A huge load of Bull!

No, really... actual bull.The bull is involved in nearly every ancient religion:

Marduk is the "bull of Utu."
Inanna, she sends the Bull of Heaven to wreak havok on Gilgamesh's city.
Ereshkigal is wed to Gulugana, also refered to as the Bull of Heaven
In Hinduism, Shiva rides on a bull
Bull leaping was thought to be part of Minoan culture- Their bull imagery is plainly obvious without even having to mention the Minotaur!
The Hitites had two bulls, Seri and Hurru (day and night) who pulled the godof weather along on his chariot.
Hercules' 7th labor: Capture the Cretan Bull which was wreaking havoc on the island? 
Pliny recorded Druid ceremonies where two bulls were sacrificed
Oxen were sacrificed to Hecate and in the Orphic Hymn, she is referred to as "Tauropolos" or "herder of bulls." Might this by a euphemism in relation to deities associated with bulls? Does she control virility and fertility?


Dionysus was also associated with Bulls and invoked as one by his followers:

The god is invoked by his devotees as a raging bull and a panther, both creatures of ferocious strength and aggressiveness. In hymns Dionysos is addressed as 'the thunderer' and 'the roaring one.' The bull is one of the most frequently mentioned epiphanies of Dionysos; he was considered to be a bull-god, as were Zeus and Poseidon. The bull is a widespread and unequivocal symbol of male strength, potency and virility, particularly in the cultures of India, the near east, and the Mediterranean.

The holy wiki tells us a bit about Egypt's bull worship:

In Egypt, the bull was worshiped as Apis, the embodiment of Ptah and later of Osiris. A long series of ritually perfect bulls were identified by the god's priests, housed in the temple for their lifetime, then embalmed and encased in a giant sarcophagus. A long sequence of monolithic stone sarcophagi were housed in the Serapeum, and were rediscovered by Auguste Mariette at Saqqara in 1851. The bull was also worshiped as Mnewer, the embodiment of Atum-Ra, in Heliopolis. Ka in Egyptian is both a religious concept of life-force/power and the word for bull.

Here's a more in-depth link summarizing different bull cults in Egypt! And yet another!


The Tauropolia was a festival held in honor of Artemis! Here is a coin depicting Her riding a bull.


And the Titan of the moon, Selene was associated with the bull as well: "Selene knows not how to put mules to her yokestrap--she drives a team of bulls!" She's also described in the Orphic hymn as "bull-horned, and wandering through the gloom of night." 


And let's not forget The Golden Calf! Perhaps we know why that was picked as an image to represent the antithesis of the religions of the bible: Mithras slaying a bull is one of the main images of his cult. He also rides bulls as well. 

From 160 CE the Roman cult to Magna Mater included a bull sacrifice known as the taurobolium. Initiates supposedly took their place in a pit beneath a slatted wooden floor, to be drenched by the blood of a bull sacrifice above. This, if an accurate description, is an exception to the usual Roman rules of sacrifice. A lesser version of the rite, known as a criobolium, involved the sacrifice of a ram. The first recorded taurobolium took place at Puteoli in AD 134 in honour of Venus Caelestia.


^{Frazer talks a bit about this in The Golden Bough, but as has been noted, much of the description of the actual ceremonies comes from possibly hostile christian sources.} 


It goes on and on! This surely deserves at the very least a part two, if not a more in depth exploration of the taurean aspect of each of these deities! If this is food for thought, tonight is merely an appetizer. 

Hekate's Night

Goddess Hecate of the triple road

Protect my family and abode

Lead me through darkest night

Grace my journey with your light

Saffron clad with serpent coils

Bring fruition to my toils

As canines bark and silence rend

Your holy feast I will attend

Garlic, poppies, sweets and grain

Tonight with you I'll dance again. 

-SoD original

A few words I was inspired to write now for Hecate's night. She is described as "saffron cloaked" which always made me think of the sun and how She is seen with Apollo in the typical tale of the Eleusinian Mysteries. I nearly smacked my head and said "duh!" when I realized that saffron is sacred to Mercury, with whom I believe She is a divine pair. He is the essence of Saffron and She is Saffron cloaked? Sounds like a euphemism! Also, the two appear together in the same tale as the Psychopomps who return Persephone to Demeter.

