Temple of Astral Devotion Project

The Temple of Astral Devotion (TOAD, a delightful acronym) project is one that I’ve been working on for a little bit. The idea behind it is to have a devotional calendar based on the rhythms of traditional astrology; honoring the planets/deities associated with the planets/deities associated with the qualities of the planets, timed to match the ingresses (where the planet enters a sign) of the various planets in the tropical astrological calendar.

This project has a few goals: greater alignment with the ebb and flow of the celestial spheres; finding good times to honor various deities that are neither tied to ancient festival days nor harvest festivals that vary significantly by location; astrological remediation whereby growing in step with the cycle of the stars helps to balance certain influences in our lives; and more.

I will be holding 12 public devotional rites dedicated to the Sun entering the 12 signs, most likely over Zoom, that will begin with the Sun in Aries for the Spring Equinox and continue through the year. The rites will be devoted to deities associated with the various signs (and their rulers) as well as Solar deities given that the Sun’s passage is the main rhythm by which these rituals will be observed. I will be performing rites for other ingresses as well, but they may be personal rather than private; I’ll share my method and ritual calendar soon in this space as well as in the TOAD discord server.

I’ve been encouraged to do this work following time spent meditating with my powers, as well as divination that I’ve had done for me. Traditional astrology has become a major part of my spiritual, magical, and religious practice over the last couple of years, again, due in a large part to the guidance of my Gods and spirits, especially Hermes and Hekate. This takes me away a little bit from the reconstruction-flavored work I had been doing before, but it does dovetail with my Orphic influences and the various connections that traditional astrology has had with Mediterranean polytheist religion.

This isn’t the only project that I plan on working on, but it is a significant one. Finding rhythms and timing for devotion has been something I’ve struggled with over the years. While marking ancient festivals has had its benefits for me, I’ve found it rather trying to practice rituals that were intended as community-based festivals without a solid community to practice them with. By establishing this framework I can invite people to participate in devotional community without having to build it from the ground-up; shared timing means that people can celebrate together wherever they are in their own way. The Discord server will allow people who decide to join in on the project to share their own expression of these rites and how they perform them as well as giving folks a place to discuss the project and traditional astrology and related magic and devotion.

I’ll release a calendar for the twelve solar festivals within the next month. Anyone who is interested in joining the discord should comment or reach out to me via DM on my facebook or twitter. I hope to see some new and old faces joining in on this project.

You are a child of earth and starry heaven, blessings of earth and sky on you all.