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Ancient Greek hairstyles and headdresses

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i think it’s very important to be at least be a little playful with your own religion. feeling comfortable and safe enough in your own faith to have fun with it is genuinely so, so important to me. it takes some of the pressure off of always ‘getting it right’. and besides! i like to think that the gods really do appreciate the trust we place in them when we allow ourselves to be truly ourselves, with all our vulnerabilities and flaws, in their presence.

don’t get me wrong; reverent, formal, ceremonial, worship is beautiful!! but so is being able to drop all formalities and just talk to your deities… telling them everything that’s on your mind when you need to, or maybe when you’re just too overwhelmed to worship more traditionally. it’s about being able to pray formal hymns and prayers at their alter (if that’s something that feels right for you), but also feeling comfortable enough to simply reach out and talk to them as if they were an old friend or family member that loves you dearly.

cultivating balance is so important for maintaining a healthy relationship with your religion! so just make sure you don’t forget to actually enjoy your practices. at the end of the day, worship should feel fulfilling, whatever that means for you. ♡

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Your HelPol practice is valid if you:

Are a Reconstructionist

Are a revivalist

Study ancient language

Don't study ancient language, only looking into it when it's needed

Have read the myths

Are still working on the myths

Are disabled

Give physical offerings

Give digital offerings

Give acts of service as offerings

Pray every day

Don't always remember to pray

Practice witchcraft

Practice sorcery

Don't practice witchcraft or sorcery

Use tarot/pendulum/divination to talk to the gods

Use clair senses to talk to the gods

Don't use divination or clair senses at all

Have a degree in classics

Don't have any degree at all

Have been to Greece

Have never been to Greece

Have an altar

Don't have an altar

Have a shrine

Don't have a shrine

Call them gods

Call them deities

Call them Theoi

Are a man

Are a woman

Are neither

Are trans

Choose to godspouse (it's nobodies business but yours anyway, idk why people care so much)

Believe in egregores

Never "work with" a deity and only ever worship

Have made mistakes in the past

Have trouble finding resources

Believe in pop culture paganism/magic

Worship other gods too

The gods love you, and they won't smite you or hate you for your mistakes or your differences. They love you. And anyone who says otherwise is sabotaging you.

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Hail to you, Lord Hermes!

May your name be sung throughout the land!

Giver of Good Things, Ready-Helper,

I thank you for everything you've done.

Your blessings know no bounds.

Your Divine help pulls me through even the toughest of times.

You deserve all the praise, Glorious and Splendid one!

I thank you for your Divine protection, my Great Shepherd!

May you be praised and honored forever,

And may you never be forgotten.

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Let yourself be cringe in your worship!!!

The Gods don’t find you embarrassing. The Gods don’t care about seeming cool and professional for the approval of others.

Make that fucking aesthetic photo collage for Aphrodite with cute pics you found on Pinterest .

Dress up like Hermes and go for a damn walk.

Collect random stones you think are cool and put them on your altar.

Put that photo of that cartoon character that reminds you of your deity on your altar.

Make that Minecraft temple to Hekate, domesticate those damn Minecraft wolves for Cerberus.

Make your deities in the sims!

Write soppy melodramatic poetry for Dionysus that no one else will read.

Make self insert fanfics about your favourite Gods and write them all as your best friends. Let them interact with your edgy ocs.

Create an AU where you and your Gods are all characters from your favourite anime.

Record silly little songs for them

Make them paintings that are full of clashing colors and weird forms.

Draw them a fursona

Wear that bright yellow outfit for Apollon.

Put on a dramatic makeup look for Aphrodite.

Call your closest deity that silly little nickname you have for them and let them call you one too.

Share your special interests with your Gods. Design your God as a pokémon or a crystal gem, or a sonic character.

Those losers that try to make you feel bad for being passionate will never have what you have.

In the words of the Great Lord Hermes: “Every human I have ever liked was at least a little bit cringe”

BE CRINGE. BE PROUD. THE GODS LOVE YOU.

