olivelaurels - Tumblr blog

[olivelaurels]

The Gods Are Not Too Busy

During my recent camping trip with my kindred, one of the members of the other kindred with us said something that made me pause. I don’t remember the exact words, but the general gist was that he believed the gods were too busy to deal with the everyday problems of the humans who worship them, so we had to take care of shit on our own.

I’m not going to tell anyone they’re practicing/believing wrong, but for me and my path, this rubbed me the wrong way. In hindsight, I think it’s because it feels like a very Christianized way of thinking to me, that the gods have too much to do to worry about their followers, are too distant to want to be involved with the people who honor them. It smacks of “there is only one god and he doesn’t have time for your bullshit,” only in this case it’s “there’s only one version of each god and they don’t have time for your bullshit.”

I understand that a lot of people really heavily push the self-reliance aspect of Heathenry (and this particular guy is definitely one of them) and that believing the gods don’t have time for personal relationships is a way to forcibly encourage action over prayer. In other words, saying the gods don’t have time for the daily minutiae of human existence is supposed to encourage people to avoid praying/asking for things that require direct action in order to come to fruition (ie. finding a new job), and instead to go out and do that direct action, taking the responsibility squarely on your shoulders no matter what. I understand that mindset, even if I don’t particularly like any of it.

But to say the gods are “too busy” for their followers? I’m honestly not even really sure what that’s supposed to mean in this context.

Time flows differently for deities and mortals. It’s not inconceivable that a god can be in multiple places at the same time. Mythic time is a thing, and gods can be both death and alive, or bound and unbound at the same time. The laws of physics we’re bound to here on Earth do not necessarily also bind the gods.

With that in mind, why would the gods not want to develop intimate relationships with their followers (I use intimate here in a broad way, not related to any sort of romantic or sexual relationship)? Surely there are things we can offer them gods in return for companionship, aid, and support? Is it really so inconceivable that a god would want to hear about how their follower’s day went and wish to do something to help or congratulate them?

Again, I’m not here to tell anyone that the gods are or are not for sure distant and too busy to keep up with us. But in my personal practice and experiences, they’re far more intimately involved than we often realize. And, quite honestly, that was one of the big draws to Paganism for me in the first place–the idea that I could interact with my gods on a familiar, daily basis, instead of waiting for a special occasion or constantly feeling very far away from them. That closeness is what has gotten me through a lot of shit, and for as much as I know I did most of it alone, I also recognize the aid the gods gave me to find my the strength to do it. And the idea of taking full credit for overcoming intrusive thoughts when Loki was the one to first point out what was happening feels dishonest and wrong.

The gods might not give us what we want in any particular moment. Their aid might be mysterious and frustrating. But I simply can’t believe they’re “too busy” for their followers.

I believe the gods care. I believe they make time for us. I believe they’re closer than we could ever imagine when we want them to be, and are capable of ditching out for a time if we need it. I believe the gods desire those intimate, personal relationships with us as much as we crave it with them, and that they are more than capable of tailoring each relationship to the level that particular follower needs–some closer than others, just as relationships develop between humans.

I believe the gods are here, and that no one who believes in them ever has to walk their road alone.

[olivelaurels]

Talk more about Selene!!

Selene is something I would describe along the lines of… an immovable object. Most of the deities I’ve interacted with have gone along the lines of “unstoppable force” but no one other than Zeus and Hera, in my eyes, have the feeling of immovable object. She’s calm. She’s untouchable. Her purity and radiance are unlike anything I’ve ever encountered.

There are times where this radiance is so much that I feel like I shouldn’t talk to her or even be near her. She proves me wrong. She reminds me that I am with her for a reason that is beyond me. And she holds me tight and embraces her light upon me, letting me know that she is always watching over me. When we travel at night, when I sleep, even when I do my homework during long nights, she’s there, even when she is “new.” It sounds weird when I say it like that, but there’s a profound protectiveness to her. And it makes me happy to know I’ve known and loved her.

