theanic-devotion

[theanic-devotion]

Religious/Devotional Jewelry and Tatoos

I have three prices of jewelry that I wear all the time in devotion to the Goddess. I also have 3 tattoos partially related to my religious views. I wanted to talk about these because I feel like I haven’t really done that.

Jewelry

I wear a necklace and two anklets that represent the Goddess. The necklace is something I bought from Etsy, and the anklets are something I made. The necklace is a complicated symbol so I’ll just include a picture so you know what I’m talking about.

The necklace is based off of “goddess-figurines” often referred to as Venuses. They are found in a lot of Paleolithic archeological sites, though there isn’t actually any evidence they are goddesses or even devotional. Some are even found in garbage pits, so probably not holy. Even if the history isn’t there, I still connect this to my idea of my deity. It’s also a symbol used a lot in my family, so it has some personal meaning too.

The anklets represent the Goddess as well. They are made of embroidery floss. I grew up wearing anklets like this, but the ones I’ve been wearing for about a year now were designed with the Goddess in mind. One is green and yellow, representing the more traditional aspects of the Mother Nature archetype. The other is brown and red, representing a more personal view and the “darker” sides of nature/the less thought about parts. Duality of the Goddess is an important part of my religion.

Tattoos

My ink is a little different. It has multiple meanings, that have changed as I grow. The first one I got was when I was worshipping Aphrodite as a Hellenic Polytheist. It is the Venus/female symbol. This represented Aphrodite yes, but it more represented what Aphrodite meant to me. Love for myself and others, confidence, finding beauty in the world. These things are still important to me despite not worshipping Aphrodite. It also related to some non religious things, like my experiences with being queer.

My next tattoo was for Apollo, still in my HelPol days. It is a medieval illustration style sun. I found it so cool that Apollo was related to health and the sun, because the two aspect were always connected to me, even before being a HelPol. Apollo also represented mental health to me, and given I have seasonal depression, the sun and sunlight was always related to my mental health as well. Even though I don’t worship Apollo anymore, the connection and importance is still there.

Lastly, my most recent tattoo is not HelPol inspired, but a reference to Ancient Hermeticism. It represents the idea of “as above so below” which you have probably heard of if you are in the occult scene or a fan of horror movies. I don’t agree with all the ideas in Hermeticism, but I really vibe with this one. It has something I have vibed with since the beginning of my religious journey, which was probably almost 10 years ago by now. Damn I just realized that.

A note on tattoo: if you are the type of person who gets tattoos with meanings, I’d avoid just having once concrete meaning. Think of multiple things it could mean before you get it, see what vibes with you. Realize that you wll change, even if it is just slight. My first tattoo was at about 4 years ago, and I had thought about it for a while and even in the past few years my beliefs and ideas have drastically changed. When I’m old and wrinkly, my tattoos might have a complete different meaning to me. The old meaning won’t disappear, but represent the history of my life. That’s low key beautiful.

[theanic-devotion]

I see it like some old drawing advice I got. Yes, you can go right into trying to have an artstyle or cartoony style when drawing people, but it helps a lot to know the basics of realistic anatomy so you know how you are changing it.

I don’t know if I worded that in a way that makes sense.

“There’s no wrong way to practice, if you want to worship, just start praying. “ and “you have to have a basic understanding of the foundation of Hellenic polytheism before you delve in” are two things that can and will coexist.

[theanic-devotion]

Ive considered myself pagan for a while, but I’ve come to a realization lately.

I’ve also recognized the influence of other religions and groups in my faith. Gnosticism, Hermeticism, Christianity, Hellenismos, etc.

Pagan hasn’t felt like the right term for a while, even though a lot of it fits me.

I think I’ve been looking at it wrong.

I’m not exactly pagan, but my faith is influenced a lot by paganism, just like any other religion/path that has inspired me.

I think I’m just kind of my own thing with various influences.

I’ve also been thinking about Druidry lately. I found out there are some monotheistic or pantheistic Druids, which I vibe with a lot. Wisdom and Nature seem like big parts of many Druid lives, which is also like,, my main religious thing.

Eh, we’ll se how this goes.

[theanic-devotion]

Any suggestions for pagan-but-not-witch/magic stuff sources or communities out there? Ones that are open to eclectic stuff and individual practice?

It’s a rare thing to find, I know, but I thought I’d ask around.

