"Or have you ever grasped [the Just itself, Beauty, or the Good] with any of your bodily senses? I am speaking of all things such as Bigness, Health, Strength and, in a word, the reality of all other things, that which each of them essentially is. Is what is most true in them contemplated through the body, or is this the position: whoever of us prepares himself best and most accurately to grasp that thing itself which he is investigating will come closest to the knowledge of it? Then he will do this most perfectly who approaches the object with thought alone, without associating any sight with his thought, or dragging in any sense perception with his reasoning, but who, using pure thought alone, tries to track down each reality pure and by itself, freeing himself as far as possible from eyes and ears and, in a word, from the whole body, because the body confuses the soul and does not allow it to acquire truth and wisdom whenever it is associated with it. Will not that man reach reality, Simmias, if anyone does?"

Plato, Phaedo 65d-66a

People often wonder if there is a Western equivalent to meditation. This is it. This is the core of Platonism: the contemplation of Being, of reality in itself. Academics will write 500 page books about the Forms and somehow miss the most obvious fact: this is a meditation technique. By using our minds to peel open the metaphysical essence of things, we can gaze at pure Reality, pure Being.

Then, achieving holy silence, we move beyond Being.

Just open your eyes and see, for this alone is the eye that sees the great beauty.

Plotinus, Ennead 1.6.9

Let us now therefore, if ever, abandon multiform knowledge, exterminate from ourselves all the variety of life, and in perfect quiet approach near to the cause of all things. For this purpose, let not only opinion and phantasy be at rest, nor the passions alone which impede our anagogic impulse to the first, be at peace; but let the air be still, and the universe itself be still. And let all things extend us with a tranquil power to communion with the ineffable. Let us also, standing there, having transcended the intelligible (if we contain any thing of this kind), and with nearly closed eyes adoring as it were the rising sun, since it is not lawful for any being whatever intently to behold him - let us survey the sun whence the light of the intelligible Gods proceeds, emerging, as the poets say, from the bosom of the ocean; and again, from this divine tranquility descending into intellect, and from intellect, employing the reasonings of the soul, let us relate to ourselves what the natures are from which, in this progression, we shall consider the first God as exempt. And let us as it were celebrate him, not as establishing the earth and the heavens, nor as giving subsistence to souls, and the generations of all animals; for he produced these indeed, but among the last of things; but, prior to these, let us celebrate him as unfolding into light the whole intelligible and intellectual genus of Gods, together with all the supermundane and mundane divinities - as the God of all Gods, the unity of all unities, and beyond the first adyta, - as more ineffable than all silence, and more unknown than all essence, - as holy among the holies, and concealed in the intelligible Gods.

Proclus, Theology of Plato, 2.13

[The soul] loves then to be quiet, having closed its eyes to thoughts that go downward, having become speechless and silent in internal silence. For how else could it attach itself to the most ineffable of all things than by putting to sleep the chatter in it? Let it therefore become one, so that it may see the One, or rather not see the One. For by seeing, the soul will see an intelligible object and not what is beyond intellect, and it will think something that is one, not the One itself. … Thus, my friend, when someone actualises what really is the most divine activity of the soul, and entrusts himself only to the ‘flower of the intellect’ and brings himself to rest not only from the external motions, but also from the internal, he will become a god as far as this is possible for a soul, and will know only in the way the gods know everything in an ineffable manner, each according to their proper one.

Proclus, On Providence 31 & 32

But to refer injustice and crimes committed through lasciviousness and wantonness to fate, leaves us indeed good, but the gods evil and base: unless some one should endeavour to remove this consequence, by replying, that every thing which the world contains, and whatever has a natural subsistence, is good, but that the nature which is badly nourished, or which is of a more imbecile condition, changes the good proceeding from fate into something worse; just as the sun, though it is good itself, becomes noxious to the blear-eyed and feverish.

Sallust, On the Gods and the World Chapter 9

I have been working on a document which will address all of these topics, but as it is extremely labor intensive to produce (I am aiming for a very high standard of research), I can’t give a date when it will be ready. Please be patient. But I am optimistic that it will be helpful to people and to our movement generally.

This poll will help me understand what you think is most important and to know if there are any other important topics I haven’t thought about.

Also, it will be free and published here so that it can be easily shared.

'If, my fine fellow' (we should say) 'the whole course and movement of the heavens and all that is in them reflect the motion and revolution and calculation of reason, and operate in a corresponding fashion, then clearly we have to admit that it is the best kind of soul that cares for the entire universe and directs it along the best path.'

Plato, Laws 897c

Do we know of any place in the soul more divine than that which is the seat of knowledge and intelligence? This therefore in the soul resembles the divine nature. And a man, looking at this, and recognizing all that which is divine, and God and wisdom, would thus gain the most knowledge of himself. And to know oneself, we acknowledge to be wisdom.

Plato, Alcibiades I 133c

But now beauty alone has this privilege, to be the most clearly visible and the most loved. Of course a man who was initiated long ago or who has become defiled is not to be moved abruptly from here to a vision of Beauty itself when he sees what we call beauty here; so instead of gazing at the latter reverently, he surrenders to pleasure and sets out in the manner of a four-footed beast, eager to make babies; and, wallowing in vice, he goes after unnatural pleasure too, without a trace of fear or shame.

Plato, Phaedrus 250e

Never, from dawn forward, pour a shining libation of wine to Zeus or the other immortals, without washing your hands first.

Hesiod, Works and Days 724

Then, in place of all other pleasures, introduce that of being conscious that you’re obeying God, and that you’re accomplishing, not in mere word but in very deed, the work of a good and virtuous person.

