Libations to Dionysus (2015)

Today, before the sun goes down, we pour libations to Dionysus. This is the last libation for this regular year and, even though I don't personally honor him, I will pour him libation and give him offerings. Have a good one and may the god of the vine make your month of December wonderful and joyous.

Athenian Month of Poseidon Begins (2015)

Sundown, tonight, marks not only the Athenian month of Poseidon but the half-way point in the Athenian year. I do hope that all of you have had a good year, so far. Here are the holiday's that fall during this month.

December 12: Nourmia
December 13: Agathos Daemon
December 14: Honoring Athena
December 15: Honoring Aphrodite, Hermes, Hercules, Eros
December 17: Honoring Artemis
December 18: Honoring Apollo
December 19: Honoring Poseidon and Theseus
December 23: Poseideia
December 25: Full Moon (Honoring Selene, Artemis, and Hecate)
December 27: Sacrifices to Zeus Horios
January 1: Rural Dionysia
January 6: Haloa
January 9:  During the morning, before sundown, Libations to Hera
                 Hena Kai Nea (New Moon)

Hena Kai Nea (December 2015)

Tonight, at sundown, is Hena Kai Nea, or the 'old and the new' Hecate. It's a time to clean up our homes, frigs, and even our altar spaces. We throw out the old and make way for the new. I consider this observance a time to clean the place up and make it look nice. I do hope that you have a great observance and may you be protected.

Pompaia (2015)

Well we roll around again to Pompaia. It's to honor Zeus Meilikhos, which is the underworld aspect of Zeus. He's seen as a snake but it's not the same as Agathos Daemon. Pour whatever you have in his honor and have a great festival.

I Believe We Should Look Beyond Traditional Offerings

One of the things that I've noticed reading the lovely book that Labrys brought out is that they list offerings that the gods accept. Now there is already shaking of heads at the suggestion that only statues should be venerated, or honored, and not prints. I'm pretty sure that this has everything to do with the kind of Christianity that's practiced over there. But most here in the States love our prints. Yes, statues are wonderful but some of us don't have the money for them or are afraid that our cats, or dogs, will knock them over.

I've given the kinds of offerings that the book has suggested and, while they are nice, I don't feel as though the gods are accepting them. Now I give them something that isn't on the list and I feel that they've accepted it. The reason that I feel this way, or have gotten that impression, is that I'm trying so hard to follow how the Greeks do things that I feel that I'm sort of stuck somewhere. Traditional offerings are considered traditional because the ancient Greeks gave them to the gods.

However I believe that the gods accept what we can give them. Even if it's our time around them and acknowledging their existence. I don't believe that we should be bounded by what the ancient Greeks did. We should look beyond traditional offerings and give what we have. That's the purpose of sacrifice. Your giving the gods something that you normally would eat. In return the gods protect you and your home and make sure that you can provide for them. It's a relationship that I enjoy taking part in.

Giving what I have also tells the gods, and spirits, that I appreciate what I have and I want to share what I have. I think that makes the offerings just as good as what's written in the book.

Ancient Etruscan Tomb Found 'Undisturbed' In Italy

Found this on Huffpost Science. I thought the whole thing was fascinating. I couldn't put any video's up but I'll give you the link to the article and even the article itself.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/etruscan-tomb-found_56650848e4b08e945fefe486?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000022

An intact 2,300-year-old Etruscan tomb recently discovered in Italy may help shed light on an ancient civilization that flourished centuries before the rise of the Roman Empire.
The tomb, found in a field near Città della Pieve, about 30 miles southwest of Perugia, had been partially buried in a landslide, according to local news outlet Perugia Today. 
Inside, archaeologists have found a number of artifacts including urns and a marble head, as well as two sarcophagi:

A worker had been plowing the field above the tomb in October when the machine jammed, leading to the spectacular find, according to Italian news outlet Umbria24, which says the tomb is at the end of a corridor 40 feet deep.
"It was a totally unexpected discovery," Clarita Natalini of the archaeological superintendency of Umbria told Discovery News. "The area is away from the sites visited by tomb robbers and indeed the burial is undisturbed."
She said one of the sarcophagi has the name "Laris" on it.
The other also contains an inscription but was damaged, apparently long ago.

 

A marble head found in the tomb had been broken off at the neck.  "It portrays the beautiful face of a young man," Natalini told Discovery. "We do not know yet its meaning. Perhaps it was part of a statue that honored one of the deceased."
The Etruscans have long been considered enigmatic by historians because little is known about their origins and even their language, which is not related to the Indo-European languages in the region.
However, discoveries in recent years have helped shed light on the civilization. For example, a 2013 study traced the origins of French winemaking to the Etruscans at around 525 BC.
The new discovery could help scientists learn even more, and local officials say other discoveries could be waiting in the area. Umbria24 reports that researchers may use ground-penetrating radar to scan for other hidden tombs. 

I look forward to hearing more about this.
 

December Shrine to Dionysus

I've finally gotten around to actually posting this photo. I would of done it at the beginning of the month but I had such a crazy week and I didn't have the time to do it. So I hope that you enjoy it and sorry about not being on as much as I had at one time.

I had to turn the light button on so that you could see it. My lighting sucks and I have a curtain that's suppose to keep the cold air out.