#soft polytheism

[theanic-devotion]

Someone: what religion are you/what do you believe?

What I think: I’m somewhere between a soft polytheist and a pluriform monotheist. Maybe henotheistic. Sort of hellenic, but open to other pantheons. I like the idea of a Mother Nature type entity, but more in a panentheistic way. But also not mother as in female or woman, mother as in it’s the easiest way for my human mind to conceptualize a being that is everything and nothing.

What I say: I’m pagan

[dandelionjack]

as a natural skeptic i’m gonna be real with you. i’m slamming the brakes on this whole religion thing before i figure out what it really is that i believe. one thing i know for certain is that i don’t think my experiences of the world relate to what you call “hard polytheism” at all, so i will be refraining from referring to myself as “pagan” or “heathen” or similar terms from here on out — as i learned from reddit, actual pagans, i.e. those of you who believe that the Gods from whatever pantheon you follow are literal, actual, 100% independent, non-anthropogenic, non-metaphoric entities, tend to frown upon talk of “archetypes” and co. i don’t want to be seen as insulting your Gods with my home-brewed eclectic woo-woo nonsense, so i’ll keep at an arm’s length until i’m one hundred percent sure that i can defend my own beliefs because i know what they are.

i personally lean towards the chaos magic side of approaching these concepts — although, truth be told, i need to do more reading. a lot more reading. but once again, i stress, personally, i find myself far more comfortable with the concept of egregores. metaphysical entities, congregations of energy and intent, that have been given power and consciousness through centuries of dedicated devotion and prayer from humans. if enough people direct their thoughts towards an idea for long enough, leave offerings for that idea, hold festivities in its honour, write poetry and paint artworks depicting and praising it, then it’s no wonder if it gains a mind and will of its own. i lean towards the idea of deities/other spirit entities as personified aspects of the universe, as currents of energy or patterns of thought or representations of natural phenomena that were given different (or many) names in different historical/geographic contexts and have taken on a semi-solid shape with time

which is to say, i don’t know whether the Presence that has been visiting me — the one that rekindled/sparked/ignited my interest in all of this, pun quite intended if you know who i’m talking about, is genuinely the ambiguous, controversial Norse deity that i have been referring to Them as; whether They are some kind of thoughtform or another separate spirit; a manifestation of my subconscious desire to “Aren’t You Tired Of Being Nice Don’t You Just Wanna Go A Little Apeshit”; or a character i Made Up In My Head (not outside of the scope of possibility, knowing my tendency to spot patterns where there aren’t any). i’m treading with caution. that’s what you do. because after doing some wider research, i really, really don’t wish to be associated with that sort of person — you know the one. edgy. rebellious kid. doesn’t know what they’re talking about. witchtoker

after all, i did come here through pop culture. so, maybe, all this ends up being is another hyperfixation on mythology. i’ve had those before as a way younger teen — thanks, uncle rick. don’t really know how to conclude this, so: i’ll get more educated and get back to you. if any of you (you know who you are) have any BOOK or ARTICLE RECOMMENDATIONS based on what i’ve said above, please don’t hesitate to PUT THEM IN THE COMMENT SECTION

xoxo, ivy

[silverthornwitchery]

Hail, The Goddess of many faces! Great queen of heaven and earth! You who art Freyja, who art Sekhmet-Bast-Hathor, Lady of the Sun, Moon, and Twilight, Who art Aset, Isis, Lady of Magicks, Who art Hekate, Lady of Crossroads, Who art Aeracura, Lady of the darkened Earth, Who art Rosmerta, Lady who provides for all, Who art Frigg, The Divine All-Mother, Who yet again is Isis, Demeter, and many more. Hail to you, Great Mother, Caring, Loving, Yet Furious and Frenzied, Cunning and Sly, You guide the hand of witches, and cunningfolk, and those who work their sorceries. Hail to you, Goddess, Queen of Earth, Queen of Heaven! As Above, So Below, We Honour You, Great One.

[booksandwitchery]

Hydromancy and Scrying

So I tried scrying for the first time a few nights ago. My experience was compelling (????) so I am going to share it.

The first time I was introduced to scrying (outside of fiction) was last year when I read The Witch of the Forest's Guide to Natural Magick by Lindsay Squire. She introduces scrying as an exercise that, like other methods of divination, assists in revealing or seeing hidden information. I don't believe in supernatural scrying, like seeing the future or talking to spirits, but I firmly believe that divination can bring things to the surface of your mind from your subconscious. Many methods of scrying involve meditation upon a reflective surface, but Squire also discusses things like pyromancy and bibliomancy.

