Up: [[Rituals]] Related: [[Hermes]] Created: 2026-10-24 In his book, *Courting the Wild Twin*, storyteller Martin Shaw tells that in Ancient Greece, if you were in search of wisdom, you would go to a statue of [[Hermes]] in the market square of Pharae in Achaea. You would burn incense, light an oil lamp, and leave some coins at the right side of the statue. Then you’d whisper your question the statue’s ear. You’d then immediately clap your hands over your ears and turn and leave the sacred area. As soon as you were out, you’d remove your hands and the very first words you heard were Hermes speaking back to you. You would ponder the words and take action based on them. Shaw has heard that in Ancient Greece the deaf were shunned because they didn’t have the capacity to hear the gods. They were thought to be spiritually dangerous. > [!user] Martin Shaw in *Courting the Wild Twin*, pp. 76-77