TW: STD/STI MENTION!

STD’s and Aphrodite/Other Gods

Lets talk about something i havent seen shared in the witchcraft/polytheistic community.

STD’s/STI’s and the Gods.

I was diagnosed in November 2020 with HSV-2, aka, Genital Herpes.

It was hard to grasp. I remember sitting in excruciating pain in a room in the ER, in front of a nurse and an ob/gyn, trying not to ugly cry as a million thoughts ran through my head. I had so many questions, worries, thoughts, and fears. It felt like my world was crashing down.

Sometimes, it still feels that way.

But the biggest and scariest thing that made my chest ache with sadness and pain- was the fear that i couldnt and wouldnt ever be loved again.

I feel like theres this HUGE stigma against people who have been diagnosed with STD’s/STI’s that are both incurable and curable. Your whole world feels like its ending, and you might even feel gross or unlovable- or even worse, you might even question how your own deities feel about this.

Now, my point is this: your deities still and always will, love you. This is mostly directed to Aphrodite and her devotees who have any sexually transmitted diseases or infections. As a Goddess who partially specializes in sex and love, its easy to think she would be disappointed or upset. But ill say this once, and ill say it again, YOU ARE NOT YOUR ILLNESS.

Aphrodite loves all of her children. do you think shes spent any time shunning or being disappointed in any of them for an illness? NO! I can just IMAGINE her unleashing her absolute wrath on someone who would EVER make her children feel bad for an illness.

This goes for other Gods/Goddesses.

Deities love their children and i believe its so important we know that we will ALWAYS be loved by our deities. WE ARENT OUR ILLNESSES!

Concerning Aphrodite and STD’s/STI’s, i believe its important we know that we can still be loved. We can still find romance, sex, and pleasure of any kind. Aphrodite, almighty, is the Goddess of Love. how could we never find love again, if SHE LOVES US?! Im not even sure how to put it into words, properly. But i just truly believe she would cuddle you to sleep and tell you itll all be alright- and that shes cooking up something special and loving, just for you.

Your illness is not who you are. Embrace it. Fuck whoever tells you otherwise. Fuck it all! You are sexy, you are loved, you WILL (if you havent already) find love, and your deities love you. Always. Not “in spite” of it, but because of how it makes you, you.

STD’s and STI’s are just something you have, but they arent you. You arent disgusting. You are loved. Especially by your loved ones- and your deities.

In addition: pls message me if you need support

What I’ve been noticing a lot in pagan spaces but especially online is that people seem to only acknowledge duality of the Theoi when its explicit - take Persephone for example, everyone acknowledges her duality as both the Queen of the underworld and the goddess of spring. But for gods that people don’t wish to hold in such a positive light, suddenly the nuance and complexity of all the Theoi becomes 2D.

Zeus is both Labrandeus (the furious, the raging) and Meilikhios (the merciful, the entreatable). He is both Zeus Pater (Father) and Zeus Areios (of war). He is both Zeus Katharsios (the purifyer) and Zeus Konios (the one who excites/makes dust)

Hera is both Hera Autorote (the maiden) and Hera Zugia/Gamelia (of marriage). She is both Hera Pais (the girl) and Hera Khera (the widow).

The gods are always more than what you think they are. Do not reduce the all-encompassing complexity of a god down to just their myths, or just what you think of them. Understand that as duality and conflict can exist in humans, so too can it exist in the gods.

Today, from an idea given by the amazing @adri-le-chat, we’ll be talking about the temple duties of a priest. While ancient Greek priesthood spans many topics and duties, those explicitly relating to the temple in which the priest served can sometimes be left to the wayside by studies of in favor of sacrifices and the like.

In ancient Greece, temples and priests went hand in hand. When a city wanted to install a new temple to honor a certain god or a new epithet of the same god, they also “installed” priests to serve in those temples. So, let’s look more into that relationship!

In addition to performing regular sacrifices/offerings in the temple on behalf of the city in which they served, priests would also be tasked with looking after the temple and its contents. Priestesses in particular were kleidouchos or key-holders, bearing the (mostly decorative) key to their temple. If you want to know more about that, here is the post in which I talked about it more in detail.

Priests would also perform administrative duties in the beginning, although later on that moved into the domain of a magistrate:

As “sacristans for the gods”, the priests in the beginning also administered temple property. In later legislation the administration of larger sanctuaries was entrusted to state functionaries" (pg. 37 of Priesthood)

Additionally, priests would appeal to the leader of their city for funding for their temple or other sacred expenses (mentioned often as sacred revenues, belonging to the god which they served).

The role of a priest also had overlap with that of a custodian in some ways, as priests were expected to clean and care for their temple as well, including the statue of its god:

[Part of a priest’s original functions were] taking good care of the statue which represented the god and in which [the god] was thought to reside. It had to be washed, clothed, and protected. (pg. 37 of Priesthood)

Not only did priests care for the statue within their temple, they also worked on the temple in which they resided, caring for the altar, the space of the temple itself, and the ritual items and objects within.

