depthsofthesea

[depthsofthesea]

a reminder that you're not falling behind. not in your craft, not in your connection to your guides or gods, not in your spirituality.

you're allowed to have quiet seasons. you're allowed to be tired. you're allowed to be mundane, and magical, and both at once.

your magic doesn’t disappear just because you’re not lighting candles every night. you're still a witch, even when the most you can manage is a cup of tea and a deep breath.

you can take a break if you need - the gods are eternal. they'll still be here.

[depthsofthesea]

I keep seeing posts about how the greater HelPol Tumblr community needs to be better, and while a lot of people are making really good points, I think we need to actually be a community first. Where are the community events and the spreading positivity?

Obviously, I know **someone** would have to lead that, but the reason the community feels so negative all the time is because the negativity is what gets people active and posting and engaging more. The positive aspects of the community go unseen with little to no engagement, and then people lose motivation. Too many of us are trying to just be educators, and not enough are actually interacting with the community on Tumblr itself

[depthsofthesea]

Aphrodite

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(just a reminder, I’m not perfect. Some of this information will be like me, imperfect. I’m not a scholar, just a woman trying to make everything a little easy for newcomers or people who need resources!)

Aphrodite is the goddess of a lot of really lovely things! Love, beauty (she clearly gave you a lot of that 🤭), and sex/procreation.

Lady Aphrodite, being so lovely, is associated with lots of very lovely things classically.

•Apples

•Doves

•Scallop Shells

•Mirrors

I (and probably a few others) also associate many other things with her.

•Roses

•Citrus smells/fruits

•Raspberries

•Peaches

•Foam

•Pearls

Remember, you can associate your own things with any deity, even if it doesn’t ‘make sense’ to others. Let your worship be personal!!

I like to assign my deities colors, as well. What can I say, I’m gay and color oriented.

•White

•Pink

•Creme

•Baby blue

•Literally anything shiny and iridescent

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Even though this religion isn’t myth literal like many others, I still really enjoy the myths! When I was new, I thought I legitimately wasn’t allowed to. But, that’s not true at all! You’re still allowed to like the myths, just remember: The gods are NOT their myths.

You should remember that especially when learning about goddesses. Ancient Greece was a very misogynistic society, and that reflects in how they characterize and treat females and goddesses in the myths. Treat woman right, folks.

Aphrodite isn’t cruel, vain, jealous, or any of the other silly shit that was written about her. She’s incredibly kind and caring <3

Anyways, here’s a few myths that feature lady Aphrodite:

Affair with Ares

Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus because once said that he would only release his mother Hera from the throne he bounded her to if he was married to Aphrodite.

So, they were wed. But, Aphrodite fell for Ares. (Some sources have them together before Aphrodite was wed, which I enjoy quite a bit)

I’m not condoning cheating, I think it’s awful to cheat on your partner.

But, Aphrodite is love. Love isn’t know to be rational. It knows no bounds. Lady Aphrodite is love, would you expect love herself to withhold her love for another? I wouldn’t.

Aphrodite started having an affair with Ares. And Helios, being the sun, had a nice seat up and the sky to watch this from. He saw the affair and basically tattled on them.

Hephaestus was, less than happy at the news. He didn’t particularly want his wife cheating on him. So, naturally as the god of the forge, he went to his forge.

In his forge, he crafted thin golden chains that were so small you couldn’t see them. But, they were incredibly strong. He then wove those strings into a net and laid across his and Aphrodites wedding bed.

After setting his trap, he told Aphrodite he had to go to Lemnos. Aphrodite waited for him to leave, then called Ares over.

The two climbed into bed, and promptly got trapped in the net. Hephaestus came back from where he was watching and was furious, so furious is fact, he called the other gods to come and witness the betrayal.

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Birth from Sea Foam

When Kronos castrated his father, Ouranos, his genitalia fell into the ocean. The ocean started foaming, and then from the foam, a goddess emerged. The goddess was Aphrodite!

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Judgement of Paris

When Peleus and goddess Thetis (the parents of Achilles) were wed, every fox was invited to attend the wedding. Every god expect for Eris, the goddess of strife.

