yourself with a pagan religious organization that has some form of clergy and are pursuing priesthood through that avenue, whether you are studying under an experienced priest, or whether you are trying to find what becoming a priest looks like for you right now through rigorous solitary study.

It is a journey that involves finding a strong balance between deep worship and aiding the community in the honor of divinity.

So, my overall conclusion is,

In all things, I try to come from a place of careful optimism. I want to make sure I consider the dangers and pitfalls of something, but overall remain enthusiastic about the good it can bring in the best case. So, I guess my message to anyone who may want to be a priest is to be cautious and avoid calling yourself a full-fledged priest if you are not fully equipped to deal with the weight and connotations that may be associated with that title, and if you decide to go on the long journey to become one (and afterwards continue to grow in that role), I hope you find that is a fulfilling path for you and your hard work is rewarded in that way. My message to those who already fulfill such a role for the community, whether they use the title of priest or something else, is to keep being awesome. To everyone reading, passionately pursue knowledge, do your research, and ideally have a good time.

If anyone wants to share their experiences in response, I would love to read them. If anyone wants to share resources on this or related topics for other people who may be interested, that is also super cool, I'm not an expert on this topic. If you strongly disagree with me, you are free to express that in a respectful way, but if you want to fight about it I would rather you not interact, I am not trying to dictate anyone's beliefs and I hope nobody will try to dictate mine.

Author's note: I understand that the way I write and occasionally speak can be read as pompous or pretentious in some places. This is not intentional. I am autistic and one of the ways communication is different for me is that I feel the need to make very precise word choices to communicate both the idea and the tone of my thoughts. Also there are probably grammar or formatting mistakes here, I re-read it several times but my mind is fallible.

[hyakinthou-naos]

Hello! I'm curious how you came up with the title "Hytheria". I'm interested in creating my own title for similar reasons but am having a tough time. Did you base it on an existing ancient Greek word, or did you just make it up entirely? Thank you in advance! 💜

Khaire Anon!

Thank you for your ask! Hytheria is the simplified spelling of Hythiereia, and Hythiereia is a word we invented for our temple. It is a combination of two words that were used in Ancient Greece in reference to the Hellenic Faith. The first being Hiereia:

Hiereia was the title of the female priesthood or priestesses in ancient Greek religion (source).

The second being Pythia:

Pythia was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi (source).

So Hythiereia is H (from hiereia) + YTH (from pythia) + IEREIA (from hiereia) - and Hytheria is just a simplified spelling that makes the word easier to read/pronounce

For anyone who is curious, it is pronounced like: HIGH-TH-EAR-EEE-UH (Rhyming with Siberia)

Despite the feminine connotations to both Hiereia and Pythia, the term Hytheria is meant to be gender neutral and void of gendered connotations.

If you'd like any help creating your own version / a similar term feel free to message us and we'd be happy to help in any way that we can!

Eirene - peace and farewell,

- Aön

[gothicaphrodite]

Babes, I get the wish to have temples to worship our gods but if we did have temples open to us it wouldn't be like in ancient times. 😭

Correct me if I'm wrong but to my knowledge, only the priesthood were allowed into the temples. Regular degular Hellenic people worshipped at home or in communal gatherings, much like we do today as modern Pagans.

[arlechinav-blog]

Lupercalia vs. Valentine's Day

(Pictured: Etruscan Uni, a precursor to Roman Juno, wearing her goat headdress.)

There is an annual deluge of blog posts, articles, and cute works of art that attempt to link Valentine's Day to Lupercalia and every year for the last 5 years I have put together a little walkthrough to provide some context. This goes hand-in-hand with my earlier post on Roman Halloween, aka the entire month of February.

If you have ever been tempted to believe that Roman religion was identical to Hellenic religion, you would be pretty close to correct but only after the time of Emperor Augustus. More like a smoothed out Romanized version of Hellenic religion. A thing that deserves its own post, honestly. The big point that I want to emphasize here is that there are--or I guess were-- two completely different versions of the old Roman religion. The older one was indigenous to Rome, shared a lot of features with the shapeshifting pastoral cults of Arkadia, and can best be described as the archaic religio. Prior to Augustus' reign, Rome was led spiritually by a team of hereditary priesthoods known as the Flamen. I am telling you this because Lupercalia is a day that belongs to the archaic religion of Rome and not the imported and converted one that came later. Okay, now we are ready! Here we go!

