Exasperating Odin since 2013

So Mom set a bunch of garlic cloves around the closet door and gave me a wooden branch sharpened to a point to put under my pillow. Whereupon I was fine.

and so I was especially afraid of the ghost of the Miner who died in the mine (a very unimaginative ghost in Silesia, but all the more likely)

when I told my family, my weird uncle (a friend of the family, not actually related) told me that it’s a dumb thing to be afraid of, because if the house truly is built on a cemetery, there’s a fuckton more ghosts to be scared of than just one. logical, I assume. shook my world.

he gave me a glow-in-the-dark Virgin Mary figurine (yep) and told me no Silesian, ghost or not, would disrespect the Good Lady so I ought to keep her by my bed and I’ll be fine.

but sir, holy shit, you just told me there are a fuckton of ghosts. I know the average size of a parish graveyard, I’m not a dumb kid. you just made this far more serious.

and so I would leave, by Glowing Mary’s feet, offerings to all the hypothetical dead of the graveyard. candy, bread, beads, feathers. I gave it to Mary, too, after a good half an hour session of charging her under a lamp.

my little child mind slept better than ever, knowing that I have a fuckton of dead friends now - or at least a fuckton of dead allies against one weird Miner Man Ghost.

Everyone: oh wow, that guy is a genius!

Diogenes, the Cynic: BEHOLD

I used to be super judgey about people who thought that the gods were meddling in their lives and challenging them, but only with like….really bullshit things. 

I am on record as saying that I didn’t get why your problems are a challenge but everyone else is just…suffering for no reason? A lot of other people got fired today, you losing your job probably wasn’t Brighid sending you a message to start freelancing. The gods didn’t arrange your divorce, I said.

And then I watched the gods literally arrange my best friend’s divorce, so you know, sometimes you gotta eat your words.

While I still think some people are missing the point, I gotta admit, I was missing it too.

Now I have gods in my life bugging me about dumb shit that probably sounds so far beneath their notice to anyone else looking into the situation. But I can see how they really do need me to handle these minor, petty problems, because if I don’t, I won’t be able to deal with the bigger shit they’re trying to get me to handle.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So yeah, I was right, in a way. It wasn’t any of my business. To the me of the past:

So, it was wild. HBW and I were doing our yearly readings in August, (as one does), and I don’t remember anything else about the reading except that the Queen of Swords, The Divorced Woman, came up for December of 2015. We had a joint nervous breakdown and came to the conclusion that OBVIOUSLY there was NO WAY that card could mean what we originally thought. It was surely about the improvement of my marriage via clear communication. TOTALLY.

A little backstory. My ex-husband is an emotionally and financially abusive Sonovabitch, who withheld love as a form of punishment, woke me up at 4am to start fights, kept me from getting a job or a drivers licence, and would not let me have any kind of money except twice monthly for groceries. Any money I spent I had to expressly ask for permission to use, and even though I had many great ideas for improving our financial situation, I was shot down every time because “I didn’t have enough adult experience to handle any kind of money.” I was to stay home and care for my two kids with an insufficient diaper supply and clean house with insufficient materials.

2015 was a rough year for us. On Jan, 2nd, 2015, I caught him on a hookup site trying to arrange a literal orgy at a local hotel. To attempt to remedy the situation, I asked him to allow us to open our marriage so that he could be allowed to explore openly and safely, and I would be allowed the same privileges. He lied to me and said it was a good idea.

I very innocently started dating a man I knew (seriously, we only kissed a couple times and texted, along with some very cheap dates, which my boyfriend payed for). While my ex-husband told me he was perfectly fine with it, and I tried to talk with him many times to make sure we were all good, he was secretly festering inside. Sometime around July 4th, 2015, he woke me up in the middle of the night, screaming that he was going to throw me in the car and drop me off at Boyfriends house, that I was a whore, and I deserved to be homeless, etc. etc.