She wasn’t invited due to her disagreeable nature. Eris was pissed, to put it frankly. She was so angry that she crafted a golden apple with the inscription ‘to the fairest’ on it, and hurled it at the goddesses before going off to presumably sulk.

Three goddesses saw the apple and assumed it was addressed to them: Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera.

The three asked Zeus to mediate the debate and choose. He, wisely, passed it up and gave it to Hermes. And Hermes, also wisely, ushered the goddesses before Paris of Troy and had him decide.

Each goddess offered Paris a gift to choose them. But, Paris like Aphrodites offer the best. Aphrodite promised Paris he could have Hellen, the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris accepted her offer.

There was, an eensy teensy problem with that, though. Hellen was already married. So Hellen was abducted and that launched the Trojan war!

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Aphrodite, being as popular as she is and was, has many Epithets! Here are some of my favorites :)

•Pandemos - Common to All People

•Aeria - Warlike

•Pontia - Of the Sea

•Chrysea - Golden

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And finally, here’s Aphrodite’s Homeric and Orphic hymns in case you’d like to read them <3.

Homeric

Muse, tell me the deeds of golden Aphrodite the Cypian, who stirs up sweet passion in the gods and subdues the tribes of mortal men and birds that fly in air and all the many creatures that the dry land rears, and all the sea: all these love the deeds of rich-crowned Cytherea.

Yet there are three hearts that she cannot bend nor yet ensnare. First is the daughter of Zeus who holds the aegis, bright-eyed Athene; for she has no pleasure in the deeds of golden Aphrodite, but delights in wars and in the work of Ares, in strifes and battles and in preparing famous crafts. She first taught earthly craftsmen to make chariots of war and cars variously wrought with bronze, and she, too, teaches tender maidens in the house and puts knowledge of goodly arts in each one's mind. Nor does laughter-loving Aphrodite ever tame in love Artemis, the huntress with shafts of gold; for she loves archery and the slaying of wild beasts in the mountains, the lyre also and dancing and thrilling cries and shady woods and the cities of upright men. Nor yet does the pure maiden Hestia love Aphrodite's works. She was the first-born child of wily Cronos and youngest too, by will of Zeus who holds the aegis, -- a queenly maid whom both Poseidon and Apollo sought to wed. But she was wholly unwilling, nay, stubbornly refused; and touching the head of father Zeus who holds the aegis, she, that fair goddess, sware a great oath which has in truth been fulfilled, that she would be a maiden all her days. So Zeus the Father gave her an high honour instead of marriage, and she has her place in the midst of the house and has the richest portion. In all the temples of the gods she has a share of honour, and among all mortal men she is chief of the goddesses.

Of these three Aphrodite cannot bend or ensnare the hearts. But of all others there is nothing among the blessed gods or among mortal men that has escaped Aphrodite. Even the heart of Zeus, who delights in thunder, is led astray by her; though he is greatest of all and has the lot of highest majesty, she beguiles even his wise heart whensoever she pleases, and mates him with mortal women, unknown to Hera, his sister and his wife, the grandest far in beauty among the deathless goddesses -- most glorious is she whom wily Cronos with her mother Rhea did beget: and Zeus, whose wisdom is everlasting, made her his chaste and careful wife.

But upon Aphrodite herself Zeus cast sweet desire to be joined in love with a mortal man, to the end that, very soon, not even she should be innocent of a mortal's love; lest laughter-loving Aphrodite should one day softly smile and say mockingly among all the gods that she had joined the gods in love with mortal women who bare sons of death to the deathless gods, and had mated the goddesses with mortal men.