[theanic-devotion]

Maybe it’s just because like words, but there are a difference between those words. I am of the opinion that all words have history. Im not going to get angry if people use a different word, though.

Yes the paleopagans weren’t speaking English, but the words they used still have connotations and meanings.

I have to go now, but I can get examples if you want.

Can this religious community stop trying to define words for each other. Unless a word has a historical meaning, like miasma, or melam, or whatever. I mean like shrine vs altar, work with vs worship, devotee vs worshipper in relation to neo-paganism and recon/revive polytheism. Y'all realize none of them used English, the words being squabble over, right.

Like just....... can we not.

I'm seeing it everywhere and I hate it.

[theanic-devotion]

So there is soft and hard polytheism,,, is there soft and hard monotheism?

Like believing in a single deity as an archetype?

I think I kind of do that. I’m most spiritually attracted to Mary, but it’s not like I “believe” in her or Jesus as anything more than historical figures. But there is just something about Mary that I like. Maybe it’s just empathy.

Anyway, my views on the goddess are more of a soft monotheism if that makes sense. I don’t there is actually a lady in some realm or in the sky or something. I don’t even believe she is a lady. Just sort of an energy that runs through everything. It’s just feels right too look at it with feminine terms.

[theanic-devotion]

I got a dm asking for me to explain my beliefs more, so here goes my best try.

You may ask: they are my beliefs, why is it just a "best try"? Well, what makes it difficult is my beliefs are always changing. Much like the moon, I go through phases. My thoughts of religion wax and wane. Sometimes it is a potent belief, as bright as the full moon. But, sometimes it is like the new moon, there, but invisible. I have been going through a lot lately, so it has been mostly in the new moon phase.

I honestly don't know the best way to do this. My beliefs are scattered. I guess I'll start with what I think about the most: the existence of a higher power. I do believe in a higher power, so to say. I believe that the stuff that connects everything is divine. I also kind of believe in a deity, but not exactly literally. I don't think there is some sky-person out there dictating our lives. I just find it easier to think of the connecting energy personified. You can't know that deity fully, but the best you can get is a series of contradictions. Young and Old. Man and Woman. Both and None. Stuff like that. Once again, for simplicity's sake, I refer to this personification with feminine terms, just because it is what feels comfortable to me. If you want more thought processes like these, I'd look into Hermeticism and maybe Gnosticism.

Next, I think it is best to talk about how this power interacts with the world. I am a bit conflicted on this part. I want to believe that I can pray and she will intervene, but I don't know if I truly believe that. I still pray anyway, just in case. As I write this, I am thinking about it more. My original thought process was that she isn't outside of things, so she can't interfere, if that makes sense. It was more of a Deist perspective. Now, I see it more like a body. There are parts you can move, but others that just move on their own. The goddess is like the mind and we are like the body. She can interfere like broad strokes, to keep with the body metaphor, she can move the arm to avoid pain, but she can't move an organ away from a disease that has already set in.

That reminds me, a lot of my beliefs follow the Hermetic theme of "as above, so below." In other words, there are patterns throughout the layers of existence. I think this just makes sense. We can already see so many patterns, just think about what we can't see? The stuff that is bigger than us. I think it works its ways up. The atom. The molecule. The cell. The organ. The system. The organism. It just keeps getting infinitely bigger and smaller.

This next section will be about something similar to the last. It is not about the power the deity has, but the power we have as individuals. I do not believe in spells and magic. I used to, in a way, but I find it just doesn't fit with my beliefs anymore. I don't think we have abilities to affect things other than the mundane ways. That being said, I think a lot of what people consider magic is just fancy psychology. I can make a post on that later, if wanted.

Lastly, are the beliefs I know the least about. Most religions have some idea of what happens after death. I don't. Mostly, because I haven't experienced the death of someone close to me, yet. I believe our energy goes somewhere, but I was unsure of where or if it was still us. Lately, I have been faced with a close family member nearing their end, and my beliefs have changed. I now think that that energy still stays them and it is almost like a dream like state.

So that's it. My main beliefs on the divine, prayer, magic, and death. I'd say those are the core parts of most religions. If you have questions or want me to expand on anything more, just let me know and I can try. I hope you found this helpful, or at least interesting.

Best,

Caine

[theanic-devotion]

Sometimes I get jealous of organized religions not because of the normal “I want a community” stuff, but because what hundreds of years of organized religions create. Non-organized religions create them too, but organized religions stuff is what seems to stick. I long to see the temples I never got to witness. The relics, the statues, the art.

