Offerings To Persephone, Goddess Of Spring

• Start a garden
• Wear an outfit you love
• Try new styles
• Offer Her pomegranates
• Offer Her honey
• Learn about bats and support nocturnal pollinators
• Tell ghost stories
• Comfort those who are grieving
• Grow as a person
• Spend time by natural water sources
• Go on a nature walk
• Meditate in a garden or grave yard
• Love your partner unconditionally
• Support new and single parents
• Eat more fruits/vegetables
• Pet or play with a dog
• Hold people accountable
• Set boundaries, don’t let anyone cross them
• Paint your nails red, black, pink, green, purple or blue
• Donate to women’s/trans protection and suicide prevention organizations
• Listen to music
• Look at photos of your younger self compared to now and love the changes/continuities
• Be hospitable
• Offer Her flowers, dead or alive
• Appreciate the seasons
• Stand up for yourself and your friends
• Wear contrasting clothing, or something you normally wouldn’t wear
• Pray to Her
• Read Her mythology

astra-in-ashes:

Hello!

I am a student at Stockholm University conducting a small study to gather information for my bachelor thesis. The form is directed at worshpiiers of Persephone and Hades and mostly focuses on how you experience the deities and their relationship to one another. Concerning the study it mostly focuses on how neo-pagans here on tumblr approach their deities and what sources they consider valueble for their spirituality/religion. Filling the form could take anywhere between 10 minutes and an hour depending on how many of the qustions choose to answer and how much you write in the free form questions, it can also be completed anonomously.

If you are interested, please take the form! I would also appreciate it if you could reblog this post and spread it. Also, if you think this subject sounds interesting feel free to shoot me an ask/dm as I’m always down to talk about it :)

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeaABS2H3RpxcljWovHBcFluxE9TJoMal0bHXb79djSrJrg8Q/viewform?usp=sf_link

I took Dread P//rs//ph//n// seriously. I am scare

The closest thing I could get to depicting Aphrodite. Not 100% accurate. Maybe 97%.

Oh and

…. Her. Aidoneus’ Bride. Scary lady. Minus the white stuff on the veil.

Have a pleasant, safe, meaningful and fun celebration to those celebrating the Eleusinian Mysteries, Equinox, and/or full moon!

sorry i’ve been gone im. exhausted ily all

Respectfully Visiting Strangers’ Graves

Today I visited a cemetery for Nemeseia. None of the dead people I know or who are related to me are buried anywhere near me–the closest is two states over, and most are in other countries–so, obviously, I wasn’t visiting anyone I’m connected to.

After this, I thought that it would probably be a good idea to share how I ensure I’m being respectful of the dead and their family’s when I select a strangers’ grave to honor. If you can think of any other ways to be respectful, feel free to add on.

General Cemetery Etiquette

1. Be quiet. You can talk or sing, but keep your voice low. Don’t blast Jay-Z.
2. Avoid mourners. Especially if you’re not visiting a specific grave, keep your distance from others. The cemetery is, first and foremost, a space for those grieving people they didknow.
3. Don’t walk over graves. If you cant tell where graves end, assume you should only walk directly behind and between headstones.
4. Don’t lean on, push, or touch headstones. Headstones aren’t sturdy! You can knock them down or break them.
5. Dress ‘normally’ and reasonably. I love eccentric makeup and statement fashion, but a graveyard isn’t the place for that. Avoid crop tops, lingerie, lots of glitter, etc. I wore my most simple floral skirt and a black t-shirt.
6. Don’t take dirt, bones, items, offerings, anything from a grave. It’s abhorrent. I don’t care about your graveyard dirt or 'vibes,’ don’t disturb strangers’ graves or steal their gifts. If you really need dirt get it from near the gates or something.

Selecting a Grave

1. Don’t visit someone who was born in or died this month, or on holidays. If it’s August, check that the birth and death dates weren’t in August. If the grave belongs to a man, don’t visit on Father’s Day, if it’s a Christian, not on any saints’ days, etc.
2. Make sure the grave hasn’t been recently visited. If it’s pristine and has flowers on it, leave it alone.
3. Avoid people who died less than 5 years ago. Those are far more likely to have visitors.
4. Avoid graves with religious symbols. Respect the religions of the dead. Do not involve a dead Muslim in your pagan holiday, don’t do satanic witchcraft on a Catholic’s grave.
5. Avoid graves with phrases on them like “beloved father/wife/sibling.” These are also far more likely to have visitors and living relatives.
6. Pick a site far from any mourners. Again, the cemetery is their space. Leave them be.

WhatNot to Offer/Leave

1. Avoid alcohol libations for religious graves or child deaths. Not all Muslims, for example, abstain from drink, but you should still respect the religion’s rules when you don’t know the dead.
2. Don’t leave things that spoil. No meat, no fruit, avoid food in general.
3. Don’t leave large offerings, ie. full sized bouquets and wreaths. Remember if the family does come by, you don’t want them to have to wonder who on earth gave grandpa fifty carnations and a bottle of rose.
4. Don’t leave plastic or things animals are likely to choke on.
5. No drugs or things that might be mistaken for drugs. White powders, mysterious green leafy lumps, etc. are no-goes. I hope it’s clear why.
6. Avoid bones. Not everyone wants to find a bird skull on their tia’s head stone.
7. Don’t leave art, poetry, or notes. It’s confusing and slightly creepy if you don’t know the dead.

Good Options for Offerings

1. Small, non-spoiling snacks. Unwrapped chocolate, candy, etc.
2. Flowers and plants. I leave mini bouquets of home grown oregano and lavender.
3. Unlit incense. I tied a stick into a bouquet.
4. Feathers and whiskers.
5. Lightly cleaning a plaque or headstone. Simply dusting off dirt and grass, don’t bring Clorox.
6. Liquid offerings (libations). Pour them in the dirt, don’t leave in a cup. Ideal offerings are things like small amounts of wine, water, or milk.

The grave I selected today was of a man who passed in 2014. His headstone only said his name and “community member,” and was untouched. It had no symbols other than a typewriter on it, making ti safe to assume he wasn’t very religious if at all. The offering I gave was water poured on the ground, dusting his plaque, and a small bouquet of plants and a feather.

When visiting a cemetery, it’s important above all that you respect the dead and the living. It’s not a tourist attraction or a spooky witchy site. It’s for the dead and those who loved them first and foremost. Respect that.