Workshop: Agathos Daimon’s Home Guardian

Written and hosted by Honey Bunny (@_honeybunny).

In the first white sliver of the moon, we celebrate the household Gods! And the night after, we celebrate the Agathos Daimon, our personal protector spirit. The Athenian New Year approaches and what better way to prepare for it than to make connections with the spirits and deities who turn houses into homes. Whether this is your first time connecting and offering to the Agathos Daimon, or you already have a connection with them, this workshop will guide you through a petition of protection with them.

You will need:

• Votive object that can handle liquids being poured over it
• A drink (for libation)
• A handful of salt
• A list of people, pets, and things you wish to protect
• Tray or plate
• Optional, additional offerings of incense or food
• Optional, a method of divination

Purpose:

To provide and dedicate a votive for offerings to the Agathos Daimon and the household gods.

Space Set-up:

1. Perform purification of the self as you would before approaching the Gods. (e.g. hand washing, face washing, hand sanitizer, khernips, smoke cleansing, etc.)
2. Perform purification of the space. 
3. Arrange work space:
   1. Set a tray or plate in the center with a bed of salt poured on it
   2. Place votive on the salted tray or plate.
   3. Set aside the drink meant for libation.

Instructions:

1. Cleanse and purify the votive in any preferred method. If you made khernips for the purification of self and space, use it again for cleansing the votive. Similarly for smoke cleansing methods.
2. Place one hand over the votive and lift the other with your palm facing toward the sky. Invoke the Agathos Daimon through a hymn or prayer and dedicate the votive to them. The Orphic Hymn to the Daimon is listed here:
   1. Thee, mighty-ruling, Dæmon dread, I call, mild Jove [Zeus], life-giving, and the source of all: Great Jove [Zeus], much-wand’ring, terrible and strong, to whom revenge and tortures dire belong. Mankind from thee, in plenteous wealth abound, when in their dwellings joyful thou art found; Or pass thro’ life afflicted and distress’d, the needful means of bliss by thee supprest. ‘Tis thine alone endu’d with boundless might, to keep the keys of sorrow and delight. O holy, blessed father, hear my pray’r, disperse the seeds of life-consuming care; With fav’ring mind the sacred rites attend, and grant my days a glorious, blessed end. 
   2. Optionally, invoke the other household gods and ask for their energy and protection.
3. Ask the daimon to bless the votive with protective energy. Read from the list you wrote of people and things you want to protect in your home, and ask the daimon to protect them.
4. Promise something in return for the Daimon’s protection. Traditionally, this would be done through daily libations at every meal. Frequency is up to individual preference and circumstance.
5. Lift the drink into your hands then sprinkle or drip some of it over the votive.
6. Take a few minutes to be with the agathos daimon. Meditate on its energy. Use divination if it has a message for you. Ask for its name or give a name to it. 
7. To close out the workshop, take your votive and place it near a window or doorway. Clear your workspace by disposing of the salt, drinking the rest of the libation, and mundanely cleaning the tray or plate from any mess left behind.