Question Collections post 38

I get a lot of questions from readers, and most of the time, the answers are fairly short. When I feel the question or the reply would be valuable to others as well, I make a post with a collection of them and post them in one go. Today is one of those posts.

"Hey! I'd really like to do short, easy rituals before I study (30 seconds or less) in dedication to Athena/Apollo (or maybe others depending on the situation) and was wondering if you had any ideas? I would mostly like to do something in terms of miniature sacrifice/self cleansing (or something similar) if possible, words never really work so well for me. Thank you so much!!"

Let me first say one thing I think is very important: Hellenismos is a religion that works on kharis--religious reciprocity. Otherwise put: you get out of it what you put in. So I am not against mini rituals atop of festival celebrations and perhaps daily rituals, but solely mini rituals...? I'm not a big fan. As for not using words: in the ancient Hellenic religion, it was important to raise one's voice when hymns were sung, and especially so when prayers were made.

That having been said, I suppose it's possible to condense the ritual down to its very bare bones:
- Set out a bowl of water
- Light a candle to Hestia with a match
- Drop the match into the bowl of water and use it as khernips or make a weekly batch on Sunday if you really want to.
- Wash your hands and face and flick the access water off over your shrine to cleanse it.
-  Say a few words to Hestia. Stick the Homeric Hymn 24 to Hestia on your wall and recite it:

"Blessed Goddess Hestia, you who tend the holy house of the lord Apollo, the Far-shooter at goodly Pytho, with soft oil dripping ever from your locks, come now into this house, come, having one mind with Zeus the all-wise—draw near, and withal bestow grace upon my song."

 

- Pour some wine out to Hestia (straight out of the bottle into the khernips bowl if you have to. This will dilute it, as it is supposed to be sacrificed).

- Recite a hymn to Athena/Apollon. You can pick a short one if you'd like and stick it up to your wall next to the hymn to Hestia.

- Pour some wine out to Athena/Apollon (straight out of the bottle into the khernips bowl if you have to. This will dilute it, as it is supposed to be sacrificed).

- Say your prayers.

- Blow out the candle and clean up.

 

I just tried it and it took me one minute and twenty-one seconds. Since thirty seconds is... not enough for pretty much anything, I'd say that is a fairly short ritual. Again, I am not a fan, but it will work.

 

~~~

 

"Hey so I was thinking about the offering the coin to Charon thing. And I how it isn't wholly the monetary value, but the act of it. And what do you think about a tattoo of a coin? Like just a small little thing so you always have the offering with you and ready to give at a moments notice?"

 

The ancient Hellenes believed that the moment a person died, their psyche--spirit--left the body in a puff or like a breath of wind. Proper burial was incredibly important to the ancient Hellenes, and to not give a loved one a fully ritualized funeral was unthinkable. It was, however, used as punishment of dead enemies, but only rarely. Funerary rites were performed solely to get the deceased into the afterlife, and everyone who passed away was prepared for burial according to time-honoured rituals. As part of thse rituals, a coin could be presented to the dead, and laid under or below the tongue, or even on the eyes, as payment to Kharon.

 

This ritual was widespread in literature, but archareological evidence tells us it didn't always happen. In fact, only a small percentage (only about 5 to 10 percent) of known ancient Hellenic burials contain coins. Among these there are widespread examples of a single coin positioned in the mouth of a skull or with cremation remains.

 

The coin for Kharon is conventionally referred to in Hellenic literature as an obolos (ὀβολός), one of the basic denominations of ancient Hellenic coinage, worth one-sixth of a drachma, or other relatively small-denomination gold, silver, bronze or copper coin in local use. You are, thus, right that it wasn't solely abou the monetary value, but it was definitey something that had to have monetary value. It was also something that you could 'physically' give to Kharon. It as payment, after all: 'I give you this coin and you don't leave me stranded on the banks of the river Akheron to wander around as a shade for all eternity'.

 

So, the coin was not standard practice, but if you would like to have one, tell your family or have it registered. I'm not sure how it is in other countries, but here in the Netherlands, we have insurance to pay for our funeral when we go. As part of that, we get to fill in our wishes for the funeral itself. Get it recorded that you want to be buried with a coin you buy off the internet, or a low value coin of your local currency, in your mouth. Personally, I don't think a coin tattoo will work, not even if you have it tattooed on your tongue.

 

~~~

 

"Do you think it's possible to practice witchcraft and Hellenic polytheism respectfully?"

 

I... think that depends on your goal. If you mean a Recon approach to Hellenismos coupled with the modern practice of Witchcraft, based on the work of Crowley and Gardner, then no, I do not think that is possible. the two are entirely incompatible. If you want to practice a version of Reformed Hellenic Polytheism combined with modern witchcraft then.... it does not have my personal preference but it could work. If you want to practice Traditional Hellenismos with ancient Hellenic witchcraft then... yeah, I think that could be done respectfully.

 

Something I often hear about the ancient Hellenic religion, and prescribed about its modern equivalent, is that there was no magic in ancient Hellas. This is true. It's also a lie. It all depends on your definition of magic, and for the purpose of this reply, we are going to see magic as a form of prayer and ritual, conducted outside of the usual ritual steps. The Theoi were always invoked, but for magic, the sacrifices were usually to the khthonic, or Underworld Gods.

 

The ancient Hellenes were a competitive people, and struggled with many of the issues we do today: the urge to perform well, the desire for justice to be served, and a need for love. Prayers for these things were made often, usually in their normal ritualized form at the house altar. If these requests were made against, or at the expense of another person, however, they were generally taken out of the realm of regular worship and kharis, and into the realm of the khthonic. The preferred form were katadesmoi.

Katadesmoi are relatively small tablets, inscribed with a desire asked of the Theoi to fulfil. The Katadesmoi that have survived were generally made out of very thin sheets of lead, which were then rolled, folded or pierced with nails. Wax, papyrus, stone, precious metals, and precious minerals would also have been used as a medium. Some katadesmoi were accompanied by a small doll representing the intended victim or even a lock of their hair, especially in the case of love spells. Katadesmoi were usually deposited where they would be closest to the Underworld: in chasms, pools of water, wells, caves, temples to the deity in question, buried underground, or placed in graves. In general, the katadesmoi always included the name of the intended victim and the name(s) of the appropriated Gods--most often Hades, Kharon, Hekate, and Persephone. Exceptions have been found, of course.

In general, katadesmoi were used out of desperation: regular channels had been exhausted, human courts would never convict the perpetrator of a crime, or the murderer could no be found. Pleading with the Gods--who knew more, saw more, had a much farther reach--was considered the only alternative to get justice. This was even the case in many love spells. Katadesmoi were not made willy-nilly: there needed to be a strong incentive to make one.

 

