Putting the various discoveries I am making about the Gods and my relationship with them into actual practice is not something I can speak of as many others do because I am very much a solitary. There are no other Hellenistoi in this area that I can think of and for me to put my beliefs into practice as ritual has therefore become very simple.
Prayer, the burning of incense, the making of simple offering at the altars of the Gods, etc. are the core of all my practices. The blessing of my home with incense smoke while invoking the Gods is something I do when I am preparing to celebrate any festival through fasting or making special offerings, etc.
Putting my ideas on Hera into practice was something I had already done. Placing her altar at the entry way to my home, invoking my idea of her as a protecting goddess and offering to her there in that aspect. Making a statue of Hebe my representation of her, for I see Hebe as an aspect of Hera that represents the goddess' maiden aspect, an aspect that to me represents potential, both lost and to be fulfilled, and in reference to the ancient ways, an aspect that represents a certain sadness as women were so often treated with such disdain and with attitudes of ownership, and one has to wonder how Hera, the Goddess, must have railed against these attitudes among Greek men. Along with Hera, her altar includes an image of Mother Earth, who I do not see as an aspect of Hera, but who also represents here the chthonic aspects of Hera. Aspects that are often connected to death, war, and the defense of self at the expense of another and for another, as warriors did in the defense of their cities.
When I invoke Hera, however, it is usually as Queen of Heaven, and this is an aspect that requires more than the usual simplicity of an incense burning. It requires a certain humbling of the self. It requires putting oneself in a mindset that one might when meeting the Queen of England, except this is a Goddess, and while the Queen of England is just a human being like you and me, this is the Queen of Olympus, the Sky Queen, a deity. It causes awe in me to think of her, and this awe translates to a feeling that my practice is simply insufficient to her majesty.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Interlude...
I have recently had the experience of having to defend my faith. I normally don't care about doing such things, no faith in the world is any more or less ridiculous than any other. All religions put faith in things that seem, from a logical perspective, to be flawed or even comically stupid, and ours is no different, but it often strikes me as comical or stupid to hear Christians speak about other religions and the very points they use to bash another religion are seen in abundance in their own.
I was having a conversation with a friend and the subject of a fast I was undergoing came into the conversation. I said that I was doing the fast for several reasons, and when pushed about those reasons I said that part of it was to honor the Gods. It was like I had told her I had murdered a child.
What Gods? She asked. I told her. Why do you pray to idols? She asked. Why do you pray to a cross? I asked. What kind of God would demand that you starve yourself? She asked. What kind of God would demand that you not work on Saturdays and not eat meat on Fridays?
That sort of took the air out of the sails for a second, and then showing a level of knowledge about Greek Myths that I wasn't expecting, she said that she thought it was silly that I believed in mythical Gods that had children with mortal women and that had stories like Jason and Hercules.
Herakles, I corrected, and then told her that she was being a little hypocritical. After all, God impregnated Mary, Samson destroyed a temple, and Moses parted a sea. If you want to look at the religions of others and find fault, try looking at your own first to make sure you aren't just as "silly" as they are in your own beliefs.
Truth is that we all do it, we all find certain aspects of other's religious beliefs to be silly or ridiculous, but unlike Christians, who en mass might be considered a threat to the religious rights of non-Christians, I believe whole heartedly in the idea that we are all free to practice whatever religions we want or feel the need to follow.
I was having a conversation with a friend and the subject of a fast I was undergoing came into the conversation. I said that I was doing the fast for several reasons, and when pushed about those reasons I said that part of it was to honor the Gods. It was like I had told her I had murdered a child.
What Gods? She asked. I told her. Why do you pray to idols? She asked. Why do you pray to a cross? I asked. What kind of God would demand that you starve yourself? She asked. What kind of God would demand that you not work on Saturdays and not eat meat on Fridays?
That sort of took the air out of the sails for a second, and then showing a level of knowledge about Greek Myths that I wasn't expecting, she said that she thought it was silly that I believed in mythical Gods that had children with mortal women and that had stories like Jason and Hercules.
Herakles, I corrected, and then told her that she was being a little hypocritical. After all, God impregnated Mary, Samson destroyed a temple, and Moses parted a sea. If you want to look at the religions of others and find fault, try looking at your own first to make sure you aren't just as "silly" as they are in your own beliefs.
Truth is that we all do it, we all find certain aspects of other's religious beliefs to be silly or ridiculous, but unlike Christians, who en mass might be considered a threat to the religious rights of non-Christians, I believe whole heartedly in the idea that we are all free to practice whatever religions we want or feel the need to follow.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Hera, protector.
In my little Mantra to Hera, the penultimate line reads:
Κυρία προστάτισσα - Kyria prostatisa
This means Lady Protector, and in the mythos there is clear evidence of Hera as a Polias and Poliouchos type goddess the same way as Athena. These aspects are of the goddess in question as a protector of cities, protector of the people, and protector of the institutions of the people. But as is clear in the myths of Jason, for example, Hera is also a protector of Heroes, and by extension of humanity.
As persecutor of Herakles she is instrumental in the creation of his mythos, his legend, his fame into history. In a very real way she makes him immortal by making him the most famous of all the heroes of Greece even while she is said to detest him. In many ways, she purposely sets out to set him up as a hero for the people to admire, to worship, to adore and in so doing she sets about setting up a means for man to aspire to greater things.
In my home, when you walk in, the first thing you see is an altar to Hera and Gaia which has a statue of Hebe, who I see as the youthful aspect of Hera herself, and as cupbearer, as an aspect of protection and purity. I set it up there a long time ago, maybe as much as eight years ago, and always found that it was exactly perfect. That in a way, perhaps symbolically, Hera was there to protect my home, and as I have grown in my understanding of the Gods, and of Hera, it turns out I was right to place her altar there.
Σας ευχαριστώ, η κυρία μου!