Instructions for scrying, as stated in her book, promote passive observance of the subject of divination (fire, water, deck of cards, flock of birds, etc). With scrying, as the images come and go in our mind we should attempt to interpret them.

Hydromancy, where the reflective surface for scrying is water, seemed the most appealing to me--but it took me a long time to find a scrying bowl that worked. It ended up being a shallow, circular, matte black ceramic bowl. At night, I lit a candle, turned all the lights off, bent my head over the bowl, and observed the water. Afterward, I wrote down my experience:

"I am in a dark room--spherical and all black with traces of white and blue creating hints of shadow and depth, solid but blurry in the water.

There seems to be a rodent to my right (or something like a rodent) looking over a wooden desk at me, talking. He's got a man's voice and he speaks English. He's very wise, but he's small. He's very blunt, too--not rude, but he doesn't waste time on sentimentality or getting too emotional about things. He's generally not very emotional, but he's smart and kind. He knows what he's talking about, and he's generally right about things.

To my left, light is shining through two separate doorways, one big and one small. They are doorways to other places but I don't know where they go. I'm having a hard time deciding whether I should focus on the wise rodent, or the other doorways. I decide that the doorways and the rodent are equally important.

Then my cat distracts me, and I decide that this was more than enough for a first scrying session. I blow the candle out."

I think I'll be chewing on this one for a while, honestly. What an interesting first-time experience. I'll say it's possible the animal that was speaking to me is some aspect of my higher self, or an aspect of myself that I am looking to for guidance right now. I felt extremely comforted by him, like I knew him very well. Y'all, I literally just imagined a rodent in a scrying bowl lit by a candle in the dark, but he feels like a very real aspect of myself that I want to get to know better.

TLDR; Based on my first impressions, scrying is really fun, is a great writing exercise and also returns those feelings of enchantment that I felt when I was a kid.

[emilytheghostwitch]

Two types of Polytheism is Hard Polytheism and Soft Polytheism.

I would like to talk about them today in a short post, as I find them helpful terms for those who practise any form of Paganism or blended faith.

Soft Polytheism:

This is where all aspects of the Divine can be seen to be different aspects of the same Being. Many cite the Roman and Greek Deities as prime examples of this, like for instance, when you think of Aphrodite and Venus.

Some also view the different faces or facets of the Divine as archetypes that people can interact with. This can be found in lots of different types of paganism, and is very common in pop culture paganism.

When I think of soft polytheism in fiction I often think of the scene in the first House of Night book where Nyx is showing the different faces of who she is to Zoey.

Many Pagans cite the proto indo European pantheon of gods, that many of our gods can be traced back to; and while I think researching the roots and history of pantheons in general is important, the way you view deity does not have to be justified. (Unless you’re culturally appropriating or whatever, then maybe, you know, rethink what you’re doing?)

Hard Polytheism:

Hard Polytheism in contrast to this is believing that all the Deities to ever have existed and that will exist are their own separate Being.

People who follow this line of logic believe that the Deities are real beings, and not personifications. (Although you don’t have to view them as personifications in soft polytheism either.)

Neither way of viewing the Gods is more right than the other, it is simply a matter of personal belief, and way of interacting with the world.

[thehexwitch]

I've been starting to relate more to deity and divinity in a more literal sense than before, and have been really leaning toward the idea that while the majority of spirits are tied toward land, more powerful divine spirits can travel and exist multiple places at once. My gut has been pulling me toward Celtic and Roman polytheism, though through a very traditional witchcraft-influenced lens.

I've been a practicing witch for almost 10 years now, but I still struggle with understanding what path I want to go down spiritually. In many ways, I still feel like a beginner. There are so many elements from folkloric and historical witchcraft and polytheistic practices that I relate to, but I need some sort of core to center my beliefs around and am so naturally skeptical. Constantly questioning how my beliefs fit together and can work.

Anyway, curious if people have experience with working with these pantheons. I'm definitely more of a soft polytheist, as I tend to view spirits as aspects of each other and divinity as somewhat of a hierarchical title in some ways. I still want to be respectful to the rituals and offerings these divine would appreciate and expect.

[dian-and-the-gods]

Was reading De Natura Deorum by Cicero and...my head....

"The first Venus, who has a temple at Elis, was the daughter of Cœlus and Dies. The second arose out of the froth of the sea, and became, by Mercury, the mother of the second Cupid. The third, the daughter of Jupiter and Dione, was married to Vulcan, but is said to have had Anteros by Mars. The fourth was a Syrian, born of Tyro, who is called Astarte, and is said to have been married to Adonis."

So um...??

