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Gotta share beautiful art

Vibrissa Demon

[duriasis]

Day 3: Gaia Chthonia

Gaia Chthonia, Mother of the Earth, And its embodiment to the core. Lady Demeter brings fertility to the fields So we may have the fortune of nourishment, Bounteous all year round, ensuring humanity's survival. You, Mother Gaia, tend to all the wild expanses of the world, Forests, oceans, even deserts, all teeming with life. Demeter may tend or fields, But through you, only you, is all life possible. Even now as Autumn creeps in, Demeter halting all warmth in bereavement, Do we see you everywhere, dear Mother. You know as well as us all That life cannot exist without death. As life turns cold, it is your gentle loving hands That put them to rest, Taking them back within yourself And turning them into fertile soil, That more life may bloom and thrive in it's place, A cycle sustained long before, and long after humanity. Gaia Chthonia, Earth itself, The primordial Mother of All, I praise and honor your name! I would not be here, declaring my admiration, If not for your hand in the divine creation of life. I thank you, Mother Gaia, For providing me with a world of beauty And a life worth living. Even in these waning months, Do I look at the world with delight. I am deeply happy knowing When I, one day, lie with the leaves upon the cold and gentle earth, That only more life can spring from me.

divider credit: [x][x]

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🧿 to keep you safe from people who want to do you harm.<3 🧿

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"I was learning more and more about what discrimination was, and equally important, I was learning that I needed to become my own advocate. I was entering college, Long Island University, and I had always wanted to be a teacher, and sol minored in education and I took all the appropriate courses, and then when it was time for me to go for my license, I had to take a written exam, an oral exam and a medical exam. At that time, all three of those exams were given in completely inaccessible buildings, so I had friends who carried me up and down the steps for these exams, not in a motorized wheelchair in a manual wheelchair.

But I passed my oral exam. I passed my written exam.

My medical exam was something completely different. One of the first questions the doctor asked me was, could I please show her how I went to the bathroom. I was 22 years old and you know when you go for any kind of an interview, you think about all the kinds of questions that people could ask you?

That was not one of them."

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Sprout, my druid, & our ranger are both reborns but different flavor: reborn via mushrooms & reborn via living statue. But together they give off a cat sunbathing on a statue vibe.

I'm honestly so happy with how this turned out

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Loki’s wives and children from Norse mythology deserve more attention

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This is a post for disabled people. For mentally ill people. For low energy people.

This is a post for people who work three jobs and look after their kids.

This is a post for people who are TIRED. sick. Struggling.

The Gods will not abandon you.

Even if you don’t worship every day, the Gods will not abandon you.

Even if you can’t pray regularly, the Gods will not abandon you.

Even if you can’t put together offerings, the Gods will not abandon you.

Even if you stumble,

The Gods will not abandon you.

They will not punish you for the crime of being human. They know you are not divine. They know you are imperfect. They do not expect greatness and perfection, they just expect respect and humility.

Stay humble. Stay consistent. Show your reverence in whatever way you can. Keep them in your thoughts before you go to sleep at night.

The Gods know you.

DISCLAIMER: this is my personal interpretation. Obviously beliefs differ and the ancients would have thought very differently. This has just been my experience.

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[duriasis]

This is a post for disabled people. For mentally ill people. For low energy people.

This is a post for people who work three jobs and look after their kids.

This is a post for people who are TIRED. sick. Struggling.

The Gods will not abandon you.

Even if you don’t worship every day, the Gods will not abandon you.

Even if you can’t pray regularly, the Gods will not abandon you.

Even if you can’t put together offerings, the Gods will not abandon you.

Even if you stumble,

The Gods will not abandon you.

They will not punish you for the crime of being human. They know you are not divine. They know you are imperfect. They do not expect greatness and perfection, they just expect respect and humility.

Stay humble. Stay consistent. Show your reverence in whatever way you can. Keep them in your thoughts before you go to sleep at night.

The Gods know you.

DISCLAIMER: this is my personal interpretation. Obviously beliefs differ and the ancients would have thought very differently. This has just been my experience.

