#devotional act

Hail to the ethereal Aphrodite,

pearl of Cyprus,

she who stirs the heart.

Again, I speak in admiration of you,

of the darling flowers that adorn the paths I walk,

of the beauty that accompanies familial love,

and of the divinely answered requests, washing away insecurity.

Your faithful idolater thanks you for it all, laughter-loving goddess.

Cotton candy (since it looks like a cloud)

A pebble or rock wrapped in fabric (as an homage to his birth myth)

Snake iconography (for Zeus Meilikhios)

A gavel or set of scales (for his justice aspect)

A representation of a mountain (for Olympus and for all of his mountain epithets) [could be a drawing of one, a pebble taken from one, I have a little glass one given to me by a friend]

Some arts and crafts you made (for Zeus Mechaneus)

Thermometer or storm glass

A set of wedding rings (for Zeus Gamelli/Teleios/Zygius)

Acorns (they'll grow up to become oak trees, Zeus is god of fatherhood, see where I'm going here?)

Bee iconography (Cretan Zeus Bee myth)

Give money to the unhoused (shouldn't be unconventional at all I just dont see it making it onto other lists)

Coffee, whiskey or rum (my preferences for liquid offerings other than water)

House iconography, or something that evokes the safety of home (go crazy with this, can be abstract as cloves reminding you of the warmth of home or something representing your house keys and deeds)

Share part of a meal that you had with a friend with him!

Complete an important chore or errand (I'm talking taxes, rent, registration, VOTING, health appointments -- can be important responsibilities, but we're down for everything important to take care of you that's needing to be done here, like clean your room!! your living space!!)

Talk to a stranger and make a new friend (or maybe just small talk, doesn't have to be huge)

Drink some mf water

self care does not have to involve ‘glowing up’. it can look like working on your self esteem, learning to treat yourself kindly.

instead of splurging on makeup, learn how to be comfortable enough with your natural beauty to go outside with your bare face.

instead of being materialistic and buying every trending skincare product, embrace a simple routine and work inward. work on both your physical and mental health, not just one or the other.

I do think though, that it is incredibly important, especially online, to distinguish occult, religious, and spiritual practices from imagination. I think it is extremely important to respect deity work as work, the Great Work, as a craft that requires practice and focus, that has religious and cultural significance.

My deities and magic are not imagined. The “rules” and logic behind contact are not imagined, they are a science. Studying and practicing occult schools of thought and rituals are not performance. Lucifer is not my imaginary friend. My religion is not a hobby. Making the insinuation that deities- religiously significant figures- are all imagined is extremely disrespectful, especially if you’re speaking to full theists.

I very much do believe there is a major difference between thinking about a deity and contacting them. I think it is reckless to imply that any thought could be them. I do believe you have to practice to achieve effective communication. It is not the default. You are not entitled to that ability, you have to develop it.

I do not believe all thoughts are communion, and I do believe very much that discernment is incredibly important to deity work. Checking results, re-testing, documenting, and tracking so you can be confident that you are actually making contact with the spirit you wish to communicate with is incredibly important. Sensing signs and distinguishing Lucifer’s voice from the noise of my own thoughts is incredibly important. That requires practice, that requires discernment and long term commitment. I cannot simply approach Lucifer and expect that he is going to give me all the answers just because I’m here. I’m not proving I am worthy enough, I am exercising a muscle required to perceive him.

I don’t think anyone needs to meditate on a mountain for months to achieve results or have these abilities. But removing the work from the results, asserting that anyone can just have what extremely devoted hard working priests and priestesses have, by sheer imagination, audacity, and nothing more, is an insane spit in the face to religious sanctity and belief. It takes all of the skill of long term devotion and practice, all the intense learning, and turns it into frivolous performance. Deity work as religion must be respected as such

I don’t know how to explain that occult schools of thought, practices, rituals, are not just ideas. They are scientific concepts that follow metaphysical physics. People have dedicated their lives to understanding these concepts and passing down their knowledge. To imply that these fundamentals are irrelevant is extremely disrespectful.

Acts of devotion are not just done for the sake of chumming it. These are religious acts, there is a spiritual purpose to the exchange. I’m not offering Lucifer bread and wine because he demanded them, or to grovel to him. I’m not earning his affection through offerings. I am providing him with a physical manifestation of my intent, and he does the same for me in turn through blessings and gifts. I am using my power as a physical being to create the world in our image. And I am sharing a piece of my life with him to create a channel for communication.

