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• Cleanliness for the Gods •

Today, I wanted to talk about cleanliness when it comes to serving/approaching our gods.

While naturally things have changed from the practices used in ancient Greece, remembering that the gods we approach are still to be revered and respected will often lead us to a very simple but overlooked concept; are my hands dirty?

Aa always, I am a singular source! Please remember to always do your own individual research and I will attempt to cite sources as I can for convenience!

The Act of Cleanliness

When it comes to recerence of the gods, the ancient Greeks heavily valued the act of cleanliness when it came to providing offerings.

Designated hunters and gatherers were set to collect the animals and bloodless offerings (plants, herbs, etc). Not only were the collectors purified and cleansed, but their utilized tools and the collected offerings as well. This gives us some insight into how important cleanliness was seen in the eyes of the gods. [Greek Religion; Walter Burkert / Homo Necans: The Anthropology of Ancient Greek Sacrificial Ritual and Myth; Walter Burkert]

It is with this viewing that we begin to understand the importance of cleanliness when approaching the gods, and can act accordingly.

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A commonly known impurity in hellenic polytheism is miasma, although there are some common heavy misconceptions of what it is and how it is collected.

Mia- is a known word group that encompasses the words of impurity it encompasses, miasma being the most common. It can be difficult at times to discern because the mia- word group is diverse. Robert Parker in Miasma Pollution and Purification in Early Greek Religion described the following:

"the mia- word group is applied to a diverse range of things, and if one isolates within it a category that seems to have real unity, the same criteria that have been applied in order to constitute it demand that phenomena described by different words should also be included, An English example will illustrate this simple point: 'innocent' thoughts associate better with a 'pure' mind than does 'pure' alcohol, Not merely words are involved, of course, but forms of behaviour - avoidance, expulsion, ablution, and the like."

With this, we understand that the mia- words - in their most basic sense - encompass words of defilement and impurity. This can be a dirtiness collected through physical defilement (miasma) or ideals and integrity (miaino). It should be known that while the two can be separated simply, they themselves are more complex, whereas miasma can be considered filthier than miaino as it refers to more physical acts and miaino refers to the act of BECOMING miasmic. However, miaino can also refer to impurities that are not physical, such as lying and injustices. These terms depend on context, and their exact definitions are not something I personally can be definitive on. However, for the sake of this post, I'll forgo miaino and refer to miasma as 2 sects; mortal and moral.

Mortal miasma refers the pollution of human and mortal existence. It is collected on a daily basis and is not inherently filthy nor evil nor disgusting. But rather, it is a separating factor between us and the divinity of the deathless gods. It is collected simply by us existing as mortals (using the bathroom, sex, giving birth, dying, etc). While not inherently evil it is impurity in itself that requires cleansing.

That said, while this is the most commonly known form of acquiring miasma, there is actually very little mention of miasma in this context in ancient texts (to my research).

Moral miasma, however, is far more referenced (such as by Homer), and is far more structured in how it is acquired.

Moral miasma is collected through injustices and crimes, as they are seen as acts of violations against Zeus. Murder, rape, incest, etc. These are afronting acts of filth. While all forms of miasma makes us ritually impure, it it moral miasma that requires ritual purification to be cleansed and deemed fit to kneel again before the gods.

Cleansing the Miasmic

The phrase "cleanliness is close to godliness" heavily applies to cleaning ourselves for the gods. It is an act that brings us closer to Them, as the action of being clean brings us closer to their divinity. Unlike us, the gods do not become miasmic or impure, and our need to cleanse ourselves for them is another factor that separates us from Them.

Khernips is another aspect of cleanliness that tends to be debated. The consideration and common acceptance is that it is purified water (adjacent to holy water) for cleansing oneself. Commonly this is done through "purification by fire." Burning herbs, using matches, etc.

With khernips, we wash our hands and feet or our bodies to cleanse ourselves and stand properly before the gods.

Cleansing can also be asking simple as washing our hands or taking showers and baths. That said, these sorts of cleansinga only apply to mortal miasma, not moral.

Because moral miasma is a violation against Zeus and dirties our very being, it cannot simply be washed away. Moral miasma requires ritual purification, which is far more complex and takes far longer than simply cleaning yourself.

This can include fasting, isolation, and other concepts that do not typically overlap with a state of normalcy. It is only through ritualistic purification that someone can become clean again before the gods after being stained with moral miasma.

