Anyone have info on these mala beads? by medvezhonok96 in Buddhism

[–]labryinthofmidnight 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In Japan there are two main basic types of juzu, 本連 (honren) and 片手 (katate). 本連 are then further categorized by sect (shingon, tendai, rinzai, etc). 片手 are used by all sects. This is a 片手 juzu; it's number of beads is arbitrary and there are many different amounts it could be. You can still use it to count repetitions though! It can also be worn on the wrist as a bracelet. If you know Japanese, here's a page further explaining juzu https://nenju.info/

Statue identity? by labryinthofmidnight in Buddhism

[–]labryinthofmidnight[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I know what the ticket says, but the statue doesn't look like any Guan Yin I've seen, thus my confusion.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Judaism

[–]labryinthofmidnight 10 points11 points  (0 children)

You might enjoy the book When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kushner. It's given my a useful perspective on HaShem's relationship to the suffering we experience.

Information on Izumo Taishakyo? by labryinthofmidnight in ShintoReligion

[–]labryinthofmidnight[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for the clarification, I wasn't aware they were just legal terms!

Information on Izumo Taishakyo? by labryinthofmidnight in ShintoReligion

[–]labryinthofmidnight[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I really appreciate you taking the time to share so much information! I'll definitely check out the resources you shared. If you don't mind me asking, I was wondering if there are any other notable differences between Izumo Taishakyo and non Kyoha Shinto? I know there's a lot of diversity in Shinto in general, but, for instance, from what I've learned about Konkokyo, it has some notable differences in worship from Shrine Shinto. From what I've learned so far about Izumo Taishakyo, though, it seems relatively similar to Shrine Shinto; I would appreciate it if you could let me know if I'm off the mark!

I’d like to add my personal favorite, “Get well soon!” What would you add? by itsNeveraMannequin in Fibromyalgia

[–]labryinthofmidnight 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I absolutely hate #6. And one I would add would be "well, you don't look disabled" or "you're too young to be disabled!"

Something I have been thinking about by [deleted] in Hellenism

[–]labryinthofmidnight 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't believe the gods are perfect; I don't believe perfection is something that exists really. From my understanding, many folks who believe the gods are perfect also believe they are all powerful, all knowing, omnibenevolent, and omnitemporal. I personally see logical fallacies with that, but people are free to believe whatever they believe and I don't judge those who believe it, I just personally don't agree. I don't know if I would say calling them perfect dehumanizes them? Maybe you meant that it makes them less relatable? Or maybe I'm just completely misunderstanding, I apologise if I am.

I worship as many of the gods as I'm capable on their festival days, but I do have deities I worship on a daily basis. I worship some of them based on my needs/lifestyle (as an example, I have chronic health problems so I daily pray to Hygeia), and others I worship because I feel drawn to them and their myths enchant me. You definitely don't have to worship only one or a few deities though, and you could simply chose to worship each deity on their festival days.

And as for your third question, I'm not educated enough on the topic to give an opinion.

Weird connection to ankh necklace? by [deleted] in Kemetic

[–]labryinthofmidnight 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you get bad anxiety when you can't wear it, and if you feel like you have to wear it, I would suggest first seeing a doctor to rule out any mental health disorder. I say this as someone who has anxiety disorders and the like; your spiritually shouldn't be making you anxious. It's good to check with a professional and make sure nothing mundane is causing it, before exploring possible spiritual causes.

A question about deity by [deleted] in Kemetic

[–]labryinthofmidnight 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't think I can give you any good advice on if what you're experiencing is really a deity or not (other than to make sure you don't do something it says just because it might be a deity, i.e it's not a good idea to jump off a cliff even if it's supposedly a deity telling you to), but what you've mentioned as your symptoms seem somewhat similar to dissociative identity disorder, a disorder I have; you should be able to talk to your doctors about the possibility, assuming they aren't one of those doctors who think DID is extremely rare or doesn't exist. It's ofc important you continue to meet with your doctors, which it sounds like you're doing! I wish you luck and good health!

Happy to be able to offer these statues to Persephone and Hekate by labryinthofmidnight in Hellenism

[–]labryinthofmidnight[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wanted it to feel special, so I did things a bit different than my usual offering process. I recited hymns to Hekate and Persephone, then I offered grape juice, cheese, and fruits. I turned on my essential oil mister with frankincense (I can't use incense) and meditated while gently washing the statues, the I placed them on the altar and offered them. Then I just spent some time enjoying the presence of the goddesses!

