― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

🔥 The Rite of Her Sacred Fires 2021 🔥

altars for greek gods

this post includes hades, persephone, artemis, apollo, aphrodite, hermes, and hekate. for part 2 including zeus, hera, poseidon, hestia, hephaestus, dionysus, ares, demeter, and athena click here, for the titans and protogenoi click here.

keep in mind that this is largely UPG, new age stuff, and historically accurate offerings to the gods include meat, wine, grain (specifically barley), honey, and incense (myrrh and frankincense).

colors can be used for candles, banners, decor, whatever you want

HADES

Colors: black, red, and white for association with death. purple and metallics for association with riches/wealth

Offerings: mint, asphodel, white poplar, pomegranate, coffee, cinnamon, elm, money, chocolate

Crystals: gemstones, black crystals (obsidian, black tourmaline, smokey quartz, etc.), pyrite, hematite, labradorite

Animals: black ram, owl, serpent, Cerberus

PERSEPHONE

Colors: purple, pink, yellow, green for association with springtime. black and metallics for association with Hades. white for purity.

Offerings: pomegranate, flowers, grains, asphodel, lavender, rosemary

Crystals: amethyst, gemstones, moss/tree agate, milk quartz, jade, lepidolite

Animals: deer, ram, bat, talking birds (including parrots)

APHRODITE

Colors: red and pink for love/sexuality. white and blue for association with the ocean. gold for association with, well, gold.

Offerings: roses, chocolate, shells, myrrh, gold

Crystals: rose quartz, pearl, emerald, opal, aquamarine, rhodonite, rhodochrosite, ocean jasper, morganite

Animals: swan, dove, hare

ARTEMIS

Colors: white, blue, black, and grey for association with the heavens. brown and green for association with nature/the hunt.

Offerings: moon shaped foods, frankincense, cypress, mugwort, amaranth

Crystals: morganite, moonstone, aventurine, selenite, celestite, moss/tree agate, amethyst, quartz (specific dendritic), labradorite, silver

Animals: deer, wolf, wild boar

APOLLO

Colors: yellow, white, and blue for association with the heavens. red, orange, and pink for healing. purple and green for the Oracle

Offerings: sun shaped foods, bay leaves, laurel, cypress, playing music, poetry

Crystals: sunstone, amber, calcite (specifically honey and yellow), quartz (specifically rutilated or clear), rose quartz, silver

Animals: cow, snake, hawk, crow/raven, cicada, swan, bees

HERMES

Colors: green and gold for money/luck. white and brown for travels.

Offerings: money, crocus/saffron, strawberries

Crystals: jade, malachite, fluorite, pyrite, lapis lazuli, citrine, alexandrite

Animals: tortoise, ram

HEKATE

Colors: purple, blue, and green for magic. red and black for association with underworld

Offerings: garlic, saffron, crossroad dirt, black salt, ashes, sage, cedar, yew

Crystals: labradorite, obsidian, hematite, black tourmaline, amethyst, bloodstone, serpentine, lepidolite

Animals: wolf, boar, serpent, lion, horse, cow

Here's my altar. Just offered incense offerings (usually what I offer anyways). The top row is Apollo and Artemis, the middle is Anpu/Anubis, and the bottom is Hermes. I have to print out a picture of anubis that's big enough to fit in the frame.

Once we start loving ourselves, people no longer seem good to us unless they are actually good for us.

I'm a big supporter of "the gods love you, regardless of how much you're able to do to worship them", but at the same time, it's difficult to forge a relationship with any deity (or even other people) if you don't allow yourself to be known by them. If you don't have moments of vulnerability, moments of silliness, moments of small joy even, then it's difficult to forge relationships or take them to a deeper level. Loving gods (or even other people) can be a scary thing for some people (hell, it was for me), but if you don't allow your heart to be exposed, even just a little, then you're not going to get back as much as you're hoping to.

Anything that's worth anything in life is going to require some level of risk, as terrifying as that feels sometimes, and in my opinion, having a deeper connection with a deity is one of those things that's worth the risk.

My point isn't that we aren't loved by the gods if we don't do a ritual everyday or pray every hour; my point here is that we cannot deepen our bonds if we aren't willing to dip more than just our toes into our deity relationships. Love your gods, and know that you are loved, but they can't really help you if you won't let them in, you know?

When I say "connect with nature" I don't just mean the aesthetic forests with deer and beautiful flowers.

I mean the weeds growing through concrete, the fungus that grows on the rotten shed, the nettles that always seem to return and the scary, spindly cellar spider in the corner of the bathroom.

