Erinyes/Eumenides

When your heart has been broken
And the hurt is too deep

You call
WE ANSWER

We are this spirit of vengeance

When you are dearly betrayed
And the words are hard to muster

You call
WE ANSWER

We are the spirit of justice

When you feel heartily defenseless
And fear to reach out

You call
WE ANSWER

We are the daughters of the Earth

When vengeance is what you need
And peace of mind is what you want

You call
WE ANSWER

We are the vicious avengers of woman's pain

When at last you are willing
And your time has come

You call
WE ANSWER

We are the kindly bringers of wisdom

the daemonic

Something recently came up in one of the Hellenic lists that made me aware of something these little meditations of mine were meant to point out all along. That we each have to seek to “channel” the Gods into our lives in various ways.

In the myths, the Gods are said to act as “daemons.” That is to say that they whisper in our ears, they can become almost a part of us if we allow them to. To the early Christian Church, and to many modern evangelicals, the word daemon becomes demon, the malevolent spirits that cause so much mischief in the world according to their own religious philosophy, but it also means something else, the demonizing of any religious ideas and philosophies that do not agree with their own.

The word daemon is one we pagans of all stripes need to reclaim from the warping philosophy that seeks to make itself the only true faith. And it is one we Hellenistoi need to claim for our own and make clear. The daemones are the gods, they are that aspect of a god or goddess that you can bring into your heart to give you strength, courage, and desire for justice. In psychiatric terms, these aspects of the Gods are called archetypes, and often people are said to hold within them all of these archetypes, and that we can make use of them by training our minds to behave in accordance with these archetypical characteristics when necessary.

It is, I think, important especially in light of where I am right now along my star path to recognize the daemonic, because Hermes, especially, has very real and long remembered angelic/daemonic aspects, and he seems to currently be tugging at my heart so as to push me to further accept the daemonic aspects of the Gods into my life.

This past week was one that almost drove me over the edge, and it occurs to me that if I could better channel the daemonic, those voices in my head that are from them, that I could have better dealt with my world. That instead of a nervous breakdown, I could have gotten into a place of peace and steely reserve to deal with all the stress and incompetence that dealt me such a harsh blow.

Hermes is asking that I open myself up more to these things, and now I am asking myself if I will listen...

Lady Athena

English:

Lady Athena!
Lady of Wisdom.
Lady of Battle.
Always in motion.
Come into this home, you are always welcome here!

Greek:

Κυρία Αθηνά!
Παναγία της Σοφίας.
Κυρίας της μάχης.
Πάντα εν κινήσει.
Ελάτε σε αυτό το σπίτι, είστε πάντα ευπρόσδεκτοι εδώ!


Spanish:

¡Señora Atenea!
Señora de la Sabiduría.
Señora de la Batalla.
Siempre en movimiento.
Entre en esta casa, que siempre es bienvenida aquí!


Portuguese:

Senhora Athena!
Senhora da Sabedoria.
Senhora da Batalha.
Sempre em movimento.
Venha para esta casa, você é sempre bem-vinda aqui!

Daughters of the Evening

Daughters of evening.
Watchers of the tree.
Of the golden apples that Mother Ge gave to the Queen.
Maidens of the West.
Where the gates of the Sun’s Western palace lay.
And the dances of golden skinned maidens make his last sight a pleasure.
Guard them well, those golden treasures.
And make your father proud who holds the sky on his back.
Daughters of Atlas.
Named like an eagle, the evening, or the blinding light of sunset.
Sing songs to the Goddess, your matron.
Virgin Guardians of the Evening.
Defenders of the fruits of emotion.
Witnesses to the Hero’s Labor.
Dance and be merry, sing and be honored.
Greet and welcome great Nyx, and father Erebus.

The dark aspects

So, Hermes, as a guide, has proven both elusive and instructive. It is part of his charm. But he is also now pointing me into a new direction, one which most are fearful to think too hard on, after all, who likes to ponder their own deaths too much, except maybe some goof ball emo with too much time on their hands and a mommy who pampered him too much.

But this isn’t about wallowing in self pity or indulging in thoughts of death to be cool, this is about coming to a true realization of one’s own mortality and then facing the possibility that it may be coming rather a bit sooner than one might hope. It is about finding yourself feeling sick, or feeling your body do things that you can’t explain and which remind you that there comes an age when things just start to go downhill.

I am taking this part of it as a warning rather than a simple reminder, but I am also taking it as a chance to ponder the concept of non-existence.

That is not as easy a thing to ponder as you might think. We exist, so we have no clue what it means not to. Truly conceptualizing such a thing is really rather impossible unless you can catch small little glimpses of it as you try, but then, as you grasp it, it disappears because once you do you are no longer pondering actual a lack of existence, but a a non-existence based on the thought of non-existence, which in itself is not non-existence.

I say this because I do not actually believe in an afterlife. My meditations on the nature of the universe and the Gods have convinced me of this, and so, once I sit and ponder my ultimate death, I must try to conceptualize, to truly bring to mind, an idea that dying means a total and ultimate lack of awareness. That once you die all things you were simply cease and are gone. That I will have no sense of being, no sense of perception, nothing.

It is difficult.

Yet to ponder Hermes is also to ponder all the potential that is in us as living creatures.

Hermes seems to be saying that we can transcend, not to become Gods, but that as we live, we can transcend and in this life leave behind a legacy that makes others feel and understand things that they might not otherwise have understood. That while we, the people who live, may die our impact on the universe remains and reverberates through it in small and large ways that only the Gods can predict into the future, and even then, that future is unwritten and therefore unpredictable.

Every choice I make affects the future, even if it only alters the flow a little, it does so, and me today affects tomorrow, and even after I am gone, my presence will have affected the flow of time and, along with all of us, will have set up the tapestry of the past on which the future always depends, and the present, well, the present is that beautiful place where all the potential and probability collide and the hands of the Fates set the threads into place.

Hermes, and his darker aspect as Psychopompos, is one that may seem to lead some to believe in an afterlife, but to me, it is a reminder that our time is limited, and maybe sitting on my ass and watching life go by is not a good idea. So, I should go, make love, dance, sing, explore new music, new people, new places and by doing so make my little section of the great tapestry more beautiful.

The Soldier

You fight in lands that are not your own.
You sweat and bleed for your brothers in arms.
You miss your family.
You miss your son.
The one you've yet to meet.

You fight for reasons not your own.
You fight for honor.
You fight to save your fellow man.
You fight for freedom's hopeful return.
The freedom so many seek to deny you, even at home.

You are the warrior who defends his state.
You are the soldier who cries in silence.
You are the one who sees them fall.
You mourn them all and continue to fight.
As politicians dine like kings.

You are remembered upon your death.
You are made hero to your own.
Your son will visit you and flowers leave.
You are celebrated by Gods and Men.
As Ares weeps for your loss to the world.