The Proerosia (2014)

Tonight we celebrate Proerosia, which honors Demeter. Below is info about this holiday, though right now it wouldn't be done in the same way as it would be in Greece. Things are just different over there.Tonight is also the night that we honor Artemis as well.

The Proerosia, is about the things to be done “before plowing”.  The first fruits festival was in May, when the “first fruits of the cereals” were harvested.  According to H. W. Parke (Festivals of the Athenians, 1977, p.74), the offerings to Demeter were made to invoke her blessing on the plowing and seeding to come.  It is Demeter, after all, “the greatest help and cause of joy to the undying Gods and mortal men” (Homeric Hymn 2, to Demeter, lines 268-269, translation by White), who according to the author of the Hymn “made fruit spring up from the rich lands, so that the whole wide earth was laden with leaves and flowers” (Hymn 2, 471-473). 
The festival took place at Eleusis, site of the Great Mysteries and setting of much of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter.  The explanation for the rite was that a plague had afflicted the whole of Greece, and the Delphic Oracle said that Apollo ordered a tithe to Demeter of the first harvest on behalf of all Greeks.  Thereafter, except for disruptions during the Peloponnesian War, offerings arrived annually from all over the Greek world for the Goddesses’ blessings before plowing and seeding, although apparently the residents of Attica did not participate to a great degree (Parke, p. 73).  On the other hand, a special and very popular festival of Apollo (Pyanepsia) took place a day or two after the Proerosia and, among other things, it featured an offering of a mixture of boiled beans—arguably a harvest portion, though it has a myth of origin outside of the Hymn to Demeter. At Eleusis on this day, sacrifice was made to Pythian Apollo, which is construed by modern scholars as a show of gratitude to the Delphic oracle for the foundation of the Proerosia. 
Helene P. Foley, in her background article on the Eleusinian Mysteries in her edition of The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, states that “all important rites of Demeter in Attica seem to have been linked (at least loosely) to stages of the agricultural year (p. 71).  Moreover, these festivals seem to have a connection with some part of the Homeric Hymn, especially since Eleusis, which was incorporated into Attica, was the site of much of the narrative of the Hymn. Thus Proerosia is part of the sacred festival cycle of grain in ancient Greece, along with the Thesmophoria (also Oct), Haloa (Dec), the Lesser Mysteries (Feb), Thargelia (May), Skirophoria (June) and the Eleusinian Mysteries

Proerosia today: This day marks the beginning of the Greek agricultural year.  For some North Americans and Europeans, this is not the season for plowing grain crops.  For others in areas like California (mild winters with few hard freezes) crops like winter wheat are planted.  For colder climates consider Elliot Coleman's books like The Winter Harvest Handbook for organic bounty in MAINE. ).  No matter what your fallow season is, it is appropriate to recognize the ancient tradition and calendar and to honor Demeter and Kore and the Horai (Seasons) for bringing grain and fruits to mankind in your appropriate season.   

Below is a sample ritual for Proerosia

Notes and packing list are at the end of ritual.

The Pompe, or Procession
The Priestess then lights the fire on the altar, which should have been laid out beforehand.
The Incense is lit, then, in the order dictated by the order of the Sacra, as listed above, the People 
are lead by the Priest or Priestess to the Temenos, or Sacred Precinct, containing the altar.

At the entrance to the Temenos, each person is sprinkled with pure spring water (note 1) then 
moves in a counterclockwise direction to form a circle around the bomos/altar.

After the khernips, everyone remains silent until the Priest or Priestess cries out:

"Hekas, o hekas, este bebeloi!"

The People Reply:
"Let All That Is Profane Be Far From Here!"

Y.R.:
Welcome to the rites of Proerosia!
We are here to prepare the sacred field,
To bless the Earth in the name of Demeter,
Zeus Epakrios we will also invoke,
Bringer of thunder and rain from on high,
That He may bless the coming season.


The Lighting
The Priestess cries out:
"Paresmen time, sonta tas theas kai tous theous."

