Monday, November 30, 2009

Daimonos

I am too involved with school, work and attempting to clear debts owed in order to prepare for the upcoming months so I haven't had time to delve into personal matters as much as I wished. However, I will do a small post in regards to an album I purchased a while back and while looking at the lyrics I was excited to see its content : Behemoth's song Daimonos:


Honour me!
Chaldean priests
Bow to me, in adoration
Evangelize
Prophets ov the boundless joy
Sanctify the sin ov indulgence

We worship the sun
We worship the moon
Spreading like rats
Exalted above the stars ov god

All hail slain and risen god!
All hail Dionysus!


"Come, blessed Dionysius, various nam'd, bull-fac'd
Begot from Thunder, Bacchus fam'd
Bassarian God, of universal might
Whom swords, and blood, and sacred rage delight"

War be sustained!
My godless phoenix rise
Ne'er to lifeless shall I submit
Offering solely the sword not peace
Mercy and cowardice extinct within

We worship the sun
We worship the moon
Spreading like rats
Exalted above the stars ov god

All hail slain and risen god!
All hail Dionysus!



Lyrics by Nergal.
"We must never be afraid to go too far, for truth lies beyond." [Marcel Proust]

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Podcast highlight

I discovered a new podcast, entitled Right Where You Are Sitting Now and in their latest episode we get an interview with Isaac Bonewits.

They discuss his role in creating the Ár nDraíocht Féin, being found (hysterically) heretical within the Church of Satan and the OTO, getting a BA in Magic and Thaumaturgy from Berkeley University, why Neo-paganism appears to be changing and his thoughts on the Reconstructionist movement.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Character is for man his daimon


The Hellenion calendar provides monthly libation to the Agathos Daimon at the end of the modern month, or the 2nd of the Athenian calendar, but not really knowing much of this, I decided to see what I could find in my books instead of the usual usage of my GoogleFu. Walter Burkert in Greek Religion mentions only lightly the Agathos Daimon, or the good spirit, while going on more in length to the daimon in general.

"The etymological meaning of the thoroughly Greek-looking word daimon is once again impossible to discover with certainty. Nevertheless it is clear that the early uses of the word neither the status of a daimon in relation to the gods nor its character is defined, to say nothing of its conception as spirit. In the Iliad, the gods assembled on Mount Olympus can be called daimones, and Aphrodite leads the way ahead of Helen as daimon. A hero may rush headlong 'like a daimon' and still be called god-like, isotheos. Conversely, the demons that fly from Pandora's jar are personified as 'illness', nousoi, but are not called daimones; the death-bringing spirits of destruction, keres, are called theoi, as are Erinyes in Aeschylus. Possession, too, is the work of a god. Daimon does not designate a specific class of divine beings, but a peculiar mode of activity (Burkert 180).

This I found interesting, because the Good Daimon, the Agathos Daimon appears to have cult practices attributed to it. The first wine libation is done in its name. An interesting passage mentons that "Plutarch uses the word proper to burn sacrifice, but this is no offering to an Olympian, it is simply the solemn pouring out of a little of the new wine, that so the whole may be released from tabu. This 'sacrifice' of the new wine, is to begin with, made to nothing and nobody, but bit by bit a daimon of the act emerges, and he is the Agathos Daimon." (Harrison 277)

It is known for taking the shape of a serpent, at times a winged serpent.

Burkert later continous to assert that daimon is more akin to a force, a power that drives man forward where no agent can be named. We probably call this in modern terms the Will, Desire, Drive, Passion or Stubbornness, depending on the qualities. If you feel that it is acting in accordance with you, it is called syn daimon, and when the tides turn the other way it is pros daimona. Perhaps it is too much on my part to think it resembles what Thelemites call "achieving your true Will."

From what I gather, the Agathos Daimon is formed after the application of mindful actions, perhaps even pious ones. From that, the good daimon is borne forth. I had originally began to think that the Agathos Daimon was something akin to a "spirit guide" or a "guardian" of some sort, now I find that this is incorrect. However it is also noted that Pythagoreans were able to hear and see the daimones (Burkert 180).