Κυρία προστάτισσα - Kyria prostatisa
This means Lady Protector, and in the mythos there is clear evidence of Hera as a Polias and Poliouchos type goddess the same way as Athena. These aspects are of the goddess in question as a protector of cities, protector of the people, and protector of the institutions of the people. But as is clear in the myths of Jason, for example, Hera is also a protector of Heroes, and by extension of humanity.
As persecutor of Herakles she is instrumental in the creation of his mythos, his legend, his fame into history. In a very real way she makes him immortal by making him the most famous of all the heroes of Greece even while she is said to detest him. In many ways, she purposely sets out to set him up as a hero for the people to admire, to worship, to adore and in so doing she sets about setting up a means for man to aspire to greater things.
In my home, when you walk in, the first thing you see is an altar to Hera and Gaia which has a statue of Hebe, who I see as the youthful aspect of Hera herself, and as cupbearer, as an aspect of protection and purity. I set it up there a long time ago, maybe as much as eight years ago, and always found that it was exactly perfect. That in a way, perhaps symbolically, Hera was there to protect my home, and as I have grown in my understanding of the Gods, and of Hera, it turns out I was right to place her altar there.
Σας ευχαριστώ, η κυρία μου!
Monday, May 12, 2008
On the nature of Hera, continued... Conclusions and future ideas...
So, as I have sought to get closer to Hera I have been rebuffed. Hera has reminded me that she is not my friend, not my lover, not my mother. She is Queen of Heaven and the boundaries between us are rather absolute. Not that I cannot seek her out, mind you, but that I need to start showing some more proper respect toward her position and power. That I need to try to see the boundaries she has set for us and respectfully approach them rather than trample up to them like a petulant child.
I have learned to that Hera is not done with me, that while my understanding of her role has been somewhat clarified, my understanding of her underlying nature has not, and until I come to a better understanding of that nature I must continue my meditations on what she means to me and why.
Hera is not like Athena, who moves like wind through the world, touching and affecting almost everything she comes across in an almost playful yet always purposeful way. Hera is more like the wall that prevents the wind from toppling you. She is protector and avenger of wrongs because she sets the very boundaries that are a "sin" to trespass upon. Hers is a power beyond my current ability to comprehend, perhaps because I tread lightly when it comes to the Gods, or because I fear that running too far afield of the accepted forms will label me something I am not, an eclectic.
But if I am to approach the limits of my own understanding of Hera, I must also seek to push a little on the boundaries I perceive between myself and the Gods. After all, even with the enormous walls between us, between the mortal and the divine, we are all part of the same cosmos. We are all part of the whole that makes the cosmos run, and that being the case, perhaps I can claim a certain right to know. A certain right to understand even as I seek to understand the limits of that knowledge, for knowing the limits is in itself a form of knowledge.
Apollo tells us to know ourselves. Hera tells us to know our limits. Athena tells us to fight up to those limits even as Dionysos tells us to rage with our power, our grace, and our very beings against the status quo. Contradictions? I don't think so...
So, come the future, I must allow myself to perceive her with a certain eye toward what she wants me to see rather than what I want to see in her.
I have learned to that Hera is not done with me, that while my understanding of her role has been somewhat clarified, my understanding of her underlying nature has not, and until I come to a better understanding of that nature I must continue my meditations on what she means to me and why.
Hera is not like Athena, who moves like wind through the world, touching and affecting almost everything she comes across in an almost playful yet always purposeful way. Hera is more like the wall that prevents the wind from toppling you. She is protector and avenger of wrongs because she sets the very boundaries that are a "sin" to trespass upon. Hers is a power beyond my current ability to comprehend, perhaps because I tread lightly when it comes to the Gods, or because I fear that running too far afield of the accepted forms will label me something I am not, an eclectic.
But if I am to approach the limits of my own understanding of Hera, I must also seek to push a little on the boundaries I perceive between myself and the Gods. After all, even with the enormous walls between us, between the mortal and the divine, we are all part of the same cosmos. We are all part of the whole that makes the cosmos run, and that being the case, perhaps I can claim a certain right to know. A certain right to understand even as I seek to understand the limits of that knowledge, for knowing the limits is in itself a form of knowledge.
Apollo tells us to know ourselves. Hera tells us to know our limits. Athena tells us to fight up to those limits even as Dionysos tells us to rage with our power, our grace, and our very beings against the status quo. Contradictions? I don't think so...
So, come the future, I must allow myself to perceive her with a certain eye toward what she wants me to see rather than what I want to see in her.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
On the nature of Hera, continued... Her Avatars?
But Hera is the Queen of Gods. Her position in the divine hierarchy places her at the pinnacle of the cosmic curve. That, to me at least, says that unlike other divinities, her role in the balance between mortality and immortality is one best viewed from a distance. Unlike Zeus, whose strong chthonic aspects require him to have become Herakles, we see in that myth that at no time does Hera lower herself to becoming less than what she is, a powerful divinity.
Hera does not, under any circumstances, seem to become one with the mortal, rather she becomes part of how the mortal world works by imposing order upon it, an order that may require divinity to learn from it's own limitations in understanding. She opens the door between the mortal and the immortal, between the divine and the mundane, and Gods have walked through it to our world, to our level of existence, but she is not one of them.
When I speak of an avatar, I should make it clear that I do not mean epiphanies, but rather true mortal incarnations of a divinity in the mortal world. All Gods have epiphanies present in the world. These are moments in man's experience when we have experienced the Gods directly in some way. The sun as an epiphany of Helios, the moon as an epiphany of Selene, etc., and these are all things that have independent existence. The moon is not literally Selene, but it represents her. An aspect is different as well as it is a representation of a specific aspect of the nature of a deity. Hebe, as an aspect of Hera, represents the virginal and youthful aspect of her nature.