Overall, I believe simple cleansing should become a part of any hellenic polytheist's normal life. And in a sense, it is. The act of washing your hands, taking showers, even your typical skincare routine. These are acts of cleansing, and setting the intention of cleansing for the gods, especially when done before offerings and devotional acts, is quite beautiful ♡

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🤲🏼🏛️🌊

O Lord, The Great Bringer of Storms,

God of the Seas, holder of waters,

and bearer of a trident in your holy hands.

with my heart and soul to you,

i pray that i remain under your protection.

praise the Holy Lord Poseidon.

khaire!

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Aristaeus

Aristaeus (Αρισταιος) is the rustic god of shepherds and cheesemaking, beekeeping, honey and honey-mead, olive growing and oil milling, medicinal herbs, hunting. Son of Apollo and Cyrene

Sacred Animal(s) :

Once again, here is a god who's kinda rarely worshipped (atleast as I known of) and there not much infos on the internet about his sacred animals but I would say it's bees and probably any type of sheeps or even cows and goats (for their milk)

Offerings :

Offerings for Aristaeus would surely be :

Bee/Sheep imagery and toys, honey, milk, cheese, flowers that attract bees, fruits, olive oil/olives

Devotional acts :

For him you can :

Taste new cheese you don't know.

Planting flowers for the bees.

Visit farms and learn more about the cheese making process.

Take interest in herbalism and how honey is recollected.

For the adults hellenist you can also go and visit his sanctuary in Hyères (south of France) as a traveling idea.

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There you go, an other less known god guide to worship! Hope this one helped someone 🤲🏼🏛️

[pescalozz]

Apollon

Apollon (Απολλων) is the Olympian god of prophecy and oracles, music, song and poetry, archery, healing, plague and disease, and the protection of the young.

His attributes are think like, wreath and branch of laurel, bow and quiver of arrows, raven, and lyre.

Offerings :

The offerings for Lord Apollo are multiple such as Milk, Golden objects, Bread, Frankincense, Bow and arrows, Honey, Musical instruments (especially lyres), Sun imagery, Poetry, Music and much more.

Devotional acts :

You can donate to charities such as the Trevor project or Sarcoma foundation of America (aka : queer charities and/or health charities).

Learn how to play an instrument, sing/write songs for yourself or others in his name.

Enjoy sunny days.

Practice different forms of art, gift handmade gifts to your loved ones/family Etc..

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Hope you enjoyed this one, just to say that I'll go in alphabetical order if the gods for those types of posts. Lots of love 🤲🏼🏛️

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Ares

Ares (Αρης) was the olympian god of war. He was the oldest child of Zeus and Hera and was known for his sheer violence and brutality. He was the most hated of all the gods and was loved neither by gods nor by men. Ares is the second companion of the Goddess Aphrodite.

Sacred Animal(s) :

Ares sacred animals are the vulture, the snake and some species of owl (Eurasian eagle-owl & Barn owl) which ancient augury identified as portents of war.

Offerings :

Offerings you can give to Lord Ares are :

Swords/daggers/knives (or any blade weapon really), spears, soldier imagery (like toys), dog tags, shields, helmets, armors, workout gear (dumbbells, lifting gloves, running shoes, etc.)

Dragons/snakes/owl/vultures imagery, bones (of animals naturally found please), preserved animals, ashes, trophies/ribbons/awards. War books/movies/games, first aid kits/wound care

Bird imagery, Feathers, metals, claws.

Devotional acts :

Like any other gods, you can do devotional acts on what feels the most of him to you.

But here are some of my suggestions like always :

Workout/Exercise, attend a protest, self-defense training, learn about wars, go to a shooting range if possible in your county (I'm looking at you French fellows).

Identify and cope with your anger, go to a rage room, play war video games, start a fire (safely).

Watch war movies/documentaries, visit war sites/memorials, scream, get out of your comfort zone, work through your fears.

Learn wound care, take home security measures, learn about PTSD, practice divination, particularly ornithomancy.

Support people who are currently living through wars (like Palestinian : link to donate, and a second one who almost reached their goal)

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I know it's been awhile and I'm sorry but here is finally a guide to worship Lord Ares, God of war and protector of women 🤲🏼🏛️

Thanks for sticking with me :)

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Aphrodite

Aphrodite (Αφροδιτη) is the Olympian goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation. She was depicted as the personification beauty itself and was the most beautiful thing in the whole universe.

She was born from seafoam formed by the severed genitals of Uranus after his son, Cronus, threw them in the sea.

Offerings :

There's a lot of documentation on what was supposed to be liked by Lady Aphrodite.

