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I had a dream recently, most of it is fuzzy but I remember one clear moment of it. I saw Apollo, and he looked exactly like how I imagine and draw him, except he was wearing this necklace. It was a simple gold chain, with a smooth round piece of amber hanging from it. I think he got it as a gift from someone? I'm not sure what it means but I think I'll try to draw it eventually

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Okay so your post about the honey at the grocery store reminded me of my own experience. When I was considering if I should worship Athena, or just stick to the chthonic deities I worship, I got a notification on IG that a local coffee shop that had Athena in its name was following me. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to buy a statue and get an altar up for her yet due to recently moving.

Oh my goodness, that's so awesome! I love when things like that happen :D I'm sure she will not mind if you take a while to set up an altar, but man I totally understand wanting to go all in right away aha. I bet once you get it started, it's going to look lovely in your new house :)

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Statue of Apollo

Found at Temple of Apollo (Cyrene)

Currently at British Museum

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Wawawawa, drew Apollon instead of doing my school work (It do be like that dkjasfds.) Also, drawing Apollon in a somewhat more modern time is fun! :^)))) (Idk, man... Idk)

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Hypnos Devotional Acts Guide Post

Will update over time

How to Devote your Bed as an Altar to Hypnos

Dream Work

Lavender Milk Tea to Hypnos

Sleep Guide from Anon

Subtle Hypnos Worship

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Free Writing

(Decided to make this its own post.)

Free Writing is a method of journaling but can also be used to communicate with entities such as deities. It can also help to develop your clairs. It's pretty simple to do and you can also do it via typing or probably even voice recording if those are more accessible for you. It involves writing your stream of consciousness without worrying about grammar or spelling.

Here is how you can do it:

Grab a notebook or whatever you are going to write/type with. Include a timer if you want to set a time limit.

Set up in a space where you will not be interrupted and have nothing distracting you. It can be quiet or with instrumental music (avoid music with lyrics unless you want to see if certain lyrics pop out to you).

Make an offering (optional) and pray to/invite the deity you want to speak to.You can use a divination tool to confirm their presence if you wish.

Ground and center yourself in the present. You want to get into a receptive, meditative state or as close to it as you are able to have.

Start writing. I usually start with something intentional to get the ball rolling such as "I am listening" or whatever just to get my hands moving.

Write everything that comes to mind or into your awareness - and do not try to control any of it or make judgements about it. You are just receiving right now. Don't worry about spelling or grammar or anything like that. If you smell chocolate then write that down. If you feel dumb doing this then write it down. If your mind is blank then write what you hear or smell or see or just write that your mind is blank.

You may notice in the moment that some things feel different or are definitely not your own thoughts. It may be easy to know what is your deity's message or it may not. If you do notice/feel something then you can write it down or make a little note with a symbol like a * or just be aware of it and continue.

Stop when the timer goes off or when it feels right or when your deity has delivered their message. Thank them.

Read over what you have written. I like to use highlighters here: one color for what was definitely my own thoughts and another for what I am certain is from the deity. You can also have a color for sensory observations, or wherever you're uncertain about where the thought or image comes from, or if you notice something that may be more towards the shadow work side of things or negative thoughts, etc.

Make a note on your experience. How did you feel? Did you sense any energies? Did you feel something different when you were getting down certain words? Reflect a bit on the experience.

If you want you can copy the results into a neater or summarised format then do so! If you have messy handwriting and some words are a mess then go in and make it clearer what the word is. You may look back months later and you don't want to be confused what word that one scribble is supposed to be! I have two journals, one to do this exercise in and one woth the neater notes and summaries.

It may take time to get comfortable doing this and to develop discernment but I've found it very helpful personally!

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I am honored to present the official symbol & logo of The Temple of Hyacinthus:

The Elysianth

This logo is an art piece that I created in Procreate on my partners iPad through the use of his Apple Pencil. I would like to disclose that the original design I based this logo around was created through the use of AI (I created the prompt and allowed Microsoft AI to generate several images). But I altered and made the design my own, and the finished product was made by me.

Here are two variations on the logo:

*Note* I am aware that Hyacinthus’ name as used in myth is more likely a reference to the Larkspur flower and not the Hyacinth flower. However, I have chosen the Hyacinth flower as our temples symbol regardless. Also the two flowers are (in my opinion) quite similar in appearance and energy.

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Advice for beginner Hellenists

This isn't necessarily a post where I include a list of Gods, epithets, resources, and offerings for said Gods, but rather, hopefully soothing the worries of those of us who are starting the journey into the religion. As someone who was once in a religion that made other religions sound like something absolutely terrifying, my journey into Hellenism was once which was also... pretty terrifying, and this fear was mostly just from my own mind.

Anyways, my list of Advice:

You can literally just start praying. If you want to get more formal, you can absolutely get more formal, but you very much don't have to. I've definitely had my first prayers to some Gods be "hello, [God or Goddess's name], I want to worship You! Please lead me in my journey. Thanks!" I can promise you, the Gods are much kinder and more understanding than any of us fully know.

You can also just start worshiping in general. I feel like I've seen on occasion people worried about the Gods not "calling" to them. This is definitely not something that needs to happen pre-worship. If you find them interesting enough to pray to, then that in and of itself is enough.

