Note!

I am thinking I need to put my work on this site, meaning the prayers and little poems I write. Most of it is probably crap, but they seem to elicit positive responses, so I am going to start compiling these soon. Need to think about the best way to organize them and whether I should start a new sub site for them, as there are quite a few of them now...

Connectedness...

In my search to understand myself through the way I relate to the Gods, I have come to understand that part of me always reacts in the opposite way to the realizations I come to. When I come to the realization that Apollo is a God of answers, I come up with inner questions. When I realize that Hera is a Goddess concerned with connections, I seek distance.

Why is that? Is this something normal to the human psyche? Is it something I have always done, and how has that affected the way I think and feel about the world around me?

It may take me an eternity to discover the reasoning behind this, but recognizing that I do it may help to prevent me from doing it in the future if I can manage to recognize it in the moment rather than in hindsight.

But, I do want to report on the Hera Mantra, which reads as follows:

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

It has really turned out well. The words, when spoken, can take on a variety of rhythmic qualities. In a monotone it really pops, but if as you sing it you allow the words to dictate a rhythm, you will find yourself singing it rather nicely and it really seems to do what many of the Hindu chants do for me when I sing them.

Meditatively, the fact that this mantra has meaning for me, knowing the exact meaning of it as I do, makes the mantra all the more useful in working out my meditation and prayer.

So, now I must consider writing some more.

Hera and the connectedness of nature...

The blessed Gods are all connected. They act, react, and interact in such a way that they are all unified in a way that allows for the universe as a whole to exist properly. When Hesiod speaks of the creation of the world, he speaks of it in terms of a theogony.

He connects the origin of the Gods with the origin of nature, and later he relates the beginnings of mankind with a creative act by the Gods. In this sense, the universe is not created, but is, rather, the result of the Gods coming into being.

Among these Gods, Ge, Ouranos, Nyx, etc., come into being and as a result of that, the earth, the sky, and space itself were created to accommodate them.

To us, or I should really say me, this is a kind of indicator as to the nature of the Gods. That Ge is the Goddess of the Earth, that Ouranos was a God of the Sky, and Nyx was the Goddess of the Night. But that is a very human way to look at the Gods. That is an anthropomorphic way to view them, as if they take on careers of sorts, occupying offices the way a human being would.

But there is an underlying reality to the mythological views set forth by the ancient writers, and that is that the Gods do seem to take on very distinct interests in a variety of things. In my opinion, every God is capable of anything. Hera can cause a thunderstorm, impart wisdom, or manipulate fire. She is not a super-hero, she is a Goddess, but this Goddess seems to take a special interest in several things.

Civilization, city life, marriage, and the proper conduct of the married. She takes an interest in those things that bind humanity, both in a natural sense, and in the sense of propriety. Hera seems to dislike the breaking of vows, just as Zeus does, and she seems to hate the breaking of social rules and conventions that cause society to be overturned or harmed.

The connectedness of all natural things, however, is not necessarily something we automatically seem to connect with Hera, yet it does seem to be something she takes an interest in. If we look at marriage as the formation of a tribe, as mating, and as the formation of a unit meant to provide protection for the young, we see that marriage is a manifestation of a natural reality.

The marriage we think of as normal, though, may not be what she is truly interested in, but rather the maintaining of the order that allows for the unions that provide this sheltering and protection of the young. Thus, Hera is not interested in whether you have a monogamous marriage, or a polyamorous marriage, or a gay marriage, but rather in whether or not you are an honest member of that unit and maintain it in good faith so that it may, if needed, provide the use for which that unit is formed.

I honestly believe that Hera, as goddess of marriage, as goddess of unions, as goddess of the necessary connections between living beings, is interested in the fidelity of those unions, and by fidelity I don't mean monogamy, but honesty. If two people enter into a monogamous marriage or relationship, Hera is interested in both partners being monogamous because they have, in essence, made a vow to be monogamous. If they enter into a relationship that is not monogamous, she is interested in the honesty with which both, or the multiple partners, relate to each other to keep that relationship healthy.

In this sense, she also calls us out on our promises to friends, to family, to our society, because those too are vows that connect us one to the other. She is also, I think, connected to those connections between man and the natural world around him. Does he treat the natural world with respect, recognizing his place in it and seeking to treat it with proper reverence? And how is the social contract with nature to be kept, and how do we, as followers of the Gods who demand Xenia and Dike, properly convince the followers of a religion that reinforces the destruction of the world to stop and take a good look around?

I pray Hera grant me the wisdom to know how to do this...

Exploring Hera...

So, now that I have started to explore Hera, to put her in some focus in my mind, I am starting to take notice of a few things. One, the sky is turbulent this time of year, and I often scream at it, internally of course, as i try to make my way to work on a beat up bicycle (I don't drive because of my feelings about pollution and the support of corrupt industries) and yet as I rode my bike through town today and the sky turned bright then grey then bright again, the wind furiously blowing through the city like an high party goer, I was reminded of one of the simplest pleasures in the world; stopping and standing, facing the wind, and feeling it.

It is a remarkable feeling.

But you may ask what this has to do with Hera, after all, Zeus is the storm god, no?

Of course, but the Queen of Heaven opens up ones eyes to several things, including the relationships between things. Sometimes things of like kind, like the genders, but sometimes between disparate things like a man and the wind, the stars in the sky and the puddle of water left over from a rain shower. The connections that bind us all one to the other and to everything else on and around the Earth.

But I think Hera is not really so much interested in whether I see the connections, after all, the connections exist whether I notice them or not, but what am I willing to do on a conscious level to seek out those connections, explore them, and develop a conscious link between my psyche, my consciousness, and the world around me, and especially, other people.

Greetings, my Queen.

Born to the King and Queen of the world.
Child of the greatest heritage.

Χαιρετισμοί, η βασίλισσά μου.

Young virgin, prim and proper.
By the wiles of young Zeus impressed.

Χαιρετισμοί, η βασίλισσά μου.

To the wedding bed were you taken.
One day to become Queen of Heaven.

Χαιρετισμοί, η βασίλισσά μου.

In war did you stand.
By his, your husband’s, side.

Χαιρετισμοί, η βασίλισσά μου.

Against your father.
Against your mother.

Χαιρετισμοί, η βασίλισσά μου.

In victory were you enthroned.
In victory did you shine.

Χαιρετισμοί, η βασίλισσά μου.

By love were you enthralled.
By love were you betrayed.

Χαιρετισμοί, η βασίλισσά μου.

Your honor in shreds.
Your anger violent and sharp.

Χαιρετισμοί, η βασίλισσά μου.

Hera’s glory to bear your wrath.
Hera’s glory to pay the price.

Χαιρετισμοί, η βασίλισσά μου.

But kind are you as well.
Forgiving at the end.

Χαιρετισμοί, η βασίλισσά μου.

Hera’s glory before you.
Hebe’s hand his to have.

Χαιρετισμοί, η βασίλισσά μου.

Peace and tranquility again restored.
The Queen of Heaven enthroned.

Χαιρετισμοί, η βασίλισσά μου.