Founders Festival 2013

Khairete!

This Week's Festival

On Sunday, 11 Therapeion/August 18 we celebrated the HTAZP Founders Festival, the Temple's 8th birthday since its founding in 2005.

The Patrons of the Temple were honored specifically with offerings and prayers.

And the Goddess of the month, Artemis, was honored as well. Her message, "It is necessary to labor; change will be admirable," seems fitting in the context of reviewing the Temple's history and planning its future.

After thusia and during theoxenia, we took a trip down memory lane, viewing pictures of the Temple going back to its start as a portion of a room to a dedicated but small room to its current location and size.  

We also discussed the ways the Temple group has grown over the years, particularly the exciting seminary group that will be ordained at the beginning of September and installed at the Temple on the Noumenia of Panagonion. We acknowledged also the connections the Temple has been making in the larger Pagan community, symbolized by the offering ribbons still adorning Hestia and Her shrine from Rhode Island Pagan Pride.

Upcoming Events

Date	Festival
1 Panagonion/September 6 (eve)	Installation of the Newly Ordained Priests and Priestess
9 Panagonion/September 15	Panagon
23 Panagonion/September 29	Fall Festival
22 Pyanepsion/October 27	Puanepsia and Oskhophoria

That's it for now. Have a wonderful rest of August, and see you in September!

Peace,
Diane

Rhode Island Pagan Pride 2013

Khairete!

This past weekend, HTAZP had our first booth at Rhode Island Pagan Pride.

As you can see, we offered Reiki sessions with a table in back of the booth for readings, and a variety of ritual supplies from incenses and oils to soaps and jewelry. We had quite a few people stop by. Some were people who worship the Theoi and were unaware there was a group in the area, others were simply curious about a form of Paganism they hadn't encountered before. We had loads of interesting conversations and made quite a few new friends.

We also did the main ritual for the festival. Given that the theme of Pagan Pride is community, our ritual was to Hestia, Goddess of hearth, home, hospitality, and community.

Offerings for theoxenia were oranges and bananas. Also offered, as you can see, were ribbons. All participants received a candle blessed by Hestia to bring home. It was a treat to worship with so many others, some of whom were learning of Hestia for the first time but all of whom seemed moved by the experience.

Coming Events

Date	Festival
11 Therapeion/August 18	Founders' Festival
9 Panagonion/September 15	Panagon
23 Panagonion/September 29	Fall Festival
22 Pyanepsion/October 27	Puanepsia and Oskhophoria

That's all for now.

Be well,
Diane

Therapeia 2013

Khairete!

First, we would like to note that we had no idea Apollon was intending quite so literal a "message for the month" with "There is sweat, it excels more than anything." The heat is a tad less today in Southern New England than it's been for the last week and a half or so, and yet it is still quite hot and humid. Possibly a tad closer to what our spiritual ancestors might have been experiencing in Hellas.

Onward to today's festival! 

Today we celebrated the Therapeia, a modern healing festival that has evolved over the years. Originally focused on Apollon and His son Asklepios, Pan soon joined as the God of wild herbs and remedies. This year we also honored Hygeia, Asklepios' daughter and Goddess of health, Artemis, Goddess of childbirth, and Gaia.

Offerings included images of snakes for Apollon, Asklepios, and Hygeia, a sheep for Pan, and candles for all. Food offerings for theoxenia included salmon burgers, veggie sticks with guacamole, farm-fresh salad and peaches. After the feast, we held a Reiki share in which everyone had a turn giving and receiving healing energy.

We also started a new practice of creating a shrine to honor the Deity of the year (from the Anadikia divination) and each month, to be shifted each Noumenia.

Finding a creation-focused image for Prometheus (aside from the card used in the divination) proved challenging. It's a work in progress, but we found a few that featured Prometheus as Creator of humans with Athena giving the soul. One was selected to be a backdrop to the shrine, and as you can see, for the moment we're utilizing the divination cards as well.

