Living With Your Parents

I sort of covered this in a rant, but I think that there are others out there that are in the same position that I'm in. I know that a teen has to live with the rules of the parent, which is the Greek way of doing things, and I know that an adult living at home also has no control over their lives as long as they live with their parents. But what about doing your libations outside? Does that break the rules of the house, and thus wrong in Hellenism? I'm asking this because I do prayers to Artemis, Apollo, and Athena in the morning, when I wake up.

SpiritofApollo wrote:But what about doing your libations outside? Does that break the rules of the house, and thus wrong in Hellenism? I'm asking this because I do prayers to Artemis, Apollo, and Athena in the morning, when I wake up.

I don't know — does it break the rules of the house? That is the decision of the head of the household, whoever that may be. 

Going against the wishes of the presiding authority of any household would, I would argue, regardless of the issue,  always be wrong while one is either residing in or is a part of that household — and certainly any time on the grounds of that household. 

So, it depends. I am not the head of that household, so I don't know. 

So I would have to do my prayers away from the house and property. I'll try and find a park to go to. Gods, living at home, no matter your age, sucks.

If you do not have a place available to you where you can offer sacrifice without worrying about either you or the site itself being disturbed (and the site itself ought to be the same one you return to consistently — ideally it should have an altar [a nice, safe one can be constructed relatively easily and cheaply — maybe I should post an explanation of 'How To'], so a park may not be the best choice if it is a public park with a risk of things being stolen.

If it ever happens that you are able to do so near your home/on the landlord's property, you should first make sure that you are allowed to have a firepit/coal grill type thing on the grounds. 

Otherwise, you can choose to see this as an opportunity to spend more time learning about the practice of religion, so that when it does happen that you have a place of your own, you will be that much better prepared. 

You can always wash (hands & face, or whole body), light a candle (can be as small as a single tealight if you want to keep it inconspicuous), and recite, for instance, Plethon's two Perennial Hymns. This is and of itself would be quite sufficient worship until you have the greater freedom of independent living.

Thanks for your suggestion. I'm going to the waterfront next week, hopefully. and I'm going to see the layout of the park. It will be nice to get out and about. I was thinking about getting a firepit, one of those that are burned during cool days so that people can enjoy themselves. I'll have to ask the landlord if that's allowed. We have a large concrete block that we're going to be using for our grill so the heat doesn't catch anything on fire. If I can have a firepit then I'm going to use that.

Most ready-made, movable fire pits are set on an included, raised stand to keep them away from touching things that might catch fire — being as the bowl is typically made from either copper or iron, it gets extremely hot.

On a side note, as mundane as it may seem, the mechanics and practicalities of fire safety are vitally important with regard to immolative sacrifice — it's something we in the Orphic sodality teach to catechumens concurrently with teachings about the acts of sacrifice themselves. 

You can get nice, small fire pits rather cheaply (I own this model, personally: http://www.amazon.com/Outsunny-Deluxe-Stainless-Steel-Outdoor/dp/B008YJEO92/ref=sr_1_7?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1372187335&sr=1-7&keywords=fire+pit) 

However, it is also possible to construct one along Classical lines quite easily. You need a fire/heatproof stand and a fire/heatproof bowl. For the stand, one can purchase ceramic columns of various heights at most craft stores for around $25. On top of that you can place a large, stainless steel bowl (available from nearly any homegoods store in the kitchen supplies section), and fill it with a thick layer of clean sand and grill charcoal. And there you go, you have a portable-if-necessary, aesthetically attractive, safe, and relatively inexpensive altar.

Erodius wrote:Most ready-made, movable fire pits are set on an included, raised stand to keep them away from touching things that might catch fire — being as the bowl is typically made from either copper or iron, it gets extremely hot.

On a side note, as mundane as it may seem, the mechanics and practicalities of fire safety are vitally important with regard to immolative sacrifice — it's something we in the Orphic sodality teach to catechumens concurrently with teachings about the acts of sacrifice themselves. 

You can get nice, small fire pits rather cheaply (I own this model, personally: http://www.amazon.com/Outsunny-Deluxe-Stainless-Steel-Outdoor/dp/B008YJEO92/ref=sr_1_7?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1372187335&sr=1-7&keywords=fire+pit) 

However, it is also possible to construct one along Classical lines quite easily. You need a fire/heatproof stand and a fire/heatproof bowl. For the stand, one can purchase ceramic columns of various heights at most craft stores for around $25. On top of that you can place a large, stainless steel bowl (available from nearly any homegoods store in the kitchen supplies section), and fill it with a thick layer of clean sand and grill charcoal. And there you go, you have a portable-if-necessary, aesthetically attractive, safe, and relatively inexpensive altar.

Wish the guy down the road understood that up in MA. He was the most careless person ever.

Did said careless person set multiple fires to burn deadfall and keep the grass down, while 'patrolling' between the fires with a firearm they occasionally shot at random? If so, they moved down to Alabama...or are closely related to my neighbor (blegh). /rant

I personally use a cement column that I got inexpensively at a Hoods (they sell counter tops, doors, and outdoor decor mostly) that has a 'bone yard' full of stuff they couldn't sell at regular prices. It's a cast cement Corinthian column that I intend to paint with cement paint and ultimately add a home-made pierced copper bowl to in order to make burning larger sacrifices easier.

As it is I make a point of keeping the ground around the alter free of flammables (it's under a pine tree, so I usually rake the pine straw back a good ways), make sure that I water the ground around the column to keep the grass from lighting during a mishap or from sparks, and always keep a sizable amount of water in a watering can (or two) near the alter.

All of that is a good idea to prevent fires, but if you are going to set up an alter in the park, just make sure that the site is relatively clear already as going in with a rake is usually at the bare minimum frowned upon. Also make sure that you check with someone of authority over the park that burning in the park is allowed and I'd suggest getting a watering can that holds several gallons of water with which to handle dousing any flames that start up where you don't want them. Of course cleaning up after yourself goes without saying and goes a long way to insuring that no park manager gets angry with you.