You sound

First, a quick tumblr search showed a number of Tumblr-ites who happen to fit your criteria: https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/hellenic-veiling

Here’s a post from Bearing The Aegis (I like this site, I think it’s a good one, but also please keep in mind that I’m not Hellenic and haven’t been for quite some time): http://baringtheaegis.blogspot.com/2014/09/on-practice-of-veiling.html

I don’t personally use amino, but here’s a chatroom for you: https://aminoapps.com/c/hellenistic-polytheism/page/blog/traditional-practices-veiling/eL7V_RBU3ubxmvKW6nY0q5ZgMGwYGGP1WV

What’s this? A Tumblog dedicated to the specific process? Neat!: http://hellenic-veiling.tumblr.com/

Looks like @pomegraniteandivy can help you with this cool practice: http://pomegranateandivy.tumblr.com/veiling

And here’s one more link because veiling is cool as hell: http://hellenismosis.tumblr.com/post/153079113473/hellenic-veiling-about-it-and-how-and-why-i

First, a quick tumblr search showed a number of Tumblr-ites who happen to fit your criteria: https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/hellenic-veiling

Here’s a post from Bearing The Aegis (I like this site, I think it’s a good one, but also please keep in mind that I’m not Hellenic and haven't been for quite some time): http://baringtheaegis.blogspot.com/2014/09/on-practice-of-veiling.html

I don’t personally use amino, but here’s a chatroom for you: https://aminoapps.com/c/hellenistic-polytheism/page/blog/traditional-practices-veiling/eL7V_RBU3ubxmvKW6nY0q5ZgMGwYGGP1WV

What’s this? A Tumblog dedicated to the specific process? Neat!: http://hellenic-veiling.tumblr.com/

Looks like @pomegraniteandivy can help you with this cool practice: http://pomegranateandivy.tumblr.com/veiling

And here’s one more link because veiling is cool as hell: http://hellenismosis.tumblr.com/post/153079113473/hellenic-veiling-about-it-and-how-and-why-i

Candles: LIT

Incense: BURNING

AQUARIUM SHRINES TO WATER/OCEAN/LAKE/ETC. DEITIES OH MY GAWD

Like, I’ve never really eyeballed Water deities because you know, I’m SUPER land locked, but what a lovely way to compensate!

SALT WATER TANKS FOR POSEIDON, Y’ALL!!!!

Hi,  

Talking to the gods is easy!  

Just think of the god you want to communicate with to get their attention. Think anything towards them and that’s it, you have spoken to a god.(Some people prefer speaking out loud so they can be in better control of what they are saying to that god. I do this on specific days when my ADHD is particularly bad.)

Getting a reply is a little trickier:

Before I list all the ways I communicate with the gods, I just want to be clear on the fact that it took me years to recognize signs, symbols and energy of the gods who were talking to me. It took me a lot of energy work, practice and trust. 

There is a video by the amazing @thepastelpriestess that talks about god communication and the tumblr problem of expecting an immediate clear sign from the gods (LINK)

From a personal point of view, the gods are not clear. It takes me a combination of the methods listed below to piece together the full message. Gods aren’t loud or obvious. Their messages will sometimes look like a beautiful day or a tastier meal. Here is a great post by @stygiantarot ​ that encompasses this (LINK)   

When I was starting off, I was NOT able to hear, see or feel the gods for years. Ares was the ancient spartan soldier I had befriended as a little kid but I thought I had just made him up. I don’t count this because as soon as I started questioning the existence of Santa Clause, I began to lose communication with Ares as well. I lost all contact with him after learning he was the god of war and refusing to be with him when I was first learning about Wicca a little after turning 12 (I no longer do Wicca). My connection with the gods has never been the same and is still not as clear as when I was little. A lot of witches wonder why they were more in tune when they were children versus now originally posted by @left-hand-path-notes (LINK). 

Its normal to not be able to feel the gods, you are learning to sense them and their preferred methods of communication! This is going to take time, maybe even years but don’t get discouraged: You wouldn’t be upset with yourself for not knowing EVERY single thing about a person you just met right? The gods are the same, you are getting to know them.

The number one thing people want is direct communication and direct answers with the gods. They focus so much on this that they ignore every other method the gods might be using to communicate with them. 

There are SOooooo many ways the gods reply. 

I combine all of these methods to get an overall feel of what the god is telling me.

