#pagan tag

[tylermileslockett]

Hey folks, this image of Apollo was done for a private commission. Xoxo

The following text is reposted from my previous Apollo Olympians image.

“Phoebus, of you even the swan sings with clear voice to the beating of his wings, as he alights upon the bank by the eddying river Peneus; and of you the sweet-tongued minstrel, holding his high-pitched lyre, always sings both first and last…And so hail to you, lord! I seek your favor with my song.”  (-Homeric Hymn, translated by H.G. Evelyn white)

APOLLO (uh-PAH-low), God of prophecy, oracles, music, art, protector of and disease of boys and men, and archery. Just as his twin sister Artemis is patron to women and girls, Apollo is both protector, and killer from disease of boys and men. In my Illustration the god holds his bow and arrows behind, while he strums the lyre gifted to him by trickster Hermes. Near the sun flies his ally and divine messenger, a white raven. The column on the right is capped with a cow, representing his sacred animal as a god of herds. The serpent Python sits dead at his feet, killed by Apollo’s arrow so that the god could take over the Delphi temple location. The temple complex sits beneath the god, while on the far right, the Pythia (Apollo’s oracle priestess) sits upon a tripod, breathing the hallucinatory gasses seeping up from the earth to get her prophecies which she bestows upon visitors.

The laurel tree has associations with Apollo because the god, chasing a Naiad (water nymph) named Daphne call out to Gaia (mother earth) for help, who transformed the nymph into a laurel tree, which the god adopted as his sacred tree. In book 1 of the Iliad, Apollo supports the Trojans by raining down a plague on the Greeks, and later helping Paris to kill Achilles. Apollo’s cruelty is shown in Ovid’s mythical lyre contest with the inventor of the flute; a satyr named Marsyas. When Apollo suggested they play their instruments upside down, the satyr lost, and was flayed (skinned) alive as punishment for his hubris. 

[thereseuwu]

LOOK WHAT I FINALLY DID

YESSS, APOLLONNNN!!!!!

[khaire-traveler]

Something that's been incredibly exhausting about posting in online pagan and polytheist spaces (or just generally online, tbh) is that it feels like you're constantly walking on eggshells. If you say even just slightly the Wrong Thing™, it feels like you're almost guaranteed to have someone harp on why you're dumb or wrong or weird or whatever. This has been happening a lot to my friends in the Norse pagan community recently, and it's part of why I try VERY hard to be careful with my words. If you create a space where people don't feel comfortable expressing themselves freely, yet claim to stand for freedom, then you've already become the thing you've sworn to destroy.

This post isn't meant to discourage others from posting in pagan and polytheist spaces; it's aiming to draw attention to a massive issue (that likely prevents people from sharing, actually) of people being quick to judge, always on guard, always waiting for the next "attack". A lot of the time, in my experience, people have good or harmless intentions, yet they'll be misconstrued as some kind of monster. It's kind of ridiculous at this point.

-

***Since I KNOW someone is going to mention this, I'm not talking about posts that are, like, from Nazis or transphobes or similar; I'm talking about things like devotional poetry, sharing quotes from ancient texts (yes, people are really getting hate for such a harmless act), or even just sharing parts of one's practice. The fact that I even have to add this disclaimer feels like part of the problem, in all honesty.***

[ivettaflowerblooom]

Eros and Psyche by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1889.

[l0-k1]

Friendly reminder that Loki is NOT Oðins’s son, he’s his brother, by blood pact not by relation.

Odin is NOT Loki’s father, adoptive or otherwise. Laufeyjarson refers to his mother, his father’s name is Farbauti. Farbauti is a hrimthursar, frost giant and Laufey (a.k.a Fey or Nál) is of the alfar, or elves. Norse society used patronymic names (I.e the fathers name as a last name) but his usage of his mothers name reflects his complex heritage.

Leikn (Hela) is NOT Loki’s sister, that’s his daughter.

Thor is NOT Loki’s brother.