The People Reply:
"We Are Here To Honor the Gods and Goddesses."

The Scattering
Katie walks the barley counterclockwise and each person takes some and tosses it upon the altar. 
The remaining barley is placed nearby.

“with this scattering, we are joined as community”

The Mixing
The Libation Bearers move to either side of the Priest or Priestess and the Wine and Water is mixed.
The Priest or Priestess says:

"Theasthe ta hudata biou."

The People Reply:

"Behold the Waters of Life."

The First Libation
The Priestess says:
"Hestia, Thine is always the first and the last."

Some of the water/wine in the cup is poured out on the altar fire, then the cup is passed around counterclockwise, each person taking a sip in offering to Hestia, or touching a drop to his or her 
forehead in offering, and repeating the above formula of offering to Hestia. The Priestess takes a last 
sip, and the remaining part is poured out on the altar.

As it’s being passed around…(note 4 for source of prayer)

Hestia,
Goddess of hearth and temple fire,
Of the spiritual center of our world,
And of all sacred places.
Hestia, beloved Goddess of the spiritual flame,
Come be honored at this place.
Bring to us the peace and sureness
Of that place which is home and hearth.
Please bring your purity and beauty to us,
As we honor you
Who are the center of the spiritual flame.

Hymnodia
The Priestess cries out:
"Koimeson stoma!"

The People Reply:
"We will be silent!"

(The People then maintain silence through the Hymn. Note 5 has the source.)

Demeter Panagia
Pure and Holy mother of Creation,
Goddess of the Blessed Seed and of the Greater Mysteries,
We sing of you,

Beloved Mother of the Earth, fertile and full of power,
With reverence we ask for your blessing on this day
O Verdant and Fruitful one
Release the Earth from its dry bondage of summer
And in this new planting season,
Let the seedlings rise young and green.
Sustain them until the flowering, and from flowering
To the gold fruit of harvesttime.
O Mother of Life
As we have given you praises and libations,
Bless our labors here.

To you
We offer gifts of the heart
Of love, beauty, and reverence,
O grant us the season’s bright benedictions
As we honor the Great Mother of the land.

The Second Libation
The Libation Bearer fills the cup with milk. The Priestess offers up the cup and says:

"Hear, Oh Demeter,
First Mate of Father Zeus,
Goddess of the Barley and the Wheat:
You Who preside over the growing of all crops,
You in Whose care is all that lives upon Gaea, the Earth;
without Whom the seed does not sprout
nor the blossom blow nor the fruit mature and fall from the tree.
Mother Who brings forth, and Mother Who defends;
Mother Who Destroys if aught assault Her Offspring;
You before Whom the very throne of Olympus must give homage, lest we poor 
mortals utterly fail and fall.
Goddess of the Biosphere: we call upon You with whatever name it pleases You 
to be called! If ever we have made offering to You, or honored You in word or deed,
 grant us that sustenance without which mortal life cannot go on."

The Priestess pours some of the Milk on the altar, then passes the cup counterclockwise. When 
the libation returns to the Priestess she takes a last sip, and the remaining part is poured out on the
 altar.

We planted our lettuce and wheat seed at this point.

Hymnodia

The Priestess cries out:
"Koimeson stoma!"

The People Reply:
"We will be silent!"
(The People then maintain silence through the Hymn)

Great Zeus, Son of Kronos,
Most High, Father of Gods and Men,
Protector of Strangers, Good Counselor
Hear my prayer, and bestow your blessings
-
Zeus Kataibates, Cloud Gatherer,
You descended upon Danae as a shower of golden rain.
Rain now upon your parched children, Ombrios,
Water more precious than gold.
-
Our dry lips praise you, Great Zeus,
In thanks for this blessed moisture.

The Libation Bearers again mix water and wine. The Priest offers up the cup and says:

"Zeus, this Libation is for You”

Cup is passed, etc.

