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To blessed Hermes, kindly God of wanderers and travelers, For safe walks on dangerous and unknown roads, For safe journeys in places always known to me, And for safe journeys in new ones, For kind strangers assisting me, Or for peace journeying with me, Do I give my thanks. With Your guidance I am at the end of my journey, With Your help I am safe again.
Devotional act idea: "Adopt" a wild animal.
A most confounding feeling has washed over me; I wish I could look in the mirror and find a stranger, unburdened by the accumulated sorrows and troubles of this life. I wanted to be unsettled, free from these chains, and eager to be led to a distant land and give birth to myself to have a fresh start.
I want to be an unseen face in the crowd, watching as people pass me by, filled with the giddiness and melancholia of witnessing life but not understanding or knowing it.
I want to be lost. I want to be free. I want to be guided.
I want to stop the endless noise in my head that fills me with dread.
I want to be a nameless wanderer, wandering and wondering, flying free with all the consequences of freedom entailing, such as wonderlust and loneliness.
He is lonely too, is he not? Always on the run, going place to place, meeting people and bidding them adieu in the same breath.
Yet, it is thrilling and fulfilling nonetheless, isn't it?
I wish for companionship on such lonely roads.
I wish for the eternal guide to hold my hand and squeeze it, telling me all will be fine.
I wish for a friend to teach me to bask in the sanctity of loneliness and being unknown and being fresh.
I wish for many thing, but there is one wish I hope for the most.
I wish for guidance in this vast, scary world.
He of the lucky coins,
He of the serendipitous blessings,
He of the joyous fortunes,
May I continue to find balance in even the most tumultuous of moments,
May I continue to seek the good to overcome the bad,
May I continue to prosper even in my darkest hours.
Cow: *literally just existing* Me and Hermes pointing at it at the same time: c o w Bonus Hermes: This reminds me about the time I achieved godhood by stealing Apollo's cattle. Me: Hermes, no, this is the 7th time- Hermes: See, it all started when I was just a mere infant child in a cave-
(using a coinflip to determine answers, heads = yes, tails = no)
Me: Uh...should I be afraid of you...?
Hermes: *serious* Yes.
Me: *nervous* Wait, what- really?
Hermes: Haha, no! *laughs*
Me: *realizing I have been pranked by god*
Οιοπολος - Oiopolos, Sheep-Tending/Shepherd The shepherd plucked the lamb away from the den of wolves, walking away whilst the lamb bleated in fear, for it would be leaving the familiar coldness and lupine threats. "Where are you taking me, shepherd?" The lamb asked. "I'm taking you home." The shepherd replied, "I'm taking you away from that saddening situation." "But what if I get lost?" The lamb asked, hesitation pulling at its downy wool. "You were always lost, but it's alright." The young man smiled, as gentle as the breeze, "Now, you are found. That place wasn't home. It was only a house, see. There's a difference. You belong somewhere else. Not amongst snapping jaws and razor claws." The lamb followed close, basking in his warmth. It's strange. Though the fear of the unknown lingers in its heart, the thrill of freedom is undeniable. "Come with me, and have no worries." He held his hand out, a guide to an aimless wanderer, "Let me show you what it's like to go home, little lost lamb."
Hermes,
Pompaios,
Guide for all,
As I hold out a hand for you,
I hope you will take it,
And together in good grace,
Walk along the strange, winding road ahead. Going through life,
Is not as frightening when done with a friend,
And I feel confident in saying,
You are my friend,
Keep my heart calm,
Grant me equanimity in the face of tumultuous storms,
Be my guide, friend and fellow traveler.
An altar for Hermes 🛐
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Hello there! Yes, YOU! the little hellenist reading this post! Have you been wanting to start taking your worship of Hermes a little bit more seriously? Because I have, and I have just the thing for you! Hermes is a trickster, but also a very fun, very intelligent god who loves his followers, and is more than willing to grant his protection and deliverance unto them! Wether you’re a lawless little anarchist like me who seeks his protection from the not always fair side of the law, a traveller or wanderer who is looking for some shielding and luck on the road against the backdrop of a big, scary world, or simply a mail carrier who sees the king of mail himself as an idol to be followed, allow me to offer some ideas on how we can craft a little altar space for the hectic and honorable Hermes!
