#aether deity

The oracular inscription at Oenoanda is craved across a bas-relier altar located on the interior of the city's Hellenistic-era defensive walls, approximately four meters from the ground. Most scholars date the Oenoanda inscription to the end of the second, or the beginning of the third century CE.

[A]ύτοφυής, ἀδίδακτος, ἀμήτωρ, ἀστυφέλικτος, οὔνομα μὴ χωρῶν, πολυώνυμος, ἐν πυρί ναίων, τοῦτο θεός· μεικρά δὲ θεοῦ μερίς ἄγγελοι ἡμεῖς. τοῦτο πευθομένοισι θεοῦ πέρι ὄστις ὑπάρχει, Αἰ[θ]έ[ρ]α πανδερκ[ῇ θε]ὸν ἔννεπεν, εἰς ὄν ὀρῶντας εὐχεσθῷ ἡφους πρὸς ἀντολίην ἐσορῶ[ν]τα[ς] Self-generated, untaught, without-mother, un-moveable, not using a name, many-named, in-fire-dwelling, this is god. We angeloi are a small part of god. This [reply] to those who inquired about god, who he actually is: All-seeing Aether is god, [the oracle] said, looking to him at dawn, pray, gazing towards the east.

"The most unquestionable deity is that remote all-surrounding fiery atmosphere called Aether, which encircles and embraces the universe on its outer side at an exceedingly lofty altitude."

— Cicero, De Natura Deorum 1. 14

🕯️☀️🕯️☀️🕯️☀️🕯️☀️🕯️☀️🕯️☀️🕯️☀️🕯️☀️

Thinking of setting up an altar or devotional space for the all seeing god of light and sky, the ancient god Aether? Cool! Working with a primordial deity can be an enlightening and rewarding experience for sure! And aether is certainly one of the less intimidating to do so with, and a great way to start exploring primordial deity devotion! You’ll need an altar of course, so why don’t we look at some ways to get started?

• STEP ONE: Colors and Cloth 🌈🧶

In order to start your altar, wether that be upon a tabletop, a floor corner, a shelf, or a drawer, it’s a good idea to lay down a cloth or fabric of the color associated with the god you intent to make it for! Aether, being the god of light and the sky, has 2 colors historically that are associated with him. Yellow, Lavender, and light blue! These colors can be a common theme on his altar space, and a cloth or fabric in one or both of these colors is the place to start! Used fabrics can be found for fairly cheap at most thrift shops, or at textiles shops, such as for example: Value Village, Johanne’s, or local sewing shops. Bonus points if you can find a piece of fabric scrap with related iconography on it as well! Such as the sun, or beams of light, in Aether’s case.

• STEP TWO: dishes, vessels, utilities. 🏺🕯️

The next thing you’ll want to add to your altar are some of the larger, more utilitarian pieces you wish to decorate with, these can include things like tarot decks, teacups or plates to hold offerings, offering bowls, candles, or books. It is also a good idea to select bowls, dishes, and teacups that line up with the iconography and sacred symbolism of the god the altar is dedicated to. For example, where an altar to say, Demeter, may have these objects decorated with symbols of farming, Lily of the valley, wheat, or autumnal imagery, an altar to Aether might have these same objects decorated with symbolism of things like clouds, the sun, birds, or angels/cherubs!

• STEP THREE: Idols and Tributes 🪆♟️

Another important way to respect your altar and it’s god is to decorate it with Idols of them, like statues, sketches, or other artworks depicting them! You can also donate tributary items to the altar, such as little figurines or charms of things associated with them, for example, my Artemis altar has a small porcelain cat figurine, and my Freya altar has a guilloche heart trinket. Perhaps an altar to Aether could have a song bird figurine, or a statuette of an angel or cherub!

• STEP FOUR: traditional offerings 🍷💎🫚

Some traditional offerings like food, drink, crystals, herbs, flowers, etc. are an important, and very easy offer to make to your altars, and can easily be placed in the vessels and dishes you keep on the altar space. These offers vary on the god associated, but I’ll list some good ones for Aether below!

- 🌸: Lavender, Violets, Wisteria.

- 🫚: Saffron, Coffee beans, Chamomile

- 💎: Celestite, Angelite, Amethyst.

- 🍗: Blueberries

- 🍷: coffee, tea, honey

• STEP FIVE: Iconography

The final step to creating your altar is the use of divine iconography. These symbols, emblems, and motifs celebrate your gods lore, history, and sacred things. You can honor this by finding things donning the iconography associated with your god! For example, almost all of my altars utilize antique painted porcelain or ceramics in some way, I have a porcelain sugar dish painted with strawberries for Aphrodite, a tea plate with wheat sheathes for Demeter, and an antique English teacup with Lilacs painted on it for Pan! Some of the sacred icons of Aether may include: Lavender, Saffron, Eagles, Griffins, and clouds.

☀️🕯️☀️🕯️☀️🕯️☀️🕯️☀️🕯️☀️🕯️☀️🕯️☀️🕯️

Now that you’re altar to the great god of Aether has been set up, you now have a proper dedicated space to devote yourself to him with! Pray to him for luck with the weather, ask him to guide to the light, and tell him your stories, and enquire for his wisdom. May Aether bless you and your brand new altar! 💙🏛️💙

Aether is a god of light and the ether. Excluding the universal offerings, some common offerings include:

Depictions of Clouds

Eggs (Fake or Real)

Depictions of Stars

Photos or Figured of Serpents

Depictions of Planets

Lights

Depictions of Mountain Peaks

Photos or Figures of Lions (Especially Lion Heads)

Feathers

For devotional acts, some activities that can be done for him include:

Playing Wind Instruments

Climbing a Mountain

Stargazing

Cloudwatching

Covering Lights (Or Turning Them Off) at Night

Learn About Types of Clouds

Wearing Blue

Sitting Outside During a Windy Day

࿓༄ go by Kieran; he/him; all my kharis is with illustrious Aether for many years now, but I also venerate all his family and especially his father Erebos. I'm mostly focused on protogenoi. ᨒ

𑁤 Ακμονίδαυς is my personal tag. theoi go by their greek names.

blessed be. 𓏲ּ𝄢

Give heed to the prayers. Oh! most mighty king, the boundless Aer, that keepest the earth suspended in space, thou bright Aether!

Aether is the premordial god of the light and brightness, as well as the veil of the heavens. His mother, Nyx, would come to in the evening to drape her veil across the skies to usher in the darkness. In the morning, his sister and wife (yikes) Hemera, would lift her mothers cloak to welcome the morning light. The king of light, the shine of day, is Aether. Although not much of his cult was ever truly recorded, nor was his direct involvement in the epics, he is still an ancient being worthy of notoriety.

If you wish to learn more about Aether, consider the sources below.

- Theoi.com

- Wikipedia.org

- wikia: gods and daemons wiki

- light candles

- turn on your lights

- Decorate your home with a lamp

- bask in the daylight

- open the curtains to let in the daylight

- plant sunflowers

- carry a flashlight with you at night

- be kind to moths

- pay your electricity bills

- visit a lighthouse

- welcome natural light into your home

- admire fireworks

- learn about the history of electricity and lighting

- be conscious of blue light and how it can effect your brain and mental health