Sunday's with Apollo (May 31, 2015)

This is the last Sunday with Apollo for May. I really have enjoyed celebrating them and honoring Apollo on his day, Sunday. It really amazes me that people that honor Christ goes to church on a day that's dedicated to Apollo. Not meaning to attack, really, but it just seems so odd. I celebrated the last Sunday of May with the usual ritual that I've done before. However I thanked Apollo for my health and my desire to improve on it.

I look forward to the month of June and know that my gods will be with me. Have a great day and I hope that you all had a great month.

Sunday's with Apollo and Thargelia (May 24, 2015)

So today is another Sunday with Apollo. Once again I put my prayer candle to him and lit it. I burned scented oil until I can get the Japanese Frankincense that I'm planning on ordering next month, the roses, and I poured libation of a new bottle of grape juice (red, this time), in a glass before pouring it on the ground outside. Today is also the holiday of Thargelia, which is in honor of Apollo. I've found info about the holiday and I intend to celebrate it. I got this from the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Thargelia, in Greek religion, one of the chief festivals of Apollo at Athens, celebrated on the sixth and seventh days of Thargelion (May-June). Basically a vegetation ritual upon which an expiatory rite was grafted, the festival was named after the first fruits, or the first bread from the new wheat.
On the first day of the festival, two men (or a man and a woman) were chosen for their ugliness; acting as scapegoats for community guilt, they were draped in figs and led through the city before being cast out. (See also pharmakos.) Occasionally, as in times of heavy calamity, they were sacrificed, being either thrown into the sea or burned on a funeral pyre. On the second day of the festival, there was a thanks offering, a procession, and the official registration of adopted persons.

I hope that your day will be well and happy Thargelia.

Sacrifices to Leto, Pythian Apollo, Zeus, Hermes, Discori

This is one of those holidays that have multiple deities to them. Tonight we honor Leto, Pythian Apollo, Zeus, Hermes, and the Discori. So I'm going to break down each deity and give info. Now most know this information, but I just wanted to add it.

Leto

Leto is the mother of Artemis and Apollo. She was cursed by Hera to never find a place to give birth. This is one of the many times that Hera has been furious over her husband's desire to have as many lovers as possible. Finally the island of Delos allowed her to land and give birth. We honor Leto and give her thanks.

Pythian Apollo is just a title for the god Apollo. I believe that he has this title is due to him killing the Python. So he goes by the title Pythian and his added name, Apollo. Some modern pagans do not like the story of Apollo killing the Python as they believe that Apollo wanted the power that was present and the Python was connected to Gaia. No matter, we honor him as the slayer of the Python.

Zeus

Zeus is King of the Gods and one of my personal favorites. We honor Zeus on this day and give him thanks. I don't know how many festivals Zeus has but he probably had more than the others.

Hermes

Hermes is messenger of the gods and guides souls to the underworld. He can walk between the worlds, which might seem New Age but if you know his responsibilities then it's not. He stole the cattle form Apollo, who forgave him. Hermes gave Apollo his lyre and Apollo gave him his sheep.

The Dioskouri

Castor and Pollux are twin brothers, even though Pollux is the son of Zeus and Castor is of a mortal father. When Castor died Pollux asked Zeus if his brother could share his immortality. They became the constellation of Gemini. This festival is perfect to honor the bound between twin brothers, or brothers in general.


I hope that you all have a good one and gods bless.

Thargelion Begins (2015)

So tonight we celebrate Nouminia, the first day of the new Hellenic month of Thargelion. Below is the list of holy days (Birthdays of the gods) and festivals. I hope that you all have a good month and may the gods bless you.

May 18th: Nouminia
May 19th: Agathos Daemon
May 20th: Athena
May 21st: Aphrodite, Hermes, Hercules, Eros
                 Sacrifices to Leto, Pythian Apollo, Zeus, Hermes, Discori
May 23rd: Artemis
May 24th: Apollo
                  Thargelia
May 25th: Poseidon and Theseus
June 2nd: Full Moon: Honoring Selene and Artemis
June 5th: Festival to honor Bendis
June 11th: Plyrteria
June 13: Libations to Zeus
June 16th: Hena Kai Nea "The Old, and the New, Hecate"

Sunday's With Apollo (May 17, 2015)

I've decided to blog about my Sunday's with Apollo. I have been doing a Sunday ritual to Apollo for awhile now. Maybe not all the time but I have done them. I have found that spending time with the god Apollo has helped me out in more ways then I can even imagine. I have a prayer candle to him, which I need to get a new one, and I light it, give him his offerings, and pray to him. I also talk to him. I know that some Hellenists might find that odd, but I do talk to him.

I'm feeling very close to the god and I'm finding that spending this time around him has helped me down my own spiritual path. In the past Greeks believe that Apollo heard your question and then answered it through the Pythia. We don't have a Pythia anymore, but I don't believe that he's shut out hearing us. I have found that I don't need to defend my use of prayer around those that will make fun of it. I just have to care about myself and how I act as a Hellenist.

Hena Kai Nea (May 2015)

So tonight, at sundown, we honor Hecate again. We clean our homes, we clean our altars, and we dispose of the food that we placed in our jars the last time that we opened them. I find this night to be very spiritually fulfilling and wonderful. Even though Hecate is on her hunt, with the souls of those that haven't seen justice, I find her presence to be comforting. I don't know how to describe it.

I hope that you all have a good one and stay safe.

