I’m reading an article on the Hellenistic pillar figurines from Maresha, Lachish, Tel H̱alif and Beit She’an, which are a continuation of the Judean pillar figurines. Since these are found primarily in areas where Dionysos had a strong cultic presence (and throughout the Greek world he had similar hermai erected in his honor) it is not surprising that a lot of these figurines represent him. So many that he’s got a whole category, with sub-types. What is surprising is that one of those sub-types is transgender, usually consisting of a male head with ivy crown and tainia, and female breasts. 

Now, of course, Dionysos is a Queer God, as I’ve written about here as well as numerous other places. However I cannot help but wonder if the scholars forgot to ask a couple important questions. These figurines were manufactured locally, for a local audience (consisting of Hellenes, Makedonians, and later Romans as well as Israelites, Judahites, Samaritans, Edomites, Syrians, etc who had undergone varying degrees of Hellenization) tailored to localized experiences of the God expressed through local customs and traditions, local aesthetic preferences, etc. Does this kind of Dionysian androgyny conform to the image we get from the area’s literary and archaeological record? I can think of a couple examples, but mostly you get a very different Dionysos in the Levant.

As Adi Erlich argues in the above article the coroplast could have just had a woopsie moment and put the wrong head on the wrong figurine, but they show up in enough places that it seems to be intentional. So are we sure that they are intentionally representing Dionysos? I know that some of them have what could certainly be considered masculine features in contrast with their prominent breasts, but what if the coroplast was trying to depict a member of Dionysos’ circle who wasn’t young and beautiful; say, his elderly Nurse Nysa? She was, after all, so popular that her grave was located in Beit She’an, which was founded by Dionysos and given two names: the first was Nysa to honor her, and the second was Skythopolis, after a cohort of Skythian archers he left behind to protect the grave when he resumed his march to conquer India.

Most of the evidence for Nysa’s veneration doesn’t come from the site scholars have identified as the probable location of her temple, but from the domestic sphere: frescoes, terracotta statues, niche shrines, coins, and so forth. There’s a lot more I suspect are actually her, but have been identified as other Greek, Egyptian, Canaanite or Hebrew divinities. Likewise I’m not sure that all the images labeled ‘Nysa’ are really Nysa. But that’s neither here nor there. 

Unfortunately there’s a lot less uniformity in representations of Nysa than her charge, and next to no myths about her beyond her death and honor guard. (I mean myths unique to the region; other locales had considerably more to say about her.) Which is truly unfortunate, as Dionysos demonstrates a great deal of fondness for her, and anyone he loves is someone I’d like to know more about. 

And if these figurines represent a transgender Dionysos that’s pretty cool too.  

One of the annoying things I’m running into researching ancient Hebrew polytheism is that scholars mostly focus on ʿĂnāṯ, ʿAṯtart, and ʾĂšērāh. No disrespect to these wonderful Ladies, all of whom have interesting connections to Dionysos, and were venerated throughout most of the great cultures of the Levant and Near East, meaning that there’s plenty of material to analyze and contrast — but they’re far from the only ones, and finding solid information on the others can be quite challenging. Hell, far too many scholars treat the big three like they are aspects of a single super Semitic Goddess, as if they were contemporaries of Sir James George Frazer or 90s-era Wiccans. 

I like a good challenge, however, and whenever I find a trove of information on one of them it inevitably provides breadcrumbs leading to others, or details that help one conceive of them differently. This is especially true of divinities one is familiar with from other contexts and other lands. For instance there was a prominent cult of Korē in Judea and Samaria, as evidenced by coinage, lamps, frescoes, terracotta statues, inscriptions, and the remains of a large temple on the acropolis of Sebaste. Korē is represented independent of her mother, and with snakes and a poppy-crown; during the Roman period she adopts Egyptian attributes and is depicted in the circle of Isis and Sarapis. This lends added significance to some of Jesus’ parables, especially considering where they were delivered.     