Seems like some ancients saw that in some myths Venus came from the foam of the sea and in other myths was the child of Jupiter and Dione, and they just went "mm yes that simply means there are like 5 different Venuses who all have the same name and the same domain, but these different myths correspond to only one of those" ... like that's not my explanation for why there are different genealogies in different myths at all...

A difference in genealogy makes a wholly separate deity who still has the same name and domain, this is like super hard polytheism lmao

Also interpretatio romana got in the way here lol, funny how instead of saying "Venus is Astarte just under a different name for the Syrians" they go like "Astarte is yet another Venus who is her own separate individual to our Venus", funny how they went full circle back to hard polytheism lmao

[mischiefmanifold]

if it’s ok can I get your thoughts on soft polytheism? is it like okay to do.. is it considered polytheism?.. is it frowned upon?

Admittedly I do not have much experience with "soft polytheism", this post is based on a 5-minute google search.

The website Round the Cauldron (LINK) describes soft polytheism as "the belief that all deities are part of one larger whole". Hellenic Faith (LINK), on the other hand, views soft polytheism as a useless term for a phenomenon that already has a name. ("The various ideas that 'soft polytheism' is usually used to describe already have names; none of which are 'polytheism' because what is being described is not polytheistic.")

I am a "hard polytheist", essentially the opposite of a soft polytheist. I believe that all deities are distinct entities and are not parts of a whole.

My personal opinion is that it doesn't really matter what terms you use as long as you're using them correctly. Polytheism is defined as a belief in multiple deities, and if your version of soft polytheism follows that premise, then honestly I don't really care that you're using it.

[thechthonicherbalist]

I whispered gentle loving prayers to the divine ears of Aphrodite and Hera and asked them to take care of those who are aching, who need their protection and grant them shelter and comfort in their arms, because it's not always easy to feel and care so much. 💗🫂💗

[shinyshrine]

[theanic-devotion]

So I’m in a predicament, I definitely believe in a high power but not like,,, one that exists already? I feel like there is an energy and I want to venerate it/build a relationship with it but it’s not like a named deity.

With a deity from a culture I can go off of myths to see what they might like. I kind of see it as different named deities being facets of this higher power.

So like, this energy is nature or the natural cycle of things. The Universe, sort of. I see Aphrodite as representative of love and beauty in that nature, Apollo as representative of the health and diseases. Etc.

I could just continue to worship them as separate entities, but I was wondering if anyone has any ideas of how to venerate all aspects?

Or something like that. Really I just want to know if others feel something similarly.

[silverthornwitchery]

i love syncretism so much tbh. It allows me to really just. Acknowledge the vastness of the gods, and see how they've ALWAYS been with me since childhood. From my first steps into paganism worshipping the Netjeru, to where i am now, acknowledging how the Neterju manifest within the Celtic and Germanic pantheons, the links to the Greco-Roman world, and vice-versa. There are no true names for the gods because having one true name would do them injustice, it would reduce them. All names for them are true, all hold power and value. I'd like to especially Acknowledge Freyja, who is syncretic with Bast-Sekhmet-Hathor and Isis/Aset, who guided me to my path. I understand that in the path I walk, these goddess, while separate at times, are also one. She represents the different aspects of the day + night cycle. Bast being the night, Sekhmet being the day, and Hathor (who is syncretic with Isis in a lot of materials due to their Queen of Heaven roles) being the twilight, the liminal. All of the gods have links to each other, they all overlap and intermingle. And its for us as worshippers, as devotees, to see how that effects us in the paths we walk. For some, they may only focus on one of the many forms the gods take, for others, they may focus on how they merge as one, or as many, etc etc. The gods love all their children, regardless of how they interpret their presence. The gods will not smite someone for being a soft polytheist, nor will they smite someone for being a hard polytheist. Each type of polytheism serves a purpose in whatever plans and needs the gods have, and thats beautiful to me

[samwisethewitch]

What Non-Pagans Need to Know About Fiction Featuring Pagan Gods

In light of Marvel's Loki show dropping a second season and a new Percy Jackson series on the horizon, I want to say some things about how fandom spaces can be respectful of real-life pagan religion.

Let's get one thing out of the way: literally no one is saying you can't enjoy fiction that uses pagan gods and heroes as characters. No one is saying, "Stop writing stories about our gods." In fact, many ancient cultures wrote fiction about their gods -- look at Greek theater or the Norse Eddas. The act of writing fiction about the gods is not offensive in itself.

But please remember that this is someone's religion.

