I'm currently working on controlling my drinking and I've seen that alot of people work with dionysius for that purpose. I was wondering if anyone had any tips or advice for working with him with this in mind? Or for contacting him/connecting with him? Thank you for any help 🙏

I know that I read somewhere that some members of ancient Bacchic cults would get ivy leaf tattoos. I’d love to know if anyone else has read about this and could share any of the sources for it because I don’t remember and I’d like to read up on it.

So i'm new to this and am underage so I obviously can't have alcohol but i was wondering since i had some leftover Easter candy (Werther's caramel coffees if that matters) could I offer them to Dionysus?

i have been working with Dionysus for 2,5 years and he has helped me a lot. He helped me when it was dark, when i felt terrible, and made me love myself. Hes the one who helps me whenever im down. i feel like his child, i feel safe.

but sometimes i feel inadequate. Its like its im not enough for him. yes, no pagan has to perform rituals or pray to the gods EVERY day. So why do i feel inadequate? what can i do more to honour him. He is my patron god, the first deity i started working.. i do not know what to do. i feel useless and im afraid

Maroneia is a village said to have been founded by King Maron, a son of Dionysus, it is a small community with a population of around 5000, it is only accessible by boat or car, it has no airport, train or major ship docks.
Overlooking the Thracian Sea and home to an ancient theatre of Dionysus, I'd consider it an extremely holy place.

BUT
If you aren't from Greece you need to know things

Basic foreign visitor etiquette:
Learn at least "please" and "thank you" in the local language of anywhere you visit.
Be polite and tread lightly, this isn't your home
Do not try to clean up or move anything unless you know exactly what it is

Small Greek language lesson
Hello/Goodbye: "γειά σας" (Yassas) (more informal Yiasoo)
Please: "Παρακαλώ" (Parakalo)
Thank you: "Ευχαριστώ" (Efharisto)
You're welcome: "Παρακαλώ" (Parakalo)
Excuse me / I'm sorry: "Συγγνώμη" (Signomi)

Greek etiquette
When meeting someone for the first time, they shake hands firmly, smile, and maintain direct eye contact. (if you have eye contact issues apologize and let them know)
A Greek person may give you two kisses on the cheek, it's normal there, so don't be alarmed
Don’t thrust the palm of your hand in front of someone's face, it is considered a very rude gesture, so don’t attempt to do this even jokingly
don't say "Malaka", it's an offensive swear meaning something like "Wanker"
Greece has a lot of ppl who smoke indoors, don't be weird about it
Not all Greeks are Hellenistic pagans, maybe don't go into every conversation asking about Odysseus

If you are invited to a Greek home
Dress well. This demonstrates respect for your hosts.
Offer to help the hostess with the preparation or clearing up after a meal is served. Your offer may not be accepted, but it will be appreciated.
Compliment the house.

Table Manners
When meeting someone for the first time, they shake hands firmly, smile, and maintain direct eye contact. (if you have eye contact issues apologize and let them know)
A Greek person gives you two kisses on the cheek, it's normal there, so don't be alarmed
Don’t thrust the palm of your hand in front of someone's face, it is considered a very rude gesture, so don’t attempt to do this even jokingly
don't say "Malaka", it's an offensive swear meaning something like "Wanker"
Greece has a lot of ppl who smoke indoors, don't be weird about itptable to enjoy your beverage of choice but never over-serve yourself. Drunkenness is frowned upon.

REMEMBER
Maroneia is a Holy Village for Dionysians, but it is not our home, be polite, you are a tourist.

Please correct me if I got anything wrong

Γειά σου everyone! Thought I'd write about these experiences here, maybe it'll be of interest to someone...

So basically, I discovered Hellenism pretty recently, and as an artist and musician and crafter my first go to was researching for Apollo and attempting to reach out. I'm pretty insecure though so I kept looking for signs and asking him for any sign that it was okay to start worshipping him 😅 and of course, I never really knew what to look for but I kept researching stuff.

During these days I was researching, I had a first, tiny sign: In one dream (that had nothing to do with any of this) I had an altar for Dionysus on top of my piano. Back then I was nervous about dedicating my piano studies to Apollo because I was still learning many new pieces and they sounded terrible, so that was... pretty subtle there.

And more recently, I had another curious dream: I was in a house (that wasn't mine), and in it there was a room in which I spoke to Dionysus himself. He was extremely nice, the stuff he had in his room was really cool (many things related to him like ivy and grapes + a poster and a trophy from the first Olympic Games) and we chatted for a bit! Too bad I barely remember his appearance or what we talked about...

But yeah. I'm now completely switching from one god related to the arts to the other. 😅 I feel much more welcome with him, even if I'm asexual and never got drunk before, it feels like he's a lot closer to me. I already have some tiny gifts for him, and I'm planning on making an altar soon!

