#ouranic

Oooo, this is a tough one. I’m really not sure, since the animals died from natural causes and weren’t sacrificed. Usually, I’d suggest bones for chthonic offerings, not ouranic ones.

why is it so hard for me to tell the difference between chthonic and ouranic deities???

i know some can be both, i know some have both chthonic and ouranic aspects. but as someone with a dissociative disorder im finding it really hard to make the information digestible and retainable. im always forgetting and with such nuance, im finding it hard to find a general consensus for myself.

i mainly worries about the difference are:

- i want to know if i can share my offerings or not

- i want to know how to pose / format my prayers

i went to theoi . com and they were kinda helpful, i did get a good list of underworld deities. but rustic / agrarian deities? im guessing chthonic. but what about ocean deities? sky deities are easily ouranic.

but what about those that dont fit into any of those molds?

Lord Apollo, Lady Athena, does Lady Aphrodite count as an ocean deity?

does anyone have any advice or places that catagorise them easier?

Make yourself comfortable, whether it's laying down or sitting or whichever position suits you best. Take a deep breath and visualise a tap root growing down from the bottom of your spine and deep into the ground. Breathe out through it and feel the roots spread and reach deeper. Take a breath through the roots, and feel the breath travel up your spine and into the crown of your head. Now visualise branches spreading from the top of your head into the sky, first large ones and then thinner and thinner reaching ever upwards . Exhale through the branches and then inhale through them. Feel the breath travel down your spine and into the roots, then out into the ground. Breathe in through the roots. Breathe out through the branches.

Reverse direction and keep moving your breath up and down for as long as you like, grounding yourself and cleansing the stale energies within you.

May Hera strike a leader who watches as his people are murdered. May she strike him as he incites further violence.

May Apollon’s hands work through each medic treating wounds on the streets. May he disperse the cloud of sickness, and may no one taking to the streets in righteous anger be affected by this pandemic.

May Hephaistos command contraptions used against their purpose for lethal means to fall apart as they are used.

May Artemis curse the aim of those who would cruelly strike their own people.

May Ares weaken the arms of those who violently strike against those they are sworn to protect.

May Athena’s Aegis guard the protestors from all harm.

So today and tomorrow, May 18th & 19th, or in the Hellenic calendar Thargelion 6th & 7th in the 4th year of the 699th olympiad, mark the festival Thargelia which honors Artemis and Apollo. 

Due to the ongoing pandemic I was at my parents home and couldn’t freely or to full extend celebrate Thargelia, however I still tried to do as much as possible, without a real celebration or libation. 

So on the 6th of Thargelion, Artemis day I

- Started the day by undergoing catharsis or cleansing, took a bath, put on fresh clothes, took out the trash, to cleanse myself of miasma. 

- I couldn’t fast due to eating with/at my parents, but instead I avoided every unnecessary food or drink, so I only ate and drank during lunch and dinner when I had no other option. 

- In the afternoon I put on some symbolic clothing and jewelry that portray deer, which are associated with Artemis who is also named the huntress goddess.

- Then I wrote down two things I wanted to get rid off on paper, representing the pharmakoi or scapegoates, and ripped those to ward bad energy concerning these points off. 

* Due to the ongoing pandemic and Thargelia being associated with warding off illness, I wrote illness down as one of the things that I wanted to ward off.

* For the second pharmakoi, last Thargelia I wrote down self doubt about choices regarding the future. Through the past year that has indeed become less however it’s still not fully gone, well the doubt about choices is kinda gone but regarding future work I just really want a specific job and a lot of future choices depend on that so that’s why this year I wrote down ‘not working at my dream job at ...’ to cast out, in order to channel positive energy towards that goal and ward off negativity and unluckiness regarding getting that job. It sounds a bit selfish maybe but since it’s like a second part to the pharmakoi from last year it’s also about personal growth and asking the deities to help me on that part, it’s not like directly asking them for the job. 

Anyways so that were my two pharmakoi for this year.

- Then I recited some prayers/hymns. I did it in a weird order, which was kinda wrong but it doesn’t matter that much, but next year again I would like to just do it in the numerological order since it makes much more sense, I don’t know why I didn’t do that this time. 

* I started with reciting Orphic Hymn 34 to Leto, then Orphic Hymn 36 to Artemis (two versions of that hymn) and Homeric Hymn 9 and 27 to Artemis.