I'm off to celebrate Her tonight!

Now it is the time of night
That the graves all gaping wide,
Every one lets forth his sprite,
In the church-way paths to glide:
And we fairies, that do run
By the triple Hecate's team,
From the presence of the sun,
Following darkness like a dream,
Now are frolic: not a mouse
Shall disturb this hallow'd house:
I am sent with broom before,
To sweep the dust behind the door.

- A Midsummer Night's Dream

First!

This might just be a quickie post tonight, I don't know. This idea has been in the air for a while now, especially since I have been rereading Dion Fortune. She is the only one of the authors in question that has crossed over, so I will be keeping the names of the other authors out of it and use Ms. Fortune as an example. I posed this as a question in an earlier post, so let's reframe the discussion around a statement:

Just because someone publishes it first, does not mean that they are the best.

It especially doesn't mean that they are right. 

Let's take Dion Fortune for example: Just because she was one of the first to publish such things does not mean she was the best at it. I give her a lot of credit. I never worked with her personally, so I don't know how adept she was. By all accounts she was a gifted mage. That does not make her a gifted writer. I do think that Psychic Self Defense is annoying as written and not the best book on the subject. As a friend said: 'She published what needed to be out there at the time" and yes, times change as well as writing styles and acceptable topics of publication. I can only judge the book by today's standards and compare it to what is out there now. Today's esoteric writers might be all the better for Ms. Fortune's publications, and a great deal of thanks is due to her, but she is not the best writer on the subject and I think we can come up with several books which are better for today's student.

So what makes a book "good?" To me, it doesn't have to be "new" information, but it can't just be a rehashing of what's already out there. I don't want a book where someone had read a bunch and just summed up all of the resources for me- I'm not that lazy! I will go to the direct source myself! I want something that puts forth a new perspective on the information out there. Of course historical research is always helpful as is a modern adaptation of ancient practices, but so much out there is a rehash that I'm loathe to pick up new books at all.

I changed my mind, I'm not going to leave others out of it: I have a problem with the book Evolutionary Witchcraft because when I read it, all I could think was "This is Spiral Dance with some new poetry." It was just repackaged information and added nothing new to the body of work that was already out there. I'm glad it's helped so many people, but if I had to pick? I'll take Spiral Dance any day. Yes, that's just personal preference. Note my Dion Fortune example where I point out that things can be improved upon. I'm sure some people think it's a better rendition of Spiral Dance, but honestly, I don't think half the folks who picked it up ever heard of Spiral Dance. "Zomg I can't be expected to read something old that's not ancient! o0o0o0o!" I got tired of folks thinking ill of me for not liking  this rehash. I don't think there is anything evolutionary about redoing a book I read almost 25 years ago.

What I really hate seeing in our community, as with the mundane community, is this obsession with the next big thing. Ten years ago, it was rare to hear mention made of Hekate and it was always as a "Dark" Goddess, one who was petitioned by Medea, and associated with cemeteries and curses - someone Witches would distance themselves from for fear of being called "evil." Today? Certain authors have somehow made Her palatable to the shiny-happy white-lighters. There are certain books and organizations around this Goddess which have popped up and, while I'm not one to claim to understand the intentions of the Gods, I hate seeing this powerful Titan of Magic stripped of Her power until there's nothing left but the happy shiny Mama Goddess. Seriously, how can you focus on ONE aspect of a Goddess to the complete neglect of the others? Argh! But because it became the flavor of the moment, hundreds of fluffer-nutters just glomped on to this idea. It (obviously) puts a bee in my bonnet because flavors of the month get left behind almost as quickly. Think Hecate will let you leave Her behind unless She's done with you? Can't wait to see the fallout. Grab the popcorn.

My opinions are large and my squirrly wrath can be intimidating (so I've been told) but what people don't often get is that my opinions can change and everything is open to debate. I welcome the bandying about of ideas and opinions, especially those which are in contrast to my own. If you have an opinion on what's written here, or in any of my other posts, please feel free to comment. We don't grow unless we are challenged. However, if you post something, be prepared to back it up with logic, anecdote and proper research or you will be eaten by the dragons which guard this blog :-D

Thanks :)

Thank you to Diana. Thank you to Apollo. Thank you to Mercury. Thank you to Hecate. Thank you to Ganesh. Thank you to My Ancestors. Thank you to The Spirits of the Land. Thank you to Ra. Thank you to everyone who worked weather magic to make NYC Pagan Pride Day happen.