And so he put in her heart sweet desire for Anchises who was tending cattle at that time among the steep hills of many-fountained Ida, and in shape was like the immortal gods. Therefore, when laughter-loving Aphrodite saw him, she loved him, and terribly desire seized her in her heart. She went to Cyprus, to Paphos, where her precinct is and fragrant altar, and passed into her sweet-smelling temple. There she went in and put to the glittering doors, and there the Graces bathed her with heavenly oil such as blooms upon the bodies of the eternal gods -- oil divinely sweet, which she had by her, filled with fragrance. And laughter-loving Aphrodite put on all her rich clothes, and when she had decked herself with gold, she left sweet-smelling Cyprus and went in haste towards Troy, swiftly travelling high up among the clouds. So she came to many-fountained Ida, the mother of wild creatures and went straight to the homestead across the mountains. After her came grey wolves, fawning on her, and grim-eyed lions, and bears, and fleet leopards, ravenous for deer: and she was glad in heart to see them, and put desire in their breasts, so that they all mated, two together, about the shadowy coombes.

But she herself came to the neat-built shelters, and him she found left quite alone in the homestead -- the hero Anchises who was comely as the gods. All the others were following the herds over the grassy pastures, and he, left quite alone in the homestead, was roaming hither and thither and playing thrillingly upon the lyre. And Aphrodite, the daughter of Zeus stood before him, being like a pure maiden in height and mien, that he should not be frightened when he took heed of her with his eyes. Now when Anchises saw her, he marked her well and wondered at her mien and height and shining garments. For she was clad in a robe out-shining the brightness of fire, a splendid robe of gold, enriched with all manner of needlework, which shimmered like the moon over her tender breasts, a marvel to see. Also she wore twisted brooches and shining earrings in the form of flowers; and round her soft throat were lovely necklaces.

And Anchises was seized with love, and said to her: "Hail, lady, whoever of the blessed ones you are that are come to this house, whether Artemis, or Leto, or golden Aphrodite, or high-born Themis, or bright-eyed Athene. Or, maybe, you are one of the Graces come hither, who bear the gods company and are called immortal, or else one of those who inhabit this lovely mountain and the springs of rivers and grassy meads. I will make you an altar upon a high peak in a far seen place, and will sacrifice rich offerings to you at all seasons. And do you feel kindly towards me and grant that I may become a man very eminent among the Trojans, and give me strong offspring for the time to come. As for my own self, let me live long and happily, seeing the light of the sun, and come to the threshold of old age, a man prosperous among the people."

Thereupon Aphrodite the daughter of Zeus answered him: "Anchises, most glorious of all men born on earth, know that I am no goddess: why do you liken me to the deathless ones? Nay, I am but a mortal, and a woman was the mother that bare me. Otreus of famous name is my father, if so be you have heard of him, and he reigns over all Phrygia rich in fortresses. But I know your speech well beside my own, for a Trojan nurse brought me up at home: she took me from my dear mother and reared me thenceforth when I was a little child. So comes it, then, that I well know you tongue also. And now the Slayer of Argus with the golden wand has caught me up from the dance of huntress Artemis, her with the golden arrows. For there were many of us, nymphs and marriageable25 maidens, playing together; and an innumerable company encircled us: from these the Slayer of Argus with the golden wand rapt me away. He carried me over many fields of mortal men and over much land untilled and unpossessed, where savage wild-beasts roam through shady coombes, until I thought never again to touch the life-giving earth with my feet. And he said that I should be called the wedded wife of Anchises, and should bear you goodly children. But when he had told and advised me, he, the strong Slayer of Argos, went back to the families of the deathless gods, while I am now come to you: for unbending necessity is upon me. But I beseech you by Zeus and by your noble parents -- for no base folk could get such a son as you -- take me now, stainless and unproved in love, and show me to your father and careful mother and to your brothers sprung from the same stock. I shall be no ill-liking daughter for them, but a likely. Moreover, send a messenger quickly to the swift-horsed Phrygians, to tell my father and my sorrowing mother; and they will send you gold in plenty and woven stuffs, many splendid gifts; take these as bride-piece. So do, and then prepare the sweet marriage that is honourable in the eyes of men and deathless gods."

When she had so spoken, the goddess put sweet desire in his heart. And Anchises was seized with love, so that he opened his mouth and said: "If you are a mortal and a woman was the mother whobare you, and Otreus of famous name is your father as you say, and if you are come here by the will of Hermes the immortal Guide, and are to be called my wife always, then neither god nor mortal man shall here restrain me till I have lain with you in love right now; no, not even if far-shooting Apollo himself should launch grievous shafts from his silver bow. Willingly would I go down into the house of Hades, O lady, beautiful as the goddesses, once I had gone up to your bed."

