#polytheist

[theoitheoitheoi]

You are loved by the Gods. Every part of you is loved and will always be, no matter what you do.

[apollophanes]

I've seen this saying being passed around a few times. Not sure where it is from, but I love it:

If you don't know who to pray to, then pray to Hermes. Even if he cannot help you, he knows someone who can.

[teawiththegods]

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

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

As a Hellenic Polytheist here are some of my suggestions:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy hexing and dismantling oppressive systems, my darlings! 😘

[undeadmagick]

Broke Boy Guide to Altar Offerings

Hey! Are you broke but still wanna offer something up to the gods? Don't worry! (So am i) So here's a guide of things that are either free, low cost or that you probably already own to slap onto those altars. Mind you: These are mainly modern offerings that I attribute to these different classification of gods. I'll likely update as time goes on with other classifications :)

General Offerings to Deities:

random flowers from outside

random sticks from outside

hand written letters/prayers

plushies of the animals they're connected to

raw/cooked meats as "sacrifices"

drawn symbols

Art/Creative Deities:

symbol painted bottle caps

pens/pencils/markers

old sketchbooks

stickers/prints

origami

comic books

figurines

Death Deities:

bones or meat from your meals

dirt from a dead plant

dying flowers

skull imagery

coins or other gifts for those passing

photo/belongings of your late loved ones

Familial/Household/Protector of Children Deities:

photobooth photos

jewelry gifted from family

baby teeth from your children

breast milk

old baby shoes

framed photo of family

cookies/bread

homecooked meals

Fire Deities:

birthday candles

charcoal discs

burnt herbs

alcohol

incense

tobacco

matchbox/lighter

Healing Deities:

your current medications

bandaids

water

skincare

vitamin gummies

spell jar in an empty pill bottle

Knowledge/Wisdom Deities:

old books & textbooks

pens/pencils

mini chess pieces

written down philosophical quotes

good test scores/report cards/degrees

Love/Lust Deities:

origami 3D hearts

chapsticks

unused makeup

love letters to deities

love letters about S/O or crush

current perfume/cologne

current lotions

apples

Nature Deities:

plants dedicated to them

herbal tea packets

feathers

milk

fruits/vegetables

spells using recycled materials (toilet paper rolls, etc.)

bread

acorns

Sea Deities:

beach sand

shells

sea water

tiny sea animal figurines

shared fish dinners

makeshift spell jar using a shell

Trickster Deities:

laffy taffy joke wrappers

cards against humanity packs

other comedy card games

[apiswitchcraft]

altars for greek gods

this post includes hades, persephone, artemis, apollo, aphrodite, hermes, and hekate. for part 2 including zeus, hera, poseidon, hestia, hephaestus, dionysus, ares, demeter, and athena click here, for the titans and protogenoi click here.

keep in mind that this is largely UPG, new age stuff, and historically accurate offerings to the gods include meat, wine, grain (specifically barley), honey, and incense (myrrh and frankincense).

colors can be used for candles, banners, decor, whatever you want

HADES

Colors: black, red, and white for association with death. purple and metallics for association with riches/wealth

Offerings: mint, asphodel, white poplar, pomegranate, coffee, cinnamon, elm, money, chocolate

Crystals: gemstones, black crystals (obsidian, black tourmaline, smokey quartz, etc.), pyrite, hematite, labradorite

Animals: black ram, owl, serpent, Cerberus

PERSEPHONE

Colors: purple, pink, yellow, green for association with springtime. black and metallics for association with Hades. white for purity.

Offerings: pomegranate, flowers, grains, asphodel, lavender, rosemary

Crystals: amethyst, gemstones, moss/tree agate, milk quartz, jade, lepidolite

Animals: deer, ram, bat, talking birds (including parrots)

APHRODITE

Colors: red and pink for love/sexuality. white and blue for association with the ocean. gold for association with, well, gold.

Offerings: roses, chocolate, shells, myrrh, gold

Crystals: rose quartz, pearl, emerald, opal, aquamarine, rhodonite, rhodochrosite, ocean jasper, morganite

Animals: swan, dove, hare

ARTEMIS

Colors: white, blue, black, and grey for association with the heavens. brown and green for association with nature/the hunt.