Thargelion 7th marks Apollo’s day, so then I will

- Cleanse myself (catharsis) and put on fresh clothes.

- Listen to a song called ‘Apollo’ to honor him. 

- Recite Homeric Hymn 21 to Apollo and Orphic Hymn 33 to Apollo.

- This is also a day to spend with family so I’ll go with my mom to the grocery store to get some nice foods, break ‘the fast’ during lunch and make a nice dinner with her. 

Taking a quick break from Chthonic deities to go for a few Ouranic deities! I’m working on having more regular posts (at least one Devotional Act post a week) that way there’s at least something a week so as to have a schedule. I’ve got a load of drafts in progress including the second wardrobe association, by popular demand! 

Now, I love working with Athena. I got a lot closer to Her recently, especially when I started going to college. I had a lot of late nights with Her while I was studying, and in doing that I found lots of ways to honor Her.

Devote a study session to Her

Do any kind of activity to stimulate the brain (I like number games like sudoku, and jigsaw puzzles)

Pick up a new book to read, set it on your altar as an offering for Her before you read it

Rewrite your notes in your free time

This is also a great study tool (I am a college student, I will offer advice where I can!), it will help you to absorb the knowledge better in your second (less hurried) go-round.

If you have the opportunity to, help your fellow peers

Treat owls with respect

One thing I do is try to educate people about the dangers of poisoning mice outdoors, since owls can die due to eating a poisoned mouse.

Take up a new hobby

I took up knitting, I found it was not only a great way to connect with Athena, but also a nice way to unwind (plus, knitting altar cloths is fun in my opinion)

Learn basic self defense moves (YouTube is your friend)

Seek the truth and stand by what you believe in

Learn about something new, or learn about something you’ve always wanted to know more about

Take interest in local politics and government

Practice loving yourself

And many, many more not listed here!

As always, my DMs are open! I love talking to ya’ll, let me know what you’d like to see! I’m planning a series of devotional playlist posts as well, if anyone is interested in those let me know! All would be available on Spotify.

I walk along the murky river at twilight and feel the cold touch, soothing on my too-warm skin. The rough and raspy timber of Her words wash over me; love and support layered in smoke and steel. The river sings of the bustle of the city above and the pain of pollution; relaxing along these shores is rare but She is used to that. She is an Underworld River, after all. There are sparks of rebirth and justice; pockets of ecologically sensed people who rage against the wrongness and clean what they can. It is less and less an uphill battle every year. She looks forward to the day where rivers are more about pausing and reflecting than hurrying to that next destination.

The asphalt streets of the city are rivers of their own- paved Strength and Will and Rock and Darkness into winding paths that shine like inky liquid. They bear so much weight to connect communities and cultures until they are halfhazardly patched between traffic. She is well familiar with that strain; the solid muscle of it but also the rigid pride (“The exhaustion of unassailable willpower is my gift to bear and I wear the scars Proudly”). It is Her version of love; not soft yet solid just the same in its tacky tar-like stickiness. A residue clinging stubbornly to your hands if you touch it.

If one tried hard enough, perhaps dipping into this blacktop river would also grant an Achilles-like invulnerability to mortal wounds. Her Iron oath amongst the treacherous waters.

~~~

I slip into an almost unknown dive eatery and the warmth caresses me; all hugs and honeyed tones. She peeks over my shoulder with joyous enthusiam at my choice of comfort and locally sourced- it is a match made especially in Her hearth. The music rolls over me, emotional; the tracks were selected by the staff and not at random. It is the music of home and love and safety. Her music; rich strings and dancing piano melody. Smells both cloying and pungent mingle in the tiny space but the smell of the plate placed before me is perfection; curling up like a welcome and a familiar lullaby from childhood.

I arrive on an urban street of cramped houses. Just because they are not the rolling farmhouses or villas of old doesn’t mean She doesn’t live here. She is in the clothesline strung out windows and tied to utility poles or basketball posts. She is the impromptu street gatherings full of laughter, stories, and shared food. She is the tentative frockling of children (“Don’t stray too far! The world is dangerous these days.”) and the sharp eye watching over those small daredevils as they trade exploits and challenges. Home Again, Home Again, lickity split; a mantra of her burning embers- constant and hot as a cup of tea on a cold day.