I built an altar but I’m not sure if it’s good. I don’t have a lot of money so everything I bought I had to get from the dollar tree. I got a wine glass, a white bottle in the shape of a vase to hold incense that I put on top of a small plate to catch the ashes to make cleaning the altar easier. I bought a plastic vase that I filled with flowers that grew naturally in my yard and the yard of the empty rental house next door, I gave him a small plate from my cabinet (because I don’t have a lot of money), I bought a small apple and cinnamon candle, and I read that he likes stories and theatre and I’m a really big fan of scp content because I like that it’s a collaborative online story and universe. I have 2 scp plushies one of which is an scp 999 plush that I thought would be good because he’s also associated with mental health. I had rotisserie chicken for dinner so I put a piece on his offering plate, poured some sparkling apple cider in the wine glass. He’s a god associated with art and theatre so I wrote the first half of the first draft of the story about my bardlock with avoidant personality disorder and his homebrew celestial patron. The draft wasn’t very good and I realized at the end of the first half that it wasn’t in an order that I liked and it comes off as more of a bio and information about the character rather than a story. I put the journal for it on his altar (I kinda want to keep it there, is that okay?). Lit some frankincense incense, lit the apple cinnamon candle. Said a pre written prayer and an orphic hymn, said that I would like to start honoring him regularly and build a relationship with him as one of my deities. (in my head because I’m not comfortable saying prayers out loud) , Offered him the chicken and glass of cider in place of wine (I don’t want to bring actual wine into my house because my roommate is in recovery from alcohol dependency) and to continue editing, reformatting, and then rewriting the story about my bardlock and patron into an actual narrative as a devotional act, and played a playlist with some of my favorite musical numbers, one of my favorite songs about anxiety and another that I like about maladaptive daydreaming (because it’s something I started doing when I was 12 and became more of a habit over time that I still continue today as an adult.) I’m not really sure if he liked it or heard me. Is it normal to not feel anything in response? I kinda at moments felt like I was talking to no one. Is that normal or did I do something wrong? I have really bad self esteem issues and can’t help but think that no deity would want me to worship them because I have nothing to offer and I never feel good enough and I don’t just mean for deities but for the people in my life so sorry if some of these questions sound dumb.

If that is normal and I didn’t do anything wrong I have a few questions.

1. does my altar sound okay or is it not very accurate for him. Does anything about the altar or offering sound selfish? I focused more on things that I liked that were associated with him rather than specifically about him.

2. I have depression and anxiety. Sometimes it’s hard to shower. Could showering every day be a devotional act to him?

3. could keeping a journal be a devotional act/offering to him?

4. like I said I maladaptive daydream, could writing them down instead of spending hours in my room pacing be a good devotional act/offering to him?

I can’t do festivals and socializing because the amount of fear and anxiety it causes me makes the experience exhausting and miserable are there any fun solitary activities that would be good devotional acts/offerings?

I’m thinking of reaching out to Dionysus tomorrow to attempt to establish a relationship with him as one of my gods. From what little I have read it says he is associated with theatre and is also associated with having fun. I also know that there are modern practitioners who associate him with mental health. (I know that he’s much more multifaceted than that, most of the gods from most pantheons have many sides, aspects, and domains. Theatre and fun are just relevant to my question.) I have been thinking about potential offerings and DND is referred to as theatre of the mind and shares some aspects with theatre, especially if the game is played before an audience, and I find DND and other ttrpgs to be a lot of fun. I saw somewhere that writing plays/stories for him can be a devotional act. For a while I have had an idea for a slightly home brewed celestial patron inspired by Supernatural’s portrayal of Gabriel/Loki that I have been mentally fleshing out over time and a bardlock with avoidant personality disorder that I have been mentally building, fleshing out, and altering since 2022 to the point that part of me feels like he could be a playable character in the rp sense, not so much the mechanics. When making ttrpg characters I always do some slight projection, but this bardlock (with the first level in warlock) is the character I have projected my mental health and trauma onto the most. This character is one that I have poured all of myself into. And I was wondering if me finally sitting down and writing out the backstory and personality for the warlock and patron. As well as their pact, history, relationship, and future (because these are characters I never actually intend to use in a game) would be a good first time offering to Dionysus?

I went for a walk on my local park yesterday and I found this cool spot. Behind the "door" is a wine bootle on a stone. His presence fulfilled me 🥰 It felt like an altar and like he was sending me a sign. It was amazing!

Tw. self-harm and intrusive thoughts

So I'm not sure if this is okay with the guidelines, please delete it if it's not, but I also don't think it's gonna go well in the general hellenic subreddit. I have OCD and it makes me clean myself very often. To the point my skin is so raw it bleeds, it looks like leather, but I just can't stop.

I wonder if there is a deity I could reach out rn? It's just I always feel so dirty, because I feel pain and I bleed most of the time it makes me disgusted with myself, and I know I need to be clean when worshipping, but it's sometimes hard. And I also wish there was something keeping me from doing all this.

do many people veil as part of their practice/worship? what way do they do it? i’ve been thinking about it recently and while i probably couldn’t due to personal circumstances, im still curious about people who veil as part of their worship.

