I’d like to start this blog post by stating that I am by no means an expert on children, or Hellenismos. What I am is a Mother that is a Hellenic Reconstructionist, and starting my child on the Path.

I’d like to further state that my religion is the starting point for him…his moral compass, if you will. What he chooses as his path as he gets older is up to him. I encourage questions, discussion and comparison/contrast with other religions. I welcome critical thinking skills, and I love to engage him in discussion about Christianity, the Gods, and ethics vs. dogma.

I started working with him at about 3 years old. I introduced the Pantheon through coloring books. I went through each of the 12, and I told a little bit about each God. Little Star chose which picture he wanted to color, and together we sat down and colored the picture, while I told some of the myths relating to the Deity.

His first picture was Poseidon. He was attracted to the Trident, and his first comparison was that he thought he was “God”.

I discussed some of the basic aspects of Poseidon, and he was riveted…I then went on to talk a little bit about his brothers…and then I quit talking and let him color.

The next day it was Artemis, and we did the same. At this point I realized that he had gnosis of her based on what he said.

After the coloring, I went online with him and showed him different portrayals of the Gods, both ancient and modern.

At nighttime we read the myths. I shared my favorite, Pygmalion and Galatea, and he thought it was pretty good, himself.

When he turned four we started reading Aesop’s fables for Kids. It was the perfect way to introduce Hellenic ethics. He loved the stories (Hermes and the Woodsman was a favorite), and understood the concept of “doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do” rather than “you’ll be punished if you don’t do the right thing.”

One of the things that I remember distinctly is discussing with him about Noah’s Ark and the Great Flood. He saw a rainbow and mentioned that it was God’s way of saying sorry for killing everybody. I asked him how he felt about worshiping a God that would kill everyone in the world except Noah and his family, and two of every animal. His response was, “Maybe it was an accident.” I asked him if God knew everything, how could he make a mistake?” He said, “He can’t”…and I said, “Well, there you go!” And then we laughed, and I told him about Iris.

While this may seem that I’m bashing Christianity, what my intent is is to get him to understand how some things in the Bible contradict. I want to encourage him to think, not accept because someone told him something.

I encourage these types of questions in regard to Hellenismos, as well…although he doesn’t seem to question as much. I suppose if it makes sense to him, he doesn’t have much to ask.

We then moved on to actual worship. Little Star has a shrine to Hermes in his room, with rocks he picked out specifically for him. He also made his own offering plate, painted it himself, and places coins in it for Hermes. Each night we go in his room and pray before he goes to bed, and offer the coins. The next day we gather the coin and toss it in different areas so Hermes can do something with it.

Little Star already knows quite a few epithets of the Gods, and has expressed to me his gnosis of Hera, Aphrodite, and Artemis…he calls them “the pretty ladies”. He gets a big smile on his face every time we talk about Hermes, and he has started pouring libations, and is starting to sponde his milk to Hestia every morning.

This is what we are working toward right now….the basics of worship, ethics, and the beginnings of reason.

As we move forward, I have no issues sharing more. There are many people that want to raise their children within Hellenismos, and not many of us are born into it. I am hoping to give my boy a firm foundation. Where he goes and what he does with it is up to him.

Yours in the Gods,

Twinkle

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Tags: Aesop's Fables, children, critical thinking, Ethics, Hellenismos, orthopraxy, reason, the future, the Gods, worship