Anadikia 2015

Khairete!

This weekend, we celebrated the end of one year and the beginning of another. As has become our tradition, this was a three-day retreat at the Temple space.

Friday - Diisoteria & Deipnon

On Friday evening, we gathered at the Temple and lit Hestia's hearth, each "bringing our fire" from our homes.  We had a dinner of lamb to celebrate the outgoing year.  We shared our accomplishments from the past year and our hopes for the year ahead.

Once dinner was done, we did some "Pagan Arts and Crafts," decorating paper maché skulls with the names of deceased ancestors, to be used in another ritual later.  (Some of us may possibly have gone slightly overboard with the paint, with the result that not all were dry in time for the Deipnon.)

Diisoteria

The focus of this ritual was to give thanks to the Gods for their help in achieving all that we've accomplished over the past year.  Thusia was sunflower-honey bread and libations of wine. 

Deipnon

We then extinguished the hearth and processed to Hekate's altar. 

Here, we wrote down things we had intended to accomplish but did not for one reason or another.  These were burned and the ashes swept away with the old year.

Saturday - Anadikia & Hephaestia Part I

Saturday morning, we started the day with a breakfast of smoothies and muffins before our first ritual, in which we greeted the new year. 

We returned the fire from Hekate's torch to Hestia's hearth and wrote down our goals for the coming year.  These were placed in a mason jar to be stored until next year, so that we can either give thanks to the Gods for helping us achieve them or else, if they become goals that are set aside, sweep them away with the old year.

Thusia was a loaf of olive oil/rosemary bread with libations of lemonade.

Scarlet Rose offered a workshop on connecting with Pan through the Labyrinth.

Lunch was pizza, followed by a table-tipping workshop that involved communing with the Temple Patrons.

Late afternoon saw a Hellenismos class in Household Ritual.  There was a walk scheduled for after dinner but other events intervened, so dinner was followed by the first part of Hephaestia, and a movie which ran parallel with a second table-tipping session.  The last event of the evening was a brief meditation in preparation for doing dreamwork overnight.

Sunday - Hephaestia Part II and Agathos Daimon

This morning started with a trip to Hannaway Blacksmith Shop to complete our Hephaestia celebration.  Upon returning to the Temple, we offered a final libation to the Agathos Daimon and Hestia to close the retreat followed by a celebratory brunch.

New Year Divination

As is our tradition, we did a divination to determine the God who will rule the year and each month, as well as what message from the Lemurian Alphabet Oracle each God has for us.

Month	Deity	Message
Anadikion	Hephaistos	The strife-bearing gift fulfills the oracle.
Therapaion	Dionysos	The affair upholds a noble undertaking.
Panagonion	Hermes	Phoibos speaks plainly, “Stay, friend.”
Pyanepsion	Poseidon	There is sweat, it excels more than anything.
Panaion	Athene	If you wait a short time, you will go on more easily.
Kheimonion	Eros	There is no fruit to be taken from a withered shoot.
Gamelion	Hera	We desire to see the offspring of righteous marriages.
Diasion	Demeter	There are no crops to be reaped that were not sown.
Eiarinion	Ares	You will have a parting from the companions now around you.
Delphinion	Hekate	Gaia will give you the ripe fruits of your labors.
Thargelion	Aphrodite	Apollo says you shall do all things successfully.
Philokhoria	Artemis	The work is hard but change will be admirable.
13th month	Persephone	In customs, inopportune strength is weak.