poppies-in-november

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Hello, my friends!

Are you trying to develop your divination practices?

I am offering a limited amount of mentorship spots to help you with your confidence and interpretation of various kinds of divination:

Tarot, Shufflemancy, Real Life Signs and more

If you are interested, are at least 18 years old and have a basic understanding of HelPol/The Greek Pantheon, you can send me an ask, a dm or message me on Discord!

May the Gods bless you and enlighten your path ♡

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Dumb question to the void: is there anyone that does tarot/divination readings for checking on relationships with the gods? (I want to see how I'm doing with Lord Hermes, but I'm not specialized/sensitive enough to know what to look for/know how well I'm doing so far. I've asked him to help me out with something important for me, and I gave him an orange and water afterwards in thanks. I'm just not sure if I'm missing any messages/assurances from him.....)

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“Oh you worship Ares? Ugh, I hated him in Percy Jack-” I’m about to earn us the reputation for sacrificing humans.

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hestia

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Demeter and Hestia

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Here's a reminder that I don't tolerate TERFs in pagan spaces, and if anyone following me is a TERF, get out.

The gods don't subscribe to your hateful rhetoric, and they love all of their trans worshippers.

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we are unable to use typical divination tools like tarot to communicate with our gods, so we've taken to using... stranger methods: a magic 8 ball.

we were worried it would seem like we were making a mockery of "actual" divination and it'd offend them. and you know what?

it fricking works.

we can even tell who's talking through it: hermes finds it hilarious and constantly gives cop-out answers, while zeus mostly uses it because he knows it's only of our only methods of communication, and he gives more straightfoward results typically.

it's silly, but it works, and that is beautiful. i love my gods because they are willing to do absolutely anything if it means they can help you become more solid in your relationship with them.

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there is something really nasty the body does that I have to tell you about. sleep deprivation causes the body to feel stronger signals. it can make light and sound and pain worse, just from not sleeping. and then, get this - - that can be the kind of shit that keeps someone up at night. less sleep makes more pain happen, more pain can make less sleep happen, and this feedback loop keeps spinning. and then that feedback loop fucks with your body and can make you have worse illnesses, worse infections, worse physical health, worse mental health, and feel like shit overall. and then THAT can make it even harder to sleep.

quality of sleep is quality of life. no matter what else you have going on, you have to prioritize sleep. if your sleep is not restful, you might have something like sleep apnea that can make you weaker until you get treated. whatever is stopping you from sleeping needs to be a priority because it will wreck you until you can sleep. your body cannot function properly without enough sleep, and it might not even tell you that sleep is the problen.

your body might just tell you that everything sucks forever until you can figure it out and get it addressed. there are ways to break the pain and sleep deprivation feedback loop, like medication. and if sleep still sucks, really consider getting a sleep study. even if it is a pain in the ass, your health might depend on it.

no matter what else you try, no matter how else you try to prioritize your health, and no matter how you have to accomplish this, you might not be able to feel better until you can actually get enough quality sleep.

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Digital offering for Lady Hestia! 🔥☕️

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Welcome to "Whose Domain Is It Anyway?" where our wonderful contestants have to figure out which deity they should approach for thanks, guidance and blessings in specific contexts and situations that definitely didn't exist in Ancient Greece!

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The Gods Are Around Me

I see Thor in the cloudy Los Angeles mornings. When the air is crisp and the sun isn't peaking out yet. On the morning commute, from the bus windows, I can see the sky. I think of King Zeus, who reigns over the heavens. As the sun begins to show in the sky, I think of Apollo and Ra. I thank them for shining so brightly.

At work, I feel the strength of Tyr. He urges me to continue to strive for the justice and safety of all. I thank Poseidon for standing over me as I work on my computer, as the Earthshaker told me: "This will be difficult, and it will feel like you are barreling towards the storm, but you shall carry on." As we rage to continue our mission, I thank Ares, as we carry on in our fight for justice.

I thank Aphrodite, Freya, and Queen Hera when my morning "I love you!" text comes in from my boyfriend. I thank them, as I know I am loved earthly as I am divinely. As I walk to the bathroom, I look over my body in my work. I learn to love what I see. I thank Frigg, Lilith, and Isis for my womanly figure.

When the work day is done, I sing on my way to the bus stop. I sing in Dionysus' honor. I may sing Hadestown, and I subtly honor King Hades and Queen Persephone. I think of Demeter as I walk by the plants that line the walkway.

Going home, I wonder what attending a PhD program would be like; I pray to Odin and Athena in their infinite wisdom to aid me in acceptances next Spring. When I arrive home and later prepare for bed, I thank the Gods that I have a safe place to rest my head. Hypnos guides me into sleep.

The Gods are all around me. They are all around us.

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This post is heavily inspired by a post by @echoesofolympus made on 01.17.2025. Thank you for the inspiration, my friend.

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I’m processing religious trauma memories and escape from a high control group through EMDR in therapy. I haven’t had an altar in a couple months to try to be as neutral as possible during this process.

Lately, something has shifted. I feel 100% sure I want to be a Hellenic polytheist. Talking through my religious trauma has allowed me to see that spirituality is part of who I am as a person, and many people took advantage of it.