It went by so fast! Almost a year of planning and now it's done. Tonight is partly a brain dump and that's because my brain is fried. I was up at 6 am and at the park before 8 to get everything set up. The vendors and info groups were amazing- the old hands knew just what to do and the new folks were pretty on the ball as well. The belly dancers were SO AWESOME! I need to find video of the Isis snake dance they did. Jihan Arts and the Belly Dance Raks Stars.. Wow... I need to post about belly dance and Middle Eastern Goddesses at some point. There were raves about the workshops and the opening ritual and the closing ritual that Society of Diana hosted with our sister group, Hounds of Artemis. We invoked the Statue of Liberty and reclaimed her as a talisman for, well, liberty lol And protection.

I made an offering to my Patrons for their help and I'm gonna get to that now then go pass out. Back to our regularly scheduled epic posts tomorrow!

Other fun things

I did some really wonderful, necessary, Mercury-is-direct-and-we're-retreading-ground type work tonight for the new moon, and I'm just wiped out from the energetic output. I'm going to take a mulligan on this post and hope to be up n at em again tomorrow! In the meanwhile, here are some fun articles to read and videos to watch:

An article by James Jacob Pierri on Hypatia of Alexandria and Aradia. A good, quick read!

Nemesis is recommending Tubelo's Green Fire by Shani Oates. I've always had an interest in the Clan of Tubal Cain and the way Nemesis is gushing about this book, I plan to read it too. Bibliophiles unite!!!

The movie Anonymous, about Edward De Vere as the real writer behind "Shakespeare." Why do I care so much? Because I love a good conspiracy, Shakespeare moves me, and Edward De Vere was a contemporary of Giordano Bruno and John Dee and wrote about both in Hamlet and The Tempest respectively. He also included Pagan deities in every play, including Diana, Apollo, Mercury, and Hecate. Also, everything in the plays matches up to events in De Vere's life. I also love a well costumed period piece and I need folks to go see this with with me. Check out the trailer!

Dream On

Last night I asked for a dream through the gates of horn, meaning a true dream. I don't remember all of it because I was yanked out way too soon by the early risers. I remember part of it involved a bull with eye-catching horns, so I think whatever I had been dreaming was true. Or at least I've been dreaming about the gates. I've been pondering dream work today. I enjoy several different kinds, from lucid to directed to passively receiving messages.

My musings led me to Asclepius and the holistic wellness centers which bear his name. Said to be a son of Apollo (and to whom Apollo's healing aspects were transferred), Asclepius attended patients in their dreams. When conventional medicine of the time didn't work, people would take a pilgrimage to an Asclepion. There was a theatre, a temple, sleeping areas/rooms and a spring. Patients would bathe in the waters, drink from the spring, changed their diet... things we do today. They were also made to sleep in the temple and analyze their dreams.

It was reported that patients would dream that Asclepius himself or snakes or dogs would interact with them, either curing them or symbolically giving them the cure. Therapists who works in the sanctuary would analyze the dreams and come up with the cure. Some patients would dream of surgery being performed. They were done this service in exchange for offerings made by the patients or their families. This wasn't any ol dream, this was called "incubation." There were rites and fasting and sacrifices and a whole system designed to prepare for and induce the dreams necessary for healing. A book I mentioned the other day, Arcana Mundi, touches briefly on how divination was a cash cow and therefore concentrated to a few shrines and under the dominion of religious society aka Priests and oracles were the only ones who had people trained in the ways. Not much different today, huh? There is a mention, tho I somehow missed the source reference, of how Apollo is the one in charge of trance mediumship, Asclepius in charge of true dreams, and Hecate along with a few others were called on "to grant a glimpse into the future."

Asclepius with Telesforos and Hygeia , Roman Diptych, c. 400/430 AD Museum on Merseyside, Liverpool

In keeping with our main theme, dall'italia, here's a quick quote from Arcana Mundi:

Plutarch refers to a regular oracle of the dead (psychomanteion), probably near Cumae in southern Italy, but there is no elaborate ceremony: the procedure reminds one of the incubation rites in the temple of Asclepius at Epidaurus. The person who wished to get in touch with the dead fell asleep in the sanctuary and had a dream or vision... In a remote sense, this, too, is necromancy.

