#helpolblr

[edensvessel]

Sick and tired of this being constantly thrown around to shame people but say it with me now

MIASMA 👏 IS 👏 NOT 👏 THE 👏 HELPOL 👏 EQUIVALENT 👏 OF 👏 SIN 👏

Miasma is a word used to describe rape, murder, evil things we should not do.

Sin is a violation of the Christian god's will.

Lyma is the inherent spiritual uncleanliness that comes with being human, NOT miasma. These two concepts have been falsely conflated. Lyma is what you use khernips for, not miasma. On that note, khernips is not necessary to get rid of lyma, just a shower or washing your hands is enough in today's modern age of cleanliness. Lyma is not evil either. Miasma is the spiritual equivalent of committing a crime, because you only get miasma upon committing something like murder or rape or what-have-you. Miasma is inherently evil.

Sin is not inherently evil because you are born with it and you can be saved. Miasma is inherently evil because it is the religious equivalent of crimes.

I say inherently because yes, some sin is evil, but not all sin is. To say “all” of something, whether in theology or history, is a big big BIG error unless it is quite literally 100%. People seem to have forgotten that too.

Most importantly, a lot of the religious historians we have are Christian and they put their Christian viewpoint on everything. That is why it's so important not to take everything in a resource super literally and to cross reference your sources.

Miasma is not "sin" because you can't compare two concepts that existed centuries apart from each other that may, to your modern eye in a world where christianity is the norm, look similar.

Stop spreading misinformation under the guise of miasma. Most importantly, stop sending asks to tumblr blogs to do your research for you. Google scholar is free. Internet archive is free. Got a question? Research it! Having trouble? Ask people for help! There's nothing wrong with asking someone's opinion on something but to take that person's opinion as law thereafter? Are we forgetting that we're sharing opinions and not facts and that facts need to have sources listed at the end?

The decline of research in pagan spaces and the steady rise of blindly believing what your favourite tumblr blog says is a dangerous fuel to the anti-intellectualism fire that's been burning for a few years now. I'll end this by saying that this post is not targeted, but if you feel targeted, then I think you have a bit of self reflection to do.

[aphrodite-sparkles]

☆ Treat everyone you meet as if they were a God in disguise ☆

[weary-caduceus]

I've seen other people post about this, but please remember not to blame the gods for the less than savory results of this election. Instead go to them for comfort and solace, and I'm sure they will have our backs during this trying time. I felt their presence with me alot today. May the gods be with you! 💙

[crazycatsiren]

One thing I can't help but wonder.

Artemis is not the only virgin goddess in the Hellenic pantheon. And yet it appears, among modern pagans, virginity is the first (often times only) thing to come to mind whenever Artemis is mentioned. So much is focused around her being a virgin, it's gotten to a point where who she actually is, how she was worshipped in ancient Greece, and her presence in the lives of the ancient Greeks are completely lost among misinformations and misconceptions stemming from only one aspect of her.

For Athena and Hestia, it's always their various roles and domains that people will immediately think about. But for Artemis, it's always her body and marital status, for some reason. It's utterly ridiculous.

Because to the ancient Greeks, Artemis was a perpetually unwed maiden goddess, yes, but she was not the goddess of virginity. According to Stephanie Budin and colleagues, Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and wilderness, and she was responsible for helping women in childbirth, turning children into adults, bringing light, freeing slaves, marking boundaries between territories and periods, bringing and curing plague. Her epithets emphasized her "wild" qualities, expressed her proclivity for the hunt, as well as described her as a "kourotrophos" (child nurturer and protector of the young) and a lunar deity.

It's like, why is it never a problem for everybody to accept that Athena and Hestia had worshippers of all ages, sexes, gender roles, and social statuses throughout ancient times, but it's so hard to wrap minds around this about Artemis.

Artemis, Athena, Hestia, all three goddesses preserve their virginity for important reasons pertaining to their roles in Greek ideology. Artemis's virginity established her position in the divine hierarchy. As the goddess of the wilds and wild animals, she herself could not be tamed (damazo) by sex, as other females in the Greek literature, and especially brides, were said to be (paraphrasing Stephanie Budin, Artemis, 2016).

In a nutshell, these goddesses are virgins and never married because of, as a result of, and due to their personas, functions, their parts in the pantheon and the areas they preside over. They chose the path of virginity because of who they are and what their "jobs" are. It doesn't mean they are rulers of maidenhood and virgins.

[hyakinthou-naos]

HelPol Discourse & Ableism

A more nuanced addition to this post - which I made on a low spoons day (if you're just interested in the ableism part then scroll to the bottom).