Coming Events

The temple's first seminary class is progressing and ordination/installation is planned for the end of the summer. The upcoming festival schedule so far is:

Date	Festival
3 Therapeion/August 10	RI Pagan Pride
11 Therapeion/August 18	Founders' Festival
9 Panagonion/September 15	Panagon
23 Panagonion/September 29	Fall Festival
22 Pyanepsion/October 27	Puanepsia and Oskhophoria

That's it for now.

Be well,
Diane

Anadikia 2013

Happy New Year!

With the first Noumenia following the Summer Solstice, which we celebrate as Philokhoria, we are beginning a new year at HTAZP. While our months are named a bit differently than the Hellenic Month Established Per Athens, we do keep to the same start/end point of the year. (Yes, we're a couple of days early, but modern work schedules don't tend to accommodate the Hellenic calendar.)

As is traditional, we celebrated with a retreat at the temple.

Participants gathered on Friday evening to observe the Diisoteria, a sort of a combination of Hekate's Deipnon with New Year's Eve. Offerings were made to both Gods and Ancestors to close out the year.

Playing cards has also become a New Year's Eve tradition, although due to scheduling, this year it preceded ritual rather than going from the end of ritual until midnight.

Bright and early Saturday morning (or possibly a bit closer to noon), we held the first part of our Anadikia ritual. Thusia and theoxenia included brunch items such as Finnish pancakes, muffins, watermelon, and scrambled eggs.

After theoxenia came the annual cleaning of the temple, complete with washing statues and images and ironing the wax out of the occasional altar cloth. The water used for cleansing the statues and images also had bay oil and sea salt, for their purifying qualities.

This was followed by the second theoxenia of the day, this time a dinner of chicken and zucchini with New Year's Cake or vaselopita for dessert. Interestingly, Hieros Timotheos later realized that the name of this cake translates into "king's bread." There is a coin baked into the cake that is intended to bring luck for the year ahead to the person in whose piece it is found. As it turned out, this year it fell between two slices, so two participants were declared the recipients of a lucky year and the coin was offered to the temple's Agathos Daimon.

The final component of the day was a divination for the year ahead in which cards were drawn to see which Deity would be "ruler" of each month and what messages They might have for us. The divination tools used were the Olympian Oracle Cards and the Greek Alphabet Oracle. The overall God for the year is Prometheus, with the saying "To fight with the waves is difficult - endure, friend." The theme for the year is creation.

Month	Common Calendar	Deity	Themes
Anadikion 2013	Jul/Aug 2013	Apollon	There is sweat; it excels more than anything.
Therapeion 2013	Aug/Sept 2013	Artemis	It is necessary to labor; change will be admirable.
Panagonion 2013	Sept/Oct 2013	Hestia	You desire to see the offspring of rightful marriage
Pyanepsion 2013	Oct/Nov 2013	Themis	You have the helping Gods of this path.
Panaion 2013	Nov/Dec 2013	Ganymede	Make offerings and wait.
Kheimonion 2013	Dec 2013	Asklepios	Phoibos speaks plainly: stay friend.
Gamelion 2014	Jan 2014	Selene	Phoibos speaks plainly: stay friend.
Diasion 2014	Feb 2014	Hephaistos	Completing many contests, you will achieve the crown.
Eiarinion 2014	March 2014	Dionysos	The strife-bearing gift fulfills the oracle.
Delphinion 2014	April 2014	Hera	There are no crops to be reaped that were not sown.
Thargelion 2014	May 2014	Pan	There is sweat; it excels more than anything.
Philokorion 2014	June 2014	Demeter	You have the helping Gods of this path.

And that's it for now. Have a great year!

Peace,
Diane

Panaphobeia 2013

Xairete!

The summer is upon us, despite not officially being here yet! Hope this newsletter finds you well and enjoying the longer days.

Today's Festival

Today we celebrated the Panaphobeia, also known as the Feast of Fear, in which we honor Pan as the God of Fear who both uses fear as a tool and helps us confront our fears. 

We offered Pan ribbons as representations of fears we have for which we were asking His help and received divinatory messages in response utilizing the Greek Olympian Alphabet Oracle. Food offerings included a sausage pasta dish (the color red is associated with Pan's fear aspect and it's conventional to include phallic foods in offerings to Him) and a dessert of "dirt with worms" that can be taken a number of ways in regards to dealing with (or digging through) fears. The libation was iced chai tea, in the interest of continuing the theme of something red/warm/spicy.