So I think you can practice witchcraft and Hellenismos, but no, I don't believe modern witchcraft and Hellenismos are compatible and I have exlained why before.

~~~

"I do oracle readings to communicate to aphro/apollo but I fear that most of my readings can get invaded is there a secret password I can use to tell if it's them and how can I do this?"

Yeah... sadly, you can't. I'm curious, though: who or what do you think might 'invade' your readings?
Divination played a fairly large role in Hellenic every day life, even though divination of any kind was rarely turned to to predict the future. To desire knowledge of the future was considered hubris. Instead, oracles and seers were petitioned to help answer questions about the present or to advice on a decision which had to be made in the very near future. 'Shall I go to war?', ' Shall I put my sheep out on the high pasture?'. Most often, oracular questions were posed in a way which made it easy for the God(dess)--and the seer--to answer; they did not ask 'Shall I go to war?', they asked 'Don't you think I ought to go to war?'. Most likely, the answer of seers (and perhaps even oracles) depended on the offertory; if it was large enough, the answer was 'yes', if the offertory was dissatisfactory, the answer would be 'no'.

Oracles given directly, like at Delphi, were rare and called chesmomancy. All other forms of divination practiced in ancient Hellas were performed by seers, not oracles. Seer staples were divination through the spotting of birds (ornithomancy and augury), dream interpretation (oneiromancy) and animal sacrifice (hieromancy, haruspicy, empyromancy and extispicy) but other forms of divination were definitely used, including cledonomancy (listening to words spoken by a crowd), oneiromancy (divination through the reading of birthmarks) and Phyllorhodomancy, the reading of the sound rose petals make when slapping them together with your hands. The biggest difference between oracles and seers was that oracles gave long answers which usually needed some for of interpretation while seers usually answered yes-or-no questions.

Many divinatory practices remain today but most modern Hellenics divine differently than the Hellens of old. Tarot has become a staple in divination, for example. On very, very, very, rare occasions I do divinatory readings for myself or others, though mostly for others. These readings are done with my Olympus Tarot or through ornithomancy, something I am still developing but which I am slowly getting better at. Reading is morally complicated for me. It is hard to balance the line between helpful and hubris. I'm not an oracle, I'm not even a seer. At most I am someone with good meditative abilities and a pack of tarot cards I can read instinctively. I have very clear ideas on the interpretation of signs and they always play through my mind before I start. Once I start reciting hymns, though, and giving sacrifice, my doubts fade. There is no room for them.

At the end of the day, you present your reading and you hope it's truthful. That whoever gave it decided to give you the (full) truth and that you interpreted things correctly. There is a reason I think divination of any type is not something to be messed with and taken as advice at best: you never truly know how much truth is in it. 

• Tuesday, September 28, 2021
  ancient Hellenic culture death Eclectic Witchcraft Hellenismos 101 Kharon Oracles personal Question Collections Post requested post

Question Collections post 37

 I get a lot of questions from readers, and most of the time, the answers are fairly short. When I feel the question or the reply would be valuable to others as well, I make a post with a collection of them and post them in one go. Today is one of those posts.

"What do you think of offering beer to the Theoi?"

Beer has been around for a very long time, at least six thousand years, although the art of beer-making could date back as far as fifteen thousand years ago. The ancient Hellenes certainly were not the ones who invented it. Most likely, it travelled to them by way of the Egypt, but the Egyptians could probably trace the art back to Mesopotamia. A four thousand year old seal to the Goddess Ninkasi--the Goddess of beer--has been found, which is as well a hymn to Her as a recipe for beer.

The beer that was drunk by the ancient Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Greeks--or anyone else, really--had very little to do with the beer we pick up at the grocery store today. They share the same base component--fermented barley--but that's about it. Ancient records ascribed to the following method of creating beer, which is somewhat similar to modern day practices, but vary greatly in execution:

According to Athenaeus Naucratis, a Hellenic rhetorician and grammarian, a grain, typically barley but also millet, rye and wheat, was malted. The grain was dampened with water and allowed to germinate. Nature took its course to converted some of the starches into fermentable sugars and the resulting malt was heated to dry it. The dried malt was often shaped into loafs which were then backed for a small amount of time. These loaves were crumbled, mixed with cereals, and then soaked overnight. To add flavor, spices, honey, dates or other types of sweeteners were used. After the mash had fermented, the liquid contained roughly six to twelve percent alcohol and was sucked out of large bowls with straws, because the gruel-like mash was left in.

Depending on the country or region of origin, the ancient Hellenes knew a wide variety of beers, all mixed slightly differently. Zythos (ζῦθος) came from Egypt. The beer or barley-wine of Crete was known as 'korma' (κόρμα) or 'kourmi' (κοῦρμι). A similar beverage was known in the north of Hellas and in Asia Minor under the name of 'βρῦτον', which simply means 'fermented' or 'something brewed', being made of barley by the Phrygians and Paeonians, of barley or of roots by the Thracians, while the Paeonians also made another mixture which they called 'παραβίας' or 'παραβίη' from millet and fleabane for which I have no translation.

The Roman Plinius reported of the popularity of beer in the Mediterranean area before wine took hold, but the Hellenes were much bigger fans of the fermented grape than fermented barley. Still, the ancient Hellenes associated beer with the Theoi. Dionysos was lauded for the drink, but the prime Theos of beer was (and is) Seilenos (Σειληνός), foster-father of Dionysos and son of Hermes. Please note that the preferred drink of Demeter, Kykeon, which is also made with barley, was not fermented and does not contain alcohol.

Within modern Hellenistic practice, beer is most likely not a suitable offering for the Theoi, and should not replace wine offerings. Even in ancient Hellas, beer was viewed as inferior and barbaric. Peasants drank it, as it was a lot cheaper than wine, but that's about it. On principle, I'm against offering anything sub-par to the Theoi, even if the modern process has made the drink a lot more palatable. Still, it's good to know the ancient Hellenes had options, although getting drunk was frowned upon even if you drank beer.

~~~

"Read on your blog that your Hellenistic has, in a way, freed you from certain aspects of witchcraft. I’m intrigued, can you explain? Of course its personal to you and wont apply to all, but I feel like you probably have interesting points to raise."

In my twenty-three years of practice, I have progressed at least four times; from Neo-Wicca to Technopaganism, from Technopaganism to Hedgewitchery, from Hedgewitchery to Eclectic Religious Witchcraft and from Eclectic Religious Witchcraft on to Hellenismos. Some were easy, some a good lot harder to reconcile with my heart and mind.

 

Progression is never easy as you do step away from a practice you have spent many years building. It takes a lot of guts to finally admit your current practice is not for you anymore. It’s a process. It’s generally not a sudden thing that happens (although for some, it might be).

All the times I’ve progressed, it has been a relief. I took all I had learned with me into my next step of religious evolution. I never looked for a new home, but every time I progressed, it was a new homecoming.

Religion is the process of finding personal truth. For me, it’s also a way to reconcile my many thoughts about Divinity with the experiences I have had with it. Which practices I use gives me a framework to do what I feel that needs to be done. I can still do Neo-Wiccan and Eclectic ritual; I have the tools, the knowledge and the faith in the God and Goddess but the Theoi are the Gods that bring me closer to myself and the world around me. That particular framework gives me everything I have ever wished my pervious practices were–and that is why it was natural for me to progress into it.

I practiced Eclectic Religious Witchcraft for about seven years. I was initiated into a coven and initiated others. I was a priestess with a specialization in the ancient Hellenic pantheon. I summoned the Theoi into circles, bastardized Their festivals to suite the Pagan way of practice and circle of the year, and did a lot of research. I have always liked research.

The last year or so of my practice, I behun to feel uneasy as I summoned the Theoi. I had begun to understand the ways of the ancient Hellenes and realized that I was not worhipping the Theoi, I was abusing them. This became my personal truth. I felt it down to my bones. Then I had a UPG experience–two actually. Both shook me to my very foundation. One was during a ritual to Dionysos, and He tapped me upside the head so hard that I was out of sorts for days. Dionysos takes no shit from anyone, and most certainly not a snot nosed kid like me who tried to summon Him into a circle. Then, two days after, I had a UPG experience with Hecate, during the new moon. I’m not going to go into details but let me suffice by saying she was kinder about it and gave me a mission: to build a temple. I thought she meant an actual temple, now, years later, I know she meant my personal practice in combination with the blog and the work I do for Elaion.

Progressing into Hellenismos at break-neck speed (I started Baring the Aegis about two or three days before actually progressing) has been the wildest ride of my life. The break with Eclectic Religious Witchcraft was painful. It meant leaving so much of myself behind. And yet, I am better for it, because the more I learned, the more I came to realize that Hellenismos was what I had been searching for my entire life. A religion with a set fromawerk that was not a modern invention but founded upon religious truths that carried across most ancient religion; an intricate web of trust and love between mortal and the divine.

Has progression freed me from anything? Yes, I suppose. My guilt and shame over the way I treated the Theoi, for one. It has given me a religious home and through it, I have met so many beautiful people, amongst which my best friend and spiritual and religious partner Robert Clark, co-founder of Elaion. I have been fortunate enough to fulfill much of the mission Hekate has put me on eleven years ago and I am proud and happy about that. But mostly… mostly progressing into Hellenismos was inevitable. It’s where I belong. It’s my home, and I doubt that will ever change.

• Wednesday, September 22, 2021
  ancient Hellenic culture Eclectic Witchcraft Paganism personal Question Collections Post requested post

The lure of the old

You know, sometimes I miss Witchcraft. Not so much the actual practice of it but the emotion of it. Let me be very clear in saying that Hellenismos is where I belong and it's not even a contest if I will remain in it. It's a religion in which I can put plenty of emotion, even in its repetitiveness. To follow the same cycle every day and every year brings with it a stability, a depth of understanding and a connectiveness I have never experienced in Witchcraft. But it's not 'sexy'; it's not exciting. It's not full of midnight rites with too many candles and too much incense and that one smoke detector you forgot to turn off. It's not putting together rituals that are full of flair and creating circles that you just have to take a picture of and show all your witch friends because it was just so darn pretty.

Every now and again, I really, really miss Witchcraft. It usually happens when I am thinking of stories (I write, trying to become a writer at least part-time if not full time). A lot of them have supernatural elements in them and they rely heavily on my knowledge of ancient mythical systems and occult history. History was always my speciality--history and reasearching it. When I write is when I break out my old books on Witchcraft--the ones I kept, anyway. The ones that either inspire me (even if they are super bad and inaccurate) or the ones that are simply so good that you can find anything in them you need (written by the Parker's of Witchcraft and Wicca). Reading all this faux-history, fanciful origin stories and in-depth knowledge always gives me a thrill. It did that when I was twelve years old and it still does that now I am about to turn thirty-one.

I think it, in part, has to do with how long I practiced it and when. I became a Witch in my teens, at the height of needing something to hold on to and identify with. Witchcraft was my perfect rebellion but even more so, my perfect getaway. It gave me a sense of control over my life that I had to give up once I realized you can't rule over and force the Gods. When I submitted myself to Their counsel, I gave up that power. When times get busy as they are now, and the world becomes a bit too scary a place, I long to have that sense of power back and the escape Witchcraft offered me. The safety of believing you could directly influence your fate--and I still think you can, I just choose to submit instead.