Lupercalia

Lupercalia was the public face of the old Roman wolf-cult. I jokingly call it the wolfstravaganza  because it was part of a complex family of unambiguous werewolf rituals related to the hereditary Flamen priesthood of Mars (the Roman agricultural wolf-god). The greater wolf-cult was once (and still is in some areas) wide spread throughout Southern Europe and North Africa. Most people who have even casually looked into this topic are aware of Lupercalia as a single day event. The wolfstravaganza presents Lupercalia in its natural place as just one part of an entire series of ritual days dedicated to different aspects of the old wolf-death-agricultural-cult.

In Antiquity, Lupercalia was celebrated on the 7th day of the wolf-cult's 13 day wolfstravaganza that kicked off around February 9th. This placed Lupercalia on February 15th. All of these numbers had a coded significance. The number 9 was the number associated with transformation between human and wolf and we know this because the number is used consistently and repeatedly in Roman lycanthrope mythology and iconography. The number 7 was likewise considered the most auspicious day for a holiday so seven days into the private wolf-cult festivities would be the ideal day to do something publicly significant. Two days after Lupercalia, which would be February 17th, came the celebration of Romulus' (the deified werewolf himself) ascension or transformation into godhood as the reborn indigenous deity, Quirinus. This would be 9 days from February 9th, counting the 9th as day 1. So, this is the natural and perfect day to place a transformation event.

I cannot emphasize enough how much symbolism is contained in numbers. Odd numbers were considered lucky and even numbers were considered unlucky so it would have been important to conclude the wolfstravaganza on an odd number of days. The 13th and final day of the full wolfstravaganza was February 21st. Also known as a "holiday" called Feralia--and it was terrifying. Feralia was a day given over to the agents of the dead--the descendants of Romulus' twin brother, Remus--as they ripped through pantries throughout the city, eating and drinking with the unquenchable hunger of the dead. Because that's what werewolves do...

These 13 days were seen as the days of the dead. The entire month of February was devoted to solemn rituals to appease the dead and that 13th day, Feralia, was the most dangerous day on the Roman calendar. On the Feralia, members of the wolf-cult would raid the storehouses of Roman households to eat and drink their fill in exchange for protecting the living from the spirits of the malevolent restless dead. As I said earlier, the wolf-cult was originally led by a hereditary fraternity-priesthood known as Flamen. The tradition is probably older than the concept of Rome itself and I say that because of just how widespread this cult was and still is active--extending from Iberia to (what is today) Eastern Turkey. Surprise! There used to be, and kind of still is, an absolutely enormous chunk of the world that essentially had a werewolf based religion prior to the rise of the more literate and cosmopolitan Hellenic cultures.

Back to Lupercalia though... Lupercalia was among several occasions--the terms holiday or festival don't exactly fit--in the old Roman calendar that were so old that they ceased to make any sense to modern educated Romans by the time of Emperor Augustus, who was also a religious reformer. Many indigenous writers such as Livy and Ovid attempted to explain the strange trappings of the holiday with folklore relating to Romulus & Remus--the wolf-twins. What most people don't realize, because the wolf-cult is so off the Radar as far as Roman religious history is concerned, is that Romulus & Remus were not considered human. To call them demigods is accurate in a sense but incomplete. They were both considered wolf-men in antiquity but one was considered the wolf of the living (Romulus) and the other was considered the wolf of the dead (Remus). And you can see this theme repeated over and over in all of the stories pertaining to Romulus & Remus.