[duriasis]

Low Energy Devotional Activities and Ways to Connect with the Gods

Let's be honest, religion and consistent practice can be HARD, especially when you're chronically ill, disabled, mentally ill or neurodivergent. This is a list of lower energy practices you can do to connect with your Gods when you're having a rough day.

Pray. You don't have to say the prayer. You don't have to do the full cleansing and offering. Just think about the prayer. It could be as simple as "'Deity Name', thank you. I'm thinking of you and appreciate you."

Dedicate any self care you do to the Gods. You've got to take meds? awesome. it's now a devotional activity.

If you can, light a tea light candle. You can think about who you're dedicating it to as you're lighting it.

Tell them about your day. Have a simple conversation with them (again, this can be in your head if needed).

Offer some water! Water is a great offering if you don’t have the energy to cook, collect or buy something.

Incense is also a great offering because you can light it then forget about it and your house won’t burn down (if you follow regular safety measures). 

Resting. Your deities want you to be okay. Dedicating your rest to your deities is especially great if you feel guilty for allowing yourself time to heal.

Turn on a video of someone reading mythos! 

Put on a deity playlist. There are plenty of pre-made ones on Spotify. 

Veil or bind your hair! Whenever I’m low energy I’ll throw my hair in a ponytail and bind it that way. It doesn’t have to be extravagant. 

Make a Pinterest board for them!

Post on a digital altar! There are plenty of discord servers that have digital altars and temples. You could also make a devotional Tumblr blog. 

Change your phone lock/home screen to something that reminds you of your Deity.

I hope this is helpful to anyone who needs it! Take care of yourself first and foremost. If you don't think you can manage something on this list then thats perfectly fine too! you're not a bad person for not being able to do something spiritual or religious. Ultimately, these things are not a necessity. Don't stress :)

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⋆ Offerings in Hellenism ⋆

Offerings are central to the veneration of the theoi - through a revivalist lens - it is how we build a relationship with them, through gift giving, and if the Gods will, gift receiving, this goes a bit into the concept of "kharis", which will be talked to more in depth on a later post.

Normally, when offering, one goes through the motions for any other type of ritual. This starts with purifying oneself of miasma, this can be done by simply washing the hands, or by washing the hands and face with Khernips.

>> What are offerings?

They are anything you give to one of the theos, this can be food, liquids, items, incense and much more.

It is possible an offering might be mentioned as a sacrifice, this word comes from the latin "sacrificare", meaning "any act by which one puts something in the possession of a God". This is not exclusive to animal sacrifices. As modern day hellenists, it is of my opinion this specific practice shouldn't be brought back. This is mentioned here to acknowledge that a sacrifice, despite what modern culture believes, can be the simple act of giving a piece of fruit, for example. Essentially it is the aspect of giving something up that counts.

You cannot bribe a God with an offering, these are meant to be voluntary gifts you give despite the outcome you receive, and the same applies to a gift a theos might bestow on you. The more you establish a relationship with a specific God, the more they will be likely to answer your prayers, after all we are more likely to help out a good friend than a stranger. In a similar fashion if you give a gift to that same friend, you typically don't expect a gift back, you do it so out of love for them and out of friendship.

>> Offering:

Generally, a prayer to the God you are offering would be given, followed by the giving of the gift. It is customary, in the house, to give the first and last prayer, along with a gift, to Hestia. In practice this would look like:

Prayer to Hestia -> Giving the offering;

Prayer to Choosen God -> Giving the offering (copy this step for as many Gods as you want to offer to, it should be done in this order, separately for each God);

Prayer to Hestia -> Giving the offering.

For Ouranic (theoi that life in Olympus), you can give a tiny bit of the whole you have, so for example, a cup full of wine, all you need to give is a little, the equivalent of a sip is enough. You can use from the remaining wine (in the cup) for other ouranic deities, pouring only a little at a time. Any remaining wine could be drank by you (if you are of legal age).

