#reconstructionist

Goêteia is not evil, you dipshits.

I'm so sick of these neo-pagans getting all their information from Tumblr, Pinterest and TikTok.

Goêteia is literally just the Greek term for magic, for sorcery, which were one and the same.

Ancient Greece didn't have the word "witchcraft" it had Goêteia, and then later mageia, where we get our modern term magic from, although mageia was a misappropriated term from Zoroastrian priests or Magi.

It's so funny seeing baby witches claim Goêteia to be evil on one hand, then on the other worshipping Hekate, literally the goddess of Goêteia. The goddess of sorcerers and necromancy.

It screams puritanical morality policing. It's such a christian-centered way of looking at ancient religion.

Y'all need to open a damn book.

Goêteia was described as a "lesser" form of magic (mainly in the later Medieval period, roughly starting around the 8th century,) not meaning any less powerful, just simply the easiest or "closest" thus "lower" magic to achieve. This ability to more easily achieve success in magic was later taken and used by christian theologians to paint goêteia and Goêtes as "lesser practitioners."

There does seem to be little difference between Theurgy and goêteia as well,

Surprise!

Both Goêteia and Theurgy sharing the same goddamn workings through evocations of gods, the animation of statues, mediumship or what could be considered "divine possession" having a god or spirit speak through you, the use of iynx wheels / iynges, and mystery rites.

The only 'real' difference Theurgists claim, is that they "don't practice secularly/for selfish reasons" but supposedly rather to become closer to the divine. It's a nice sentiment, but total bullshit, because even in the Theurgic doctrine the Chaldean Oracles they bind the goddess Hekate to do their will.

Additionally, Theurgists had a more Neoplatonic belief, they essentially viewed a singular Oneness as supreme, the emanation from which all things return, a concept which was picked up by early christian theologians and is likely why while Goêtes were demonized in the later centuries mainly by early christians and christian philosophers, Theurgists on the other hand were seen as "pure" and "holier" despite Theurgical and Goêteic practices being pretty much exactly the same down to the tools and incantations.

(Agustine of Hippo for an example of these theologians, who wrote in "De civitate Dei contra Paganos", or "On the City of God Against the Pagans" how all "pagan" (non christian) gods and beliefs were secretly agents of Satan and evil, here to trick humanity into sin and that paganism, essentially any non christian faith, must be stopped–

He also wrote about how sorcerers/magicians (Goêtes) were charlatans, tricksters, that magic and sorcery were merely tricks of an invisible opposition to the divine and how only god could hold such supreme power. These ideas still seem to be deeply embedded into christian faith, particularly Orthodox and Evangelical, today.)

Practitioners of goêteia, the Goēs, was also understood to have the ability to initiate souls into mystery religions, or, in other words, to ensure through his superior knowledge of the Underworld and its workings that the souls under his care would receive preferential treatment after death, an easier way to paradise, such as the Orphic Hymns.

This likely also helped "other" the Goēs, as most practitioners of magic, of goêteia, of these mystery cults were made up of societies "unwanted" or marginalized people, such as women, foreigners, immigrants, the poor, the disabled, and the elderly. Early goêtes were described as being Thessalian (primarily women, particularly described as "old or decrepid") or. ethnically, not considered "fully Greek" to many of the era. Many critiques and fears of goêteia come from this "otherness," the fear the ruling classes of Greece had of groups they continued to harm, they feared the power they held within these mystery rites and practices.

With reliable accuracy from these critics, goêtes were (perceived to be) moral transgressors, who operated from the fringe of society in a private mago-mystical setting, offering their service for coin.

Or, in simpler terms, the Greeks were just really fucking racist

which is nothing new.

In fact, because goêteia itself is a synchronization of mainly Egyptian and Jewish magic, the Greeks and later christians went extra-hard into villifying it because they saw these people as lesser, as barbaric.

I’m combatting this bias right now by reading what they’ve been saying, in small chunks, on tumblr because I think it’s really important to learn and grow, not only spiritually, but as a person by consuming other’s opinions. Naturally; if the opinion is just hate or anything to that effect I’m excluding that.