I prefer to stick to Livy & Ovid as far as written sources on this go because--as I said a moment ago--they lived during the time of transition between the old indigenous archaic religious practices and the religious reforms of Emperor Augustus AND they were native to the region themselves. This means they grew up hearing these stories from childhood as part of the transmission of native oral history. In those stories, Remus is the one who is always either dead or in mortal peril AND he and his agents are always hungry. Remus has the appetite of the dead because he is considered the fully dead wolf. As brothers, their close but competitive relationship is an allegory for the beloved departed who always desire the food of the living and the living who need that food to survive. Nowhere in the calendar year is that more true than in February. It is a cold, wet, dismal month that brings rot to pantries and uncertainty to the harvests in the coming year. I have explained this a bit more thoroughly in another blog post relating to the Roman Month of February. So, there is a broader context of death for the month that Lupercalia falls into.

If you have ever done any reading about Lupercalia, you have likely heard that boys would wear wolf-pelts and run naked through the streets lashing women with bloody strips of goat hide to improve "fertility." Fertility is a rather broad concept that a lot of archaic rituals from antiquity are categorized into but there is some serious nuance to it and that makes a big difference. The type of fertility ritual in play here was related to returning mother's milk to sweetness so that babies would not reject the breast.

Rome was plagued by high infant mortality rates and infertility due to lead poisoning, which has the same symptoms as a baby goat who refuses to nurse due to the mother being kept too close to a buck. Bucks stink. A lot. And this is the time of year when animals start birthing and this would become a major issue if it wasn't handled in some way. One of the methods of dealing with this was and still is a buck cull. This effectively removes the stink of the buck, which returns the goat's milk to sweetness so the babies will nurse.

Roman mothers were having this same problem thanks to the lead poisoning. February to March was a time when the first babies of a proper June wedding would start being born, which is why June & February are sacred to Juno and March is sacred to Mars. If sympathetic magic needed to be done to protect babies born during these rough, lean months, the middle of February was the time to do it. A buck cull would provide a lot of nutrient dense meat for pregnant and nursing mothers. And goat milk is more easily digestible for human babies who have rejected the breast so it is in many ways important to make sure the milk of both humans and goats is fit for consumption.

(Pictured: Juno Sospita wearing her goat headdress.)

Both Livy and Ovid attribute the rituals of Lupercalia to the wider cult of Juno--who is a goddess of forests, goats, and milk as well as the mother of Mars, which would make her grandmother to Romulus & Remus. Juno is said to have taught them this ritual through an Etruscan augur.

February is the month of the dead and the wolf-men are the descendants of Romulus & Remus, the legendary founders of Rome itself. This lactation ritual happens to fall here because of how birth cycles map out on the calendar year. The people who would have the spiritual authority to perform this sympathetic magic would be the werewolf descendents of Juno. Which is just a fun concept. So, it was they who sacrificed as many goat bucks as would be required to do this and then those strips of hide would be dipped in blood and splashed over anyone with a womb who wanted their blessing for this.

As time wore on, a disconnect arose between the hereditary cults and the educated up-and-coming political families who did not have those old ties to spiritual authority through family lineage. There was absolutely some overlap between the two due to marriages between older families and those who were politically on the rise. That only seemed to heighten the confusion as this and other elements of the old archaic Roman religion had secret aspects handled by initiation and birth. The old agricultural chants were sung in a language that grew further and further from the more widely understood Latin with each passing generation. At a certain point, educated Romans started questioning and pushing back against the old and often really odd rituals of their grandparents' generations. They had to make guesses about the provenance of many indigenous practices. Eventually, the old religion just went out of style.

At least part of the reason for the disconnect between the educated classes and the Roman public at this time was likely due to the fact that the priesthood for the wolf-cult was hereditary so the actual rules and reasons for "why and how" was a closely guarded mystery. There are also hints about some elements of cannibalism involved in the older rituals that may have been either real cannibalism or a ritualized stand-in for it. This was not seen as something that a civilized nation should do. It was mysterious, it was weird, it was old, and it was not subject to the rules of the modern Augustan priests who formed a hierarchy on up to the Rex Sacorum. This meant that the wolf-cult was eventually pushed to the periphery of Roman religion, seen as a relic or an antique from another time that was allowed to continue only because Romulus was so important to Roman identity. The educated classes either looked for ways to explain it or were a bit critical of it.

