I am 22, so minors DNI

I'm a Hellenic-leaning omnist. I believe in all gods and religions, I just worship the Hellenic pantheon specifically, so all religions are welcome here as long as you're respectful to me and others

I am queer and nonbinary

I'm still relatively new so please be patient with me if I make a mistake

I know the maenads were women, my username is lighthearted and meant to be both masculine and feminine since I identify with both

DNI:

Homophobes

Transphobes

Xenophobes

Fatphobes

Racists

Minors

My whole life I've suffered from sleep paralysis. It used to happen almost every other night as a kid, but as I got older it happened less and less, and now it's a little more uncommon.

I'm also prone to scary hallucinations during paralysis, but again, as I got older this also stopped happening as much. Even if I do wake up in sleep paralysis, I don't usually hallucinate anymore, I just keep my eyes closed until I'm able to move and wake myself up.

That's always my go-to is to wake myself up, because I'm too scared to go back to sleep; in a state where I'm vulnerable and have no control.

However, when I started on my hellenic path, I think sleep paralysis was how I met Hypnos, or at least felt his presence, for the first time. I remember waking up, unable to move, and in my mind I panicked and started to call out to him desperately.

I felt him show up, he told me to keep my eyes closed, and his presence felt like waves almost radiating or crashing into me, and instead of forcing myself awake like usual, I calmed down and fell back asleep.

Last night, I had the first episode of sleep paralysis I've had in probably months. I was facing the wall, so I was unable to see my bedroom, already putting me on edge. But then I had a hallucination, something I haven't had in a very long time. A man was behind me, and I could hear his voice talking to me, but it immediately made me so panicked that I couldn't hear what was said, and I woke up, rolling onto my back and looking around my room.

I was so scared that my vision was actually shakey and I genuinely believed someone had broken into my house and that I was in danger.

Nervous to go back to sleep tonight, out of fear of experiencing that again, I ended up staying awake until 4 am. So I figured I'd pray to Hypnos and ask for a night of restful sleep, asking for his protection against more sleep paralysis or nightmares.

If you experience the same thing, feel free to use this, I don't mind

☆☆☆

Dearest Hypnos, god of sleep;

Father of dreams and son of the night,

Winged and swift, merciful and graceful,

I call to you, kind one, and ask that you guide me to a restful, peaceful sleep, as I am plagued with nightmares and paralysis

I ask you, merciful Hypnos, to protect my mind as I submit to your domain, and to watch over me as I lie vulnerable in my bed

Please allow me to rest peacefully so that I may rise well rested again tomorrow.

In return, I offer you (offering/ libation/ action) for your kindly aid in my rest. I thank you, gentle Hypnos, for hearing me.

☆☆☆

I drafted this post because I was too tired to finish it, but I did sleep well last night, got almost a perfect 8 hours of sleep, and didn't have a single nightmare.

In fact, just like the last time I prayed to him, halfway into the prayer, I could feel the tiredness settling over me like a blanket, which is something I've only experienced with Hypnos

I'm on vacation with family, and we went to a state park. A few of us went on a hike through the woods, and I trailed a little behind in the back so I could offer my respects and admirations to Gaia and the nymphs inhabiting said forest

I poured a couple libations from my water bottle out for Gaia and the nymphs and said some quiet prayers

Last year I started to pray to and work with Priapus as a vegetation and fertility god since one of his domains is vegetable gardens specifically.

I asked him to help guide me and teach me how to grow my own vegetables, how to care for them, how to deter pests, etc.

Since then I've not only grown bell peppers, but I've also planted potatoes, carrots, beans, and gotten a strawberry plant, all of which are thriving.

My bell pepper finally ripened, so I harvested and offered it to Priapus, as I had promised it to him months ago. I thanked him for his guidance, thanked him for working with me, and asked to continue to work with him in the future and to continue to have good harvests like this.

His is the red one :)

I've made a couple other posts about this pepper and my work with Priapus as a vegetation and fertility god, and now seeing it turning red, I am so excited to give him this pepper.

Priapus has guided me and helped me learn so much about vegetable gardening, and I am so grateful.

It started with just this one pepper plant last year, but since then, I've planted potatoes, carrots, beans, and bought a strawberry plant.

Stepdad: Interesting choice in dish 🤨

Me: What?

Stepdad: That's for créme brûlée

Me: ...

There are many ways to honor the Mother today; Gardening, picking up trash, offerings, prayers and appreciation, etc.

Today I made her a cup of tea with honey and poured it out into the ground with a prayer of praise and appreciation

She's the air we breathe and the ground beneath our feet, she gives and supports our everyday life and we would have nothing without her

But people in America are now setting fire to businesses that underpay them while they struggle to survive, and something about that just reminds me so much of Ares, Dionysus, and a little bit of Hermes

One man recorded himself doing it and stated, "All you had to do was pay us enough to fucking live," and then set the warehouse on fire.

After him, another warehouse across the country was set on fire, and I think someone also tried to set a mall on fire (though I personally would have done this when it was closed and not putting innocent shoppers at risk.)

I think the rebellion and 'class' aspect of it reminds me of Dionysus

I think the violence and 'war' aspect of it reminds me of Ares

I think the money aspect and the message being sent reminds me of Hermes

There's a guy on tiktok who tortures animals just for fun in really horrific ways. People will justify it with, "Oh, well they're invasive!"

Invasive makes it okay to kill them quick and humanely, it does not justify sewing multiple fish together 'human centipede' style, that is just cruel, and whoever finds joy in that is a horrible person. Not only to find joy in it but to record and post it online for views, then to make a new account when you get banned the first time.

Not to mention that this is how serial killers tend to start out; start with animals then move onto humans.

Anyway, with all this context, I'd like to turn this issue over to Loki, when I find the time to pray to him. The only issue I think there may be is that I don't know his name, and his username keeps changing because he keeps getting banned for obvious reasons.

A group of politicians who call themselves god and decide which animal species get to live or die for profit? I feel like even the Abrahamic god would have issue with that.

Anyway I prayed to Poseidon and told him all about the God Squad deciding that Rice Whales can go extinct so they can drill for oil. Anything goes as long as rich people profit, right?

I didn't have a specific request other than justice against these politicians who made a decision regarding animals in Poseidon's domain, however it came to be.

I'm not home right now so unfortunately the offering took place in a solo cup in front of my travel altar

Happy Easter to athiest friends who only celebrate the non-religious parts of the day with candy and egg hunts

Happy Easter to pagan friends who spend the day with family even if we don't practice the religion ourselves

I hope everyone has a good day today! I'm spending it with Christian family and watching the little ones do an egg hunt