Hermes: How to Worship the Messanger God Right Now
Who is the Greek God Hermes?
Hermes is the Greek god of herds, travellers, trade, thievery, athletic contests, cunning and messengers.
Quite the job description!
Hermes is an Ouranic deity, but he also has a Kthonic role as a psychopomp.
This makes him a liminal deity.
Those crazy ancient Greeks, they just keep you guessing.
Hermes predates the Hellenic pantheon, with some scholars speculating that he’s of Mesopotamian origin.
In classical Greece, only three temples (that we know of) were explicitly devoted to Hermes. While small stone shrines known as ‘herms’ were ubiquitous in the ancient world.
His most important shrine was located in his mythic birthplace of Mount Kyllene in Arkadia.
(A rural region in central Peloponnese).
Hermes in Blood of Zeus
In older art, Hermes was depicted as older and bearded.
However, from the classical period into the Hellenistic period, he was widely portrayed as a curly haired athletic youth, often wearing a winged hat.
Is Hermes Reaching Out to Me?
I have no idea!
But the fact that you’re here reading this article probably means you’d like to honour him.
You don’t need anyone’s permission!
If you want to worship Hermes (or any god), that’s enough of a reason to do so!
How to Connect With Hermes
One of the best ways to grow fulfilling relationships with the gods, is to venerate them within their own cultural context.
Honouring the gods of ancient cultures means acknowledging that they knew best how to worship them.
Venerating Hermes in the way he was worshipped for generations is not only respectful, but increases your chances of building a successful long-term relationship with him.
Cultural Context Matters
A large part of embracing the ancient Greek cultural context is not imposing past religious beliefs onto Hermes’ worship.
If you were brought up within a monotheistic religion, you will have internalised some fairly toxic beliefs about deity.
Here are some things to be aware of when connecting with Greek deities:
The myths aren’t literal.
The gods welcome everyone regardless of gender identity, sexuality or ethnicity.
The gods don’t get angry.
The gods don’t have ‘beef’ with one another.
Below, you’ll find how to begin a relationship with Hermes, rooted in the ancient Greek culture he was worshipped in.
Hermes Summary
God of: Athletics, herds, commerce, thievery, messengers
Home: Mount Olympos
Parents: Zeus and Maia
Colours: Black, saffron
Symbols: Caduceus, winged sandals
Sacred Animals: Ram, hare, hawk
Sacred Plants: Crocus, strawberry-tree
Traditional Offerings: Honey, incense, milk, olive oil, votive offerings, water
Non-Traditional Offerings: Candles, coins, exercise, travel related items, writing
Epithets: Agoraios ‘Of the Market Place’, Dolios ‘Of Wiles’, Epimêlios ‘Keepers of the Flocks’, Kharidôtês ‘Giver of Joy’, Dôtor Eaôn ‘Giver of Good Things’, Eriounês ‘Luck Bringing’, Promakhos ‘Champion’.
Learn About Hermes’ Myths
For then she bare a son, blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods.
Born with the dawning, at mid-day he played on the lyre, and in the evening he stole the cattle of far-shooting Apollon on the fourth day of the month; for on that day queenly Maia bare him.
Homeric Hymn to Hermes
The first step in connecting to Hermes is to read about his role in mythology.
A word of advice?
Don’t take the myths literally.
The myths are stories that reveal insights into the nature of the gods in a more subtle, allegorical way.
They’re not matter-of-fact stories about the gods.
With that out of the way…
Let’s talk our lord and saviour, Hermes.
Hermes was a busy boy in mythology.
From genius newborn, inventing the lyre, stealing cattle, lying to Apollon… making Zeus crack up.
And that was just his first day of life!
He’s also the slayer of Argos and frequently depicted as a herald of messages.
Hermes is one of those gods, whose mythology kind of makes me go…
I’m a big fan. Love your work.
However, it’s well beyond the scope of this article to get too deep into his numerous appearances in mythology.
So, I hand it over to you, dear seeker.
To do your own research…
And check out the resources below for more information.
Learn Hermes’ Epithets
What the heck are epithets?
Epithets are titles or descriptive functions for deities, which were used in antiquity. Epithets help us to understand how ancient people saw the gods.
Some epithets come from cultic practice and others emerge from the poetic tradition.
BTW.
When ‘cult’ is used in a historical sense, it means a system of religious veneration around a divine figure.
Not ‘cult’ in the modern Netflix documentary sense.
As fun as those are.
It’s a cult documentary loving world and we’re just living in it.
Epithets are used during prayer to appeal to a specific aspect of a deity. One that’s compatible with the petitioners need.
Below, are some of his epithets.
Theoi.com has an extensive list!