The salpinx is the sacred trumpet of Dionysos:

For they fasten skins of fawns about themselves, and carry Bacchic wands and indulge in shoutings and movements exactly as do those who are under the spell of the Dionysiac ecstasies. For the same reason many of the Greeks make statues of Dionysos in the form of a bull; and the women of Elis invoke him, praying that the God may come with the hoof of a bull; and the epithet applied to Dionysos among the Argives is “Son of the Bull.” They call him up out of the water by the sound of trumpets, at the same time casting into the depths a lamb as an offering to the Keeper of the Gate. The trumpets they conceal in Bacchic wands, as Sokrates has stated in his treatise On The Holy Ones. Furthermore, the tales regarding the Titans and the Nyktelia agree with the accounts of the dismemberment of Osiris and his revivification and regenesis. (Plutarch, On Isis and Osiris 35)

For at the Choes there was a contest about drinking a chous first, and the winner was crowned with a leafy crown and got a sack of wine. They drink at the sound of a trumpet. An inflated sack was set as a prize in the festival of Choes, on which those drinking for the contest stood, and the one drinking first as victor got the winesack. They drank a quantity like a chous. (Scholium on Aristophanes’ Acharnians 1002)

Even as he spoke, the son of Echion thrust him away. His words proved true; his forecast was fulfilled. Liber is there. The revelers’ wild shrieks ring through the fields. The crowds come rushing out; men, women, nobles, commons, old and young stream to the unknown rites. ‘What lunacy has stolen your wits away, you Race of Mars, you Children of the Serpent?’ Pentheus cried. ‘Can clashing bronze, can pipes of curving horn, can conjuror’s magic have such power that men who, undismayed, have faced the swords of war, the trumpet and the ranks of naked steel, quail before women’s wailing, frenzy fired by wine, a bestial rabble. Futile drums? You elders, you who sailed the distant seas and founded here a second Tyros, made here your home in exile–shame on you, if you surrender them without a fight! You too, young men of sharper years, nearer my own, graced by your martial arms, not Bacchic wands, with helmets on your heads, not loops of leaves! Recall your lineage, brace your courage with the spirit of that Snake who killed, alone, so many. For his pool and spring he died. You, for your honour, you must fight and win! He did brave men to death. Now you must rout weaklings and save your country’s name! If fate refuses Thebes long life, I’d wish her walls might fall to brave men and their batteries, and fire and sword resound. (Ovid, Metamorphoses Book 3)

One of the arguments for the identification of Yahweh and Dionysos that Plutarch makes is the similarity of the shofar and salpinx. 

I am really making progress with the research phase of the Starry Ram, consuming everything I can on ancient Israelite, Judahite, Samaritan, Edomite, Midianite, Nabataean, Canaanite, Kemetic, Babylonian, and other Levantine and Near Eastern polytheisms. None of these religions can properly be studied in isolation, even if I wasn’t following the peregrinations of Dionysos. Holy fuck, does he get around! Although it is still very episodic and lacunose, I am beginning to get the story of his time and adventures in that region, which is proving quite fascinating. Putting all of that together into something coherent and digestible is sure going to be a challenge, but that’s the next phase so I don’t have to worry about it at the moment. 

But I had plenty of other things to be concerned about. As far as I’m aware I have no ethnic ties to the region, my people being predominantly Blackfoot and Southern Italian. Until recently I also had very little interest in the ancient Near East, with the exception of Kemet back when I was doing the Greco-Egyptian thing. And on top of that I’m an itinerant religious specialist who deals with a lot of polluted and nasty shit for my clients. Consequently I was afraid that it would not be possible for me to maintain the level of purity to perform some of the foundational rites of these religions (even in a modified, syncretic form), communicate with the divinities, receive their mysteries, or synthesize everything into the Starry Ram tradition. I mean, shit, I had to stop maintaining a Starry Bull temple because of the amount of combat with malignant spirits I am engaging in. And here I was considering forging a tradition that was even stricter and more concerned with pollution? 