Hera is said to appear as mortals in the world, but unlike other deities, she is never said to bear the child of a mortal. She bears children on her own, and with Zeus, but never with a mortal.
To be continued...
PS: I should point out that I consider any child of a God to be a potential aspect of that God, and any mortal child born of a union between mortal and immortal to be a potential avatar of the divine figure.
Hera does not, under any circumstances, seem to become one with the mortal, rather she becomes part of how the mortal world works by imposing order upon it, an order that may require divinity to learn from it's own limitations in understanding. She opens the door between the mortal and the immortal, between the divine and the mundane, and Gods have walked through it to our world, to our level of existence, but she is not one of them.
When I speak of an avatar, I should make it clear that I do not mean epiphanies, but rather true mortal incarnations of a divinity in the mortal world. All Gods have epiphanies present in the world. These are moments in man's experience when we have experienced the Gods directly in some way. The sun as an epiphany of Helios, the moon as an epiphany of Selene, etc., and these are all things that have independent existence. The moon is not literally Selene, but it represents her. An aspect is different as well as it is a representation of a specific aspect of the nature of a deity. Hebe, as an aspect of Hera, represents the virginal and youthful aspect of her nature.
Hera is said to appear as mortals in the world, but unlike other deities, she is never said to bear the child of a mortal. She bears children on her own, and with Zeus, but never with a mortal.
To be continued...
PS: I should point out that I consider any child of a God to be a potential aspect of that God, and any mortal child born of a union between mortal and immortal to be a potential avatar of the divine figure.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
On the nature of Hera, continued... Life and Death
I said that the one boundary that Hera seems not all that concerned with was that between life and death. That there are others, like Hermes, Hekate, and our much beloved Persephone who are much more interested in that particular boundary. But the Gods all have an interest in this boundary in some way or another, and I think that the small interest in it that Hera seems to show is one between mortality and immortality, rather than life and death.
We already spoke of Herakles, whose name means Hera's Glory, and how in the mythos this great Hero of the Argolid became one of the immortals, an honor only paid him in all the mythos. Other beings in the mythos are spared death, set into the heavens as stars, made servants of the Gods on Olympus, etc., but none but Herakles is ever truly made a God. None but Herakles has the very mortality burned from his body and made from mortal to God.
Dionysos, for example, is never truly born to a mortal woman. He is, rather, born to a divine figure, be it Persephone, as some myths imply, or from the thigh of Zeus. Thus his form is truly divine right from the beginning.
In the myth, Hera seems to not just be torturing Herakles, but guiding him toward something. She is preparing him to ascend the bonds of mortality and become an immortal. She is preparing to raise him from the pit to the heavens.
My personal belief about this myth is this, that it represents a transitional period in the divine sphere. I think that the myth of Herakles represents a shift in the cosmic order, as the will and work of the Gods became more and more ordered and the shift in the cosmic fabric became more delineated between the mortal and the immortal. That lines became drawn and the Gods, traversing these lines, went forth into the cosmos and forged the links between these parts of the cosmos, and it is my belief that Hera and Zeus were instrumental in the firming up of the lines between the highest and the lowest levels of the cosmos.
Herakles must live, as a mortal, in order to transcend that line between mortal and immortal, he must establish that link between the two worlds so that the Gods themselves can traverse it. Being a myth, of course, it is made into a myth within the scope of humanity's world, and within that mythic system, we are lead to another boundary, that between life, death, and the immortal.
Unlike mortals, the Gods are not directly linked to death. They do not die. They cannot die. They must have little conception of death in any way that you or I could ever relate to, but they are aware of it. They understand its need and purpose in ways you or I cannot relate to either. We human beings, however, have an innate understanding of death because it is part of us. Every moment of every day we are dying. Parts of us are decaying and being rebuilt. Molecule by molecule we are in a constant state of flux, always changing, always being reborn, and, if you ask me, the Gods needed to understand this.
In order to understand that which was part of them, us, the Gods became us. They incarnated, some of them did, as mortal forms. Whether those forms were human or not is up for speculation, but I do think they did this and, perhaps, will do so again. The Hindu concept of the avatar, the hero of the Greeks, the Christos of the Christians, all point to the possibility...
To be continued...
We already spoke of Herakles, whose name means Hera's Glory, and how in the mythos this great Hero of the Argolid became one of the immortals, an honor only paid him in all the mythos. Other beings in the mythos are spared death, set into the heavens as stars, made servants of the Gods on Olympus, etc., but none but Herakles is ever truly made a God. None but Herakles has the very mortality burned from his body and made from mortal to God.
Dionysos, for example, is never truly born to a mortal woman. He is, rather, born to a divine figure, be it Persephone, as some myths imply, or from the thigh of Zeus. Thus his form is truly divine right from the beginning.
In the myth, Hera seems to not just be torturing Herakles, but guiding him toward something. She is preparing him to ascend the bonds of mortality and become an immortal. She is preparing to raise him from the pit to the heavens.
My personal belief about this myth is this, that it represents a transitional period in the divine sphere. I think that the myth of Herakles represents a shift in the cosmic order, as the will and work of the Gods became more and more ordered and the shift in the cosmic fabric became more delineated between the mortal and the immortal. That lines became drawn and the Gods, traversing these lines, went forth into the cosmos and forged the links between these parts of the cosmos, and it is my belief that Hera and Zeus were instrumental in the firming up of the lines between the highest and the lowest levels of the cosmos.
Herakles must live, as a mortal, in order to transcend that line between mortal and immortal, he must establish that link between the two worlds so that the Gods themselves can traverse it. Being a myth, of course, it is made into a myth within the scope of humanity's world, and within that mythic system, we are lead to another boundary, that between life, death, and the immortal.
