Some time ago you said that you wrote your own prayers to the gods. Do you have any tips or recommendations for doing so?
Iāll be honest Iām someone whoās kinda nervous with prayer and idk why but I donāt feel very good at writing my own which sucks cuz I canāt 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 š
Hi!!! Super sorry it took me awhile to respond, I didnāt 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 doesnāt 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 Iām 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 Iāll go ahead and copy the post I personally wrote on this topic for my sideblog:
You always want to begin by naming the god or gods you wish to supplicate to. Starting with āHailā/some variation on getting the godsā 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 doesnāt 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; āHe who protected and led the brothers of the Argonauts to gloryā
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 youāre praying to, to grant you what you wish because of what youāve already done for them. Itās about invoking the relationship youāve already established with the god, and showing that youāre actually dedicated and not just interested in a transaction with the god. Youāre basically saying, Iām serious about this religion and about you. āIf 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 nameā¦ā
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, ā...cloak my friend xyz under your protection and bless them and our bond.ā
5. Vow to freely offer something
Reciprocity, or kharis, is the foundation of our relationship with the gods. Now that youāve 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 ākhaireā (singular) or ākhaireteā (plural), which meant both hello/greetings and goodbye/farewell in Ancient Greece. You
Note: Sapphoās 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) Iām writing the prayer for, and Iāve 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 Iām really fond of is In Praise of Olympus: Prayers to the Greek Gods by Hearthstone (itās 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 Iāve personally written.
At the end of the day, I think the gods appreciate effort the most, big or small, so even if you canāt 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 Iāve 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! Iām also happy to privately send you examples of things Iāve written if you feel like that would help :)
