Hera Mantra continued....

Thanks to Diodoros for the connections.

Κυρία.
Ευλογημένη βασίλισσα.
Κυρία.
Θεϊκή θεά του γάμου.
Κυρία προστάτισσα.
Κυρία εκδικήτρια.

Lady.
Blessed Queen.
Lady.
Heavenly goddess of marriage.
Lady protector.
Lady avenger.

This one actually works better when spoken aloud.

Hera Mantra continued...

So, after looking at the Mantra and trying it, I have stumbled a bit because the last line is a bit cumbersome on the tongue.

Κυρία.
Ευλογημένη βασίλισσα.
Θεϊκή θεά του γάμου.
Προστάτης και εκδηκητής.

Lady.
Blessed Queen.
Heavenly Goddess of marriage.
Protector and avenger.

Now, I can pronounce this fine, but that last line is cumbersome. It does not roll off the tongue properly. 

I have also taken to repeating Κυρία between each line, and tried changing the final line into two lines:

Κυρία.
Ευλογημένη βασίλισσα.
Κυρία.
Θεϊκή θεά του γάμου.
Κυρία προστάτης.
Κυρία εκδηκητής.

Now, some of you who read my blog may speak Greek, and thus be able to help me see the flaws I do not, since I don't actually speak Greek, though I can pronounce it quite well.

Any help will be appreciated.

Hera Mantra

I was thinking of a Mantra, something that could be used during meditation, and I came up with this:

Κυρία.
Ευλογημένη Βασίλισσα.
Προστάτευσέ μας.
Καθοδήγησέ μας.

(this was corrected for me by someone who actually speaks Greek)

That reads:

kee REE ah
ehv loh gyee MEH nee vah SEE lee sah
prohs TA tehv SEH mahs
kah thoh DEE gyeeSEH mahs

and it translates to:

Lady.
Blessed Queen.
Protect us
Guide us.

I have a problem with it, though, It reads like a prayer, not a Mantra, because Mantras, in general, are invocations. The words of a Mantra have distinct meanings which are meant to bring the power of those meanings to life in the mind, heart, and soul of the meditator.

To that purpose, then, I want to come up with a Mantra, in Greek, that will accomplish this.

"Κυρία" and "Ευλογημένη Βασίλισσα" work because they invoke aspects of the Goddess Hera, so now I have to find other wprds that can be placed in a context that allows the user to easily meditate while chanting them.

Κυρία.
Ευλογημένη βασίλισσα.
Θεϊκή θεά του γάμου.
Προστάτης και εκδηκητής.

Is more of an invocation, and translates to:

Lady.
Blessed Queen.
Heavenly Goddess of marriage.
Protector and avenger.

I am going to try it tonight.

At this point, I am trying some approaches to establishing my path into the Heraverse, and Apollo still seems to nag me by constantly tossing questions into my head, but I hope to come across just the right methods to honor and seek her power and strength in my life.

To Hera

O Pais

Girl child of Kronos

Laughing and dancing to the rhythm of the Earth

O Autorote

Virgin girl blessed with beauty

Adorned to allure, yet always untouched

O Nymphomene

Betrothed Lady

Awaiting your moment at last.

O Gamelia

In love you are bound

With love you persevere

O Telea

Grown to your full bloom

Mistress of all you survey

O Hypercheiria

Your hand risen high

The skies moving at your will

O Basilina

Queen of Heaven and Earth

Of the golden throne of Olympus

O Autorote and Zygia

O Hera of the Cow Eyes

Blessed may you be, now and forever.

Hera

Before I can proceed, I must make a clear distinction between the various forms that Hera seems to take in our religion. Hera is, in myth, the daughter of Kronos and Rhea, the Titan rulers of the Cosmos. Among her siblings she counts Zeus, who would become King of Heaven, the Cosmos, and of Gods and Men. He would also become her husband, making her the Queen of Heaven, of Gods and Men, and of mighty Olympus itself.

