There is still a long way to go in building a temple complex for Jupiter Optimus Maximus Perunnus.  Our fellow cultores  in Poltava presented their plans to us while we visited last year, including a mock-up of what they hope to construct.  You can see part of the project above as the temple shall eventually appear, on the left, and a photo on the right of where construction of the site recently ended. Last August when I was visiting, only the foundation podium and steps had been completed after … [Read more...]

"The Gods are not to be represented in the form of man or beast, nor are there to be any painted or graven image of a deity admitted."At first Numa's prohibition might appear to derive from another religious tradition, not the tradition of Rome where images of the Gods once abound.  In fact, this restriction relates to the very conception of the Gods and how Their providence influences the world. Before waxing too philosophical into pagan theology, we can state that a shared tenet is … [Read more...]

“Numa appointed Numa Marcius, son of Marcus, as pontifex from among the patricians.  He gave him full solemn written instructions about the ceremonies, specifying for each sacrifice the proper offerings, the proper days and the proper temples and the way in which money should be raised to meet the expenses (Livy 1.20).” The instructions of Numa the Lawgiver were said to have been written down under the direction of Postumnius, following in the wake of the Gallic sack of Rome in 3 … [Read more...]

The first lesson that we as cultores learn from Numa is to live an ethical life in accordance with Roman virtues. Among these virtues are justice, honesty, fidelity, piety, liberality, and frugality, along with fortitude, prudence, and temperance.  The Religio Romana is a tradition of practice more so than one of belief. This means that cultores are to actively practice Roman virtues at all times, not only out of conviction and resolve to live an ethical life, as we have chosen to do, but also … [Read more...]

Romulus reigned for thirty-seven years after founding the City of Rome. Then, on 5 July 715 B. C. E. while performing a public sacrifice, a thunder storm engulfed Romulus and, with wind and hail, he ascended into the heavens to sit beside his father Mars, and his grandfather Jupiter as a new God in the Roman pantheon, Quirinus. In that same moment, Juno took Romulus’ Sabine wife Hersilia up into the heavens, where she, too, became a goddess. The second Rex of Rome was Numa P … [Read more...]

This coming Sunday (21 April) the people of Rome shall celebrate the 2766 anniversary of the Founding of their city. Parades shall wind through the City with costumed companies of legionaries representing the glory of ancient Rome in just one part of the city’s celebration.  Modern cultores Deorum who are spread over the many parts of Earth find PARILIA a unifying celebration. It lends them a sense of identity in a community stretching outward from Rome in time and place, from the very ancient so … [Read more...]

The Roman festival year begins on the first day of March, the month which is dedicated to Mars. Appropriately our first festival of the year is dedicated to mothers and wives. In ancient times, the calends of March celebrated the dedication of the Temple of Juno Lucina on the Esquiline Hill of Rome. She is the Goddess of Birth, the goddess who aids women during pregnancy and brings their child into the Light. Before Lucina’s temple stood a lotus tree, the second oldest tree in the C … [Read more...]