Unlike mortals, the Gods are not directly linked to death. They do not die. They cannot die. They must have little conception of death in any way that you or I could ever relate to, but they are aware of it. They understand its need and purpose in ways you or I cannot relate to either. We human beings, however, have an innate understanding of death because it is part of us. Every moment of every day we are dying. Parts of us are decaying and being rebuilt. Molecule by molecule we are in a constant state of flux, always changing, always being reborn, and, if you ask me, the Gods needed to understand this.
In order to understand that which was part of them, us, the Gods became us. They incarnated, some of them did, as mortal forms. Whether those forms were human or not is up for speculation, but I do think they did this and, perhaps, will do so again. The Hindu concept of the avatar, the hero of the Greeks, the Christos of the Christians, all point to the possibility...
To be continued...
Monday, May 5, 2008
On the nature of Hera, continued... Boundaries
So, as Queen, or Empress, Hera establishes boundaries. Boundaries of law and order. Boundaries that both regiment how we act and feel toward each other and also guide us. When we speak of gentile behavior, of treating each other with the respect due our positions, we are talking about boundaries set down by Hera, because she, of all the Goddesses in our Mythos, seems to be the one that fights the hardest, most fiercely, and sometimes most viciously, to have her own position respected. She is Queen of Gods and Men, and you had better not forget that.
Think about the positions of heroes like Herakles and Perseus, both of whom hail from the Argolid. Perseus was destined to be a king in the Argolid, but Herakles was destined to rule the Argolid almost like a God. Zeus planted his seed in Alkmene, who was also a grand daughter of Perseus (some three or four generations removed) and promised that the first boy child born of the family of Perseus would rule over the lands. To Hera this was unconscionable, Zeus was attempting to usurp her influence in this land, the Argolid, which had for a long time seen her as the most potent of all forces, their Queen, their Great Goddess, and in doing so bring her low before her people. Zeus was attempting to usurp, if you will, the power of the feminine in a land founded by the descendants of his own seed.
This, to me, signifies in the mythos a time when the more matriarchal or matrilinear culture of the area was giving way to the overtly, and often viciously, patriarchal culture that would arise in Greece.
Now, Hera decided that she would hold Zeus to his divine promise, for he could do no less, and certainly not before her, and dispatched Eilytheia to prevent the birth of Alkmene's children, causing instead that a child of an uncle in the family of Perseus to be born first, and this child was Eurystheus, the King who would put Herakles through his labors.
Step one of her imposition of her place is set in motion, and then step two would follow as Herakles grew to vibrant manhood, married and had children. Hera placed in him a madness, and he murdered his own wife ad children, a crime for which he would seek absolution that could only be given through his virtual enslavement to Eurystheus.
Through his trials, Herakles would suffer, and it is through this suffering that Hera's place is set in stone among the people of the Argolid. She may not be pleasant to deal with, or one to deal with lightly, but she will set you in your place, and perhaps, in the end, allow you a transcendence. For at the end of his trials, when his life is at an end, Herakles would find his mortality burned from him in pain and despair and his immortal soul, which he gets from his father, and enters the company of the Gods and marries the goddess Hebe, who is, in most ways, just the young aspect of Hera herself (Herakles being an aspect of Zeus, one could say).
Hera sets both Zeus and Herakles in their places. Zeus should have known not to try to usurp the power of Hera among her own people. Herakles was a mortal, though a great hero, and never should a man attempt to think himself a god, even the son of Zeus (this is something Zeus boasts, not Herakles himself) and the boundaries between God and Man are to be respected, but so are the boundaries between man and woman, faher and son, mother and daughter, etc.
The one boundary that Hera does not seem overly concerned with is that between Life and Death, and that is likely a boundary set forth by another.
To be continued...
Think about the positions of heroes like Herakles and Perseus, both of whom hail from the Argolid. Perseus was destined to be a king in the Argolid, but Herakles was destined to rule the Argolid almost like a God. Zeus planted his seed in Alkmene, who was also a grand daughter of Perseus (some three or four generations removed) and promised that the first boy child born of the family of Perseus would rule over the lands. To Hera this was unconscionable, Zeus was attempting to usurp her influence in this land, the Argolid, which had for a long time seen her as the most potent of all forces, their Queen, their Great Goddess, and in doing so bring her low before her people. Zeus was attempting to usurp, if you will, the power of the feminine in a land founded by the descendants of his own seed.
This, to me, signifies in the mythos a time when the more matriarchal or matrilinear culture of the area was giving way to the overtly, and often viciously, patriarchal culture that would arise in Greece.
Now, Hera decided that she would hold Zeus to his divine promise, for he could do no less, and certainly not before her, and dispatched Eilytheia to prevent the birth of Alkmene's children, causing instead that a child of an uncle in the family of Perseus to be born first, and this child was Eurystheus, the King who would put Herakles through his labors.
Step one of her imposition of her place is set in motion, and then step two would follow as Herakles grew to vibrant manhood, married and had children. Hera placed in him a madness, and he murdered his own wife ad children, a crime for which he would seek absolution that could only be given through his virtual enslavement to Eurystheus.
Through his trials, Herakles would suffer, and it is through this suffering that Hera's place is set in stone among the people of the Argolid. She may not be pleasant to deal with, or one to deal with lightly, but she will set you in your place, and perhaps, in the end, allow you a transcendence. For at the end of his trials, when his life is at an end, Herakles would find his mortality burned from him in pain and despair and his immortal soul, which he gets from his father, and enters the company of the Gods and marries the goddess Hebe, who is, in most ways, just the young aspect of Hera herself (Herakles being an aspect of Zeus, one could say).
Hera sets both Zeus and Herakles in their places. Zeus should have known not to try to usurp the power of Hera among her own people. Herakles was a mortal, though a great hero, and never should a man attempt to think himself a god, even the son of Zeus (this is something Zeus boasts, not Herakles himself) and the boundaries between God and Man are to be respected, but so are the boundaries between man and woman, faher and son, mother and daughter, etc.