Burkert makes the distinction that the daimon is not, in essence, a spirit as we define it, but a force. Harrison, in her book Epilogemena, mentions that it is a fertility spirit whose cult predates the Olympians. The Agathos Daimon are the snakes appearing on the kerykeion, or caduceus of Hermes, "had the power to compel fertility" (279). I have never seen the association of fertility with the caduceus, much less with Hermes.

I find that the following two quotations sums up quite nicely what I have begun to understand on the nature of the daimon. "The ordinary man sees only what happens to him, unpredictable and not of his own enacting, and he calls the diving power daimon, something like fate, but without any person who plants and ordains being visible. One must be on good terms with it: "The daimon active about me I will always consciously put to rights with me by cultivating him according to my means. (181)"
"Man's daimon is his destiny." Thus strikingly does Heraclitus make reference to this fact. He extends man's vital essence far beyond the personal. The personality is the vehicle of the daimon, which is not confined within the limit of the personality, and for which the birth and death of the personality are of no importance. What is the relation of the daimonic element to the personality which comes and goes? The personality is only a form for the manifestation of the daimon. **

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Project MUSE

I came across a fantastic online resource that is invaluable to me. It is the American Journal of Philology, and it has all of their publications available online.

About the Journal:

Since its founding in 1880 by Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve, the American Journal of Philology has helped to shape American classical scholarship. Today the Journal has achieved worldwide recognition as a forum for international exchange among classicists and philologists by publishing original research in Greek and Roman literature; classical linguistics; and Greek and Roman history, society, religion, and philosophy. In-depth coverage and a substantial book review section are featured in every issue. AJP is open to a wide variety of contemporary approaches including literary interpretation and history, textual criticism, historical investigation, and epigraphy.


Issue number 513, vol. 129 num. 1 contains A Trickster's Oaths in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes and The Legacy of Aphrodite: Anchises' Offspring in the Homeric Hymn.

Note: Some articles are not available, even when clicking on the PDF or HTML link, while others are. If you are interested in seeing the rest of the articles, you may want to contact your local public or University library to see if they have a subscription.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Time as sacrifice

Sacrifice, for most pagans and polytheists, means something different when compared to what most people define it as. During the season of Lent, many of my Catholic coworkers let go of something during this time as required by their faith - most of them decided to give up things that were bad for them, like Diet Coke or coffee. I found that to be odd personally, for sacrifice means to "make holy, or sacred." I really don't view Coca Cola to be particularly spiritual, nor do I offer it as a libation, unless I discover that Hermes has a weird particular taste for it.

I have had to curb some habits in my life due to some large changes I had to do, and in regards to ritual and daily practice, I found myself doing less and less due to the lack of time, or just lack of convenience. Convenience being the key [bad] word. Looking in my life I found that I needed to learn to better manage the time I did have: saying I was tired, or I had no time meant I was more than likely spending it doing unimportant things with it when it didn't pertain to work or school. So I reformed myself. I sold my car a year ago in order to save for future out-of-state tuition and living costs for next year, so I've been taking public transportation or walking, to get to work, school and home. Living in southern California made this something to get used to, and it also meant that the hours became something I could not waste - they became invaluable. If I need to do something simple like go to the pharmacy or the bookstore, it meant rerouting my entire commute and scheduling ahead of time to avoid missing a bus. With the current financial crisis in California, many of the routes have been cut or removed. While I find time for work, school, volunteer work, leisure and exercise, I needed to make daily practice higher up in the scale regardless of how late or how early it was.

Today, as I walked home from the market with my green reusable bag full of peaches, bread, soup and Merlot wine, I couldn't help but think that this long walk back to my home was in part, not only preparation for my libation to Hermes, but in essence part of it. It is perhaps no different than those that would peregrinate, with offerings and prayers, to the temple of Hermes in Samos. Every step, every drop of perspiration and each thought full of love and anticipation.

We give much of our time, effort, intellect and sweat in order to reap rewards in the form of monetary currency, to obtain things that support and provide enjoyment in our lives. In the same vein, I find that using my time, effort, intellect and sweat in preparation, service and ritual to my gods to be itself another sacrifice to harvest the joys of life.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Vampires and Dionysus

While I don't expect the gods to be portrayed in a positive light within mainstream media, I was not expecting the turn that HBO's show True Blood took, since it follows a series of novels. Yes, I will openly admit here - I am a fan of cheesy vampire fiction - I can't help it. I should know better. I have read of all Charlaine Harris's books on the Sookie / Southern Vampire stories, and I was looking forward to how they dealt with the storyline of the Maenad. While the stories themselves have deviated considerably to allow more time between characters and plots, this means that the Maenad has ended up with a larger role and characterization in the tv show than in the books. One that is just trite in errors.