One of the cases memorialized in the Asclepion:

Ambrosia from Athens, who was blind in one eye, went to the sanctuary seeking help, but laughed at their methods and cures. She dreamed that Asclepius came to her and said he would make her well. In return she had to dedicate a silver pig to the sanctuary as a memorial to her stupidity. When she agreed, he cut open her blind eye and poured in medicine. She woke up able to see and went home cured. Apparently she donated the promised pig since the story was left behind for us.  

Tonight is a bit of a ramble, and for that I apologize. This touches on so many of my current interests and pursuits that I really wanted to start exploring it more here. I've been to the theatre at the Epidaurus and it is magnificent, if a bit tough to sit on for a 3 hour play ;)

I feel like Barbara Brennan's healing work builds on and continues the tradition of the Asclepion; The main difference is that the work is done in a conscious altered state and the healer is the one who channels the spirits or guides instead of the patient.

I'll leave off tonight with this great article on the difference between the Caduceus of Mercury and the Staff of Asclepius. It also discusses the daughters of Asclepius, Meditrine, Hygeia and Panacea. ;)

Nemoralia!

Today we walked the labyrinth, learned some basic tarantella, invoked the land, called the guardians, invoked our Patrons and had a wonderful Feast of Diana. She appeared as well. We tarantella'd as a group, went into our own spinning dance, I went towards the North where I hailed Mercury, and the next thing I knew I was looking up at the sky over in the south and wondering what happened to my thumb.

Apparently I tranced, fell back into the altar (which was a vortex of energy the entire time), did some work on everyone there, walked off towards the south and came to with someone spraying Florida Water over me. I shook it off with some help, we toasted, gave thanks and everyone had a part in dismissing the circle (as well as had a part in creating and cleansing it at the top). There was no script. There was just a general plan. Everyone who attended was wonderful, they rolled with it and brought serious energy to bear. Sometimes too serious! I tried to remind everyone of what Diana has told me time and again: Find the JOY in the work! It's not all serious and severe! Don't just come crying when you're in need, also share the love and the joy and the celebration. I laughed, I played and others followed suit. I had a great time.

Dusio is here right now (I just waved at him across the room). He invoked Diana today and when he did... woosh! There she was! I saw her face and she was wearing her diadem. <3 <3 <3 Now? We're plotting. And conjuring the forces. >;) Signing off!

Buon Ferragosto!

"In the Arician valley, there is a lake surrounded by shady forests,
Held sacred by a religion from the olden times.
On a long fence hang many pieces of woven thread,
and many tablets are placed there as grateful gifts to the Goddess.
Often does a woman whose prayers Diana answered,
With a wreath of flowers crowning her head, Walk from Rome carrying a burning torch.
There a stream flows down gurgling from its rocky bed..." --Ovid


This weekend is the Feast of Diana, Queen of Heaven! (Which Ovid was calling ancient in his day!)

And the Catholic Feast of the Assumption of Mary where she is raised bodily into the sky where she becomes... guess... that's right! Queen of Heaven!


And it was recently the Birthday of Isis...


Busy weekend, huh?


Ferragosto, what this weekend is called in Italy, is bigger than christmas- Rome is practically deserted, its residents staying down by the sea. Here's a nifty article about Ferragosto. Here's an interesting quote:

The modern dogma that the Virgin Mary was transported to Heaven on Ferragosto arose in the 18th century and was formally proclaimed by Pope Pius XII only in 1950.

Know your history or someone will try to rewrite it!


What is it about this time of year that lead people to set it aside for The Goddess? The Sun is in Leo, the Moon in Aquarius, as my evil twin pointed out earlier. This is also the time of the Perseid meteor shower! It will be hard to see because of the full moon. The peak of the Perseids is tomorrow night. I was reading about the event, which I like to observe every year, and the holy wiki and other sources believe that "most of the dust in the cloud today is around a thousand years old," with some younger bits from 1862. Wow.


Tomorrow I will be hosting a Nemoralia celebration. Tonight I was out under the Moon doing personal work and charging items for tomorrow. I was literally amazed by the Moon and connected with Diana once again, but in a different way than I'm used to. She gave me Her sign. She gave me a personal message and helped to set me back on my proper path. Ave Diana!