Valentine's Day

Now we can move on to the creation of Valentine's Day. I'm not going to get into the more modern romantic connotations of the holiday, we are going to stick to the time period between about 100-500CE. This is what I think happened based on the full context of what was traditionally going on during the month... (Artist's Interpretation)

In the early days of Christianity, the public largely took the wheel in creating the cultural practices that work alongside the religion. Back when Christianity had a very heavy focus on martyrdom, your average Roman Christian was keen to prove their faith. They did this in many subversive ways, responding to the dominant polytheistic traditions around them. Keep in mind that February itself was still the month of the dead to the vast majority of the population. As such, marriage was absolutely forbidden for nearly the entire month because it was seen as incredibly unlucky. The preferred month for marriage was June because Juno was the goddess of marriage. If you count off 36-40 weeks from June, you land somewhere between February and March. So, February was considered a proper month to give birth. Also keep in mind that mother and infant mortality rates were quite high and, thanks to widespread lead poisoning in Rome, many mothers had sour milk which would also cause infants to not take breast milk and die of starvation. February was just devoted to other things. Romance was not high on anybody's to-do list at this time of year.

When Julius Caesar reformed the Roman calendar, he left February alone. It was considered so unlucky that he didn't want to add more days to it. That is why it still only has 28 days when others have 30 or 31. Remember that even numbers were considered unlucky. So here we have the month of death that ends in an even number, ghosts are running rampant, werewolves are doing strange things in the city streets, what is a good Christian to do to prove their faith? Why, get married of course!

If heaven is real then there are no such things as ghosts because the dead are all in heaven or hell! If the Christian god is real and all other gods are fake then Juno will not be blasphemed if you get married in February! And if Jesus died for your sins then there is no such thing as bad luck so a faithful Christian can get married smack dab in the middle of the unluckiest month in the calendar year and nothing bad will happen!

February 14th was literally considered the most unlucky day of the year to get married... if you ascribed to the Roman religion. However, if you truly believed in the Christian god and heaven, getting married on this day would prove to all that you had no fear. So, Lupercalia has a little to do with how Valentine's Day came into existence but not much. It DEFINITELY WAS NOT an occasion of naked kinky boys with sexy whips and orgies. That interpretation came around long after the practice had faded into obscurity and people were looking around for ancient origins for modern holidays. It relies on a outside-looking-in narrative for Lupercalia.

Keep that in mind when you see those posts about supposed crazy ancient Roman romance on this day. It was not a thing. Now go do your part and eat some goat.

[memoriaedamnatio]

Four Servers, One Cult

WARNING: THIS POST IS LONG AND EXCEEDS THE IMAGE LIMIT TUMBLR HAS, THEREFORE THERE WILL BE MULTIPLE LABELED SECTIONS AND A REBLOG TO KEEP THE POST ORGANIZED TL;DR the staff members of the below servers have displayed a historic and present behavior of bullying, abusing power, making absurd claims of priesthood, seership, and godspousal that can be easily debunked, anti semitic behavior, and tone policing of BIPOC when they discuss serious issues such as blood quantum. They also permit art and content thieves to post in their servers. Some screenshots will be from Flowers of Hellenism, a server that was deleted due to its original owner recognizing the cesspool the staff had made it. However the behaviors in Flowers of Hellenism have shown to be continued. Server Names and Purposes: Olympus Peaks - a Hellenism focused witchcraft and religious server Keepers of Kemeticism - a Kemetic focused witchcraft and religious server