Funnily enough, I find safety in submitting, too. I control my part of my relationship with the Theoi through my practice and establishing kharis. In return, I trust Them to know what I could not possibly have known as a Witch and let Them set my course instead of forcing it. And my life has become so much better and more stable since. Even funnier: I have found I can find that same sense of escapism I found in Witchcraft in any hobby. I can go out and play Pokemon Go for an hour to forget about another bombing. I can go for a run to get out work stress. I can read the night away and feel filled with the bewonderment of the world created by another.

I was a Witch through many of my formative years and it has most certainly shaped me. It's a beautiful Tradition and one can put into and get out of it anything one might desire. It's unique in that perspective. It is completely free and completely fluid. I both loved that about it and hated it for it. It's exactly why I got out of it and it's also exactly why I still long for it sometimes. But it is a fleeting desire because this depth of religious experience I experience in Hellenismos, the purpose it gives me and the stability are far more valuable to me.

I could never live without the Theoi and honouring Them traditionally, but I gave up Witchcraft within only a few days time. This is my religious home. And when I long for Witchcraft, I read, or write a post about it like now and it'll leave my system. Because at the end of the day, I belong to the Theoi, solely. As it should be.

• Friday, July 22, 2016
  Eclectic Witchcraft Paganism personal

Examples of why modern Witchcraft and Hellenismos aren't compatible

I get a lot of questions about practicing modern Witchcraft and Hellenismos at the same time. I, well, I'm not for that. In that link, you will find my generalized reasons why, based on the ancient ways, but I want to show you why it doesn't work (in my opinion, of course) from a modern standpoint.

Here is a disclaimer first: I am not an authority on anything but I have been a practicioner and teacher of Hellenismos for nearly five years now and before that, I practiced and taught as an Eclectic Religious Witch. I was initiated in a long running line here in The Netherlands and practiced in a coven. I taught 'meditation' and 'history of witchcraft' classes and was quite active both online and in my local community, organising rituals for the eight yearly feasts. The point is: I know both sides of the coin.

I came across a Tumblr post a while ago. It read the following and shows exactly where the rub is with combining the two, because this is actually very accurate in terms of modern Witchcraft:

"Tips for writing spells:

If you want to keep something close, bury it in your back yard.
 If you want to attract something, bury it under the front door step
 If you want to destroy its influence, burn it.
 If you want it to move away and sink, throw it in running water
 If you want to disperse it to a distance, throw it into a crossroads
 If you want to fix its influence, inter it in a five-spot pattern
 If you want it to work by means of spirits, bury it in a graveyard
 If you want to hide its point of origin, conceal it in a tree
 If you want it to work in secret, give it in food or drink
 If you want it to work by stealth, hide it in clothing or on objects
 If you want its influence to begin or strengthen, throw it East
 If you want its influence to end or weaken, throw it West
 If you want its influence to rise and fall cyclicly, float it in a tidal estuary"

Now let me make the Hellenic version for you, which won't get you spells but the religious and mythological 'rules' of our religion:

"If you want remove something from your life and household, bury it in your back yard.
 Don't ever bury anything under the front door step, it'll keep miasma trapped
 If you want to sacrifice something to the Theoi, burn it.
 Don't polute any body of water, this is where the Naiad house
Sacrifice to Hekate at a crossroads for fortune and purification for your family
 A five-spot pattern means nothing in Hellenismos
 Graveyards are miasmic. Spirits need to be appeased but never 'worked with' to prevent miasma
 Don't polute any tree or woodland, this is where the Dryads house
 Giving anything in food or drink might give you a belly ache if it's not to be consumed
 Hiding anything in clothing or on objects will do absolutely nothing
 East is the territory of Euros and considered unlucky
 West is the territory of Zephyros, the gentlest of the winds, the fructifying wind and the messenger of spring
 The ancient Hellenes were sailors and knew that if it ended up in the sea, it stayed in the sea. If it was alive before, it died"

So, literally every single point of truth in modern Witchcraft has the reverse truth in Hellenismos. This is why, in my opinion, it simply does not work to practice the two simultaniously. It can't be done in good concience. Even if you practice the two without overlap, it would two entirely different mindsets that you would have to switch between any time you practice one of the two. I believe--I practice--Hellenismos as a way of life. It's soaked into everything. Because of that, I had to get out of Witchcraft once I progressed into Hellenismos. I hope this clarifies my views some.

• Sunday, March 13, 2016
  ancient Hellenic culture Eclectic Witchcraft Mythology 101 Paganism personal requested post

Question Collections post 38

I get a lot of questions from readers, and most of the time, the answers are fairly short. When I feel the question or the reply would be valuable to others as well, I make a post with a collection of them and post them in one go. Today is one of those posts.

"Hey! I'd really like to do short, easy rituals before I study (30 seconds or less) in dedication to Athena/Apollo (or maybe others depending on the situation) and was wondering if you had any ideas? I would mostly like to do something in terms of miniature sacrifice/self cleansing (or something similar) if possible, words never really work so well for me. Thank you so much!!"

Let me first say one thing I think is very important: Hellenismos is a religion that works on kharis--religious reciprocity. Otherwise put: you get out of it what you put in. So I am not against mini rituals atop of festival celebrations and perhaps daily rituals, but solely mini rituals...? I'm not a big fan. As for not using words: in the ancient Hellenic religion, it was important to raise one's voice when hymns were sung, and especially so when prayers were made.

That having been said, I suppose it's possible to condense the ritual down to its very bare bones:
- Set out a bowl of water
- Light a candle to Hestia with a match
- Drop the match into the bowl of water and use it as khernips or make a weekly batch on Sunday if you really want to.
- Wash your hands and face and flick the access water off over your shrine to cleanse it.
-  Say a few words to Hestia. Stick the Homeric Hymn 24 to Hestia on your wall and recite it:

"Blessed Goddess Hestia, you who tend the holy house of the lord Apollo, the Far-shooter at goodly Pytho, with soft oil dripping ever from your locks, come now into this house, come, having one mind with Zeus the all-wise—draw near, and withal bestow grace upon my song."

 

- Pour some wine out to Hestia (straight out of the bottle into the khernips bowl if you have to. This will dilute it, as it is supposed to be sacrificed).

- Recite a hymn to Athena/Apollon. You can pick a short one if you'd like and stick it up to your wall next to the hymn to Hestia.

- Pour some wine out to Athena/Apollon (straight out of the bottle into the khernips bowl if you have to. This will dilute it, as it is supposed to be sacrificed).

- Say your prayers.

- Blow out the candle and clean up.

 

I just tried it and it took me one minute and twenty-one seconds. Since thirty seconds is... not enough for pretty much anything, I'd say that is a fairly short ritual. Again, I am not a fan, but it will work.

 

~~~

 

"Hey so I was thinking about the offering the coin to Charon thing. And I how it isn't wholly the monetary value, but the act of it. And what do you think about a tattoo of a coin? Like just a small little thing so you always have the offering with you and ready to give at a moments notice?"

 

The ancient Hellenes believed that the moment a person died, their psyche--spirit--left the body in a puff or like a breath of wind. Proper burial was incredibly important to the ancient Hellenes, and to not give a loved one a fully ritualized funeral was unthinkable. It was, however, used as punishment of dead enemies, but only rarely. Funerary rites were performed solely to get the deceased into the afterlife, and everyone who passed away was prepared for burial according to time-honoured rituals. As part of thse rituals, a coin could be presented to the dead, and laid under or below the tongue, or even on the eyes, as payment to Kharon.

 

This ritual was widespread in literature, but archareological evidence tells us it didn't always happen. In fact, only a small percentage (only about 5 to 10 percent) of known ancient Hellenic burials contain coins. Among these there are widespread examples of a single coin positioned in the mouth of a skull or with cremation remains.

 

The coin for Kharon is conventionally referred to in Hellenic literature as an obolos (ὀβολός), one of the basic denominations of ancient Hellenic coinage, worth one-sixth of a drachma, or other relatively small-denomination gold, silver, bronze or copper coin in local use. You are, thus, right that it wasn't solely abou the monetary value, but it was definitey something that had to have monetary value. It was also something that you could 'physically' give to Kharon. It as payment, after all: 'I give you this coin and you don't leave me stranded on the banks of the river Akheron to wander around as a shade for all eternity'.

 

So, the coin was not standard practice, but if you would like to have one, tell your family or have it registered. I'm not sure how it is in other countries, but here in the Netherlands, we have insurance to pay for our funeral when we go. As part of that, we get to fill in our wishes for the funeral itself. Get it recorded that you want to be buried with a coin you buy off the internet, or a low value coin of your local currency, in your mouth. Personally, I don't think a coin tattoo will work, not even if you have it tattooed on your tongue.

 

~~~

 

"Do you think it's possible to practice witchcraft and Hellenic polytheism respectfully?"

 

I... think that depends on your goal. If you mean a Recon approach to Hellenismos coupled with the modern practice of Witchcraft, based on the work of Crowley and Gardner, then no, I do not think that is possible. the two are entirely incompatible. If you want to practice a version of Reformed Hellenic Polytheism combined with modern witchcraft then.... it does not have my personal preference but it could work. If you want to practice Traditional Hellenismos with ancient Hellenic witchcraft then... yeah, I think that could be done respectfully.