I was actually quite excited to hear Dionysos' epithets mentioned in tv - I can only recall a few like Bromios, Bakkhos and 'Hekos, o hekas, este bebeloi' Unfortunately they butcher it because instead of Io! Io! Bromios! it is written out as Lo Lo Bromios!

When the character of Maryann is finally revealed to be a Maenad in a discussion between two characters: Daphne making the reveal to Sam, telling him that according to the Greeks, they are handmaidens of Dionysus, the god of wine. After a few dialogue sentences we get the full meaning of what really is going on -

"Guess what else they call him? The Horned God. Sound familiar?"

"Satan?"

"Dionysus, Satan - it's really just a kind of energy; wild energy. Lust, anger, excess, violence. Basically all the fun stuff."

And there we have it folks. While the book did not venture into some correlation between Dionysus and Satan, the producers and Alan Ball felt that it had to, for spookier plot.

While in the book the Maenad would travel seeking tribute in the shape of some sort of sacrifice, it does not seem as such within the show as she seems to take as she pleases, which I guess is the way of honoring Him, while portraying her to be a vile, manipulating, two-faced demon woman. Makes me feel warm inside.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Blasphemous Blasphemy Laws

With a weird turn of events, it seems that Ireland has step back in time without the help of a DeLorean and its 1.21 gigawatts of power[**] towards the medieval era - they have implemented Blasphemy Laws.

Blasphemy is defined as the usage of one or more gods or religious system to be used in a manner that is considered objectionable by its members. That in itself is extremely subjective and broad, and I think will bring more trouble than its worth in the courts in Ireland. I do not live in said country, I wondered what sort of freedom of speech laws they had:
Freedom of speech is protected by Article 40.6.1 of the Irish constitution. However the article qualifies this right, providing that it may not be used to undermine "public order or morality or the authority of the State". Furthermore, the constitution explicitly requires that the publication of "blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter" be a criminal offence, leading the government to pass a new blasphemy law on 8th July, 2009. (wiki)

Under the Irish constitution, the state is obliged to have blasphemy laws. The bill going through the Dáil would amend the Defamation Act of 1961, which includes blasphemy as a crime. To abolish blasphemy laws, the government would have to hold a referendum to amend the constitution. (link)

According to Pharyngula it could cover the authority to seize blasphemous material from your home if they see it necessary. How is this morally and lawfully allowable? What is religiously blasphemous to someone may not be for me, or others. Is owning books by Anton Szandor LaVey and Richard Dawkins blasphemous to the Church? Of course! Yet does one not have the right to own them? "It also exempts works in which a “reasonable person” would find genuine literary, artistic, political, scientific, or academic value." So they will obviously object to much of the metal music being sold and distributed within the country as they have very blasphemous art, themes and concerts, as seen by the likes of Gorgoroth, Cannibal Corpse and Impaled Nazarene.

Interesting, comments made by a local Catholic church in England in regards of a tree stump that resembles the Virgin Mary as "superstition" go by unnoticed
Local Parish Priest Fr Willie Russell said on Radio station Limerick Live 95FM yesterday that people should not worship the tree. "There's nothing there... it's just a tree ... you can't worship a tree."

With PZ Myers commenting "I hope the Irish druids are going to be rightfully upset at this horribly offensive slur against their faith." Could the local Druids file a suit against Mr. Russell?

Or is this just a case where blasphemy laws are only applied to the Christian groups, whilst not applying to others because of the edict in the Ten Commandments? Some are trying to figure out what is covered under these laws and what isn't, since obviously it is so goddamn (oops!) subjective. Graham Linehan in an interview asked that justice minister Dermot Ahern, who introduced the bill, should be challenged to define what he meant by blasphemy.

