It the world alive? For most of the ancient world, the world itself was alive and everything in it was alive too, having a spirit with personality and agency. Hermes, as Herald, Guide of Souls, and consummate magic wielder is a friend to the spirits. But in the Pagan/Polytheist community there seems to be something of an argument about the nature, place, and character of Spirits… [Read more…]

As our community matures, we are inevitably producing priesthoods and with that, laity. This happens because commitment and investment are not the same for all individuals. Some can, even must, pour their lives into their dedication to the Gods or to a particular Deity or set of Deities. Others, even finding a divine relationship congenial or compelling, may not be called into deeper engagement for temperament, path, or resources. Just some make a life of it, and with that comes the knowledge, skills and experience that demands so much more while giving so deeply. [Read more…]

A God is as a God does, and Hermes is no exception. How this applies to the Deity’s priest-folk can be subtle or evident, intimate or public. For those deeply dedicated to a Deity, this is likely to manifest in their professional life; it certainly did in mine… [Read more…]

To know Hermes is a lifelong task. Bounded approaches provide entry points and structures with which to grasp the fundamentally ineffable. Body, Speech, and Mind can be seen as the entry points. Thus far we have seen the form of Hermes’ body and explored the character of His speech. Now, we turn to His mind and examine one exemplary quality of that vastness: the Power of the Question. [Read more…]