Godly Galaxies - a 17+ interfaith server focused on godspousal, priesthood, paganism, and witchcraft Comfort Hollows - a private access priesthood server only accessible by approved members of the above servers Server IDs: Olympus Peaks - 909719311306866689 Keepers of Kemeticism - 908441420686315540 Godly Galaxies - 937865249418256456 Comfort Hollows - 907187922686595085 Users Responsible for the Communities: Olympus Peaks Owners: LiteralMochi#0635 (697152938438688848), liliflwrs#4891 (660206756546478136), olliebutanxious#8258 (625853397899411496) Moderators: jaybird#7056 (758832979794722846), AuroraNoctifer#6969 (435917258913742849), yairo#9699 (539123876765106178), Laramie#5655 (729109174079848519), Artiosun#9014 (731426325730164779), kafun#2376 (468272825455869952) Keepers of Kemeticism Owners: Huntress#5176 (292843897548439553), Artiosun#9014 (731426325730164779), dinosocks#1018 (848966473611345961), r/1#4534 (829133673529737246) Administrators: clowns.#3654 (750436259985489985), Confused Mia#2474 (580999971906650132), AuroraNoctifer#6969 (435917258913742849) Moderators: BadBitch_Rehz#9340(507617058574434316) Godly Galaxies Owners: AuroraNoctifer#6969 (435917258913742849), Laramie#5655 (729109174079848519) Moderators: LiteralMochi#0635 (697152938438688848), liliflwrs#4891 (660206756546478136), kafun#2376 (468272825455869952) Comfort Hollows Owners: LiteralMochi#0635 (697152938438688848), liliflwrs#4891 (660206756546478136), yairo#9699 (539123876765106178) Moderators: AceitunaOscura#7810 (693267446597025854), AuroraNoctifer#6969 (435917258913742849), Laramie#5655 (729109174079848519)

BEHAVIOR 1: ANTISEMITISM AND RACISM

A Flowers of Hellenism Staff member who is Jewish created a quiz entitled "What Jew Lizard Are You?" and encouraged other staff members to take the quiz, which they did, with no questioning from staff as a whole or the other Jewish person on the team despite the team having issues with antisemitism in the past with a former owner. The two Jewish members of staff participating is a non-issue, the issue is the rest of staff, who are not Jewish, being willing to identify themselves with anti semitic caricatures for a joke or not.

When an Indigenous member of the server made a post in the appropriate channel (see below) with regard to their issues with blood quantum, a staff member discussed discomfort with their "anti-white rhetoric" with no major retribution and another complained that it sounded "venty". The members post was this:

This message instigated a discussion where Native members brought up their issues with blood quantum and behind the scenes was met with this:

While these comments did start an argument, nothing definitive was done discipline wise to the staff members who made these comments and they were allowed to dodge accountability and remain on staff with no issue.

When a member of Godly Galaxies who is a POC displayed interest in wanting to research/understand Voodou, the owner, AuroraNoctifier who is a white woman responded by gatekeeping and policing how Black a person had to be to partake in Voodou despite admitting she knows next to nothing about the practice.

SEERSHIP, PRIESTHOOD, AND GODSPOUSAL CLAIMS While any of these titles hold general controversy within the pagan community due to difficulty verifying, scammers, and differing beliefs, the claims of these individuals are expansive, power-hungry, and break either their own rules or the rules of the communities they claim to be a part of. AuroraNoctifier, for example, claims to be a Norse Gothi of Tyr despite only working with Tyr for a short period and not greatly participating in the Norse Pagan or Heathen community. She deleted her own Flowers of Heathenry server shortly after Flowers of Hellenism was deleted and hasn't participated in the norse sections of the servers she is a part of very heavily.

The majority of the staff in these servers make priesthood, seer, and godspouse claims to one or more gods.

Even members who aren't beyond the pail when it comes to priesthood or godspousal claims ("particularly close with" is how they phrase godspousal as not to break their own rule on not discussing godspousal) will condescend to members about their interest in priesthood for research purposes or other reasons. If you aren't in the club, its unlikely you'll get verified as a priest or the like easily. The person in the below screenshot addressing a notable portion of a now-defunct offshoot server called Florum Campis as "kiddos" was only 14 or 15 when they made this message and they claim to be a priest of Zeus and have shown interest in godspousal as a minor.

There is also a generalized ego problem when it comes to the idea of the group being priests:

A current member of their priesthood chats and server discussed with us how easy it was to get into this portion of the community by lying:

I honestly can’t believe it was that simple. I am not a priest, never had a desire to be a priest, and never had a calling to be one. I am a solitary practitioner and have been so for years. It was very easy to waltz in and once I got them to respond to the ticket I opened. I asked about priesthood for a deity I worshipped briefly and one I’ve never interacted with at all. I got yes for both from their “verified diviners”, the majority of which were staff or “priests” themselves. I’ve been sitting in the community, even spouted some bullshit about what a modern priest of the pantheon I practice with would do and I haven’t been questioned, pushed, or been a concern at all. In reality, modern priests seldom exist in this pantheon and those that do have to go through an ordainment process with a group. You can’t just claim it. They’re not as well-rounded in their understanding of varying spiritual practices as they’d like to think. I ran into more issues with becoming a “verified diviner” where staff would ask me inane questions such as “what is the weather like where I am” to verify my divining abilities despite my saying that my divining skills lie with emotional matters and deity communication.