The one boundary that Hera does not seem overly concerned with is that between Life and Death, and that is likely a boundary set forth by another.
To be continued...
On the nature of Hera, continued...
So, now that you have a slight idea of my conception of Hera as a force for balance between the genders, between opposing forces that are more alike than we like to think, and as a force capable of enforcing that balance. However, it should also be implied by what I say that the Gods do not force us to maintain their desires of will in our world. Their power over nature itself is absolute, but their power over our will is not. They do not force us to do as they wish, they want us to want to do it for ourselves.
In my estimation, and perhaps as a way to help me connect to Hera, I have come to the conclusion that the best way to relate to Hera is on a somewhat impersonal one. Not as a friend or co-worker, but as an Empress of Queen. Why, you may ask is this? Well, because unlike some deities whose influence always seems so close, accessible, and personal, hers always seems to be a bit far away. Like Apollo, she seems to be more about watching and judging and guiding you lightly in the right direction rather than moving you to action, to passion, to madness.
Not that Hera is not a Goddess who can drive you to the brink, I think the mythos tells us that clearly enough, but if we really think about that mythos, is it really that she hates Perseus or Herakles or any of the other children of Zeus, or is it that those children of Zeus turn their eye away from her? Do they refuse to acknowledge her power? Do they refuse, willfully, to acknowledge the rights and power of women?
Hera, a Goddess, a feminine power, must stand up for her power in a world in which the term "god" is almost synonymous with masculinity. Where God is seen not as a potentially androgynous being, but as a male. As a male myself, I must admit to a certain bias toward my own gender in many things, which I suppose is perfectly natural, but as a modern man, a gay man, and a man who has experienced life as a minority in America, I cannot allow those biases to guide the way I treat women. I, personally, think this is why the pagan movement in America, and perhaps the world, are so much more likely to draw men who are liberal of mind when it comes to gender, more open to alternate ways of seeing gender and sexuality, and men who have an ability to respect the feminine power inherent in the world around us as well as the tumultuous masculine powers of sea and sky.
Hera seems to me like an Empress who rules, who creates a system of laws and rules that must be obeyed, but who does not really micromanage the Empire. She has her pet peeves, she requires obedience to certain rules and will punish those who do not follow them, but in general it is up to us to establish the ways in which we regulate ourselves, and to do so we must find her and establish some kind of rapport with her.
to be continued...
In my estimation, and perhaps as a way to help me connect to Hera, I have come to the conclusion that the best way to relate to Hera is on a somewhat impersonal one. Not as a friend or co-worker, but as an Empress of Queen. Why, you may ask is this? Well, because unlike some deities whose influence always seems so close, accessible, and personal, hers always seems to be a bit far away. Like Apollo, she seems to be more about watching and judging and guiding you lightly in the right direction rather than moving you to action, to passion, to madness.
Not that Hera is not a Goddess who can drive you to the brink, I think the mythos tells us that clearly enough, but if we really think about that mythos, is it really that she hates Perseus or Herakles or any of the other children of Zeus, or is it that those children of Zeus turn their eye away from her? Do they refuse to acknowledge her power? Do they refuse, willfully, to acknowledge the rights and power of women?
Hera, a Goddess, a feminine power, must stand up for her power in a world in which the term "god" is almost synonymous with masculinity. Where God is seen not as a potentially androgynous being, but as a male. As a male myself, I must admit to a certain bias toward my own gender in many things, which I suppose is perfectly natural, but as a modern man, a gay man, and a man who has experienced life as a minority in America, I cannot allow those biases to guide the way I treat women. I, personally, think this is why the pagan movement in America, and perhaps the world, are so much more likely to draw men who are liberal of mind when it comes to gender, more open to alternate ways of seeing gender and sexuality, and men who have an ability to respect the feminine power inherent in the world around us as well as the tumultuous masculine powers of sea and sky.
Hera seems to me like an Empress who rules, who creates a system of laws and rules that must be obeyed, but who does not really micromanage the Empire. She has her pet peeves, she requires obedience to certain rules and will punish those who do not follow them, but in general it is up to us to establish the ways in which we regulate ourselves, and to do so we must find her and establish some kind of rapport with her.
to be continued...
Sunday, May 4, 2008
On the nature of Hera
OK, so Hera is a goddess. She, that eternal spirit we call Hera, is a deity. Her divine nature is not something you or I could ever truly comprehend in its totality. But what about the nature of the goddess we worship as Hera is understandable. How much of herself has she allowed us to see in manifestation and epiphany.
For starters, Hera is seen in the mythos of the Hellenized world in several forms. As daughter of Kronos and Rhea, as a young goddess in love, as a wife, queen, and enraged and vengeful woman. These manifestations of our Queen are as much influenced by the way the ancients saw themselves, and women, as it is a reflection of the nature of the goddess revealed to them through centuries and even millennia of worship and contemplation.
In modern times we tend to look at the various forms the goddess takes in the mythos as aspects of her. We tend to see them as representations of a sublime nature that is interpretive. The youthful Hera is seen as virgin, and thus pure, the wife as dutiful, and thus devout, and the queenly avenger of wrongs as powerful, if frightening in her intensity. She can be seen, by modern neo-pgan parlance, as a virgin, mother, crone archetype, but one with a variation that makes her a little different from the more often invoked Hekate or Artemis.
I bring this up because we do not live in a world unto ourselves, and while I tend to think of our Hellenic religion as being fairly self contained, it is seldom if ever that, and the various ways in which our gods are seen by people outside our traditions can force us to take closer looks at our own ways of seeing them.
So, I am going to try to explain how I see the nature of Hera, and likely fail, as the concepts in my head are so often beyond my own ability to convey them that it makes me a bit angry.