Offerings: moon shaped foods, frankincense, cypress, mugwort, amaranth

Crystals: morganite, moonstone, aventurine, selenite, celestite, moss/tree agate, amethyst, quartz (specific dendritic), labradorite, silver

Animals: deer, wolf, wild boar

APOLLO

Colors: yellow, white, and blue for association with the heavens. red, orange, and pink for healing. purple and green for the Oracle

Offerings: sun shaped foods, bay leaves, laurel, cypress, playing music, poetry

Crystals: sunstone, amber, calcite (specifically honey and yellow), quartz (specifically rutilated or clear), rose quartz, silver

Animals: cow, snake, hawk, crow/raven, cicada, swan, bees

HERMES

Colors: green and gold for money/luck. white and brown for travels.

Offerings: money, crocus/saffron, strawberries

Crystals: jade, malachite, fluorite, pyrite, lapis lazuli, citrine, alexandrite

Animals: tortoise, ram

HEKATE

Colors: purple, blue, and green for magic. red and black for association with underworld

Offerings: garlic, saffron, crossroad dirt, black salt, ashes, sage, cedar, yew

Crystals: labradorite, obsidian, hematite, black tourmaline, amethyst, bloodstone, serpentine, lepidolite

Animals: wolf, boar, serpent, lion, horse, cow

[vdoes]

Apollo Lykeios

//print

[thegodsutekh]

“You worship so many deities how do you keep up with them all?”

Yes, that is kind of the point of polytheism.

Polytheistic worship includes a massive web of Gods who are all connected in some way or another, their domains overlapping as they work together.

You are just one person so you only have so much time and energy, of course you would worship one Deity who is linked heavily to your journey more than others.

You dont have to be every Deity’s devotee, just like you dont have to be everyones best friend. Sometimes you worship for a specific time, purpose or to bond with a loved one who worships that Deity.

Like I said in my previous post, the Gods will not get angry or clingy if you dont pay attention to them, they existed and have been worshipped way before you were born and way after you are dead.

If you devote yourself to a deity, dont be afraid to acknowledge their family, in fact they will encourage it.

[thedivinecove]

I don't know who needs to hear this today but;

Your gods don't hate you.

[gardenworship]

One thing I’ve really found peace in is that the Gods are just as much modern as they are ancient

They understand that worship in modern times is 9 times out of 10 a solitary practice. In Ancient Hellenic/Greek times, which is the tradition I follow, worship was communal and festivals were entire city events. The Gods get that, they’ve adapted to the times as they’ve needed.

The Gods played an entirely different role in Roman times as they did in the Hellenistic times and the Classical era before that

We have to let the Gods adapt as they let us adapt to the current day—they want to work with us and that doesn’t mean you have to get every detail ‘right’ or do anything at all according to what’s deemed as right based on the books and literature we have

I believe this applies to every God regardless of pantheon or tradition—our Gods are modern Gods, they get it, start with where you are,

How do you connect with the Gods: only source of running water is the sink? There you go you have running water to cleanse in. Don’t have access or the money to use wine for libations? use water or juice. Feeling drawn to forms of witchcraft? Tarot is a perfectly reasonable form of divination to connect with the Gods, praying over a sigil and offering to a God over it is a great way to charge the sigil, and so much more. Don’t have garden to get first fruits from to offer? Pick a fruit or veggie from your shopping trip that you think looks particularly nice and offer that.

Ultimately do things that you find meaningful throughout your day that let you connect with your Gods and let those things change and adapt over time.

We are fluid people and so are the Gods

*this is coming from a hellenic pagan/polytheist perspective can be applied to any practice with the Gods

[templeofelysium]

worshipping the chthonic gods

first, a note on cthonic vs ouranic: the line between these gods is one that is not really as stark as it can be portrayed. many gods have both ouranic and chthonic aspects, and neither make them any more "good" or "bad" than the other. chthonic gods are not evil gods, at least no more than any ouranic god. all deities have the capability of doing good and evil, but are largely ambivalent in nature. the advice listed below is not set in stone, simply provided as gentle guidance. if you have suggestions, feel free to add them in the comments/reblogs! :)

LIBATIONS/OFFERINGS

In Ancient Greece it was very common for offerings to the chthonic gods to be given in the form of libation--a drink (or any liquid) poured into the ground. Solid offerings, like food, were often burned in their entirety to ash or left to rot, instead of being partially shared by the offeror. Incense was not as commonly used since the smoke travels upwards, towards the heavens.

