#pagan pantheon

[witchbydaywitchbynight]

What pantheon do you work with / worship?

[that-cunning-witch]

"Aphrodite loves terfs" do you really think a goddess of love formed from a literal penis and the mother of Hermaphroditus, an intersex god who was associated with androgyny and feminine men, fucks around with transphobia?

she is a literal trans icon and to deny that will get you smited by all the gods

[the-purvashadha]

When you step into sunlight, you honor Apollo. When you admire the moon, you honor Artemis. When you admire cloud shapes, you honor Hera. When you smell petrichor, you honor Zeus. When you laugh at a joke, you honor Hermes. When your body twitches to dance at a particularly upbeat music, you honor Dinoysus. When you enjoy the first bite of your breakfast, you honor Demeter. When you choose your peace over any conflict, you honor Athena. When you warm yourself up by sheltering yourself in blanket, you honor Hestia. When you listen to Ocean sounds, you honor Poseidon. When you smell flowers, you honor Persephone. When you admire the coolness of first day of Autumn, you honor Hades. When you wear your favourite jewellery, you honor Hephaestus. When you smile, you honor Aphrodite. When you exercise, you honor Ares. When you light a torch in a dark room, you honor Hekate.

Your body is a shrine to Gods, your being an act of devotion for them. You, by yourself, are enough for them.

[thewhisperofzagreus]

Bronze sculpture of Dionysus. Materials: bronze, silvering, gilding. Base made of marble. The product contains natural amethysts.

[khaire-traveler]

Random Greek Deity Facts

- Artemis has been associated with horses in the past.

- Ares has associations with owls.

- There are ancient gravestones with reliefs on them that historians still cannot tell if the art is of Dionysus or Jesus.

- It is common for historians to struggle identifying if a statue is of Artemis or Apollo because they often look so much alike.

- Hephaestus is a god of fire.

- Maia, the Mother of Hermes, was thought to assist in raising both Dionysus and Hephaestus.

- Hypnos is said to live in a massive cave, sleeping with thousands of his sons.

- Rather than blood, Greek gods are said to have something called Ichor running through their veins; no one is quite sure what "Ichor" actually is.

- Both Apollo and Artemis are deities of light; it is not just Apollo. Along with this, it is believed Leto may also be a goddess of light.

- It is commonly believed that the hyacinth flower is not actually the flower Hyacinthus was infamously transformed into; most sources seem to agree that it was likely either an iris or a larkspur.

- At one point in the Dionysiaca, Dionysus wages a war against India. The goddess Rhea is said to have gathered troops for him, and Zeus was said to have been the one to task Dionysus with going to war in order to allow him to join the gods on Mount Olympus.

- Demeter's chariot is pulled by two giant winged serpents; she has literal dragons pulling her around, and no one is talking about it.

- The Python was a child of Gaia, and before Apollo took up the Oracle in Delphi, there was actually an Oracle with Gaia in that location.

- The twins Castor and Pollux, who made up the Gemini constellation, were commonly worshipped throughout ancient Greece under the title of the "Dioscuri" or "Dioskouroi".

- Also regarding the Dioskouroi, the name "Castor" ("Kastor") may translate to "Beaver".

- The famous epithet "Paean" of Apollo was also listed on an ancient Mycenaean tablet that listed the names of separate deities. It is, therefore, possible that Paean was once a separate god who later became associated/merged with both Apollo and his son Ascelpius.

- Besides being an epithet, a Paean was also a type of devotional chant/song that was sung in honor of Apollo. Some ancient sources claim that the event of singing a Paean could actually be quite loud, involving clouds of stomping/banging and movement.

- The masculine version of Hekate's name, "Hekatos", was an epithet for the god Apollo; both names can be translated to "worker from afar".

- The first record of the more "traditional" view of a werewolf comes from the Greek myth about King Lycaon, when Zeus transformed into a wolf for ten years as punishment for tricking the gods into consuming human flesh (yes, you read that right).

- In the myths, Zeus and Hermes have a lovely Father-Son bonding trip of destroying an entire village (except for one home) for not showing either of the disguised gods hospitality as poor travellers.

- Both Apollo and Zeus were seen as gods who purified "blood-guilt" - a condition which was caused by the killing of another person and required immense purification.

- Cerberus is described as a fully sentient being who can communicate as other immensely powerful children of Gaia could, meaning he is akin to the gods in terms of intelligence rather than being like an overgrown dog.

- Hermes is said to be the inventor of offerings, specifically animal sacrifices.

- One origin of the Pegasus was Poseidon and Medusa doing the devil's tango.

- There is a tale that claims Hermes to be the one who granted Aesop his knowledge of fables.

- According to some ancient sources, Cerberus has as many as fifty heads, a mane of snakes, the claws of a lion, and a snake tail.

- Iris was not only the goddess of rainbows but was also the personal messenger of Hera and was prominently featured in The Iliad delivering many messages on behalf of the Olympian gods.

- Eros has been depicted as the child of Aphrodite and Ares, the child of Ouranos and Aphrodite, the child of solely Aphrodite, the child of Poros and Penia, the child of Ouranos and Gaia, the child of Zephyrus and Iris, and a primordial being who simply came into being. So, where did Eros actually come from? Your guess is as good as any.

----

That's all for now! Let me know if y'all enjoyed these and would like more. 🧡

----

|| Sources ||

- Theoi.com (of course)

- The Iliad by Homer

- Theogony by Hesiod

- The Dionysiaca by Nonnus

- Information from various museum trips in Athens and Delphi, Greece (sorry, I don't remember the exact sources 💀)

[ivettaflowerblooom]

La Danse Triomphale de Pallas Athénée

Statue of Athena in Paris. She is also supposed to be holding a spear in her hands

[apple-piety]

If you’re finding it difficult to carve out a practice for yourself, you’re just having a normal response. We were never supposed to do this. Polytheism is not an orthodoxy that we can divert to based on dogma and texts. It’s an orthopraxy, the likes of which were always intended to be practiced by the community, the polis, with the guidance of elders and experts. Because of the march of time bringing forced Christianization, colonization, and capitalism enforcing rugged individualism, we’ve been left with little choice but to carve a tiny piece for ourselves.