The next reblog will have screenshots and details regarding general favoritism, behind the scenes bullying, promoting creators that are known to have issues, art theft, and the general failure to uphold Xenia, which they have supposedly placed a huge emphasis on in their communities via their rules.

[atheneum-of-you]

How did you know or come into knowing that you were to be a priest/priestess of Hermes? It seems like an odd concept to me. That and 'godspousing'???????

I think from an outside perspective it'd be fairly odd, huh?

Personally, I can't speak on godspousing. It's not something I've ever even considered in my life nor something I think applies to my kind of worship. And while I have my personal opinions on it, I don't think that really matters honestly.

When it comes to priestesshood though, I was told through a dream! While it wasn't directly said in that dream, the dream I had did come after some thoughts of priestesshood and honestly, I wouldn't even consider it a dream. It was so far removed from any dream I had ever had and I know for certain I wasn't asleep when it happened.

After that, I did A LOT of confirmation readings with Hermes on it with both tarot and oracle cards. Why he chose me as one of his to train, I honestly have no clue. I've asked many times and he's given answers but none of them seem fully complete to me. I had never even considered worshipping him until very recently and then very quickly after that I was called to priestesshood. I think once a god has developed any sort of interest in you, anything is possible.

Honestly it kinda feels like he grabbed me by the scruff of my neck like a cat and threw me over his shoulder. I've been worshipping the gods for years but never had it been like this. Sometimes I still have doubts and wonder if I'm making it all up in my head but then I pull cards that say "no this is the path you belong on."

I hope that answered? I feel like I definitely just rambled lmao. But yeah! It's a strange feeling and was a strange very whirlwind process. Kinda just happened.

[temple-of-eternal-hera]

Ήρα Αιώνια - Íra Aiónia - Eternal Hera

The Temple of Eternal Hera is a religious organization whose purpose is to promote education, understanding, and worship of the Great Goddess Hera. We base our beliefs not just in the mythos, but in the living practice of the ancient and classical Hellenes, who viewed Our Queen as the perfect model of Womanhood.

We believe the Gods are deathless and eternal. We are a recon-based revivalist Hellenist community - thoroughly grounded in the history of our theological forebears, living in our present, with an eye to the future. Our faith may have died, but our Gods have remained. As we return to Them, we must apply the ancient wisdom to our modern lives.

As Hellenists, we revere and adore all of the Gods, but Íra Aiónia is devoted to the Queen of the Heavens. She is the ideal model of a Woman, of a Wife, of a Mother, of a Leader.

Our Values

We look to the wisdom of our forebears and the nature of Queen Hera to guide our values, which are:

Eusebia - a sense of reverence and duty to the Gods

Xenia - hospitality and generosity

Sophia - the unending pursuit of wisdom

Hagneia - spiritual purity

Kharis - giving without expectation and receiving with gratitude

Amyna - the stalwart defense of Hera's domain, especially women and children

Our Tenants

We affirm that Hera is the Queen of the Gods; mighty and worthy of no less praise and worship than Zeus, Her King.

We affirm that the Gods are deathless and eternal.

We affirm the reality of the Gods and do not consider Them metaphorical.

We affirm that the nature of ancient worship reflects the existence of multiple pantheons.

We affirm that we are simply mortals: we do not speak for the Gods, nor do we have special knowledge of Them.

We affirm that Hera is the beloved and ideal model of Womanhood and Motherhood, as believed by the ancients, not the cruel and bitter tormenter portrayed by popular culture and certain man-created myths.

We affirm that our traditions and beliefs are based in history, while understanding that we live in a different age.

We affirm that we are all students of one truth, and that we only know parts of the whole.