Hermes’ epithets
Agoraios, ‘Of the Market Place’
Dolios, ‘Of Wiles’
Epimêlios, ‘Keepers of the Flocks’
Kharidôtês, ‘Giver of Joy’
Dôtor Eaôn, ‘Giver of Good Things’
Eriounês, ‘Luck Bringing’
Promakhos, ‘Champion’
How to Create An Altar to Hermes
There was a four-cornered statue of Hermes by the side of the road, with a heap of stones piled at its base.
Aesop, Fables
Hermai were boundary stones found all over ancient Greece.
They were tall stones that marked roads and boundaries, and were sometimes carved with the head of Hermes.
Historians suspect they may have had an apotropaic function.
I’ll save you the google search.
Apotropaic means ‘averting bad luck or malign influence’.
Offerings were also often given at herms.
What are Altars?
Technically, shrines and altars were separate things in ancient Greece.
Since state temples are no longer a thing…
Today, most people merge the two together into the modern form of an ‘altar’.
Altars are small spaces dedicated to one, or multiple, divine beings. They’re a concrete, physical reminder of your dedication to divinity.
Having said that…
Altars aren’t a prerequisite for worship.
If you can’t have an altar because of your living situation, that’s absolutely fine!
You can still venerate the gods without one.
Also, because space is at a premium for most of us…
It’s perfectly acceptable for the gods to share altars as long as Ouranic and Kthonic gods are kept separate.
Hermes Altar Ideas
Image of Hermes
Offering bowl
Incense burner
Candle
Stones
Coins, dice, feathers, playing cards
How to Pray to Hermes
Prayer was an extremely important part of ancient Greek religion.
It’s one of the ways the ancient Greeks communicated with the gods.
Unlike many religions today, most prayers were accompanied by an offering (more on that in the next section).
The ancient Greeks would have prayed to Hermes (mostly) using Ouranic rites.
Which means…
Praying with hands outstretched and palms up towards the sky.
Prayers to Ouranic deities were also performed during the day, standing up and out loud!
How to do it
Stand with arms raised, and palms up towards the sky.
Look at the image of the deity (or raise your eyes to the sky).
Then speak your prayer out loud.
For example:
Hear me, Hermes! Luck-Bringing, Giver of Joy, Giver of Good Things. Or whatever name it most pleases you to be called.
I have created an altar for you and I would like to feel your presence in my life. May this offering of incense please you.
Homeric Hymns
We’re also fortunate to have several surviving Homeric Hymns (circa 700 BCE) to the gods.
These hymns are considered offerings in themselves.
They would have been recited to music at state festivals.
Since I have the musical skill of a blueberry scone. I read these hymns in the form of ‘prayers’ and give a physical offering alongside them.
If you can sing, these hymns can be sung to music as an offering in themselves.
This one is in the public domain, so it’s not the most accurate (or readable) translation.
If you have the monies you can buy a better translation.
I like this one.
I sing of Kyllenian Hermes, the Slayer of Argos, lord of Kyllene and Arkadia rich in flocks, luck-bringing messenger of the deathless gods.
He was born of Maia, the daughter of Atlas, when she had made with Zeus, a shy goddess she. Ever she avoided the throng of the blessed gods and lived in a shadowy cave, and there the Son of Kronos used to lie with the rich-tressed nymph at dead of night, while white-armed Hera lay bound in sweet sleep: and neither deathless god nor mortal man knew it.
And so hail to you, Son of Zeus and Maia; with you I have begun: now I will turn to another song!
Hail, Hermes, giver of grace, guide, and giver of good things!
How to Give Offerings to Hermes
He saved up what he had, and poured a libation of as much milk as a sheep would give at one milking in honour of Hermes, and brought a honeycomb and laid it on the altar, big enough to fill the hand, and he thought of regaling the god with myrtle berries, or perhaps by laying just a few roses or violets at the altar.
Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana
All Pagan traditions are built on the concept of giving offerings to deities.
The ancient Greeks had a word for the reciprocity they built with the gods through offerings.
Kharis.
The ancient Greeks believed that through devotional acts such as prayer, offerings, attending states festivals and pious living, they could build beneficial long-term relationships with the gods.
In return, the gods may occasionally favour them.
To build a relationship with Hermes, it’s preferable to give him regular offerings in the same manner the ancient Greeks did.
Because tradition.
If you’re unable to make physical offerings because…
REASONS.
Then try devotional action-based offerings.
State out loud that you’re devoting something you’re doing to Hermes as an offering.
For example:
Hear me Hermes. Interpretor, Messenger, Of Wiles. Or whatever name it most pleases you to be called. I dedicate writing this blog post to you in offering. Praise Hermes!
Traditional Offerings
Frankincense
Honey
Olive oil
Water
Wine
How To do it
Wash your hands (always wash your hands before giving an offering).
Stand with arms raised up towards the sky and speak your prayer out loud.
Pour out the libation or place the offering into a bowl.
Spend a few minutes in quiet contemplation.
Should I Check That My Offering Was Accepted?
No.
How Do You Dispose of Offerings?
