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Donāt⦠treat them as tools. Deities arenāt obligated to help you, even if you do everything ācorrectlyā toĀ ask. Theyāre not vending machines, or a list of correspondences that only gets value from how they best serve you. Theyāre gods! Instead⦠treat them like people. (Really high-status people.)Ā Build a relationship before asking big favors. Compensate them for their time. Respect they have their own autonomy. Respect that your will is not the center of their universe.Ā
Donāt⦠reduce them into archetypes. Putting Frejya or Aphrodite into justĀ ālove goddessā takes out so much of their depth. (Example, both of these goddesses also have warlike aspects.) Putting them into narrow categories and treating all deities that fit as the same can be reductive at best and insensitive to the root cultures at worst.Ā Instead⦠address who youāre really talking to. Do your research. See how a god either lines up with or defies your assumptions. See what makes them different from a deity with a similar domain. If you wish to speak to the Horned God, speak to the Horned God, and if you want to speak to Cernunnos or Pan, call them Cernunnos or Pan.Ā Donāt⦠ignore the lore. UPG Can certainly exist and add depth, but the lore has survived and is what all these gods are largely founded on. Itās important for us to recognize it and know who weāre approaching.Ā Instead⦠do your research beforehand. Did you know Aphrodite is widely considered to HATE pigs and be offended with offerings of pork or images of pigs on the altar? Might be a good thing to know before you accidentally offer some fresh bacon. (But if you recognize the lore and find a way to spin it so it works, more power to you~) Donāt⦠insult other peopleās gods. If those gods donāt resonate with you, they have a lot of meaning for other good people. Iām tempted to say donāt insult your own, either. Playful banter is one thing, but thereās a line between affectionate jabs and straight up disrespect. Find where that line is for you. Instead⦠talk to other people. If something about a god you donāt worship feels problematic, talk to their followers and devotees and see what they have to say about it. They probably have an approach you havenāt been exposed to. Analyze your own relationships with deities. And if the way you speak about a deity makes someone else uncomfortable or upset, respect their right to feel that way, apologize, and learn from it. Remember that each deity has changed someoneās life for the better.
I keep imagining Hadesā lovestruck, flustered expression when he first sees Persephone
It was probably in Olympus at some meeting that Demeter took her to, and heās embarrassed by his brothers, teasing him and putting him down, and he catches Persephone watching and heās blushing so bright and pouting and sulking
And then again when she wanders into his home and heās just doing busywork, and heās older now and a little more confident but not by much and heās flustered all over again, jolted by the presence of this beautiful girl, power in her every step, and remembers how she had stood up to Zeus at that meeting, and how she was stronger than him, and when she asks to stay what is he supposed to do? Say no?
He knows the repercussions but he has such respect for her- thatās how it all started, pure respect, not love, not obsession- and he knows how the others treat young gods. Knows Demeter will leash her daughter to her side like a misbehaving dog. Knows how betrayal feels. And besides, maybe he can learn from her how to be so confident, so self assured. How she captured that power in her walk, in her expression.
When she tells him how she fakes it, he doesnāt understand. She tells him how scared she is. How when she came down here she was about to run back when he had caught her.
āYou can never let them see,ā she said easily, picking seeds from the pomegranate. āIf they see how you feel, they can use that,ā Her deep golden brown eyes pierced his, the wisdom in them made him sit back. āAnd they will drain you.ā
It wasnāt long before they came for her. For once, he saw the fear in her eyes. And that, more than any advice she had given, made the mask of confidence and power fall over him. It was easy to tell them of the mistake she had made. She had eaten of his realm, she could no longer go back. It was her choice; he knew he couldnāt keep her and he wouldnāt try. But they didnāt need to know that.
Half of the year, they settled. It was enough for the young goddess and so it was for him. It was hard when she left. How odd, too. He had been alone for his entire life, shunned here, happily deprived of his family. But here he was, lackluster for mourning of his new- what was she now? He supposed she was considered his wife now to the others. To him, she was a friend. Someone to stand beside.
Her return made him warmer than he had ever been. She smelled like sweat and moss and lakes, her tight coiled curls wreathed her head like a crown. It made him want to make her one of her own. She was happy to be back, she said, and he stared. He told her no one had said that about this place before and she laughed, a hearty, shining thing. He felt his pale cheeks grow splotchy.
The love took longer. Hades was a cold place and a colder person. But he would quickly learn what spring does to winter. It wasnāt her beauty that thawed him, though that didnāt help. It was the way she leaned into him as he worked, how she talked and listened, her unabashed joy at the simplest of things. And then the strength, the elegance, the anger. She was a force that he was happy to stand behind. But instead she chose to stand beside him. Never a subordinate, always an equal.
