Sorry it's been so long. The time got away from me a bit there. It's been a busy couple of months at HTAZP, and here are the highlights:
The 28th of August was scheduled to be the Panaphobeia, however, it was not possible to hold a group ritual due to Hurricane-turned-Tropical-Storm Irene. A ritual was still held at the temple space however, and suggestions for private ritual were provided so that the festival could still be observed individually.
On Sunday the 11th of September, we celebrated Panagon, a day of games devoted to Pan. As the space is not conducive to an actual torch race, a series of board games were dedicated to Pan and the winner received a prize to be placed on their personal shrine at home. At the start of the theoxenia, when we honor the ancestors, we took a moment to also remember those who died on this day ten years ago.
We also discovered that either Pan is not at all fond of battery-operated tea-lights or the batch offered by one temple regular (me, actually) was rather spectacularly defective. Did you know those things could explode? Nope, neither did I.
On the 25th, we held the Fall Festival honoring Demeter and Persephone and commemorating their cyclical separation with the promise of reunion in the Spring.
October's big festival was the Puanepsia and Oskhophoria, celebrating both Apollon and Dionysos as Gods of the harvest and marking the “changing of the guard” at Delphi as Dionysos takes over until Delphinia while Apollon travels to Hyperboria. Many temple members chose to cross-dress in honor of Dionysos' androgyny.
There were offerings of wine and other forms of alcohol for Dionysos and a lentil-kale soup for Apollon as well as other delicious food offerings. (One temple regular who insists he can't cook invented yet another delicacy, this one involving chocolate rice cakes, Nutella, and strawberries.)
May the Gods' blessings be with you all.
Peace,
Diane
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