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Heart and Veil - Cult of Eternal Hera - Shadow and Flamethrowers Shutdown

Hey y'all 🪷 I don't think this is going to come as a terrible surprise, given how little I have been on tumblr and how little I have been posting about witchcraft and Hellenic Polytheism. I'm going to lay this out nice and clear.

The past 18 or so months of my life have been a lot, if I'm being honest. The roots are strong, but the branches were sickly. As they have regrown, they have grown differently. I am still me, perhaps more myself than I have ever been, but the me that I am with all the external influence stripped off looks very different.

I finally understand the meaning of "The Way that can be named is not the Way."

I no longer consider myself a Hellenic Polytheist. I still worship the Greek Gods in a certain capacity, but my philosophical bent has changed directions. I will always love our Gods, and I will be grateful to (some of) the HelPol community for their place in helping me find a life I could be happy to live.

I also made the decision this past weekend to remove my veil. For six years, I have worn it with pride and devotion. I no longer feel like I need it, at least not all the time. I have finally learned to be my own veil. I'm going to find a local cancer charity and donate most of my scarves.

I have come to see in recent months that social media isn't really conducive to my happiness; at least not the way I have been using it. I'm deleting most of my social media (though I'm only deactivating IG) and will be away from it all long term. I do intend to come back to tumblr in the future, but it will be in a completely different capacity.

Some will look at this and think, "ahh, see, it's just a phase," and so fucking what? If something I devoted a fifth of my entire life to is a phase, then call me Luna. It's a woman's prerogative. But I am the Magnolia Grandiflora - strong roots, a steady trunk, swaying branches, continually replacing leaves, and long-blooming flowers. I am more than content with that.

I am permanently logging out of all of these tumblr accounts on September 30, 2024. If there was ever a question you wanted to ask, I recommend you get it in before then because once I delete my passwords I am fuck't. I don't even know which email address I used to sign up for hellsite.

Remember: I am proud of you. That little kind thing you did today that nobody noticed? The win you're too humble to brag about? The accomplishment no one else cared about? I am so fucking proud of you. So endlessly proud. You have within you the incredible capacity to be a phenomenal human being. All virtues are just something you practice, not something you are - so go out there and practice the virtues you admire most. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't, because Auntie said that you can.

Thank you all for sharing this space with me for the past few years ❤️

In the wise words of Lester Holt: Take care of yourselves and each other.

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Zeus x Hera concept sketches

Somewhere out there a mortal is about to have the worst day of their life.

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Dolly Parton's Jolene is Jolene written by Juno.

Beyoncé's Jolene is Jolene written by Hera.

I will not be elaborating.

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As the Goddess of Marriage and Children, She is also, in a way, the Goddess of Legitimacy and Lineage. Only by being accepted by Hera can Zeus's children truly be legitimate (cough couch HERAkles). Rhea is Goddess of Generation (as in the generations of a family) and divine kids usually took something from Their parents.

By the Gods....

Far older than Her association with Peacocks, Hera's sacred bird is fhe cuckoo.

Cuckoos are commonly viewed as laying their eggs in another bird's nest for them to raise the chicks.

Zeus kept bringing His other kids to Olympus, into Hera's "nest" 🤣🤣🤣🤣

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By the Gods....

Far older than Her association with Peacocks, Hera's sacred bird is fhe cuckoo.

Cuckoos are commonly viewed as laying their eggs in another bird's nest for them to raise the chicks.

Zeus kept bringing His other kids to Olympus, into Hera's "nest" 🤣🤣🤣🤣

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This is hilarious

Ares and Hera (pregnant with Ilithyia).

This is the first time I’ve drawn dialogue in ages.

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Hera seducing Zeus

Based on the scene in the Iliad book 14. I followed how it was described + what Hera was wearing but also took some creative liberties.

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Hera's flowers

Hera sitting on a chair, surrounded by lotuses. Based off an ancient vase that has her and Athena

Design is anthropomorphic; having lion and calf attributes and a pale peach color- as well feathers on her arms.

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I can't believe I never posted my wedding portrait! I found it sitting in my drafts on my main blog.

The spectacular (both as a person and an artist) @coloricioso did this commission for me for my wedding anniversary. I wanted my husband and me dressed up like a Greek bride and groom - with some stylistic liberties because I'm extra as fuck. Look at Zeus and Hera in the background 🥰 I love Them so much.

Anyway Coloricoso is a wonderful artist and y'all should go check out her work. She's also super knowledgeable about Greek mythology! I've learned a lot from her 💜

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I can't believe I never posted my wedding portrait! I found it sitting in my drafts on my main blog.

The spectacular (both as a person and an artist) @coloricioso did this commission for me for my wedding anniversary. I wanted my husband and me dressed up like a Greek bride and groom - with some stylistic liberties because I'm extra as fuck. Look at Zeus and Hera in the background 🥰 I love Them so much.

