Daily Devotion

"Sacrifice to the deathless Gods purely and cleanly, and burn rich meats, and pour them libations and burn them incense, both when you go to bed and when the holy light has come back, that they may be gracious to you in heart and spirit." - Hesiod.

As a Hellenic practitioner, your religion is constant in your daily life, and central to everything you do. The Greeks had no word for religion because of this factor. Life was a religious experience. If it's not a specific Holy Day or festive occasion, Hellenists should have a basic, general spiritual devotion that they perform each day on a consistent basis, unless something prevents them from doing so. Before beginning any religious activity, one should be clean of mind, body and spirit. Therefore, take a bath, put on clean clothes, and don't bring negativity into the worship space or into your mind during the rite. 

Traditionally, people would wash their hands in sacred water before doing anything religious. These could be found in fountain houses or sacred springs of a temple's or sanctuary's precinct. For us in modern time, we create the water using purified water along with either sea salt or the creation of what is known as khernips, which means "hand wash." Pour a cup or bowl of purified water, light a bay leaf and drop it into the water to create this. One can also use the water to purify offerings and to continue purification of themselves throughout the day, but it should be replaced once a day at least. Do not allow it to sit and be used indefinitely. 

For this simple daily devotion, all you need is a cone of incense and the ability to pray. Any kind of incense will do, although our temple encourages frankincense for general burned incense offering.

With the incense lit, recite the three following prayers,

"O' blessed Hestia, Goddess of the hearth, as you shine forth in my home and family today, may you grant us peace and love, and lift us into the presence of The Dodekatheon, that we may know their mysteries, powers and wisdom. May the incense please you.

I also invoke Eros, who was born among the first, to bring life through love and eroticism. 

I pray to The Dodekatheon, the highest Gods, and all the Gods, Goddesses, Spirits, Heroes, Deified Mortals and Ancestors of ancient Greece, may the incense please you.

I pray to Zeus of the Fence and Zeus of the Home's Wealth. May you grant my family and I prosperity, posterity, abundance and safeguard. May the incense please you.

I end with blessed Hestia, for She is First and Last. Home of the blessed Gods, house me forever in your great splendor."

Once the 3 basic prayers are completed, if you have a Patron Hero and/or a Patron Philosopher, you can include a prayer and part of the offering to them as well. Now take a short time to remain quiet and in a meditative state with the sweet fragrance that's burning around you. Feel, see and hear the Gods. Also note that if you have no family, or if your family isn't the same religion as you, you can simply change the prayers to a singular context for you personally.

Note- In a traditional and general daily rites, most of your prayers and offerings should go to Zeus. But this is taken care of in this particular outline, because you invoke two additional manifestations of Zeus, and thus, He will be receiving the most.