First, a goddess or god is not a piece of statuary. Not a super-human being. Not a superhero or just stronger than us. A deity is an eternal being, one of several, that manifests in our world in a vast variety of forms. When you think of a God, think of a powerful person in your community. You know them from their speeches, their public appearances, and what others have to say about them, but do you really know that person?
Second, the manifestations of the Gods are open to interpretation. Imagine that same powerful person in your community and then picture that you have only allowed the words of others to form your opinion of them. Your view of him or her is likely skewed and your appreciation of their nature is misinformed and therefore only partly correct.
Third, the Gods are not interested in our petty quibbles. They are not there to give us lottery numbers or luck or even heal us from our ills, but they do, by their presence in the world and through our willingness to reach out to them, inspire us to help ourselves. We gather strength from our willingness to touch them, to meditate on them, and to let them in to our hearts. This desire and ability to reach out to powers beyond ourselves for help, even if it is just emotional support, is part of how we have always helped ourselves.
Fourth, the hierarchy of the Gods is one that is both reflective of our own society and nature (we are a tribal kind of species) and reflective of some kind of divine order that is both hierarchical and egalitarian at the same time. I think the idea that Zeus and Hera are King and Queen of Olympus is a reflection of a set of positions in the divine realm that is agreed upon, not taken by force. Zeus and Hera are "King and Queen of Heaven" because the divine realm requires them to be, because they are chosen to be by the totality of that realm, not strictly because of their nature. In other words, Zeus is King because he is worthy of that kingship, not because he is supposed to be king.
Fifth, Hera, as Queen of Heaven, is perhaps the most powerful force in human affairs. Humanity requires the kind of influence she offers. Requires the kind of loyalty to oaths and respect that Hera demands between the genders. It is a sad thing that man has, for so long, denied this and that only now do we see strides to attain the kind of equality of power and will that the Queen of Heaven has called on us to bring to the fore.
So, my interpretation of Hera is that as a force in human affairs, she has long demanded that the wives of the world stand up and take their rightful place as the equals of their husbands, not their property, and that man has long demeaned and denied this in the myths they told of her.
To be continued...
For starters, Hera is seen in the mythos of the Hellenized world in several forms. As daughter of Kronos and Rhea, as a young goddess in love, as a wife, queen, and enraged and vengeful woman. These manifestations of our Queen are as much influenced by the way the ancients saw themselves, and women, as it is a reflection of the nature of the goddess revealed to them through centuries and even millennia of worship and contemplation.
In modern times we tend to look at the various forms the goddess takes in the mythos as aspects of her. We tend to see them as representations of a sublime nature that is interpretive. The youthful Hera is seen as virgin, and thus pure, the wife as dutiful, and thus devout, and the queenly avenger of wrongs as powerful, if frightening in her intensity. She can be seen, by modern neo-pgan parlance, as a virgin, mother, crone archetype, but one with a variation that makes her a little different from the more often invoked Hekate or Artemis.
I bring this up because we do not live in a world unto ourselves, and while I tend to think of our Hellenic religion as being fairly self contained, it is seldom if ever that, and the various ways in which our gods are seen by people outside our traditions can force us to take closer looks at our own ways of seeing them.
So, I am going to try to explain how I see the nature of Hera, and likely fail, as the concepts in my head are so often beyond my own ability to convey them that it makes me a bit angry.
First, a goddess or god is not a piece of statuary. Not a super-human being. Not a superhero or just stronger than us. A deity is an eternal being, one of several, that manifests in our world in a vast variety of forms. When you think of a God, think of a powerful person in your community. You know them from their speeches, their public appearances, and what others have to say about them, but do you really know that person?
Second, the manifestations of the Gods are open to interpretation. Imagine that same powerful person in your community and then picture that you have only allowed the words of others to form your opinion of them. Your view of him or her is likely skewed and your appreciation of their nature is misinformed and therefore only partly correct.
Third, the Gods are not interested in our petty quibbles. They are not there to give us lottery numbers or luck or even heal us from our ills, but they do, by their presence in the world and through our willingness to reach out to them, inspire us to help ourselves. We gather strength from our willingness to touch them, to meditate on them, and to let them in to our hearts. This desire and ability to reach out to powers beyond ourselves for help, even if it is just emotional support, is part of how we have always helped ourselves.
Fourth, the hierarchy of the Gods is one that is both reflective of our own society and nature (we are a tribal kind of species) and reflective of some kind of divine order that is both hierarchical and egalitarian at the same time. I think the idea that Zeus and Hera are King and Queen of Olympus is a reflection of a set of positions in the divine realm that is agreed upon, not taken by force. Zeus and Hera are "King and Queen of Heaven" because the divine realm requires them to be, because they are chosen to be by the totality of that realm, not strictly because of their nature. In other words, Zeus is King because he is worthy of that kingship, not because he is supposed to be king.
Fifth, Hera, as Queen of Heaven, is perhaps the most powerful force in human affairs. Humanity requires the kind of influence she offers. Requires the kind of loyalty to oaths and respect that Hera demands between the genders. It is a sad thing that man has, for so long, denied this and that only now do we see strides to attain the kind of equality of power and will that the Queen of Heaven has called on us to bring to the fore.
So, my interpretation of Hera is that as a force in human affairs, she has long demanded that the wives of the world stand up and take their rightful place as the equals of their husbands, not their property, and that man has long demeaned and denied this in the myths they told of her.
To be continued...
Thank You
I just spent a couple days in hospital. I went in to the ER where I was treated for pneumonia and sent home. I was getting better until Tuesday, when I awoke unable to breathe, panicked, and hypoxic. I was lucky to have a friend who could rush me down, for I could not have walked the 2 blocks to the ER again.
This time I was quickly treated and further examined and admitted to the hospital. An acute Asthma attack had left my lungs a mess.