He didnāt realise how warm his heart had grown until he caught himself staring, just like that first day. Her hair in a cloud of curls, eyes bright but firm, her confidence radiating. He was so in love it was stupid. The gods donāt love their spouses. But here he was, locking their fingers together.
She kissed him as if it was something they had done a thousand times before and told him she loved him the same way. When he responded, she looked surprised for the first time. He dragged her closer, whispering it again like a hymn, more for himself than for her. No matter how surprised she was, he was moreso.
Love wasnāt meant for gods. But he wasnāt sure they counted as gods down here. In the depths, they werenāt king and queen they were husband and wife. And he would never stop looking at her and getting flustered.
hi, sweet angelfaces - here are some playlists iāve created for a few Goddesses, all posessing a unique theme! each one is on Spotify, so feel free to listen + follow them as you please!
Dear Aphrodite: a mix of gentle and magical instrumental/vocal pieces. picture Aphrodite herself, beckoning you into a fantasy world made up of the sweetest love and comfort.Ā ā”
Dear Persephone: a mix of old, soft, and folk-y songs, ones which will send you walking arm and arm with Persephone. you will pick the ripest pomegranates, the sound of your harmonies filling the forest. ā”
Dear Hecate: a mix of spooky modern songs by very witchy babes, all of which are dedicated to the vast complexity of womankind. you sit side by side with Hecate, embracing the artistry that lies within the darker sides of life, exchangingĀ secrets in the shadows.Ā ā”
Dear Venus: a mix of soft-rock ballads that will send you afloat, breathing in the ocean air. Venus and you swim through the velvety currents, her voice encouraging you to show yourself the same love which you so greatly show to others.Ā ā”
An emoji spell to help you get a good nights rest likes to charge, reblogs to cast
I wanna know what love is,
I want you to show me.
I wanna feel what love is,
I know you can show me.
Gracious Goddess, make me able to give myself the love I deserve,
So that love may find itās way into my life.
Allow me to take care of myself as I one day wish to care for another.
I beseech thee Lady of Love.
I just love the myth of Persephone, i mean the real, original version of it, because itās not like she got kidnapped, no, this bitch was la-de-da-ing in a meadow and she just happened to find an entrance to the Underworld and she was likeĀ āImma check this outā. And she just wanders into the Underworld and discovers that hey this place aināt too bad.
Meanwhile Hades is in the backgroundĀ ā????? UM??? PRETTY GIRL??? WHY ARE YOU HERE?????? YOU ARENāT DEAD???āĀ
And Persephone (who was originally called Kore just a little fyi) just looked at him and saidĀ āI like it here. Iām staying.ā
And Hades kinda just went with it, until Demeter started throwing the temper tantrum of the millenium upstairs and Zeus had to intervene because this shit was getting out of hand and its actually his job to be admistrator of justice. Which considering the shit heĀ gets up to is kinda histerical but thatās another story there.Ā
And basically Persephone wasnāt a prisoner or kidnap victim at all she just really loved the Underworld and her (eventual) husband, and the Greeks feared her arguably more than her husband because Hades could be reasoned with but Persephone was the one laying the smack down on sinners, and really, who wouldnāt be at least a little scared of someone whoās name means something along the lines ofĀ āthe destroyerā
Basically, Persephone is amazing and everbody needs to get on her level
My most recent zine is a 1-page-fold love letter to the trans community, & itās free for you to download, print & share here. Iāll have some physical copies on my table at MICExpo 2017, too.Ā
Sigil text was gathered from friends & strangers (thank you!), sigils were created by me using my own method. All of these can be used regardless of gender identity & you can copy them onto whatever you need, I just ask that you donāt sell them (or this zine). Stay strong.
Ā© 2017
Brighid keeps the cows,
And cows are heavy workā
Sheās all shoulders, hips, and thighs,
Strong for the lifting.
Her heart remembers the son she keened for,
And so does her belly.
Ā -
Stretch marks strike across Heraās skin,
Lightning tattoos,
Fitting symbols of eternal loyalty.
Forever marked a wife, a mother,
Not a marble statue.
-Ā
On the shores of her birthplace,
Aphrodite comes up dripping,
Breasts heavy, hips rolling like waves.
In Mauritania she overflows:
Fat (no hiding from that word,
No shame)
Cascades from her arms,
Rolls over her middle,
Puckers her thighs.
On every beach she has celluliteā
She is goddess of beauty,
Not goddess of the impossible.
Everywhere, she is adored.
Ā -
Inanna, Queen of Heaven,
Feels no need to diminish herself
When the entire sky is hers to occupy.
Emoji Spell to help you speak confidently! (I used yellow & sunflower bc they promote positivity & confidence) š£like to chargeš£ š»reblog to castš»