Have a Blessed Weekend of The Mother, by whichever name you know Her!

Road Rage

Don't worry, not a rant! A story came out this weekend that the NY/NJ Port Authority wants to raise tolls by 50% The toll to get across the George Washington Bridge is already $8.00. They propose raising it to $12. WTF!!!! Happily, the Governors of both NY and NJ reject the proposal. Yay for bipartisanship.

Unfortunately, tolls are nothing new. In fact, they're downright ancient. Romans were the best at road building. They created the first paved roads. They were even smart enough to raise it in the middle so water would flow away from the road and even built gutters to carry it away. There are roads which were so well built they still serve as thoroughfares today. In reading about these marvels, I wondered how quickly folks were charged to use these roads. Apparently it was right from the start. Quoth the holy wiki:

Tolls abounded, especially at bridges. Often they were collected at the city gate. Freight costs were made heavier still by import and export taxes. 

Go figure.  There are also mentions of private citizens having to pay for, or supply labor for the maintenance of a road that crossed or bordered their property. Nice. Guess we still do that today through taxes, another ancient tradition.

Today the family went for a walk down a new trail which had just been paved, connecting an already existing trail with a huge dirt hill and footpath. It was cleared out a bit, graded slightly, and paved over. As we walked along, we passed by another path which hadn't been paved. I stopped while they went on, and found myself standing at a new crossroad. Well, it wasn't exactly new, but with the road freshly graded and paved, it felt newer. The energy was different, as if it hadn't really been imprinted yet. I said a quick prayer to Hecate and Mercury and caught up to the others. I want to go back there and explore the space again and make proper offerings, perhaps on the next dark moon.

Tonight, a Mommy deer and baby deer walked up my driveway and onto my property. Hubby came to get me when he saw them and I went outside. I saw the baby and knelt down with my hands in prayer pose, mostly praying that Diana would give me the Deer equivalent of Parseltongue. Mama deer had jumped over a fence that baby couldn't clear. I waited patiently and the baby deer started to walk over to me. It made me think of a puppy. Then kiddo moved and that was it, the baby deer was back to racing around. Ah well, can't blame a kid for being curious! For all I know, hubby could have scared it. We opened another gate and it went out.

I headed to the back where the Mommy deer was and did the same thing as with the baby. She came out from her hiding place and went towards the open gate but hubby was walking around and he scared her. She ran back to her hiding place and eventually jumped over the back fence. I heard her make the Mama call 3 times, then heard rustling. I will happily believe the two dashed back home together via the path we walked today. Can't wait to see them again, nibbling the grass by my labyrinth!

Were they a response to my prayers at the crossroads? I find it odd that they picked this exact night to walk up my paved driveway instead of their usual route across the grassy front lawn and each of them take an interest in me and only back off when one of the others made a move. I've always taken a keen interest in the animals who inhabit this land (including the bunnies, raccoon and hedgehog!) and am glad it feels like they know me too. I wonder if the bear will stop by for a visit too! ;)

Early bird special - Hermes & Hecate

Thanks to Angela at The Pagan Mom Blog for posting my article on Hermes a& Hekate. It's a brief look at the possible associations of the pair.


I wrote it as a food-for-thought piece and hope to follow it up here with more information and more research. However, I'm concentrating on Diana at the moment and have no idea where my daily devotions will lead and how it will appear here on this blog!

Here's the link to the article. Have a great day!

Bunnies! (Not the fluffy kind. Well, fluffy, but not the mcwiccan kind!)

When I told Dusio that I was at a loss for post topic, he suggested I post about one of my "totem" animals. After some debate, I decided to share: I've always felt a connection to the hare, even as a young child, including making them my kindergarten project and learning to draw and create them out of clay. Always loved em. And wen I moved out here, saw them all the time. I still do, when I'm quietly walking my land and in the moment.

I remember looking them up in Animal-Speak by Ted Andrews a few years ago and just shaking my head, laughing at how I had more in common with them than not. I'm a herbivore, as are our rabbit friends, was born in the year of the rabbit, and my patrons are linked to the hare, all of which are linked to the moon: baby bunnies are ready to be on their own after 28 days.