 

Something I often hear about the ancient Hellenic religion, and prescribed about its modern equivalent, is that there was no magic in ancient Hellas. This is true. It's also a lie. It all depends on your definition of magic, and for the purpose of this reply, we are going to see magic as a form of prayer and ritual, conducted outside of the usual ritual steps. The Theoi were always invoked, but for magic, the sacrifices were usually to the khthonic, or Underworld Gods.

 

The ancient Hellenes were a competitive people, and struggled with many of the issues we do today: the urge to perform well, the desire for justice to be served, and a need for love. Prayers for these things were made often, usually in their normal ritualized form at the house altar. If these requests were made against, or at the expense of another person, however, they were generally taken out of the realm of regular worship and kharis, and into the realm of the khthonic. The preferred form were katadesmoi.

Katadesmoi are relatively small tablets, inscribed with a desire asked of the Theoi to fulfil. The Katadesmoi that have survived were generally made out of very thin sheets of lead, which were then rolled, folded or pierced with nails. Wax, papyrus, stone, precious metals, and precious minerals would also have been used as a medium. Some katadesmoi were accompanied by a small doll representing the intended victim or even a lock of their hair, especially in the case of love spells. Katadesmoi were usually deposited where they would be closest to the Underworld: in chasms, pools of water, wells, caves, temples to the deity in question, buried underground, or placed in graves. In general, the katadesmoi always included the name of the intended victim and the name(s) of the appropriated Gods--most often Hades, Kharon, Hekate, and Persephone. Exceptions have been found, of course.

In general, katadesmoi were used out of desperation: regular channels had been exhausted, human courts would never convict the perpetrator of a crime, or the murderer could no be found. Pleading with the Gods--who knew more, saw more, had a much farther reach--was considered the only alternative to get justice. This was even the case in many love spells. Katadesmoi were not made willy-nilly: there needed to be a strong incentive to make one.

 

So I think you can practice witchcraft and Hellenismos, but no, I don't believe modern witchcraft and Hellenismos are compatible and I have exlained why before.

~~~

"I do oracle readings to communicate to aphro/apollo but I fear that most of my readings can get invaded is there a secret password I can use to tell if it's them and how can I do this?"

Yeah... sadly, you can't. I'm curious, though: who or what do you think might 'invade' your readings?
Divination played a fairly large role in Hellenic every day life, even though divination of any kind was rarely turned to to predict the future. To desire knowledge of the future was considered hubris. Instead, oracles and seers were petitioned to help answer questions about the present or to advice on a decision which had to be made in the very near future. 'Shall I go to war?', ' Shall I put my sheep out on the high pasture?'. Most often, oracular questions were posed in a way which made it easy for the God(dess)--and the seer--to answer; they did not ask 'Shall I go to war?', they asked 'Don't you think I ought to go to war?'. Most likely, the answer of seers (and perhaps even oracles) depended on the offertory; if it was large enough, the answer was 'yes', if the offertory was dissatisfactory, the answer would be 'no'.

Oracles given directly, like at Delphi, were rare and called chesmomancy. All other forms of divination practiced in ancient Hellas were performed by seers, not oracles. Seer staples were divination through the spotting of birds (ornithomancy and augury), dream interpretation (oneiromancy) and animal sacrifice (hieromancy, haruspicy, empyromancy and extispicy) but other forms of divination were definitely used, including cledonomancy (listening to words spoken by a crowd), oneiromancy (divination through the reading of birthmarks) and Phyllorhodomancy, the reading of the sound rose petals make when slapping them together with your hands. The biggest difference between oracles and seers was that oracles gave long answers which usually needed some for of interpretation while seers usually answered yes-or-no questions.

Many divinatory practices remain today but most modern Hellenics divine differently than the Hellens of old. Tarot has become a staple in divination, for example. On very, very, very, rare occasions I do divinatory readings for myself or others, though mostly for others. These readings are done with my Olympus Tarot or through ornithomancy, something I am still developing but which I am slowly getting better at. Reading is morally complicated for me. It is hard to balance the line between helpful and hubris. I'm not an oracle, I'm not even a seer. At most I am someone with good meditative abilities and a pack of tarot cards I can read instinctively. I have very clear ideas on the interpretation of signs and they always play through my mind before I start. Once I start reciting hymns, though, and giving sacrifice, my doubts fade. There is no room for them.

At the end of the day, you present your reading and you hope it's truthful. That whoever gave it decided to give you the (full) truth and that you interpreted things correctly. There is a reason I think divination of any type is not something to be messed with and taken as advice at best: you never truly know how much truth is in it. 

• Monday, February 29, 2016
  ancient Hellenic culture death Eclectic Witchcraft Hellenismos 101 Kharon Oracles personal Question Collections Post requested post

Question Collections post 37

I get a lot of questions from readers, and most of the time, the answers are fairly short. When I feel the question or the reply would be valuable to others as well, I make a post with a collection of them and post them in one go. Today is one of those posts.

"What do you think of offering beer to the Theoi?"

Beer has been around for a very long time, at least six thousand years, although the art of beer-making could date back as far as fifteen thousand years ago. The ancient Hellenes certainly were not the ones who invented it. Most likely, it travelled to them by way of the Egypt, but the Egyptians could probably trace the art back to Mesopotamia. A four thousand year old seal to the Goddess Ninkasi--the Goddess of beer--has been found, which is as well a hymn to Her as a recipe for beer.

The beer that was drunk by the ancient Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Greeks--or anyone else, really--had very little to do with the beer we pick up at the grocery store today. They share the same base component--fermented barley--but that's about it. Ancient records ascribed to the following method of creating beer, which is somewhat similar to modern day practices, but vary greatly in execution:

According to Athenaeus Naucratis, a Hellenic rhetorician and grammarian, a grain, typically barley but also millet, rye and wheat, was malted. The grain was dampened with water and allowed to germinate. Nature took its course to converted some of the starches into fermentable sugars and the resulting malt was heated to dry it. The dried malt was often shaped into loafs which were then backed for a small amount of time. These loaves were crumbled, mixed with cereals, and then soaked overnight. To add flavor, spices, honey, dates or other types of sweeteners were used. After the mash had fermented, the liquid contained roughly six to twelve percent alcohol and was sucked out of large bowls with straws, because the gruel-like mash was left in.

Depending on the country or region of origin, the ancient Hellenes knew a wide variety of beers, all mixed slightly differently. Zythos (ζῦθος) came from Egypt. The beer or barley-wine of Crete was known as 'korma' (κόρμα) or 'kourmi' (κοῦρμι). A similar beverage was known in the north of Hellas and in Asia Minor under the name of 'βρῦτον', which simply means 'fermented' or 'something brewed', being made of barley by the Phrygians and Paeonians, of barley or of roots by the Thracians, while the Paeonians also made another mixture which they called 'παραβίας' or 'παραβίη' from millet and fleabane for which I have no translation.

The Roman Plinius reported of the popularity of beer in the Mediterranean area before wine took hold, but the Hellenes were much bigger fans of the fermented grape than fermented barley. Still, the ancient Hellenes associated beer with the Theoi. Dionysos was lauded for the drink, but the prime Theos of beer was (and is) Seilenos (Σειληνός), foster-father of Dionysos and son of Hermes. Please note that the preferred drink of Demeter, Kykeon, which is also made with barley, was not fermented and does not contain alcohol.

Within modern Hellenistic practice, beer is most likely not a suitable offering for the Theoi, and should not replace wine offerings. Even in ancient Hellas, beer was viewed as inferior and barbaric. Peasants drank it, as it was a lot cheaper than wine, but that's about it. On principle, I'm against offering anything sub-par to the Theoi, even if the modern process has made the drink a lot more palatable. Still, it's good to know the ancient Hellenes had options, although getting drunk was frowned upon even if you drank beer.

~~~

"Read on your blog that your Hellenistic has, in a way, freed you from certain aspects of witchcraft. I’m intrigued, can you explain? Of course its personal to you and wont apply to all, but I feel like you probably have interesting points to raise."

In my seventeen years of practice, I have progressed at least four times; from Neo-Wicca to Technopaganism, from Technopaganism to Hedgewitchery, from Hedgewitchery to Eclectic Religious Witchcraft and from Eclectic Religious Witchcraft on to Hellenismos. Some were easy, some a good lot harder to reconcile with my heart and mind.

 

Progression is never easy as you do step away from a practice you have spent many years building. It takes a lot of guts to finally admit your current practice is not for you anymore. It’s a process. It’s generally not a sudden thing that happens (although for some, it might be).

All the times I’ve progressed, it has been a relief. I took all I had learned with me into my next step of religious evolution. I never looked for a new home, but every time I progressed, it was a new homecoming.