Overall, along with their regular sacrificial duties. Priests cared for not only the statue of their temple, but the temple itself, advocating for their budgeting, guarding the temple and keeping the temple key, and taking care of the ritual elements within.

If you wish to learn about a specific aspect of priesthood, feel free to send in an ask!

Sources:Priesthood by Leopold Sabourin, On Greek Religion by Robert Parker, and Understanding Greek Religion by Jennifer Larson.

Pan teaching Apollo to play the syrinx

By Guillaume II Coustou,

Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris

Apollo riding a sea horse in a marine environment

This Roman fresco discovered in the city of Pompeii was once the part of a thermopolium (snack bar) of Regio V.

Does anyone know the sacred days of the theoi? I know that 6th day is sacred to Artemis, 7th to Apollo, 4th to Hermes. I’m interested to know about the rest of them.

• Psychodotír (Ψυχοδοτήρ) :

Giver of souls

epith. of Apollon

• Psychoplanís (Ψυχοπλανής) :

Making soul wander

epith. of Dionysus

• Psychopompós (Ψυχοπομπός):

Guiding souls of the dead

epith. of Hermes

Delphic Maxim #31

31. Κακίας ἀπέχου - Shun evil

Thoughts?

Delphic Maxim #30

30. Εὐγένειαν ἄσκει - Exercise nobility of character

Thoughts?

29. Ἐχθροὺς ἀμύνου - Watch out for your enemies

Thoughts?

I wanted to address and give a perspective or an explanation of the actions of the Gods, I think some people might find it useful or just food for thought but first I’d like to talk about ancient Greece. Ancient Greece had a warrior culture similar to America and what I mean by that is that we tend to respect and honor people that conquer adversity through war and hold a general high esteem for warriors and war heroes usually over artist or people that contribute to recreational culture for lack of a better word with the exception of certain activist, politicians, scientist, and artist that conquered a lot of adversity. We obviously tend to value capable people that have to overcome great obstacles in life over someone who only excelled at what they do. This is evident in the very mythology of the afterlife of ancient Greece, traditionally only heroes are allowed to enter the Elysian Fields, most people who lived average lives would go to Asphodel which is similar to purgatory, and the worst to Tartarus which is similar to hell. I personally believe the myths are allegorical and metaphorical almost entirely however with that in mind in situations where Gods are antagonist in myths it could be seen that the Gods are actually pushing them forward in life for their betterment because without that adversity characters like Heracles and Odysseus are no longer heroes. Even if you take the myths literally and see Hera for instance as spiteful it is undeniable that she played an important role in pushing Heracles to greatness. Similarly Poseidon who was a major antagonist to Odysseus put him through a lot but essentially is the reason he’d get into the Elysian Fields. The truth is the myths are useful and can be inspirational because life is hard and being able to look up to people who have been put through the worst of situations by the Gods themselves and conquering that is awe inspiring. I’m sorry if I come off as pushy but that’s why I have such a huge issues with the old rhetoric that the Gods are amoral ruthless beings because if you allow that to over power every other perspective of a myth it keeps anything positive being understood from them.
I know I wrote an articles worth and I apologize for any mistakes I may have made but TL;DR The Gods can seem antagonistic or immoral at times but there are several ways you can look at a myth and taking it at face value especially just to paint the Gods in a bad light damages the ability to learn from the myths.

35. Ἄκουε πάντα - Listen to everyone

Thoughts?

Delphic Maxin #34

34. Αλλοτρίων ἀπέχου - Shun what belongs to others

Thoughts?

Delphic Maxim #33

33. Ἴδια φύλαττε - Guard what is yours

Thoughts?

Delphic Maxim #32

32. Κοινὸς γίνου - Be impartial

Thoughts?

It’s not perfect yet. I want to hang the whit board and lower the shelf a bit. I use cards/images a lot on my altar, and wanted a better way to display them without having to damage them. I think this was a cool solution, a contemporary look!

I did buy a statue and saving up to buy more so I can’t wait to see how it looks in the future.

The larger cards are the mythic oracle deck.

The small card and postcard of Artemis is the Asphdelon tarot deck (major arcana only). (I highly recommend this one!!)

Not every rituals needs to be complex and long. This year, I’ve started a ritual of praying in the morning when I open my living room blinds. My prayer goes like this:

Good morning great gods and goddesses
above, below, and in between.
Good morning Zeus
Good morning Sophrosyne
Good morning Khione
(etc for whoever I wish to greet)
May you bless me this day,
and may my actions honor you.
Khaire!

It’s not much, but a small daily reminder of the gods’ presence in my life has brought a lot of meaning every day.

A tribute to my Lady Aphrodite