letheitbe - Tumblr blog

[letheitbe]

Tarot Hack

If you get a reading you don’t like, ask if they’re ok with you drawing another card for clarification. If they say yes, hit ‘em with the pocket Uno reversal card.

[letheitbe]

Someone needs to make

A t-shirt that says "I'm Gades for Hades" and send me one.

[letheitbe]

It's all about the ghost-types anyhow.

Is this a mood or what

[letheitbe]

I keep seeing cute pictures of people's worship sites, and I'm really happy for everyone with breathtaking coastal sunsets and tranquil noon woodlands. I don't feel like I can share the cool comfort of a cave in summer, or the tingle of driving a dark country road by yourself through photos or words, but I hope all your places bring you a similar peace.

[letheitbe]

"My body is a temple" is an attitude that I would struggle to maintain if I didn't worship the dark and things covered in dirt.

[letheitbe]

Maybe I love fall and winter so much because I’m just so happy Persephone is going home to her soft, tired husband and their big dog, it just makes me glad they’re together again, ya know Hades can’t do jack shit when he’s missing his wifey

[letheitbe]

Grimoire Hack

Charge your spellbook with sunlight faster by leaving it outside on a bright day underneath the largest magnifying glass you can find.

[letheitbe]

chthonic worship tip

In my experience, chthonic (underworld) gods really appreciate hearing “thank you.” (This includes Hades and Persephone as well as Hecate, Hermes in his psychopomp aspect, Hypnos, Thanatos, Morpheus, and others.) They all do incredibly dirty, difficult, and vitally important jobs and rarely get recognition for it.

Things you can thank them for:

Sheltering, protecting, and taking care of the dead

Treating everyone fairly, meting out divine justice to people who escaped it in life

Allowing us to extract precious metals and material resources from the earth (I usually pair this with a commitment to do what I can to be a responsible steward of the earth, and follow the principle of xenia rather than hoarding wealth)

Maintaining the boundaries between this world and the next, and allowing people to pass through when appropriate

Making new growth possible by clearing away that which is no longer useful (this can be both literal and metaphorical)

Guiding and looking after people who are going through grief, depression, or “dark nights of the soul,” enabling personal rebirth and transformation

Protecting and nourishing the roots of plants, making all plant life and agriculture possible

Things that come from or are sheltered in their world include: sleep, dreams, precious metals, plant life, reincarnated or newly incarnated souls, magic, purpose and destiny — and according to interpretation, vaccination, EMDR, anesthesia, X-rays and MRIs, mass social movements, psychology, shadow work**

Also, please do something nice for Charon. I’ve long thought of him as the patron of customer service workers who are frequently yelled at.

*sources: Greek Religion by Walter Burkert, Ancient Greek Cults by Jennifer Larson, The Greek Way of Death by Robert Garland – these three books are my go-to’s for info about the roles the chthonic gods and the underworld played in ancient Greek religion and culture. Add to this the underworld as metaphor in Jungian psychology and archetypes (I’m less well read in this area, but see also The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell)

**I once read a great series of essays on the rivers of the Underworld (which I can not find right now) that posited the principle of vaccination comes from the Styx. According to myth, Achilles was dipped in the river as a baby and this protected his body from injury — just as exposure to a dead pathogen grants our bodies protection from a live version of that same pathogen. Along these lines, things like anesthesia and EMDR would come from the Lethe and/or the Acheron, psychology and self-reflection from the Mnemosyne, and so on. And modern astrology understands Pluto (Hades) as a god of invisible forms of power, which makes him also the ruler of things like X-rays and MRIs, nuclear energy, mass movements, and lots of other things…

[letheitbe]

We all gotta go sometime.

People keep posting ‘what’s REALLY in your food’ articles like I’m gonna stop eating whatever it’s about lmao Listen, death is coming. Death is coming. Pass me a hot dog.

[letheitbe]

[letheitbe]

Perks I hadn’t considered before adopting a three-legged kitten, but I am totally ok with: -She can’t get to anything high up. Kitten-proofing the house has never been so easy. -She can only move quickly OR quietly, not both. None of that thing where the kitten teleports to be underfoot. -She looks like a bunny when she moves. Two pets in one! -This is one cat I will always be more coordinated than. I also run into walls when startled, so by definition I have cat-like reflexes. Hope you and yours are doing well, folks. I'm looking to be back on the internet more.

[letheitbe]

Tell it like it is, friend.

“Why does Tumblr romanticize Hades so much?”

Idk Clarice, maybe we’re just tired, and life is uncertain, and we like the idea of a stable husband with a steady job and a big dog and his own place away from all the loud, shapeshifting-kink party gods.

[letheitbe]

“Why does Tumblr romanticize Hades so much?”

Idk Clarice, maybe we’re just tired, and life is uncertain, and we like the idea of a stable husband with a steady job and a big dog and his own place away from all the loud, shapeshifting-kink party gods.

[letheitbe]

A Little Too #Blessed

So I've been having that thing where when I pray I usually get black beetles showing up? Which is fine with fungus beetles. They're tiny and cute. But a black bug the size of my pinky just crawled out of my clothes, and that is not ok. Please stop that, beetles.

[letheitbe]

Altar Start!

I'm planning out my corporate-themed Hades altar. So far I've got or arranged to get:

-A variety of coffee mugs. "(Under) World's Best Boss!" is my current favourite, for holding liquid offerings and magic stuff.

-A paperweight made of cool rocks. Because rocks.

-A cute little Athame letter opener.

-A little bone boline.

-A computer-shaped incense holder.

Anyone out there have ideas for other things to include?

[letheitbe]

Seeing six crows is bad luck because I am only carrying 5 snacks.

You: seeing six crows is bad luck and an omen of death

Me, an intellectual: seeing six crows is great luck because you get to see six crows

[letheitbe]

D-Day

On a more-somber-than-usual note, today's the anniversary of D-Day, in case people were unaware. I had a friend ask me if I had death-themed magic stuff planned for today. I don't, for a variety of reasons. I do have plans, though, and if anyone wants to join me in them, they're more than welcome to.

If you also think war is a tragedy, feel free to join me in praying to whatever gods, spirits, etc you hold that there's less of it in the future. If you're fortunate enough to be in a position where you can influence your country's politics, do that. Steer what you can towards peace.

If you want to show respect for the dead, consider saying a prayer for them today. Visit a cemetary, a monument, something. Find a name. Research someone. Learn their story. Memento Mortuis.

If you're the kind of person who does offerings, consider leaving something for the folks whose death day it is. M&M's, Heath Bars, and Junior Mints are historically applicable if you're looking for 1940s-era treats. If you're less into candy, I'm told pomegranates, honey, and flowers are all old classics.

I find days like this are a good time to be cognisant of death, and to appreciate life. Hug a loved one. Eat some chocolate yourself. Go for a walk if the weather's nice. Drink tea. Pet a friendly animal. Try to do something that makes you feel alive.

Take care, folks. May your stories be long and happy by the time you're telling them in Elysium.