Psychiatrists Prescribe Religion

I know from experience that if you go to a mental health provider and tell them that your religion is something that helps you deal with and overcome your disorder and illness, they will tell you to keep doing it. 

Because the fact of the matter is that the universe and human life is an enigma.

Well over 10 years ago when I still lived in North Carolina, I visited a nearby mental health facility to talk with a therapist and psychiatrist, because my depression and anxiety disorder reached critically high levels. I suppose a place like rural North Carolina might be more spiritually open even in professional fields, but these were still licensed doctors and counselors with Master's degrees and PhDs.

When they asked me if I do anything on my own to deal with my mental health issues, I brought up my religion and how connection with the Gods does wonders, if not sometimes cures, my afflictions. "Well it sounds like your religion is very therapeutic for you," they said. I nodded and so did they. They consented to the idea that religion could be a form of medicine for me. Which, by the way, it has most certainly proven itself to be just that throughout the years.

The bigger question is, why and how? If mental illness is a real medical condition, then it cannot be cured by simply believing that it is. Something must intervene to turn the course. Our souls and minds are capable of reaching very high ascension, because they form the center of our being. Without them, no other part of us could exist. This means that the soul and mind have an immediate connection with Deity when they are opened to the Higher Powers. In fact, most studies have shown that religious people are less depressed than non-religious.

No matter how hard or astray things get, I know the Gods are always there, and I can retreat to them for peace, healing and protection any time.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

Simply Great: A Post for Women's History Month

She was told she would never amount to anything. She weathered plagues, war and threats to her life. She was betrayed by the two men who should have loved her the most (her father and husband), and she was surrounded by corruption and a selfish Nobility, to name just a few problems, not to mention being a woman in a world that, at that time, belonged 100% to men. 

And even though giving in or running away from her troubles would have been the easiest solutions, Catherine the Great refused those options. She did not cower, hate or put her circumstances off on someone else. She took the highest crown her nation had, and became the only Empress in Russian history to ever be called The Great. She reminded all generations why she was alive and what destiny had laid out for her.

During my last year at University in 2023, my final class was modern European history, and I wrote a flawless term paper on Catherine the Great, an A+. The grade was so high that I could have not taken the final exam and still passed the class. My love for Catherine literally secured my degree, and it's something I will always hold dear. When people talk about who they would like to meet if they could go back in time, I always list at least Catherine, because we would have an awesome conversation and then, probably, amazing sex, as Catherine was known for her expressive sexual side. Equally important, not only was Catherine down to earth in this regard, she was also polyamorous, which is another natural part of human sexuality that is still shamed away by social norms.

To me, she embodies a lot of what a woman should still be today, which is strong, confident, and accepting of their sexual desires. In a world where women have been made so ashamed of their natural selves that they won't even acknowledge that a man is handsome or that they like him, Catherine is a liberating spirit that women desperately need. But I also think more and more women are waking up and breaking free of these anti-woman and anti-human norms. Not only are women and men both becoming more sexually open, but they are realizing that there's nothing wrong with being attracted to more than one person.

My wife once told me that I have a thing for strong female rulers, and that it's not a bad thing. But I think Catherine is my favorite above all those. She understood that life was made to live, and live to the fullest. All of her critiques and haters from back then are long dead and forgotten. Only she remains known, admired and still loved to this day. The lesson is to not care what other people think. They won't matter in years to come. What will matter is whether you lived the life you truly wanted. Love, sex and power were her hallmarks. She would have had none of them, however, if she had bowed to the exact same social norms that women still bow to in our own time. And the worst part is that social norms can become so ingrained that we think it's our own desire when it's nothing more than what we've been programmed to do.

In a broader sense, Catherine escaped the prison that so many are still confined to. I think Catherine would tell all of us that, inside ourselves, is the power to overcome and accomplish anything, if we are just brave enough to try. 

You can read my college paper on Catherine for free by clicking here.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

The Forest Screams - Could It Be Dionysos?

Channels and videos dealing with everything from the paranormal to simple hiking adventures are filled with what we commonly know as "unidentified, non-human sounds or screams" coming from the forests of the world. And I just love myself a good mystery, a good intrigue, something unknown to investigate, so let's take some time today to explore these happenings. 

Take a moment to visit this link to hear one of the videos people have made of unexplained screams and yells in the forest. Then come back to my blog post. Of course, there are scores of other videos and reels that have been made by various individuals, recording many kinds of screams and ravings in the woods. All you have to do is search for the topic on youtube.