I was discussing how I didn’t feel worthy of the task with my colleague Tove when she suggested that I ask Yahweh directly through bibliomancy. She grabbed a Tanakh from the shelf and opened it to the Book of Joshua 2-6:

2 Jericho was bolted and barred shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one could enter or leave. Yahweh said to Joshua, “I am about to hand Jericho, its king, and its warriors over to you. 3 All the soldiers will march around the city once a day for six days. 4 Seven priests will carry rams’ horns ahead of the ark. But on the seventh day you must march around the city seven times while the priests blow their horns. 5 When you hear a long blast on the horn, all the troops must shout very loudly. The wall around the city will collapse. Then the troops must charge straight ahead into the city.” 6 Joshua, son of Nun, summoned the priests. He said to them, “Pick up the ark of the promise, and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns ahead of Yahweh’s ark.”

I just sat there for about 10 minutes, while Tove asked what I had gotten from the passage, increasingly confused since she knows Heathen lore much better than Hebrew. My family were vagabonds, following the rodeo circuit and then whatever ranches were hiring in the off season, but my mother always made sure that we attended Sunday services at the nearest church, regardless of the denomination. I was exposed to a lot of different Christianities, many of them Protestants who valued memorization of the Bible and the ability to quote verses for any situation that might come up. I won awards. I knew what that passage meant. 

And so I’ve been learning everything I can since. 

I was talking with a spirit-worker colleague (who is Ashkenazim though she worships a different pantheon of Gods) about my plans for the Starry Ram and she said, “No Jewish group is going to consider this legitimate, not even Reform Judaism. They turned Ašērah into a tree, and killed all of her priests!” This is a subject she feels very strongly about, and I won’t share the remainder of her diatribe or it’ll just throw petrol on the flames of the Sannion is a Nazi rumor.

“Well, if it’s any consolation no Polytheist group is going to accept it either. But whither my God goest, so go I. And what can I say, Dionysos loves the Jews. I keep finding traces of him in the region. It’s fucking crazy.” And then I rattled off a bunch of them, including stuff I haven’t touched on here because I’m still exploring rabbit holes. Also there was the whole exorcism I was preparing for, which severely reduced the time I had for research and blogging. “But hey, I’m used to people thinking I’m crazy. What kind of Dionysian would I be if people didn’t call me that?!” I was gracious enough not to add, “And the same people who criticize me now will be copying me in six months. And pretending it was their idea all along.”

I’ve been thinking about that exchange for the last couple days, and I’m concerned that I’m actually wrong in my snark. I’ve seen too many Palestinian flags and even open support for Hamas among the Polytheists of Tumblr, Tiktok and Reddit. Including Dionysians, I am sad to say. Some of the things they wrote churned my stomach and sent a chill down my spine. It takes a fucking lot to do that. So no, I do not think that we’ll see polytheistic Judaism become trendy. Hopefully handfuls of the devoted and curious. Enough to form a few minyānīm would be nice. And an annual communal marzēaḥ. What more does one need? But I don’t know what to do about the antisemitism in Polytheist circles. I guess they have never heard about شِرْك, and how the groups they’re cheerleading treat the كافر … apparently?

Although I’ve mostly been focusing on the history of Beith She’an and its Bacchic cults and mythology, as well as Dionysos’ interactions with Yahweh, Ašērah, Ašmedai, and Masṭēmā, among others, I suspect that a reconstructed pantheon of Israel, Judah, Samaria, and Edom (along with the Canaanite, Babylonian and Egyptian divinities who were incorporated into it) is going to be central to this whole Starry Ram thing. I don’t know that I’ll include all 70 of the bēnē Ĕlōhīm, but I don’t include all of the Greco-Italian Gods in the Starry Bull tradition or the Norse and Black Sea divinities in the Starry Bear, so I don’t think that’s such a big deal. I’m mostly sticking to the ones I’ve encountered and/or are drawn to research. It’s still producing fascinating results.