I, of course, turn to prayer of various types at times like this. I pray that I pull through, but also for the people I love who are so far away should something befall me, for I do not want them to feel guilt or undue hurt when I am gone.
But once the Gods saw fit to pull me through, with the help of the great nursing staff at Grandview Hospital, of course, I was prompted to write a thank you. The thank you to the nurses will be personal, to the Gods is as follows, hope I am not being too much of a drama queen...
You were there when I called to you.
You kept me from the darkness.
As I crawled to it on my belly.
You heard me when I prayed.
You kept me from despair.
When my mind was crazed with fear.
For this today I thank you.
O Lord of Light.
For this I thank you.
O Queen of Heaven.
When I needed breath, you sent it me.
When I needed solace, you sent it me.
When I needed companionship, you sent it me.
For this I thank you.
O Lord of Light.
Gracious Lord of Healers.
For this I thank you.
O Queen of Heaven.
Regal Lady of Vows.
This time I was quickly treated and further examined and admitted to the hospital. An acute Asthma attack had left my lungs a mess.
I, of course, turn to prayer of various types at times like this. I pray that I pull through, but also for the people I love who are so far away should something befall me, for I do not want them to feel guilt or undue hurt when I am gone.
But once the Gods saw fit to pull me through, with the help of the great nursing staff at Grandview Hospital, of course, I was prompted to write a thank you. The thank you to the nurses will be personal, to the Gods is as follows, hope I am not being too much of a drama queen...
You were there when I called to you.
You kept me from the darkness.
As I crawled to it on my belly.
You heard me when I prayed.
You kept me from despair.
When my mind was crazed with fear.
For this today I thank you.
O Lord of Light.
For this I thank you.
O Queen of Heaven.
When I needed breath, you sent it me.
When I needed solace, you sent it me.
When I needed companionship, you sent it me.
For this I thank you.
O Lord of Light.
Gracious Lord of Healers.
For this I thank you.
O Queen of Heaven.
Regal Lady of Vows.
Friday, April 18, 2008
The Companion of Sorrows
Contemplating the divine spirit of Hera is difficult for me. I am not likely to ever be married, not in this country, and I am not even sure that I believe in the concept of marriage itself. Family, yes, but marriage?
Yet as the Goddess of Marriage, Hera insists on pushing this issue. She is my companion of sorrows, because she constantly reminds me of the darkness that our society pushes on us with its constant and fantastical images of the happy marriage and the ever so happy yet ever so boring middle class.
Sure, part of that is that I have a sense of bitterness about how unfairly those of us who are different are treated. But there is more to it than that, and I think I am beginning to get a grasp on it as I contemplate her.
Hera does not push people to marry. That is not her deal. She demands that we be true to vows. She demands that we, not only as individuals, but as a society, take marriage seriously and treat it with due respect.
But for a person like me, that is not always an apparent possibility. After all, if I do not really accept marriage itself, what possible due respect is it that I am supposed to show it?
As a gay man, I do not even have the right to get married in Ohio, hell, I don't even have the right to take my shirt off in a club, believe it or not.
So, what? What is it I am supposed to be pushing for? Gay marriage, when I don't even believe in straight marriage?
Or is it deeper than that? Does part of me feel a true sense of loss at not being the marrying type? Am I feeling guilt at not settling down? It isn't exactly by choice, for while I do not believe in marriage per se, I do have respect for my relationships. I am no cheater. But I have yet to meet a man who can truly be said to want to be in a truly committed relationship, and I get it, we are men, and men desire the complex and erotic sensations of life, but men can have those and still be committed.
But my sweet companion of sorrows is pushing me in new directions even as I write this. Pushing me into more sorrowful contemplations on the state of my life, on the state of my being, on the state I live in and how its fundamentalist churning have turned it into an ever more inhospitable place for my kind.
Maybe it truly is time for a change. A change of scenery, a change of venue, a change of reality...
Yet as the Goddess of Marriage, Hera insists on pushing this issue. She is my companion of sorrows, because she constantly reminds me of the darkness that our society pushes on us with its constant and fantastical images of the happy marriage and the ever so happy yet ever so boring middle class.
Sure, part of that is that I have a sense of bitterness about how unfairly those of us who are different are treated. But there is more to it than that, and I think I am beginning to get a grasp on it as I contemplate her.
Hera does not push people to marry. That is not her deal. She demands that we be true to vows. She demands that we, not only as individuals, but as a society, take marriage seriously and treat it with due respect.
But for a person like me, that is not always an apparent possibility. After all, if I do not really accept marriage itself, what possible due respect is it that I am supposed to show it?
As a gay man, I do not even have the right to get married in Ohio, hell, I don't even have the right to take my shirt off in a club, believe it or not.
So, what? What is it I am supposed to be pushing for? Gay marriage, when I don't even believe in straight marriage?
Or is it deeper than that? Does part of me feel a true sense of loss at not being the marrying type? Am I feeling guilt at not settling down? It isn't exactly by choice, for while I do not believe in marriage per se, I do have respect for my relationships. I am no cheater. But I have yet to meet a man who can truly be said to want to be in a truly committed relationship, and I get it, we are men, and men desire the complex and erotic sensations of life, but men can have those and still be committed.
But my sweet companion of sorrows is pushing me in new directions even as I write this. Pushing me into more sorrowful contemplations on the state of my life, on the state of my being, on the state I live in and how its fundamentalist churning have turned it into an ever more inhospitable place for my kind.
Maybe it truly is time for a change. A change of scenery, a change of venue, a change of reality...
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Hera, the Companion
I lost a friend this week. Tuesday morning my good friend Hershal died in his sleep. A pleasant enough death, I suppose, and one I hope for myself when my time comes, but this reminder of mortality, of the fragility of life always forces me to take a good long look at the other side of the equation, the immortal, the eternal, and the divine.
