Today was a blustery, sunny day. My girlfriend and I went out. I waited in the car rereading passages from Hermias and did a 15-minute Headspace meditation on acceptance while she navigated the line at a store to buy office supplies. People entered and exited every few minutes with balloons. She said that the interior … Continue reading Acceptance and Resistance
Tag: community-building
Brief Comments on Leadership
This week, I received Maxims #41, ὕβριν μίσει, and #132, θνῇσκε ὑπὲρ πατρίδος, in my weekly oracle. Hate hubris. Die for your fatherland. I've been reading Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, and I started to take in what he said about tempers and self-moderation, specifically anger and leadership, while walking into work on Monday. Here's the result … Continue reading Brief Comments on Leadership
On Fandom and Gods
I read "What Polytheists Can Learn from Fandom" today. First off, the piece had some good takeaways: An emphasis on building coalitions through a lattice of local, semi-local, national, and international events and loose affiliations of people is important for the future of polytheism. We can do things that respect the diversity of religions and … Continue reading On Fandom and Gods
Maxim 62: ἐλπίδα αἴνει
I. To Elpis (Hope) Elpis, you remain in the jar, the potential of libations. Before words are spoken, on the tip of the tongue, among our racing desires, adventurous, grasping thoughts, you shine like a struck nebula, dispensing grace like flowers. You are the brightness we grasp, unseeing the Fates who know the topography of … Continue reading Maxim 62: ἐλπίδα αἴνει
Eris Disrupting the Feast
For months now, I've been thinking about Eris and the way she drives things apart when discord is not honored on the way to consensus or mutual respect.¹ It's part of why I wrote a devotional poem to her, wanting to push back against that — to find a space that honors her properly, that pivots … Continue reading Eris Disrupting the Feast
Reflecting on Goals
Since it’s halfway through the calendar year (and still the beginning of HMEPA’s 699.3), I thought I’d revisit some of my goals for the year and describe where I am with them, with a focus on the ones related to religion. I do goal-setting to keep myself honest about my aspirations for the year; conversely, … Continue reading Reflecting on Goals
Reflections on Social Media
So, yesterday was the new year according to the HMEPA calendar — I did an hour and fifteen minutes of ritual, and my apartment still smells like frankincense incense and oil. I prayed to the Horai for their blessings in 699.3 (because we all need that right now), alongside gods I worship on a personal basis, … Continue reading Reflections on Social Media
PIE in the Sky: Interpretatio and Divine Uncertainty
In which I talk about polytheism, interpretatio, the number of gods, and uncertainty. Also, I make too many PIE jokes.
Sights and Sounds of Ancient Ritual
Today, I went to see "Sights and Sounds of Ancient Ritual," and since it is Anthesteria, I was delighted that so many things in it told visual stories of jubilance and of honoring the dead. The exhibit at the Yale University Art Gallery presents a narrative about sensory religious experiences that incorporates ritual objects from … Continue reading Sights and Sounds of Ancient Ritual
KALLISTI 