Noumenia is the first day of the visible New Moon and is celebrated in honor of the household gods. Noumenia is also considered the second day of a three-day family festival held every lunar month – Hekate's Deipnon is the last day before the first visible slice of the moon and is the last day of a lunar month, then the Noumenia which marks the first day of a lunar month, followed by Agathos Daimon (Good Spirit) on the second day of the lunar month.
Noumenia, a three-day monthly festival
It is a celebration of the start of a new Hellenic month and seeks blessings for the household. Offerings such as incense or honey cakes are made to your household gods on your family altar.
Traditionally, the gods of the house consist of Hestia, Zeus Ktesios and Zeus Erkeios, as well as the gods who protect the house from external calamities: Hermes, Hecate, Apollo Agyieus (Apollo of the streets and highways). You can include Agathos Diamon from your household and any ancestors you honor. However, many Hellenic polytheists honor additional gods on their family altar.
Some members of the Hellenion celebrate the holiday with the following rituals:
- Decorate their home with fresh flowers, evergreen branches or other seasonal decorations.
- Serve a large family meal and enjoy it at the dining room table.
- Create a list of family goals or projects to accomplish or start during the next lunar month.
- Make a special dessert that you only make that day, like honey cake.
- Replace the Kadiskos ingredients (see below) with fresh oil, cereals, honey, fruit and food pieces.
The Kadiskos is a small jar containing foodstuffs that we receive from the Gods and which we return in reciprocity. Refreshing the Kadiskos is part of the preparation. Here are instructions for making a Kadiskos in honor of Zeus Ktesios.
Hekate's Deipnon takes place during the dark phase of the moon: the end of the lunar month (any time before the glow of the new moon has been seen). Hekate, according to the Liddell and Scott Greek-English lexicon, means "which brings or gives light" ("Ekate phosphorous").
At the darkest time of the month, we prepare our homes for the transition into a new month. Hekate's Deipnon is a time of purification of self, home and business. There are different theories as to whether Hekate's Deipnon is solely a meal offered to Hekate, or whether there is a secondary intention of the meal offering going to the less fortunate.
For this reason, a very popular way to mark Deipnon is to donate food or money to a local food shelf or other charitable group.
Traditional offerings include:
- clean the house
- Garlic
- eggs
- leeks
- “things you don’t want to bring next month”
Agathos Daimon means "good spirit" and is a religious observance held on the second day of each lunar month, immediately after Noumenia. This is the third celebration in a trio of monthly household observances. A good spirit generally refers to a type of divine being that is less powerful than a God, is personal to each family, and can bring the family luck, protection, or some type of assistance. House spirits are usually seen as snakes or a young man with a cornucopia in his hand.
Some celebrate the Agathos Diamon by pouring a libation to the spirit and asking for its continued blessings on the family. If there is something in particular that your family would like help with, make an additional offering to your family's protective spirit. Although we know that we can always approach the Gods directly, the Agathoi Diamones are considered useful intermediaries between the Gods and man.
The second day of each Athenian month was also a sacred day, dedicated to the Agathos Daimon (good spirit). The name daimon does not mean the evil demon of modern Christianity (although it had a negative form, called kakodaimon), but it was thought to be an aspect of Zeus, such as Zeus Ktesios, Charitodotes and Epikarpios , titles as a giver of increase and joy.
Agathos Daimon is most often represented in the form of a serpent, a symbol of healing. However, the daimon is also a function of one's being, a characteristic that is intrinsically neither good nor bad. Therefore, one prays for a good daimon, eudaimon and the goodness of the gods for the coming month and also for the favor of father Zeus as Agathos Daimon.
Agathos Daimon is also associated with Dionysus, particularly to his gift of wine. A feast was often closed with a small glass of unmixed wine, called Agathos Daimon or Zeus Soter (savior), as if begging the god not to do anything indecent or have too strong a desire to drink, and to receive from it everything that is noble and salutary.
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