"This is insanity. Please, Mr Ahern, define the things we can't say, please! Can we say, 'Jesus is gay'? Or can we ask, 'Is God in a biscuit?' Could he tell us what it means? It is just insanity. After all, there are things contained in the holy books of one religion that are blasphemy to another religion. The logic behind this comes from Alice in Wonderland." He said the Irish blasphemy law was part of a trend in the west where freedom of expression was being attacked "to placate the craziest people on earth".

While paganism and polytheism is a relatively small slice of the religion pie, we have obviously received many smears and attacks in the past as being nothing more than a silly sect or belief system by the detractors. In the last election term Islam was widely maligned, and Jerome Corsi decided to use his position to ridicule more with his comment:
"May Islam join the garbage heap of worthless religions we have grown beyond. Any believers of Hermes out there?"

Why yes, Mr. Corsi, I do.

It's hard to say that we would pass such outdated laws, but I hope we don't see the puritans in this country decide to follow suit like what progressive countries like Britain has done in installing Sharia Law alongside Ireland's brilliant Blasphemy Law.

To all the Irish, make sure you delete all the copies of Raptor Jesus or any LOLJesus you may have on your harddrive.


Wednesday, July 22, 2009

My Universalism

Among a few Reconstructionist circles this term has been used with a darker tinge to slap those who do not follow the more conventional road. It 's almost as meant to be a synonym for another that could be in its place: eclectic. While I do not and never have claimed to be a Recon I admire their application since I find scholarly work to be tantamount to truth. I have naturally added attributes of reconstructionism into my studies since by my own nature I am fanatic about history. I sedulously devour many books and tidbits from various themes in various subjects, and yet this is where my crux lies - I am all over the place, and could never just sit and nest myself among one area or culture.


While it is never fair to judge a whole group based a few sole words by some members, I find when they attempt to represent the larger community as a whole to steer and enlighten on the workings and discussions of said growing group, I rather not belong. Certain concepts make me feel like the previous questions others have had in regard to the community seem to border among fundamentalism might hold some truth and eventually people automatically take sides. Example, if I do not acquire - to what I find to be xenophobic ideas - I am seen as someone who is too preoccupied with foreign curiosities and therefore does not understand said culture's view of Divinity as being the most perfect one. Therefore, I am a Universalist.

Then again, I don't find that disparaging the more I think about it. I love science, and astronomy, cosmology and quantum physics. Though my understanding is poor compared to actual people in the field, and I being a casual observer, I tend to view the world in large abstracts of nature and forces of energy - that of dark matter, of exploding stars and cosmic sombreros. Our galaxy containing a large black hole in the center could only be perceived as just a humorous joke being played out by Loki. The marriage consummation between siblings Zeus and Hera does not elicit revulsion because divinity is not biological - never mind our image of Uatu or Galactus in his violet and blue armor. We see them in the only way our finite minds could interpret.

Galactus perceived by other sentient beings

When I think of God the creator I think of a Force too outside of our reach to care of a small, single-stared solar system hovering over the tip of our spiraling Milky Way galaxy - which at this point probably defines me as a pandeist. Geology and biological archeology provides glimpses on how I can understand my polytheism, and better understand this miniscule rock. The more I mingle with the Homo species, the more I feel attracted to the inanimate objects whose age spans millions of years.

Sombrero Galaxy M104, taken with Hubble.


Monday, July 20, 2009

Hairy situation

I understand that sometimes, dreams are just dreams. Every now and them dreams become so weird for me that they are either acidic regurgitation that my mind feels can throw at me or some obscure language I have yet to decrypt and I'm left thinking "Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot?!" Can't recall most of it, so I tend to write them to myself via email once I get to work, because as I commute they keep distracting me and my mood for the day is tarnished. This was dated back in March 20th (quite old) but it's one I can't decipher. Perhaps a call to my grandmother might give some clues.

It begins with vagueness. A girl, which I semi-knew somehow-somewhere, comes up to me and puts her hand over my stomach and tells me "You have... hair."