Virtues of Hera

Hera is the model of Womanhood, Motherhood, and Leadership. These virtues of Hers are an inspiration to all who revere Her.

Dignified

Loyal

Courageous

Mature

Wise

Temperate

Passionate

Protective

Creative

Nurturing

Generous

Unifying

Marriage

Blessed Hera is the Goddess of Marriage, and we view marriage as a sacred rite. As we do not have a priesthood, we do not perform marriage rituals. We recognize the blessed nature of marriage between any two consenting adults.

We consider the following to be blasphemy: forced marriage; marriage between children; marriage between adults and children; predatory marriage; forced polygamy; cheating; and spousal abuse.

Marriage is a vow that must not be taken or broken lightly. However, we affirm the right to divorce when the continuation of a marriage violates the sanctity of the rite or the dignity of the participants. We believe that it is between the individuals and the Queen of the Heavens to decide.

Cult Traditions

While these traditions are not based in ancient Greek worship and customs, we find meaning in them and embrace them.

Wednesday as Hera's sacred day

Bead-counted prayers and mantras (such as Her epithets or short, self-written prayers)

Associating each month with one of Hera's epithets or virtues

Discord membership will be taken as express agreement with our values and tenants. Additional rules will be posted in the Discord, and are intended only to govern activity therein.

This pinned post serves as an active document that will be updated as this concept becomes more fleshed out with time.

[religio-iapygiorum]

hey y’all, i was hoping to have some more posts up by now but this semester is kicking my ass already (entirely my fault, i signed up for too many classes). here are a few ideas i’ve been planning—what would you be interested in seeing first?

i figured i’d start with broader topics before narrowing in on specific regions/deities/etc, so most of these posts will be overviews!

[hellenic-reconstructionism]

I admit to a curiosity, what is your opinion on self-proclaimed priests and oracles?

My opinion is that people should be distrustful of both.

Priesthood seems to be overwhelmingly viewed through a Christian (probably American, too) lens, leading people to believe that claiming priesthood entitles them to respect and be treated as a voice of the Theoi when that isn't really how it worked. I've seen people claim to be seers to get around that (leading to the oracle thing), but the reality is that without proper training, anybody can call themselves a priest, which cheapens the word into meaninglessness. Also, what is super important is that priesthood in Hellenic paganism involves looking after a temple, which is something only priests in Greece can do right now. I can't speak to their training programs, but what I know of anglophone trainings for pagan priesthood is abysmal.

As for oracles, that just isn't going to work without that much knowledge about how they operated. Doing divination for yourself and others is good, but to be an oracle means carrying that much responsibility, and UPG can only hold up so much. It makes you a community figure and if people find your readings to be false or your person to be unsuitable for oraclehood (for bigotry or whatever reasons), then that's up to the community. I guess it boils down to people doing astragalomancy when they wanted, by themselves, as opposed to the singular legitimacy of each oracle.

I've found people who claim to be modern day Hellenic pagan priest/esses and oracles to be overwhelmingly power-hungry.

[plong42]

Factors Leading to the Maccabean Revolt (Part 1)

Factors Leading to the Maccabean Revolt (Part 1) - http://wp.me/pjGbY-3lX

There were several factors which led to the Maccabean Revolt. Early in his reign, Antiochus IV Epiphanes was involved in a dispute over the high priesthood in Jerusalem. Onias III was the legitimate High Priest. His pro-Hellenism brother Jason traveled to the newly established Antiochus and bribed the king to be appointed as High Priest (1 Mac 1:13-15, 2 Mac 4:7-15). In order to please Antiochus,…

[jewishprayers]

What are the origins of Judaism

Israelite religion shared a number of characteristics with the religions of neighboring peoples. Scholars have long noted parallels between the creation and flood myths of Mesopotamia and Egypt and those found in the Hebrew Bible. The Israelite god, YHWH, also shares many characteristics and epithets with the Canaanite gods El and Baal.

