#nonbinary paganism

I've talked about my relationship with Her a lot on this blog, because She's my patron and has been the biggest influence and force in my life by far.

It was only recently when I realized that Athena was GNC, kind of like how I want to be.

She's described as follows:

"The whole figure is majestic, and rather strong built than slender: the hips are small and the shoulders broad, so that the whole somewhat resembles a male figure." (Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, thirty-five authors, 1894 CE)

"Three goddesses standing near them--they need no interpreter to tell who they are; for Athena is recognized at a glance, clothed as she is in what the poets call the ‘panoply of her race,’ casting a ‘bright glance’ from under her helmet, and ruddy of face as well as masculine in general appearance." (Imagines 8, by Philostratus the Younger, between 201 CE and 300 CE)

As an AFAB agender person who just barely leans masculine, I love that I can relate more to my patron, Athena, and see in Her what I want to be like.

The one time I felt Athena's presence so strongly that it was like she was physically with me was when I had an intensely bad period. Now, when I say "intensely bad", let me set the scene for you - I normally have crippling periods that knock me on my ass for two or three days.

This one was so bad that I was crying while I was trying to sleep. I was swaddled up under a blanket and basically suffering, when I felt a really familiar and comforting presence sit on the edge of my bed. Athena sat with me until I finally fell asleep.