Zeus Epakrios, great father of the thundering skies,
Your blessed rains have begun again to fall upon the fertile earth.
Oh benevolent one
Gather your darkening clouds and let fall
The potent and gentle rain.

The Sacrifice/Offerings
The feast portions are brought to the fire.

The Sacral Feast
Everybody eats.

In making Sacrifice and in the exercises of the Agon we have called upon the Deity to join us. 
When the Agon is done, the Sacral Feast is set and everyone eats. This can be something as 
simple as bread and milk, or as elaborate as a many course banquet. For Demeter, the Bounty 
of the Harvest should figure prominently in the Feasting. The important thing to remember is 
that this is a communion not only between mortal and Deity but between the mortals who share 
the feast as well. We are all joined in communion, in community, by the sharing of the Sacral 
Feast.


The Libation of Thanks
The Libation Bearer pours milk again. The Priestess leads the people in giving thanks to the 
Goddess, letting individuals speak at will. Then the Priestess offers up the cup, saying:

"Demeter Charin echomen soi."


Some of the milk in the cup is poured out on the altar, then the cup is passed around counterclockwise, 
each person taking a sip in offering to Demeter, or touching a drop to his or her forehead in offering, 
and saying:


"Demeter, Hilathi!" (Demeter Be Propitious!)

or

"Demeter, Sponde!"

or simply

"Demeter, we thank You."

The Libation Bearer pours wine again…..


"Zeus, Hilathi!" (Zeus Be Propitious!)

or

"Zeus, Sponde!"

or simply

"Zeus, we thank You."



The Final Libation
The Libation Bearer pours wine one final time. The Final Libation is offered to Hestia, with the words:

"Hestia, Thine is always the first and the last."

It is offered in the same manner as the first, but when the Priestess pours out the last of it upon 
the altar, she cries out:

"Houtos heksoi!"
The Response is:

"Houtos heksoi,"

or simply: " So Be It!"

This is the End of the Ritual.




 I hope that this helps you out and I hope that you have a wonderful Proerosia.

Book Review: Greek Religion by Walter Burkert

So I'm doing another book review and this is for Greek Religion by Walter Burkert. This book is pretty thick and so it might be a long review. First of all I would like to say that this is a good jumping off point for those that are interested in practicing Greek religion and understanding how the Greeks did things. So here goes.

Chapter 1: Prehistory and the Minoan-Mycenaean Age

This covers everything from early man to the rise of the Minoan civilization. It covers the following: The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, Indo-European, the Minoan-Mycenaean Religion (which was much different than the religious practices of Greece), a Historical Survey, the State of the Sources, the Cult Places, which are divided up into Caves, Peak Sanctuaries, Tree Sanctuaries, House Sanctuaries (which lasted longer than the others), Temples, Graves. They also covered Ritual and Symbols, the Minoan Deities, the Mycenaean Gods and Linear, and the Dark Age when the Mycenaean people just vanished.

Chapter 2: Ritual and Sanctuary

This covered the following: 'Working Sacred Things': Animal Sacrifice, Descriptions and Interpretation, Blood Rituals, Fire Rituals (the burning of the body), Animal and God, Gift Offerings and Libations, First Fruit Offerings, Votive Offerings, Libation, Prayer, Purification, Function and Methods, The Sacred and the Prue, Death, Illness and Madness, Purification by Blood (apparently they knew something we didn't), Pharmakos, the Sanctuary, Temenos, Altar, Temple and Cult Images, Anathemata, Priests, The Festival, Pompe, Agermos, Dancing and Hymns, Masks, Phalloi, Aischrologia, Agon, The Banquet of the Gods (which I believe explains why King Lycon was cursed), Sacred Marriage, Ecstasy and Divination, Enthousiasmos, The Art and the Seer, Oracles.

Chapter 3: The Gods

Covered both Major and Minor and there places

Chapter 4: The Dead, Heroes, and Chthonic Gods

Pretty much explains about the dead, their place in Greek religion, heroes that died, and of course the gods of the underworld.