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🍇Dionysus Post🍇

Words of advice: Don't let this horribly unimaginative, boring, high standard world crush and can you into something you aren't. Lose those friends. Lose that family. Lose the learned fear through learning and therapy. I used to be a slave to other peoples perception of me and would cater to my ex friends' insecurities so I wouldn't be judged/embarrass them by being me. Now idgaf. Be "ugly", be happy, be wild, laugh as loudly as you want, eat what you want, dance however you want, take up space (it is yours as much as it is theirs), consume life as it is meant to be consumed. Loose yourself in the pleasure of happiness, not in the negativity of others.

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I think I've been settling into a pattern of worship. It's comforting, but also a bit nerve-wracking. Part of me wants to "not get complacent" or whatever, and keep pushing to do more and more, and the other is just glad I've been able to do something that doesn't burn me out or cause a meltdown after a couple weeks. For the past several weeks (months?) the most I've managed, the majority of the time, is a weekly offering to Apollo: mostly burning his candle for a couple hours, sometimes paired with a divination session if I feel up to it and have something to ask. I've also gotten into the habit of offering something to Hermes (again, usually burning his candle) when I get back from somewhere if I've been out to an appointment/running errands/etc., once I feel up to doing so. Most of the time I do it the same day, but sometimes it's the day after (last Saturday, for example: a UV index of 8 does not productive post-travel plans make). I try to remember to do consistent offerings to other Theoi as well, to little avail, except for Hestia who, of course, gets a portion of candle smoke & food offerings, and who I will sometimes dedicate time spent organizing/room-cleaning to. I'm getting comfortable with the fact that it's because I can't handle much at the moment, mentally, despite being in better health than I was this past winter.

I've also given up on trying to follow a lunar holiday/festival/etc calendar, at least at the moment. Again, keeping up with it takes energy I don't have, and it can contribute to a shame cycle if I end up not being able to do as much as I - in one of my more energetic moments - had planned. Instead, I'm slowly adding versions of holy days and festivals into the calendar system I'm familiar with. Right now it's only one (my Noumenia, and the day I dust all the altars, is the first Friday of the month), but as I get more comfortable with it I'll try to add others that, are, generally, centered around either personal associations, events, etc. and/or the same themes of the lunar month that overlaps most closely.

The nature of the Theoi is still something I'm wrapping my head around; I'm trying to be okay with the whole "not knowing" thing, and will likely struggle with that for a while. While I'm still scrupulous about things like cleanliness, and thought checking, and "appropriateness", and and and... I think that accidentally falling into a much more relaxed form of worship has helped me get through the stage where I was Constantly Pushing To Do More. And while I know I'll probably cycle back around to that when my brain next decides to Ruminate (tm) on it, it's...nice, you know? To actually not feel guilty about how I may be doing things "wrong", or anxious about how the way I do things may come off to others who don't have the same mental & physical health factors as I do.

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the maintenance guy put his tools on my altar shelves 🫠🫠 it's fine, the two he placed things on are sparse atm and he didn't know, but I'mmmm gonna have to do some cleansing stuff later and, if he isn't able to fix the issue today (my vent cover is ✨ falling off ✨ and the parts are tricky to get), I'm gonna move what's on those two shelves until he's done

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could you explain the difference between helpol and hellismism/hellenismos and why you don't like the latter when talking about the religion? (or at least, thats what ive gathered from you. apologies if i misunderstood)

"Hellenism/os" was the word for 'paganism' in Christian Rome down to the Middle Ages, in the same way that "Hellene" was once used to denote a person who was 'pagan.'

Nowadays, these words do not remotely hold those same meanings. A Hellene is a Greek person, and Hellenism/os is the word used by Greeks to describe the entirety of Hellenic culture, ethnicity, and national identity.

In the same way that I find it ridiculous for a Hellenic polytheist to identify as a "Hellene" because they worship the theoi, I find it ridiculous for us to use the word for Greek culture—Hellenism/os—as the name for our religion.

IMHO, it's ignorant of the cultural context surrounding these living words, and it risks creating an even bigger gap between us (i.e., international Helpols) and our Greek-speaking relatives because the language we use to describe ourselves is simply too disparate.