If you can, leave offerings out for a while before doing any of the following:
Pour libations down the sink, or onto the ground outside.
Compost or bin any food offerings.
Avoid leaving food or material offerings outside because, littering.
How Often Should You Give Offerings?
The answer is as often as you want to.
The more important a deity is to you the more frequently you’ll probably want to give offerings.
You can give offerings daily, weekly or monthly.
It’s not a historical thing.
But the day of the week associated with Hermes is Wednesday.
So, you can use that day to make offerings to him (if you wish).
How to Communicate With Hermes
We can communicate with the gods in several ways. Historically, these would have been through:
Prayer
Offerings
Divination
Signs
Theurgy or meditation
We can utilise these practices today to achieve the same outcome.
Divination
Divination was super popular in ancient Greece. We can use it here for our own purposes!
Follow the basic steps below:
Quiet your mind through deep breathing.
Ask your question in the form of a prayer.
Make an offering.
Use whatever divination method you prefer.
Interpret the message.
Write down any insights.
Signs
It’s embarrassing the amount of people who seem to think anything from a pendulum falling out of their bag, to a bird taking a dump on their car is a sign from a god.
Not everything is a sign.
Signs are uncommon.
They tend to really leap out at you as being really significant.
If you need to ask, ‘is this a sign?’
Then it probably isn’t.
Follow the steps below to ask Hermes for a sign:
Ask for the sign in the form of a prayer.
Make an offering.
Ask for the sign to appear within a reasonable timeframe.
Wait and see!
If you don’t receive one…
Be cool, soda pop.
It’s literally fine.
Meditation
You can ask Hermes to connect with you during meditation and see if you receive any messages.
The first few times you do this, you’re unlikely to receive anything.
But that’s nothing to feel bad about.
It takes a lot of practise to successfully enter altered states of consciousness and receive genuine divine guidance.
Emphasis on the genuine.
When it comes down to it, modern life really isn’t conducive for meditation and inner stillness.
Scroll.
Scroll.
Scroll.
Ad infinitum.
The best thing you can do to improve your ability to meditate, apart from attempting to do it regularly…
Is to put down the phone.
Give yourself brief periods during the day when you’re not listening to, or watching anything.
Unfortunately, we can’t have it all.
The age of distraction pushes us further away from the divine.
If we really want to connect with the gods, then we have to prioritise the health of our psyche’s.
To contact Hermes through meditation, follow the basic steps below:
Quiet your mind through deep breathing.
Ask him to be with you in the form of a prayer.
Make an offering.
Chant his name as you deep breathe.
Sit in stillness for around ten minutes if possible.
Write down any insights.
For more direct ecstatic experiences of the gods we turn to theurgy or theourgia.
For a modern interpretation I recommend:
Devotional acts to Connect With Hermes
While tradition is a useful roadmap…
Like, the view can get boring sometimes.
Following the road trip analogy… modern devotionals to the gods are like the fun stop offs along the way!
Below, you’ll find a few modern devotionals to the trickstery Hermes.
Exercise
Much like his blonde haired bro, Apollon, you can dedicate your workouts to Hermes!
The ancient Greeks loved a good workout.
And you can too.
Try to pick something you actually enjoy.
Walking outside, cycling, yoga, running, boxing, swimming, gym workouts etc.
Moving your body can become a form of honouring the gods, rather than just something you have to do.
Offer Him Coins
Whenever you find a coin on the floor, pick that little bastard up.
Yes, dirty old coins.
Wash your hands.
Wash the coin.
Blah blah blah.
Put the coin on your Hermes altar or donate it as an offering to Hermes.
Play that funky music
Angel’s got the moves.
You can play modern music as an offering to the gods.
I’ve linked some songs that give me all the Hermes vibes.
Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen.
Aside from being a fucking banger, is the Hermes song par excellence.
The lyrics are Hermes all over!
You can play any of these as offerings to him, or you can listen to them as a way to connect with his mercurial energy.
Thank Hermes For Good Luck
One of Hermes’ epithets is ‘Luck-Bringing’.
Walter Burkert states that to the Greeks, any piece of luck was a hermaion.
Translated roughly to ‘a lucky find’.
So, whenever you encounter a piece of good luck, verbally thank Hermes.
It can literally be as simple as saying, ‘praise Hermes!’
Writing
I like to dedicate any writing I do to Hermes.
He is the god language and messengers after all.
So, whenever you’re writing or journalling, you can dedicate it to him as form of devotional offering.
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Sources
Burkert, W. (1987) Greek Religion: Archaic and Classical. Oxford: Blackwell.
Mackin Roberts, E. (2022) Underworld Gods in Ancient Greek Religion. London: Bristol Classical Press.
Panopoulos, C.P. (2014) Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship. Athens: Labrys.
Theoi Project (n.d.) Hermes – Olympian God of Herds & Trade. Available at: https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hermes.html (Accessed: [01/11/2024]).