The Importance of Covenant

The Israelites’ relationship with YHWH, however, set them apart from their neighbors. This relationship was based on a covenant binding YHWH and Israel to one another through a series of obligations. Thus, the biblical authors depicted a direct correlation between the patriarchs prosperity and their fidelity to YHWH. Similarly, the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt into the Holy Land is cast as being conditional on the Israelites’ following YHWH’s precepts. It follows that the biblical authors attributed the misfortunes that befell the Israelites (e.g. plagues and military failures, etc.) to the Israelites’ failure to comply with terms of this covenant.

The First Temple

The establishment of the Temple under David and Solomon (c. 1000 BCE) marked a major development in Israelite religion. The Temple, intended to be the official focal point for Israelite religion replacing the family shrines and cultic places of earlier periods, served as a primary place for sacrifices, worship, and regular pilgrimages. Perhaps most importantly, the Temple served as a symbol of YHWH’s presence among the Israelites, and by extension, divine protection.

Despite this effort to centralize the Israelite cult, biblical and archaeological evidence indicates that traditional cultic sites and family shrines continued to exist throughout the monarchy (c. 1000–587 BCE).

The biblical prophets played a special role in Israelite religion. They fervently condemned religious infidelities, including the worship of foreign gods. They were also very vocal in their intolerance of social injustice, especially abuses of power committed by Israelite elites. The eighth-century BCE prophet Isaiah went so far as to declare that religious practices, including sacrifice and observance of festivals, were meaningless as long as social injustices remained.

The Babylonian Exile

The Babylonian exile had a grave impact on Israelite religion. The Temple was destroyed, the “eternal” Davidic dynasty interrupted, and the people driven from the land YHWH had given them. Little is known about religious life during the exile except that solemn days were designated to mourn the loss of Israelite institutions. The prophets attempted to soothe the pain of these losses by promising a glorious restoration, the promise of which was never fully realized.

The Second Temple

The return from exile witnessed efforts to unify the Jews by the likes of Ezra and Nehemiah (early leaders of the Second Temple period) including the canonization of scripture and reaffirmation of the covenant with YHWH. Such measures, however, were countered by growing discontent, as evident from the apocalyptic writings of the period and the emergence of numerous sects.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were the two most prominent groups of the period. The Pharisees, the presumed predecessors to the rabbinic tradition, promoted incorporating religion into every aspect of life and generally rejected Hellenism. The Sadducees, with ties to the priesthood, maintained their religious identity, but were more open to Hellenistic culture. Other groups, such as the Essenes (who some scholars associate with the Dead Sea Scrolls) held more radical beliefs. The early Jewish Christians were yet another significant Jewish sect–not yet adherents of a separate religion.

The Second Temple’s Destruction and the Emergence of Rabbinic Judaism

The destruction of the Temple, which had served as the religious and political center for the Jewish people, presented a major challenge. The Jews survived this crisis by giving new prominence to institutions that played only minor roles during the Second Temple period. Synagogues absorbed the role of the Temple as places for worship and learning; prayer took the place of sacrifice; rabbis sought to replace priests as teachers and guardians over the law.

The rabbis’ ability to adapt biblical traditions–including dietary laws, observance of Shabbat and the festivals, and worship–for life in exile enabled Judaism to survive the transition beyond the Temple period, and ultimately to persevere throughout the ages. The Mishnah (a collection of law edited around the year 200 CE) and the Gemara (a commentary on the Mishnah, discussing its teachings and connecting it to the biblical text, compiled in approximately 500 CE), record opinions and discussions relevant to life in a world that no longer preserved Temple-based institutions and traditions.

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Journeys into Judaism

Inspiration

One story from Talmud (Shabbat 31a) tells about a gentile who wanted to convert to Judaism. He stated he would accept Judaism only if a rabbi would teach him the entire Torah while he, the prospective convert (ger), stood on one foot. Hillel, a renowned sage accepted the challenge, and said: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation of this—go and study it!”

Unlike most every other religion, which only requires a declaration of faith, conversion to Judaism first requires study. Yet, the conversion process does not end with a test of knowledge but rather a confirmation that there has been a change of identity and a renewal of faith. The support of a mentor as well as family and friends is critical to the process. A celebration of the completion of the process is an uplifting tribute to the convert’s dedication and transformation.

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