‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.

⋆˚࿔ aphrodite loves your face no matter how much you pick at its flaws.

⋆˚࿔ apollo makes the sun shine for you even when you're at your lowest.

⋆˚࿔ artemis quiets the world around you when your aching body needs rest.

⋆˚࿔ ares watched every single atrocity that has happened on this planet so you wouldn't have to.

⋆˚࿔ athena tries to make you see the logic of getting better and not staying stuck where you are mentally when you've struggled too long.

⋆˚࿔ hades knows it's not your time yet.

⋆˚࿔ hermes has noticed you don't joke as often.

⋆˚࿔ hephaestus wonders if you'd find comfort in building things the way he does.

⋆˚࿔ nike is waiting for you to heal.

⋆˚࿔ hera would silence all of tartarus if it would ease your pain.

⋆˚࿔ zeus makes storms so you have reasons to stay in and rest when the world is far too much for you to handle.

⋆˚࿔ when hecate goes for walks with persephone, they discuss subtle little things to do to make you feel better.

⋆˚࿔ poseidon wishes you'd realize his oceans weren't as salty as your tears.

⋆˚࿔ dionysus gives your friends the idea to come over for a movie night and comfort you.

⋆˚࿔ eros constantly bothers his mother, asking if she'd help him find a lover for you and begging to know if it would ease your pain.

⋆˚࿔ asclepius nudges you towards finding help if things get that bad.

⋆˚࿔ the muses are there when you finally laugh at something you see, whether it's on TV, in public, with your friends or just on your fyp.

Prayer for Aphrodite

Hail Aphrodite,

The pearl of Cyprus,

She who was born from the seafoam,

She who has given everyone,

mortal or inmortal,

love,

She who grants upon us

Confidence and beauty,

Fury and passion,

Need and desire,

Laughter and love,

And for that, we thank you, Lady Aphrodite,

For gifting us with all these things, we praise, worship, and honor you.

Hail Aphrodite.

Written by me

(This one isnt that big but who cares)

(Digital offering to Lord Hypnos)

Praise be to Lord Hypnos of sleep, Son of the Night, Brother of Death, Husband of Relaxation, Father of Dreams, I call upon You, Gentle One, hear me.

Accept my offering to You in honor of You and Your domain, tranquil Lord, bring me peaceful rest and protect me through the night, let me and those around me awake to greet great Eos in the new day refreshed, awaken from a calm and peaceful rest. Bring sleep and protection to all those in need of Your comforting peace.

I call upon You, gentlest Son of Nyx, be with me. Thank You, my dear Lord. Praise be to tranquil Lord Hypnos. Praise be to the Highest Adonai.

Amen.

Make your body wash/shampoo/conditioner rose scented

Have a rose or sweet scented candle that you light (doesn't have to be on an altar)

Create a skin/body care routine

Have perfume/cologne that you dedicate to her

Wear jewelry that reminds you of her

Carry a pocket charm that reminds you of her (dove works well in a Christian household and is a sacred animal of hers)

Keep a small picture of her in your wallet

Have a dove or swan stuffed animal

Have imagery of beaches, seafoam, seashells (especially clams), wings, hearts, swans, pearls, or doves around

Wear a locket with a picture of someone you love or of her

Give compliments to strangers

Drink water regularly and dedicate a glass of it to her

Collect seashells (if possible)

Collect things you simply find pretty

Plan your outfits/wear clothes that make you feel good

Keep a journal of poetry dedicated to Aphrodite and love-related topics; can also be a general positivity journal or diary (maybe a diary in a way of writing letters to her but saying a code name instead of "Aphrodite")

Keep heart-shaped imagery around

Embrace yourself; give yourself love

Forgive yourself of past mistakes

Give yourself compliments; start small if needed; I recommend doing this in a mirror

Pin up pictures of loved ones on a mirror or wall

If possible, burn some incense in honor of her; strawberry always has a great smell to it

Watch a love-focused movie (romantic or platonic)

Listen to or read stories about acts of kindness and love

Paint your nails or wear make-up (if you enjoy those things and are able to)

Listen to music that makes you feel good; dance to it like nobody's watching!

Have a party where you and your friends create drawings, items, or crafts that you can decorate your rooms with c:

Start a flower garden, especially with roses; tend to a plant

Practice compassion, especially towards yourself

Fall asleep/meditate to the sound of ocean waves or singing birds

Listen to/sing love songs!

Spend time with loved ones

Have a friend's night; go out on the town together, watch movies, go camping, etc.

Spend time with your pets

Take a shower/bath, especially with rose petals and candles (SAFELY!!!!)

Visit a nearby ocean or body of water; stand in the water (if safe) and ground yourself there

Write about your crushes

Make a list of qualities you'd like in a partner; make a list of qualities you don't want (like green flags and flags)

Take a walk alongside a beach/body of water

Take care of your personal hygiene

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I may add more to this later, but here is my list of subtle ways to worship Aphrodite so far! Worship can absolutely be discreet, and if it needs to be for safety or the like, know that the gods will almost certainly understand. Take care, y'all! 🩷

Hellenic Polytheism can be a bit daunting to start off - and it’s hard to know where to find the right information or what to research! Hopefully this post will help to give you a starting point - but please don’t base all your information off of one person! NOTE: I may link posts with conflicting information/methods. I leave it to you to decide what feels right and fits for you!

