ardentlyares

[ardentlyares]

hey. this is your sign to remember that it is okay to incorporate your special interest into your worship and offerings. the gods love you as you are. offering to the gods the thing running through your mind, your very veins, at all times, is an admirable show of your devotion.

[ardentlyares]

dunno why but Loki was quiet for a while and now all of a sudden is like BAM HELLO IM BACK. The other day I was at the mall and saw a book on Norse myth. Opened it and guess who was on the random page?

And there have been a lot of little jumping spiders in the apartment. Very cute. But yesterday? YESTERDAY?? Within ten minutes two spiders on me. The first was while I was driving. Felt it on my arm. Looked and it was a tiny one. Brushed it off in panic. Then got to where I was going and was standing outside. Felt something on my leg. Looked down and instead of a tiny one there was a massive daddy long legs. 👁️ 👄 👁️ I’m in the middle of moving and I’m not even sure where my tarot decks are I can’t figure out what he needs or if it’s just a reminder he’s around but HELLO??? Please sir tell me what you need from me. 😭

[ardentlyares]

aaaah so probably my fave depiction of Lord Lucifer is Le genie du mal or the Lucifer of Liege. I love all the little symbols in it. The emotion.

and I had been looking for devotional jewelry for him and not sure how I ended up there but found an Etsy shop called Devil’s Advocates. Had all kinds of stuff for the demons. But they had a ring inspired by the broken crown from the statue. I felt the pull. And it came today aaaah 🤩 I’m so excited

[ardentlyares]

This is the best artistic rendition of Mother Hera I've ever come across. She's so beautiful I can barely move my eyes. So gentle and loving. Btw this is not my creation. The creator has their name in the corner and they're in devianart so all credits to them and a load of gratitude cuz this is very very accurate to how I see my Mother in my mind. I found this pic on Pinterest so yep. BUT MOTHER DO I LOVE YOU?!!!!! I could cry just by looking at this.

[ardentlyares]

Mischief

[ardentlyares]

smile loving aphrodite save me

[ardentlyares]

yesterday when i got home i went out to check on my sunflowers for Loki and they’re growing! i’m usually not the best at this so im trying to let nature handle it as much as possible. but while i was out there i noticed a little jumping spider in the container 🥹

it was so cute and i absolutely do take it as a positive sign. 🥰

[ardentlyares]

Goodbye Kiss

He did not go off to battle that day

Do you ever think Aphrodite gets grumpy when her lover and sons leave? I like to think so lol as it leaves her mostly alone if she's at home without the Charities visiting. Like it's all too quiet.

Symbolically I meant for it to be like the wives of men going to war being sorrowful that they are leaving, wanting them to stay. And obviously whether they stay or go (willingly or required) would affect the number of soldiers. Basically Ares staying home could cost a side their battle lol, which I think is funny.

Also.. I think Ares is forgetting something-

This happens a lot.

(they don't have designs yet-)

[ardentlyares]

🌿Ariadne worship guide/suggestions🌿

Domain: paths, labyrinths, mazes, life cycles, renewal, abandonment, fertility, vegetation, Cretan people.

Epithets: lovely-haired, princess of Crete, wife of Dionysus, daughter of Minos, fair, brown-haired, lovely, love-lorn, Mistress of the Labyrinth, fair-tressed.

Imagery/symbolism: Thread, labyrinth, ivy, crown, vines.

colors: gold, red, green.

animal: bull, serpent.

Offerings: Flowers, Candles, incense, art, poetry, lamps, plants, fruit, vegetables, perfume, oils, jewelry, wine, tea, ivy, threads, milk, honey, bull horns, labyrinth imagery, water, bread, snake skin, coins, imagery of the island of Crete.

Devotional acts: Dancing, Labyrinth walks, weaving, gardening, participating in festivities, comforting people who have faced abandonment, studying herpetoculture, reflecting on the path you're taking in life.

[ardentlyares]

in the nest with mama

[ardentlyares]

Look man, I don't know. There are a lot of fascist fuckwits trying their best to ruin everything for everyone right now. There have often been a lot of fascist fuckwits trying to ruin everything for everyone. Not to downplay the pain and trauma we're all feeling at having to struggle through this particular go-round when the future looks especially dark, but it's not exactly a new thing in human history. Alas.

There are still many, many people telling the fascist fuckwits to eat shit. There are still long green spring evenings and slow golden summer afternoons and winter nights and autumn leaves. There are still coffee shops and weird little bookstores and small businesses on sidewalks lined with flowered trees. There are still sunrises and sunsets and blue skies and ocean shores and mountains. Oh yes, there are still mountains, which I have an especial fondness for. High up there in thin air, you can see forever.