For instance, it looks like the early Israelites originally had a Council of Gods which was governed by ‘El/ʿElyōn/’Elōah and his consort Ašērah; they ruled over Qos, Aštārit, Qeteb, Deber, Mōt, Rešep̄, Anat-Bethēl and Ašam-Bethēl, Ešem-Bethēl and Herem-Bethēl, Ba’al, Šamaš, Nabû, Dagon, Yarikh, Hathor, Khnum, etc. and a relative latecomer who was the God of animals and vegetation, storms and war, volcanoes and madness, and went by Yah, Yahō, or Yahweh.

This God had a bitter (possibly sibling) rivalry with Ba’al, and after defeating a series of monsters to prove his prowess, challenged ‘El for the Kingship of the Gods. After defeating him, Yahweh absorbed his predecessor’s powers, attributes and names, and took Ašērah as his bride.

No wonder he and Dionysos get along so well! 

We did the exorcism over the weekend and it was a resounding success. You can read my wife Galina’s account here. She left out a lot of the couple’s rudeness, and a lot of the hardships we endured to help these fucking ingrates, but that’s alright. We struck a blow against the enemy and that’s all that matters. As many exorcisms as I’ve performed it’s always cool to see the power of our Gods manifest so strongly. I’m going to be offering my divination services later in the week to help recoup some of the costs of this, but for now I’m going to enjoy some well-earned relaxation and continue researching the history of Beit She’an and Jewish-Polytheist syncretisms like these amulets which invoke the Goddess Tyche alongside the Angels. Be well. 

I am proud to announce the winner of our Poetic Agōn for the Month of the Goat.

Since all of the entries were powerful and beautiful it was extremely difficult to make a choice, so I turned to divination and allowed Dionysos to choose the winner of his own contest, which was … drum roll please …  Fly The Raven’s entry.

Congratulations!!!

Shoot me an e-mail with your address and the book you’d like to receive as your prize, and I’ll have it shipped to you post haste.

If you didn’t have a chance to submit something, don’t worry — I am going to start doing these Agōnes quarterly, albeit with different rules each time. The next one will be in April, kicking off the Gold Season during which we honor King Dionysos and the Fairies & Goblins among his Retinue. 

O my wonderful Dionysos, may I love you
rather than the manifold blessings you pour out upon us,
or the marvelous deeds you have done for me and mine.
May I never stop striving to perfect the art of devotion,
for you deserve nothing less than my best, O Bakcheios,
my steadfast support and deliverer.
O savage one, Zagreus, may I meet my obstacles
ferociously, and tear to pieces my foes,
never doubting that if you are with me
I shall triumph, and be shown where
my weaknesses lie so that I may improve them.

Dionysos in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Dionysos in every eye that sees me,
Dionysos in the mouth of everyone who speaks with me,
Dionysos in every ear that hears me,
Dionysos surrounding and infusing me.
My Lord Dionysos, I pray, may I always
conduct myself in a manner worthy of one
who would be counted among your followers,
in this world and the next.

Lord Dionysos, protect me from spiritual envy.
Protect me from comparing myself with others, as the sisters of Semele did.
Protect me from dissatisfaction with your good gifts, as Lykourgos was.
Protect me from desiring what others have, like those Tyrsenian pirates,
Lord Bakcheios, whether it is their reputation, their beautiful shrines,
their relationship with you, how many festivals they keep,
and the plentiful offerings they make, or any other good thing
they possess or have done, may I not be ensnared by covetousness.
Instead let me be satisfied with how you have made me,
what you have given me, where you have guided me,
and leave it to you, Lord Bromios, to determine the quality
of the service I have rendered unto you. May they instead serve
as an inspiration to me, confident that I am offering as much
love and devotion as I can, and while always striving to be and do better,
spend my time giving you my best
rather than just wishing things were different.