I think many of them, when pointing out certain modern offerings or practices are “wrong” for whatever reason, come off as very authoritative and it can definitely bring up a lot of defensive feelings for a lot of reasons. It makes sense it would when seeing that certain modern practices or offerings, which may be the only thing you feel like you can do for the moment, or mean a lot to you, are considered bad in any way. Especially when, like me, you have the constant anxiety of doing things “wrong” and needing to do everything “right”.

I'm sorry but this shit is really getting to me recently. It's caused a ton of stress within my own practice, and to see someone else say they noticed it has me all worked up because there has been a push for Reconstruction is the only way in Paganism which I have always strictly disagreed with. Particularly here on Tumblr, hell, I'm even guilty of it.

Reconstruction doesn't have to even have a place in your practice. It's good to learn history and mythology, just as it's good to know about others perspectives on the dieties you work with, but I'll echo something I said in that other post:

Archeologists and historians are not Priests.

They cannot tell you how to worship. They can potentially tell you how people worshipped in the past, but only YOU can decide if that's relevant to your practice at all.

I got scared by this creeping feeling that reconstruction was becoming synonymous with the correct way to do things even when I've been irritated with reconstructionists from the very beginning of my practice over a decade ago. My issue with them has just gained new clarity, they focus exclusively on navigating and gatekeeping others faiths through the concepts of right and wrong, and I personally just can't abide by that logic.

Your gods like your digital offerings? That's great! Your creativity and effort is appreciated by them. They like when you pour out your orange soda on the pavement as their share? Fantastic! They like when you dedicate your time to research, or to volunteering, or to your own creative pursuits? That's so great!

I don't necessarily know if all these people self identify themselves as reconstructionists, so I'm not trying to put words in your mouth if you don't consider yourself one 😬 but they put in "leg work" so to speak

No particular order:

@verdantlyviolet

@olympianbutch

@aphrogeneia

@honorthegods

@thegrapeandthefig

@loemius

@piristephes

@seaofwine

@royal-wren (Mycenaean Greek / Minoan polytheism)

@thedansemacabres (Etruscan & Hellenic polytheism)

@sisterofiris (this is an archived blog but it is a treasure trove of recon information)

I’ll be honest I’m someone who’s kinda nervous with prayer and idk why but I don’t feel very good at writing my own which sucks cuz I can’t find ones other people write that seem to click with me as much. So I just wanted to hear your thoughts and process on it.

Thank you for taking the time to look at this and I hope you have a great day 💖

Hi!!! Super sorry it took me awhile to respond, I didn’t see this ask in my notifs originally!

My framework for how I approach writing my prayers is informed by being a reconstructionist Hellenic polytheist, so if that doesn’t apply feel free to disregard lol.

I categorize my prayers into 2 categories - prayers to just generally/broadly worship the gods, proclaim devotion, etc., and prayers to specifically ask for something or about something, that are meant to be used for a specific purpose. The second category is the one that is more traditional/accurate in a historical reconstruction sense, the first category is a personal/UPG/informal way I like to augment my worship!

I usually start by researching existing hymns or prayers, like the Orphic and Homeric hymns, Sappho, just to see what sort of epithets, phrasing, and poetic language already exists for whichever god I’m writing the prayer for.

I use the same structure for both kinds of prayers, which is a historically-inspired format that other Helpol reconstructionist bloggers and folks have talked about before (like Hearthfire Handworks), but I’ll go ahead and copy the post I personally wrote on this topic for my sideblog:

-

1. Naming the gods

You always want to begin by naming the god or gods you wish to supplicate to. Starting with “Hail”/some variation on getting the gods’ attention, you want to go on to name the specific god or gods you wish to pray to, along with the specific epithet(s) that you are invoking. It is incredibly important to name the gods and the epithets you want; if you are asking the gods for something, you want to list an epithet that invokes the specific dominion that god has, which is related to your ask. For example, if you are praying to Zeus to help your relationship/marriage, you will call Zeus Gamelii, Zeus who presides over marriages. If your friend needs divine assistance, and you are praying to Zeus, you should call Zeus Hetaereius, Zeus who protects friends and companies of friends. Theoi.com is a great resource for locating the specific epithet(s) you wish to call to.