I cannot achieve these things by simply thinking about Lucifer all day. I do not learn or grow through wanting, I grow through doing. Experience. Trial and error.

Rituals are not done to prove loyalty. They are metaphysical keys, they are incredibly important to the practice of channeling. Tuning yourself so you can receive divine guidance is not an imaginative exercise. Occultism is not just imagination. My gods are not imagined.

I cannot express enough how important it is to distinguish mundane forms of thought from ritualized intentions and trances. I cannot express how important it is that deities and gods, angels, spirits and demons, are not conflated with imaginary friends or fictional characters. That we understand how to effectively contact spirits through method and repeated results so that we can differentiate between ourselves and others.

Whenever I read something that goes along the lines “this is all made up! There’s no real world legitimacy to occult principles! You don’t have to do anything! It’s all in your head and you make all the rules!”

I get disheartened, because people genuinely do not seem to have respect for the practice itself. They see the deity and assume thats all that ever mattered. There is no pursuit to improve skills, communication, resonance. It is all just a fun thought game.

If that’s your goal, to think and have fun, all power to you. Do that. I am not saying anyone is wrong for wanting to have Apollon or Lucifer as an imaginary friend. If that gets you through the day, do that.

But do not enter into religious devotional spaces where people are talking about their real gods, and assert that our rituals, our practices, our devotion and effort, is all irrelevant and performative. Don’t tell seasoned practitioners who do daily rites, who have studied their specific field for years, that you could achieve all they have doing nothing more than thinking.

There is a legitimate metaphysical reason why we light candles and burn incense. There is a logic and science to incantation, invocation, evocation. There is a skill to perceiving, reading signs, and interpreting. There are spiritual muscles that need to be exercised to maintain their function. These are not imagined ideas, these are the real means that practicing pagans use to communicate with their gods.

If you treat all of occultism and deity work like it’s just imagination, that none of the knowledge passed down over generations matters, you simply are not practicing deity work. And that’s fine, no one is required to practice deity work if they don’t want to. Just don’t get mixed up in the wrong places, because you will confuse others at best, and deeply disrespect them at worst.

Devotional moodboard for my lord Dionysus

All pictures found on Pinterest.

Enchanting Objects with the energy of the Gods has been done for all time, as long as any faith has existed. A common example of this is how Christians may see their crosses as not just symbols, but holding the power of christ. Enchantment can be general Hypnos's power, or you can set other intentions in relation to Him. It can also be done on any object as big or as small as you desire, Hypnos's power is strong and if you intend with faith it will be done. Normally when enchanting objects, it requires focus of intent, however, these strategies I offer are based on faith and letting it sit and absorb energy. When it comes to enchanting objects, you want to come in with a goal. Here are some Hypnos related ideas to enchant your item with!

better sleep

lucid dreaming aid

anti-nightmares

healing

protection

waking up energized

plurality aid

aid with mental health

sooth anxiety or stress

general Hypnos energy

etc!

Here are some object ideas you can enchant

pillows

blankets

jewelry(to carry that energy with you)

phone

clothes

couch

car

etc! It can be anything!!!

This process is very simple, and I offer 2 ways of doing it!

WITH AN ALTAR

With this one, Size may be limited as..Well Altar's won't be able to fit a car! This one is probably the easiest, all you have to do is place the object on the Altar and request to Hypnos to enchant the object. Allow it to sit there so it can absorb the Hypnos-related energy that surrounds it. If you're not sure how to ask, here is a quick prayer you can do!

"Hypnos, Vanquisher of worry, He who rest in Erebos, He whom I worship with love, I request from you to send your energy into this object. May it aid me with [INSERT INTENTION], powerful one I thank you and am honored to be before you."

Example: I desire to enchant this toy to soothe anxiety and connect me with Hypnos,

I will place it onto my altar and commence the enchantment using the prayer above as so:

"Hypnos, Vanquisher of worry, He who rest in Erebos, He whom I worship with love, I request from you to send your energy into this object. May it aid me with connecting with you and soothing my anxiety, powerful one I thank you and am honored to be before you."

I will then lay it there simply until I remember to grab it, it's that easy!

WITHOUT AN ALTAR

This is best for larger objects that don't fit on an altar, or for those who simply do not have one that is physical. All you need for this is a piece of paper, a writing tool, and faith. Place this sigil onto the paper, this sigil is Hypnos's and will instantly start to send out that energy as so is the function of sigils.

Place your object onto the sigil, or you can use a sticky note to place it onto the object. You will then recite the prayer above and leave the paper until you feel it is ready (or let it sit until you remember).