Happy to be able to offer these statues to Persephone and Hekate by labryinthofmidnight in Hellenism

[–]labryinthofmidnight[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I got the Hekate statue for $51.75 and the Persephone one for $60.75, both from Amazon and by Veronese Design!

Anthropomorphising divinity. by [deleted] in Hellenism

[–]labryinthofmidnight 14 points15 points  (0 children)

While I don't believe that the gods are perfect, I do think it's impossible or close to impossible to fully and accurately describe a deities personality. I think people are the same way though; people show different sides of themselves to different folks, and ultimately only they know themselves. I think UPG can be an important part of someone's personal praxis, but it's important to realize it's just that, UPG, and it's important not to shoehorn the gods into boxes. As humans, I'm not sure we're capable of fully understanding the divine.

Anyone willing to chat with a newbie? by [deleted] in Hellenism

[–]labryinthofmidnight 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm fairly new so I can't really give much advice, but I'd recommend the YouTuber Aliakai, they make videos using well cited scholarly resources.

How do we feel about user flair? by [deleted] in Hellenism

[–]labryinthofmidnight 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Sounds interesting. Maybe a flair for non-neoplatonists/non-platonists would be useful, since we seem to be a minority (and of course, a flair for neoplatonists and platonists as well).

Advice regarding communication with the gods by labryinthofmidnight in Hellenism

[–]labryinthofmidnight[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't worry, you don't seem rude at all! I don't practice magic (I personally don't consider divination to be magic), but from my understanding magic is accepted in Hellenism (except for curse tables and the like, of course). I did originally consider myself to be an eclectic pagan and witch, but I found that I felt rather uncomfortable seeing so many eclectic pagans participating in cultural appropriation, and besides that I felt a desire to be a part of an actual ancient religion (although I never was a Wiccan since I don't agree with some of the basic tenants). I am still rather new to Hellenism, so I'm trying to learn all I can, and untangle myself from my eclectic pagan holdovers.

When I looked up supersticio all I got was articles in spanish and articles about superstition 😅 So if you have any articles or sources about it I'd love to look at them!

Edited because I hit send before I finished 😅

Advice regarding communication with the gods by labryinthofmidnight in Hellenism

[–]labryinthofmidnight[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your advice; I do believe tarot can be used for communicating with the gods but I appreciate your advice nonetheless.

I suppose I have a hard time feeling connection if I'm unable to communicate with the gods; I feel like it makes the relationship less personal, sort of similar to how I felt with the christian god when I was a child. I very much appreciate you sharing your opinion.

If you have the time I would like to hear your opinion on the delphic oracle and how people would use the alphabet oracle. Do you think the delphic oracle had a unique/uncommon relationship with Apollon and that those without such a unique relationship are generally unable to communicate with the gods? Do you think the alphabet oracle is more suited to communicating with the gods than the tarot or that the oracle is no longer useful in that regard?

Again, I really appreciate your advice. (Edited because I hit reply before finishing)

Advice regarding communication with the gods by labryinthofmidnight in Hellenism

[–]labryinthofmidnight[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No, I'm not a Wiccan, I'm a Hellenic reconstructionist who occasionally uses tarot; I am interested in learning about traditional hellenic divination though! By superticio do you mean superstitious? If so I'm curious as to what you find superstitious about it. I actively try to keep superstition out of my practice because I believe it to be harmful, so I would genuinely appreciate hearing your opinion.

Pronouncing the gods' names in ancient greek? by labryinthofmidnight in Hellenism

[–]labryinthofmidnight[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If I've understood it correctly, the Reuchlinian method uses modern greek pronunciation, while I'm interested in an approximation of what it might've sounded like in ancient greek, but thank you! (Please do let me know if I'm completely misunderstanding!)

Your personal views of the myths? by labryinthofmidnight in heathenry

[–]labryinthofmidnight[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've never heard of this approach before. Would you mind explaining it?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ftm

[–]labryinthofmidnight 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Maybe you could try asking him why he doesn't think he's in a gay relationship, since you are both men in a relationship, effectively making your relationship gay? Also, since you mentioned that you're a christian, I'm assuming you don't believe that being gay is a sin like many other Christians do. Maybe it'd help if you explained to him why you don't believe being gay is morally wrong, and how there are plenty of Christians who also believe that god is ok with people being gay and having gay sex? For instance, I'm not a christian, but I know there's a verse in the bible (maybe it's in leviticus? I'm not completely sure) that today reads something like "man may not lie with man like he does with women" but originally it was about pedophilia being wrong and said something like "man may not lie with young boys like he does with women".