You can give her : chocolate, roses, apples, doves imagery, sea water/rose water, seashells, pearls, jewelries, perfume, honey, olive oil, poems of loves/about her.

As for crystals : rose quartz, clear quartz and emeraulds.

For candles white, pink or red are preferable

Devotional acts :

You can masturbate in her name, write poems, go to the beach, love/take care of yourself, do things that makes you feel pretty and you can do much more! Just do what you feel Lady Aphrodite would like!

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And here is the most popular god so far, enjoy your worship experience 🤲🏼🏛️

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Aether

Aether (Αιθηρ) is was the primordial god (protogenos) of light and the bright, blue ether of the heavens.

He is the son of Nyx (Night) and Erebus (Darkness)

Offerings :

This God is an intricate one, since he's the personification of the sky, there's not much we can offer.

I would personally give feathers.

I would recommend sun water and/or rain water.

You can also burn any sort of incense.

For the candle white and light blue are surely the first option you could think off but it's up to you.

You can also gift painting/pictures of the sky

Devotional acts :

Once again, there's not much you can do except look at the sky from time to time.

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I'm sorry this one is shorter but remember, everyone experience worship differently and good luck 🤲🏼🏛️

[pescalozz]

Master list of Greek gods and Titans

ⁱ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ'ˢ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵉᵛᵉʳʸ ᵒⁿᵉ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉᵐ ˢᵒ ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ᵗᵉˡˡ ᵐᵉ ⁱᶠ ⁱ ˢʰᵒᵘˡᵈ ʰᵃᵈ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵒⁿᵉ

Aeolus

Aether

Aphrodite

Apollo

Ares

Aristaeus

Artemis

Asclepius

Athena

Atlas

Attis

Boreas

Caerus

Chaos

Cronos

Crios

Demeter

Dyonisus

Epimetheus

Erebus

Eris

Eros

Eurus

Gaia

Glaucus

Hades

Hebe

Hecate

Helios

Hephaistus

Hera

Heracles

Hermes

Hestia

Hymenaios

Hyperion

Hypnos

Iapetus

Iris

Kratos

Lelantos

Melinoe

Menoetius

Momus

Morpheus

Nemesis

Nereus

Nike

Notus

Nyx

Oceanus

Pallas

Pan

Persephone

Zeus

Perses

Plutus

Poseidon

Priapus

Prometheus

Psyche

Thanatos

Tartarus

Uranus

Zelus

Zephyrus

[pescalozz]

Aeolus

Aeolus (Αιολος) is the son of Hippotes.

Ruler/Keeper of the four winds Aeolus was the king of the island of Aeolia, where he lived with his wife and six sons and six daughters.

To ensure safe passage home for Odysseus and his men, Aeolus gave Odysseus a bag containing all the winds, except the west wind. But when almost home, Odysseus' men, thinking the bag contained treasure, opened it and they were all driven by the winds back to Aeolia.

Offerings :

There's not much infos about how Aeolus was worshipped or if he was worshipped at all but I found some (literally 2 sentences in a old website) infos about it.

Back in ancient Greece, lavish offerings were given to Aeolus by dropping them down a sacred well.

Offerings may now be given to the wind. Write your desire on a piece of paper or a tree leaf and let it blow away or just genuine gifts of the heart may be sufficient.

His sacred animal is the horse so images, toys, statues etc.. Of horses can be good offerings.

Blue, light gray or white candles can be used in my opinion but there's no infos on that.

Devotional acts :

Once again, since Aeolus is quite the unknown god, those devotional acts are just my opinion and you can agree or disagree, keep in mind that worship is personal to everyone.

Enjoy windy days and/or pray to him during those.

Listen to the wind.

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That's all, I hope you enjoyed it and good luck in your worship experience 🤲🏼🏛️

[pescalozz]

(First post :3)

No one asked for it but I need to share my dream cast for Percy Jackson's next seasons because ugh! (and we'll not note on the age of those actors and just focus on the images I give y'all, it's hard to find young actors)

Thalia Grace

Played by Momona Tamada

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Charles Beckendorf

Played by Caleb McLaughlin

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Silena Beauregard

Played by Katelyn Nacon

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Rachel E. Dare

Played by Fransceca Capaldi

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Calypso

Played by McKenna Grace

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Bianca Di Angelo

Played by Mahina Napoleon

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Nico Di Angelo

Played by (young) Dylan Schmid

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Zoe Nightshade

Played by Alexandra Chaves

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Arthemis

Played by Alycia Debnam-Carey

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(And finally)

Apollo

Played by Chad Michael Murray

I might do more if y'all like it :)