Religion is the process of finding personal truth. For me, it’s also a way to reconcile my many thoughts about Divinity with the experiences I have had with it. Which practices I use gives me a framework to do what I feel that needs to be done. I can still do Neo-Wiccan and Eclectic ritual; I have the tools, the knowledge and the faith in the God and Goddess but the Theoi are the Gods that bring me closer to myself and the world around me. That particular framework gives me everything I have ever wished my pervious practices were–and that is why it was natural for me to progress into it.

I practiced Eclectic Religious Witchcraft for about seven years, longer than anything else in my life. I was initiated into a coven and initiated others. I was a priestess with a specialization in the ancient Hellenic pantheon. I summoned the Theoi into circles, bastardized Their festivals to suite the Pagan way of practice and circle of the year, and did a lot of research. I have always liked research.

The last year or so of my practice, I behun to feel uneasy as I summoned the Theoi. I had begun to understand the ways of the ancient Hellenes and realized that I was not worhipping the Theoi, I was abusing them. This became my personal truth. I felt it down to my bones. Then I had a UPG experience–two actually. Both shook me to my very foundation. One was during a ritual to Dionysos, and He tapped me upside the head so hard that I was out of sorts for days. Dionysos takes no shit from anyone, and most certainly not a snot nosed kid like me who tried to summon Him into a circle. Then, two days after, I had a UPG experience with Hecate, during the new moon. I’m not going to go into details but let me suffice by saying she was kinder about it and gave me a mission: to build a temple. I thought she meant an actual temple, now, years later, I know she meant my personal practice in combination with the blog and the work I do for Elaion.

Progressing into Hellenismos at break-neck speed (I started Baring the Aegis about tow or three days before actually progressing) has been the wildest ride of my life. The break with Eclectic Religious Witchcraft was painful. It meant leaving so much of myself behind. And yet, I am better for it, because the more I learned, the more I came to realize that Hellenismos was what I had been searching for my entire life. A religion with a set fromawerk that was not a modern invention but founded upon religious truths that carried across most ancient religion; an intricate web of trust and love between mortal and the divine.

Has progression freed me from anything? Yes, I suppose. My guilt and shame over the way I treated the Theoi, for one. It has given me a religious home and through it, I have met so many beautiful people, amongst which my best friend and spiritual and religious partner Robert Clark, co-founder of Elaion. I have been fortunate enough to fulfill much of the mission Hekate has put me on five years ago and I am proud and happy about that. But mostly… mostly progressing into Hellenismos was inevitable. It’s where I belong. It’s my home, and I doubt that will ever change.

• Wednesday, February 24, 2016
  ancient Hellenic culture Eclectic Witchcraft Paganism personal Question Collections Post requested post

Magic in Hellenismos?

This blog is very lite on talk of magic, and that is for good reason: I am of the rather strong opinion that modern witchcraft has no place in Hellenismos--especially when that witchcraft is defined as acts which allow humanity influence over their lives and those of others, outside of the realm of the Gods. I call anything else 'praying', and if you need tools for that, than I take no issue besides the fact that it's non-Traditional--save for when it is. Recently I was asked about magic, though, so I've collected some existing words from this blog into a more cohesive blogpost on the subject. The question was:

"Did the ancient Hellenes practice magick? Is it ok to practice magick as a Hellenic polytheist? If so, is it then better to keep the Theoi out of the practice even though it involves their relms for example Poseidon and sea magic or Demeter and earth magic. Why is this a taboo subject in Hellenismos but not in Asatru for example. The Nordic people saw their Gods as the source of magic. Is this opposed to our ideas of the nature of the Theoi? Yet again we can never know their true nature."

Something I often hear about the ancient Hellenic religion, and prescribed about its modern equivalent, is that there was no magic in ancient Hellas. This is true. It's also a lie. It all depends on your definition of magic, and for the purpose of this reply, we are going to see magic as a form of prayer and ritual, conducted outside of the usual ritual steps. The Theoi were always invoked, but for magic, the sacrifices were usually to the khthonic, or Underworld Gods. When reading this post about a very specific subset of this type of magic, try to disassociate it with the modern use of the word: the same goes for 'spells', 'cursing', and 'binding'.

The ancient Hellenes were a competitive people, and struggled with many of the issues we do today: the urge to perform well, the desire for justice to be served, and a need for love. Prayers for these things were made often, usually in their normal ritualized form at the house altar. If these requests were made against, or at the expense of another person, however, they were generally taken out of the realm of regular worship and kharis, and into the realm of the khthonic. The preferred form were katadesmoi.

Katadesmoi are relatively small tablets, inscribed with a desire asked of the Theoi to fulfil. The Katadesmoi that have survived were generally made out of very thin sheets of lead, which were then rolled, folded or pierced with nails. Wax, papyrus, stone, precious metals, and precious minerals would also have been used as a medium. Some katadesmoi were accompanied by a small doll representing the intended victim or even a lock of their hair, especially in the case of love spells. In general, the katadesmoi always included the name of the intended victim and the name(s) of the appropriated Gods--most often Hades, Kharon, Hekate, and Persephone. Exceptions have been found, of course.

There have been around 1600 katadesmoi found around the whole of Hellas, and the practice was wide-spread. In fact, for the Olympic Games, competitors had to vow to Olympian Zeus that they would not cheat, and curse their opponents. Divine retribution would befall those competitors who did. A large percentage of the katadesmoi found contained love spells ("I want [name] to love me beyond all others"), or legal desires ("May [name] stumble on his words in defence of himself"), but many other ill wishes have been found.

Katadesmoi were usually deposited where they would be closest to the Underworld: in chasms, pools of water, wells, caves, temples to the deity in question, buried underground, or placed in graves. The latter was usually a special form, however, and the katadesmoi placed with the dead were usually requests to avenge the death of the deceased.

In general, katadesmoi were used out of desperation: regular channels had been exhausted, human courts would never convict the perpetrator of a crime, or the murderer could no be found. Pleading with the Gods--who knew more, saw more, ad had a much farther reach--was considered the only alternative to get justice. This was even the case in many love spells. Katadesmoi were not made willy-nilly: there needed to be a strong incentive to make one.

One other such incentive was the fear that a katadesmos curse had been placed upon you. In this case, the subject of the curse could make their own, and ask that the perpetrator of the katadesmos may suffer for it, and that his or her katadesmos may have no effect at all, except maybe to backfire on them. In this case, the katadesmos acts as a binding curse.

There is magic in the Classics as well; the most famous witch in Hellenic mythology is undoubtedly Kirkê (Κιρκη)--better known by her Roman name, Circe. She is the woman whom Odysseus comes upon on the island Aiaia, who turns his men into pigs, and keeps Odysseus with her--and in her bed, no less--for a year before she helps him get back to his quest to return home. The account of Kirkê is one of the founding myths for the modern witch stereotypes: she is the evil temptress, free with her sexuality, and freer with the magic that women possess by nature. She seduces Odysseus while beguiling his men, transforming them into docile animals--de-humanizing them, and stripping them of their masculinity. In the end, Odysseus overcomes her, and leaves, outside of her grasp forever. At least, that is the modern interpretation of her character.

Kirkê, in the time of Hómēros was not evil at all, yet she was dangerous. Kirkê, when looked at through the lens of ancient Hellenic society, is Odysseus' superior by far. It may seem a bit off-topic to go into this, but I must to make my point. Kirkê is the daughter of the Sun God Helios--which makes her a Goddess in her own right, but a more accurate term would be 'Nymph', putting her in control of nature. Her pedigree--by default--means that Odysseus can never master her, as Odysseus may be the favourite of the Gods, but he is not divine himself.

So, what of her magic? Kirkê is a Goddess whose powers manifest through herbs; what she does to men is not much different as many other--more powerful--Gods do unto humans as well with just a thought; Hellenic mythology is full of humans who get turned into animals (or plants) for their protection, or for the protection of the God in question. It's important to note that in the Odysseia, Kirkê's 'victims' are happy and domesticated; they are friendly and curious to visitors and Kirkê alike.

Kirkê's status over Odysseus takes her away from being a witch in the modern sense; she is a Goddess, and as someone lower in standing, Odysseus' wishes are something she can take into advisement but only needs to agree upon out of a sense of honour, not because her magical hold over him has broken. She never controls Odysseus--the moly potion/herb Odysseus is given establishes that--and they work out an agreement where they are on roughly equal footing, with Kirkê forever having the upper hand, but bound by her personal honour and oath to Odysseus. Her magic--her divinity--is made a moot point between them.

The Odysseia gives plenty of reasons why the words 'witch' and 'witchcraft' are dangerous for modern interpretation. These powers--and those that use them--are established as divine, taking these powers fully outside of the realm of humanity. Yes, there was 'magic' and 'witchcraft' in ancient Hellas and its mythology, but not in the way we know it now; this was divine magic; a manifestation of a trait major Gods manifest with a thought. These lesser deities require a medium to manifest their powers--especially in the case of Kirkê--but their powers are still the powers of a God. This is exactly why I feel we, as Hellenists, should pray to the Gods for any aid we might require, and blessings we would wish upon our lives; to practice magic ourselves would be to equate ourselves with the (minor) Gods, and Hellenismos is clear upon the status of humans: we are human, not divine. To practice magic is to practice hubris, and that is decidedly dangerous in a Hellenistic context.