[theanic-devotion]

I miss feeling connected to my faith. I’ve been so stressed lately that I have neglected my religion. Any suggestions on what to do to get back into it?

[theanic-devotion]

Just about every "AKSHUALLY, this thing is SECRETLY PAGAN!" claim can be traced back to:

Protestants making shit up to try and "prove" whatever shit they decided to hate on was secretly Satanic.

German nationalists making shit up trying to "prove" that Christian holidays had no connection to anything Jewish.

People failing to understand that European converts to Christianity retained many of their old customs and traditions, because Jesus being Lord doesn't mean there's no dragons in that there lake or that the plant lore everybody knows is all bunk.

People making wild assumptions due to a failure to comprehend that similarities between traditions does not inherently imply connection between traditions.

[theanic-devotion]

I was so set on developing my practice and becoming a devotee, but of course am hit with an incredibly busy and stressful time and feel disconnected with my goddess. I feel like this is the time I need her most, but just haven’t had the energy to put into keeping my connection. I hate this

[theanic-devotion]

This could just be a me thing, but I thought of it this mundane before magic way because I found myself relying on magic. If something went wrong I went straight to magic, but I think something inside me went to magic because I thought I couldn’t handle it by myself. Yes, that isn’t a healthy way of thinking about things. My point is that it might not be if you believe magic, but how you believe in it.

maybe I'm just grumpy but I hate "mundane before magic". At least, I hate what it's become. now everyone (me) feels like they (I) have to do everything in their (my) power in the mundane space before they (I) can do magic about it

[theanic-devotion]

I have something to say about the whole “the gods are angry at us” thing. I see people saying the gods don’t get angry at us and that’s a very Christian thing. It’s quite the opposite historically. In ancient times the gods were seen as wrathful beings that need to be pleased so they don’t take out their anger on us mortals. From what my professor said, the idea of a kind and loving god was more of a later Christian thing. (I can talk more about this if you want but I’m trying to keep the post brief)

That being said: You don’t have to believe it just because the ancients did. You don’t have to believe anything because someone on tik tok said it. You can figure out what you believe for yourself.

[theanic-devotion]

Theanic doesn’t quite encompass what im trying to convey, so I’m thinking of picking a new word. I’ve been playing with the Latin for everything and nothing and came up with omnihlism, but I’m not sure if I like that. I could also go with the Greek and say panoudenism. I think I like the Latin more.

Theanic sounds so nice though. It just doesn’t fit with what I believe since I got it from a word for goddess. It’s a little too close to deanism, as well.

[theanic-devotion]

I know the rareness of religious experiences is part of what makes them special but damn does it feel weird and sad and disconnected when you don’t have them for a while.

[theanic-devotion]

Hello! I'm attempting to unravel my spiritual beliefs and I think ours are very similar, so I was hoping you could speak a bit more on it. I think I'm either a classical pantheist or a panentheist. I believe in a single god I call the Universe who is all.

Sure thing! I lean more towards panentheism. I believe that there might be a deity or entity out there, but the universe exist as part of that entity. I sort of see it as a series of contradictions. This entity is all, nothing, and more than all at the same time. It is both male and female and neither and both. All genders and none. If you are thinking about pantheism vs panentheism, I’d think about the nature of this universe. Is it a creation of a being? Is it part of the being? Is it the whole being? Is it the thoughts of a being? These questions might help.

Also note, how you see the entity or how you refer to it might not exactly be how you believe in it. For example, I refer to this entity as a Goddess and use she/her pronouns. This is just an aspect of a larger entity, I don’t actually believe that this entity is one gender/sex.

[theanic-devotion]

How old do you think Paganism is? Did you know that Margeret Murray, Madam Blavatsky and Gerald Gardner took part in archaeology during the early days of the study and like most rich people fucked it up? The reason why we have these ideals comes from them. The reason why people continue to say such is because the study of archaeology is relatively a new practice in a couple hundreds of years old and there's still a lot that we don't know. Pagans have looked at archaeology and fucked it up.

This sounds like a rhetorical question but I’m not sure,,, but I’m a classics major and am studying under multiple archaeologist and I absolutely know this. Even non pagan archaeologist fucked things up *cough cough Schliemann cough cough*

I’m not sure what ideals you are referring to, or what this question is referring to. My pagans could benefit from an archeology class post? My goddess worship? My research on the “Venus” figurines? Who knows