In ancient times, Dionysos, the God of wine, revelry, joy, life and rebirth, was known for His loud celebrations in the forests. In fact, His worshipers would gather in these remote areas, such as the female devotees of the God called Maenads, whose name means "to rave" or "raving ones." A specific natural forest location of theirs was in Nysa, where a temple of Dionysos stood.

In the Orphic Hymn to Dionysos, He is called, "loud-roaring, reveling, and howling." In the video posted above of the unknown screams and ravings in the woods, people in ancient times may have very well concluded that it was Dionysos or His Maenads, especially if it was near a known worship center. In the times of old, things we consider paranormal or supernatural were simply daily life and commonplace.

In the forests, away from the civilization and the common ailments of human life, it's easy to see how someone could release, and why they might enjoy the ability to leave their old world behind as much as possible for a time. Dionysos lifts us to life, brings us to life, breaks us free of death. 

I myself grew up in the middle of a forest, down in a small, remote valley in central North Carolina, and especially during my childhood, the depths of the woodland provided me with a much needed retreat on a regular basis. In fact, anything could happen in them. Nothing was impossible, meaning was everywhere, adventure lured at every turn, and everything was beautiful. There is something about the haunts of the forest that make them otherworldly.

The importance of Dionysos to Hellenic life is, like all the Gods, vastly important and crucial, but like all Gods as well, Dionysos also retains His own uniqueness. As the God of life, the youngest of The Dodekatheon, and Twice Born, He is known as the "Savior God" of Greek religion, although He is certainly not the only God who carries the Savior Epithet.

Dionysos is salvation from death, depression, sadness, and anything else that hinders life and its enjoyment. I developed my own temple rite to the God in this respect. There is historical record of some of His worshipers in ancient times eating a live bull in a ritualistic setting (the bull being a symbol of Dionysos), and in so doing, they believed they were taking the God into themselves. Wine is also known as the blood of the vine just as far back.

If this sounds familiar, you're right, but the concept of ingesting communion with a God was not originally Christian; it's very ancient and very polytheistic. In my own rite, I include a drink of wine or grape juice and a small bite of rich chocolate (should I ever find chocolate in the shape of a bull, that'll be spectacular). The chocolate, being an ecstatic food, is the body of the God, while His wine is, of course, His blood.

Before consuming, I recite this simple prayer, I pray to Dionysos, Twice Born God of everlasting life, to descend His blessings upon the food of joy and the drink of the vine, to bless my mind, body and soul with His wonderful Godhood. Spirit of Dionysos dwell within me, blood of Dionysos flow through me."

If there has been no general offering to Him in return, some of the wine or chocolate can be given. But it's also important to remember the objective and reality of Dionysos and this rite. It is not Christian. He is not a God of abstinence or one who teaches us to resist and hate our humanity. There is no "cross to bear." You don't invite Him to save you from your humanity because your humanity is not evil or damned. It is blessed. Therefore, Dionysos blesses us with all it takes to live a happy and joyful life, and drives out whatever threatens that. Dionysos reminds us that it's okay to live.

What are the screams and ravings that people keep hearing deep in the forests of the world? Dionysos? The ghosts of His Maenads? New worshipers? Or maybe all of the above? The ancients most certainly knew of these same kinds of sounds. They wrote about them in their hymns to the God and stories about those who followed Him throughout their lives. Perhaps there is always that natural calling out there, reminding us that there is freedom from the dismal things that may plague us.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

When Religion Was What It Should Be

Crusades, terrorism, and oppressive theocratic dictatorships. These are the things that commonly come to mind today when people think of widespread religion, mainly because we are so used to seeing the dominant religions, which are based on oppression, wreak havoc on the world. A fringe element of radical Muslims committed the worst terrorist attack on American soil, and only our Constitution stops radical Christians from using the government to force everyone into their way of life.

It's almost as if you have to rally against religion if you want to be a freedom fighter, or at least stand against the militant elements of it. However, religion was not always like this, which is something that Pagans and Polytheists like myself are trying to teach and bring back to humanity. Religion was not about imposition in ancient times, nor did it possess so much insecurity that one culture couldn't stand another simply because they had a different religion. Ancient man found himself more than able to live harmoniously in a diverse world. Of course his own culture had its own theology and customs, but there was never any reason conceived to force the entire world into the same way of life. When a Greek visited Egypt, for example, they didn't demand that the Egyptians worship the Greek Gods instead, and abandon their own culture. 