I suggest disposing of/keeping ashes and rotted food outside or burying them, seeing as chthonic sometimes refers to "-of the earth." This would be similar to how curse tablets were treated in Ancient Greece, as Hermes, messenger of the gods, would deliver them unto their underworld-ly receiver from there.

If you can't do that, consider pouring your libations down the sink or flushing them down the toilet (ONLY do this with water-based liquids, oil and honey will clog up your sink in no time flat). It's not ideal, but it gets the job done.

Common libations include: coffee, blood (animal or your own, we'll get to that at the end), honey (instead of wine), milk

Common offerings include: meat, barley/grain, oil, cheese

PRAYER

In many cases, prayers to ouranic deities are directed upwards, into the sky or delivered unto the wind by voice, song, or some sort of poem. In the case of the chthonic gods, we should be directing them downwards, towards the underworld where they reside. This may include extending your hands with palms facing down, putting your head down, or just imagining your prayers being sent below. The only exceptions to this may be Persephone, who resides in the heavens for half of the year, and Hermes, who can be considered both ouranic and chthonic.

Other recommendations I can make are: light a candle, even if you're not going to use it for pyromancy; light some incense (I do this for focus and cleansing, not so much for the deity); and perform it at night. It's not mandatory, of course, to perform your prayers at night, it's just that in antiquity ouranic activities (festivals, prayer, etc.) were done during the day and often directly enshrouded in sunlight. We can assume, therefore, that a chthonic prayer or festival should occur during the night, especially if being directed towards Hekate or Nyx.

ALTARS/SHRINES

In Ancient Greece, temples to the ouranic gods were constructed so that their doorways would directly face the sun, thus illuminating the inside (and often the main statue(s), too). We can assume, then, that our chthonic altars/shrines should be located somewhere out of the direct sunlight. This can be in a dark spot, like a closet or isolated room--or it can just simply be in a corner furthest from the sun's rays.

Again, there may be some exceptions to this: Hermes, under his ouranic epithet(s), Persephone, for her time in the heavens, and Hekate, for her association with the moon.

DIVINATION

For the most part divination with the chthonic gods is conducted in much the same way as with the ouranic. Of course, when calling upon these deities you'll want to face towards the ground, and perhaps even conduct these sessions in partial darkness. Again, maybe you could light a candle or even pour a libation before a really big reading.

I mostly use pendulums and tarot, but I've been experimenting with meditation and have had some luck. What works for ouranic deities should work just as good for chthonic, you just might have to shift your approach a little.

Some good tarot spreads for working with chthonic deities:

"Fork in the Road" spread-- for Hermes or Hekate

"The Tower" spread-- for Hermes or Hades

"The Self Exploration" spread-- for any

"The Bat" spread-- for Hades or Persephone or Nyx

EXTRAS

--Consider offering blood if you're able! Animal blood that is sourced from ethical farms is neither morally reprehensible or illegal and can be sourced from a variety of places. Offering your own blood is also a possibility, but for this I would not recommend more than a pinprick. There are limits to how much pain you should be incurring on yourself for your deities. If you have to check your blood sugar often, maybe you can soak up excess blood with some cotton and bury it outside. Make sure to always clean your wounds properly and do not engage in this behavior for the purpose of self-mutilation. That, I can assure you, your deities would not appreciate. Don't be stupid.

--Snakes are commonly associated with almost all chthonic deities, or just the Underworld in general. We see this the most with Hermes, who is pictured with two snakes wrapped around his caduceus. The god Asclepius is also pictured with a staff with a single snake on it. Asclepius is the god of medicine, and (before being deified) was killed by Zeus for making people practically immortal.

--Chthonic deities are the best places to turn to for spirit work, protective, and baneful magic. You're looking to contact a spirit? Turn to Hades. You're looking for protection against spirits/demons? Turn to Hekate or Hermes. You're looking to cast a curse? Turn to Persephone or Hekate.

dividers by @vibeswithrenai

[justanotherprettyapollodevotee]

making stupid devotional memes >>>>

[pagan-posting]

Listen. Abandoning the idea of what a proper pagan is was the most rewarding experience. Your intuition is stronger than you think.

This isn't a science. You don't have to treat it like one. Go with your heart, go with your intuition. It will help you grow more than you've ever dreamed of.

[hellenicrisis]

PSA to pagans and practitioners.

