Amazingariadneisnotonfire - Porco Dio

Carmen <3

Aphrodite

Content warning: Because of the deity being discussed in this post, there are talkings of sex and sexuality under the cut.

Who is Aphrodite?

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, desire, passion, pleasure, sexuality, fertility, and procreation. She has many epithets, or titles, that relate her to other aspects as well.

Antheia - The blooming, Friend of flowers

Anadyomene - She who rose from the sea

Ambologera - Delayer of old age

Aphrogenea - Foam born

Apostrophia - Expeller of sinful desires

Areia - The warlike

Callipygos - Of the beautiful buttocks

Charidotes - Giver of joy

Elikoblepharus - She with fluttering eyelids

Eleemon - Merciful

Eratoplucamus - Lovely haired

Gamelia - She who resides over marriage

Morpho - The fair shaped, Of shapely form

Nicephorus - Bringer of victory

Ourania - Heavenly

Pandemos - Common to all people, Of all people

Panmorphilos - Lover of all shapes

Peitho - Persuasion

Pontia - Of the sea

Philomeides - Laughter loving

Philopaneia - Lover of all

These are just some of her many names. She has many more epithets, including newer ones applied through UPG and modern practice.

Aphrodite and the Moon

This section is entirely UPG

I associate Aphrodite with the moon, more specifically, the moon's cycle. I do not see her as *the* moon goddess, but rather as having an aspect of the moon. I see her as the cycle the moon follows. There’s a few factors that contribute to this UPG of mine.

The first being that the moon’s cycle and a woman’s cycle are roughly the same length in time. I guess here it’s important to note that I am female, and a part of my work with Aphrodite has been centered around that. 

The second is that the moon controls the tides. Aphrodite is considered a sea goddess. But my association goes a little deeper than that. I have always heavily associated the ocean and its movements with Aphrodite, beyond just her usual ‘risen from the sea’ aspect. I don’t see her as the personification of the sea, or *the* ocean deity, but as the movements of the ocean. The waves, the tides, the things washed up on the shore in the waves, the feeling of a wave pulling and pushing the water as you stand in it. \

I really began to understand this association when I started working with the moon phases, and learning about how to live and plan by them. A book I highly recommend to learn about this subject is Lunar Living by Kirsty Gallagher.

Offerings for Aphrodite.

Chocolate

Honey

Fresh Fruits

Cherries

Apples

Olive oil

Water

Apple juice

Wine, especially red

Teas infused with herbs associated with her

Or just any tea

Fruit and/or herb infused water

Roses

Jasmine

Myrtle

Cinnamon sticks*

Orchids*

Love letters (to yourself, or to someone else)

Jewelry

Seashells

Devotional Acts

Self care

Morning / night beauty routines

Write love letters to yourself or to someone else

Visit the ocean if possible

Practice gratitude

Practice self confidence

Listen to music that makes you feel confident

Listen to music that reminds you of Aphrodite

Practice self acceptance

Tell your loved ones you and appreciate them

An act of kindness toward a stranger

Give compliments to yourself or to someone else

Watch a romance movie

Read Sappho’s poetry

Read poetry about love, romance, or sexuality

Read poetry dedicated to her

Explore your sexuality

Learn about the important of practicing safe sex

Pleasure yourself

Read a romance novel 

Read an erotica novel

Care for your mental and physical self

Learn about the ocean

Read her myths

Read modern retellings of her myths

Write retellings of her myths

Write poetry or song dedicated to her

Practice cyclical living (by the moon phases)*

Practice sea focused witchcraft

Dance

Create a playlist dedicated to her

Meditate and ask her to be present

Other Aspects of Aphrodite

People often forget, especially with the more popular and well known deities, that they can have aspects most would view as negative. 

Aphrodite isn’t just the goddess of love and beauty. She also resides over the negative aspects of her associations. Jealousy, obsession, clinginess, heartbreak, self-centeredness, manipulation. 

 This isn’t to say that working with her will bring those things. You can work with her to get past these things or move them out of your life just as you would any other aspect of her. 

Anything in this post marked with the symbol * means that it is my own UPG

I feel very protective over the Sky Father today, so here’s a fair reminder that Zeus was never seen in a disrespectful light by the Ancients, and all of those stories of Him that involve kidnapping of individuals or taking of women never changed the fact He was always seen as Hospitable, Protective, and All-Giving. The trick to start seeing Him as such is to understand that Zeus’ aspects are representations of the idea of masculinity of the time, and His cult needs to be looked at diachronically.