Chapter 5: The Polis and Polytheism

Covers the structure of Greek city-states and the religion that connected them all.

Chapter 6: Mysteries and Asceticism

Chapter 7: Philosophical Religions

I found the Atheist section to be interesting. It talked about them in a very nasty way, stating that the people viewed these non-believers as going against the state and causing their own ruin. I think that would be a good example of what's going on now.

Ancient Hymns and Modern Hymns and Prayers

I wasn't planning on doing a blog post until tomorrow but I decided that I was going to do this post. One of the great things about this religion is that we have sources that have, by some strange miracle, managed to survive the the present day. The hymns that were used in the past, where hymns to the gods which included the titles that were used. The hymns were apart of ritual and apart of letting the gods know that the offering was for them.

In today's world we have a broken line of ritual and honoring of the gods. While most Hellenist will use the ancient hymns, which are great, some prefer to create their own and use them. Just as much as they like using modern prayers for the gods. The reason that I'm mentioning this is that one of the people that I'm following has stated that she has read modern hymns, and while some of them are wonderful, she won't use them in her practice. Now that's okay, and I'm fine with that. But I believe that modern hymns and prayers are a connection to the gods in the hear and now.

Just as the ancient ones were for the ancients.

I'm not against those that don't want to use the modern hymns to the gods. But what I don't like is people telling me that I can't, as though they have the right to tell me what to do. When you start telling people what to do, it becomes dogma. And dogma has no place in our religion. So, no matter if you use modern or ancient hymns, they are valid, just apart of two different times. Modern prayers are good too and I used them as well.

Note; This is a correction of the same post that didn't really explain my point.

Turning This Blog Into A Journey

One of the bad things about trying out different paths is that people will always remind of the paths that you’ve tried. And since I’ve settled on being a Hellenist and determined to follow the path of the gods, I’m turning this blog into a journey of being a Hellenist. I’m going to be talking about each holiday as they approach and I’m going to be talking about books that I’ve read and giving reviews of said books.

I’m doing this as a record of my spiritual path and religion. I believe, once again, that documenting my path is the most important thing. I’m keeping all my old blog posts, because their important. I’m really excited about doing this and writing down the things that I’ve discovered. I can’t wait to discover new things and get closer to the gods.

Hermes, Hercules, Aphrodite, Apollo, Eros (September 2014)

Kala Ermou Tetras and Tetradistai

Today (September 28), the sundown will bring the fourth day of the month of Pyanepsion 

On the fourth day of every month we celebrate the Ermou Tetras and Tetradistai.

The Ermou Tetras celebrates the birth of Hermes and his four gifts: Logos (speech), Agon (Contest), the musical scale and geometry

The Tetradistai is also a birthday celebration. It celebrates the birth of Aphrodite, in her epithet as Pandemos (Common to All People), and the birth of Eros.

Herakles is also said to have been born on a fourth day.

Also the fourth day of every month is sacred to the gods Apollon and Hermaphroditos

"On the fourth day of the month queenly Maia bare him (Hermes)."
~excerpt from the Homeric Hymn 4 to Hermes

"...Menander, in his Flatterer, makes the cook on duty at the fourth-day club-feast (Tetradistai) or the day of Aphrodite Pandemos, speaks as follow: 'Libation! Round with the tripe! Mind what you do. Come Sosias, boy, libation! Good for you! And now pour out. To all above we will pray both Gods and Goddesses, and may Life, Health, and many a blessing come of this, and those we've got Heaven grant we never miss!" ~ Athenaios 14. 659Dd

"...the fourth, and the seventh -- on which Leto bare Apollo with the blade of gold - each is a holy day"
~ excerpt from Hesiod, Works and Days

"On the fourth and seventh days of each month, he directs mulled wine to be prepared, and going himself to purchase myrtle-wreaths, frankincense and convolvuluses; he returns to spend the day worshiping the statue of Hermaphroditus."
~ excerpt from Theophrastus, Characters

Honoring Athena (September 2014)

Hello, Everyone

So tonight we honor Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. I really feel drawn to Athena, especially since I'm trying to get my GED. I feel that praying to her will help me to pass, though I'm not sure if other Hellenists will think this way. Athena is more than just a goddess that I honor when I need her help on something, but she's the goddess of Athens, of Greece, of everything. She is over education, democracy, and even the very foundation of freedom. It's her that we look up to and thank for all the things that we have.