The gods are not "just archetypes." Their myths are not "just stories." Their personalities are not a matter of artistic interpretation. For many pagans, the gods are very much real in a literal sense. I don't think Thor is a metaphor or a symbol -- for me, Thor is a real, autonomous spiritual being who exists outside of human perceptions of him, and who I have chosen to build a relationship with. Even if you are a hardcore atheist, I would hope you could at least be respectful of the fact that, to many modern pagans, the gods are both very real and very important.

When authors are not respectful of this fact, they reduce the gods, these very real objects of worship, to fictional characters. And here's the thing about fictional characters: they are fundamentally tools for authors to use to draw a desired emotional response from an audience.

Dracula's personality and behavior is wildly different depending on who is writing him, because different authors use Dracula to create different reactions in their audiences. In the 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi, he's equal parts alluring and disturbing, a symbol of America's mixed desire and disdain for foreigners. In Nosferatu, he's more strictly frightening and disgusting. In Francis Ford Coppola's movie, he's a tragic, romantic figure clinging to the last scraps of his humanity. In Netflix's Castlevania, he's an incredibly powerful being who has grown bitter and apathetic in his immortality. All of this is Dracula, and all of it is fine, because Dracula is not and never has been a central figure in anyone's religion.

Let's take a look at what happens when authors give this same treatment to real gods:

In Hellenic polytheism, Apollo is one of the most beloved gods, both historically and today. Apollo loves humanity, and humanity loves him back. He is the god of sunlight and of medicine, but also of poetry and song. He is one of humanity's most consistent defenders when one of the other gods gets wrathful. And while he does have dangerous or wrathful aspects of his own (he's also the god of disease, after all), he's also kind and soft with humanity in a way other gods often aren't, at least in some historic sources.

In the Lore Olympus comic series, Apollo is a villain. He's characterized as an abuser, a manipulator, and a violent man child. LO!Apollo is downright hateful, because the author wants us to hate him. Lore Olympus is a retelling of a myth about an abduction and forced marriage. Lore Olympus is also a romance. In order to get the audience to sympathize with Hades and root for his relationship with Persephone, Rachel Smythe needed to make someone else the villain. Apollo is the most obvious and extreme character assassination in Smythe's work, but several other gods (notably Demeter) also get the asshole makeover to tell the story Smythe wants to tell.

Here's where this becomes a problem: Hellenic polytheism is a fairly small religious community, while Lore Olympus is a massively popular webtoon with 1.3 billion views as of August 2023, print books available from major retailers, a TV adaptation in the works, and a very active online fandom. Rachel Smythe currently has a MUCH bigger platform than any Hellenic polytheism practitioner. Smythe and other authors are shaping how modern culture views the Hellenic gods, and that has a very real impact on their worshipers.

This means "Apollo is an abusive asshole" is becoming a popular take online, and is even creeping into pagan communities. I've personally seen people be harassed for worshiping Apollo because of it. I've seen new pagans and pagan-curious folks who totally misunderstand the roles Apollo, Hades, and Persephone play in the Hellenic pantheon because of Lore Olympus and other modern works of fiction.

There are tons of other examples of this in modern pop culture, but I'll just rattle off a few of the ones that annoy me most: Rick Riordan depicting Ares/Mars as a brutish asshole hyped up on toxic masculinity; Rick Riordan depicting Athena as a mother goddess; Marvel depicting Thor as a dumb jock; Marvel depicting Odin as a cold, uncaring father; DC depicting Ares as purely evil; whatever the fuck the Vikings TV show was trying to do with seidr; the list goes on.

All of these are examples of religious appropriation. Religious appropriation is when sacred symbols are taken out of their original religious context by outsiders, so that the original meaning is lost or changed. It requires a power imbalance -- the person taking the symbols is usually part of a dominant religious culture. In many cases, the person doing the appropriation has a much bigger platform than anyone who has the knowledge to correct them.

When Rick Rioridan or Rachel Smythe totally mischaracterizes a Greek god to tell a story, and then actual Hellenic pagans get harassed for worshiping that god, that's religious appropriation.

Religious appropriation is a real issue. This isn't just pagans being sensitive. To use an extreme example: Richard Wagner and other German Romantic authors in the 19th century used the Norse gods and other Germanic deities as symbols in their work, which was a major influence on Nazi philosophy. Without Wagner, the Nazis would not have latched onto the Norse gods as symbols of their white supremacist agenda. To this day, there are white supremacist groups who claim to worship our gods or who use our religious imagery in their hate movement. We are still reckoning with the misinterpretation of our gods popularized by Wagner and other German Romantics almost 200 years ago.

Again, no one is saying you can't enjoy fiction based on pagan mythology. But there are a few things you can do to help prevent religious appropriation in fandom spaces:

Above all else, be mindful that while this may just be a story to you, it is someone's religion.