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• STEP ONE: colors and cloth:
When it comes to the domain of color, there’s actually a lot of mixed opinions when it comes to Hermes, as he’s one of the only Olympians whose sacred colors are not really divulged explicitly. Some say that red and green are the colors traditionally associated with him, but I feel like most devotees I know or follow seem to associate him with blue, yellow, and orange. Therefore, any cloth, a base fabric or cloth, the first thing you’ll add to your altar as the base everything else sits upon, would probably be best suited in this color scheme! You also may want your cloth to have more character, and it never hurts to have some symbolism on your fabric, which I’ll get to shorty! You can usually find cheap fabric at craft and thrift stores such as Johanns, Value village, or other local shops!
• STEP TWO: dishes and vessels:
The next thing you’ll want to add to your altar are some of the larger, more utilitarian pieces you wish to decorate with, these can include things like tarot decks, teacups or plates to hold offerings, offering bowls, candles, or books. It is also a good idea to select bowls, dishes, and teacups that line up with the iconography and sacred symbolism of the god the altar is dedicated to. For example, in my altar to Freyja, I have a small teacup with strawberries on it to honor her favorite fruit in Norse mythology! For Hermes, there are a couple different common icons you can look for, these include ironically, strawberries as well, as well as hawks, feathers, coins, gold trimmed and detailed, or gold painted pottery, String instruments, and the Greek key pattern!
• STEP THREE: Idols and tributes:
Another important way to respect your altar and it’s god is to decorate it with Idols of them, like statues, sketches, or other artworks depicting them! You can also donate tributary items to the altar, such as little figurines or charms of things associated with them, for example, my Artemis altar has a small porcelain cat figurine, and my Freya altar has a guilloche heart trinket. In an altar for Hermes, perhaps a statuette of a cherub with a lyre or harp, or a figurine of a mail carrier, or of one of Hermes sacred animals like a cow or ram, would make an appropriate idol for your altar space?
• STEP FOUR: traditional offerings:
Some traditional offerings like food, drink, crystals, herbs, flowers, etc. are an important, and very easy offer to make to your altars, and can easily be placed in the vessels and dishes you keep on the altar space. These offers vary drastically and personally on the god associated with them, but I’ll list some examples that I think would be good fits for Hermes below!
🌸 Crocus, Hydrangea, baby’s breath
🫚 olive oil, myrtle, sandalwood, Saffron
💎 citrine, blue lace agate, blue topaz, Aquamarine, Pyrite.
🍗 strawberries, olives, honey.
🍷beer, milk.
• STEP FIVE: ICONOGRAPHY:
The final step to creating your altar is the use of divine iconography. These symbols, emblems, and motifs celebrate your gods lore, history, and sacred things. You can honor this by finding things donning the iconography associated with your god! For example, almost all of my altars utilize antique painted porcelain or ceramics in some way, I have a porcelain sugar dish painted with strawberries for Aphrodite, a tea plate with wheat sheathes for Demeter, and an antique English teacup with Lilacs painted on it for Pan! Some of the sacred symbols and depictions of Hermes included, but are not limited to: strawberries, olives, lyres, sandals, mail and postage insignia, crocuses, rams, hawks, and coins! Depictions of all of these things on porcelain, pottery, fabric, or otherwise or on their own, are great ways to make clear your altar is dedicated to Hermes!
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Now that you have your very own space to worship and to commune with the hectic, humorous, and helpful Hermes, use it! Talk to him about your travels, bid on him to protect you from your hijinks, legal or otherwise, pray to him to guide your packages safely to you, and to guide you safely on your journeys! Enjoy your new altar space, and may lord Hermes bless you with riches, protection, and travels!
If you like this post, and wish to learn more about the gods of Hellen, Hellenism, paganism, and much more, please consider giving me a follow! I post every single day :) have a blessed day. 💙🏛️
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