Introduction to the Almond Jar Site

B. Opening notes; a misconception about Aphrodite and Sexuality

Click here to skip to the next section, about differences from Wicca.

Thank you for dropping by. We are a Hellenic Demipagan group starting up here in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, on the Near North Side of Chicago. We are a post-boomer group, which means that our membership was born after 1956. Well after it, right about now, but that's our cut off date. Click here if you feel that a defense of this policy is needed.

Mars Disarmed by Venus, Mars Disarmed By Venus, 1824

As you come here, you probably know that, given the usual Pagan usage, we worship Aphrodite. This sometimes creates awkward misunderstandings. Yes, we are very permissive, by Pagan standards. But not so permissive as some will expect.

Aphrodite, during antiquity, was worshipped under a number of aspects. Some of them were Aphrodite Pandemos, who was the patron of prostitutes, Aphrodite the Warrior, and Aphrodite Urania, she of Celestial (ie. higher) love. The Aphrodite we worship, as we imagine her, is closest to the Aphrodite Urania of old, with some trace of Aphrodite the Warrior in her. We do not view her as being at all timid. Our Aphrodite is the one who brings us the tender feelings of marraige, the love of one friend for another, of mother for child and child for parent. She gives the passions that make it possible for such a thing as the extended family, and the closely knit society that grows up around it, possible. She is about far more, than just lust, though she doesn't despise compassionate desire. She stands for an entire way of viewing life. But some have trouble understanding this.

I've personally encountered fully grown adults (several times my age, in some cases), who've just assumed that we'd have a temple prostitute, and sponsor orgies. None of that will be occuring here. First of all, we object to prostitution on moral grounds, as a perpetuation of an institution that is far from victimless. Secondly, it is destructive of passion, and so its presence here would be a form of sacrilege in the context of our shrine.




C. Where we differ with Wicca.

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Venus and Vulcan, 1754, François Boucher

Let us begin with a simple understanding, that seems to confuse a great many people. We are Polytheists. We are not Wiccan. The two are not the same thing, at all. We have sometimes found Wicca to be a source of interesting ideas about ritual, albeit ideas which usually didn't meet our particular needs. We agree with the Wiccan notion that the emotion invested in a ritual, is vital to its effectiveness. Certainly, as fellow Polytheists, we once felt a connection to that community, and a desire to be helpful to it, that we hoped would be reciprocated, though now we know better. But, from the beginning, we have disagreed with it theologically on a number of points, both as individuals, most likely, and certainly as a matter of group definition.

The most obvious difference is that we are not duotheistic. We do not see all of the gods as being aspects of one single god, and all of the goddesses as aspects of a single goddess. We do not worship a horned god. Nor do we give greatest prominence to a moon goddess.

We see the gods as being real, existing outside of our own conception of them. Given this shift in point of view, most of the 60s era "do your own thing" spirit that has characterized much of Wicca, has been altogether discarded. There is a body of folklore that has gathered around our gods, describing what they like and dislike, and what they expect of their followers, that comes down to us, from deep antiquity. To ignore this, and expect the gods to deal with us on OUR terms, would be profoundly arrogant, given our metaphysical assumptions. The ancients in Classical times even had a word for it. "Hubris" - the overwhelming pride, of one who is being brought by it to a bad end.

We will not partake of it, however fashionable it may have become, in dealings with god and man alike. Tradition will be honored here, as we show that which has seemingly fallen out of fashion - reverence, both for the traditions, and those they were created to honor.

Also, we aren't under the impression that we're capable of casting magical spells.



D. Our non-occult approach.

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Let's be clear that this is to be a discussion, ritual and cultural group, not an occult or magical one.

We are, as a group, exceedingly skeptical of claims of paranormal phenomenon. We'd be fascinated if they were corroborated, but, unfortunately, they never seem to be. We do not seek knowledge of our gods, through channeling, or "full trance possession", or travel in an astral plane, that we are unconvinced of the existence of.

We seek our understanding of them, through an examination of experience on this plane of experience, accepting the limitations of our methodology, as a reality which we simply have to work with. Consequently, we will be far more interested in the writings of Sartre or Wittgenstein, than those of Aleister Crowley.

A relatively fundamental illustration of this approach can be found in the article Constructing God, on this site.



Let's continue with the introduction, unless you'd like to return to the index.