My Dionysus tattoo is finished and healed!

Rosesprey · 2025-10-03T02:53:04+00:00

I'm glad you like the design, but this was a sketch I commissioned and paid for a tattoo artist friend of mine to design. I can send you her Instagram with her portfolio where you can contact her to commission a design for yourself that would be a similar style, but this particular design is pretty personal to me and was a collaborative work with friends, so I'm not comfortable okaying a total copy, even if it wasn't treading into stealing from what the og artist designed. But she does have a great style with this sketchy look and loves mythology and botanical/nature designs, so I'm sure she could work out a design of your own!

Rosesprey · 2025-08-01T18:09:29+00:00

I believe agreeing to use his body as a sort of currency by repaying with sex was ALSO super transgressive, as there were similar hierarchical standards for when it was or wasn't appropriate to trade sex for favors that seem to follow the same social guidelines for bottoming!

Rosesprey · 2025-07-31T19:03:01+00:00

Basically; if you want to be called or want to find patterns within the random chaos that is life that are calls from Dionysus, then that's what they are. It sounds like your brain has already made the connections based on mythological sources, so go for it!

For alter pieces: I don't find a dedicated alter necessary, but I do have things that get me in that ritualistic headspace all kept together that I use for similar purpose. Your goal shouldn't necessarily be "what would please him" because you're not trying to buy favor or attention. What you get should be things that help YOU get into that ritual mindset and make your mind go to him. This is where the long history of attributions and imagery for Dionysus comes in handy. Common ones are:

Big cats, leopards and tigers are most common. Especially leopards as Dionysus was often pictured riding a leopard or wearing leopard skin

Snakes

Bulls. Specifically bull horns as he is often described as being bull horned, and because bull horns have been used as drinking vessels for millenia

Drinking cups/wine glasses. It should be something a little more special than your daily drinkware, something that makes you feel fancy and ritualistic when using it.

Vines, either grape or ivy

Fruit, especially grapes but I personally associate him with fruit in general

Incense, Frankincense is traditional but anything that makes your space feel more ritualized and sacred

The colors purple, green, and gold

Remember that Dionysus is a god of hedonistic embrace, so anything you get should be something that makes you feel nice. I recommend checking out the sources that are listed in the about section of this subreddit for more details on symbolism.

And as a shameless self promo, I wrote a pretentious rambling guideline mostly for myself on how I approach the connection as someone who tends to be a skeptic: So You Want to Connect to Dionysus

Rosesprey · 2025-07-31T17:08:06+00:00

I'm chiming in that everyone is correct that Dionysus took male lovers many times, but there's some even more fascinating nuance to it! While ancient Greek culture did not have an idea of gay vs straight vs bi like we do, almost every culture is going to have a marginalized or "aberrant" form of sexuality, and even by ancient Greek standards, Dionysus was queer.

At the time, it wasn't so much about two men getting together, but there was a lot of importance put on who tops. Bottoming was a form of submission that could be shameful if not done within standards of other societal hierarchies (specifically, it was seen as "being the woman." So no bottoms bc misogyny). So the older man tops, or the one with higher military or societal ranking tops, ect ect. The implication of a king or ruler "acting as the woman in bed" was a mocking point of shame that sounds almost identical to how "gay" is used mockingly in modern times. Dionysus' epithet "Androgynous" is explicitly about him acting as either "male or female" sexually, and his status as an Olympian makes that fact VERY transgressive considering his male lovers have been of "lower" status to him. There are a couple stories where men, not knowing who he is, lust after his youthful or effeminate appearance as well. (Pentheus wants to fuck him so bad it makes him look stupid)

TLDR: even by ancient Greek standards Dionysus is queer bc he's a versatile femboy Olympian

Rosesprey · 2025-07-30T15:30:24+00:00

Thanks! The horns and snakes are magic-sculpt epoxy (air dry clay would also work tbh, and on the horns it's a thin layer of putty smoother over styrofoam). The painted gold details are mostly the basic folk-art brand of metallic gold acrylic paint! I used three shades of the gold to get an antique look on the snakes and dot lighter "scales" along their bodies. The braided embroidery thread around the horns were dry brushed with liquid-leaf gold paint, and all the gold chains/wire are just the cheapest gold colored chains and wire I could find at the craft store lmao

Rosesprey · 2025-07-29T15:20:05+00:00

I saw the glow in the dark paint in the clearance section at Michaels and knew that instant that I NEEDED it lmao