The form taken when I first encountered Dionysus, as I’ve labeled “The Eye Of eternity”. It’s something of an animated sigil, meant to free those who wish to gaze upon it from the mental preconceptions which hold them in place. It’s inspired by the a wall mural of Dionysus which depicts a fractal pattern of triangles spiraling inward towards Dionysus, as well as cyclical models of the universe, and fractal geometry. I know this is a little different, but I felt it made sense to post this here.

hi, closeted devotee here!

i can't make an altar for Dio (although i have a secret paper altar for them in my journal!), so i was thinking of maybe sneakily adding a pot or two with Dio-related houseplants to my already existing collection 🌱

i'm also thinking about watering the plants with a used wine bottle :D

any plants suggestions? can't think of anything except for ivy

p.s.: i don't have any pets, and my room is mostly shady during the day

p.p.s.: i'm doing my best not to kill my green friends, but mistakes do occasionally happen, so i would gladly accept easy/intermediate plants recommendations

Joyous Dionysia!
HH is collecting storied about how a deity, any deity not just wonderful Dionysus, has impacted your life.
We'll be sharing them anonymously as a community collection of our love for the Gods.
Please feel free to post yours in the comments if you like as well.
And feel free to share this link!
https://forms.gle/p39YBxr5xPGAZLN38

Someone submitted a request for a letter from the Temple of Dionysus supporting their choice to veil at school. Does anyone else need an official letter while we’re on the topic? It’s just as easy to write a few as it is to write just one. Email dionysus@templeofdionysus.org or submit a request on our website.

Happy Spring!

This is from a little poetry collection I wrote for the spring equinox. If you're interested in the whole thing, feel free to DM me! :)

Oh beautiful flower,
Strange, sexual flower,

Divine hermaphrodite,
You lusciously, shamelessly flaunt
Pollen and delicate petal,
And paint the joy of life.

The angels and flaming dakinis
Dancing, buzz around you,
Singing, hum your praise,
Drunk on your perfumed scent,

As one by one they come to you,
And lay with you,
Ecstatically engage with you,

Into your inner secrets,
The mysteries of life,
The two become one,
And the one becomes two,
Primal union
In double nature,
Dichotomy resolved
In man and woman meld,
Ultimate being.

And as they slowly rise
From ancient smoke-filled trance,
You feed the angels nectar
And bless them,

And send them back to the world,
To carry out their task,
Divine and holy task.

Amen.

-----------------

Disclaimer: The term 'hermaphrodite' is only appropriate to use in mythologic contexts or in reference to particular biologic phenomena. It has historically been used against the intersex community, and is never appropriate to use in reference to a person.

​

This might be a long post. Also, TW: BRIEF MENTION OF SA, NO DETAILS.

So I was brought up catholic. I remember watching a show when I was little about Greek mythology. I remember Dionysus character making a really strong impression on me, primarily due to how they made him look.

I am currently on a journey of moving away from Catholicism due to personal reasons. I just wanted to be an atheist but it is super difficult.

I've lately been thinking about Dionysus a lot. I have just started reading up on him, but his primary traits of freedom and possibly kind nature(?) makes me want to honor him.

I dont know if I can ever go into worshipping him, I'm too mentally aware for that. However, I would like to have someone to share my thoughts with.

Now, this might be difficult because I don't drink, don't have sex and did drugs maybe one time. How would I create a space for him without these things? I do love grapes and incense.

Also, last tidbit, I have been SAd for years as a child-which is why i dont do anything i mentioned in the previous passage. I'm wondering if that might be a problem with Dionysus being all for sexual freedom (I support this too, but will it be triggering, if i go down the line of making him part of my life?)

Thank you to everyone who reads this and contributes their thoughts.

Anybody got good suggestions on where to read or learn more about him in some ways? Any good sources for mythology or stories of him that would be good context? Dionysus has been absolutely brutal to me so far, he’s made me cry three times in one day(I’m a really hard person to upset like that) because he forced me into shadow work, but he’s already helped me so much. I didn’t realize in the moment, but he’s already begun to help me improve. However, in a tarot reading, he communicated that he sees our relationship as one sided, and that I’m not doing enough for him on my end. I’m gonna build up a good altar for him, but I feel like I should learn more about him to really get a stronger connection with him.

Also, /ot, anyone have any good books on Deity Work? Good wiccan/pagan books are so hard to find. They’re usually so focused on spells and rituals and not on spirituality. Anyways, thanks!! Suggestions are greatly appreciated!!

Dionysus isn't my main deity, but given his extreme popularity, I think he would be the best deity around whom to start a local cultus.

We'd meet a couple of times a year to celebrate holidays with a Dionysian theme. We have a lot of parks here to celebrate, and I have a decent backyard. I think we'd also support the local theater scene and local LGBTQ scene.

Would I come across as insensitive if I advertise it as 21+ only? If I want the group to meet at a winery or bar or marijuana smoke shop, I want everyone to be legal. And no offense to you younguns, but I don't want to deal with the drama of minors who are doing paganism against their parents' wishes, and I figure by 21 most of that teen angst has been resolved one way or another.

Any constructive comments welcome.

I am working with stuff I have laying around and I do plan to add stuff in the future. Any suggestions on stuff to add (preferably stuff I might already own in the house that would go in noticed if it left)

Are you guys attractive to Dionysus. I feel wrong cause he's so, idonno. I just feel attracted but I feel wrong cause he's a god, you know? I just wanna know what you guys feel