When Shit Goes So Bad You Turn To Religion

And I hope that you know that Lady Hestia would beat you up for saying something like that. I cannot imagine looking at Hestia, the Goddess of the Home. HOME! THE PLACE WHERE WOMEN WERE CONFINED TO FOR CENTURIES! And think, of yeah, let's be misogynistic. Sure.

Worship Lady Hestia because she has been the Patron of women for centuries; she makes the Home a safe refuge. Don't worship her if you think that the home and kitchen are the woman's place. Don't use her name in your sick fantasy of keeping women pure and docile.

1. In every version of the myth, Medusa is born a human and Athena turns her into a monster

2. Hestia, goddess of the hearth and family, willingly gave up her place as the 12th Olympian to make room for Dionysus

3. Persephone chose Hades and wandered into the underworld of her own free will

4. Pandora didn’t know what was in her jar and unleashed evils on humanity by accident

5. During the voyage of the Argonauts the huntress Atalanta beat the hero Peleus the father of Achilles in a wrestling match

6. King Midas of Phrygia decided to give up his golden touch after turning his daughter to gold

#5 is the real one. You can find a reference to Atalanta wrestling Peleus at funeral games while on the journey of the Argo in The Library by Pseudo-Apollodorus.

This is an artistic depiction of the event from a piece of pottery currently being held in Staatlishe Museum Berlin.

Ovid invented the version where Medusa was originally a woman and Ovid hated most of the gods on principle. Also, he was Roman. The earliest versions of gorgon myths depict her and her sisters as being born as monsters.

There's no reference in ancient mythology to Hestia giving up her spot. In some regions she was one of the 12 Olympians, and in others Dionysus was on the list instead. The idea that she stepped down was invented by modern writers who like to have coherent logic in their stories.

Explained above. A bit of creative writing.

Pandora according to Hesiod was the first woman and perfectly aware of what was in her jar. She was created as part of the punishment for mankind. Human women didn't exist before Pandora according to Hesiod. But because Hesiod was misogynistic even by ancient Greek standards, writers and artists after the ancient Greek religion died out re-characterized her as stupid and curious rather than evil.

5. As explained above, real.

6. This version was invented by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the original myth, Midas just got hungry. No Daughter involved.

I think many of us get so caught up in altars, divination, and research, that we can lose sight of what is in front of us. This happened to me for a long long time, before I finally said, “The Gods truly are everywhere.”

They are with us always. They live through us. And most importantly, they will always be there through all things we see and do. No altar for them? No worries, simply connect. The world is our altar.

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Hestia, the heart of the home, providing you warmth.

Father Zeus, laughing heartily as booming thunder and storms rage.

Mother Hera, watching and guiding when you are in relationship troubles.

Aphrodite, smiling when you feel extra beautiful/handsome.

Ares, proudly beaming when you stand up for yourself and others.

Apollo, advising you to take extra care when you’re sick, or listening to every tune.

Dionysus, urging you to find pleasure in all things.

Artemis, stern and protecting of the wild, watching over the animals as you go throughout your day.

Hephaestus, there when you finally finish that project you’ve been putting off.

Poseidon, earth shaker, who makes you feel that extra glee when you go out swimming.

Hermes, chuckling as you go to the store and travel.

Demeter, calming and reminding you to be grateful always.

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And even more so if you honor a titan?

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Selene smiles upon you at night.

Helios will greet you in the morning.

Nyx and Asteria, bringing the darkness, but not frightening.

Gaia, the Mother Earth, the stability beneath your feet.

Uranus? He gives you those cloudy days.

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The gods are in EVERYTHING. You don’t need an altar to honor all the gods. You just need to find them.

It worked first when it was said to people who treated the gods like charaters instead of religious figures. It worked when it was said towards people who expect the gods to do everything for them. I think the problem comes from people phrasing it like how parents say "I'm not one of your little friends", like.. you're right.. but it's a horrible way to word it.

Then people thinking "do the gods hate me", "will I be punished for my small mistake", and other similar things found the phrase. I legitimately think a lot of people would benefit from treating the gods like their friends. If you're accidentally disrespectful, give them an offering and apologize. If you said something wrong/ were uneducated, learn and do better in the future. The gods won't abandon you for one small mistake or the actions of others around you. This is without even going into kharis and how you wouldn't ask strangers or colleagues you don't talk to for help on big things without paying them back properly.

I need to first write: you don't have to have an altar to worship a deity. Not having an altar does not prevent you from worshipping.

You can do anything for them, without an altar. Tea, coffee, baked goods, journals, drawings, figurines, water, plushies, flowers, dirt and sand. ANYTHING. You just worship them without an altar. That's it.

Add their symbolic foods to your diet. Like poppy seeds for Hestia, chocolate for Hera, and wild berries for Artemis. Look for herbs and whole foods that are associated with your Deities and try to always have them on rotation.

Wear jewellery that you associate with them.

Make journals for them and treat them as altars. Add pictures of offerings, a splash of coffee you made for them.

If you still have space, make a collective altar.

Place figurines and their symbols around your house.

Decorate walls with drawings of them.

Watch movies and listen to music that you associate with them.

When you are depressed, Dionysos is with you

When you are delusional, Dionysos is with you

When you are euphoric, Dionysos is with you

When you are splitting, Dionysos is with you

When you are in a rage, Dionysos is with you

When you are struggling with your mental health in any way, Dionysos is right there with you. He will never be angry about your mental illness.

Hypnos of the chronic pain sufferers, stuck in bed for days

Hypnos of the recovering, having to rest for long periods

Hypnos of the comatose, protecting them in their fragile state

Hypnos of those with endometriosis, unable to get out of bed from the cramping pain

Hypnos of the narcoleptic, unable to control their sleep-wake cycle

Hypnos of the hypersomniacs, unable to stay awake very long

Hypnos of the insomniacs, unable to fall asleep at all

Hypnos of the sleep walkers, keeping them from running into something in their sleep

Hypnos of the sleep paralysis, fighting the visions off when you can’t move

Hypnos of those who faint and black out, making sure they don’t hit the ground too hard

Hypnos of the dizzy and lightheaded, who have to lie down more often

What is the most recent time you noticed your Deity's presence?

What lesson did your Deity teach you this week?

What went right and wrong in your journey this week?

What was the most joyful moment of this week?

What offerings did you give to your Deity this week?

What were your plans for this week?

Did you accomplish everything?

Do you feel satisfied with your practice for this week?

If you had more time this week, what would you do for/with your Deity?

What are your priorities in your practice for the next week?

What do you want to learn this next week?

What are your offering and ritual plans for next week?