Selene also loves sweets and fruits. There are times where I offered her salty snacks. She wasn’t very fond of them. She took them but she prefers chocolate. We were in class one day making crafts for a French film festival at my school. I randomly thought to myself, that Selene would love French desserts. I don’t know where the thought came from, but I think it was her saying, I would love a macaron one time. It’s just things like this about her that scream, I’m an elegant, calm, but patient goddess, and I would love the best treats anyone can provide.

I love Selene and I’m in love with the moon. I grew to appreciate the nighttime because of Selene, and I thank her for it.

[olivelaurels]

Find the gods in the everyday.

Find Them in the first sip of hot coffee that doesn’t quite burn. Find Them in the rising sun and the safety of warm sheets. Find Them in the silver light that heralds the sun.

The gods are not kept to shrines or grand things. They are vast and wonderful and you can find Them in the smallest of things. Whisper prayers into the steam of your tea. Mutter praises under your breath when no one else knows you’re awake. Those moments-right before you sleep and just after waking-are the most intimate.

[olivelaurels]

So I’m seeing a lot of posts lately around the Hellenic tags of lists of things that certain deities do (and don’t) like as offerings and I just wanted to mention that like… 98% of that is going to be the poster’s UPG.  Like, if a post says that X deity prefers one modern genre of music over another, or that they don’t like papayas or something, unless there’s something in the mythology that says “X deity is deeply offended by papayas,” it’s 100% UPG. Explore offerings yourself and don’t feel like those posts are law or have to limit your worship in any way.

[olivelaurels]

Honestly its weird how many people don’t realize that the gods are frightening, and if you expect some sort of direct contact, spiritual or otherwise, you should expect there to be some level of terror.

[olivelaurels]

also I wanna find non transphobic polytheists to follow, reblog this if you aren’t a terf and worship Celtic/Norse/Hellenic goddesses! 💖

[olivelaurels]

Apollo as the Sun God on the altar for Winter Solstice. 

[olivelaurels]

Ways To Connect with your Goddesses

♀donate to a women’s shelter

♀conduct a thank you ritual

♀pray

♀give offering

♀build them an altar

♀masturbate

♀read up on their legends

♀read up on women’s witchcraft

♀have pride in your womanhood

♀take a bubble bath

♀take an herbal bath of devotion

♀meditate on them

♀clean their altar

♀recite a hymn

♀sing or dance for them

♀write poetry

[olivelaurels]

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.

Alan Watts

[olivelaurels]

Gentle Hestia, I pray for all those who wander and seek shelter , may they be fed and have rest tonight. May they be safe. May their paths lead them to a place they can call home.

[olivelaurels]

“The rose was created by Chloris, the Goddess of flowers. One day she found the lifeless body of a nymph in the woods and turned her into a flower. Chloris called upon Aphrodite who gave the flower beauty and Dionysus who added nectar to give it a sweet fragrance. Zephyrus, God of the West Wind, blew the clouds away so Apollo could shine and make the flower bloom.”

[olivelaurels]

God uses They/them pronouns.

Fight me

[olivelaurels]

You are good enough for your gods.

This is your gentle reminder that the work you do for the gods, goddesses, spirits, and fair folk is good enough and valuable.

The offerings you make are gifts appreciated.

The prayers you give voice to are heard and loved.

The spare change you donate at a park or sacred space adds up.

The trash you grab out of the river or gutter in a rainstorm for later recycling improves the world.

When you give of yourself, small things matter. When you gift unto others, no one cares what it cost, only that you cared enough to give.

Let the cosmos be brightened by your work, as you already know it is.

[olivelaurels]

I don’t see why they say the gods are gone

The gods were never gone, they were never dead. The only thing that changed was that we stopped listening.

We still have the weather, thunder and rain. Zeus calls down his storms both in peace to keep our lives safe, and in anger to wreak destruction. We might be better at predicting what is coming, but if the rain stopped coming, what would we do? We depend on the rain, and fear the storm.

More than 90% of the world’s trade comes by the sea. Poseidon watches over the sailors on the oceans, gives to fish to those who hunger, and gives protection to more than half of the life on the world, guarding the oceans and rivers.