According to Stories rabbits tell: a natural and cultural history of a misunderstood creature by By Susan E. Davis and Margo DeMello:

The Egyptian word for hare is "Un" or "open/open to/the opener." Hares were considered sacred to the Goddess Diana in her aspect as Lucina. In Sanskrit, the word for moon "cacadharas" means "one who carries the hare.

Mercury is added to the rabbit lore mix by virtue of his virility: A legend I've remarked on in the past: Both Apollo and Mercury wanted Khione. Apollo seduced her and she became pregnant. Later that night, Mercury did the same. And also impregnated her. The rabbit has the wonderful distinction of being able to become pregnant when it's already in the middle of a pregnancy!

Thanks to theoi.com:

Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 33 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Hare [constellation Lepus]. Some say that it was put there by Mercurius, and that it had been given the faculty, beyond other kinds of quadrapeds, of being pregnant with new offspring when giving birth to others."

Rabbits aren't nocturnal, but crepuscular: they're out and about during twilight. Because of this and their ability to create tunnels underground, they're associated with Fairies and the Underworld. Down the rabbit hole, anyone? ;)

The rabbit is also known as a trickster, like some God we know? ;) Back to our friends with the bunny book. They talk about how women and rabbits are closely linked, and not just in Goddess imagery:


The word "cunning" is derived from the Latin for the word "to know," cunnan, which is related to the word for rabbit, or cuniculus. From here we can leap to the english "coney" or "dupe/one who is fooled." The When the pronunciation rhymes with "honey" it becomes slang for vulva. They way they tell it, the pronunciation of "Coney Island" was changed to suit Victorian sensibilities.

The rabbit is still linked to fertility. Here's a link to the Snopes article on the origin of the phrase "the rabbit died." Oh great, now I've got Aerosmith stuck in my head!

I'm behind a night on posting. Tonight starts the Feast of Demeter, translated into the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Over the next few days I hope to post info on both the ancient and modern feast!

A Midsummer Night's Dream...

What is really happening in this play? Yes, it's a big, bawdy comedy set in Athens complete with love quadrangle wherein the young lovers are entangled by fairy mischief, a wedding, and The Fairy King and Queen are fighting over a changeling: each claims him for their own. But what are the real consequences of this rift? It's in Titania's first speech. My notes are in italics.

Titania
...And never, since the middle summer's spring,
Met we on hill, in dale, forest or mead,
By paved fountain or by rushy brook,
Or in the beached margent of the sea,
To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind,


Ringlets! Circles! She just said they haven't done their usual ritual... Great Rite much?

But with thy brawls thou hast disturb'd our sport.

It's Oberon's fault for trying to take her changeling!

Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain,
As in revenge, have suck'd up from the sea
Contagious fogs; which falling in the land
Have every pelting river made so proud
That they have overborne their continents:



The wind hasn't gotten its tribute and therefore the weather is fucked! Floods!

The ox hath therefore stretch'd his yoke in vain,
The ploughman lost his sweat, and the green corn
Hath rotted ere his youth attain'd a beard;
The fold stands empty in the drowned field,
And crows are fatted with the murrion flock;
The nine men's morris  is fill'd up with mud,
And the quaint mazes in the wanton green
For lack of tread are undistinguishable:



Nine Men's morris is a boardgame from ancient Italia. She's saying that it's not being played, like baseball was almost suspened during WWII. More importantly: No crops! The animals are dying off too. 


The human mortals want their winter here;
Their circle will turn the wheel of the year and usher in the harvest season. At this point, it's eternal summer and fucking up everything!

No night is now with hymn or carol blest:
Therefore the moon, the governess of floods,
Pale in her anger, washes all the air,
That rheumatic diseases do abound:
The people are too confused and upset to pay homage to their Gods and The Moon is ticked off!

And thorough this distemperature we see
The seasons alter: hoary-headed frosts
Far in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,


Another reference to their lack of ceremony screwing up the weather

And on old Hiems' thin and icy crown
An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds
Is, as in mockery, set: the spring, the summer,
The childing autumn, angry winter, change
Their wonted liveries, and the mazed world,
By their increase, now knows not which is which:
Heims is Old Man Winter/Winter personified. It's like the Holly King wearing the Oak King's crown. Chaos, I tell you!.

