I'm sure I heard Hermes laughing

I worked at Hermes's and Zeus's altar today.  I neglect it too often in terms of working there, but I often touch the eagle or rooster picture as I pass, letting them know I do think of them often.  But today I needed to appeal to Hermes on matters of finances.  I need to do better at making the money last.  I didn't ask for miraculous intervention or for a crapmillion to drop into our laps.  It's not how I work.  I asked that I do better.

The incense was a bit moist and kept going out.  I knew I shouldn't leave it out all the time.  It absorbed the moisture in the air (which in winter seems a bit odd, but there you go) and wouldn't stay lit.  But it was frankincense, which isn't great at staying lit anyway.  Especially the cones although this was a stick.  First off, I lit the candle, prayed and gave my intentions.  Then I lit the incense and went to stick it into the ash burner only to discover there was no hole to put it in. They drilled the hole on the wrong side and it didn't go all the way through.

Now, I could hear Hermes laughing throughout all this but I wasn't amused at all.  So I took the ash burner off my main altar and set the incense in there.  Then I remembered that I had forgotten to wave the smoke around myself and the altar so I lifted it out only to discover it had gone out.

So...I lit it again, waved the smoke around, declared the space purified and then went to put it back in the ash burner.  It had gone out again.  Cursing this time, I re-lit it, stuck it in the ash burner, offered up my intentions through gritted teeth and then went to eat my breakfast.

It's a good thing Hermes has a sense of humor because he didn't seem the least bit upset with me and after breakfast and a libation of coffee to Hestia, I went back to the altar, offered up another, less gritty prayer asking for help and re-lit the incense because it had gone out again.

Finally, after several tries, I got the incense to stay lit...just as we were walking out the door to drive through wind-driven snow to the dr's office for Zach's labs.  So the incense burned nicely while we were gone.  I'd like to think that Hermes was busy helping us drive through the snow safely and finally stopped blowing the incense out.

However that happened, I really need to attend their altar more often.  I pray to all of them on my main altar at least weekly but Hermes is on the piano because it's line of sight with the front door and I see it when I enter and when I leave.  Same with Zeus, who I consider the god of the threshold.  At least here he is. And I don't pay them specific attention like I should.  Not beating myself up over it...just sayin'.  'Cause it's not about having to...it's about how much I enjoy it and how I should do it more often.

I read some interesting things about Persephone lately, although I'm not sure of the sources yet.  But she is often identified with Hecate, which is really exciting because I often think of them as friends closer than sisters in the Underworld.  And my raven pentacle would identify both of them.  Am I nuts for not wanting Persephone to leave the Underworld?  Not that I don't want Spring to arrive...I just think of her more as the Goddess of the Underworld and not a Spring maiden at all.

Although after that snow today I might jump on Demeter's side and start decorating Persephone's room.

I haven't done any studying in Druidry yet because I just haven't had the desire.  There are aspects of Druidry that I really do like but I think more and more, Greek is all I want.  It's what I read about, what I study and what I meditate on (when I don't fall asleep) so I think that's what my focus should be.  Fortunately for me, the Greeks were more drawn to the lunar calendars than the seasonal ones.  And the dark moon is one monthly ritual that the modern Hellenic polytheists celebrate most often.

And I am a dark moon kind of gal.

So I think I'm going to start on the book Hippy Jersey Devil recommended.  It's on my headboard just waiting for my brain to clear enough to read it.  And that might just be tonight.

BB