Again, I want to stress that this concerns Traditional Hellenismos--as everything on this blog does. That is my practice, and it is what I understand best. If you want to practice magic; go for it. Who am I to tell you can or cannot do something? As for Asatru; it's hard--and in my opinion useless--to compare ancient cultures like this. The people were different, the thoughts about the divine were different, and unless you are a soft polytheist who conflates all Gods and Goddesses, lumping them and their culture together is detrimental to all Gods in question. Again, my opinion. Magic is a touchy subject in Hellenismos because it borders on hubris, and as a Traditional Hellenist I find myself shying away from everything that could possibly induce hubris and damage my kharis with the Gods. I gave up my magical practice--as sporadic as it was--once I progressed into Hellenismos. It's a personal choice, but one that was very clear for me. How you decide is up to you.

• Monday, July 28, 2014
  ancient Hellenic culture Eclectic Witchcraft Hellenismos 101 katadesmoi Kirkê Magick Mythology 101 Odysseia Odysseus personal requested post

On interfaith and privilege

Oh how I try to avoid the general blogosphere these days. It's become an active pursuit not to know what's going on in the online Pagan community. I know it's bad blogger behaviour of me, but I don't have the spoons for it right now. For the last few weeks--months--I've just been hanging out on my own little island, and while I've started to branch out some, I was hoping to avoid the greater Pagan community for a while yet. It's not so much them as it is me. Sometimes, I just need a break. Well, the break is over, it seems. Totally by accident, I stumbled upon two blog posts on the same topics, one a reaction to the other--and now I have opinions. Bear with me here.

Wiccan elder Don Frew--in a guest spot on Gus diZerega's blog 'Pointedly Pagan'--had a few words to say 'on saving Pagan lives, ‘Wiccan privilege’ and interfaith'. Some of those words, it seems, were aimed at Reconstructionists who are not getting with the program:

"I have heard some Reconstructionists and “hard polytheists” complain they constantly have to explain that they are not Witches. Some complain about what they describe as “Wiccan privilege.” [...] All of the Witches involved in interfaith (and CoG has been doing interfaith work since 1975) have ALWAYS explained that there are other Neopagans out there.  We have usually specifically mentioned Druids and Heathens. [...] You do the best you can, but people come away with an impression, more than any specific information.  As long as the people doing the work are Witches, the impression is going to be of Witches, not of any other groups mentioned.

 

I am sorry about that.  I genuinely am.  However after decades of Witches sticking their necks out to explain that we weren’t Devil-worshippers or baby-murderers, the comparatively small amount of re-education and explanation that newer groups have to go through should be seen as a blessing rather than a curse.  The plain fact is that the interfaith community – and by extension, the public that all of those ministers, priests, rabbis, and imams educate – will continue to equate Pagans and Wiccans until more non-Wiccan groups step up and do both interfaith work and public relations. Pagans of all types are more welcome than we had initially ever been in interfaith circles, but non-Witch Pagans and Heathens (and anyone else) still must explain who they are and how they are different from Witches."

Now let me say before I continue that this is a good, solid, post. Frew seems like a wonderful man who does a lot of interfaith work. He seems to do it well, respectfully, and I believe him when he says he's doing the best he can in representing the full scope of Paganism. Paganism itself is s broad a term that to represent it fully takes time, a lot of effort, and a big vocabulary--not to mention an attentive and willing audience.

Sadly enough, however, the article makes clear once more that privilege is incredibly hard to distinguish when you are in the group who has it. For us Multideists/Hard Polytheists/Recons, it's not easy to go along with Pagan Interfaith talks. Our views tend to clash, and we rarely get invited. I understand the latter--the general reaction is that 'it would be confusing to so such different Traditions within the same path'--and also realize it feeds into the first. More importantly, it keeps the circle going, and it screams 'privilege'. If you reasons for not having us there, or minimizing our influence is that it might confuse the audience, you are privileged, and you are holding it over our heads. If we are not allowed to speak, or our words get undone with 'all Gods are one'-talk, we will never be acknowledged for our contribution, and we will never be invited in on the conversation. You are basically saying 'because your path is confusing (and maybe a little embarrassing) to me/us, we will just be talking about the path I/we are on. It's easier'. Yes, it is... but that right there, is privilege.

Galina Krasskova replied to the article on her blog, and I want to quote two passages:

"We show up. We show up and are confronted not only with Wiccan privilege, but with an interfaith setting in which the default paradigm to which we are all expected to bow our heads in tacit compliance is a monotheistic one, or at best monist or pantheistic. This may be fine for many Wiccans. I've noticed that many Wiccans and Pagans don't seem to believe in the Gods anyway as independent beings, but it's not for us. For us, that is impiety. For us to comply even by our silence with such an attitude of "all gods are one" is to collaborate in the further destruction of our traditions.

 

[...] It's far easier after all to believe everyone is the same as you, but the real test of interfaith values is how you treat people with whom you have nothing in common but a supposed commitment to your faith."

Now, I do far too little interfaith work, but I live in The Netherlands where this whole idea of interfaith seems to be largely non-existent. People either don't know or don't care, and under the law, all our religions are equal. I'm sure I could get approval if I wanted to build a temple--as long as I could fork up the money, no one would care. We don't really have panels to discuss religion, we don't have conventions to bring religious folk together. We live, and let live, and if we know in advance that we won't feel welcome somewhere, we don't show up. No hard feelings. No one is, or feels, obligated to cater to the greater Pagan community, and while that leaves some things to be desired as well, it's at least peaceful.

Interfaith matters where it matters, and I know plenty of Recons who di the work. They show up, they do the talks, but their work needs to be acknowledged to matter in the long run. Read both articles, please, and read the comments. Form your own opinions... and please, check your privilege at the door, because it does exist, and yes, it is hurtful. Even to people like me, who only deal with it in an online setting.

• Wednesday, February 12, 2014
  bloggers I admire Eclectic Witchcraft Hellenic Reconstruction interfaith Neo-Wicca Paganism personal Wicca

Letting go

Yesterday, I spent over two hours cutting my blog reading list down from the 350+ I had amassed over the course of years in the online Pagan community to the thirty that (mostly) deal with Hellenismos, are active, and that I actually enjoy reading. They include the Hellenistic blog reading list I posted earlier, plus a couple of others.

For a while, I was doing fine with my 350+ blogs; I managed to keep up with my favorites, skim through the ones I thought were interesting, skip over the ones I didn't care about at all, and avoid the ones that annoyed me. I ploughed through 40-80 blog posts per day before bed. Then, Google threatened to cut its 'reader' feature which I used to use, so I exported my reading list, imported it into The Old Reader, and to my great dismay found that until a certain age cut-off, the reader thought every post on ever blog was new. I had over 7000 unread blog post, and I had no idea how many I actually had or had not read.

At that point, I disconnected.

It took me at least a month to come to a decision: I was going to cut down the list. I eliminated blogs based on a cursory observation: latest two or three post: interesting? No? Unsubscribe. New post in the month of August? No? Unsubscribe.

There is something about too much blog-o-sphere that will wear you down. There is a lot of negativity, a lot of struggle, a lot of triviality that I suddenly couldn't deal with anymore. Looking back, I couldn't really deal with it well before The Great Move of '13, either. Reading so many blogs is not motivating; in fact, it really made me dislike the Pagan community as a whole--which was not at all why I started reading all those blogs to begin with. By the time I cut my reading list down from 7000+ to +/-4500 I realized that the problem was not with the blogs... it was with me.

Ninety percent of the blogs I used to follow were remnants from my previous, eclectic, practice. It's a practice I do not identify with anymore at all, and as I am working, I am getting more and more uncomfortable. While wondering about this as I plough through the last 150 or so blogs, I came upon Star's latest blog post, titled 'The Pagan Community and The Struggle of My Soul' in my 'to read' list and in a very respectful, clear, and concise manner, she lays out exactly what I am feeling. And suddenly I am crying.

I don't feel about nearly any of the points Star raises exactly like she does (except, perhaps, tolerance), but I recognize the disconnect, the feeling of being a bull in a china shop. I like facts, I like theories that hold water, I want to be able to think through my practice and see that it is a complete picture. I know the feeling of 'holes', which is why I finally took the leap and progressed into Hellenismos. When I read Witchcraft or (Neo-)Wiccan blogs, all I see is holes--and they are my holes to see. It has nothing to do with the blog, or the practitioner, or even the practice/religion. It's me. That is not what I need to be reading and focusing on: it is not my place.

Once cut down to thirty, I read through all new posts on the ones I kept. I now have a clean slate. I will most certainly end up adding ones I have cut later on, but for now, the sense of control I have over my reading list is very gratifying, and it feels like a weight the size of the sky has been lifted off of my shoulders. It feels like the last vestment, the last chains, of my old practice have been lifted and suddenly, I am full of energy to absorb even more 'Hellenism'. A while back, I lamented how I was struggling with losing my knowledge of Witchcraft and my Neo-Wiccan practice. I think yesterday's exercise marked the end of the struggle I carried on from the time of that post. I am done with my previous practice, and yes--I might just start packing some books into boxes soon. I don't need them anymore, just like no longer need all those blogs.