Athena is my goddess, even though I honor many, and I will be honoring her tonight. I hope that you all have a good one and I'll see you tomorrow.

Agathos Daemon (September 2014) and my plans for October

Tonight will be honoring Agathos Daemon, the good god. He's sometimes depicted as a snake and it's not uncommon to see someone that practices Hellenism to have a framed photo of a snake. Now if I've mentioned this stuff before then I'm sorry and I won't be repeating myself next month. I don't have a framed photo of Agathos Daemon, but I'm going to change that next month. Honoring the Agathos Daemon is the last observance connected to Hecate.

Another thing that I'm planning on doing next month, regular calendar, is to buy my Ares mini statue. His libation is in November but Amazon.com is claiming nearly a month before I can see him. I'm not about to buy two statues and I can't 'use' Poseidon until after his libation. And I'm talking about his statue not what others might get from that line. I do have a photo of him so I'll be using that instead.

I'm also getting Benzoin in since the kind of incense that some of the gods take is too expensive and I'm pretty sure that the gods don't want me to spend a ton of money. I'm picking up a prayer book written by The Temple of the Greek Gods and a blank book. The reason that I'm buying a blank book is that Chris recommended that we start writing down our hymns and prayers. It's not like a Book of Shadows, it's a record of our religion and not of our spells. As I said before we need to keep a written record of our religion in the modern text before it's taken from us.

I hope that you all have a good one and I'll see you tomorrow.

Book Review: The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan

So I've decided that it's time to do another book review. And this was is for The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan. This is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series and it's where we find out that the Greek gods didn't vanish, they just went to another part of the world. What I really love about this series is that we have the Greek gods in the modern world and it's the same problems that the gods had before. Percy is accused of stealing Zeus Master Bolt, the weapon that was made for him that helped him defeat his father.

Percy goes on a quest with Annabeth, daughter of Athena and Grover. They have to go through many parlous challenges including Medusa, the Lotus Eaters, Gods, and much, much more. In the end he finds out who stole the bolt, will not tell, and who is causing all the problems. I really enjoyed this book, as I've said before, and I would recommend it to anyone. Of course, it's not a good study of Greek religion, but it does peek the interest in the gods.

Pyanepsia (2014)

Tonight began the Athenian month of Pyanepsia. And even though the book on Hellenic prayers isn't something that's based on what we know of Greek prayers I still use it. Why, because I don't turn down anything that makes practicing my religion a bit easier. Tonight we honor our ancestors and the household gods. Since I'm writing this at 10:21 at night I will tell you that I've already done my ritual. I really felt moved by not only my total connection to the gods but also not binding myself to what others think that I should be doing.

The point of religion, no matter what it is, is to connect with the divine. As the Head of the Temple to the Greek Gods has said, we need to write down our rituals and we need to make a record of our own practices so that we can give the Greek religion it's rich history. And I'm going to agree with that. So, in the spirit of what he has said, I'm going to get a book and start writing down my own experiences with this faith, which will include prayers, hymns, personal accounts, and much, much, more.

It might not be totally how the ancients did it, but we don't live in the past. We live, in the future.

25th Day: For Horkos and the Erinyes

One of the first things that I did was read what the hymns were to each god. One of the things that I noticed was that it was talking about the Fates. That's the first hymn that's given. The Fates were three women which represented the Past, Present, and Future. In later myths they are the daughter of Zeus and Thetis. My belief is that they were sired by Zeus as part of how he wanted the universe to run. The next hymn is to the Furies, which were the three that, according to Greek myth, could drive a person's mad. They punished both the living and the dead.