When I was in my first year of college in 2008 back in North Carolina, my philosophy and writing class held a discussion on the history of religion and spirituality. At one point, a girl across from me said that ancient religion was the way religion was supposed to be. It was about a man, woman, or community worshiping their Gods, so that the City, sea, fields, etc, would produce the good and productive things of life for them. 

Only later when I became a Hellenist did I fully understand where she was coming from. Hellenists worship the Gods because it brings bliss to our lives, and shows our proper reverence for the Higher Powers. We simply love and also respect our Gods. Even to this day, we are perfectly content in our own skin, and do not concern ourselves with the fact that other people may have a different theology. 

The admission of monotheism was really the time when religion became globally weaponized, especially when governments realized the great ability that religions like Christianity had to control massive amounts of people. Even though religion had changed, mostly by force, it still retained an ultimate place of importance in people's lives, especially as time went on and the newer generations could be lied to about how their ancestors were converted, and governments were not ignorant of this. They found that they were able to use the new religions and their orthodoxies to produce any kind of obedience, war or wealth they so desired.

However, theology itself was, and is, about the Divine and the human experience of it. It's not about a system of oppression. I don't normally think about it when I walk through my temple doors, but it should be a revelation that I don't walk through them for the same reason I did church doors when I was a Christian. It's not my hope that the world bows to me, but that I find the Gods in my life. If we as the human race could but understand the simple truth that this is the goal of human religion and spirituality, we would never again fall.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

Do We Still Love Athletes Like Ancients?

Our love for the professional and victorious athletes continues to follow us all the way from ancient Greek times. And make no mistake, it is not the professionalism, but the glory that we enjoy. People completely alter their appearance and character when attending their favorite sporting event and cheering for their most loved competitor. 

If people gave 1/10th the enthusiasm toward actual problems in our country as they do to football, we'd be in much better shape. But for some reason, people don't want to take on the hard things in life, and so sports provide a literal escape from reality. People can forget for a time. This is both beneficial and destructive when taken to the extreme. 

We all need a break from time to time, but ignoring life can eventually lead to outright delusion. Ancient Rome had this same problem. People ended up caring more about Games than actually running the State. It's one of the reasons the Empire fell.

But the ancient Greeks were more moderate and reasonable with their love of Games. They were indeed important and even religious activities, but they did not constitute the whole or even the daily life of the people and their societies. They were largely part of the religious events of the day or festival, but the winners, especially those of the Olympics, could expect lavish reward, even including a pension. 

Of course, it was nothing like what athletes are given today, salaries that would be considered a ridiculous amount, especially given the fact that millions of Americans live in poverty, and 333 million children worldwide wake up every day in impoverishment. That's more than the entire population of the United States of America.

I do think exceptional athletes, as in ancient times, deserve a place of honor in the State. They go through many years of hard training, sacrifice, pain, injury and dedication so that they can reach the glory that they so desire, for themselves, their team, and their people. They reach status that most other people probably could not, and for their success and service, they deserve recognition and a pension. I do not, however, think that any athlete deserves a salary of 50 million dollars a year, or even in a lifetime.

I also feel that major Games, such as the Olympics, have lost their meaning. The Games were created to honor Zeus, King of all Gods. In short, they are religious and spiritual events that recognize and revere the Higher Powers, and acknowledge our own proper and unique place in life as human beings. But today, the sacredness is literally all gone. In my view, it's been reduced to mere competition of one person trying to outdo the other, and there is no understanding whatsoever of our humanity and the blessed abilities that have been bestowed upon us by the Gods. 

Not only do we pay athletes too much money, but the money and the mortal basically become the gods of the Games. The Olympics are losing their former glory. Viewership of the Olympics dropped by 40% worldwide during the last cycle. Even football, one of America's most loved past times, has experienced a drop in popularity by about 1 million viewers. 

There was a time when people were excited to love and impress Divinity and one another. When something is reduced to the mere rudimentary, the nature of it is to whither. But the Gods never whither or die. Everything about them is eternal and ongoing. That's probably one of the reasons the Greeks centered everything around their Gods. I'm not saying athletes should be forced into Hellenism or any kind of worship. I'm saying that larger meaning, something more than just self, is what will maintain everything, even ourselves.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

Why So Many Female Villains In Greek Myth?