Hera has a variety of aspects in the mythic cycles, and these are maiden, as the young goddess who fights the Titans along with the other children of Kronos and Rhea she is warrior, as wife of Zeus is is goddess of marriage, as goddess of marriage she is goddess of vows, queen, and avenger. She is also, through proxy, a goddess of childbirth and of child rearing, though these are aspects we rarely see in myth except when she is seen as the demented tormentor of Herakles, the crippler of Hephaestos, or the indifferent mother of Ares.

The myths reflect, only slightly, the nature of this Goddess, but it does point into some directions that I have always taken to be pointers rather than actual paths. My distinct understanding of Hera is only somewhat based on her myths, but more based on the truth that Hera, among the Goddesses of Greece, was one of the most revered and most widely worshipped in all of Hellas. Only Athena is likely to have had more wide spread worship.

Maybe I am naive, but I don't think her cults, her temples, and her power among the people of Greece would ever have been so vast if she were truly the vile shrew that she is often said to be in the myths.

The Maiden Hera:

In the myths, Hera has a daughter named Hebe. In many ways, Hebe is really little more than a young replica of Hera herself, and in my opinion, Hebe and Hera are the same deity in different aspects. In my worship, Hebe is placed on her altar as a reminder of her purity, as virgin or maiden, though the myths do say that Hebe is eventually united with Heracles as his wife, but more on this later.

The Matronly Hera:

Hera as wife and as woman in full bloom is the Goddess in her most fully manifest form. In this form the goddess is avenger of wrongs, keeper of oaths and vows, punisher of evils, and goddess of woman as keeper of the home (note, this does not mean housekeeper). In this aspect, I see Hera as a protector of the home in a similar way as Hestia, but not in the sense that our homes are her home the way one can see Hestia.

Hera the Queen:

Hera is Queen of Heaven. As Juno, the Romans saw her as one of the triumvirate of gods who were highest in the land, with Jupiter and Minerva, and among the Greeks she was Matron Goddess of cities, and protector of civilization. In my worship, this aspect of Hera is roughly the equivalent of the worship of Mary as Queen of Heaven, but unlike Mary, who is subject to God and who has no power without God, Hera is a Goddess, powerful and fully realized, and not really requiring any God, even the King of Heaven, to make her own will known. Hers is not the subservient will of Zeus, it is her own.

Hera Polias:

Like Athena, Hera was a goddess of the people, of the cities, and of civilization that these cities were bringing into being. As such she was the protector of cities, inspirer of heroes, and the punisher of the crimes man commits against their own interests (like crimes against their wives and children.) In my worship, this aspect of the goddess takes second seat to Athena Polias, but I often consider them both when I meditate on such divine forms.

This is the beginning for me of an exploration of what I know, may not know, and what the goddess herself may choose to throw at me. Hera can be harsh, a goddess of such power would almost have to be, and I hope I am up to the tasks ahead of me.

Yesterday, before I lit the altar of Hera the protector that sits at my front door, I took it apart and cleaned it. I cleaned off the statue of Hebe, the decorations to give the altar beauty, and added salt to the canister in which I will be burning incense daily to the goddess. I prayed to her and asked for her guidance and protection, and having bought special incense for her, I lit it and the candle I bought for her, and began my journey.

Wish me luck!

Preparations...

The time has come, I am full of questions, and now I must prepare for more, and maybe an answer or two. But I must also prepare the altar, because Hera, the Goddess who is next on the path, has her own altar in my home. I must buy new candles, do a thorough cleaning and rededication ceremony which I can detail here, though they are very simple for me.

I must also prepare myself to deal with what happened to my most recent relationship. How I may have contributed to its falling apart, and how much I saw from the beginning but was willing to overlook in order to remain with him.

Hera always scares me a little bit, and I must face her now...

Moving on...

So, my time with Apollo has been a bit difficult, but I do think it was productive.

I struggled with him, perhaps battled with him a bit, but in the end he proved himself to be what many of you already know he is, a god of questions.

What?

Well, the God requires us to know ourselves, doesn't he? What better way to do that than through the asking of questions and paying close attention to our own responses to them?

So, I bid a fond adieu to Apollo on this journey and move ahead.