And this same progeny of evils comes
From our debate, from our dissension;
We are their parents and original.
Again, the screwy weather, the lack of offerings to Deity, the crops failing and herds dying is their fault because they have not not turned the wheel!

We have a follow up reference after they argue about the changeling:

TITANIA
... If you will patiently dance in our round
And see our moonlight revels, go with us;
If not, shun me, and I will spare your haunts.

He declines and vows revenge. Fast forward past the angst filled lovers, mistaken identity, silly actors, and a wedding and now we've come to the end of the play. Happily, they finally get to their revels. Oops, spoiler :P I don't have to annotate this, just a summary: The fairies turn the wheel and bless all of the couples who were married that night and their future children:


OBERON
Through the house give gathering light,
By the dead and drowsy fire:
Every elf and fairy sprite
Hop as light as bird from brier;
And this ditty, after me,
Sing, and dance it trippingly.

TITANIA
First, rehearse your song by rote
To each word a warbling note:
Hand in hand, with fairy grace,
Will we sing, and bless this place

(Song and dance) <--- This would be their wheel-turning ceremony which sets the season to rights.

OBERON
Now, until the break of day, Through this house each fairy stray.
To the best bride-bed will we, Which by us shall blessed be;
And the issue there create Ever shall be fortunate.
So shall all the couples three Ever true in loving be;
And the blots of Nature's hand Shall not in their issue stand;
Never mole, hare lip, nor scar, Nor mark prodigious, such as are
Despised in nativity, Shall upon their children be.
With this field-dew consecrate, Every fairy take his gait;
And each several chamber bless, Through this palace, with sweet peace;
And the owner of it blest Ever shall in safety rest.
Trip away; make no stay; Meet me all by break of day.


One of my favorite quotes comes right before this scene, spoken by Puck Himself:

Now it is the time of night
That the graves all gaping wide,
Every one lets forth his sprite,
In the church-way paths to glide:
And we fairies, that do run
By the triple Hecate's team,
From the presence of the sun,
Following darkness like a dream,
Now are frolic: not a mouse
Shall disturb this hallow'd house

Ten years ago I directed a production of Midsummer and was fortunate enough to work with the best Puck ever, Shay Ansari. He crossed over several years ago, taken much too soon. I know he will be out this night with the Faery Band. Blessings on you, Shay. May you dwell on the bank where the wild thyme blows...

The Heroine's Journey

I've been working a post about The Hero's Journey as illustrated by the lore of Proserpine and Demeter. However, you don't hear much about what happened once She descended. There are clues in the tale of Inanna, and a lot of talk about it lasting 3 days, during the dark of the moon, her ordeal, but most of what we have of Kore's tale involves the Greek Mysteries where Demeter is searching for her lost daughter. I think this whole thing is bunk and more about the relocation of the mysteries to Greece and the insertion of the Patriarchy into what began as Women's Mysteries. I also find it interesting that Hekate is associated with Ereshkigal, who appears as Queen of the Underworld and "older sister" of Inanna and eventually releases Inanna back to life, and Hekate escorts Proserpina back to the surface, in some portrayals it seems like Hekate is facilitating an escape.






  There is so much out there about The Hero's Journey, especially since Star Wars was modeled on the steps, that I don't really want to recap it here, so I've linked to the wiki basics. If you don't want to surf over, there's a fun graphic illustrating the trip there and back again:

ie: Luke Skywalker is called to adventure by Leia (hologram message on R2D2), he's aided by the droids, mentored by Obi Wan, it goes on and on. The Matrix follows the formula too as does The Lord of the Rings. Actually, most movies and legends follow this archetypal formula.


Back to my Goddesses: There isn't much written about Kore in the Underworld because it is the crux of Initiation itself: It's removing each earthly accoutrement, confronting your dark side/your shadow self and surrendering yourself to transformation. It's also so much more, and despite it being incredibly individualized, initiates, true initiates- not the ones who are socially promoted for reading 10 books and making an origami tree of life- will recognize each other. There is a knowing, an understanding that you come to that cannot be imparted to someone who has not been through it, and need not be imparted to someone who has. Mothers understand this. Motherhood is an initiation.