There are still Gay People In Your Phone and texts and in-jokes. There are your blorbos. There is still fic and fanart. There are still books and music and games and art. There is a lot of art. Even with the AI beast trying to gobble and commercialize everything, there's still art! There are still people who think using your own brain to do things is important! There are still universities and publishing houses and other places where it's our job to think about things that matter!

There is still work that feels fulfilling to do. There are still constant little moments of quiet and beauty and rest. There are still jaw-dropping pictures of nebulae and galaxies and the great immensity of space, as we continue to learn things we never knew before. And amid all those stars, there is still a tiny, beautiful, and vulnerable blue planet which we only get to live on for a very short time, and there are still kids who are counting on us to make sure they get to inherit it in some kind of recognizable form. There is still the weird fact that when you give someone a hug and sit with them for a while and tell them over and over that it will be okay, it actually feels like it might be okay. I think that all means something.

Doomerism is really easy right now. I get it. I honestly 100% do. But I also don't see any point whatsoever in throwing up our hands and letting said fascist fuckwits gleefully terrify us into submission and make us live in fear and act like they're the Actual Meaning of the World (they are not). They suck so incredibly hard, but they're also so small and so stupid and so ultimately insignificant. They will not define this particular moment if we don't let them, and if we stick around to make sure they don't. Fuck 'em. I believe in you.

Courage, etc.

[ardentlyares]

[ardentlyares]

Worship Without an Altar

I often see closeted pagans (or pagans who don't have the space for an altar) frustrate about offerings, which often requires an altar. So, my liege, here are some tips for worship if you don't have an altar, or a space for one.

Another thing, altars are purely optional. They're worship spaces, all you need is a prayer and a place in your mind for them.

-> Prayer. You can pray anywhere, on your bed, at your desk, at school, at work, etc. If you don't have khernips, you can use normal tap water, or hand sanitizer.

-> Offerings. These are important as this religion thrives off offerings and kharis. Food offerings work best for Ouranic deities, just put food in your lunchbox, and after a few hours. For Chthonic deities, you can offer the food in a drawer until it rots.

-> Devotional acts. These are pretty easy, and none of them need to make sense but to you. You want to honor Lord Dionysus? Watch a musical! You want to honor Lady Astraea? Learn about the stars! You want to honor Lady Hecate? Research about witchcraft! Remember, the best form of worship is to take care of yourself.

-> If you have struggle with creativity and want to write a prayer or hymn, you can always find some online and save it on your phone.

-> Now, candles! Do you need candles? No! Candles, at least in my practice, are sort of representations of the deities, so I know they're there. But its not required. Electric candles work well if you cant light actual candles. Incense also works, get the incense that reminds you of your deity.

-> Representing your deity. Use anything that reminds you of them! A plushie, an action figure, a toy (cough the sheep toy I found that reminds me of Lord Apollon cough dies). Draw your deity! Even if you suck at art, remember kids, being bad at art is better than using AI art!

If I remember any, or if you want to suggest any tips, I'll be sure to edit.

Khaire <3

[ardentlyares]

Xenia means you help your neighbours escape immigration police

Xenia means you feed, house, and respect the homeless, regardless of what got them there

Xenia means you do the work to unlearn racism, misogyny, homophobia, ableism and transphobia

Xenia means (with obvious exceptions) you treat criminals and felons as human beings worthy of dignity and respect

Xenia means you make your environments less overstimulating if you know you’ll be with an autistic person

Xenia means Fuck the police

Xenia means you talk to the elderly neighbour who’s living on their own, and has nobody in their life

Xenia means respecting your trans friends identity even when they’re not present

[ardentlyares]

dionysus as the fool for the dionysian tarot deck <3

[ardentlyares]

My favorite epithets of Dionysus

Aigobolos - the goat killer

Antheus - the blooming

Dendritês - the god of the tree

Eleuthereus - the deliverer of man from care and sorrow, the liberator 

Enualios - the warlike (this is an epithet often given to Ares as well) 

Eubouleus - god of good counsel

Isodaitês - god who distributes his gifts equally to all

Lamptêr - the torchbearer, and in some translations, the shining

Luaios - god who frees men from cares and anxiety 

Lusios - the deliverer 

Meilichios - the gracious 

Melanaigis - armored (clad with a black aegis) 

Mêthumnaios - rich in vines 

Ômadios - the flesh eater 

Phleôn - the giver of plenty

Sôtêr - the savior

[ardentlyares]

starting a queue on this blog since I’ve been not as active here. i see this blog more as a devotional space and i don’t treat it quite the same way as i do my other. lots of things going on and it can be harder to devote the time and energy for this blog. but like my post the other day said i am still doing things for the gods. i think ill feel better once i can set up real altar spaces again but without them it’s harder for me. still, i have a sort of space set up in my window and another set up in my living room. my window space rn has stuff for Lord Lucifer in it. I can’t really call it an altar per se but it helps. ☺️