A Shrine for the Charites and Eumenides

A few weeks ago, I made a post about creating a small shrine to the Charites and the Eumenides. This is my first shrine that exists separately from my main one (which is in major need of organization — too many images). I wanted something very simple and clean for this shrine.

I laid a board over the top of a new shelf for the shrine to maximize the amount of space I have — shelf space is very important to me, and I blame the lack of it for most of my organizational problems. (This is actually true. Since acquiring more shelf space, my messiness has cut down about 70%.) The shrine contains images of the Charites from a wall mural and the only image of all three Eumenides that I could find, a painting by Franz von Stuck completed six years before Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I also have an empty wine glass with a very beautiful logo design that contains several fake flowers.

I have prayed at the shrine just once since its creation, but I am taking things slowly because I want to gradually incorporate their worship into my spiritual practice. Right now, it feels more comfortable to offer the Charites and Erinyes traditional things (the Orphic Hymns, for example) than to use modern offerings (i.e., substituting pure maple syrup mixed with water for honey mixed with water because my region produces more maple syrup than honey).

There is no incense burner on this shrine, but I am planning on finding a saucer for offerings. The Eumenides do not often receive incense offerings because they are Chthonic deities according to some sources that I’m working through, but they do receive incense offerings according to the Orphic Hymns as the Eumenides and as the Erinyes. The sources I have read so far indicate that the Eumenides receive no alcoholic libations, but I won’t say more on this now.

So far, I have prayed to the Eumenides and the Charites using the Orphic Hymns. I may incorporate other texts later.