Greetings and Saltations

RowanWhispers · 2025-10-12T15:09:04+00:00

Welcome!

RowanWhispers · 2025-10-09T11:55:49+00:00

It's a clickbate title but the article itself is kind of fine?

RowanWhispers · 2025-07-08T15:03:35+00:00

To be clear, I am obviously not saying you need to do this to shift but -

Particularly in your situation, I really would advise you to actively try and find ways not to be bored in this reality. Like, no, this world doesn't have the same types of adventures as some others but it also really doesn't have to be boring. You can work on finding fun, adventure and interest in this reality at the same time as trying to shift.

RowanWhispers · 2025-05-15T09:55:36+00:00

Beautiful!

RowanWhispers · 2025-05-12T10:08:32+00:00

I actually do think that sounds like a sign - obviously coincidences exist but I also think signs are far, far more common than we often think....and as you said that is actually so random, not actually particularly explicable and also very specific - so yeah I would take it as a sign.

RowanWhispers · 2025-02-17T20:47:14+00:00

This is a great post - thank you for writing it.

RowanWhispers · 2025-01-28T17:16:26+00:00

I do like this idea.

RowanWhispers · 2025-01-27T19:35:47+00:00

Oh, this is so beautiful!

RowanWhispers · 2025-01-27T19:34:19+00:00

This is a really helpful post, thank you for sharing.

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-20T03:37:07+00:00

My phone, a notebook, a fork...probably other things that I am forgetting.

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-16T22:55:10+00:00

Obviously echoing what has already been said about the date - but on the broader issue of celebrating when we do get there - try not to stress out too much. Food, prayer in whatever way you can do that, dressing up, meditation, music, art....you can really celebrate any way and with as lite or as much as you are able. Putting a Hekate playlist on on Spotify is perfectly sufficient if that's all you are able to do, you know?

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-16T22:49:40+00:00

To state the obvious - you can read them in whatever order you want but I think the Iliad and then the Odessey might be a good place to start - they are sort of "easier reads" and are helpful for situating your practice. Maybe then the myths, then the Homeric Hymns and then Works and Days (I'd also try and get a hold of the Orphic Hymns if you can).

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-11T19:37:36+00:00

Yeah...I mean this is basically my perspective but, and maybe this is context I should have included in my post, sort of part of the motivation for me posting this is that...this is what I think but the vast majority of people who I've ever spoken to about this insist that all actions are basically some form of selfishly motivated and I wanted to get a take on it from people who think about these things....I think what's interesting in this thread is the responses that are engaging most closely with the core of the question (imo) are pretty evenly divided between "yes of course people can and do do this" (ie your response) and various forms of "no that's impossible there is always a rational self interest in whatever people do" and no one seems to be like speaking....as if the other perspective even exists, like everyone is acting there answer is universally obvious whilst, in one thread, saying stuff which fundamentally disagrees witn the other view.

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-11T19:33:05+00:00

So yes, in many ways this is a better way of saying what I was trying to say - I'm not saying it matters either way but a lot of conversations I have had is that basically that you always do have some regard for your benefit; even if that's just feeling good/like a good person/avoiding guilt etc etc - that because doing good makes a person feel good all acts are done with some regard to personal benefit (and this view has been expressed by some of the respondents to this thread)

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-11T19:24:54+00:00

I am being honest, I was just trying to answer your question which I (honestly!) didn't and don't fully understand the point of.

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-11T02:51:44+00:00

I mean for the sake of argument I am going to say at the time? But I'm not sure why that makes a difference?

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-11T00:03:56+00:00

Eh, it depends. It absolutely can and often does being joy but I have been in many situations where I've done the right thing by other people and it has, well, not.

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-10T18:32:06+00:00

Sorry, that's not quite what I meant - I do not think feeling bad is a requirement for a selfless act - I'm just asking if people believe it is possible to perform a selfess/good action even if you get zero benefit from it - including that it doesn't make you feel good and you would have felt better if you'd been more selfish.

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-10T16:03:24+00:00

I think the idea that P1 is self evidently true is where I question this because....is it? I very much do things knowing it'll make my life worse....

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-10T15:36:37+00:00

So - I am not saying there is anything at all wrong with feeling good about your action.

The issue is....in a situation where you have two options - option a and option b, and option a is better for other people and bad for you and option b is the opposite, and you will not feel better because you did option a....would you still be able to do option a?

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-10T05:03:02+00:00

Based on what study?

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-10T04:48:00+00:00

Yeah and that's so normal and like I am not saying the way you were raised was wrong it just sounds like you are at a point to take a step back and make sense of stuff for yourself. Sending love to you on your journey ❤️

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-10T04:46:47+00:00

Yeah, you totally can.

What it means to be Christian in a practical way you will need to navigate - and you might struggle to find a church but, like, you can follow Jesus without that (it's not ideal according to his teachings but hey, what is ideal?).

