Clik here to view.
wonderful hopes
When Aristodemus had said this and thereby filled all the common people with wonderful hopes, he established two institutions which are the worst of all human institutions and the prologues to every...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Clik here to view.
diasparagmos
For that night there happened to be a public festival; hence the whole population of the city was occupied in drinking and other pleasures. This afforded the fugitives an opportunity of marching...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The sound of a place
I was thinking about these lines from an ancient Dionysian cult-hymn over Lenaia: … lift up your voice to him! We will sing of Dionysos on holy days. Twelve months he was away: now the season is here,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
this is why you do your homework
If you do a search you’ll come across a ton of sites claiming that Dionysos traded the myrtle to Persephone for the release of his mother Semele. This has some profound implications, especially when...
View ArticleClik here to view.
To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.
Had a couple bad pain days this week, but I’ve seen enough improvement with the leg that I was going to set up the long-delayed shrine and finish some last minute stuff with the Toys of Dionysos course...
View ArticleClik here to view.
May my suffering serve a didactic function
This incident with the tooth gives me an opportunity to talk about an important issue within polytheism – namely what do you do when bad things happen to you, especially when it’s a series of bad...
View ArticleClik here to view.
For never could rain fall from a clear and cloudless sky.
In keeping with the spirit of the last post, I’d like to share the story of a woman I honor as a heroine, and one of the most important of the Magna Graecian pantheon – Aithra of Tarentum, who I tend...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Give and ye shall receive
I am deeply moved by your generosity. I was able to pay the back bill for my visit to the ER in December (still don’t know how much the subsequent visits are going to cost as I’ve yet to receive...
View ArticleClik here to view.
We are not people of a book; we are people of libraries, museums, galleries...
My partner Galina had this beautiful observation: Art is a powerful conduit to our Gods. It has the potential to seep into the crevasses of our minds and hearts and open us to further connection and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Please don’t hold back
Responding to my offer to teach a free online course through the House of Vines in gratitude for the help I received during my time of need [half the bill is already paid; you guys fucking rock!!!],...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Houses of the Holy
I was asked what I thought of all the temple talk in the wake of news from Iceland and the Wild Hunt’s two-part series on pagan infrastructure. Well, first off, I think that what most people are...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bonus exercise
Listen to these songs and then write a poem about Dionysos. Adana Twins – Strange Sigur Rós – Fjögur piano Angelo Branduardi – Sono Io la Morte Tristan Allen & Amanda Palmer – János vs Wonderland...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How is a packass (kanthôn) like a cup (kantharos)? Both carry the wine-god.
Hyginus, Astronomica 2.23: In one part of its figure there are certain stars called Asses, pictured on the shell of the Crab by Liber with two stars only. For Liber, when madness was sent upon him by...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In March we’ll begin Honoring the Spirits of Place
“For those who arrived in a foreign land the custom was to sacrifice to the local gods and heroes.” – Scholiast on Apollonios Rhodios’ Argonautika 2.1271 “I remember my childhood names for grasses and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The oracle of Dionysos Bakcheios
As an expression of gratitude for the generous contributions you guys have made to help offset the mountain of medical debt I’ve accumulated from my knee and tooth injuries, I came up with a new system...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Disappearance of the Girl
I was listening to some music, trying to attain a headspace where I could block out the pain enough to get some work done tonight, when I came across Phidel whose album The Disappearance of the Girl...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hello criminals!
I was just reading about AnneMarie Luijendijk’s Forbidden Oracles? The Gospel of the Lots of Mary which Sarah Parkhouse describes as follows: Several years ago, AnneMarie Luijendijk was presented with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Toys of Dionysos course beginning Monday
Hey folks! I’ve sent out invitations to everyone on my list. If you haven’t received one and feel you should, or are interested in taking the course and need to make a payment arrangement, contact me...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dionysos in Italy
My current obsession is figuring out how Dionysos got to Italy. You see, practically every country – if not city – where he was worshipped has a myth of arrival, which has him appearing to a...
View Article