Epictetus, Discourses 3.24.110

Accustom yourself to be master of the following:
first of all, of your stomach, of sleep, of lust,
and of anger.

The Golden Verses 9-11

A very quick guide to getting started:

1. On a regular basis, wash your hands, make an offering, and pray. While washing your hands, ask for purity of body and mind. If you don’t currently have incense, wine, food, or other such things to offer, offer a hymn.
2. If you have no idea what to pray about, pray for understanding of the goodness of the Gods and that they may give to you what they know to be best.
3. Read and study the Golden Verses (they’re quite short), a chapter or two of The Handbook by Epictetus, or some other appropriate text. Both are available for free online.
4. Every night before you sleep, examine yourself and your day. Acknowledge as cold fact everything you did and didn’t do, the good and the bad. It is not about guilt, it is about becoming Godlike -- but that requires radical self-honesty.

You will learn the rest as you go.

"...and that when the official and his company had poured libations to whatever gods that day and night happen to be dedicated..." Plato, Laws 807a

One simple way of choosing a God to dedicate your offering or prayer to is by the day of the week. In many modern European languages, the days of the week are named after divinities. As you probably know, the Germanic deities are (mostly) used in the English days, and these correspond to those used by the Greeks and Romans:

Monday - Selene / Luna
Tuesday - Ares / Mars
Wednesday - Hermes / Mercury
Thursday - Zeus / Jupiter
Friday - Aphrodite / Venus
Saturday - Kronos / Saturn
Sunday - Helios / Sol

One way to learn about the Gods is to read (or sing) a hymn or myth about them on these days. Of course, that's an imperfect method since there are many Gods besides these seven, but it's a start. Calendars can be consulted for additional information. (Having an index to Plato's dialogues is handy, because it allows you to find passages where specific Gods are discussed.) The more you learn about the Gods, the more keys you will find to unlocking their proper worship.

The time of day can be taken into account as well. The most auspicious time to honor the Olympians is in the morning (though it's appropriate to worship them at any time); heroes, in the afternoon; and the Underworld Gods and ancestors, in the evening. (See Diogenes Laertius The Life of Pythagoras 19, William Guthrie The Greeks and Their Gods p 222.).

When offering to Olympians, it’s best to use your right hand and offer in an odd number. When offering to Underworld Gods or ancestors, it’s best to use your left hand and offer in an even number. (See Plato Laws 717b and the Pythagorean akousma: “To the celestial Gods sacrifice an odd number, but to the infernal, an even.” It's also worth noting that, to this day, it is the very interesting custom in parts of Eastern Europe to offer gifts - of flowers, for example - to the living in an odd number but to the dead in an even number.)

I hope this information helps you.

As it is, to dedicate your life to winning a victory at Delphi or Olympia keeps you far too busy to attend to other tasks; but a life devoted to the cultivation of every physical perfection and every moral virtue (the only life worth the name) will keep you at least twice as busy. Inessential business must never stop you taking proper food and exercise, or hinder your mental and moral training. To follow this regimen and to get the maximum benefit from it, the whole day and the whole night is scarcely time enough.

Plato, Laws 807c-d

Most honored of immortals, many-named one, ever omnipotent,
Zeus, prime mover of nature, steering all things by your law,
Hail!
For it is proper for all mortals to speak to you:
For we all descend from you, bearing our share of your likeness
We alone, of all mortal creatures that live and move on earth.
So, I shall make song of you constantly and sing forever of your might.
Truly, this whole universe, spinning around the earth,
Obeys you wherever you lead, and willingly submits to your rule;
Such is the servant you hold in your unconquerable hands,
A double-edged, fiery, ever-living thunderbolt.
For by its strikes all the works of nature happen.
By it you direct the universal reason, which pervades all things
Intermixing with the great and small lights of the heavens.
Because of this you are the greatest, the highest ruler of all.
Not a single thing that is done on earth happens without you, God,
Nor in the divine heavenly sphere nor in the sea,
Except for what bad people do in their foolishness.
But you know how to make the crooked straight
And to bring order to the disorderly; even the unloved is loved by you.
For you have so joined all things into one, the good and the bad,
That they all share in a single unified everlasting reason.

It is shirked and avoided by all the wicked among mortals,
The wretched, who ever long for the getting of good things,
Neither see nor hear God’s universal law,
By which, obeying with understanding, they could share in the good life.
But instead they chase after this and that, far from the good,
Some in their aggressive zeal for fame,
Others with a disordered obsession with profits,
Still others in indulgence and the pleasurable exertions of the body.
[They desire the good] but are carried off here and there,
All the while in zealous pursuit of completely different outcomes.
But bountiful Zeus, shrouded in dark clouds and ruling the thunder,
Protect human beings from their ruinous ignorance;
Scatter it from our souls, grant that we might obtain
True judgment on which you rely to steer all things with justice;

So that having won honor, we may honor you in return,
Constantly singing of your works, as it is proper
For mortals to do. For neither mortals nor gods have any greater privilege
Than to make everlasting song of the universal law in justice.

Cleanthes, Hymn to Zeus

One must sacrifice to the gods for three purposes: because of honour, because of charis, or because of one’s need for good things. For just as we think we must make first-fruit offerings to good men, so we think we must make them also to the gods. We honour the gods when we are seeking that there be for us either a turning away of evils or the preparation of good things, or after we have had good experiences and not for the purpose of obtaining some (additional) benefit, or in the simple honouring of their good disposition toward us.

Theophrastus, On Piety fragment 12.42–8