Some of you have to start realizing that there’s a two thousand year gap between the time these stories were written and today’s reignited religion. Zeus never received negative titles, never was written off as cruel or dangerous, was never avoided. Sexual intercourse with a God (yes, even forced) in the Antiquity was not seen a bad because the God would be granting one the kharis of their presence. You can’t speak of the Old Times in modern terms. This alone should hint for you that these stories of forceful takings and kidnapping were seen as a norm for someone of His caliber: and of course they were, Ancient Greece is not comparable in terms of civil rights to our modern countries. He is the King of Gods, He can do what He desires.

Gods evolve, and perspectives change. The renewed Zeus wouldn’t be associated with such matters any longer, though He would still remain as demanding and as controlling as the Ruler of Gods can get. Zeus is not an assaulter or aggressor. These concepts were not seen as a crime or a punishable act two thousand years ago; but they are now. Let the God evolve with the society He is forever connected to and remember that Zeus represents the ideal of man, husband, and ruler.

He is not a dangerous God. You can’t possibly apply societal standards of Antiquity to the modern world, or vice versa, and believe you’ve done good analysis.

Saturnalia is coming on soon, so I'd like to speak some more on this peculiar, interesting festive occasion.

It is an Ancient Roman holiday of abundance, feasting, and celebration of harvest, which was supposed to be over by the time the festivities began. After the farmers gathered the crops, they'd celebrate Saturn, God of seed and sowing, for His generosity and richness of the harvest.

The festival, known for its abundant feasts and the peculiar tradition of switching roles of masters and servants, has a complicated history. It laid basis for the modern-day celebration of Christmas with its fairs, markets, street festivities, and gift-giving.

The origins of Saturnalia are much of a mystery as the festival appears to be so Ancient that Roman sources mark it to be older than the city of Rome itself. Saturnalia existed in both Greek and Roman tradition, though it corresponded to the Greek Kronia, which was a similar, but not an identical festival.

Sources speak on different possible origins of the holiday: some mention the temple of Saturn, the largest of the recorded by the pontiffs, being erected in Rome, and thus starting the tradition; whereas others speak on the festival being brought from Greece. Either way, this Ancient tradition is associated with the liberation of the God of harvest.

Saturnalia was officially celebrated on December 17 and, in Cicero's ties, lasted for a week (inclusively), until December 23. The length of the celebration varied depending on the time period as Augustus shortened it to three days only for the sake of letting the civil courts stay closed for less, while Caligula extended the celebration to five days. The original festival, according to Macrobius, appeared to have lasted for only a day; fourteen days before the Kalends of January. The Julian reform shifted the date to the 17th, thus making it into sixteen days before the Kalends. Some believe that the timing for Saturnalia was symbolic, as next followed Winter Solstice, or symbolic Death of the Sun and Birth of the new one.

Regardless, even after the limiting of the festival, Saturnalia seemed to still be celebrated for a full week with the last day being dedicated to Sigillaria, named so after sigillaria, the small earthenware figurines sold in the cities on that day. The original day of celebration was in turn given to Ops, the consort of Saturn and the Deity of abundance and the fruits of the Earth. The celebration in Her honor was called Opalia, and two festivals tended to mix together with Ops' worshippers sitting down during prayer to touch Earth, mother of all.

Saturnalia involved various activities akin to feasts, parties, gift-giving, and ritual rites. The party traditionally started with the guests exclaiming, i Saturnalia, believed to be a shortening from ego tibi optimis Saturnalia auspico, or 'i wish you a happy Saturnalia'. It is believed to be one of the most delightful periods of the year and one of the most beloved Roman festivals. People went into the streets celebrating, marching, setting up shows and street markets. People of all backgrounds could participate in it.

Among the general aspects of Saturnalia were activities such as gift giving, as people exchanged things such as candles, walnuts, dates, and honey. Masters served slaves, whereas slaves became free men as in memory of Saturn's reign when slavery did not exist. Servants walked the streets masked, in Frigio hats, or hats of liberation. The Saturnals were also celebrated in the army; the party was called the Saturnalicium castrense, when the low-rank soldiers sat next to the generals as equals and toasted together. Dice games and public gambling were allowed, but became prohibited again once Saturnalia ended. Mourning was abolished, while courts and schools were closed; starting war or enforce capital punishment was strictly prohibited. The festivities took such a great degree of chaos that some authors of the time report moving to remote suburban houses for the week of the Saturnalia to avoid the noise.

Saturn was one of the few celebrated Deities, as, in Roman times, Dis Pater and Proserpina were also believed to join the festive processions in winter time. They were to be appeased by gifts, festivities, and food; which was believed to make Them return to the Underworld where, as the Gods of subsoil, They would protect the crops and make them sprout in spring.

The official part of the feast consisted of a solemn sacrifice in the temple attended with bare head and during which the wool bandages that wrapped the feet of Saturn's simulacrum melted. A public banquet followed where all the guests exchanged toasts and wishes.