Recognize that enjoying fiction based on our gods does not mean you know our gods. You know fictional characters with the same names as our gods, who may or may not be accurate to real-life worship.

Do not argue with or try to correct pagans when we talk about our experience of our gods.

Don't invalidate or belittle pagan worship. Again, this mostly comes down to recognizing that our religion is totally separate from your fandom. We aren't LARPing or playing pretend. Our sacred traditions are real and valid.

If you see other people in your fandom engaging in religious appropriation, point out what they are doing and why it isn't okay.

Please tag your fandom content appropriately on social media. Always tag the show, movie, book, etc. that a post is about in addition to other relevant tags. This allows pagans to block these fandom tags if we don't want to see them and prevents fandom content showing up in religious tags.

For example, if I'm posting about Athena from the Percy Jackson books, I would tag the post #athena #athenapjo #percyjackson #pjo. You get the idea.

And if fiction sparks your interest and you want to learn more about the actual worship of the gods, you can always ask! Most pagans love talking about our gods and trading book recs.

If you are writing fiction based on real mythology, talk to people who worship those gods. Ask them what a respectful portrayal would look like. If possible, include a note in your finished work reminding audiences that it is a work of fiction and not meant to accurately portray these gods.

[lovewardeath]

Personally, I see God as a different entity compared to me saying The Gods. Confusing? Let me explain.

When I speak of The Gods, I am talking about The Gods I worship, which are the Hellenic ones…Hermes, Ares, Aphrodite, etc. They are the deities of something, love, war, etc.

But when I say God, I mean the Universe. To me, God is someone who created more Gods, (to help the workload lol), and or to make sure each person had a God that resonated with them. I get this belief from Hinduism.

But I still believe this, I believe God has different manifestations in order for each believer to relate too, to feel connected too. Some people see this as Soft Polytheism.

But I don’t. I don’t think each pantheon is the same, I don’t believe Aphrodite from Greek is the same as Freyja from Norse mythology. They are their own individuals.

I see it as God created pantheons for some groups of people who didn’t feel connected to the Norse deities, for example, so he created the Hellenic ones, etc etc.

This is just my belief! I have no intention to disrespect anyone!

I don’t know, it may seem bizzare. I guess you could say I created my own system of belief, but it’s omnism at like a strange way lol.

[sillysybilsden]

To Janus. To Jupiter. To the Roman gods.

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𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

I. Introduction

II. Gods

III. Mythology

IV. Calendar

V. Ritual

VI. Epilogue

VII. Resources

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𝐈. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Hey there everyone! This is Sybil (fka Clever Crow). As a Roman polytheist, “Roman polytheism is just a carbon-copy of Greek polytheism” is something I hear on a weekly basis. Whether on YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest or, heck, even academic resources, there seems to be a widespread belief that these two religions are identical. Today, I want to focus on this piece of misinformation and try to debunk it by using historical evidence and examples.

Just a small disclaimer: I will be discussing this topic from a hard polytheistic and revivalist point of view. Soft polytheism is absolutely valid, but in this case it might not be of use when highlighting differences between gods.

Also, I want to thank the following people: Cristina, Mystix, @spiritual-entries and @camssecretcave . They made sure that all information provided here is factual and reliable, and I will be forever grateful to them for their help.

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𝐈𝐈. 𝐆𝐨𝐝𝐬

“Are the Greek and Roman pantheons one and the same?” This is the first question we will attempt at answering within this chapter. To do so, we must introduce a very important concept in Roman religion: interpretatio romana. Before that, though, let me provide you with some historical context.

Ever since the founding of Rome in 753 BCE, Romans were exposed to influences from other Italic peoples: Sabines, Etruscans, Volsci and so on. Because of that, we can indeed say that there has never been a 100% “native” Roman religion.

We can nonetheless differentiate two “phases” of Roman polytheism: pre-hellenisation polytheism and post-hellenisation polytheism (“hellenisation” being the process that merged Greek and Roman cultures and religions during the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE). For simplicity’s sake, in this post we are going to compare the pre-hellenisation version of Roman religion and Hellenism.

Back to interpretatio: what is it? To put it simply, it is the comparison of two different pantheons (which is used to find matches between the gods). It was used so that, when describing other populations’ religions, one could just name a more familiar, local deity instead of fully describing a foreign one (which, obviously, would take much more time). Just imagine being a Roman historian and having to discuss Greek religion: instead of saying “Ares is a god of war, battle and courage”, you could just say “Ares is like our Mars”.

Does that mean that these gods were seen as identical? Absolutely not! Actually, this shows us that Roman gods were a thing long before Greek gods started being adopted in the pantheon (which is the reason why a god like Janus does not have a Greek counterpart).