Anyway Coloricoso is a wonderful artist and y'all should go check out her work. She's also super knowledgeable about Greek mythology! I've learned a lot from her 💜

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Blessed Theogamia!

“With that the son of Cronus caught his wife in his arms and under them now the holy earth burst with fresh green grass, crocus and hyacinth, clover soaked with dew, so thick and soft it lifted their bodies off the hard, packed ground… Folded deep in that bed they lay and round them wrapped a marvelous cloud of gold, and glistening showers of dew rained down around them both.  And so, deep in peace, the Father slept on Gargaron peak, conquered by Sleep and strong assaults of Love, his wife locked in his arms.”

—Iliad, 14.413-421, translated by Robert Fagles

Rundown of the altar: my statues of Zeus and Hera on a golden plinth, standing in front of my "wedding portrait" (done by the INCREDIBLE @coloricioso). The incense is lotus oil. To the right are flowers in the flame colors associated with brides (and priestesses of Juno) in my Wifey water bottle from my wedding. To the left is a replica hydria depicting Zeus and holding peacock feathers, which my husband gave me for our household altar. In front is an altar box where I keep random love notes my husband gives me, also holding my wedding jewelry. The whole thing is scattered in lotus petals and olive leaves which I am definitely not going to sweep up and make into a tea out of curiosity.

My husband joined me under my veil to drink a toast to the anniversary couple 🥰

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I will elaborate later when I've fleshed this idea out more, but I'm pretty sure Hekate was originally Artemis within the Greek pantheon and got split off later.

(Also this isn't an original idea, I'm just compiling evidence.)

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When you explain it like that, it makes absolute sense. Thank you so much! Some days I get myself really turned around.

Help me I'm dying.

The "day" begins at sunset, but WHICH FUCKING SUNSET????

Noumenia is on February 11th.

Does Noumenia begin on February 10th at sunset and go into the 11th?

Or does Noumenia begin at sunset on the 11th and go into the 12th?

I knew the answer to this until somebody asked me and now I have no fucking clue and I'm about to cry because I'm so confused.

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Hey theofam, same. I go through this a lot. Some days I wake up a Hellenic Polytheist, some days I wake up an atheist. I feel like an absolute fraud quite frequently to be honest.

The best way for me to explain this is from how my dear friend explained love to me. I won't go into the full background, but my friend told me how his parents got married after 6 weeks and were celebrating 40 years of marriage. Up to that day, I always thought of love as a feeling. No, he explained, love is an action. Love is a choice that you have to make. There were days in their 40 years together that his parents felt no love (feeling) for each other, but they chose to love (action) each other anyway.

My husband and I have been together for 10 years now, and there have been days we didn't love (feeling) each other, but we made sure love (action) was there. If I had thrown away my relationship when I didn't feel loving, I would have made the worst mistake of my life.

Faith, to me, is the same. It isn't a feeling, but an action we have to choose.

Hellenic Polytheism doesn't require faith at all. It's orthopraxic, meaning the action is what matters. Whether you believe in the Gods (in that moment or at all) is, frankly, irrelevant. Do your prayers and your rituals and live right. That's all that matters.

I will say this, though: now is not the time to deeply question your beliefs. I know that sounds awful and culty, but if you are having serious emotional turmoil, don't make it worse. Give yourself grace, let yourself breathe. Then when you are on more stable ground, ask yourself the hard questions. If you do ultimately end up deciding that this isn't the path for you, that's ok. That doesn't mean you failed or wasted your time; it means you had the courage to try something difficult, and the openmindedness for the possibility, but it wasn't for you. If you come to the opposite conclusion, and you choose to continue believing, then that's a beautiful thing as well.

I'm going to be real with you guys.

I have been really discouraged and depressed lately. It has felt... silly. I have felt silly, especially for believing and wanting to believe in the gods. I feel like I am seen the same as a kid who is way too old to have imaginary friends and talks to himself about nothing.

It has caused me to fall into a very miserable depression. I feel shame and embarrassment in wanting to pray and have rituals. I have even debated on disassembling my altar and abandoning my practice altogether. I struggle to get out of bed in the morning and often find myself sleeping well into the evening.

I really need grace right now and reassurance.

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Help me I'm dying.

The "day" begins at sunset, but WHICH FUCKING SUNSET????

Noumenia is on February 11th.

Does Noumenia begin on February 10th at sunset and go into the 11th?

Or does Noumenia begin at sunset on the 11th and go into the 12th?

I knew the answer to this until somebody asked me and now I have no fucking clue and I'm about to cry because I'm so confused.

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Eileithyia & Hera

just having a casual conversation with her oldest (HC).

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There's nothing more romantic to me than Hera and Zeus in Their celestial aspects. She's the Goddess of the Sky and Stars. He's the God of the Sky and Storms. I bet They just dance around in the aether making pretty colors sometimes.