Loki is NOT polyamorous. Gullveig and Angrboða are the same being. The Asgardians burnt her (three times). He ate her half burnt heart from the pyre. From their union came the baningar (Fenris-ulfr, Leikn and Jormunganðr)

After the Æsir- Vanir war he married Sigyn

Like he’s going to cheat on Sigyn, the literal embodiment of victory and loyalty. Her name means “Victorious Girlfriend” för i helvete

(Yes I’ve read all of the eddas, manuscripts, codices, armors, amulets and runestones I can find, in norrǿnt mál and in futhark)

((Because I didn’t mention them, Sleipnir, Narfi, and Váli best boys 10/10 they can do no wrong))

[witchcraftwithaster]

Talk to your gods* about your mental health. You can ask them for support. It's okay and allowed.

my therapist had a hot take today which I loved. i said to him, Imm having some particular issues about my mental health this last two weeks and the therapist said,

"but it doesn't make sense that you're doing all this effort and yet in your time of great need you don't rely on them? you can ask me for help but not the gods? and i'm no god of course, but it doesn't make sense."

and i'm like, for a therapist that doesnt align to any religion you fucking get it. and you're right. why would i not bother to ask them for help in this regard? and I'm taking an approach to make a relationship, not just servitude, *of COURSE* i can ask them and pray to them for aide in my health! not to eradicate it but to ease it at the very very least.

pray to your entities about your mental health. you're allowed to share it with them.

[thelovesofmyentirelife]

do u ever get interested in a deity just bc of their devotees' sheer enthusiasm and reverence? i've never been intrested in aphrodite but now that i'm on pagan/polytheist tumblr where y'all love and post abt her a lot i'm like. damn she Is pretty cool lmao i get the hype

[witness2caesar]

Working on it.... I unfortunately can't turn my brain off with the amount of ideas I have for them. My wallet is screaming at me, guys

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Why do some Hindus feel the need to impress Abrahamic religions by saying their religion is STRICTLY monotheistic?

Like embrace your paganism bro. Embrace your polytheism. Embrace the flexibility of your religion.

[kpmeat]

since i started burning incense and keeping an altar for prometheus/others ive been seeing/finding fundie stuff more often than i used to. no pamphlets yet, but a book on growing up pentecostal and a painting of noah's ark and some pro-lifers protesting at the bus stop. and so much patriotic stuff. in general getting more aware of how weird american evangelicalism is as a belief system now that i'm deliberately putting myself on the outside of it. wild

[tylermileslockett]

"Homecoming,"

In this scene, of Aeschylus's Greek tragic play "Agamemnon",  King Agamemnon has finally arrived back to his palace in Argos (Mycenea) after conquering Troy. He arrives in a chariot with his spoil of war; CASSANDRA (a Trojan slave girl cursed by Apollo with the power of prophecy - but that none shall believe her visions).

Agamemnon's wife, CLYTEMNESTRA meets them at the palace doors, obstructing his entrance. (The chorus has previously related the tale of Agamemnon sacrificing his daughter, Iphigenia, ten years prior on the way to Troy. So this confrontation is eagerly anticipated). She showers her husband with rhetoric of love and respect, then rolls out fine embroidered cloth (with fragile red dye) and then convinces him that only by walking barefoot on the  tapestry will he prove his high worth and placate her to enter.  

Professor Peter meineck, in his "Modern Scholar" audio lecture series: "Greek Drama", points to the symbolism when he says "...Agamemnon is wading through blood of his sacrificed daughter," and "...trampling the wealth of the house." Professor Meienck also thinks this tapestry is a menstrual image representing Clytemnestra's power (he even mentions that the ancient Greek word for door was also a slang word for vagina). So when Agamemnon relents, he unknowingly goes to his death. He now represents the sacrificial bull of the Greek new year "Buphonia" Festival.

Random Fun fact: this scene in this play is where we get the concept of "rolling out the red carpet" for honored guests.  