Ancient Greece and Greek Myth in modern time tend to get, what I think, is an undeserved bad wrap for all of the female villains that exist within it. It's assumed that because there were a lot of female monsters and criminals, that the ancient Greeks must have hated women or at least distrusted them in some capacity. Well, anyone who has known me for the last few years as a writer, historian and a Hellenist, knows I can give a unique perspective on ancient Greek culture.

First consider that there might have indeed been female criminals and menaces in ancient times. The level of power that women had varied from City to City, but women were not powerless in totality. For example, male bandits or organized criminals probably wouldn't have cared about being led by a female if she had enough money to pay them well. It is not sexism to say that a woman is a woman. I mean, it's certainly not rare to find a woman or a being who is female. Women exist as about half of the population, and sometimes there are actually more females in a species than males. Therefore, there could naturally be women or females who fulfill negative as well as positive roles, and yet, even the negative ones were not universal. In other words, they were not all bad. While the Sphinx of Oedipus might be considered a villain, Sphinxes were also guardians of temples and cemeteries, and considered to be a bridge between human and Divine knowledge. 

It's also not true that men of ancient Greece always occupied admirable or virtuous roles. There were a great number of men and males who were evil. For example, when Odysseus returned home, He found no less than 108 Suitors trying to take His wife and kingdom. He killed all of them, not for simply being Suitors, but for destroying His palace, eating His food, taking everything they could, and doing everything they could get away with. They even plotted to murder Odysseus' own son. These 108 men were certainly no paragons of virtue, but villains. Finally, male monsters in Greek Myth included the Minotaur, the Nemean Lion, the Cretan Bull, and Typhon. 

In conclusion, it may not actually be true that a significant number of Greek villains were female. In fact, given the Suitors alone, there might have been more males than females in actuality. Not to mention ruling kings like Lycaon, Sisyphus, Tantalus, and Salmoneus - and the Gods punished them severely for it. And for the villains who were the opposite sex, it may have had little to do with their sex in and of itself. Additionally, you can't ignore the great number of female Heroes who exist in Greek Myth and Religion either, such as Atalante, Danae, Antigone, Penelope, Hydna, and Nausicca. You wouldn't think you'd have female Heroes in a society that simply hates women.

I'm not saying there was no sexism in ancient times. But I also think that some people today assume way too much about things they couldn't have possibly experienced.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

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It's My Fate

When you first start your life as a Hellenist, at least for me personally, you're quick to say you don't believe in fate as a lifelong concept, or that you at least don't believe in it generally speaking. You might think that some things are preordained, just like the ancient Greeks most certainly did, but you generally reject the notion that your life is already planned out. And I've pretty much always believed that pivotal moments are already decided, but what you do with them is of your own will. For example, my lifechanging move to Illinois was fate, but what I do with my life here is my own choice.

But I will also say this. The longer I live, the more and more I think fate plays continuous roles in human life. Perhaps not in all of one's life, but still a significant part. For the simple fact that there are general things I have tried to change or alter the course of for the better part of 40 years, and it just won't happen no matter what I do. Hellenism has certainly changed me for the better, morally and ethically, than I was beforehand, and put a confidence and faith in me that I never had previously, but I can't change the over all structure of who I am. And I've equally noticed that trying to change it only makes things harder or more upset. I eventually wondered if said hardship was because I was essentially trying to fight against the universe.

Nevertheless, I also remember that when I was a child and a teenager, my living situation was a lot worse than it is now, and even if that was my fate at that time, it never interfered with my happiness. I remember being absolutely in love with life and everything about it. The fact that I was very poor and had no real prospects, did not inhibit me in the least. I still loved, still believed I could do anything, and sometimes I did. 

It's also true that many things in my life have not turned out the way I wanted, or the way I had envisioned. The most maddening part is that I don't really know why, and perhaps I'm not supposed to know, but it's still something I carry with me each day. It's even hurtful to an extent, to see men or women no better than you, but who have things you feel you deserved as well. Why, is the question that will drive you insanely angry if you let it. So I eventually found it best to generally stop asking, either to myself or others.

Is fate simply what we call things that are out of our hands? Who knows these things but the Gods? What I do know is that it's possible to live well in one's fate. For example, you might not be rich, but you can be financially comfortable. Your person may not win the election, but you can do your own public works for what you believe in. You may not be as popular as Stephen King, but you can still get your works published and distributed.

But even knowing that there's fate in my life, and always will be, I ultimately don't worry about anything; because I know who my Gods are.

In the Goodness of The Dodekatheon,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.