• Monday, September 2, 2013
  bloggers I admire blogging Eclectic Witchcraft Paganism personal

I think my brain is filled to capacity

I have started losing bits and pieces of knowledge regarding my Eclectic practice. It happened so much faster than I had anticipated. I'm three fourths of a year into Hellenism at this point, and already, I had to think about the importance of Beltane, had to look up which Wheel of Year festival comes next, and a few days ago, I was walking through an abandoned park after dark and could not remember the chant to the Goddess I used to sing when I felt threatened or frightened. It only came to me when I was lying in bed that night.

I had expected it to happen sooner or later, when you dive into something as deep, as completely--without looking back--as I have Hellenismos, something has got to give. Yet, the speed of my brain's and heart's willingness to let go of things I have been practicing for more than a decade is shocking. I've been sitting here, probing my brain to find the holes for the better part of twenty minutes, and while I can recover most of the information I knew by heart, it's coming to me sluggishly. The Hellenistic information, however, is fresh on my mind. Festivals, ritual steps, mythology, all easily within reach, ready to be put to good use.

I never blogged or kept a journal when I was still Eclectic, so that may have something to do with it. They say that information you write down stays in your mind longer, don't they? It's what I was taught as school, anyway. Also, because blogging is a daily thing for me, I get to refresh my mind and expand on my knowledge every single day. It's not that odd these neural pathways are stronger than the pathways for information painstakingly gathered over the course of years but only brought into practice eight times a year and during discussions.

Exactly like the latest incarnation of Sherlock Holmes on 'Elementary', I subscribe to the 'attic' theory. Like Sherlock says:

"I've always believed the human brain is like an attic: storage space, facts, but because that space is finite, it must be filled only with things one needs to be the best version of oneself. It's important, therefore, not to have useless facts."

Now, of course, the brain doesn't really work that way; it has the capacity to grow, form new neural pathways, and absorb more knowledge, but only if that knowledge is brought out, repeated, and practiced on a regular basis. Else, the neural pathways wither, while others get stronger. The information is still there, but because the little library nerds in our brain much prefer to use the freeways, pressuring them into taking the little back roads to barely used knowledge takes a lot of effort and brain power.

So, now I have a choice: I can either invest a portion of the time I'm already struggling to find for Hellenistic research and practice into keeping the pathways to my previous practice strong enough to call on when needed, or I can let those pathways overgrow and rely on literature to remind me when I'm in need of certain information. The latter option is a scary one to me, although I don't want to take time away from Hellenismos. I like having all this knowledge at my disposal, and I was truly dismayed to find I couldn't recall a chant I used to sing on repeat at least once a week before my progression into Hellenismos.

As scary as it is, I think I'm going to admit defeat and let my brain work itself out. Hellenismos is my path, and what came before has shaped my views, but is now antiquated. It's safe to let the facts, numbers and correspondences go in favor of having to look them up at a later date. Coming back to the attic theory, I need the space, because there is still so much to learn about Hellenismos, so many ancient writers to read, so much left to practice and so much to ponder. I don't want to forgo that because I'm scared of severing a tie I thought I had already severed.

I'm going to get my brain clean for the ever-incoming stream of Hellenic and Hellenistic information. We'll see what remains of the practices of the old.

• Saturday, May 4, 2013
  daily practice Eclectic Witchcraft Hellenic Reconstruction Paganism personal

Hello Fox, here's your foot back, we found it in your mouth. Sincerely, the Wiccans

Even all the way over here in the Netherlands, I have realized long ago that Fox is not so much a news station but a 'sensation station'. It's a place where all presenters, news anchors and contributors have one foot firmly wedged into their mouths and fear mongering is a daily commitment. Well, the lovely people at Fox found another subject to spike debate: the university of Missouri, back in the fall of '12, included Wiccan holidays in their 'Guide to Religion', putting Wiccan festivals on par with festivals from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, but also Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, the Baha’i faith, Shintoism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Hinduism. I'd say we're in good company there.

The festival calendar serves as a tool for faculty, to help them schedule events on dates that everyone, of any religious denomination, can participate. Nowhere does it say that an event--like a test, meeting, or activity--can not be held on festival day. It simply informs the teacher that certain students might decline to take part, might be on a fast, or might have to excuse themselves for regular prayer. For students, the guide serves as a platform to achieve greater religious understanding within the diverse student body.

A total of forty-two holidays are listed in the University of Missouri's religious calender, with eight Wiccan festivals listed which accounted for nearly twenty percent of the holidays in the school's guide. Mail Online has made a lovely pie chart to show the break down of festivals, as seen to the left.

News media took to the change a few days ago, and eventually it reached Fox. Fox, of course, knew all along that Wiccans are nuts for believing in something as outlandish as the divinity of (or in) nature, and for following the Wheel of the Year, even though they were wonderful about getting recognition for Pagan casualties of war, a few years back. At any rate, Fox most certainly feels this to be true, and thus, they aired these fabulous commentaries:

Personally, I am not offended by the opinions expressed in these clips. The ludicrousness of these allegations and the obvious lack of research takes all credibility away from these people and Fox News. Then again, I am not now, nor have I ever been truly Wiccan. I was not initiated, I have no knowledge of inner court material to speak of. I have tried to imagine how I would feel if these statements were made about Hellenismos, and realize that I'm secure enough in my religion to realize that these people don't have a clue about what they're talking about. On top of that, the people who regularly watch Fox News are most likely never going to be our allies anyway. Of course, that doesn't excuse a network to use a religious minority as a cheap joke.

For those of you who are outraged at the stupendously incorrect messages Fox are spewing, there is a petition you can sign. It can be found here. The petition demands an apology, although I'm not sure that will ever happen or is actually something that we should want to accomplish. Whatever happens, I'm putting out a call to remain calm and poised. I'd rather us Pagans and Wiccans keep our dignity and don't go to Fox, foaming at the mouth. Yes, they put their foot in their mouth, and no, they didn't do any research what so ever. Yet, we will not win anything by presenting us as anything other than civilized human beings. So write your letters and sign your petitions, but please, keep it civil. Keep calm. We don't need Fox for validation. Personally, I'd rather celebrate the university in question for their good--and inclusive--work. I'd rather focus on that.

I hope this blows over soon, and that Fox takes their foot out of their mouth without making even bigger fools of themselves. Until then, I hope we are all secure enough in our faiths to see that this is just hot air, harmful only if you let yourself get caught in it. Congratulations, Wiccan/Druid/Neo-Wiccan/some-forms-of-Pagan Missouri University students: it's wonderful you get this kind of equality.

• Tuesday, February 19, 2013
  current affairs Eclectic Witchcraft Neo-Wicca Paganism Wicca

Personal Pagan pet peeves

Sadly, I'm feeling ill today. It's some variation of the flu which started about two days ago, and it's nearing its end. I don't feel up to writing a Pagan Blog Post-post, though, so I'm postponing that one until tomorrow. What you're getting today is my personal list of Pagan pet peeves, because this appeared on my Facebook wall:

Besides the serious guts it takes to post something of 'Witta'-author McCoy, it's the 'Pagan' in it that just rubbed me the wrong way. Now, I freely admit to getting a little cranky when the fever spikes, so I kept my mouth firmly shut. Temperance kept, everybody happy. I figure that this quote is true for both McCoy and the woman who posted this and the serious ramifications and discussion about the value of the 'Pagan' label have completely passed them by. Good on them, really. Still, I identify as Pagan, and that quote does not resemble me in the slightest. Even when I was a Neo-Wiccan and Eclectic Religious Witch, I never fully subscribed to that quote. So, here is my cranky little list of Pagan pet peeves, for your enjoyment and for me to get the cranky out.

• 'Pagan' is not synonymous with '(Neo-)Wiccan'. The label encompasses a large variety of faith, most of which can not be described as a 'nature religion', 'duotheistic' (or monotheistic, as per McCoy), or any of the other Wiccanish terminology associated with the label in some people's minds.
• Most Recons do not think UPG is bullshit, thank you very much. It's just not the basis of our practice.
• No, you may not set parmesan cheese/your wallet/your beer/etc. on my shrines.
• Love and light 24/7. It's fine if that's your focus, but please don't force it on me.
• I don't follow the Threefold Law, the Wiccan Rede, or the Wheel of the Year celebrations, but thanks for asking before assuming I do.
• I'm not spiritual, I'm religious. I have a strict, and well thought out, religious structure in my life. While I fully appreciate anyone describing themselves as 'spiritual', I'm not, and never have been.
• If you're not a Hellenic Recon, please use the term 'Hellenismos' to describe your practice with the uttermost care.
• Spirituality/Tradition/religion is never a reason to be an ass. Use it as such, and you're discrediting your spirituality/Tradition/religion.
• Yes, I 'really believe in all this stuff'.
• No, I don't think we 'all really worshipping the same thing whatever we call it'. But it's fine that you do.
• Please don't think I get offended when you wish me a happy [insert your holiday here] because I don't celebrate it. I think it's very considerate. That said, please don't take offense when I tell you I don't celebrate the same holidays as you do. I'm not disrespecting you or your Tradition. I'm simply telling you I don't celebrate that specific holiday.