Death is still is a part of our lives. When we die, Charon takes us across the rivers of the Underworld, and we face our fates. Hades still watches over the sick, giving strength and life to those still with work left undone, and guards those who find their end, judging them as befitting their deeds.

Love is as strong as before. Love still finds it’s way, no matter how we might try to crush it under a world of apathy and industry. Aphrodite finds those that need love in their lives, and she gives them the courage to take their leaps. Young couples still find Eros, families find their Storge, and marriages find their Pragma.

Homes are still as strong, and as broken as ever. Hera gives lovers the strength to overcome their problems, the endurance to see past the faults in those they love to find the perfection inside. She guards the children of broken homes, and shows the light to those that need it in their lives, to build their own families.

Warfare has changed drastically, coming at longer ranges, but war is as terrible as ever. Ares gives his strength to the weary legs of a soldier on march, and stills the nervous hands gripping at a rifle. He gives life to the wounded, and courage to the broken.

War is bigger now, more complicated. General staffs spend years drawing and redrawing their plans, preparing the perfect ideas to spare the world as much horror as they can. Athena gives wisdom to her field marshals, her officers, that they might know the best path.

Food is needed for every single person in the world. Demeter gives us a bountiful, full harvest so that we might not starve. She holds the hand of those working in the scorching fields, that their work may not be for nothing. She protects the abused animals in the factory farms, and she feuds with her brothers and sisters so that their wrath may not destroy the harvest.

Creation is an essential part of life. Hephaestus watches over not only the smiths, but the writers, the artists and every other smith of creation. He watches men build their battleships, lay the bricks of their buildings that might touch the sky, and the production of that which might not only keep us alive, but to make us prosper.

The gods aren’t gone, and they haven’t forgotten any of us. Even if we stop listening, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t there.

[olivelaurels]

Talk to us about Eros and Psyche?

ah yes yes

Psyche was a girl too beautiful for her own good, and Eros was just as subject to her charisma as the men who incurred Aphrodite’s wrath by worshipping her. The difference is that while the men saw Psyche as beautiful, they put her on a pedestal. She was an object to be appraised and admired. Eros saw a woman by whom Love himself could be tamed.

But she wasn’t just a pretty face: there’s something to say for silly, pretty girls who complete impossible tasks, so impossible that she would ascend herself. 

We talk about Heracles’s labors, but we don’t often talk about those of Psyche. Psyche’s labors are more than tasks: they represent the trials through which our souls are forged. Psyche, as a traditionally beautiful Greek woman, was probably slight, soft, and unmarked. But you don’t have to be physically strong to fight. 

She, of course, didn’t do it alone. Although there’s strength in Psyche’s story, her strength is not in a vacuum of lonely suffering. Eros, Zephyrus, Demeter, Zeus, and Persephone did not see shame in either Psyche or Eros’s grief. There was no aversion to their crying or their pleads. The story of Psyche is not that of a hardened warrior. She’s vulnerable and fearful and doubtful and curious. She is inherently flawed and prone to mishaps. But the gods do not begrudge her for her tears (nor do I think they begrudge us ours). Fear, sorrow, and love are not weaknesses in Psyche’s story. Instead, they are what drive our heroine to do the impossible. 

I love Eros & Psyche. 

[olivelaurels]

and when Persephone was in the underworld she ate just one bite of avocado toast and so, from thence forth, was cursed to never own a home

[olivelaurels]

Day 2 of Eight Useful Tarot Spreads. The Emotional Arrow Spread, for listening to challenging emotions.

1. Source: What prompted this emotion? What lies at the root of it?  

2. Impact: How is this emotion affecting me now? How is it riding me? 

3. Navigation: How can I better harness, navigate, and channel this emotion?  

4. Message: What is this emotion trying to tell me?  

5. Target: Best outcome/goal of working constructively with this emotion.  

6. Overkill: How does this emotion mislead me? How might it take me too far?

Read detailed notes and tips on how to interpret this spread here: 

http://www.interrobangtarot.com/8u-emotional-arrow.html

And start the ebook from the beginning here: http://www.interrobangtarot.com/eight-useful-tarot-spreads.html

For entertainment purposes only.