To me it's strange that the author would chose to honor both the Fates and the Furies. Though, I guess, the author has made a connection that will take me time to understand. I wish you all well and I hope that you have a good night.

Animal Sacrifice

I'm going to be doing two blog entries, one of them is very important and I believe should be talked about. Last week the animal rights people managed to get a small part of the country of India to outlaw animal sacrifice. The animals can't be sacrificed at the temples or the grounds connected to them. They claimed that the animals suffered and that the religion needed to adapt to modern times. They believed that it's not needed to be done in honor of any god.

What really made me mad was that pagan supported this move, not even thinking, or caring, that they were supporting the ending of a practice that was important to other pagans.This is my main problem with the fluff bunnies, and I'm going to call them just that. They are so against what other cultures are doing that they personally believe that what they do is somehow wrong. How about I go and kill an animal in honor of Artemis and lets see how quickly I get painted as some evil person. If animal sacrifice is something that a pagan culture does, then don't support others that wish to intrude on what another culture is doing.

Support them or get the hell out of the pagan community.

The first thing that the Greek Orthodox did was outlaw animal sacrifice when they were forcing their religion on the Greeks and the Roman Catholic Church on other cultures. It's one of the first steps that's done to get rid of a religious groups rights. To see pagans supporting this tells me a great deal about the face of the pagan community as a whole. Oh but they'll go on and on about how their being persecuted while supporting animal sacrifice being outlawed. Before long the whole country of India will outlaw this practice and the animal morons can go away feeling happy that they are doing the same thing that the church did.

And while I'm sure that the Indian government will not go as far as outlawing Hinduism. The outlawing of animal sacrifice is just leaving a very foul taste in my mouth. One of the things that I had first asked, when I became a Hellenist, was about animal sacrifice. Someone told me that, while they don't do it, they will not turn up their noses to a Hellenist that does practice this. It tells me a lot about the Recon community as a whole compared to the Wiccan/Pagan community as a whole.

When I defended the rights of Hindu's to sacrifice animals someone asked me, "I thought that all pagans love animals." Well, yes, I do. But their not hurting you and their not hurting others. Sometimes I think that some of the Christian hate against the sacrifice of animals is still going on in the Pagan community. A lot of them don't even believe in worship of the gods or honoring them. They go and on about how it's like Christianity.

The gods were given animal sacrifice and some even went as far as human sacrifice. There has been evidence of this in the Minoan sites that have been discovered. It has also been discovered that the people most likely ate their human sacrifice, which was shocking for me. Still, to see a practice like this, which has managed to survive in-tact, to be outlawed is outrageous. Personally I hope that other courts does not outlaw this, because it's sure to go underground.

You can't just expect a whole group of people to abandon this practice and I sure hope they fight like hell when the authorities come and try and force these new 'religious' law on them.

Trying To Explain Things To Bonehead Wiccans

I'm not the kind of person that believes in bashing other people's beliefs but I really need to get this off my chest. One of the things that we make very clear is that, as Hellenists, we don't practice magic. Of any kind! On Facebook a Hellenist was asked by Wiccans about why he uses herbs but doesn't do magic? Well the simple answer to that is that just because we work with herbs, as offerings, doesn't mean that were practicing magic.

They were confused by this whole notion that working with herbs doesn't equal working magic. And what's really sad is that when you say that you honor Hecate it means, at once, that your a witch/Wiccan and that she's your patron goddess and all that stuff. This is one of the many things that causes arguments within the both camps of Hellenists and Wiccans. So the point that I'm trying to make within the context of this post is that just because a Hellenist works with herbs and honors the gods, doesn't mean that their doing magic.

I think that, as long as you have Polythiest that don't follow how other pagans do thing that your always going to have this argument. And personally, it needs to stop.

Late Post: Day 14: Saturn, Rhea, Titans, Hercules

I totally forgot to do this post yesterday and I'm sorry about that. I'm also taking a long break from doing blog posts as I just need to refuel. I hope that all of you will understand and I will be back, I promise.