Further celebratory activities were split into days, and precise rites were done on each day of the festival.

At the beginning of Saturnalia, a rite of lectisternium was held. During the ritual, statues of Jupiter and 12 Olympians were seated in a dining position upon a special bed, or couch, and offered food, prayers, and gifts. They were spoken to with due respect and asked for protection of Rome and its people as well as for help with current affairs. After the first step, a procession was sent off to the Temple of Saturn and animal sacrifices were made at the site. A banquet with cheeses, focaccia, olives, and wine was held, to which everyone was invited - all provided by the state.

Starting day one, no-work days began, and gifts as well as greeting cards were exchanged between the citizens. Myrtle, laurel, and ivy - symbolic elements of the Saturna - were given; the trees were respectively sacred to Venus, Apollo, and Bacchus. The first day was signified by banquets, during which the Princeps of Saturnalia, the ruler of the festivities, Princeps Saturnalicius, was elected. During the first day of the festival, people changed from togas to synthesis and pileus; a casual home robe and a cap like headdress.

On the second day of the festival, Rome was still abundant with noise and feasts, to which everyone invited everyone. Stalls and juggles were in the streets alongside dancers and musicians. Celebrations were accompanied by the feast in honor of Epona, Celtic Goddess of horses, much adorned by the equites, whose importance during Saturnalia was due to Her connection to fertility and richness of feasts. The second day of Saturnalia, the 18th of December, marked the beginning of the triad of days of Mercatus, much similar to today's city fairs.

The third day of Saturnalia was the initial day of the celebration (before the reform of the calendar) and was devoted to the Goddess Ops, Deity of Sabine origin introduced to Rome under Titus Tatius. She was praised as the Deity of abundance, protector of rich harvest, giver of fruits of the Earth, and respected consort of the God Saturn. Her Temple at the Capitol hill was erected on that day, and thus received attention and became a center of worship of the Goddess as it was the anniversary of its establishment. Ops was prayed to and asked for blessings of harvest.

The fourth day of the Saturnian festivals, December 20, was dedicated to gift-giving and worship of the Lares, house guardian Deities of Ancient Rome. Terracotta figurines, sigillaria, were made out of paste, wax, or terracotta. Bronze statues were a rarity as bronze was expensive, while sigillaria made out of sweet dough were meant for the children. These statuettes were exchanged as gifts between the citizens as well as given to Saturn as offerings. He was seen as the God of time, and, thus, Death, and the figurines were to be given to Him as ways to redirect Death from coming for the giver, instead letting the figurine take it.

On the fifth day, Rome was filled with visitors from all across the Empire who came to see the city at its peak, blooming with festivals and street activities such as shops, shows, and a multitude of banquet spots. Fod, souvenirs, sigillaria (sigillaria<sigillum<signum+illum), clothes, ornaments and jewels were sold on the street. Artisans from all over the Empire offered goods made of leather, wood, terracotta, bronze, brass, silver and a special alloy of gold and silver, electrum.

On day six of the festivities Rome welcomed dancers, singers, and other performers from across the Empire who came to join the celebration as the entirety of the Empire was involved in it. Gift-exchanging with the guests, also known as xenia, was performed. Marcus Valerius Martialis wrote Xenia and Apophoreta for the Saturnalia, both of which were published in December and intended to accompany the "guest gifts" that were given at that time of year.

On the seventh - and last - day of the celebrations the Gods were thanked for everything given. The streets were full of torches and braziers, and the day passed between banquets and the baths decorated with ribbons and garlands for the occasion. Aulus Gellius relates that he and his Roman compatriots would gather at the baths in Athens, where they were studying, and pose difficult questions to one another on the ancient poets, a crown of laurel being dedicated to Saturn if no-one could answer them.

Saturnalia ended at sunset.

Sources in pinned.

does anyone wear clothes in the next season of good omens? were there cameras involved in the filming of go2?

Wait and... Hang on a minute. I can answer both of those without spoiling anything. Yes, somebody wears clothes. Yes cameras were involved.

I've noticed something in the discussion around Gerard Way and trans identity that I am officially fed the fuck up with. While talking about Gerard's outfits from the second leg of the tour, people love to use use the line "clothes ≠ gender" as a gotcha for those of us who are keen to the fact that they aren't cis. This pisses me off for three main reason plus a fourth mini reason that's more of a history blurb than anything else.

Before we start anything, Gerard has been out as not cis for the better part of 8(!) years now. To not acknowledge that is doing them a disservice. Some of you have purposely chosen to ignore that fact. Right out the gate that's fucked up. Ok now we can proceed.