Confused, she takes me to a hospital, where her "mom" will help me. Not even sure if she's really a nurse, as she isn't wearing the usual attire. They begin take x-rays as I am laid on a gurney, and eventually open up my stomach - lifting skin and muscle tissue revealing my internal organs - which are covered in thick black hair. It's wrapping itself over organs. The thickest is going over my stomach. X-rays showed strands of hair going all over my body as far up to my arms. However they don't know if they should tug at them or start cutting, as they don't know where the "root" of the hair comes from. I woke up after that.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Orbs of Light

My mother has been having some pretty interesting occurrences at her home in Wisconsin. She lives relatively in the middle of nowhere with scarce neighbors, however she has been getting visits from the non-physical kind. She has told me that she sees orbs often floating around, people, or she assumes are people walking about only to find out that the person roaming the kitchen had deceased 15 years ago.

I recently emailed a favorite podcast of mine retelling one of her many experiences and I was reminded of the Piezoelectricity effect that is able to explain these occurrences. They are natural phenomena that usually happen when there's a charge of electricity in the air (there have been recent storms, as well). When combined with the quartz or other crystals in the ground that expand or are stressed, sometimes due to variation in temperature, causes orbs of light and energy to be seen floating in the air. This has been used to explain the Marfa Lights, the Min Min, the Paulding Lights and many more. One group first conducted a study to investigate this phenomena in the New Jersey area, dubbed the Hookerman Lights, was a group called Vestigia. Local legend said a man had died there when a train had passed, and was seen trailing the tracks with his lantern, trying to keep others safe from a demise similar to his own. Their findings can be found in a section of this book.

I know there are tons of quartz crystals where my mom lives and they are easily found by just going into the river. They are quite beautiful and large, because my mom sent me a few as a gift a few months ago.

While I have found that I can explain now the light orbs she sees, I want to see if the rest of it can. Hearing the chanting and howling of Native American songs at night? The opening and closing of drawers? Voices from the basement? People walking about that are not there - only to verify, via pictures, of who this person is? Perhaps the reason I never have such an intense collection of happenings around me is because I doubt, question and pick at them. In the end, dismissing them. Only the truly odd do I stash away in my "hmmm" file. Due to the podcast and the intensely skeptic form of analyzing they have, I have a curiosity to go after invisible things in the dark.

Now if I can find a reputable group I can go and do these things, without endangering myself by being alone by myself with nothing but a voice recorder and an EMF reader, it would be fantastic.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Inner transformations

I feel that it is necessary for me to follow some simple procedures to redo myself. This is usually nothing new as I do this every few years, but I feel the methodology is quite different. Being a follower and devotee to the winged-footed one Himself, I want to do it via the alchemical process of the Emerald tablet.

The first three are the steps I will look into as I go, but right now I am focusing on the first two.

I.
Calcination
This is the first level; it is fire. It is the fire that burns away, the prepares for purification, to ready the canvas and make it anew for any processes that awaits it. It is where I destroy the Ego, the false assumptions; that which I have made myself to believe. Questioning everything, once more, to bring forth a keen eye. Time to destroy. Time to shackle the comfortable confines of the body and mind; burn away the excesses brought about to it, the overindulgence that I let myself savor in lieu of what was truly essential.

It is a painful, fiery discipline. The combustion the unnecessary. A holocaust for bodily and spiritual renewal.

Emerald Tablet Correspondence:
Its father is the Sun

II.
Dissolution

While Calcination process is fiery, gold and the sun, Dissolution is the silver, the cold, the watery. It is the realm of the goddess, and under her waters I will submerge to cleanse away the destroyed remains, the ashes of the gross and the rough to be diluted and rendering them apart from the properties that bind each to the other.

Emerald Tablet Correspondence:
Its mother is the Moon

III.
Separation

It is the isolation of the components of Dissolution by filtration and then discarding any ungenuine or unworthy material. The rediscovery of our essence and the reclaiming of dream that was rejected by the rational part of our minds. It is, for the most part, a conscious process in which we review formerly hidden material and decide what to discard and what to reintegrate into our refined personality. Much of this shadowy material is things we are ashamed of or were taught to hide away by our parents, churches, and schooling. Separation is letting go of the self-inflicted restraints to our true nature, so we can shine through.

Emerald Tablet Correspondence:
The Wind carries it in its belly.