On the other hand for Khthonic (generally theoi connected to the underworld), you would pour all of the offering, so a full cup of wine, would be the whole cup. For example, in the case you were offering to Hades this would apply. You don't need to give a full cup if you only have a tiny bit on the cup, what is important is that it is the whole content of what you have prepared for the offering, be it a full meal or half a slice of bread.

>> Types of Offerings:

1. One of the most common ways of offering is by burning, typically, food offerings and/or libations (liquid offerings). All you have to do, is throw the offering into a flame. The smoke is thought of as going up to the theoi.

WARNING: Please be careful when working with fire, make sure you are outside or in a well ventilated area, it may, most likely, be unhealthy to inhale the fumes in concentrated quantities. Be also attentive about being a reasonable distance away from flammable materials, some offerings when burnt might project the flame higher, making it easier for the fire to catch on cloths, curtains, etc.

2. Another way, for those of us that can't easily burn our offerings, can simply place the offerings on an offering dish/bowl.

Further down, I go over ways to dispose of these offerings.

3. Lastly we have votive offerings. This is the offering, generally of an item, maybe a piece of artwork you did for a theos or a sculpture you just got. Even a necklace or other jewellery.

Generally speaking, once you give an item such as these to a theoi, in a votive offering, you do not use it anymore. It is to be left on the altar or on a specific place for the God.

This type of offering is mostly common as a thank you for something a theos helped you with, or in hopes that your prayer will be answered.

---

P.s. We typically assume a specific posture when saying the prayers and presenting the offerings, there are two main ones, one for the ouranic Gods and another for the khthonic Gods. I will go over these in another post.

>> Disposing of the Remnants of the Offerings:

The most agreed upon way is keeping the remnants (be it ashes or the offering itself) until you can go outside and bury it in the earth. Some agree that in case this is not possible for you, respectfully putting them in the trash/down the drain can be done.

Alternatively, and most debated in the community, is the option to eat the offering that is left out, this is from the belief that the Gods do not take the physical side of the offering, so once the rite is done they have already partaken in their part. Note that if you go for this option, under no circumstance can you eat the offering given to a khthonic deity, this is because of their connection to the dead, this means the offering now has miasma (pollution), eating it would be taking in this "pollution".

>> List of Non-deity Specific Items to Offer:

Food: fruit; grain; meat.

Plants: laurel; flowers.

Liquids (for libations): wine; wine with water; honey; milk; milk with honey.

Objects: statues; artwork; amulets.

>> Sources:

https://hellenicfaith.com/do-ut-des/;

https://www.hellenicgods.org/offerings-to-gods-in-hellenismos;

https://www.hellenicgods.org/proper-care-of-offerings-to-the-gods-in-hellenismos;

https://www.hellenicgods.org/libation-in-hellenismos---sponde.

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For Gaia (from the garden bench)

With each step I caress the ground beneath my feet,

Firm, yet soft, like my mother's hands waiting to catch my fall.

With my hands I tend to the dirt and the denizens below;

In return Gaia let's her beautiful children bloom in thanks.

My soul rejoices when I hear the songs of all Gaia's children

The frogs after a hard rain,

The birds greeting Eos each morn,

The leaves sighing with Zephyrus,

The distinctive buzz of a hummingbird's flight...

You are so beautiful,

In every way, Mother Gaia.

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It's been a while since I've Tumblr'd, and most of the people I follow are no longer active.

Reblog or like and follow if you post about:

Witchcraft

Paganism

Tarot and other forms of divination

Altars and BOS's

Kitchen and green witchcraft

Tea

Pantheism

and I will follow you back!

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If earth really is a death world, then I’m sure the practice of worshiping Gaia would seem very terrifying interesting to most extraterrestrials.

Come to think of it, in most of the religions I’ve heard of or read about, deities embodying the Earth are usually the most powerful, terrifying, and awe-inspiring, as well as some of the most beloved.

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Change of plans. I need to gather a few more things and some stuff came up that made me depressed af.

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With the thinning of the veil I plan to invoke Sekhmet the egyptian goddess (with prayer, praise and offerings) and ask her to heal my friends dad or to try and help him to the best of her abilities.

Wish me luck~