The strife of a positive life is real for everyone, and I would say especially for Pagans and Polytheists because they understand both their own and the universe's contribution to the factor. I know from experience that the way you live, think, speak and act will determine your quality of life. Since 2009, I have worked to build a Hellenic practice of piety and purity both for myself and in my own temple's rites.
Purification Processes
Being free of impurity physically, mentally and spiritually, is to banish and keep miasma from our minds, bodies and souls, and relieve our everyday lives from the toxicities that so often impede human prosperity and separate us from the Gods. Let's begin with the mind. This is of the utmost value to your life and physicality, for without the mind, the body is nothing, and it's proven science that your thoughts, mentality and state of mind will effect your body and life for the better or worse. Your brain soaks up everything it comes into contact with. Therefore, it's imperative that you only expose it to positive things as much as possible. Make a daily, conscious effort to ignore all willful negativity. This can be very hard because modern news and media have conditioned us to depend on alarmism. We have been so programmed that we actually think we need negative outlets to survive and remain informed. We don't. If you must watch news, I would suggest your local station. They're not as bad. But as the saying goes, if it doesn't invoke goodness, let it go. I'm not saying ignorance is bliss, I'm just saying that I have survived the end of the world since Y2K. There is no better way to captivate an audience. Shock value sells like hotcakes. Therefore, turn it off, forever. Also refrain from associating with negative people, and finally but equally important, guard against your own negativity.
Moving on to the body, which is purely physical purification. If you defile yourself or expose yourself to filth and harmful substances, it will create pollution. Take a bath or shower every day (you'll feel the difference), put on clean clothes, and don't be exposed to unnecessary impurities. The body can be purified of miasma through washing with purified water, spring water, or seawater/sea salt water. If you encounter an extreme situation such as coming into contact with a dead human body, you'll need sulfur, and a good scrubbing with lava soap should clear that up. On a more basic level, a good diet and regular exercise are exceptionally terrific for maintaining a healthy body and mind. Not only were ancient Greeks very athletic people, Games were religious events, and while there was no 2nd or 3rd place, every athlete was strong and benefited from the training.
Finally, we come to the soul. Not only are our spiritual selves kept pure by our connections to the Gods, but piety as well maintains spiritual stability and strength. Piety is not only found in doing rites properly, but in thinking and speaking rightly. That is to say, respecting the Gods and Higher Powers. I was once visiting a couple of friends, and while on the topic of ancient Greece, they for some reason decided to start talking badly about the Gods. I kindly got up and left, not only because I didn't want to be around hubris, but because I could feel the pollution and negativity building in the room. Simply put, be a devotee, not a defacer.
Purifying Sickness
We all get sick, whether it be a simple cold or a more serious infection. Once you have recovered, throw away the clothes you wore while sick, wash your body in seawater or sea salt water, and rinse with spring or purified water. End with a prayer and sacrifice to Apollon, God of healing and purification. If you have a disease that cannot be cured, just be sure to always maintain it as best you can. If you're given medications, take them. If your doctors tell you to do something, do it, for they too are servants of Apollon.
Securing Your Home (Hearth Rite of Hellas)
Your home is one of the most valuable places, which is why I spent years performing and perfecting this rite without ever having a single failure.
Take a bowl of clean water and mix it with sea salt. This rite works best with either seawater or water mixed with sea salt.
Light the flame of your home's hearth, which for most people today would be the stove. If you have an electric stove that does not produce an actual flame, put a lit candle in the center during the rite. If you have a fireplace, even better. Make a fire there.
Light a cone of frankincense to Hestia, which is also a cleansing element, and then invoke Her. "Blessed Hestia, Goddess of the home and hearth, I pray that you will shine forth in my home and life today and grant me peace and love, and lift me into the presence of The Dodekatheon, that I may know their mysteries, powers and wisdom."
Take the bowl of water and hold it over the hearth with the following prayer, "Lord Apollon, God of light, and mighty Poseidon, God of the sea, I ask that you bless this water, to drive out evil and negativity from all it touches, and shake loose the bonds they have on this home."
Pour a libation to the two Gods. Take the bowl of water into every room of the house and sprinkle it on every wall, floor and ceiling (don't forget closets). When done, pour the water outside.
Pour a libation to Hygeia. Take a stick of white sage and light it. Once again, go into every room and draw a pentagram, starting from the bottom left, and each time you draw it, recite the words, "I draw the Star of Hygeia, to banish from this place all evil and ill." Hygeia is the Goddess of physical and mental health and protection, and Her symbol all the way back to ancient times is the five pointed star, but not the pentacle. Draw the star toward every wall, each time reciting the invocation.
End the rite with a final prayer to Hestia. "I bring my holy and sacred rite to a close with a prayer to Hestia, for She is first and last. Home of the blessed Gods, be with me forever." This rite can be used to dispel anything in the home that is hostile to the people there, whether it be simple energy or a bad spirit.
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These simple measures and rites will help you in your daily life as a Hellenist.
In the Goodness of the Gods,
Chris Aldridge.