Why I Don't Pour Wine

One of the things that I have noticed in the book Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship is the use of wine for libations. Now while I don't have a problem with how they do things over there. I do consider it to be a suggestion and not hard fact. The ancient Greeks used wine because, as far as I know, it was the only drink that was drunk by anyone back then. I doubt the water supply was safe.

Today we do have the option of not using wine in our rituals. Yes, I know that will be plenty of people out there that will say that we should pour libations with wine. But I'm not a fan of the stuff and I have a hard time even drinking a little. I use substitutions for wine. Like water, milk, and grape juice. Grape juice comes from the same fruit as wine does. I don't see anything wrong with use it instead of wine.

So the reason that I don't pour wine is very simple. Can't stand the stuff and therefore don't want to use it. The only exception to this is Dionysus. But I don't actually drink the wine, I more pour it on the ground. Other than that, no wine. Of course I seem to not be alone. In a documentary about modern Hellenic followers there is a man, who is an archeologist, that offers water and milk, along with wine. So I'm glad that I'm not alone in this.

Have a great day. 

Finally Found a Theseus Statue

For over four years I have been looking for a statue of Theseus. On the 8th day of the month we are to honor Theseus and Poseidon. However I have never been able to find a Theseus statue. Finally, after several years, I have managed to find him. He's a bit pricy, but not that expensive. I'm planning on buying him around August and having him on a shelf that I'm buying to put up on my wall. This shelf will be part of my redesigned space, which will have books and other 'items' on it.

Finding the statue is a huge relief. I personally didn't think that they made a statue of Theseus. Now that I know that they do, I'm going to buy him. Sometimes things just come around when your least expecting it.

Book Series that I'm Reading: Olympia Heights: The Pantheon

 So what is this little Hellenist planning on doing this summer? Finally get around to finish the first book in the Olympia Heights series, The Pantheon. I think Baring the Aegis talked about this series, I don't remember, but I really haven't gotten around to finish the book. The first book in the series, which was free, is about a group of High School kids that are the Greek gods.

Even though I haven't done much reading of the book, I'm on page 97, the book sounds a lot better than Percy Jackson. Don't get me wrong, I love the series. But this book is way better. So far the book has proven to be a perfect replacement for my Percy Jackson withdrawal addition and it does have quotes from some of the notable writers like Euripides and many others. One scene was pretty interesting. One of the boys, who I got right away is actually Dionysus, his mother was thrown down a flight of stairs by her bosses wife.

Sounds familiar? That's because it's a different retelling of Hera killing Dionysus mother when she found out that her husband had made love with another mortal. I'm planning on buying the next two books in the series, so I'm expecting a pretty nice summer of reading. I will be doing a full review of the book once I'm done.

Late Post: Libations to Apollo (2015)

Sorry about this being a late post but I was recovering from going food shopping. I have come to the conclusion that I'm not fit to carry five pounds of food in a backpack, on my back, with the addition of six bags of food that didn't fit. I felt like a mule! However I did do my libation to Apollo, which I enjoyed. The God of Music, Poetry, Disease, Prophecy, and brother to Artemis. I went outside and did this libation as it's been warm lately.

I used a ritual that I created and poured libation of grape juice (I don't really care for wine) and burned incense. I'm finding that burning incense outside doesn't bother me at all compared to doing it inside. I also offered red roses to him as well and tore bread off to give to the birds. I really enjoyed doing this libation with the sun shining and it was a very moving experience.

I can see why the Hellenists in Greece love doing rituals outside. Oh and I made sure that I gave libation to Hestia as well. I hope that you all had a good libation and a good weekend.

Now here's an article that really caught my attention. So much that I have to put it here. I really enjoyed it and I'm sure that you all will as well.

Bulgaria's Latest Archaeology News, Top Archaeologists & Museums

Bulgaria’s Pernik to Rehabilitate Ancient Thracian Sanctuary Dedicated to Medicine God Asclepius

May 7, 2015 · by Ivan Dikov · in Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient Thrace, Antiquity · 1 Comment

The ruins of the Ancient Thracian asclepion, sanctuary of medicine god Asclepius, in the Daskalovo Quarter of the western Bulgarian city of Pernik. Photo: TV grab from News7

An Ancient Thracian asclepion, a sanctuary dedicated to Ancient Greek and Thracian god of medicine Asclepius, is to be rehabilitated and made accessible for visitors by the museum authorities in the western Bulgarian city of Pernik.

The Thracian asclepion near Pernik is the sanctuary dedicated to medicine god Asclepius which is closest to the Bulgarian capital Sofia, reports private Bulgarian TV channel News7.

The unique Ancient Thracian sanctuary is located in Pernik’s Daskalovo Quarter, between two highway lanes of the Daskalovo Road Junction, which is the where the Lyulin Highway and the Struma Highway meet.

The sanctuary of medicine god Asclepius was first discovered in 1979 during the construction of the road connecting the Bulgarian capital Sofia with the Gyueshevo Border Crossing Point on the border with the Republic of Macedonia (then the former Yugoslavia).

It is yet to be developed as a cultural tourism site because it has been long neglected by the local authorities and the residents of Pernik.

However, a wide range of Ancient Thracian, Greek, and Roman artifacts from the asclepion can be seen at the Pernik Regional Museum of History.

The Museum’s rich collection of artifacts from the sanctuary includes a lot of reliefs and sculptures dedicated to Asclepius and his daughter Hygieia, the goddess of health, cleanliness, and sanitation, as well as the largest collection of slabs with different images of the supreme god of the Ancient Thracians, the Thracian Horseman, also known as god Heros.