In the Descent of Inanna, we see the steps she goes through to get into the Underworld, but we still do not know where her essence was when she was "dead" for those three days. Where did her spirit go? Since she's in the Underworld why didn't she just appear there and haunt her sister? What did she face? What did she do? What did she see? Perhaps the same thing every initiate sees: what they need to.

I feel like I've been on my own journey tonight, examining the similarities between the descent of Inanna and the descent of Proserpine. Funny how I've known both of these epics in great detail for so long but have never put them side by side and compared. In the Greek version she's taken against her will, but as per the link above to the Women's Mysteries, I don't believe it. I'm of the school that, like Inanna, Proserpine went of her own accord to learn the Mysteries and return to Her people with knowledge thereof and her dual role as Goddess of Spring/birth/fertility and Winter/death/barren is because She, as Innana did, merged with Her Shadow self and returned the wiser for it.

However, we also have Ereshkigal, who is established as the Queen of the Underworld. Wouldn't she be the appropriate counterpart here? Are Proserpine and Demeter sisters instead of mother and child? Does it matter? What does the familial relationship imply?

All very interesting, but now that it's after 2 am, I'm going to sleep on it and I hope you do too. I hope you ponder The Mysteries and ask the questions and challenge your own perceptions.

The Center.

Aw man, I want another "pretty" post, don't you? Feh! Tonight is about the crossroads instead. Pretty or not, take it for what it is.

Hekate and Hermes (what can I say, I love alliteration) are paired as both crossroads and underworld deities. What is it about crossroads that relates to the dead? Why are they drawn to it? Why is that the place to leave offerings for The Opener(s)? Why is that an opening? I've pondered these questions over the years and am never satisfied, tho I do have an answer that lets me sleep at night.

When a circle is cast, we are creating crossroads. There is a North-South axis and an East-West axis. In the Center is (typically) the altar. We are working at the center of a magickal crossroads. We're not just picking points on a circle, tho that symbolism has its place. Let's remember that we are at the center of magic when we cast that circle because we are using the crossroads. Have you ever cast a circle at the center of a natural crossroads in the woods? The power is certainly amped up. At that center point you are between the worlds- neither here nor there, and all possibilities are laid out before you in all directions.

All of that possibility can be daunting, especially when there is no focus, no clear goal, no priorities. I like doing devotional work, but I really like doing practical work, creating that magickal space which gives me access to all possibilities. I can reset. I can go down a new path. I can make changes. It's the blank slate, so to speak. It's not blank at all, it contains all possibility and if the work is done right, it can affect reality.

More pretty tomorrow!

The earth, the air, the fire, the water: Return, return, return, return...

A quickie post: Today has been one where tiny pieces have fallen into place making the entire picture that much clearer. It's been a day of epiphanies and gnosis. What else would you expect on the cross-quarter new moon Proserpinalia? \o/

I give a favorite image from the lesser Eleusinian Mysteries:





Mercury and Hekate and Ceres beginning Proserpina's return. Let's get on the road to Spring!

The day dawned dark and gray here, so I'm with the groundhog here in voting for Spring's immanent return! Maybe I'm just tired of the snow?

Psychopomps

"Psychopomps (from the Greek word ψυχοπομπός (psychopompos), literally meaning the "guide of souls") are creatures, spirits, angels, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls to the afterlife. Their role is not to judge the deceased, but simply provide safe passage." So says wiki.

This raises a few questions: Why is safe passage necessary? Is everyone escorted? A few chosen ones? Is it required? What if they don't want to go but would prefer to stay? Are they forced?

Some believe that Psychopomps work both ways, that they also bring life into this world as well as escort it out. I can see that: flip sides of the same coin. One who knows how to heal also knows how to harm. But is is all about entrances and exits? What of those who cross those barriers? There was a whole Orphic Mystery cult built around the idea of descending into the "underworld" and returning. Are Psychopomps guides to all in the underworld? Even those who wish to learn its mysteries and return to the "real" world with its knowledge?

Mercury (as well as the Etruscan Turms and Greek Hermes) and Hecate are both considered Psychopomps, but do either rally have the reputation for shepherding the recently departed? The two did, however, cross all three realms freely: Air, sea and earth. These two traversed the realms at will. Charon is the figure known for shepherding souls to the other world. So what did Mercury have to do with it? His association with travelers?


I suppose this was just a food-for-thought post, both yours and mine. More to munch tomorrow!