So speaking, he caught her by the hand. And laughter-loving Aphrodite, with face turned away and lovely eyes downcast, crept to the well-spread couch which was already laid with soft coverings for the hero; and upon it lay skins of bears and deep-roaring lions which he himself had slain in the high mountains. And when they had gone up upon the well-fitted bed, first Anchises took off her bright jewelry of pins and twisted brooches and earrings and necklaces, and loosed her girdle and stripped off her bright garments and laid them down upon a silver-studded seat. Then by the will of the gods and destiny he lay with her, a mortal man with an immortal goddess, not clearly knowing what he did.

But at the time when the herdsmen driver their oxen and hardy sheep back to the fold from the flowery pastures, even then Aphrodite poured soft sleep upon Anchises, but herself put on her rich raiment. And when the bright goddess had fully clothed herself, she stood by the couch, and her head reached to the well-hewn roof-tree; from her cheeks shone unearthly beauty such as belongs to rich-crowned Cytherea. Then she aroused him from sleep and opened her mouth and said: "Up, son of Dardanus! -- why sleep you so heavily? -- and consider whether I look as I did when first you saw me with your eyes."

So she spake. And he awoke in a moment and obeyed her. But when he saw the neck and lovely eyes of Aphrodite, he was afraid and turned his eyes aside another way, hiding his comely face with his cloak. Then he uttered winged words and entreated her: "So soon as ever I saw you with my eyes, goddess, I knew that you were divine; but you did not tell me truly. Yet by Zeus who holds the aegis I beseech you, leave me not to lead a palsied life among men, but have pity on me; for he who lies with a deathless goddess is no hale man afterwards."

Then Aphrodite the daughter of Zeus answered him: "Anchises, most glorious of mortal men, take courage and be not too fearful in your heart. You need fear no harm from me nor from the other blessed ones, for you are dear to the gods: and you shall have a dear son who shall reign among the Trojans, and children's children after him, springing up continually. His name shall be Aeneas,because I felt awful grief in that I laid me in the bed of mortal man: yet are those of your race always the most like to gods of all mortal men in beauty and in stature.

"Verily wise Zeus carried off golden-haired Ganymedes because of his beauty, to be amongst the Deathless Ones and pour drink for the gods in the house of Zeus -- a wonder to see -- honoured by all the immortals as he draws the red nectar from the golden bowl. But grief that could not be soothed filled the heart of Tros; for he knew not whither the heaven-sent whirlwind had caught up his dear son, so that he mourned him always, unceasingly, until Zeus pitied him and gave him high-stepping horses such as carry the immortals as recompense for his son. These he gave him as a gift. And at the command of Zeus, the Guide, the slayer of Argus, told him all, and how his son would be deathless and unageing, even as the gods. So when Trosheard these tidings from Zeus, he no longer kept mourning but rejoiced in his heart and rode joyfully with his storm-footed horses.

"So also golden-throned Eos rapt away Tithonus who was of your race and like the deathless gods. And she went to ask the dark-clouded Son of Cronos that he should be deathless and live eternally; and Zeus bowed his head to her prayer and fulfilled her desire. Too simply was queenly Eos: she thought not in her heart to ask youth for him and to strip him of the slough of deadly age. So while he enjoyed the sweet flower of life he lived rapturously with golden-throned Eos, the early-born, by the streams of Ocean, at the ends of the earth; but when the first grey hairs began to ripple from his comely head and noble chin, queenly Eos kept away from his bed, though she cherished him in her house and nourished him with food and ambrosia and gave him rich clothing. But when loathsome old age pressed full upon him, and he could not move nor lift his limbs, this seemed to her in her heart the best counsel: she laid him in a room and put to the shining doors. There he babbles endlessly, and no more has strength at all, such as once he had in his supple limbs.

“I would not have you be deathless among the deathless gods and live continually after such sort. Yet if you could live on such as now you are in look and in form, and be called my husband, sorrow would not then enfold my careful heart. But, as it is, harsh old age will soon enshroud you -- ruthless age which stands someday at the side of every man, deadly, wearying, dreaded even by the gods.