Hera has proven something of a companion to me these last couple of days. I have sung her mantra in my head as I worked. It brought to mind that Hera, as Wife, is also a companion. She stands by you when you suffer. Supports you when you weep. Scolds you when you act a fool. And, of course, nags you when you don't listen.
I have been hounded by the many spirits that are associated with her, her many aspects and "angeloi". They remind me to be careful. To not allow myself to continue to fall prey to the demons that haunt me and force me to act, way too often, in a self destructive manner.
Hera has proven something of a companion to me these last couple of days. I have sung her mantra in my head as I worked. It brought to mind that Hera, as Wife, is also a companion. She stands by you when you suffer. Supports you when you weep. Scolds you when you act a fool. And, of course, nags you when you don't listen.
I have been hounded by the many spirits that are associated with her, her many aspects and "angeloi". They remind me to be careful. To not allow myself to continue to fall prey to the demons that haunt me and force me to act, way too often, in a self destructive manner.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Hera, Goddess
Hera, queen of Gods and Men. August Queen of Heaven. Goddess.
Hera, as a Goddess, was worshipped throughout the Greek World. Her place was cemented as Queen of Gods and Men in the mythos as wife of Zeus, great and victorious conqueror. But lo, behold that there is a quality to Hera that is often neglected when considering the reality of her Godhood, and that is that Hera also chose Zeus, he didn't simply stake his claim to her, she chose him.
Hera, it is said, refused Zeus as a mate. He was unworthy. Young, brash, and a little too violent, she saw him as beneath her, though he was, according to the Hesiodic myths, her brother, child of Kronos and Rhea just as she was. In the divine sphere, however, such relationships are essentially irrelevant, and they could often differ from myth to myth.
That Hera would consider Zeus unworthy is telling. Her stature as a divine being must be high indeed, and it is said that after three hundred years of turning down his advances, Hera finally gave in, falling in love with him and his persistence, for he caused a great storm and disguised himself as a disheveled cuckoo and endeared himself to her and then wooed her with great passion and vigor.
Hera, it seems, elevates the status of Zeus, making it possible for him to stand as equal to his brothers when they draw lots to partition the world. He wins the heavens and the earth as his right, and in doing so both he and Hera are elevated further to the roles they would be worshipped under.
But this is myth, and while myth is the means by which mankind relates the essentially unknowable or incomprehensible forms of the divine world, they cannot fully explain the nature of divinity and why it relates to us in such wondrous ways.
Hera is a goddess by her very nature, she is worthy of worship for another reason, and that is her influence of the cosmos and us, in particular. As Queen of heaven, she is part of the divine light. The divine power that enlightens and grants great purpose. Hers is a presence vast and powerful, and one that can be hard to grapple with because the Greeks themselves did great damage to her mythos and character. Unlike the much beloved Athena, the Greek poets seem to have taken great delight in maligning her, almost as if she represented something that threatened them. The power of woman, perhaps, or the need to be wary of their own treatment of woman.
When I meditate on Hera simply as a goddess, I am often surprised that I find myself at a loss for words. Because I do not know her as I should, though I offer her my prayers, and am thus left bereft of a capacity to understand her.
While that is not strange when considering a goddess, such being beings so hard to grasp, it is strange when considering one of the most powerful goddesses of the Greek world, and one who was worshipped throughout the whole land.
Hera, as a Goddess, was worshipped throughout the Greek World. Her place was cemented as Queen of Gods and Men in the mythos as wife of Zeus, great and victorious conqueror. But lo, behold that there is a quality to Hera that is often neglected when considering the reality of her Godhood, and that is that Hera also chose Zeus, he didn't simply stake his claim to her, she chose him.
Hera, it is said, refused Zeus as a mate. He was unworthy. Young, brash, and a little too violent, she saw him as beneath her, though he was, according to the Hesiodic myths, her brother, child of Kronos and Rhea just as she was. In the divine sphere, however, such relationships are essentially irrelevant, and they could often differ from myth to myth.
That Hera would consider Zeus unworthy is telling. Her stature as a divine being must be high indeed, and it is said that after three hundred years of turning down his advances, Hera finally gave in, falling in love with him and his persistence, for he caused a great storm and disguised himself as a disheveled cuckoo and endeared himself to her and then wooed her with great passion and vigor.
Hera, it seems, elevates the status of Zeus, making it possible for him to stand as equal to his brothers when they draw lots to partition the world. He wins the heavens and the earth as his right, and in doing so both he and Hera are elevated further to the roles they would be worshipped under.
But this is myth, and while myth is the means by which mankind relates the essentially unknowable or incomprehensible forms of the divine world, they cannot fully explain the nature of divinity and why it relates to us in such wondrous ways.
Hera is a goddess by her very nature, she is worthy of worship for another reason, and that is her influence of the cosmos and us, in particular. As Queen of heaven, she is part of the divine light. The divine power that enlightens and grants great purpose. Hers is a presence vast and powerful, and one that can be hard to grapple with because the Greeks themselves did great damage to her mythos and character. Unlike the much beloved Athena, the Greek poets seem to have taken great delight in maligning her, almost as if she represented something that threatened them. The power of woman, perhaps, or the need to be wary of their own treatment of woman.
When I meditate on Hera simply as a goddess, I am often surprised that I find myself at a loss for words. Because I do not know her as I should, though I offer her my prayers, and am thus left bereft of a capacity to understand her.
While that is not strange when considering a goddess, such being beings so hard to grasp, it is strange when considering one of the most powerful goddesses of the Greek world, and one who was worshipped throughout the whole land.
Monday, March 17, 2008
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...
Sunday, March 16, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
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...
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...
Monday, March 3, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
To Hera
O Pais
Girl child of Kronos
Laughing and dancing to the rhythm of the Earth
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.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
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!
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!
Monday, February 4, 2008
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...
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...
Saturday, February 2, 2008
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.
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.
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