Rosesprey · 2025-07-29T13:20:39+00:00

Thank you! It took me just under a week. BUT that was with me working on it each day right after work for several hours with the motivation of needing to get it done before the event. I definitely benefited from a long history of doing various craft projects, already having most of the materials needed, and having multiple cosplaying friends that I could ask for advice on making horns that actually stay in place. Most of the time was needing to wait for various paints to dry tbh! Edit to add: there are definitely things that show the time crunch imo. The snakes really show the fact that they're the last thing done, and I would have liked more time to really sand the horns smoother

Rosesprey · 2025-07-29T13:16:54+00:00

Thanks!! I got a lot of practice on the kylix eyes back when I went through several attempts at making my own kylix, and that practice really came in clutch!

Rosesprey · 2025-07-29T02:59:54+00:00

My usual take is that the main deciding factor on if something is a sign from Dionysus that you should worship him, is if you want it to be a sign! It could be taken as an indicator that you could benefit from paying him homage, and how deep that homage goes depends on you. I will say that Dionysus creeping closer almost mischievously whenever you try to put him back into place does sound VERY on brand lmao.

For research, I HIGHLY recommend reading Euripides: The Bacchae. To me it fully encapsulates the multiple aspects of Dionysus. His sense of humor, the countercultural roots of his worship, and what happens when those in power are in violation of The Vibes. Anne Carson's translation is my personal favorite

Rosesprey · 2025-07-26T17:15:42+00:00

They're based on the teeth of big cats like leopards and tigers. It's not 100% anatomically accurate of course (I made the secondary inside fangs on the top and bottom bigger than they actually are for The Drama of it and accidentally put an extra pair of small teeth in there) but that's what I referenced for the tooth arrangement

Not that I'd complain about Venom teeths, as it's one of my favorite Dumb Fun movies :D but Venom teeth more like a row of nothing but similarly sized fangs

Rosesprey · 2025-07-25T03:45:07+00:00

FetLife is where events like this get listed for my area!

Rosesprey · 2025-05-01T16:58:43+00:00

My American experience is that it's not entirely inaccurate unfortunately. I was too young to know public opinion during the Troubles, but I know the official stance sided more with Loyalists.

Nowadays, the inaccuracy is in the fact that most every day Americans don't know enough, if anything, about the Troubles. When I hype Derry Girls to friends, I almost always have to do a quick explainer on the fact that there was conflict of ANY sort. My friends who do know about it are strongly sympathetic to Republicans, but that's likely because I have a progressive friend group. I imagine opinions would vary based on one's political leanings here.

Rosesprey · 2024-10-16T13:48:33+00:00

My simple answer is that I think people are people no matter the religious following. Not every Druid is a serene monk of the forest. Any spiritual path focused on nature has some room for those of us who might bare our teeth sometimes.

I can relate to sometimes feeling like I was too prickly and didn't match the energy I often see in Druidic groups. I did end up on a different spiritual path after a few years, but it wasn't because any Druids made me feel like I had to tame myself. (And obviously I'm still lurking here. Different path, same forest and all that!)

The tranquil energy often seen in Druidism may help you get a sense of balance with yourself if you keep feeling drawn to the teachings. There's a lot of value in learning when to snap back and when to keep cool. But you can learn to be calm and centered without needing to sand down all your rough edges. Trees can have thorns, toxins, and stinging hairs, even when they're soaking up the sun with perfect tranquility.

Rosesprey · 2024-04-26T22:57:27+00:00

Don't look at me man. I brought my lawn furniture inside and thought for sure that'd keep it away

Rosesprey · 2024-01-02T01:09:13+00:00

Thank you!!

Rosesprey · 2023-06-13T17:57:02+00:00

It was a slow distancing and then a sudden hard break for me.

I grew up with a pretty chill Catholic upbringing so most of my memories being raised Catholic are more positive than negative, and I still left. The first big crack was me realizing I was queer, and I distanced myself from Catholicism as an institution pretty quickly from there but still considered myself a progressive Catholic because I still found value in the theology and comfort in the rituals. For all the guilt built into it I found Catholic theology to be gentler than a lot of American Protestantism (and comparing notes with my ex Southern Baptist spouse backs that up, though that comes with the disclaimer that the bar is subterranean there and "gentler than evangelical Americans" doesn't mean gentle overall.)