The Dunning-Kruger Effect

“The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which people with limited competence in a particular domain overestimate their abilities”

- Wikipedia

The Duning-Kruger Effect was first pointed out to me by another pagan practitioner - and in that context it was used to describe those who claim to know what is “right” or “wrong” for all practitioners within a given tradition.

This fellow practitioner (I can’t remember their name - this was at least 2 years ago) pointed out that those who are incredibly knowledgeable about a given tradition don’t tend to go around policing others practices.

Why?

Because being knowledgeable about any religious or spiritual tradition means recognizing how incredibly human made traditions are. They are loose - flexible - ever changing and ever evolving within both individual and community practice.

Now - that doesn’t mean “anything goes” within a tradition or religion, quite the opposite.

It instead means that the best way to create a cohesive tradition (or revive a cohesive tradition) is through working together as a community to discuss what is and isn’t valid praxis.

One individual (or a small group of individuals) speaking on behalf of an entire community is very rarely a good idea.

Bold “unpopular opinion” posts - telling others what is and isn’t valid praxis - is not only incredibly hubristic, but is also only going to lead to anger and infighting.

It is through conversation that we can get to the root of an issue and try to find consensus as a community.

As an example: I could make a post explaining my interpretation of, and feelings around, people worshipping Medusa. I could explain that I have negative feelings because this type of worship was not seen in antiquity. But then I could also make it clear that this is just my opinion - and that I’d be interested in hearing others points of view*

*some of those caught up in this controversy have done this, and have wrongly been demonized for it - while others have done the exact opposite, stating their opinion as law.

If someone makes a post similar to the example and you’re still going to be antagonistic or cruel - then just block that person. You’re going to save both them and yourself a lot of needless stress.

If someone makes a post that is actively inflammatory - you can do one of two things:

1. If you have the energy and bandwidth, you can engage with them in a discussion or civil debate.

2. If you don’t have the energy or bandwidth, or if OP is unwillingly to engage you in such talks, then just block them. Again - it will save you a lot of needless stress.

Lastly - we as Hellenic Polytheists need to be better about our ableism.

If there is something in our faith that is ableist (example: you must always stand with arms outstretched during ritual) then it shouldn’t be part of our faith.

Just because some people do not have any limitations on their physical mobility or mental energy - does not mean that the able-bodied way of doing things gets to be the default or “correct” way of practicing our faith.

I want to make a longer post on the ableism that is rampant in both the HelPol and wider Pagan communities - but for now I think that will suffice.

Askbox is open, as are DMs - The Temple is always open to community building, community discussion, and (civil) community debate.

Eirene - peace and farewell,

- Temple Hyacinthus

[snake-g1rl]

digital offering for Lord Hermes!

diary below ⬇️

I have unfortunately lost my wallet and amongst other things my luck hasn't been very good, I hope He can bless me with good fortune these upcoming weeks :)

diary entry 3 — 3/28/25 ok to rb , credits below.

🪽 — 🪙 — 🪽

🪽 — 🐍 — 🪽

🪽 — 🪙 — 🪽

[beadelmare]

i had the bright idea to talk to the gods through a dictionary (bc it's rlly precise ig?) and long story short, lord apollo told me to pursue the career i want (medicine), lord zeus wants to talk to me more, and lady demeter literally just said "hi, spring is here, just checking in, bye !!" THIS IS SO SWEET HELP MEEE

[apollophanes]

Spiritual Pollution in Hellenic Polytheism

In Helpol, we have three concepts known as lyma, miasma, and agos.

To some, humans are seen as naturally pure beings, but because we are living mortal creatures, spiritual dirt can cling to us and make us impure.

Here, I will discuss these three types of pollution

(Disclaimer: Some of this information comes from my own personal interpretations, and therefore may not apply to the beliefs of everyone)

Lyma

Lyma means "something to be washed away". Itis generally just physical dirt. It isn't much of a big deal when it comes to spiritual matters. However, it is still best to be free of it when approaching the gods.

Miasma

This is where things get complicated.

Miasma is essentially general spiritual pollution. Miasma is something that is completely unavoidable and should not be shamed (well, depending on the cause). Miasma is mainly caused by things related to life and death. This includes sex, childbirth, visiting a cemetery, blood, sexual fluids, etc.

However, miasma has different degrees of severity. More severe miasma comes from acts such as rape, hubris, murder, etc.

Miasma also spreads from people to people. If you walk past someone on the street who just came back from a funeral, their miasma will cling to you as well. This also highlights how unavoidable miasma is. But usually, this kind of indirect miasma is not as bad.

We are not allowed to approach the gods in a state of miasma. Luckily, miasma is not difficult to get rid off (excluding the more severe cases listed above).

All you need to do is wash your hands.

