Mother Hel, thank you for your support. Thank you for accepting me no matter what because death accepts everyone and everything. Thank you for not judging me and for giving me guidance through ignorance. Thank you for being the mother that I've always needed, especially now, and thank you for your understanding.
Thank you for standing by me no matter what. It's truly a comfort knowing that lady death has her skeletal hand on my shoulder whenever I need her. Thank you for constantly telling me what I have to live for and that it's not nearly my time, not for years and years. Thank you for allowing my strangeness to be welcome in your arms, for allowing me to fully let loose with my interests. Thank you for humbling me, for impowering me, and for inspiring me.
Thank you, lady Hel, for being there when no one else was. For showing me that it's okay to be sad, or angry, or depressed, or frustrated.
Thank you, my mother, my lady of death, for showing me that being alive and being human is worth more than anything in this god-awful world. Thank you, Hel, thank you.
I know that completing rituals or having the time/money for leaving offerings is not always accessible to practing pagans. I'd like to start a little series on scrappy/in a pinch practices that are more easily done and don't require too many spoons/too much time/a lot of $$$.
As a Hel devotee, first on my list is a practice well-suited to what she represents within the Norse world, though this could apply to other deities of other underworld, or simply as you see fit.
We've all heard of leaving food and drink as an offering for your chosen deity, right? Well, for Hel, seeing as her dishes at her table are called "hunger," why not play with that idea and leave your empty plate, mug, or drinking glass on your altar after you've eaten? As protector of the underworld, Hel is receiving your thanks, like a note to the fact that you still reside in the world of the living, and require mortal things such as food (bonus points if your food scraps consist of things like animal bones!)
Let me know what you guys think of this series, and this idea in particular. Will you be trying it?
I had a positive dream about Hel last night. She comforted me when I was scared and it was undeniable her (half her face was skull-like and grayish dark). The emotions in this dream were extremely potent and I truly felt she was like a mother to me, protecting my inner-child. For reference, I rarely dream if the gods and goddesses. I suffer from chronic nightmares and terrible tormenting sleep paralysis due to my diagnosis of Narcolepsy as well as PTSD. So it definitely caught me completely off guard when I had a dream where I wasn’t being abused and tortured. And what’s more? A dream of the goddess of the dead herself! In this dream, I was in a big wood cabin on stilts that was in a clearing by the woods. It had large doors, and inside was a great dining hall and lots of places to sit. Someone warned me not to wander outside (I don’t remember who, so probably wasn’t significant). But I felt drawn to those big open doors at the front of the cabin. I stepped outside and peaked into the woods. A woman-like figure dressed in shadowy gray robes stood at the edge of the woods. She had her back to me, but when I set foot outside she immediately turned around and started floating towards me with great speed. I was scared because she looked like how La Mocuana was described to me by my abuela. She had a thin body and dark eye sockets like a skull. I went to run back inside. But as she got closer she turned more and more human like, and she took my hand. Half of her was living now, and the other half was a dead. But she looked at me kindly, and I immediately knew it was not La Mocuana, and it was the goddess Hel. In dreams I can feel malicious energy, and I couldn’t feel that around her. Hel took me inside the cabin and we talked (I don’t remember what our conversation was about, but she was very loving and gentle and wiped away my tears). She calmed me down and was like a mother to me. We even talked about fun things (that made me laugh and her smile).
Anyway, I thought I’d share this dream of Hel. If you have any thoughts on it @broomsick lmk! But no pressure of course 🩷🩷🩷
Still my favorite piece I created for my friend, Wolf the Red’s YT merch.
I guess I might be a bit bias though, as Hel is one of the main deities in my hearth cult. It was such a pleasure doing this God art project.
Hewwo!! I really need some money cuz i still dont have a job (cuz russian invasion and being disabled during war is not fun) im openning up 5 slots for portrait commisions.
Full-colour/monochrome/black and white. Whatever you want.
50$ price
I work with traditional materials (watercolour/gouache/etc) (also i can do oil paintings, but pricing for that goes from 100$)
Payment is 50/50 (first after i have sketch, second is after full work)
I love those moments where I get a feeling from a God, as if they’re just letting me know they are there for me. In my case it’s Hel most often, seeing as our relationship is closest and I would consider her my patron at this point.
It can really be as simple as listening to music and a certain lyric randomly brings the God’s to mind and warms your heart when you weren’t thinking of them. Little moments like that keep me going and to this day even a year into my journey make me tear up. You are NEVER alone once you find your people and I’ve found mine in the Gods.