"And now because of you I shall have great shame among the deathless gods henceforth, continually. For until now they feared my jibes and the wiles by which, or soon or late, I mated all the immortals with mortal women, making them all subject to my will. But now my mouth shall no more have this power among the gods; for very great has been my madness, my miserable and dreadful madness, and I went astray out of my mind who have gotten a child beneath my girdle, mating with a mortal man. As for the child, as soon as he sees the light of the sun, the deep-breasted mountain Nymphs who inhabit this great and holy mountain shall bring him up. They rank neither with mortals nor with immortals: long indeed do they live, eating heavenly food and treading the lovely dance among the immortals, and with them the Sileni and the sharp-eyed Slayer of Argus mate in the depths of pleasant caves; but at their birth pines or high-topped oaks spring up with them upon the fruitful earth, beautiful, flourishing trees, towering high upon the lofty mountains (and men call them holy places of the immortals, and never mortal lops them with the axe); but when the fate of death is near at hand, first those lovely trees wither where they stand, and the bark shrivels away about them, and the twigs fall down, and at last the life of the Nymph and of the tree leave the light of the sun together. These Nymphs shall keep my son with them and rear him, and as soon as he is come to lovely boyhood, the goddesses will bring him here to you and show you your child. But, that I may tell you all that I have in mind, I will come here again towards the fifth year and bring you my son. So soon as ever you have seen him -- a scion to delight the eyes -- you will rejoice in beholding him; for he shall be most godlike: then bring him at once to windy Ilion. And if any mortal man ask you who got your dear son beneath her girdle, remember to tell him as I bid you: say he is the offspring of one of the flower-like Nymphs who inhabit this forest-clad hill. But if you tell all and foolishly boast that you lay with rich-crowned Aphrodite, Zeus will smite you in his anger with a smoking thunderbolt. Now I have told you all. Take heed: refrain and name me not, but have regard to the anger of the gods." When the goddess had so spoken, she soared up to windy heaven.

Hail, goddess, queen of well-builded Cyprus! With you have I begun; now I will turn me to another hymn.

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Heav'nly, illustrious, laughter-loving queen, sea-born, night-loving, of an awful mien;

Crafty, from whom necessity first came, producing, nightly, all-connecting dame:

'Tis thine the world with harmony to join, for all things spring from thee, O pow'r divine.

The triple Fates are rul'd by thy decree, and all productions yield alike to thee:

Whate'er the heav'ns, encircling all contain, earth fruit-producing, and the stormy main,

Thy sway confesses, and obeys thy nod, awful attendant of the brumal God:

Goddess of marriage, charming to the sight, mother of Loves, whom banquetings delight;

Source of persuasion, secret, fav'ring queen, illustrious born, apparent and unseen:

Spousal, lupercal, and to men inclin'd, prolific, most-desir'd, life-giving., kind:

Great sceptre-bearer of the Gods, 'tis thine, mortals in necessary bands to join;

And ev'ry tribe of savage monsters dire in magic chains to bind, thro' mad desire.

Come, Cyprus-born, and to my pray'r incline, whether exalted in the heav'ns you shine,

Or pleas'd in Syria's temple to preside, or o'er th' Egyptian plains thy car to guide,

Fashion'd of gold; and near its sacred flood, fertile and fam'd to fix thy blest abode;

Or if rejoicing in the azure shores, near where the sea with foaming billows roars,

The circling choirs of mortals, thy delight, or beauteous nymphs, with eyes cerulean bright,

Pleas'd by the dusty banks renown'd of old, to drive thy rapid, two-yok'd car of gold;

Or if in Cyprus with thy mother fair, where married females praise thee ev'ry year,

And beauteous virgins in the chorus join, Adonis pure to sing and thee divine;

Come, all-attractive to my pray'r inclin'd, for thee, I call, with holy, reverent mind.

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I really hope this post was helpful in any way, shape or form to someone. Love you all so much, mwahhh!

[depthsofthesea]

ⓘ This user needs a long break from everything.