Sticking with the same example we have used before, we can say that Mars was already Mars before he was equated to Ares. And, because of that, at a closer look, the two are extremely different: while Ares is blood-driven, Mars shows a much calmer nature; contrarily to Ares, Mars has some pretty important ties to royalty (his son being Romulus-Quirinus) and agriculture; while Ares has a relationship with Aphrodite, Mars is married to Nerio; and so on. It is only after hellenisation that these two (as well as all of the other gods) started merging into one single Greco-Roman figure.

As I said before, though, this does not mean that Rome was against syncretism. Quite the contrary, actually: whenever Romans ran into a deity who could be of use to them and did not have a counterpart in their pantheon, they would consider adopting them. This is the reason why Apollo was worshiped by both societies (Romans adopted him in 431 BCE in order to fight a pestilence; his Greek nature never went unacknowledged: for him, ritus graecus was performed).

Fun fact: interpretatio was not only directed to Greece. Roman priests tried to include the prophet Jesus Christ into the Roman pantheon. He was described to them as “a god of love”, so they used interpretatio to connect him to Venus.

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𝐈𝐈𝐈. 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲

As I said before, during hellenisation Greek and Roman gods started merging. As a consequence, so did their mythologies…

Actually, no, scratch that: except for a few exceptions, Roman gods did not have a mythology to begin with. Mythology that is Roman in origin revolves around men, not deities (and that is the reason why it is also referred to as “mythic history”, as the protagonists are pseudo-historical figures). Myths in Ancient Rome were used as exempla, examples to teach teens and men how they should behave in a virtuous way.

For example, one of the most famous figures from Roman mythology is Lucius Junius Brutus, the founder of the Republic: he was intelligent (he tricked the cruel king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus into sparing his life), loyal (he never deserted the Romans) and strong-willed (he took the matters into his own hands and kicked out of Rome the cruel king), and every Roman had to aspire to be like him.

In Greece, on the other hand, myths had the task of explaining why something happens. Why do we have a colder season and a warmer one? That is because Persephone comes back from and goes to the Underworld. How do we know how to use fire? Prometheus gave it to men. How did the hyacinth, the flower, get its name? It comes from Apollo’s lover Hyacinth. On top of that, Greek mythology revolves a lot more around deities than the Roman one (which is the reason why there is a pretty intricate divine family tree in Hellenism).

With this in mind, we can say that, with hellenisation, the Roman gods received myths and genealogies (as well as iconographies, in some cases) of their own for the first time ever. However, these myths and these genealogies were not altered to better fit the deity.

This is the reason why Nerio, Mars’ original wife, was forgotten in favor of Venus (Aphrodite’s Roman counterpart). This is why Saturn, an extremely benevolent agricultural deity, started being depicted as a cruel entity devouring his children (yes: I am looking at you, Goya). And this is also why Minerva, who used to have nothing to do with Medusa, started to be seen as she-who-cursed-Medusa (now I am looking at you, Ovid).

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𝐈𝐕. 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫

Calendars were of extreme importance in polytheistic societies. After all, they were deeply intertwined with their religious mentality… which is the reason why we are briefly going to discuss this matter in this blog.

When it comes to Ancient Greece, the calendar we have the most evidence on is the Athenian one (which, because of this, has become the most widely used in modern Hellenic polytheistic communities). It is lunisolar (keep this in mind!). When it comes to Ancient Rome, on the other hand, we have quite some evidence on three different calendars that modern Roman polytheists can choose from: a lunar one, a lunisolar one and a solar one (the latter happens to be the calendar still in use today).

One similarity that needs to be addressed is the one between Noumenia and Kalends (both being a celebration of the first day of the month). In the Roman version, however, we would also have to add Nones and Ides as recurring monthly festivities.

Another similarity that many seem to highlight is the one between Kronia and Saturnalia, two festivities where abundance is celebrated (as well as, respectively, Kronos and Saturn, who later merged) and the Golden Age is remembered. However! Kronia is celebrated during the Summer, roughly during the Summer solstice; Saturnalia is celebrated during Wintertime, roughly during the Winter solstice. It might not seem like a big difference at first, but it is if we consider this: during Kronia, the harvest is celebrated while it is happening, while the mature crops are being collected; during Saturnalia, the harvest that has already happened during the past Summer is celebrated, as well as the one that is to come.

Last but not least, let us highlight a Roman-only peculiarity. Back in Ancient Roman times, every day had a “quality": they could either be faustus or nefastus (as well as a lot more nuances which we will not be taking into account here). They were of great importance on a religious level, as nefastus days could bring bad luck to a practitioner if they were to take big decisions. Something similar also happened with dies religiosi, during which it was forbidden to go to work (or do anything that was not a life-or-death matter).