In a similar vein, I wouldn't be too concerned about the idea of "signs". I feel like there's a tendency for folks to be incredibly worried about everything when first starting out - the behavior of a candle, the sighting of an animal, a strange dream, all can suddenly seem to take on jarring significance. But I can promise you, the Gods don't constantly give out signs, and frequently, these strange occurrences can be attributed to the mundane. When something comes from the Gods, you will know, trust me!

You don't have to worry too much about the idea of cleanliness, be it spiritual or physical. Khernips are cool, and I'd definitely recommend integrating them into your practice sooner or later. Hygiene is cool too! But if I'm being honest, we in the modern day are far more physically clean, and a lot less likely to regularly encounter the type of pollution that would have been encountered in ancient Greece.

The Gods will be at varying distances over the course of your worship. Sometimes, They will feel close, joyfully, burningly so. And sometimes, They will feel far, and prayers may even feel a bit futile. Both of those are perfectly okay, and neither of those will be permanent.

And, once again in a similar vein, you will likely not find yourself having constant, close mystical experiences with the Gods (i.e., conversations, visions, etc.). These experiences are rare and far between, and I would advise that you not make them a central part of your worship. They will come when the Gods deem you're ready for them, and you definitely won't be expecting it. Focus on the little things!

My final thing (for now) is that you also shouldn't put undue pressure on yourself to be doing some sort of big offering to the Gods. If that's what you can afford, that's great! But if not, fresh water, a small wildflower that you came across and picked*, or a small bit of a meal also count as a good offering!

And with that, my (much longer than I was previously planning on) list of things for beginners to keep in mind! A lot of this list is made up of things which I picked up along the way, and a lot of it is also made from my own personal hindsight being 20/20. I hope this is helpful to someone, and that it maybe soothes some of the (incredibly common) worries which so often accompany those who are venturing into the world of Hellenic polytheism!

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Ways to worship Dionysus outside of alcohol

Sit down and think of what you love in this life, what you feel grateful about

Dopamine detoxication

Donations to charity and small businesses

Fight against discrimination (share information, be respectful, participate in events)

Help newbies

Stand up against bulling when you meet one

Find activity you enjoy, try out new hobbies

Set time to heal yourself (take your meds, take steps towards healing your relationships with food/alcohol/finance)

Take a rest when you need it

Be aware and take care of your mental health

Listen to music, sing, dance, act. Even if you do it only for yourself in your room. Do it because you love it

Show love to your friends, family, partner

Don't forget, that he's bigger than just alcohol and madness. He's protector of discriminated and a life enjoyer. There's always a way to show him appreciation if you can't drink and party or doesn't want to do it at the moment or in general

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light of my life ☀️

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this one's for you, dionysus 🍃

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Question for people who worship hellenic deities, because I'm curious:

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BRO. I was in the shop thinking to myself "it would be nice if I could get some honey to offer Apollo," and then my eye caught on a local honey display. There's this beautiful jar of creamed honey with cinnamon that looks absolutely delightful. I think "hey, that looks perfect," and I look at the label.

The label reads "Aristaeus creamed honey"

ARISTAEUS AS IN THE HELLENIC GOD OF BEEKEEPING??? ARISTAEUS AS IN THE SON OF APOLLO?????

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Offerings don’t need to be expensive or bought

I’ve noticed throughout the pagan community that there’s a compulsion to associate offerings and their value, with monetary value. Even though so many people on so many platforms have tried their best to bring this to light, I still even find myself questioning if my hymns and natural offerings are enough.

I truly believe that in between religious corruption and capitalism, pagan spaces have been heavily influenced by consumerism: a value that’s so far removed from the origins of our practice. Most of the worshippers in Hellenic polytheism, (and many other pagan practices) are low income! As someone who works two jobs, lives with their working boyfriend AND lives without certain utilities (I have water powered housing), the cost of living is still way too high for the average person.

With limited time, money, and patience, sometimes I just say thank you. Sometimes I just spend some time outside, or find cool leaves and those offerings go to my deities. Pinecones, bottle caps, cute flowers. All of these are real examples of offerings I’ve made.

Using affordable materials has drastically changed my relationship with the Gods… it’s improved by so much! I feel closer, down to earth with these beings, and I’m able to afford my groceries doing so. I sing a hymn in the car or say thank you, and though it doesn’t require much, they appreciate it the same (if not more so)!

May the Gods look down and smile at their worshippers, especially the ones who need them the most.

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APOLLOOOOO!!!!

An offering because I ate his leche flan (sorry) ALSO, I'd like to think he styles his hair sometimes when he doesn't have anything on his to-do list!

Have a very microscopic version of Apollo as well!

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modern paganism is reblogging a post about a deity that you don’t worship or work with bc u still think they’re hella cool and deserve the attention

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Reading newer witchy and witchcraft adjacent books is going to make me flip a table.

They're all the same. Goddess lists. Effeminate to the point of exclusion of male practitioners. Correspondences. Do no harm rules. Cultural appropriation. Use of dangerous herbs. Overly fanciful wording, like someone dunked it in glitter to embellish it.

I'm gonna lose my marbles.

Regurgitated and rewritten. Over and over again. Someone please give me good recommendations, before I cry