[depthsofthesea]

Dear self proclaimed "Uneducated US Americans" who say that their education system failed them...

Nothing is stopping you from educating yourselves. Don't be discouraged by the awful education system, FIGHT IT.

You don't learn geography in school? Nothing is stopping you from picking up a world atlas book.

You've only been taught the American, victorious, white centric history? Go and learn new perspectives on history.

Nothing can stop you from educating yourself and the people around you. Don't fall victim to the anti intellectual propaganda. Please.

The only way to fight amerocentrism and not succumb to poor education is to LEARN AND EXPAND YOUR PERSPECTIVE.

[depthsofthesea]

Slavic paganism: Deities aren't first...?

A short post

This is going to be a short one. But i feel like it will help a lot of people understand this mysterious faith.

I've gotten so many questions regarding deity worship in slavic paganism across social media and with real life friends, which is absolutely okay, i love answering questions.

But the thing i always tell people is:

In Slavic paganism, deity worship is not the first priority.

Many medieval historians who wrote chronicles and books on Slavic pagan customs wrote about this.

Slavic paganism is a nature based religion. And while worshipping deities is always important, in slavic paganism there are many other aspects of non-deity related worship and veneration that we should know about.

Some of them being:

1. Ancestor veneration.

2. Nature (spirits) worship

3. House spirit worship (Domovoi and Kikimora the house spirits)

Another big thing in Slavic paganism is community. Of course, in this modern day world, community of friendly pagans is hard to find. Social media making it a bit easier.

But community doesn't always need to have same beliefs. I'm sure many non-slavic pagans (such as hellenic polytheists) would love to learn more about this faith. And so would many atheists and christians.

Of course, this is NOT to say that deity worship is not important. But this is some parallel that slavic paganism has with other pagan paths. People in modern day like to prioritize deity worship, as they believe that deities are more divine and powerful than nature spirits such as rusalki, vili (fairies), house spirits and mythical creatures.

But we gotta remember that ALL those beings are still divine. And while that one river spirit you've been talking to doesn't know as much as Perun does on the topic you want to learn, they still know much more than us.

Divine beings aren't omnipotent, but I'm sure they know a lot of things better than us, and know some things about us that that even our subconscious mind does.

Sooo... That's it!

Artwork by Viktor Vasnetsov

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RÁN // NORSE GODDESS OF THE SEA

“She is a goddess and a personification of the sea. Rán and her husband Ægir, a jötunn who also personifies the sea, have nine daughters, who personify waves. The goddess is frequently associated with a net, which she uses to capture sea-goers. According to the prose introduction to a poem in the Poetic Edda and in Völsunga saga, Rán once loaned her net to the god Loki.”

(above illustration shows Rán pulling her net beside her husband Ægir as depicted by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine)

[depthsofthesea]

Remember "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" ? I feel like there's been a distancing from the "reduce" and "reuse" part and a favoritism towards "recycle" by corporate American.

Capitalism can still thrive with recycling in the mix. You buy Plastic Thing 1, throw it away after one use, and they take that and recycle it into Plastic Thing 2 and sell it back to you. All while continuing to harm the environment.

Reusing puts a damper on things. They can't sell you Plastic Thing 2 when you're still using Plastic Thing 1. Plastic forks, for example- there is literally no reason why you can't reuse plastic forks more than once (aside from maybe microplastics, but it's too late for that)

Reducing is the one everyone wants to ignore. Just don't buy Plastic Thing 1. You don't need Plastic Thing 1. Pick up a set of metal forks and use those for years. Convenience is killing the planet

[depthsofthesea]

Research is essential, but academic literacy is hard.

Listen to me, people will tell you to do your own research, to fact-check things, to know the context of every author you encounter. But that shit is hard. So here is a step-by-step guide on how to go into (online) research.

(ps: All of these are things I learnt from my 5 years in university. Still, I am a PSYCHOLOGY student, not a historian, nor do I have any degree in classical studies. This is general information. If you can add beginner-friendly tips, please do in the reblogs/comments.

1. Find your ground:

What do you want to know? What is it you are looking for? This will help you find keywords.