Those are the big ones. Are there any you would add to the list?

• Friday, January 4, 2013
  Eclectic Witchcraft Hellenic Reconstruction Paganism this is not a real post

A year and a day ago...

A year ago today, I woke up after my initiation into Eclectic Religious Witchcraft. I was coming off of a three-day fast and was high as a kite from the experience. It hadn't been an ordeal, it hadn't been grueling, it had been performed by three wonderful women whom I love dearly and it was an experience that I will never forget. The hours I spent prior, during, and after that ceremony are amongst the hours I have felt the most loved in my life.

Back in those days, I realized I wanted to leave Eclectic Religious Witchcraft, but I had invested eleven and a half years into that--or a similar--Tradition as a solitary. I knew the God and Goddess well, and my initiation was to be a cumulation of my experiences with Them as well as a goodbye. I can't tell you, exactly, how to wrap you head around an initiation as a way of saying goodbye, but it was a heart-thing, so I guess you do not have to.

I was initiated by a close friend and her coven. They were aware of my situation and--as it was going to be one of the first initiations my friend performed as lead--agreed to take me on anyway. There was a trial period before that night, of conversations and the sharing of information. It was established I had more than the basics down, so the decision was made.

I won't tell you too much about the experience. There were lots of tears--not just mine--and I was dedicated not in the first place to the God and Goddess, but to my patron Goddesses at the time. Afterwards, I helped dedicate someone new to the path; something I'm still proud of and joyous about. To see the wholeness I felt at that moment reflected in the face of another is a powerful thing.

I have never regretted my initiation. I'm extremely glad I did it. From that point on, the chapter was closed and I could open myself up to a new one I had known was coming: Hellenismos. I left Eclectic Religious Witchcraft as a priestess, and stripped all of it off to follow my heart and my Theoi.

On this Samhain eve, I remember that night most of all. I think I always will. While I don't celebrate Samhain, I will think about those hours in the company of the women I love and remember their beauty, their passion for the Craft, their devotion and their openness and be forever grateful. They have given me two of the most precious gifts one could ever receive: perfect love, and perfect trust.

• Wednesday, October 31, 2012
  Eclectic Witchcraft faith Paganism

Weighing in on the veiling, body-fat and Jesus debacles

I really didn't want to go here. I was taught by my mom to steer clear of topics I don't know enough about to give an informed opinion. Well, I'm still poking the hornets nest today because three topics are everywhere, they keep touching my life and practice and I do have an opinion about them and/or the people who have an opinion on it. I'm talking about the act of religiously veiling, either your hair, your face or your entire body, the Pagan online community pet 'favorite'; body-fat, and rejecting Jesus Christ.

Veiling is not part of my religious practice, no one in my offline community does it, and I really couldn't care less who does or does not do it of the people in my online community. It's become this new thing in the community and I'm completely fine with it. Lots of Goddesses veiled, especially within the Hellenic pantheon; Hekate, Hestia, Rhea, Calypso, Persephone, Aphrodite, even Athena. Lots of  mortal men and women in myths and life veiled as well; Helena, for example oh--and people like Emperor Augustus. It was a matter of peity. You covered your head when you entered ritual or--as is becoming more normal in the (Neo-)Wiccan and some Eclectic practices--you veil everywhere except during ritual. Sometimes, you just veiled because it was damn hot out and it was part of life--because everyone did it.

I will say it now, for once and for all, I do not veil but I support every person's right to veil. For cetain rituals and festivals, I would be completely open to veiling. I do not support forced veiling, nor do I support the oppression of women. I support the free choice to veil but I will not actively support the cause by celebrating Covered in Light's International Veiling Day on September 21th. This is not my fight. I was not going to talk about it, write about it, do anything with it. Yet, I am. Because everyone is talking about it and it's now lodged in my mind.

Issue number two is the recent body-fat and health thing. For those who don't follow the online Pagan community very well; it all started when Peter Dybing, a Pagan blog writer of average body type, decided to write a blog post addressing a 'major concern' (for him) in Paganism; the 'trend of obesity' within its members. Somewhat understandably, any Pagan blogger who is even marginally overweight took his head off. Not so much for addressing obesity but for assuming that anyone who is overweight is unhealthy and needs to be saved by someone of average weight. I'm not sure if that's exactly what Dybing meant to say, but it's certainly how it was interpreted by the Pagan blogosphere at large.

Obviously, I am not a doctor. I know zip about obesity and health. It doesn't look healthy to me but I'm also well aware that some people are just more prone to being overweight, no matter how much they work out and no matter how healthy they eat. It's just part of them. I'm not obese, nor overweight. Of course, there are parts of my body I think could stand to lose a few pounds. My hips, for example, and my upper arms do that flubbery thing on occasion that worries me a little. I think any woman (and man, probably) living in this photoshop age worries about those unruly parts of their body that don't fit the magazines. We do this, no matter how adamantly we tell the world we don't.

A person's body is their own responsibility. It's not up to me to advice anyone on their health or even to have an opinion about it. And so I don't. That's my two cents on this topic; unless you're sharing your story or you are a doctor or researcher into the link between health and obesity, don't judge. Don't 'fat-hate'. It's not your life and if your sensibilities are hurt by someone else's body... well... you need to take a good look at yourself.

The third, admittedly emerging, topic is the rejection of Jesus Christ. I understand a lot of people, especially in America, came to Paganism after leaving some form of Christianity. I also understand this must be hard. It must be hard abandoning something you have spent your youth believing. It must be hard to have to deal with family, friends and neigboors who still believe in this and assume you will be coming back to Christianity or, at least, still believe in Jesus Christ. I understand the need to make clear, once and for all, that you no longer believe in Jesus Christ and/or reject His teachings.

But I also think there is far too much Christianity in Paganism and justifying your Pagan faith by rejecting everything else is not, or should not be, our way. I believe in everything. I'm not sure if Jesus-the-man existed as such, but I believe in His Divine form. I chose not to worship Him, because His teachings, although commendable at its foundation, don't speak to me. I worship the Theoi and all that comes with Them, yet I greatly respect Jesus.

I understand that most of the fallout is over the word 'reject'. I'm taking it to mean 'an active removal from daily thought and practice', not 'Jesus does not exist and everyone who believes in Him is stupid'. With that in mind, there should be no issue. Yet, I sense the Pagan online community might go nuts over this. So here is to hoping they don't. I would much prefer my Paganism with a lot less Christianity on the side.

In fact, I hope all three issues blow over fast so we can go back to the things that matter most in Paganism; religion and (daily) practice. This is a rant and my two cents. Do with it what you will. I don't believe in remaining silent as a way of avoiding taking a stance. So this is where I stand on these subject; at the sidelines, realizing these are not my battles.

• Saturday, August 4, 2012
  Aphrodite Athena Calypso Christianity community Eclectic Witchcraft Hekate Hellenic Reconstruction Hestia Neo-Wicca Paganism Persephone Rhea veiling

Sharing faith

I'm home after the Midsummer celebration. It was a wonderful experience, full of the best Eclectic Witchcraft and Neo-Wicca have to offer. Good people, good fire and good food. As one of the organizers, it's not up to me to say how the ritual and meditative parts went, but it was a pleasure to watch adult men and women chase after each other in a game of tag.

After this post, I will return to hellenic writing. I miss it. I had an incredible time today and I wouldn't have missed it for the world but coming home and replacing my electric flame for a real one on Hestia's candle and offering Her some of the food I had today almost brought tears to my eyes. It's such a simple practice I have begun to value so very much. It offers me at least one, but usually two or three, moments in my day during which I spend time with my Gods.

We didn't call any Gods today; our ritual summoned the elements and continued to focus on the Oak and Holly Kings. I hadn't intended it to but it did, and it gave the whole affair an earthly and festive mood which I greatly appreciated. Our thirtyish guests seemed to appreciate the mood as well.

Organizing these celebrations makes me realize I really enjoy spending time with other Pagans. They're--in general--easy going, friendly and forgiving people. If something goes wrong or takes a bit, it's never a problem. They appreciate what they can get; either because there is nothing better out there or simply because they enjoy spending time with other Pagans as well.

We are diverse people who try to come together under the same banner when the opportunity arises. It's a wonderful sight to behold. Sharing faith is important to me and I'm glad I got to indulge in it today. Tomorrow, I'm returning to joyous Hellenic ritual and I am happy about that. It's nice to rehash what I had before converting, but I have definitely converted. Hellenismos is my home. Eclectic Witchcraft is a wonderful friend I like to visit but could never live with again. So until the next visit, I will stay home and remember the good times spend with friends.

• Sunday, June 24, 2012
  daily practice Eclectic Witchcraft Hestia Midwinter Neo-Wicca