Hail Apollon, divine healer, guide my hands.
Grant me skill to mend, wisdom to ease suffering,
And strength to care for those who cannot speak their pain.

Hail Artemis, protector of beasts, stand beside me.
Watch over the wild and the weak,
Lend me patience and compassion in their care.

With devotion, I honor you both,
Now and always.
Hail Apollon Paian! Hail Artemis Agrotera!

We are all put on this earth for a reason. Your life has purpose—your unique path, guided by the Gods.

Yet, so often, we allow others to pull us off course, centering our lives around their expectations, desires, and needs. In doing so, we lose sight of the journey we were meant to walk—a path rooted in ancient values and a sacred connection to the world around us.

Pagan values teach us to honor the natural rhythms of life, trust in the guidance of the Gods, and walk our own paths with intention.
Stoicism aligns with this by reminding us to focus on what we can control—our thoughts, actions, and intentions—and to release what we cannot, including the opinions, reactions, and expectations of others. It calls us to honor our true calling and remain grounded in what matters most.

How can we fix this? What is the solution?

1) Set Boundaries Without Guilt:
The Gods placed you here with a purpose. Protect your energy and focus on your calling, not on trying to please everyone around you. Stoicism teaches us that we can’t control how others feel about our boundaries, and pagan wisdom reminds us that our energy is sacred.

2) Detach from Validation:
You weren’t put here to seek approval from others. Your worth is rooted in your true calling, not in how much you give or how others perceive you. Live in alignment with your values, honoring both the spirit within you and the natural world around you.

3) Reframe Challenges:
When you face criticism or resistance for prioritizing yourself, see it as an opportunity to grow. The Gods didn’t put you here to shrink in the face of adversity—they placed you here to rise, honor your authentic path, and become who you are meant to be.

4) Find Peace in Your Purpose:
Reflect on your deeper calling daily. Connect with nature, engage in rituals, meditate, or journal to stay aligned with your path. You were placed here for a reason—don’t let anyone or anything take you away from that.

When you decenter others and embrace stoicism, you reclaim your power, grounded in your unique purpose. You stop living reactively and start living intentionally, rooted in the sacred wisdom of the Gods and your true path. This isn’t selfish—it’s the ultimate act of honoring the divine.

Divination Fundraiser, and Lunar Rites Reminder

Tonight is the Deipnon. This is the day of monthly home-cleaning and self-purification, and the night when one makes offerings (of which they do not partake) to the ancestors and to Hekate. It is also the best day of the lunar month for divination, and it is an ancient tradition to perform divination for the new year.

This year, I am going to perform divination for those who make a fully tax-deductible donation of $15+ to the Temple. My preferred method of divination is I Ching, but I am also trained in Tarot, Futhark, and Ogham. Unless you have a particular preference, I will provide I Ching divination. If you have deep, burning questions about your personal or spiritual life or about the nature of things, or if you are curious about your future or outcomes of the next year, this is the service for you. I will perform the divination at the hour of sunrise Monday morning on the lunar day of the Deipnon just before the New Year, a triply propitious time to perform this work on the most powerful planetary hour and planetary day possible to perform it.

You must donate within the next 19 hours (before 7:30 a.m. EDT on Monday) if you would like to receive this service at the most propitious time of the year. The next propitious time will be chosen for those who donate after this time.

Donate at https://otnr.net/donate/ for the Custom Amount $15 or greater, and check the box "Write us a comment," leaving the comment:
"For Divination by I Ching/Futhark/Tarot (choose one). My question is "What will/would be the outcome of ___? Please send fortune to [First and Last Name] at [email address]."

As you begin planning to purchase a calendar for the 2025 year, please note that we will be selling our 2025 liturgical calendars next year. We will sell our traditional Greco-Roman-Celtic lunisolar calendar, as well as an easy-to-follow Germanic one. These beautiful, highly informative, and helpful calendars are highly recommended by all who use them.

Calendars will not be available for purchase until early January. We hope you will consider supporting us and elevating your religious life. ??

Most people think of being reincarnated as animals to be a bad thing, but imagine being a lizard and your entire existence is just basking in the warm rays of the sun ?. To worship the Gods that way without adverse effects is truly a blessing. Imagine being a plant like a sunflower, just following the sun every day. Instead, we have to deal with taxes and other unimportant things.

In 2019, a resident of the Spanish town of Carmona was digging a swimming pool when they broke through into an underground chamber. Archaeologists from Seville were called to investigate and, climbing into the hole, found an intact Roman family tomb from the 1st century AD with six burial urns still in place.

Among the funerary offerings to a woman who died around the age of 40 was a delicate bottle carved from quartz crystal, sealed with a bitumen stopper and with its congealed contents preserved inside. Using state-of-the-art scanning techniques like X-ray diffraction, dispersion X-ray spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, experts were able to determine the exact composition of the substance inside the vessel without opening it.

That the bottle would contain scented oil - a common offering in Roman graves - was not in itself a surprise but the precise essence was of great interest. Analysis revealed the perfume was made of two ingredients: firstly, a base or binder of olive oil which would help facilitate the application and preservation of the aroma. As for the essence, it was identified as pogostemon cablin, otherwise known as patchouli.

Almost certainly imported from India, patchouli would have been a rare and expensive commodity in the Roman era and - along with its valuable vessel - attests to the high social status of the deceased. Researchers have previously detected hints of floral extracts in bottles used to keep cosmetics, known as unguentaria, but this is the first time the source of an aroma has been identified.

I'm sending all my best to everyone this Winter Nights. This time is a special one to consider your family of past and present, to research your history, remember your forebears, love and cherish your living relatives, and, in reconnecting with your roots, envision what future you can work in word and deed today.

Hail to the Allfather,
hail to His loving wife Frigg,
hail to the virile Yngvi Frey,
hail to the Elves of old,
and hail to the fate bearing Dísir that guide us on.

May They all grant you and yours a bountiful and loving season.

PSA: If you start 75 hard tomorrow morning, then you will end the year a new person. ??

O Beautiful Gods,
With the fall equinox, we stand in balance before You, as the day and night now stand equal before us.
May we spend this day honoring You in harmony with the seasons.

Dionysos, who lords over the vine and harvest,
Bless our harvest, the fruits of the earth, the wine, and the grain.
Your dance of life and death today have us enchanted.
The dying of the year approaches, but with You, we know new life is promised.

Athena, wise protectoress of our cities,
Guide us through the turning of the year.
As leaves fall and winds grow cold,
May You grant us strength and wisdom as we prepare for the winter ahead.

Demeter, our Earth Mother, who today and for months onward grieves the loss of her daughter,
May Your tears nourish the fields,
As You gift us the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

Persephone, Holy Queen of the Underworld,
Your journey deep into the Earth is upon us.
May Your descent remind us of the mysteries of the soul,
And of the return to light that is yet to come.

Hades, lord of the unseen,
Keeper of the dead and the treasures that lie below,
We acknowledge Your domain,
And the quiet rest that comes.
As with the turning of the seasons in perfect harmony,
we honor You as we pass through our annual death.

Ares, Srong God of strife and battle,
In this season of fading warmth,
May You keep our courage strong and our hearts steadfast,
For the trials that may come with the waning of the Sun.

Hera, blessed Queen of the heavens,
Bless this time of transition with Your grace.
In the gathering of the harvest, may we also gather peace,
In the darkening days, find harmony, order, and comfort.

O mighty Gods, who deserve praise eternal, receive our prayers as the year turns,
We ask You to grant us Your protection and guidance.

Telegram: constantly banning crypto spammers.

Also, telegram: "Well, actually.. crypto spammers are okay as long as we are getting ad revenue."