First off, you're right. Clothes do not, in fact, equal gender. I know this, and it sounds like you'd like me to believe that you know this. So forgive me for being a little confused when you go on anon after they're photographed wearing what you dub to be "masculine clothing" (i.e. anything that's not a skirt/dress with heels) and tell me I'm an idiot for implying that they aren't a cisgender man.

Secondly, the concept that clothes don't equal gender in only true to us very recently. If you think that Gerard Way, a 45 year old ex-Catholic Gen-X'er who grew up in an wildly conservative suburb of north New Jersey doesn't have a different relationship between clothing and gender than you, a 14-to-20-something year old who hasn't closed tiktok in three days and averages 0.3 minutes of critical thinking per week, then you're extremely delusional and self-centered. People are socialized in entirely different ways. As humans, our experiences are not in any way universal. What doesn't mean anything to you means everything to someone else. Maybe you don't equate femininity with skirts and dresses, but I guarantee you a 45 year old who has openly struggled with gender identity their entire life does in some capacity. This is not a bad thing.

Thirdly is that in your attempt to sound as woke and morally upright as possible, you're unintentionally (or intentionally, seeing as a considerable number of you are terfs,) discrediting and invalidating the way someone experiences gender euphoria because you personally don't get it. Gerard Way has only ever said "I don't use labels" in response to people implying that they're cishet. If your first reaction to seeing someone who could even potentially identify under the transfem umbrella experiencing visible gender euphoria in a dress is to say "oh well clothes don't equal gender, so I'm going to assume that he's a man in a dress until he explicitly outs himself", then congratulations! You're transphobic. Because that's the thing. When you use the rhetoric of clothes ≠ gender in that context, it becomes crystal clear you don't actually care about trans people. You just want to sound like the smartest person in the room. And you're willing to throw GNC trans people under the bus in order to achieve that goal.

I think people have forgotten big time that "don't assume my gender" originally meant "don't assume I'm cis", because now the way people interpret the rhetoric (don't assume my gender, clothes ≠ gender, I don't use labels, etc.,) and use it to prove a point only use it as if to say "it's inherently wrong and creepy to identify and acknowledge when people aren't cis. Cis is the default and the only safe assumption. Anything else is offensive and crossing a major boundary" and you can tell it's because they view transness as an insult to someone's character. We have to, collectively, stop viewing transness as an allegation you either have to beat or bear with. Alongside that, we have to stop assuming cisness.

Little prayers for dionysus

Try using these in conjunction with prayer beads! Each bead should remind you of an epithet.

“Dionysus Nyktelios, lull me to sleep.”

“Dionysus Lyaeus, brighten my day.”

“Dionysus Taurus, help me stand my ground.”

“Dionysus Lampter, guide me through dark places.”

“Dionysus Lyseus, free me from my worries.”

“Dionysus Psilas, grant me the freedom to be myself.”

I will create a full list of epithets with meanings for your enjoyment in my next post.

This is from one of my textbooks* and I think it's super cool. I hope the Apollo worshippers out there like this!

* "An Introduction to Ancient Greek: A Literary Approach, Second Edition" revised by C.A.E. Luschnig and Deborah Mitchell

✨❤️ Attracting Love Spell ❤️✨

Creating a love spell can be a powerful way to manifest your desires and attract your ideal partner. 

Here are some steps to help you create your own love spell:

Ingredients:

🌹Rose petals 

🌹Cinnamon

🌹Rose quartz crystal

🌹Red candle

🌹 Incense (jasmine, rose, or sandalwood)

Steps:

❤️ Begin by cleansing your space and yourself. You can use smudging herbs or burn the incense for this.

❤️ Set your intention: Before you begin any spell, it’s important to know exactly what you want to manifest. Take some time to think about the kind of relationship you want to have and what qualities you’d like your ideal partner to possess.

❤️ Light the red candle and the incense.

❤️ Hold the rose quartz crystal in your hand and focus on your intention for love and passion.

❤️ Sprinkle the rose petals and cinnamon around the candle, forming a circle.

❤️ Visualize the energy of love and passion flowing into the circle and charging the ingredients.

❤️ Let the candle burn down completely, and let the incense continue to burn for as long as you like.

❤️ Thank the universe, your tools, and any deities or spirits you called upon for their assistance.

❤️ Close your circle or protective space.

Remember, love spells should always be created with pure intentions and respect for free will. It’s important to never try to manipulate or control someone else’s feelings. Focus on manifesting love and happiness for yourself, and trust that the universe will guide you to the right partner.

With these steps, you can create a powerful and effective love spell that aligns with your personal intentions and desires. Best of luck in your magical endeavors!

____

🌞 If you enjoy my posts, please consider donating to my energies 🌞

✨🔮 Request a Tarot Reading Here 🔮✨

____

With love, from a Sappy Witch 🔮💕

Blessed be. 🕊✨