We’re doing fantastic, considering we’re rebuilding from the scraps and ruins of long gone empires.

[hecates-corner]

If you ever feel unsure in your practice, remember that you are keeping Hellenism alive. You. You are. You’re a driving force, and you’re important.

You matter, whether or not you stick with it.

[starsthewitch]

Some Aphrodite facts for people who want to know more!!

✶She’s the mother of Hermaphroditus, the god of effeminacy and the origin of the word hermaphrodite. They’re an intersex person born with male and female characteristics.

✶ Aphrodite was believed to have a magical girdle (or belt) called the "Cestus," which could enhance her irresistible allure and seductive powers.

✶ In addition to her romantic and sexual aspects, Aphrodite was also revered as a protectress of sailors, offering safe passage across the seas.

✶ She was also worshipped as a protector of prostitutes and courtesans, reflecting her association with love and desire in all its forms.

✶ Aphrodite's name originated from the word Sea-foam.

✶ The dove, The affectionate white or turtle-dove was the bird of love, was a bird sacred to the goddess Aphrodite. Doves were said to draw her heavenly chariot, and the Syrian Aphrodite Ashtarte was said to have been hatched from an egg nursed by doves.

✶ In most sculptures, she is often depicted with a round face and a pear body shape! Even having rolls on some of them.

[folkandbooks]

Offering to Persephone, celebrating her return to this world 🌷🌹 Happy Ostara!

[worshipthesunshine]

i’ll never get over how beautiful hellenic polytheism is

[teawiththegods]

Working with Hera is fucking unreal. The power. The intensity. The fire. The strength. The brilliance. The fury. The divinity.

She is Queen.

She is Mother.

With her I feel like I can do anything.

[apollons-laurel]

A reminder that feeling compelled to begin worshipping/researching a god is also a sign and you don’t need to see some major sign in order to begin worshipping!

I began worshipping Lord Apollon because I was interested in him for some reason, and that’s led me to many years of researching/worshipping him! He never came to me through animal symbolism or anything major/visible but my worship of him is something that feels so right, even when I have a drought and struggle to actively worship, I never feel too worried or uncomfortable to return to normal because he is my god and I felt and still feel like I was meant to worship him

The idea that you need to see physical signs in order to begin worshipping/building a relationship with a god is ridiculous and should never stop you! Think about all the other gods you don’t feel compelled to worship and compare it to those that you do, and if you want to begin worshipping loads of gods, then go for it! There’s no right or wrong way to begin worship and only you know what’s the right thing for yourself

[dramaticwine]

Items for Lord Dionysus’ altar

Wine

Grapes

Statues and/or images of Dionysus

Apples

Goblets

Wine glasses

Ethically sourced furs

Statues of leopards, tigers, snakes, and/or bulls

Theater masks

Play programs

Phallic imagery

Fake or real plants

Pinecones

wildflowers

Wine corks, bottles, or labels

Bottle caps

Pride flags and/or pins

Condoms

Candles

Scripts

Garnet

Ruby

Amethyst

These are all suggestions and common associations of Dionysus. If you do not have some of these or don’t feel comfortable owning some of these, that is valid. We all have different practices and how you do yours will differ from mine.

[thewhisperofzagreus]

Oh, Hermaphroditus, a Holy One.

1. Hermaphroditus statue from Imperial Rome, around 70-100 AD, at "Lady Lever Art Gallery" in Europe England 2. Hermaphroditus statue from Imperial Rome in the 2nd century AD, at "Louvre" in Paris, Europe France

[transbutchbluess]

The Gods are not trans allies.

The Gods are not trans-friendly.

The Gods do not ‘support’ queer people.

The Gods ARE trans. The Gods ARE queer.

The Gods are transgender, They are transsexual. ‘Trans’ means ‘beyond, across’.

The Gods are beyond gender. Beyond sex. Beyond flesh. Beyond normality and norms— thus, They are queer. They are trans. They are on the other side of gender, of sex— on the side we cannot even begin to understand.

The Gods are transsexual and transgender and queer not (only) within our human understanding of transness— They are not trans in the way we humans are trans.

But They are still trans. They are the original transness. The ultimate transsexuality.

Transness as a transition from a state to another state, from a form to another form— from Their divine form to one we humans can behold without being consumed by Their inherent queerness. From Their divinity to words we humans can attempt to understand and think of without being utterly lost in the enormity and infinity of the divine.

Transness as a journey, a constant state of evolution within the world— evolution of the world itself, for the Gods are the world, are beyond time, beyond space, yet constantly changing.

The Gods do not love trans worshippers despite their transness, despite their queerness. The Gods love trans worshippers for their transness. They love us because we are trans. Because we are queer.

As we defy norms, we become closer to Them— trans people are humans, mortals, but I firmly believe that there is something inherently holy in transition. To change yourself, to think the limits of the body and to alter your own flesh is to create, is to destroy. To understand how limitless the world is— how flesh and sex and gender are human things, social things, that are made by us and can be expended and transgressed— is to take a step towards the Gods.

The Gods love you. You are made in Their image. Or maybe— you make yourself in Their image. And that is beautiful.

(reminder that this is my vision of divinity, not a definite fact, even if i think there are a lot of things (in multiple cultures/religions) that point to the divine being beyond gender)