If you get a cut on your leg, the blood is miasmic and therefore you can't approach the gods. But all you need to do is wait for the bleeding to stop, wash away the blood, wash your hands, and then you're good to go.

There is a debate I once had on whether miasma prevents us from praying, giving offerings, and participating in festivals. To me, the answer is yes, but not with prayers. Let me explain why.

In a very simplified description of a certain myth, Orestes killed his mother. This caused him to enter a state of severe miasma and a state of agos (which I will explain later). Long story short, he prayed and asked Apollon to help purify him, in return for a grand offering later on. Apollon heard the prayer and came to help purify Orestes.

In this example, we see that Orestes was still able to pray to Apollon in the worst state of miasma, but promised to give offerings later on.

This implies that prayer is not an issue with miasma.

Here is another example: You don't need to wash your hands when talking to someone, but you should wash your hands if you want to give that person food.

In a similar way, in my opinion, you don't need to wash your hands for a casual prayer, but you should wash them before giving an offering. Although, I also prefer not to pray when I know I am in a miasmic state.

However, this is my own interpretation and others may have different views.

There are other ways to cleanse miasma such as khernips, incense, and scapegoats.

Ocean water is also said to cleanse miasma extremely well.

Agos

Agos is a cursed state and is the most extreme form of spiritual pollution. However, agos is not easy to get.

If you commit a horrible act such as murder, you will be in a state of extreme miasma. However, when the gods notice your crime and get enraged (keep in mind that it is usually not that easy to anger the gods), the miasma evolves into agos.

Miasma is a naturally occurring thing, but agos only comes from the wrath of the gods.

Agos is difficult to remove and is a pretty big deal.

Luckily, you don't need to worry about agos unless you're a horrible person who commits heinous acts.

Aaaand that is my interpretation of spiritual pollution in Helpol. I hope this post can be helpful to you!

Blessed be!

[selenophiliiaaa]

year three of art school means everything is self directed aka one of my classes is entirely dedicated to my deities !!! so i did a study of Dionysus Lysius as He was depicted in Corinth <3

[dionysian-salvia]

I felt Dio's presence so much yesterday, it was very nice. <3

I was worried about my hygiene a lot yesterday because my depression was heavy. When I hugged someone very important to me, she told me I smelled like grapes. :D (for the record, i didn't have anything grape-scented on. )

[burntoutrenfeldemic]

Kind lords Thanatos and Hypnos, Twins of night and gracious healers, forgive me for reaching out when I have nothing to give, but please accompany me and calm by heart and tremors, guide me and help me power through today's hours. Please, hold my heart and help me through this anxiety, for to me, you are the soothing thoughts bringing me down from my wild thoughts.

With this prayer I wrote in a hurry, please give me and all other peace of mind and a calm from the chaos. Guide us through dark days. For you, kind lords, are final peace.

[edensvessel]

I feel like Nelly has taken a break from her Negativity and passed the mantle onto me lately so let this be a positive post

Hermes is genuinely great? Haven't talked to the guy since...maybe November for personal reasons, but despite it all, He's here for me when I'm at rock bottom. I've noticed it's always been Him, Kronos, and Erebos that are there for me at rock bottom. Something something I used to refer to them all as my Fathers before Things Happened, something something Kronos asked me recently why I stopped calling Him that, something something I'm on the rocky road to feeling secure in things again, something something they will be waiting for me on the other side and every step of the way regardless.

Something something, the gods care.

[weary-caduceus]

Cheap paganism tips!

Pinterest boards!! I got this idea from @beautyofaphrodite, and it's really handy!

Boom!! Free (and potentially secret) altars!

2. Tealight candles! You can get like 100 of them for cheap and use empty sauce jar lids to put them on! You can also pour liquid offerings into the lids while you burn the candles, just make sure the liquid is totally heat safe first.

3. Playlists! I have completely free playlists for all my deities that I play whenver! It's great to play these playlists when doing something associated with that deity, like playing a Hermes playlist traveling or a Hypnos playlist when sleeping.

4. Anything digital! You can make blogs dedicated to them, picsart collages for them, tiktok, twitter, even Facebook pages or accounts for them!

I'll reblog this with more examples when and if I think of them!!

[crazycatsiren]

Artemis would shoot ICE agents for how much they disrespect everything her father stands for.

[orinene]

Me: noooo don't throw apples at me Aphrodite: *yeets* Me: NOOOOOO *bonked*

Aphrodite, godess of Beauty, godess of grace, she'll throw apples at your face

[snake-g1rl]

just completed 30 minutes on the treadmill (jogging) and I am so exhausted, but I'm going to relax for the rest of the day and make some art for Lord Hermes and Lady Persephone for Ostara. :) I hope everyone has a blessed Spring!

diary entry 2 — 3/20/25 ok to rb.