Let's say you are interested in Greek Myths. And you are curious on how some myths came to be. So here we have "Greek Mythology" and "Origins" (for example).

2. Find your domain:

Several blogs and sites will have the specific information you need (probably), but if you don't know them, you can look into many search engines.

Google Scholar or Wikipedia are good places to start.

SOME TIPS TO GOOGLE STUFF:

SOME TIPS TO SEARCH IN WIKIPEDIA:

there are two ways wikipedia can be useful.

a) the rabbit hole.

The hyperlinks will help you deep dive into many related information you may need.

b) references are a girl's best friend

Some references will have links to where the citation comes from. If you are interested in a certain topic, you can go to the source and read it from the author itself (friendly reminder that wikipedia and many other wikis have information sumarized and paraphrased, so there might be misinformation. here is where fact-checking comes to play.)

3. Know your authors

This is a pain in the ass, I know. But as we know, some people write in contexts that make information heavily biased with problematic stuff. Does this mean every information that was written through, lets say, patriarchal lenses, are unreliable? no. It means that if the author only talks about the importance of masculine deities, there might be a chance that they are leaving to the side the actual relevance of other deities in the stories. Here is where critical thinking will help you out. Check the source, consider the motif. The reality is that the more you read about a topic, the more complex your perspective gets.

But let's go to an example.

If we are talking about primary sources (sources that generated new information), you need to study the context and history of said author.

For example, When it comes to myths, we could say primary sources are Herodotus and Ovid. But if we look closely, we will see that they not only differ in time but also in place, being Herodotus a greek poet and Ovid a roman one. This matters because not only did they write for different civilisations, but also about different deities. The same could be said about philosophers of different eras within greek tradition.

If we are talking about secondary sources (where authors compile and analyse information), you need to add a layer of information about the authors themselves. Why are they making this analysis? What is the purpose of what they are writing?

It is hard to do a background check on every single author you read, so a good measure of how they stand with the research community is: how many citations the work has, when and where the paper was posted, and how many primary sources does it have in its references. If either of these is ringing some alarms in your head, read the other research they mention in their bibliography.

4. Don't rush yourself.

This one is more of an advice than an actual step.

Some primary sources, even though they are reliable, are hard to understand. I approached the Iliad through The Song of Achilles. I'm not embarrassed by that. What I am ashamed of is that I truly thought that I could read the whole Iliad just from what I have seen in TSOA. Yeah, it was a punch in the gut. Suddenly, I had this man mentioning people i didnt know from places that didn't existed anymore and praying to gods that i didn't know what they were known for.

After that, I took a step back, and I started reading about these things from secondary, down-to-earth resources.

Many books will come with explanations at the bottom of the page; these are very helpful when approaching heavy literature but if you don't have these editions, don't be afraid to Google about every little thing. Yes, it will take you way longer, but that's why you don't need to rush. Patient research is good research.

Anyway, I hope this is a good starting point for anyone.

[depthsofthesea]

Let’s get something straight:

Not everything in witchcraft is meant to be healed, forgiven, or wrapped in rose quartz. But if you’ve spent more than five minutes in the sanitized corners of the witchy internet, you’ve probably heard some version of this:

•“You’re blocking your blessings by being angry.”

•“Low-vibration people attract bad energy.”

•“Cursing others only brings it back to you.”

This is the witchcraft of white noise, where anger is demonized, justice is bypassed, and the only acceptable spellwork is prosperity jars and full moon affirmations. Where the ugliest experiences trauma, injustice, betrayal are seen as “lessons from the universe” you’re just not evolved enough to understand.

Let me be clear:

That. Is. Bullshit.

Witchcraft is a tool of the oppressed, the outcast, the silenced. It was never meant to be polite. And it sure as hell wasn’t meant to mimic the same control structures that burned our ancestors at the stake. Love and light without accountability is spiritual gaslighting. You don’t owe the world forgiveness to be spiritual. You don’t have to “release negativity” when it’s the only thing keeping you safe. You don’t have to wrap your rage in lavender to make it palatable to the privileged. Sometimes the most powerful magic is not healing it’s cursing. Sometimes the kindest act is vengeance. Sometimes the most sacred ritual is saying no loudly, unapologetically, with fire in your mouth.