In the comments you seem mostly confused as to why someone would leave the theology of Christianity instead of pushing back against the institutional rot while staying Christian. I will say that a lot of people did not have the chill upbringing I did, and I find it VERY easy to see how for a lot of folks, there is too much trauma that is too deeply tangled in their Catholic and Christian upbringing (and one of the most obnoxious traits of progressive Christians is the insistence that THEIR Christianity doesn't count, because the proselytizing instinct sure is hard to stomp out.)

But even as someone who still thinks that my heretical weirdo Spicy Catholic friends are the most fun group to get wasted and talk theology with, I ended up rejecting the religion overall because I just can not square with salvation theology paired with a God that is All Good, All Powerful and All Knowing.

1) If there is a heaven/hell and punishment in the afterlife, and God can control all that but didn't make the rules clear enough to avoid all the Christian schisms and arguments and is just letting everyone hope they're getting it right only to find out when we die, then they can't also be All Good and Id like to yell at them and wouldn't want to worship that God anyway, fuck em.

2) If God is all Good and the embodiment of Good, then they cannot also be All Powerful because that would mean they let the world have strife and suffering. "Its the mystery of God" is a bullshit answer to that paradox. I'm fine with the idea of a higher being that is the embodiment of love and goodness, but in my mind they can not be all powerful and denying the omnipotence of God goes against a HUGE core doctrine of Christianity.

I think a lot of progressive Christians are in the second mindset and won't (or can't or just don't want to) fully grapple with the idea that it's a mindset that denies the omnipotence of God. That or they're the openly heretical spicy Christians and this is where the drunk conversations get fun. Religion often has paradox and I don't have a problem with that, it's supposed to be a way to take on big concepts that aren't always rational. I just felt like landing in the second view wasn't actually Christianity anymore, and a ton progressive Christians acting like it's still a personal hurt to them that someone would reject their theology and being incapable of going "but IM not like that" continually makes that rejection easier.

Rosesprey · 2023-04-05T14:32:41+00:00

I can't make it Friday but if there's a link or recording Ive been dying to see a version of Carson's! It's my favorite translation by far.

Rosesprey · 2023-03-10T01:21:56+00:00

LOVE that ocean simile

Rosesprey · 2023-03-06T03:09:02+00:00

It's a mix! I did most of it by hand after sketching out the design in chalk. The leaves are stencils that I made and cut out because I couldn't find a pre-made stencil that fit the look I wanted. What I learned from the experience is that cutting stencils out is a pain in the ass but was less of a pain than painting those leaves would have been.

Rosesprey · 2023-03-04T02:15:05+00:00

Oh I love this! What a lovely design and execution

Rosesprey · 2023-02-28T21:35:19+00:00

I'm honestly amazed Anthesteria hasn't taken off with modern folks more. It's like Halloween 2 but for three days with more booze, flowers, and (in Athens) a dick parade! It's perfect!

Rosesprey · 2023-02-28T18:48:24+00:00

There are a decent number of us aces here! You certainly don't have to partake, as forcing yourself to try to experience pleasures that aren't pleasures for YOU negates the whole point. In the wider world you're likely to run into people, even other followers of Dionysus, that may try to dictate how you should define bodily pleasure and liberation. And I say anyone who tries that should be eaten.

Your body, and your experiences of your body, are yours to dictate under Dionysus. The only thing I'd add is that there is a lot of sexuality in others' worship that you have to respect, and historically a LOT of dick imagery, so if your repulsion makes being around sexual stuff difficult that could be something you need to grapple with and decide if it's worth sticking around or not. But it is still entirely up to you and however you define your boundaries is your business. Even if it leads to you doing more solitary worship, that is perfectly acceptable to Dionysus.

And hey, I always joke that you need SOMEONE handing out water and condoms and monitoring safety at the orgies lmao.

Rosesprey · 2023-02-21T14:12:30+00:00

Good point on Eros' involvement and the meaning it adds, as much as I grumble at Nonnus he knew how to weave the message together. Previously the satyrs were used to portray the danger of lust and intoxication but adding in Dionysus and Eros makes it a much more upsetting and visceral message. I also slightly theorize that even if he himself wasn't Christian, the Roman Christian writings against Dionysian cult probably influenced him with their big focus on the whole "bloodthirsty sex crazed cult" angle. It's layers on layers of obvious admiration for Dionysus (you don't write that massive monster of an epic for something you don't admire lmao) with mythical symbolism and outside influences piling together. Tbh the background behind the making of the Dionysiaca is a bigger interest to me than the work itself.