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𝐕. 𝐑𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥

Now that we have discussed the more “theological” matters, such as the nature of the gods, myths and festivities, we can briefly talk about the more practical side of things.

Let us start with an all-time favorite: veiling. Nowadays, a lot of pagans (no matter their path or their gender) veil for a variety of reasons: protection, modesty or devotion. And that is, no doubt, valid. Historically speaking, though, things kind of different. While both in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome veils were used by women in order to express their modesty, in Italy they were also mandatory whenever performing rituals (for women and men alike).

Another big difference resides in the views of these two societies over divination. When we think of “divination” and “Ancient Greece”, one of the first things that comes to our minds is probably the Oracle of Delphi (and rightly so!). This figure was said to be able to channel the messages of the gods, and they did so by going into a trance-like state.

In Rome, this practice was seen as unreliable (even though, surprisingly, there are a couple of instances where Romans have asked the Oracle for guidance), as the only reliable forms of divination were those that could be performed when completely conscious (augury, haruspicy, etc). Dreams, too, were seen as an untrustworthy form of communication by Romans.

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𝐕𝐈. 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

There is something we still need to address: if these two cultures, societies, religions were so different, why do so many people believe otherwise?

Well, the answer can be found in 19th century’s anthropological and religious studies. Back then, scholars used to be very fond of the comparative approach (which is a “strategy where characteristics or parts are compared across different research situations to identify differences or similarities”, according to www.sciencedirect.com) and the Indo-European theory.

Too focused on stressing the similarities between Greeks and Romans, intellectuals “forgot” to highlight the differences. Even though nowadays, academically, these hypotheses have been marked as outdated, they are still ever-so widespread.

I hope that this blog will contribute to debunking this piece of misinformation. And I hope that I managed to introduce you, reader, to Roman polytheism… Not just a carbon-copy of Hellenism!

Sybil

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𝐕𝐈𝐈. 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬

The majority of my knowledge on Greek religion comes from “Archeologia greca” by Enzo Lippolis and Giorgio Rocco and theoi.com, as well as some high school classes dedicated to Hellenic mythology.

The following resources talk specifically about this post's subject:

Roman vs. Greek religion (YouTube)

Greek mythology: A second masterpost (Tumblr)

You can check out my full list of resources on Roman polytheism here.

🪔 Check out this post on Amino as well! 🪔

[lost-celestial]

Celebration of the Soul (Overview)

Description: This is a modern collection of festivals for Psyche and Hermes that follows the migration of Monarch butterflies. The timing may change yearly. There are four festivals, one for each stage of migration/season to celebrate and honor our past, present, and future. More information will be posted later.

If Monarchs aren't local to your region, I suggest using the migration of a different butterfly in your area. Otherwise, feel free to use the Equinoxes instead!

Inspired by @starry-polytheism's festival for the Southern Hemisphere and @lavenderwaterfall's festival for the Northern Hemisphere. Dividers by @/k1ssyoursister

Soul's Journey: Spring

🦋 Theme: Looking to the Future 🦋 Timing: Spring Migration, Mid-Mar. to Early Apr. 🦋 Personal Preference: Mar. 31 to Apr. 2

Honoring Ψυχή Ἀνθεία, Psyche, the Friend of Flowers, and Ἑρμης Εριουνης, Hermes, the Luckbringer and Helper.

This is the first generation of a yearlong journey that will span multiple generations of monarchs.

Monarchs are one of the only butterflies that Monarch twice a year. The start of their adventure begins here, usually sometime in mid-March. As the temperature gets warmer, Monarchs will leave their overwintering spots (where they spend the winter) and migrate North. By Spring fully rolls around, the Monarchs have already started their next adventure.

Our first Soul's Journey begins here. This is the time to celebrate the start of a new chapter in our lives and look towards the future. We honor Psyche, the Friend of Flowers, by celebrating the return of the Spring and breathing spirit back into our lives. We honor Hermes, the Luckbringer and Helper, by asking for Hermes' guidance in the next chapter of our lives. He will be our guide through the unknown.

In this soft grassy spot, Psyche lay pleasantly reclining on her bed of dewy turf and, her great disquiet of mind soothed, fell sweetly asleep. Presently, refreshed by rest, she rose with her mind at ease. What she now saw was a park planted with big trees and a spring of crystal-clear water.