— B&B

[depthsofthesea]

I keep seeing posts about how the Gods are always listening and if you call for them, they’ll always be there, but I personally don’t think so and I kinda prefer it that way?

That might be a hot take, but I think if all the Gods were always watching me, and then still did nothing during my lowest moments, I’d become real jaded real fast. There’s also been plenty of moments where I’ve called to the Gods and had those calls go unanswered. If I thought they were listening and just ignored me, I’d get super frustrated but maybe that’s just me 😭

[depthsofthesea]

To add to @wayfind-er I do think Trickster spirits exist and can vaguely seem like a deity, however the more my practice goes on the more I realize that deities appear different for everyone and not everyone will always pull the same major arcana or even minor arcana for a deity. UPG, SPG and our own views can be how we interpret them and how they show up in divination. It doesn't always equate to a trickster but it doesn't mean you shouldn't stop taking precautionary steps against negative entities/spirits or otherwise from entering your space.

Trickster spirits do not exist in Hellenic Polytheism!!

But your own mind can play tricks on you. If you get weird messages, it's nothing more than personal bias or influence.

[depthsofthesea]

Please just go to Wikipedia on [topic of interest], scroll all the way to the bottom with the References, and find a book to read. It’d probably do wonders for your research

[depthsofthesea]

If you are collecting seashells, please remember to keep the shortage of shells for hermit crabs in mind!

It's a massive issue that the over-collection of seashells has led to. While efforts are being made to attempt to combat the problem, those of us who live near coasts and hermit crab populated areas can help our crabby friends by keeping our hands off the shells that hermit crabs use as homes!

You may be wondering, "Stag, what does this have to do with Hellenic Polytheism?" Many worshippers and devotees of ocean-related deities like to collect seashells and give them as offerings, so this is somewhat of a PSA to maybe think twice before picking up certain shells.

Hermit crab seashells can look like the following:

If you're dead set on collecting a seashell, please focus on flat ones. They're far less likely to be used as hermit crab homes. And as always, if you happen to see trash on beaches or in hermit crab populated areas, please throw it away, even if it isn't yours. You could be saving a crabby - or another animal - life!

[depthsofthesea]

Going Forward Now

Okay. So it's been a while, I thought I'd be returning sooner, but life happens, folks.

And I've had to think a lot about the direction I'll be taking with an online presence. I won't mince words at this point, Tumblr's community, especially one I frequent often, the Helpol community has felt extremely negative and plenty have been uninviting either personally to me, or at large like to spread ugly ideas and misinformation. I'm not here to throw shade, I'm deeply tired of drama instead of focusing on being inviting, friendly, mature about things, and providing safety and unbiased education to all, or just sharing experiences and feelings in our practice and so on. There are certainly good people on this platform too, it's part of the whole reason I'm not deleting this account. But it's also because I don't want what has been put on here to just vanish away, and I don't mind posting more casual things, like devotional posts for some deities, answering asks here, or reposting. And yeah, I know that's how it is with social media nowadays, but I'm just giving myself a space that actually feels comfortable and chill. Will I comment on things that I feel I want to comment on? Absolutely. I'm by no means just shutting down or shutting up, I'm just supplying myself and anyone else who wants to check it out a nice a chill space that is fully dedicated purely to my practice and won't get crowded by any drama at all.

I'll be posting once the blog site is up, and I'm still planning a Discord server in a few weeks too focused on Celestial and Elemental magic/practices, so if you're interested, look forward to it!

Thank you for reading and have a nice day <3

[depthsofthesea]

[depthsofthesea]

I'll start! So many folks on tumblr post a lot about magick that it feels like they couldn't possibly do (just in terms of like, how are you managing five spells a week?) that it often makes me feel inadequate - I don't spend every full moon making moon water and charging my crystals, because life gets in the way!

It makes me wonder if these folks are just like superhuman and really devoted, or if I just need to be making more time to be a proper witch, or if i'm taking some of those blogs too literally and it's just about the vibes,,,, idk