A Moment with Aphrodite

Recently, I have increased the amount of cultus I give to Aphrodite — both on account of personal need and a commitment I made to honor certain deities more this year.

Aphrodite is an interesting goddess. As we all know, she presides over sexuality (a subject that I'm not altogether comfortable with); honoring her requires thinking about subjects that some may consider taboo.

When I pray to Aphrodite, I offer her lotus incense and read one of the prayers from Sappho — “Prayer to My Lady of Paphos” or “You Know the Place” in Mary Barnard's translation — and think about the Cyprian Queen for a short while. Using lyric poems adds an intimate feel to the worship that the Homeric hymns sometimes lack.

The Metageitnion Challenge

I have a challenge for you. It's big. It's awesome. And ... it lasts for the entire month of Metageitnion. You may read it at the end of this post, but I recommend skimming the background first.

Background

Back in April, I was flipping through the Buddhist magazine Tricycle in my former roommate's dorm, procrastinating on a giant pile of work that I needed to complete before the semester concluded. Now, many of my ideas come at the worst possible moments; something about me in academic panic mode makes the Nine give my imagination a complimentary makeover. On this particular day the Big Sit Challenge — a call to American Buddhists everywhere to practice hardcore meditation — was the subject of their poking.

My former roommate and I spoke for a while, with me commenting on all of the resources Tricycle makes available to American Buddhists. Laura commented that this exists because many American Buddhists are converts, unlike those in Southeast Asia whom parents have raised in the faith, and need a lot of spiritual detox from their former religions.

This got me thinking: All right, Kaye, I know that the English-speaking* Hellenic Polytheist community is small, but maybe we, too, could use some kind of challenge system to engage with our spiritual and religious practices? And a small part of me said, Oh, yeah.

Graduation happened, and I concentrated on my first web novel instead of more overtly spiritual practices while searching for a job in the troubled economy (which has still not happened because everyone with more experience than me has also been laid off and each of these people wants the jobs I'm applying for). Now, though, I'm back and ready to bring this to my readers — who must exist because Google Analytics says so.

What the Challenge is About

Motivating people to engage with Hellenism on a more practical level. Yes, you guessed it. Very few of these challenges — at least, those in the beginning — will deal with learning the high secrets of the cosmos. Remember The Next Karate Kid? Yeah. Wax on, wax off.

Pushing comfort zones. Self-discipline is required for committing to a challenge, and cultivating it requires giving up a low-motivation lifestyle inch by inch. Some challenges may even require pushing into new areas.

Uniting Hellenistai through common action. In the tradition of Kyklos Apollon (and possibly Neos Alexandria, for I have heard that they do some kind of temporally-linked weekly ritual), engaging with a challenge builds community.

Fun. Yes, I used that word. If you find your approach to a challenge boring, please stop and evaluate why you're not getting anything out of it. Change accordingly.

Metageitnion: A Month in Review

Metageitnion, the second month of the current Hellenic year, begins at sundown on Tuesday the 21st. Metageitnion contains sacrifices to Hera, Artemis, Zeus, and Hekate, to name a few, along with the Eleusinia, an athletic competition, and a celebration of Herakles. In the American Civic Calendar, it runs from July/August, overlapping with National Anti-Boredom Month (July) and Happiness Happens Month (August).**

What better way to combat boredom, increase happiness, and honor Herakles than to engage in physical activity? From Tai Chi (which is a lot more vigorous than it looks, especially with the squatting stances) and hula (great abdominal workout) to running and hiking, there is something for every body type and constitution — although people with health problems should always consult a doctor before beginning a new routine.

Challenge

For Metageitnion, your challenge is to establish a workout routine, thereby contributing to your physical arete. Before you engage in a workout, pray to Hermes and Herakles, as they presided over the ancient gymnasiums. If you hike or run in nature, you may wish to tip your hat to Artemis.

Pre-workout prayers don't require anything fancy. You may libate from your reusable water bottle (did you know that tap water is more regulated than bottled water?) or briefly light a workout-dedicated candle. Ideally, this practice takes two to five minutes. If you want tips on how to pray, please consult this guide by Kyrene.

Also, if you don't have time to work out every day, try to find two or three chunks of time every week. If Christians can make time to go to church on Sundays, the majority of you can make time for a short workout.

I'm going to try running, along with reviving my Tai Chi practice (with tapes for now because I'm unemployed). Good luck to everyone who picks it up.

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* Yes, I am aware that some readers have a different primary language, and that some actually come from Hellas. Bear with me here.
** All right, August is also National Panini Month, and July is National Share A Sunset with Your Lover Month ...

An Opportunity to Come Together

A while ago, some of us at Kyklos Apollon tried Skype conferences to learn some Greek words and discuss aspects of religion. As Hellenic Polytheists are a spread-out bunch outside of Hellas — there are only a handful of us present even in larger American cities — I was wondering if people in the community would consider a Skype conversation at some point in the near future.

Skype conference calls have either a five-person or twenty-five person capacity (the number varies even on their web site, so if you know the actual number, please notify me so I can research alternative software solutions). To participate in any conference call, you need working speakers, a microphone, and a copy of Skype, which is freely available for Windows, Mac, and many Linux distributions. You will need to create a user account on their web site.

If something like this interests you, please respond in the comments with your time zone, preferred discussion topics, and time availability.

On Hair and Offerings

In Ancient Hellenic Polytheism, men and women cut their hair to commemorate life changes. According to Burkert, these sacrifices usually happened when members of either gender reached adulthood. They “would cut their hair and dedicate it to some deity, a river, a local hero, or a god; the most pettily pretentious would even travel to Delphi to do so” (Greek Religion, 70).

A college graduation is a major life change. It marks the difference between unskilled and moderately skilled labor; an undergraduate degree, when put to good use, can result in fantastic real-world opportunities. On reading that section of Burkert, I decided to put off a haircut until I had attained that major life marker.

It took some time to decide which God(s) I should cut my hair for. Apollon made the most sense, as I offer him a lot of personal cultus. However, after reading Fritz Graf's Apollo, it seemed like offering hair to him was more appropriate for men. The modern world is decidedly different; gender equality makes many of the old distinctions obsolete. As I thought about this, I realized that my life change—the completion of an undergraduate education—seemed more under Athene's domain.

I decided to offer my hair to Artemis and Athene: Artemis for the end of childhood, Athene for the completion of my degree. Today, I went to a salon and had most of my hair cut off. It will be donated to the people who make wigs for the needy.

Hail Artemis and Athene, virgin goddesses!

I took the picture during my summer in DC; unfortunately, I don't have any self-taken images of Athene on my computer! ;_;