Nature is not always pretty or magical - the pigeons and seagulls you swat at are nature too, the wasps and flies that hover by your meals are animals too, store-bought strawberries and the leaves that fall from your neighbour's tree are not all that different from the Giant Sequoias and it's seeds.

If you want to connect and understand nature, I mean *really* connect to it, in it's entirety, you have to seek out and learn about the ugly, scary and mundane things as well. You don't have to like it, just don't forget that it's there.

Sometimes, your intuition fails you so you can have a little fun.

My intuition is powerful. That’s not me bragging. It’s just a fact about me. I have black hair, brown eyes and a powerful intuition.

Which means life barely surprises me. I see false friends coming from miles away. Same with true ones, celebrations and disasters.

When I met my great love, I knew he would be that from the first second I looked at him. Call me cheesy, but it’s the truth — I saw him walking towards me, and the world around us slowed down. Everything faded to black and white. Only he was in color. Only he was alive.

My Sun was his Rising. My Rising, his Sun. We were mirrors. It was magical.

But it wasn’t meant to be. We were soul kin, not soulmates. Each other’s mentor, but not each other’s forever.

My intuition saw him coming, and my intuition saw us dissolving. No shocks, no surprises. No pain, even. Or maybe just a pinch. Life is quite predictable for a fortuneteller after all.

But in the past year and a half, my intuition decided to let me have some fun. So she stepped back.

The first time I saw this stranger looking at me, I thought to myself, “What a beautiful man.”

But that’s it. The world didn’t slow down. Nothing faded to black and white. No one around us “died”, with only him looking alive.

Over the course of 18 months, I continued with my life. He was just a random guy from a far-off department whom I noticed every two months walking past me in the hallways. Each time, he was looking at me, and each time, I was looking back. But that was that.

Slowly, “The Beautiful Stranger” became “The Cute Guy on the Third Floor”. Then he grew into “The Office Eye Candy”. And now apparently, he’s become “The Center of My Life” suddenly. I wake up with him every morning, and sleep next to him every night.

I did not see him coming. I did not see him staying. I cannot see what he really is or will eventually be. A lesson? A detour? A happy ending?

I still can peek at my future. My career, my friendships, my wellbeing. But not him. Even my tarot cards refuse to talk about him. Whenever I ask them anything, they give me the silent treatment.

The Hanged Man: No comment.

Wheel of Fortune: Whatever will be, will be.

Temperance: Just wait and see.

Two of Wands: What Temperance said.

Two of Swords: No can do.

Page of Cups: Just enjoy it, will you?

My intuition has left my body... and it feels heavenly.

Is this true love or a commercial break? I have no idea. All I know is that every day, it makes my day. So I promise to cherish it for as long as it wants to stay.

If your powerful intuition suddenly stops talking to you too… it hasn’t abandoned you. It’s just guiding you to something new. You’re not being deserted. You’re being liberated.

This is your reminder to freshen up your wards. And maybe clean your sacred space.

Honouring & Offering: Apollo edition

The Sun ☀️ Drawing a sunrise ☀️ Taking a picture of the sun ☀️ Bask in the sun while thinking of him ☀️ Wear yellows and warm tones ☀️ Golden makeup

Music 🎼 Learn an instrument or sing 🎼 Decorate with sheet music 🎼 Support indie/small musicians 🎼 Dance 🎼 Create your own musical chant in honour of him

Healing & Medicine 💊 Donate to health charities 💊 Eat healthily 💊 Learn first aid 💊 Exercise 💊 Expand your knowledge on health care

The Arts 📝 Write poetry 📝 Draw or paint 📝 Create clay models 📝 Visit a theatre 📝 Visit an opera or classical music performance

Oracles, Prophecy & Truth 🎴 Learn divination 🎴 Perform readings for yourself and others 🎴 Dedicate a tarot deck to him 🎴 Meditate with him in mind 🎴 Speak truthfully

Beauty 💄 Wear jewellery 💄 Dedicate an item of clothing to him 💄 Offer rings 💄 Self-care routine 💄 Makeup

Crystals 🪨 Citrine 🪨 Amber 🪨 Sapphire 🪨 Sunstone 🪨 Carnelian

Plants 🪻 Hyacinth 🪻 Laurel 🪻 Apple-trees 🪻 Bay leaves 🪻 Cinnamon

Misc. 💛 Learn his mythos 💛 Respect his twin sister Artemis, mother Leto, lovers, and children 💛 Visit his temples 💛 Include oranges or lemons in your drinks/food 💛 Work with the number 7 and celebrate Sundays