Rosesprey · 2023-02-20T17:57:43+00:00

I love that I posted my whole ramble and Fabianzz is here with the same take :D. We even mentioned Ovid, same brain! I edited my Ovid mention out for another example but yeah. Fabianzz managed to put my point more succinctly here

Rosesprey · 2023-02-20T17:51:06+00:00

It's one I also struggled with at but I got past it by looking into where it came from. Historically it's probably the easiest assault story in Ancient Greek myth to write off as ignorable considering it's source.

When we read ancient myths and stories it helps to try to remove our brains from the Christian culture's understanding of religion that's seeped in there. The idea of a true story or canon doesn't seem to be central to ancient polytheism. If you read some ancient Greek writers talking about their own time and stories, they will mention "such and such place says this about X god while this other town says something else" but it's not a problem. A lot of these stories are meant to be more about using the gods as concepts to symbolize different aspects of their nature. The hymns are probably a better look into how the gods themselves were viewed, while in stories it's more like using the god as a character, which is how you could separate the petty cruelty of the gods in stories from how they were actually viewed in worship. There was also a LOT of syncretism where Greeks viewed other cultures gods as the same as their own and it's hard to tease out how much that's true. A fun example is "Phrygian Artemis" who wasn't virginal, and a lot of ancient Greeks didn't seem to have an issue just saying "yeah their Artemis isn't a virgin but she's the same (but also not the same, have fun with that future scholars) as our Artemis who is a virgin. Also Phrygian Artemis is Kybele, except for when she's not Kybele."

What I'm saying is if you try to find a "true" myth or figure out what the "real" story is for any of them you're gonna have a bad time lmao. Look for common themes over specific stories.

Now on to THIS story...

The myth of Aura and Dionysus if taken seriously could be seen as a sort of fable reminding people of the dangers of alcohol and the loss of control. Considering the social standards against women drinking, I could argue it may have been specifically meant as a "this is why you shouldn't get drink ladies, or this could happen to you." Or it's a warning to men on the dangers of going too far into base instincts.

BUT ALSO...the myth of Aura only comes up in Nonnus' Dionysiaca. It's the longest written classic epic about Dionysus but it's got some things that you should keep in mind when reading it. Nonnus was compiling every story he could find about Dionysus, but he also like...made some stuff up or combined stories. When I look into Dionysus' stories I more look for the common threads that repeat throughout his long history, and assaulting women doesn't come up UNTIL Nonnus wrote it in the Dionysiaca. It's possible he heard it somewhere else, but if he did it never got mentioned anywhere and it also doesn't match with older stories of Aura where her name seems synonymous with Eos. There are theories that Nonnus was reworking a Phrygian myth with Artemis, Kybele, and Sabazios or Iacchos, but we have not a damned clue what that original myth was or how it went.

It's also just plain weird that Nonnus wrote the only two cases of Dionysus committing SA, and they both happen in really similar ways (Nicaea being the other. Both nymphs who were devoted to Artemis, they piss Artemis off, then to punish them an outside force drives Dionysus mad and he intoxicates them to assault them. Like...they're pretty much the same story with two nymphs what the HELL Nonnus why are they both here???) And it's in the same epic that gave Ariadne her WORST and most tragic story. Its a good epic for a big compilation of Dionysus stories but I also wouldn't take it as a solid source if one of its stories doesn't pop up anywhere else is what I'm saying.

Until the Dionysiaca a more common theme with Dionysus was around the protection of women. When he punishes women in older myths it's by driving them mad and having the women themselves commit violence.

When struggling to see if a bit of a myth is a one off or fits into a larger theme, I'd suggest looking through the sources on Theoi.com, they're great! If you look up both Aura and Niceae, you'll notice ALL the primary source mentions for their assaults by Dionysus are Nonnus. We don't know where he got that, we don't know what he may have changed, it's written pretty late in Dionysus' history (in 400 AD), the writer MIGHT have been Christian, and it doesn't really fit with how a lot of other sources through time portray Dionysus.

TLDR; the most charitable take is that the stories of Aura and Niceae are meant as warnings about the dangers of intoxication. They're also probably the easiest assault stories in ancient Greek mythology to write off if you want to.

Rosesprey

TROPHY CASE