I’m putting a temporary hold on the hymns for the Gods of the Week. A couple things contributed to this decision. Firstly, I wanted to include a set for the Egyptian as well as Greek and Norse Gods, and that still requires some tweaking. Secondly, I’m feeling guilty and want to get the commissioned hymns out before I start this next phase of the project. And thirdly, since I’m already delaying there’s about sixteen others I want to finish first, those being: 

Commissioned:
al-Lāt
Asklepios’ family
Bast
Haides
Hekate (x4)
Persephone

The Others:
Euthymos
Freyr
Herkyna
Hybla
Jöfurr
Mousaios
Nehalennia
Phalanthos and Aithra
Phryne
Semele
The Sirens
Skírnir
Stuffo
Taras
Thoth
Thyia

And as for the informal poll, it looks like you guys are pretty decisively on the side of adding the Skythian, Slavic, Baltic and related Gods, so I’m taking it to the mat during our next divination session as there are a couple matters I need clarification on first. 

You don’t want to know how big my to-do list has grown. This book is gonna be fucking insane.

I was talking with a friend about the Polytheist Hymnal and she asked:

How long does it take for you to craft one of these?

To which I replied:

That’s a really good question, and the answer depends on where certain boundaries are drawn. I begin the writing process by getting into a particular altered state through a combination of prayer, meditation and the consumption of marijuana (and less frequently alcohol or other entheogens.) Then I go through my list and see if I can connect with any of the names on it. If things click then I start writing, which can take anywhere from 30 mins to 4 hours depending on how clearly things are coming through, how well I know them, if I need to do supplementary research, etc. (Though the research – if they aren’t a deity I have prior history with – is usually done before the writing process itself starts, and consists of familiarizing myself with their history and myths, epithets and symbolism, cult practices and regional expressions, as well as their relationships with other divinities and similar details that help me flesh things out.) If I can’t get into the right state, or don’t click with the deity I don’t write because I don’t think things like hymns should be forced, and because the writing itself often has a collaborative element, where I check in and see if what I’ve got works for them or if I need to include different epithets, allusions or even if the structure of the hymn itself needs to be changed. If I can’t feel these things out I either resort to divination or set the piece aside for another time when I can.

Insane.