Want to own my Illustrated Greek myth book jam packed with over 130 illustrations like this? Please support my kickstarter for my book "lockett Illustrated: Greek Gods and Heroes" coming in October.You can also sign up for my free email newsletter. please check my LINKTREE 

[god-blog]

I’m starting a tag game!

People are always saying they need more witchy/pagan mutuals so I thought this would be a fun way to find them while getting to talk about your practice!

Who, if anyone, was the first deity(s) you worked with?

Hermes was the first deity that I made the conscious decision to worship though I had always been drawn to paganism. I made a tiny altar, devotional drawings, playlists, and a journal to him. I quickly added Athena and Apollo after that, but it became too overwhelming, and I got burnt out. I stopped practicing for about four years until I started again this year.

Who, if anyone, is the deity(s) you’re working with now?

Artemis was the one who reached out to me this time. She had been sending me a bunch of incredibly obvious signs that took me abt six months to finally notice (my bad lol) but I'm very happy with her now. Athena has also been more present, whereas she was more in the background the first time I tried Hellenism, and now she sits with me at work. Hermes dips in and out and Apollo's the one who's been more in the background. I would like to strengthen my relationship with them because I miss them.

What’s your favorite aspect of your practice? (Ex: doing tarot, celebrating holidays, casting spells, etc)

I like getting things for my altar. It makes me so happy knowing that my gods will like whatever I'm getting; I love getting presents for ppl I care abt. I haven't collected everything into one central altar yet but I'm very excited for when I do.

What’s something you want to get better at?

I want to get better at tarot. I've been doing it for a few years now but I'm still 100% reliant on the guidebook the cards came with and am not very good at making my own interpretations. I'm hoping I'll get better at it with time but it has been quite a while...

Tagging: @buriedpentacles @kore-siciliana @anne-the-witch-ish @serpent-among-vines @khaire-traveler @princesmeadow @hunters-moonlight-serenade @huntingkyrie

[khaire-traveler]

I can't stop thinking about this quote from Futurama, of all places. In an episode where Bender meets God, he has this conversation about what it's like to be God. Two parts stuck me in the conversation:

"Bender, being God isn't easy, if you do too much, people get dependent. And if you do nothing, they lose hope. You have to use a light touch..." - God

And the end:

"When you've done things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all." - God

It makes me think of the gods themselves and the experiences I've had with them answering my own prayers. There have been many times that I've been unsure whether or not something was influenced by the gods or just happened as a natural consequence of life. I have also found myself wondering why they seemingly chose not to take action in certain cases.

Sometimes our prayers aren't answered immediately. We want them to be, but they aren't. Other times, they're not answered in the way that we want or expect them to be, and it can be jarring when they finally play out. I've found that typically I don't notice a prayer has been answered in the moment. It usually isn't until I reflect on it later that I notice the subtle influence of the gods. Their touch is gentle and light as a feather. It can easily be overlooked. And whether we recognize their efforts or not, they answer us anyway.

When they seemingly don't answer, that's when things become difficult. We can lose hope. We can lose faith. But the thing is, sometimes the answer is "no". I've found many times that Lord Hermes will specifically not give me a gentle and subtle "no" because he wants me to trust my own judgement. Sometimes there is a lesson to be learned within a "no", and even though it feels like hell in the moment, it allows us to grow as people in the end. "No" doesn't mean "I no longer love you" or "I have abandoned you"; "no" just means "no" and can be in our best interest in the end.

If your prayers are waiting to be answered or you just worry your gods aren't listening, try to think of these quotes. We're all not sure if the gods have done anything at all, at some point, but that doesn't mean they never answered.

[ivettaflowerblooom]

Artemis and Selene by Giacinto Gimignani, 1650.

[royal-wren]

"The gods don't care about politics (etc.)!"

Yeah dude, that's why there are deities connected to a city/town's welfare and survival, why they have a domain over justice, voting, law, and ensuring voices get heard while striving for fairness. It's all because they don't care and have no tie to politics.

[alice-the-arcane]

*mystical witchy sounds as i beat the shit out of bad vibes with a broom*