Coming Events

Date	Festival
June 23	Philokhoria
July 6-7	Anadikia/Athenian New Year
July 21	Therapeia/Healing Festival
August 10	RI Pagan Pride
August 18	Founders' Festival

For the Philokhoria, we will be creating new puppets and props for The Philokhoria Puppet Show. Attendees are asked to bring socks and buttons that will be used in making the puppets. Other materials will be provided.

Until next time, have a great couple of weeks!

Peace,
Diane

Bouphonia 2013

Xairete!

Hoping you've all had a great couple of weeks. It's been great seeing the spring come into bloom around here.

Today's Festival

Today we celebrated the Bouphonia, a festival that goes back so far that the Athenians apparently were known to wonder just why they were celebrating it. Our modern understanding is a celebration of Zeus as the Protector of Justice and of Law.

As you can see, rather that slaughtering an ox and then stuffing it to pretend it was alive again, we be-ribboned one that had never been alive in the first place.

There is also some evidence that this was also a time for recognizing the city's honored dead. Given that we are celebrating Memorial Day in the United States, it made sense to include this aspect with offerings to our heroes and ancestors.

Coming Events

Date	Festival
June 9	Panaphobeia
June 23	Philokhoria
July 6-7	Anadikia/Athenian New Year
July 21	Therapeia/Healing Festival
August 10	RI Pagan Pride
August 18	Founders' Festival

Until next time, have a great couple of weeks!

Peace,
Diane

Thargelia 2013

Xairete!

After a quiet month, we've had a busy couple of weekends at HTAZP, with the Delphinia last Sunday, a naming yesterday, and the Thargelia today.

Decorations on the birthday cake include a sun, a silvery crescent moon that is more visible IRL than in the photo, two arrows, and two bows. Also, apparently Apollon was more interested in having lots of gold sprinkles on His side of the cake, as that was so not planned.

Today's Festival

We started the afternoon with a cleansing ritual utilizing a pharmakos made of raffia. This was followed by a break to ice the cake, which had been cooling during the cleansing, and also to wait for the thargeloi (aka calzones with vegetable filling, our modern interpretation) to be delivered. This led to some amusing speculation as to whether any enterprising Hermes followers might have developed a fast food/delivery equivalent to make a few dinars back in ancient Hellas. Meanwhile, the ritual space was set up and ready to go.

We offered the thargeloi, birthday cake, and wine for thusia and theoxenia, feasted, and then had a rousing game of Hi-Low-Jack aka Pitch.

We had some discussion around plans for future years, including the possibility of incorporating some form of archery, though probably (given our collective lack of experience and skill in this area) using some type of foam "arrows."

Thoughts on Thargelia from the editor

When I try to explain the import the Thargelia has for me as a festival, I sometimes find myself describing it as "Christmas and Easter all wrapped up in one."  Now, in terms of the surface rituals, there is little in common to be seen. There are no trees (that's the Dendraia) or gifts for children (that's the Diasia) or rabbits and eggs (that's the Eiarinia). But theologically and mystically, I find some resonance there that helps me explain what this festival means to me.

At the most obvious level, it's the birthday of not just one but two Deities, Apollon and Artemis. On a more mystical level, there is the purification aspect, which correlates to the period of fast and sacrifice leading up to Easter, followed by celebration, circling back round to the birthday and also encompassing that Spring is now in full bloom, where it was just starting at the Eiarinia. These are the reasons I find this a helpful comparison to make when I start explaining to someone outside Hellenismos what this festival means to me.

Do you have any thoughts on this festival? What are its meanings for you? How do you observe it, or if you do not, what is the reason behind that choice?


Coming Events

The next festival will be the Bouphonia on May 26th. Looking further ahead, June 9th will be the Panaphobeia or Feast of Fear and June 23 the Philokhoria. Then the year will turn and we'll have our annual Anadikia/Athenian New Year Retreat on the weekend of July 6-7.

Until next time, have a great month!

Peace,
Diane