Open the doors of your ears, NN, and listen
to the holy words of Orpheus the Thracian.
By the asseveration of this truth may you be free from misfortune.
By the asseveration of this truth may you be free from illness.
By the asseveration of this truth may all blessings be upon you.
Through the awesome power of Dionysos Agriotauros,
his wives, and siblings, and those who attend him in Nysa,
may these words secure your protection in every way, O NN.
Through the incredible generosity of Dionysos Agriampelos,
may all evil omens and untoward circumstances,
the baleful cry of birds, the malign conjunctions of the stars,
and all manner of disturbing dreams be rendered nugatory, O NN.
Through the unfaltering love of Dionysos Agriothumos,
may what is wrong be made correct, O NN.
Dionysos I pray, may those beings who suffer be free from suffering.
Dionysos I pray, may those beings who are in fear be free from fear.
Dionysos I pray, may those beings who are in grief be free from grief.
May the rains fall in due season; may there be a rich harvest;
may the world prosper; may peace prevail; may justice triumph;
may our leaders be righteous; may the people be wise,
act rightly towards their neighbor, honor their ancestors,
reverence the law and customs, and show kindness to the stranger;
may love for the Gods and hatred for what is wicked flourish in every land.
In the name of Dionysos; in the name of Dionysos; in the name of Dionysos
may everything in this prayer be fulfilled, and NN be saved.
NN, you are saved! NN, you are saved! NN, you are saved!

Here’s a fun idea: write a poem for Dionysos which includes the symbols for your birthday month and day. The winner will be chosen on Friday, January 23rd and receive a copy of one of my books.  

In addition to the Bacchic Orphic Zodiac the White Way has a Hemerology which determines the favorability of a day, its symbolic value, if and when it is suited for divination, which hymns and prayers to recite, which of our heroes or heroines to honor, medical prescriptions, what entheogens to take, etc. Mastering knowledge such as this is part of the extensive training which those chosen to serve Dionysos in this capacity must undergo. Here are some selections from the Hemerology.

According to Hesiod the favorable days of the Moon are: 

• 1
• 4 
• 7 
• 8 
• 9 
• 11 
• 12 
• 16 
• 17 
• 18 
• 19 
• 20 
• 27

According to Orpheus the illustrious days of the Sun are:

• 1 
• 2 
• 3 
• 7 
• 9 
• 11 
• 13 
• 14 
• 16 
• 17 
• 19 
• 20 
• 23 
• 26 
• 28
• 30

According to Melampos the sign of each day is:

• 1. Phallos (φαλλός)
• 2. Mask (πρόσωπον)
• 3. Cup (κάνθαρος)
• 4. Fawnskin (νεβρίς)
• 5. Ivy (κισσός)
• 6. Tree (δένδρον)
• 7. Thunderbolt (κεραυνός)
• 8. Double-axe (πέλεκυς)
• 9. Fennel staff (θύρσος)
• 10. Door (θύρα)
• 11. Mirror (έσοπτρον)
• 12. Knucklebones (αστράγαλοι)
• 13. Bullroarer (ρόμβος)
• 14. Whip (μάραγνα)
• 15. Net (δίκτυον)
• 16. Pinecone (κώνος)
• 17. Drug (φάρμακον)
• 18. Top (στρόβιλος)
• 19. Grapes (στάφυλος)
• 20. Wicker basket (λίκνον)
• 21. Wool (πόκος)
• 22. Egg (ᾠόν)
• 23. Puppet/doll (παίγνια καμπεσίγυια)
• 24. Apple (μήλα)
• 25. Ball (σφαίρα)
• 26. Rattle (κρόταλα)
• 27. Ox skull (βουκράνιον)
• 28. Hunting boot (κόθορνος)
• 29. Drum (τύμπανον) 
• 30. Heart (καρδιά)
• 31. Wheel (τροχός)

According to Mousaios the best days and hours for divination are:

• 1. At dawn.
• 2. At noon.
• 3. Do not use.
• 4. At dawn.
• 5. In the evening.
• 6. Do not use.
• 7. At noon.
• 8. Throughout the whole day.
• 9. Do not use.
• 10. Throughout the whole day.
• 11. In the afternoon.
• 12. Throughout the whole day.
• 13. Throughout the whole day.
• 14. At dawn.
• 15. Throughout the whole day.
• 16. Do not use.
• 17. Do not use.
• 18. At dawn and in the afternoon.
• 19. In the evening.
• 20. In the evening.
• 21. In the afternoon.
• 22. In the afternoon.
• 23. At dawn.
• 24. At dawn.
• 25. Do not use.
• 26. In the afternoon.
• 27. Throughout the whole day.
• 28. Throughout the whole day.
• 29. Throughout the whole day.
• 30. In the afternoon.
• 31. In the evening.

What is your birthday sign?

Most of the calendars we’ve used for the various iterations of the Starry Bull and previous Dionysian, Hellenic, and syncretic groups I’ve run have employed a lunisolar calendar, or some variation thereof.

The White Way is different in that it has a 7-day and 10-day week, with roughly 52 weeks in a year (except during leap years) broken up into 12 months of roughly 4 weeks like the calendar that most people in our contemporary Western societies are familiar with. 

Each month has 28 to 31 days; each day in a month is named after one of the Symbols of the Starry Bull tradition; each day in a Decad (10-day week) represents a Pythagorean concept; and each month in a year has a Dionysian animal associated with it.  

That’s a lot of information to bombard you with, so today I’m going to limit myself to just the months of our year and our “Bacchic Orphic Zodiac.”

January = Goat (τράγος) 
February = Wolf (λύκος) 
March = Deer (ἔλαφος) 
April = Bull (ταύρος) 
May = Fox (ἀλώπηξ)
June = Spider (ἀράχνης)
July = Leopard (πάρδαλις)  
August = Snake (όφις) 
September = Dolphin (δελφίς)
October = Ass (ὄνος) 
November = Bear (άρκτος) 
December = Swine (σῦς) 

What animal are you according to this system?

I’ve still got 4 comprehensive divination packages for 2026 available. I think we can all agree that the last couple years have been pretty crazy; it’ll be a lot easier to manage things with the information you’ll gain from one of these packages. They also make a good holiday gift for your loved ones. Just $50 for over an hour’s worth of divination. Act now; I’ll only be accepting requests through noon tomorrow. 

A reader brought this to my attention. Apparently if you ask ChatGPT “is Sannion a Nazi” this is how it answers:

No, Sannion is not a Nazi. He is known for his work in modern Paganism and Hellenistic polytheism, specifically focusing on the worship of deities like Dionysus. There’s no credible evidence to suggest that he holds or promotes Nazi ideology.

However, Sannion’s name has been associated with controversy due to some of the views he has expressed, especially in the context of the “pagan” and “folkish” movements. In some circles, there have been debates about the relationship between Paganism and far-right or nationalist ideologies. But it’s important to note that Paganism, like any belief system, can be practiced in a variety of ways, and not all forms of Paganism align with extremist political ideologies.

In fact, Sannion himself has been vocal about rejecting any form of white nationalism or fascism within the modern Pagan and polytheistic communities. He is typically seen as someone who supports religious pluralism and opposes racist or far-right politics.

If you’re hearing this rumor or question in connection with certain online discussions or figures, it’s always good to approach such topics with careful research and critical thinking. 

So that means AI is smarter than half the Hellenic community. 

Although I enjoyed the conversations we were having, I scrapped all of the posts related to the exorcism and won’t be mentioning it again until it’s over. (Assuming it actually happens, which is about 50/50 at this point.) I haven’t had a demon fight this hard to ensure that an exorcism didn’t occur … well, ever. I suppose I should be flattered. Instead I’m just annoyed and want this shit done and behind us. But probably not as much as the possessed woman and her husband, which is something I need to keep foremost in mind. As irritating as they’re being (and Gods are they irritating) this is a victimized couple who are way out of their depth, and the true enemy is a parasitic, predatory entity that’s doing everything in its power to ensure its own preservation.