2. Name relevant myths, perhaps of things that god(s) has done in a myth that is similar to what you are asking for, or a myth that particularly honors the god(s)

In my opinion, this is similar to legal precedent. You want to establish that you are seeking something or intend something which has been asked of the gods before. You can also use this time to honor and flatter the gods by reciting a myth that honors them or glorifies them. This section doesn’t need to be a full retelling of a myth; for example, for Zeus Hetaereius, Hetaerius was used to honor him after Jason first sacrificed to him to protect the Argonauts on their journey. You can summarize this in one line; “He who protected and led the brothers of the Argonauts to glory”

3. Justify your intention of this prayer by establishing what you have already done to honor that god/gods.

This is not about literally justifying or trying to persuade the god you’re praying to, to grant you what you wish because of what you’ve already done for them. It’s about invoking the relationship you’ve already established with the god, and showing that you’re actually dedicated and not just interested in a transaction with the god. You’re basically saying, I’m serious about this religion and about you. “If ever I have poured a libation out to you/erected a holy shrine in your name/sacrificed xyz to you/performed xyz act of charity in your name…”

4. State your intentions of this prayer

Here is where you say what you want. Sometimes you want to formally honor a god or gods. Sometimes you want the gods to protect you, or bless you, help you pass a test, protect someone else from harm. I personally like to connect steps 3 and 4 into the same sentence. Continuing with Zeus Hetaerius, “...cloak my friend xyz under your protection and bless them and our bond.”

5. Vow to freely offer something

Reciprocity, or kharis, is the foundation of our relationship with the gods. Now that you’ve asked the gods to do something for you/to help you with something/to bless you, you give freely in return. This is incredibly important; the cycle of gift-giving is one of the primary ways we build relationships with the gods and this is how you further commit yourself to the gods. You must selflessly give. Pouring libations, making sacrifices/giving offerings, charity, and creating and tending to a shrine are all examples of ways you can create kharis.

6. (optional) Close out the prayer

I usually close out my prayers by saying “khaire” (singular) or “khairete” (plural), which meant both hello/greetings and goodbye/farewell in Ancient Greece. You

Note: Sappho’s hymn to Aphrodite is a GREAT primary source example of this prayer structure

-

For informal prayers I use this structure but follow it loosely and can get pretty flowery/particularly poetic about it, for formal prayers I try to stick closer to it. Once I identify what epithet or aspect of the god (or gods) I’m writing the prayer for, and I’ve already looked at some historical inspo, I look up myths related to those epithets (many are already mentioned in historical hymns), and sort of fill in the blanks from there!

Also there is absolutely NO SHAME in using pre-written hymns/prayers. A modern prayer book that I’m really fond of is In Praise of Olympus: Prayers to the Greek Gods by Hearthstone (it’s like $2.99 on Kindle). I am actually thinking about getting a paperback copy, it has TONS of prayers and hymns that I will often recite alongside prayers I’ve personally written.

At the end of the day, I think the gods appreciate effort the most, big or small, so even if you can’t think of anything to write right now, reciting a few different prayers or hymns that already exist and then adding whatever your specific intention or ask to that is totally fine! You can also get as simple (or complex/flowery) with your personally-written prayers as you want.

I hope this helps, I think over the years I’ve struck a good balance between reconstructionist practices and personal choices/UPG that allow me to have a healthy, sustainable practice. If you have any more questions, feel free to DM me! I’m also happy to privately send you examples of things I’ve written if you feel like that would help :)

A Seiðr Account of Precipitated Wisdom, Received through Hematite Trance-Contact How This Came to Us On a morning in May, I sat in trance with a piece of botryoidal hematite — the iron-stone, the blood-stone, the ore that fell when the world’s first oxygen turned the ancient seas to rust. I reached out through the iron-vain expecting silence. Instead, I found them. They call themselves the…

Devotional acts, offerings, and other info <3

Keep in mind this is a reconstructionist account! This post will contain classic associations as well as modern ones, all associations in this post have been either thoroughly researched or aided by my experiences.