"Hellenic polytheism" is more neutral in this regard because (1) it means exactly what it looks like—many gods worshipped in a Greek style—and (2) it works 1:1 in Greek as Ελληνικός πολυθεϊσμός (Hellenikos polytheismos, obviously "Hellenic polytheism") or αρχαιοελληνικός πολυθεϊσμός (archeohellenikos polytheismos, meaning "ancient Greek polytheism").

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Aphrodite, oh, Morning Star... Queen of Dawn 💐

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I rant at 5 in the morning tehe

I’ve been seeing a rise of people getting upset at the fact that people are acting like the gods are our imaginary friends, and not deities that deserve worship and respect. Which, I totally agree with. I absolutely hate it when people act like our religion is a silly little fandom that they can make up their own factoids.

But, at the same time, I think many people in the community who have more serious worship styles, are forgetting that not everyone does.

When the posts are saying “the gods aren’t your friends” or something along the lines of that, really just completely disregards people who have more casual, more friend like relationships with their deities! I treat Thanatos more as a friend than anything.

I am still respectful, I don’t call him any of the things I would call my best friend, (because me and my irl friends call eachother gay bastards) but, I do silly shit with him, as I would with a friend. I’ve also asked him if he wanted me to start being less casual, and he immediately said no. He likes the bond we have.

I take on a more serious approach with Lord Ares and Lady Aphrodite. I feel it suits them better. I don’t think I could say some of the things I say to Thanatos to Ares or Aphrodite (once I stuck my tounge out at him because he wouldn’t let me sing him happy birthday. I apologize don’t worry, he laughed at me and said it was funny. I feel bad about it still 😭) but to me it’s the difference between the way you talk to your friend and the way you talk to a mentor/guardian.

I think @khaire-traveler made a similar point to me. Anyways, my point is. Yes, I agree it is annoying how people outside of the community (and inside sometimes) disrespect the gods and treat the religion as fandom. But, I do think we need to remember that not all of us worship the same :)

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I love the three of them together.

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Poseidea

~ Poseideon 8 ~

Close to the winter solstice, little is known about Poseidon. Named after Poseidon, he is proper to worship on this festival day. Notably, Helios and Apollon as sun gods were also given rites on Poseidea. Many also give rites to Dionysos who stays Delphoi as Apollon is at Hyperboreans.

One thought is that this day was celebrated to appease Poseidon as the Aegean Sea is fierce during the winter months. A festival similar to this was noted in the Odyssey.

A Modern ritual includes a meal made in Poseidon's honor and it shared with friends and family over his name. Some feign bull-sacrifice with an offering of imagery or cakes baked to look of steed.

Traditional Offerings:

Water (Any kind will do)

Bull Imagery

Meals

Ocean-related Offerings

Celery

Traditional Acts:

Cooking a Meal in Poseidon's honor

Cleansing with Khernips

Libations to Poseidon

Libations of Helios

Libations to Apollon

Libations to Dionysos

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Plerosia

~ Poseideon 5 ~

Very little is known about Plerosia beside the fact that Zeus was most likely celebrated during the day. The name Plerosia suggests it could be related to 'fullness', and be a day of feasting.

As Modern Hellenic Polythesists, we might simply clean altars and say a prayer to Zeus, or cook a meal in his honor.

Traditional Offerings:

Wine

Bread/Barley

Zeus Imagery

Khernips

White Meat

Traditional Acts:

Cleansing/Cleaning Altars

Cooking a Meal

Prayer to Zeus

Libations to Zeus

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Sat down to work on Apollo's art piece for 30 minutes while burning his candle and worked on it for, like, 2 hours straight instead. Hail Apollo for that focus because I haven't been able to work on a piece for that long at once in a while

It's far from done but I've got the basic shading blocked out now, which will help a lot going forward

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Demeter WIP

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Homeric Hymn XXI to Apollo

Trans. H.G. Evelyn-White

Phoebus, of you even the swan sings with clear voice to the beating of his wings, as he alights upon the bank by the eddying river Peneus; and of you the sweet-tongued minstrel, holding his high-pitched lyre, always sings both first and last. And so hail to you, lord! I seek your favour with my song.