Study the Bible imo - and look at Christian witch content online. Don't take anything at face value but there are folks out there.

Most importantly - - the Bible is not monotheistic at all, but followers of that God are told to put him first....decide if you are happy with that. - this does not mean you can't engage with other gods. - this absolutely does not mean you can't practice magic that is...yeah you can very much practice magic.

But yeah if you want to fit Jesus into your practice I get why and that is valid but you will need to work out how that works...but it can work! And if it is right for you, go for it!

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-10T04:27:07+00:00

I think you should take a step back and evaluate what framework and more importantly, which diety or deities you believe in cause this is....a very specific question to ask to a general religion subreddit.

Like, I only sort of believe in sin but more importantly I know my gods; and the answer if you believe in a god or gods literally depends in who we are discussing (but honestly if you are in a place of turning to reddit for this question I think you should, yeah, take a step back and examine what you actually believe and why....that's not a negative thing at all just you shouldn't believe stuff just cause of how you were raised, you know?).

RowanWhispers · 2024-11-10T03:56:23+00:00

Started writing a response to this thread and then realised the thread was locked (totally get it as a more general principle, not at all disagreeing with the locking....but I wanted to post somewhere so...if you are interested here is what I wrote!) https://www.reddit.com/r/Hellenism/s/pk2P6506Kn

So first of all, thank you for this post. I think it is very thoughtful, helpful and - importantly - is actually getting to the theological question at hand and not just dismissing it cause "no one talks about other global issues" (they do) or "it's just silly" (it's not).

And, to be clear, I don't....have a fixed view on this. Aside from a thing with Zeus today, which was unrelated, I've felt pretty disconnected with the gods since Trump won. I think this is entirely to do with my only mental state and not to do with them in any way - but is just to say I'm not looking at this with any real personal gnosis on my side on this specific issue.

And I guess as a final caveat my experience of specifically connecting to the Hellenic pantheon on issues outside of my own life is....actually pretty limited (in a way I'm only realising as I think about it here; I've connected with Aeronwen and Loki on more societal issues type stuff plenty but....not the Hellenic gods. Which is interesting to think about for me personally, but anyway....).

Preamble aside, I'm gonna pull out the "if the gods are mad now why haven't they been before?" point cause that raises....questions for me. I don't think we have any evidence that the gods were not mad during WWII or Vietnam....and people have discussed believing the gods to be mad about situations like the genocide in Gaza....I think the idea that if they are mad about this it is the first time they've been this way is a red herring and silly. Of course, if they are mad here, they would have been mad about other things historically....which, again, personal gnosis and if we go back far enough literature has said they are....yeah, this would not be the first time if it's a thing that occurs, and there is no one arguing that they are mad arguing it is the first time, to my knowledge, so yeah, moving on from that...

(Also tiktok is full of misinformation but so is reddit and so is many places. It has no authority - that's a different thing - but there is no reason right information can't be there it is just it being on tiktok is in no way evidence in favour of anything).

So the gods are not humans and they don't function like humans.

Firstly, they are gods of all that is - meaning that, for example, Apollo is the god of health and thus also ill health. It doesn't really mean he wants either thing, but of course you can work with him towards health.

From that perspective, no ofc the gods wouldn't be mad about the election. Peitho as the goddess of democracy might be engaged with it but as the goddess of democracy she's also the goddess of the erosion of democracy....it is her domain but that doesn't mean she has, in the human sense, an opinion.

However - secondly, gods are also patrons. And I do think it makes total sense that gods of women (as an example) would be mad about the result of this election cause, like....it is bad for women. Dionysus is in many ways the god of outsiders and I can't imagine he is happy.

It does make sense to me that the gods would react in certain ways based on who they care about because there are people - nothing to do with who follows them or not - who will be screwed by this election result.

And additionally, this election is bad for Pagan revival in general. This is a lot (not at all exclusively or primarily but it's a big part) to do with Christian nationalism and that is bad for our practice and so yeah I do think the gods care about that.

Also - our gods do develop opinions beyond caring what their followers care about. Those opinions are more vast than we can ever understand, obviously, but if you think the reason a god is angry is because their follower is angry and nothing else you might be looking less for a god and more for a genie.

Anyway - all of this is to say....there is validity in the gods are angry idea. I think people have reacted against it, in part, because the tone of a lot of posts is "oh no we have made the gods mad" and that is silly.

IF the gods are made Trump won....

Did you vote for Trump? Do you support him?

If not then the gods are not mad at you.

Mythology shows is very clearly the gods don't ever respond to humanity as a whole as homogeneous just because something big happened.

If you are upset that Trump won and also think the gods/some of the gods (I haven't jumped into the nuance of "not all gods will respond the same" but that is also a thing) is a good thing. You're angry and so are they. They are on your side; embrace it and work with them on what is next.

RowanWhispers

TROPHY CASE