You don't have to speak your prayers or incantations out loud for a ritual or offering to be effective.

For the longest time, I tried praying out loud and speaking out loud during ritual offerings, and I was always uncomfortable. I tried everything, from using the ancient hymns, to writing my own prayers, even combining the two. Nothing worked for me, but I kept doing it because I thought that's just how things are done.

A ritual, prayer or offering is not less effective or special if you don't speak aloud. Not speaking is not an easy way out, it's not disrespectful to the gods, and it's not making the working less powerful. The thing that negatively impacts your practice is being uncomfortable.

If you work better silent, embrace it. It took me far too long to realise that working quietly is best for me. I'll put on some instrumental music in the background while doing my ritual offerings which helps me focus, and other than that, I enjoy listening to the sounds my materials make; the bay leaf crackling, the libation being poured, the sounds of setting things down on the altar. If I have to speak through that I feel distracted and nervous about forgetting what I'm supposed to say. I would much rather focus on my actions, my materials, my offerings, my energy, and my gods.

If you speak aloud and it works for you, fantastic! However, don't feel pressured to if you don't like it. We see so many people put on a show during rituals for social media. Don't think all rituals have to be like that.

[alexalexyeii]

Today I was telling my nephews myths about the Greek gods (they're really young), and one of them said "I think every time we talk about the gods, they listen to us." And that really, really maked me emotional. I just love sharing this part of me with them, even if they don't know that i'm hellenic.

[apiswitchcraft]

hellenic gods and the major arcana

the following are the 22 major arcana tarot cards and their associated hellenic deities. they are each sorted into two sections: gods associated with the literal interpretation of the card (for example, when the death card actually indicates death), and gods associated with the meaning of the card. I did not include the reversed meanings because there are several ways to interpret reversed cards, and therefore associations should be made on a case by case basis.

0 - THE FOOL

the card: Apollo, Hermes

the meaning: Hermes, Dionysus

I - THE MAGICIAN

the card: Hekate, Circe

the meaning: Hekate, Hephaestus, Athena, Hermes

II - THE HIGH PRIESTESS

the card: Hekate, Hera

the meaning: Hekate, Hera, Demeter, Persephone

III - THE EMPRESS

the card: Hera, Persephone, Aphrodite

the meaning: Hera, Aphrodite, Demeter, Rhea

IV - THE EMPEROR

the card: Zeus, Hades, Kronos, Poseidon

the meaning: Zeus, Ares, Athena

V - THE HIEROPHANT

the card: Hermes

the meaning: Dionysus, Hestia, Hekate

VI - THE LOVERS

the card: Aphrodite & Ares, Eros & Psyche, Hermaphroditus

the meaning: Aphrodite, Hera, Eros, Dionysus

VII - THE CHARIOT

the card: Artemis, Apollo

the meaning: Nemesis, Ares, Athena

VIII - STRENGTH

the card: Ares, Athena, Zeus

the meaning: Ares, Athena, Hestia, Artemis

IX - THE HERMIT

the card: Hestia, Hades, Hephaestus

the meaning: Athena, Cronus

X - WHEEL OF FORTUNE

the card: Hermes

the meaning: Hermes, Zeus

XI - JUSTICE

the card: Zeus, Athena

the meaning: Apollo, Zeus, Athena

XII - HANGED MAN

the card: Hermes

the meaning: Apollo, Hermes, Poseidon

XIII - DEATH

the card: Hades, Persephone

the meaning: Hekate, Hades, Thanatos

XIV - TEMPERANCE

the card: Apollo

the meaning: Apollo, Athena, Artemis

XV - THE DEVIL

the card: Dionysus, Pan, Hades

the meaning: Dionysus

XVI - THE TOWER

the card: Zeus

the meaning: Ares, Poseidon

XVII - THE STAR

the card: Apollo, Artemis

the meaning: Aphrodite, Hestia, Hekate

XVIII - THE MOON

the card: Artemis, Selene

the meaning: Artemis, Hekate

XIX - THE SUN

the card: Apollo, Helios

the meaning: Apollo, Aphrodite, Dionysus

XX - JUDGEMENT

the card: Hades, Zeus

the meaning: Apollo, Hades, Hekate

XXI - THE WORLD

the card: Rhea, Pan, Demeter

the meaning: Hermes, Demeter

divider by @vibeswithrenai