Hellenism is basically the complete opposite of Christianity. Through therapy I’ve been able to see why I feel so much more at home in HelPol.

So, I’ve decide to build an altar to the Theoi.

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A little question for those of you out there with a bit more experience - how's best to devote an act to the Theoi?

I'm unfortunate right now in that work has me laid out and it's been hard to find the time, or in particular the energy, to pray. If I'm not praying, I'm barely engaging with the Theoi at all, maybe apart from the odd thought that something reminds me of them.

I still want to honour the gods as a small thing I can do in my every day. I know devotional acts are a thing, but I guess I'm wondering how you devote something - do you say out loud that it's for a certain god? Do you just think it? How do you let the gods know that you're doing something for them?

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I am so normal about Hypnos and Thantatos.

I am so normal about them being intrinsically linked not just by being twins but by their roles in the universe. Sleep is the closest one can get to death within actually dying, and death is just an eternal slumber.

I am so normal about them being two sides of the same coin, not just connected by their DNA and their jobs. Needing each other to operate, needing the mortal dying of old age to be put to sleep before their soul can be reaped.

I am so normal about Hypnos having multiple lovers and children while Thanatos stays alone, content with being uncle death to his twins kids.

I am so normal about them needing each other to work efficiently. Helping each other carry bodies off the battlefield, lulling the dying to rest before they take their last breath, back winged Thanatos holding up his twin whoes head wings aren't as big and don't hold as much weight.

I am so normal about them being the light twin and the dark twin, then gentle twin and the 'scary' twin, the loved twin and the feared twin. No one truly understands them like they do each other.

I am so normal about godling death knowing he'll get the best rest possible if he just climbs into bed next to his sleepy twin and the two resting together with no stress.

I am so normal about the cthonic twins I promise.

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I feel great comfort in the idea of the Gods feeling no need to label sexuality, as done by the Greeks. Unfortunately, Ancient Greece was not as openly gay as commonly believed, much of the homoeroticism expressed, especially in Athens, was explicitly an exclusively masculine, wealthy, expression of power. A social status symbol for an older man sexualizing a younger boy, understood today to be abusive. Much of the time a more equal relationship between men was seen as inappropriate & indulgent.

However, queer people more comparable to modern day relationships did in fact exist, & I don’t doubt the Gods do not discriminate in their love.

I often use Saint Sebastian as a representation of Apollo, because he’s associated with arrows, athletes, & beautiful young men. Saint Sebastian is unofficially often referred to as the patron of gay men, & it isn’t lost on me that Apollo can be interpreted as a similar homoerotic figure. He is perfect in body, & he is supposed to be the masculine ideal, often praised in Greece especially. I choose to interpret his relationship with Hyacinthus as a representation of this aspect of him.

Artemis was never married, & never had children. She clearly prefers the company of women, at least mythologically, & her relationship with the nymphs can be interpreted as sapphic in nature. What could be more sacred to the protector of women, then two women loving each other?

Dionysus is the god of the outcasts, & the downtrodden. His worshippers were those mistreated by society, & he subverts gender many times. According to some he was raised as a girl, & the image of him we are more familiar with is very much effeminate. He has an epithet referring to his wide sexual preference, both as the giver & the receiver, which at the time would have been a subversive act, as well as something that challenges the expectations of a masculine person. He is also associated with theater & performers, which is a big part of queer culture.

Sappho prayed to Aphrodite concerning her love for another woman, not to mention Aphrodite was born from the testicles of a man, which could be seen as a transition of genders.

Basically, the gods love you. Although the Greeks were a very different society to ours, & we should view things within a historical context, it’s not wrong to want to reclaim some of that history for yourself. If you see yourself in the gods, in figures of mythology, that is not only ok, but it is what people have been doing for all of time. Stories change meaning, & evolve.

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okay so ive suddenly come to the realisation that one of my. Ways of offerings i guess might not be entirely Okay??

For context I'm helpol (hellenic polytheist iirc) and mostly worship/offer to Hermes (God of theives and travel [< relevant to me/the way I offer to Him]) And for these offerings I have this jar that I refill with candy weekly and slowly pick from over the course of. However long that particular candy lasts. It's this really pretty ornate jar that I like and I thought He might like too. But I'm not sure if the Way I do this is entirely okay???? He has other things too, like books, trinket tray, an old bike light that you can't buy batteries for anymore etc, but I am stressing over this fucking jar because its the only food offering I can viably give Him without getting mold in my room (Cannot remember to get things out of places on time. Like perishable food offerings), and I can't give him alcohol because im <18 and I can't give any other liquid offerings because of aforementioned memory issues Candles are also. Against the lease so I can't have those and jesum crow this is getting to be a long rant but could someone maybe pretty please tell me if this is okay practice that wont get me smited (I've been doing this for like a year already; if ive fucked up the damage is done but i'd like to fix it)

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I have a few questions for fellow Helpol people or experienced helpol people. I recently started to consider worshiping hypnos and apollo but I don't know a lot of things.

1.can I still celebrate holidays like christmas but just as a festivity and not a religious practice?

2.What do I have to do when it comes to worshipping?

3.am I not allowed to do anything in particular?

4.what does it mean to be a devotee? Is there anything special about it?