-Sudden thought: Physically hearing a god is SO RARE! (I have yet to experience this for myself). You could suddenly get a mental thought that may or may not sound like your inner voice, but the message falls in line with what you need. 

Many people don’t like this method because they don’t trust their mind. They think their brain is playing tricks on them. This gets trickier when the person is a perfectionist, suffers from anxiety, depression or anything else that makes them question their thoughts. This is when faith comes into play because the truth is, there is no sure way to know if it’s the god or not, you just have to trust it is.

Example: 

Me *thinks*: “Apollo, I’m bored.” Immediate thought reply: Practice drawing. (Note: sometimes it’s not as instant and comes later)

WARNING!!!: If the thoughts are emotionally abusive, it is NOT a god. The Gods are immortal and know your time here is VERY limited. They would never waste your time by pointlessly tormenting you. They have been around for thousands of years and have seen much much worst. The messages they give might be strict but they are always constructive and loving. If the perceived negative comment does not leave you with room for growth (for example “You are still learning” VS “You are so stupid”) that is not a god talking, it is a pre-recorded trauma from your past messing with your head.    

-Mental Images/Inspired Action: Sometimes gods don’t use words and rely on images instead. Or the desire to take physical action. The gods use this method on me a lot more because I am more of a visual and action oriented person. Our interaction may look a little something like this:    

Example: Me: Apollo, I’m bored. *Gets a mental image of myself drawing or gets sudden urge to draw.*  

-Signs: Signs are the reason I always recommend people research and take in anything and everything that has to do with that god. Their favorite color, their favorite gods (the ones they bond with the most) their mythical children, their legends, etc. Don’t rely solely on the basic knowledge everyone knows about that god because they may be sending you things that are more specific than their basic info.

The gods will also use regular signs that pull you in. Signs you may have never really payed attention to but suddenly jumps out at you. 

Example: This happened to me earlier this year. I was thinking about a project I had promised the gods that is near and dear to my heart. This project was time consuming and while the gods are excited, I worried I wouldn’t finish it in time. I considered just dropping it until a sign stopped me in it my tracks. It read: “If not you, who?” I felt like that sign had been placed there specifically for me even though I had passed by it every day without paying too much attention to it.

-Coincidences/Synchronicity: Sometimes its a string of “coincidences.” A word every person you keep bumping into is saying or something you didn’t notice before and see everywhere now. Things that create a domino effect with one action. 

Example: When I first started talking to my significant other, a butterfly would pass by them EVERY time we were on the phone. These weren’t always real butterflies, sometimes they were pictures on the wall, tattoos or a word that would pop out of nowhere, but they caught my S.O’s attention. They would tell me about them without realizing I had a psychic reading telling me to “follow the butterflies” to find my soulmate.  

-Other people: Some of the ways the gods will talk to me is through other people. I will suddenly feel like calling my spouse and they’ll be like “you should draw.” Sometimes I will bump into a stranger who repeats things my gods has previously said. There have been Tumblr users on here who have made me cry without realizing how much I needed to read the beautiful messages they had sent me. Messages that sound exactly the same way the gods usually speak to me. Or a show whose character gives an inspiring speech I needed to hear. The divine is everywhere.   

-Feelings/Tastes/Smells: Sometimes it’s a nagging feeling, a sudden craving or a sensation. Getting a sense of what they are telling you or feeling like you are being hugged. I will feel tingles randomly happen combined with a mental image of the god. I have a specific perfume on Aphrodite’s altar that I will smell when I am out in public wearing a different perfume. Sometimes the taste of honey appears on my palate and know a god is trying to get my attention.    

-Tarot/Pendulum, etc: These methods are the most popular because they take the frustration out of guessing.The methods above require faith and trust but tarot, pendulums, etc. cut to the chase and give information that is easier to understand. These methods also help you get used to identifying the energy of the god you are contacting. I recommend them for people who are just starting a new relationship with a god. You can buy a deck for under $10-11 (LINK) or you can make your own deck from scratch (even just by cutting 78 pieces of paper and labeling them).

I hope this helps!

Pagans: QUIT TELLING EVERYONE I’M DEAD!