Websites, book lists and PDFs:

Theoi.com

Library Genesis

Hellenism resources

PDFs of myths

HP online accurate resources

Classics, mythology and modern worship

HP book list

Accurate resources

Book recommendations and online resources

Bibliography of Black-Centered Resources for Ancient Mediterranean Studies

The types of HP:

Recon vs. Revivalism

Reconstructionism vs Revivalism

The basics of practicing HP:

Making libations

Introduction to epithets

Veiling basics + a veiling primer + basic hair binding and veiling + hellenic hairstyles in religious rites

How to write a prayer

Daily prayer journal

How to pray, praise and worship the Theoi

Homeric hymns - helpful for writing devotionals, hymns, etc. (external site)

The Delphic Maxims

Basic Hellenic supplies

Oaths

Sacred places

Offerings (and whether or not to eat them)

Hellenic khthonic ritual

How to honor Ouranic and Chthonic gods

Hellenic Calendars and when to worship deities:

The days of the month

Devotions for the last day of the month

A Hellenismos calendar 

Hellenion.org calendar (external site)

Hellenic festival year (external site)

About the Hellenic calendar of festivals

Pronunciation and terminology:

Hellenic pronunciation for the Theoi + Hellenic pronunciation pt. 2 + article

Khernips + Khernips pt. 2 + pt. 3

Miasma, khernips and katharmosis

On Lyma

Hellenic terminology (external site)

Finding / Information on deities:

Sacred animals of the gods 

Theoi.com (my go-to)

Household gods

The Nymphai

Odds and ends:

On household worship

Other resources:

List of devotees on tumblr

Practical practicing of HP

This wonderful resource masterpost!

Masterpost of Hellenic polytheism and Roman polytheism resources

Shops for Hellenic polytheists

Introduction to Ancient Greek History - open Yale course

Note: Some areas are certainly lacking in the information department, please add resources if you have them! I’ve included all I could find as of mid 2020.

Hypnos Makar, Hypnos Paean, Hypnos Epidôtês,

Hypnos Blessed One, Hypnos Healer, Hypnos Bountiful,

Please grant me swift and sweet rest tonight, Cloud-Stepper. Allow my eyes to close heavily and for lovely dreams to play in my mind. Please allow for a restful night filled with rejuvenation and peace. I wish to be undisturbed, sleeping as deeply as a puppy after a day full of play. I wish for rest so healing that I awake the next morning with a smile on my face. Please, Kindly Hypnos, grant me these things.

Thank you, Fair Hypnos, for hearing my prayer. Your compassion is boundless, and your sympathy, touching. May your night be as peaceful and restful as my own. May all your dreams be sweet, and may your own Lovely Mind always find reprieve from its worries. May every day bring a smile to your Rosy Cheeks with something good always laid down at your feet.

you do not have to be ‘beautiful’ to deserve love.

you do not have to be healed to deserve love.

you do not have to be productive to deserve love.

you do not have to be successful to deserve love.

you do not have to become someone else before you are worthy of love.

you do not have to earn kindness or care.

you are already worthy of those things.

Pssst! You know you can use the Greek names of the Greek gods, right? I'm not talking about ancient Greek. I'm talking about contemporary, spoken Greek. You know the names still exist in Greek. Right....?

Not only the ancient names for figures and terms have remained exactly the same for the most part, but also they're not worse, disrespectful, or "less formal". They are literally the Greek names of the gods/heroes/creatures/terminology today.

You don't have to address these figures the way our people did more than two thousand years ago. Millions of living Greeks today still speak the names of the Greek gods. In the Greek language.

I understand that the versions you use can depend on the resources available to you. And it's fine if you only know the ancient ones, or you only want to use those. But I'd like to make you aware that you don't have to be stuck in 300 BCE linguistically.

Not even the Greek language itself is stuck in 300 BCE! In fact, by 299 BCE, our language had already slightly changed from the year prior, and it continues to do so every year for... well, for a few thousand years at this point.

Ancient names make sense when one uses them in academic contexts, in the study of ancient Greek society and religion. But this religion and culture don't exist in a vacuum inside your history books. This linguistic stagnation in everyday life, though, is part of the centuries-long Western European / American obsession with seeing the Greek culture and language like something divorced from the real world.

There's no particular justification that demands you use the ancient versions in modern informal settings. On the contrary, why not address the Greek gods in the current form of the Greek language?

[part 1]

Make a sewing station in honour of Hestia.

Start a home apothecary for Demeter.

Put stacks of books around your reading place in honour of Athena.

Make a wall frame arrangement of your family photos for Hera.

Dedicate a shelf in your bathroom for a "spa day" essential for Aphrodite.

Make a music station, with a record player, CDs, and your instruments for Apollo.

Have a travel essentials bag always ready in honour of Hermes.