On the fifth day of the lunar calendar (ending in a few hours), Horkos was born to Eris. Here is a short prayer I wrote, and remember: read your obligations in every Terms of Service (typically the part with all-caps YOU or USER), baptism without consent is meaningless, and don't sign or vow anything until … Continue reading A Prayer to Horkos for the Fifth Lunar Day
Tag: polytheism
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
Don’t Say Pagan
Something last week reminded me of this poem I wrote back in 2017, but didn't publish because it was right after I watched a blogosphere fight, I was decompressing after thinking about a situation that happened online back in my teens, and I didn't want to fan flames. This is similar — but not identical — … Continue reading Don’t Say Pagan
I Made a Symbol in PowerPoint
In a conversation today, transformative experiences (and the psychology research and philosophy behind them) came up. I mentioned Damascius and some of the stuff he says about Dionysos. (Even though I have not actually read Damascius' full discussion of the Phaedo, I've gleaned enough by now to have seen what people say about it and … Continue reading I Made a Symbol in PowerPoint
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
A Miscellany of Quotations — Bryant & Damascius
From The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali Years ago, when I started reading the 600-page commentary (900 ebook pages; the page numbers below are ebook ones) on the Yoga Sūtras by Edwin F. Bryant, I wanted to have a better grounding in the philosophy behind the asana I practiced multiple times a week so I would … Continue reading A Miscellany of Quotations — Bryant & Damascius
Hellenistic Syncretic Polytheism (HeSP)
(Addendum: I don't use this term anymore — I just call myself a polytheist.) The only definition for this exists in my About Me or that long post I made after a summertime Twitter situation a while ago. This post will serve as a definition reference link so I can link to it whenever I … Continue reading Hellenistic Syncretic Polytheism (HeSP)
Just Do It (and other thoughts on worship)
Note: This page has been superseded by an open access online book I wrote for people just getting started with honoring Gods. Please visit https://kayeofswords.github.io/soulsinnerstatues/ and view the chapters "Foundations" and "The Mechanics of Ritual." I saw a question on Reddit over the weekend that I think merits further comment — what do you do … Continue reading Just Do It (and other thoughts on worship)
A Cosmology Analogy for Something in Iamblichus
It occurred to me while reading an article in Scientific American about misconceptions people have about cosmology that there are similar challenges when trying to visualize the systems in philosophers like Iamblichus and Proclus. I'm blogging briefly about it because (a) I get to talk about astronomy and (b) maybe it's useful to others. (Now that … Continue reading A Cosmology Analogy for Something in Iamblichus