Soul's Journey: Summer

☀️ Theme: Enjoying the Present ☀️ Timing: Summer, June to Mid August ☀️ Personal Preference: Jun. 18 to Jun. 20

Honoring Ψυχή ἐρωμένη, Psyche, the Lover of Love and Ἑρμης Δαις Ἑταιρος, Hermes, the Comarde of the Feast.

After Spring comes Summer.

For the next couple of Monarch generations, they’ll dedicate their lives to continuing North and breeding. Monarchs die, are born, and die again; yet, time continues to move. Monarchs are never stagnant and are always flying towards their next goal.

This is the time to celebrate the present moment and find joy in the little things. It’s the time to remember that everyday we are progressing, even if it feels like we aren’t or that we’re regressing. Every day that we’re alive is a day well spent. We’ll honor Psyche, the Lover of Love, by spending time appreciate the people we care about in our lives and spending time offline. We’ll honor Hermes, the Comrade of the Feast, by showing gratitude for the things we have and actually celebrating ourselves and what we are achieving in the moment. It’s a celebration of self.

As far and wide as the house extended, every part of it was likewise of inestimable price. All the walls, which were built of solid blocks of gold, shone with their own brilliance so that the house furnished its own daylight, sun or no sun; [....] As [Psyche] gazed at all this with much pleasure, a disembodied voice came to her: 'Mistress, you need not be amazed at this great wealth. All of it is yours.'

Soul's Journey: Autumn

🍁 Theme: Honoring the Past 🍁 Timing: Autumn/Fall Migration, Late Aug. to Nov. 🍁 Personal Preference: Sept. 16 to Sept. 20

Honoring Ψυχή Πτερόεσσα, Psyche, the Winged One and Ἑρμης Αθανατος Δαικτορος, Hermes, the Immortal Guide.

After several months of the heat, the temperature begins to drop and the plants begin to die.

By this point, three generations of Monarchs have lived and died. Now, it’s time for the Monarchs’ biggest journey: migrating down South once again.

Flying down South will be completed in one generation, throughout the Autumn/Fall months. Monarchs of this generation are significantly different than their great-grandparents, whom started the journey to the North in the spring. These months live significantly longer and won’t reproduce as much until they’ve reached their destination.

In the most literal sense, these Monarchs have transformed into something completely different than their parents, and their parent’s parents. This is the start of the end of a long adventure. We’ll honor Psyche, the Winged One, by reflecting on how we can learn from our past. We’ll honor Hermes, the Immortal Guide, by leaving offerings to our ancestors and asking Chthonic deities for their guidance with change.

NOTE: I recommend you take your time with this part of the celebration. It can be heavy, as much of this part revolves around the departed and the end of something. Really take your time to allow yourself to feel your emotions and process what you're feeling. You want to take your time with this.

Then, indeed, Psyche knew that her last hour had come and, that all disguised was at an end and that she was being openly sent to instant destruction. So much was clear, seeing that she was being made to go on her own two feet to [Hades] and the shades. Without delay, she made for a certain lofty tower, meaning to throw herself off it, for in that way, she thought she could most directly and economically go down to the Underworld. But the tower suddenly broke into speech: 'Why, poor child, do you want to destroy yourself by a death leap? Why needlessly give up at this last ordeal?'

Soul's Journey: Winter

❄️ Theme: Repose (Rest) ❄️ Timing: Winter, December to Early March ❄️ Personal Timing: Dec. 30 to Jan. 3

Honoring Ψυχή, Psyche, Personification of the Soul and Ἑρμης, Hermes, God of Communication, Boundaries and Divine Guide.

After the long migration South again, the generation of super Monarchs will die. Unlike the generations before them, these Monarchs will begin reproducing and laying eggs once Spring rolls around again. Like Autumn, this season is spent mostly traveling South until the temperature warms up again, and they migrate North again to start the next breeding cycle. This generation is truly the most special of all previous generations, and both symbolize the Monarchs' incredible journey and the end of an era. It’s the time to reflect, appreciate, and acknowledge what we’ve done over the course of the seasons. To celebrate, we’ll honor Psyche herself with some much-needed self-care and R&R. Alongside that, we’ll honor Hermes for his help in guiding us every day.

Cups of nectar were served to Zeus by his own cupbearer, the shepherd lad (Ganymede), and to the others by Dionysus; Hephaestus cooked the dinner; the Seasons (Hoare) made everything colorful with roses and other flowers; the Graces (Charities) sprinkled perfumes; the Muses discoursed tuneful music. Then Apollo sang to the lyre, and Aphrodite, fitting her steps to the sweet music, danced in all her beauty. [...] This was Psyche's marriage to Eros, and when her time came, they had a daughter, whom we called Hedone [Pleasure].