Tonight we honor Saturn, Rhea, Titans, and Hercules. One of the things that I had a problem, the last time that I tried to honor the Titans, was that there were only a couple of images of a titan but nothing as a group. Saturn and Rhea was much easier to get a hold of. Even though I don’t honor the Titans, I’m not going to hold it against anyone that does. I hope that you all have a good one and I’ll be back tomorrow with another blog.

Day 13: Athena Pallas and Nike

So, after a small break from the prayer book, I’m back. Tonight we honor Athena Pallas and Nike. Athena Pallas, who shares the same title as Zeus, is the protector of the city. Pallas is a titan god but it’s also a title that Athena used. Nike is the goddess of victory and is sometimes seen in the palm of Zeus in the statue that had once been the seven wonders of the world. Hope that you have a good celebration.

Democration

Tonight we celebrate Democracy in all it’s forms. This is a holiday that I can get behind, as it’s so close to Labor Day. One of the things that I’ve learned living in a country where you can believe what you want and don’t have to worry about being killed for it, is that we must guard what we have and we can’t assume that it will always be there. With what’s going on in the Middle East, we have to understand that what we have is seen as a threat to those that are against it.

Democracy was first invented by the Ancient Greek over two thousand years ago. It was rejected due to the bible supporting kingdoms. What they didn’t realize is that the reason that kingdoms were supported in the Christian bible is that the people of Israel wanted a king and live in a Kingdom like they had back in Egypt. Kingdoms, in a sense, is a pagan practice and one that the church, if they truly wanted to be different from the pagans wouldn’t of allowed kingdoms to be around.

What the Greeks did would take a long time to come back. But once it did, it held on. I will be lighting a candle in honor of Democracy and what it means to me. Have a good celebration.

Day 11: Men Meson-For Fire, Nature, Heaven, Clouds

This is a day that I will not be observing because I’m confused. Is this, like yesterday, a celebration that’s interconnected or not? Though it really leaves me to figure that everything was honored by the ancient Hellenic people. Even though I’m not honoring them tonight I do hope that you have a good one.

Day 10: Good Day-Earth, Pan, Nymphs, and Seasons

I do know who Pan is, but I’m sort of confused by the Seasons. In plenty of the hymns that I’ve spoken they have been to the seasons. The Nymphs are the water deities of springs and rivers, and Earth is, of course, what we’re on. This is one of the few days that I’m confused about the meaning of why we are doing these honoring. But I’ve come to the conclusion that their all interconnected, thus that’s why we’re honoring them.
Have a good celebration.

Day 9: Holy Day-For Bacchus, Justice, and Law

So tonight we honor Baccus but also Justice and Law. The last two, Justice and Law, are very important in today’s society. We look at them as being the thing that separates us from those that claimed to be the wielders of such things. I look back at ancient, Middle Ages, Law as a sick perversion and destruction of other people. Bacchus was the Roman equivalent of Dionysus, but his followers were far more violet, according to sources.

That’s why, when Christianity came around, they were treated the same way that they had treated those that followed the god Bacchus. After all, wouldn’t you think that they were blood thirsty monsters if you heard that they ate human flesh and drank blood. Just some food for thought. Have a great celebration.

Day 8: Poseidon, Theseus, Asklepios

Tonight we honor Poseidon, Theseus, and Asklepios. Poseidon, was God of the Seas and cursed King Minos with the Minotaur as punishment for not upholding his end of the bargain. Though he ended up taking what was a punishment and using it to terrorize those that would try and believe that they were more powerful than he was. Theseus, was the hero the defeated the Minotaur and freed Athens from King Minos's tyranny. Asklepois was the son of Apollo and a healer. Though, when he brought a man back from death he was killed by Zeus.

Apollo almost ended up in Tarterus for trying to defy Zeus. I believe he tried to attack him. Well I hope that you have a good celebration.