The Waters of Mnemosyne: Ancient Greek Religion for Modern Pagans

by Gwendolyn Reece

Build a deep, contemporary practice rooted in ancient Greek traditions. Whether you are a Pagan or simply drawn to the Greek pantheon, this book provides everything you need to remember and rebirth these old practices for modern times. Gwendolyn Reece shares more than seventy exercises, rites, and prayers that help you meet the deities and partner with them in your practice.

This book invites you to drink from the healing waters of Mnemosyne, goddess of memory, and reconnect to the immortal parts of yourself. You'll discover Greek mythology, philosophy, rites of passage, and household practices. Gwendolyn teaches you how to pathwork to Hera's Garden, say a prayer to Poseidon, perform an oath-keeping ritual, create the Omphalos stone, and much more. Inspired by ancient Hellenic traditions, this book shows you how to build a living practice based on longtime fundamentals.

Genres: Paganism, History, Nonfiction, Religion

320 pages, Paperback

Published December 8, 2024

Reviews

[Angharad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who this is for: Pagans, polytheists, Wiccans, and any denomination of these interested in worship or "working with" the Theoi such as Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, or Dionysus.

I've often held up Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship as my "Bible" for how to be a successful and spiritually happy Hellenic Polytheist (helpol for short). That book was written by a Greek in Greece, then translated to English.

Waters of Mnemosyne is written by a non-Greek American and as such may be way more accessible and applicable to an American practioner's desires and sentiments. For me, personally I would use both side by side even though they're contradictory in their stances about certain things (like modern magic, tarot cards, the structure of the Oikos, etc) because having two different view points on the same religion only serves to strengthen what I do and do not believe in.

If you are just getting started in any pagan path or even if you're an old timer like me, I highly recommend this book. I recommended it to all the pagans I know in my friend circle because it's lovely, covers all the basics, and quite frankly because it touched me so much that I cried. A great addition to my library.

[Alice Vandommele · Rating 1 out of 5]

Look y'all I'm not gonna sugarcoat it: if a book claims a god told them this or that, especially about societal issues, it's nonsense and should be disregarded. It's fundamentally unserious

[Rose Eleusis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the Hellenism book is that I needed when I was first starting out as a tween. I wish I could give it my younger self when I was scared off by both the severity of reconstructionism and the Wiccan bent of more eclectic approaches to worshipping the Theoi.

Reece's vision of Hellenic Polytheism is rooted in the ancient past while reaching toward the future. It gives us a Hellenism that helps us make sense of the contemporary world, which is something our movement desperately needs. I suspect I'll be reading it many times in years to come.

The best example of how good this book was is that it helped me solve a practice-adapatation problem I've been having for years. For years, I've wanted to make a kathiskos jar for Zeus but have been scared off by the idea of rot and food waste. Reece brilliantly suggests using a cash jar because we store our material wealth in cash rather than foodstuff these days. Two days before I went off to college, I made my own kathiskos jar using her instructions and brought it with me to my dorm. I feel Zeus' presence there and the kathiskos is one of my most treasured ritual objects now.

I would recommend this to anyone starting out. I think it's going to be the decade-defining book on Hellenism.

[Sylvia Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been such a gift. The Waters of Mnemosyne makes ancient Greek religion feel approachable and alive for today. Gwendolyn Reece lays everything out clearly with more than seventy prayers, rituals, and exercises that you can actually put into practice. I’ve already started using some of the household practices and prayers, and they’ve helped me feel closer to the gods in a very real way. The pathworking to Hera’s Garden and the prayer to Poseidon were especially powerful for me. What I love most is how practical it all feels while still keeping the beauty of the tradition intact.

[Paola Dunbar · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5☆ A great introduction to ancient Greek Religion. Its helps you build a relationship to the theoi through rituals, prayers, exercises, and parhworkings. This woman knows her stuff, it's well researched and very accessibly even to the beginner. Great work and I highly recommend to anyone looking to deepen their practice with the Greek gods.

[olivier · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book is written by a wiccan and it shows. if you’re a reconstructionist, this book is not for you. author claims to write about ancient greek religion but the book is honestly full of UPG and its often not disclosed to be UPG. also, author claims the gods told her things to give her claims credibility and personally, i don’t trust this at all.

*however*, i did really enjoy the chapters on heroes and philosophy and the encouragement to the reader to get into philosophy and read primary sources.

[Mitchell Stern · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot more UPG than I expected but overall very thorough and well-researched.

[Mizzy Mint · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I say it often, but I loved this book. I felt this was a well organized and decent dive into the practices of ancient Greece. I also loved the inclusions of the Eleusinian mysteries. While I've studied it extensively, this little inclusion did brighten my reading experience. I really enjoyed how thorough some of the examples of practice were. This is definitely a great staple work to add to my Greek religion book collection. I should also not fail to mention that I found this cover to be such a beautiful choice. The colors and imagery are what originally caught my eye and led me to get this book on a whim. But I am so happy I gave it a chance.