○ ○ ○

"Then out of the imprisoned Light a mysterious and Holy Word came forth and took its stand upon the smoking waters. This Word -- the Voice of the Light -- rose out of the darkness as a great pillar, and the fire and the air followed after it, but the earth and the water remained unmoved below. Thus the waters of Light were divided from the waters of darkness, and from the waters of Light were formed the worlds above and from the waters of darkness were formed the worlds below. The earth and the water next mingled, becoming inseparable, and the Spiritual Word which is called
Reason moved upon their surface, causing endless turmoil. -- The Vision of Hermes.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Sallustius On The Gods And The Cosmos

I just recently found that the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes, or YSEE have a translated version online, and can be read here.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Junio

Once classes ended, it felt like the mess after the storm. I was now left to pick up the pieces, try to reorganize, and attempt to rest after so much forced movement, energy and expectations.

Now, I sit with all the free-time, and I have nothing to say. Perhaps I work best during constricting schedules, and my mind creates patterns better when set under fire. To distract myself, other than catching up with faux-fiction, I have set to read on the basics - Pythagoras, some Herodotus and even draw a bit. The latter requires me to look into my Tarot books for definitions of cards that I will add to the art piece of a coworker, hoping that the images she burns onto her skin are filled with positive symbolisms. I will primarily use the Spanish Naipes style cards - one that I was so fond of during my high school years.

The fascinating thing for me of Pythagoras is his view of the Pentagram - the most harmonious symbol, according to his mathematical equations. It was called ὑγιεία Hygieia, after the goddess, with each letter corresponding to each element: ὕδωρ water; γαῖα earth; εἱλή heat (fire); ἰδέα idea or ἱερόν, Hieron "a divine thing"; ἀήρ air. We also see Venus create a pentagramic shape on its inferior conjunctions on its successive movement.


I have in turned, purchased a pentagram to wear. But why? While the symbols appears in Taoism, Freemasonry, Aristotelian philosophies it is mostly seen a Wiccan/Neopagan/Witchcraft symbol, none of which I subscribe to personally. So why? Because of the Pythagorean and Sumerian view of it, and because as I usually do, I like to create my own personal symbolism based on viewing things at different perspectives.

If there were a mutually agreed upon symbol I could associate with Hellenic worship, the way the Mjølnir is to Ásatru, I would use it. While I wear a Caduceus, it gets (to my displeasure) confused more with Nursing and Health, than Wisdom and Transcendence. I would expect no different with the pentagram. However, since I began wearing it, albeit a bit worried of the commenting of coworkers and because of my own prior preconceptions of it, I found that it has been quite an interesting week. Even with the deluge of bad news in regards to family, it has kept me with a calm disposition regarding all of it.

In the next few days I will celebrate my birthday. I am not looking forward to it. As the days roll by I find myself wondering if what I do is worthwhile, if what I name is worth applying to, if what I believe thus far is what I should do. I constantly change, I am the essence of a Mercurial personality. The things around me will act as a catalyst to change me internally, changing my properties, changing my set paths. The more I dig a hole, the more I wonder how deep am I willing to go.

That day is also Hekate's Deipnon.

May her torches light the way for me,
may her steps beside me guide me,
and may her hounds keep me company.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Cult of the Dead in Memorial Day

As memorial weekend rolled by, I wanted to find some way of honoring the veterans in a more traditional manner. To those few who know me, find out very quickly that I have an interest in war history, particular that of WWII. Most people seem perplexed at this, but the level of heroism in contrast with the amount of inhumanity is outstanding. The are also other wars - the Fall of Nineveh, the Thirty Years War, Civil War, WWI, Vietnam, the Punic Wars - that are just as compelling.

When he was small, when he would fall,
on sand or carpet he would lie
quite flat and still until he knew
what he would do: get up or cry

After the battle, flat and still
upon a hillside now he lies --
but there is nothing to decide
for can neither cry nor rise

Vladimir Nabokov
(1899-1977)

Now I am accustomed to lighting candles, offering fragrant incense and keeping mindful of the soldiers who have perished, whether they are Americans, Europeans or from late antiquity; whether Generals, foot soldiers, forgotten in the dirt or forever remembered by epic songs. The pouring of liquids, primarily alcohol, into the ground as a form of offering for the dead is nothing new to me. Growing up in Puerto Rico, I experienced this often at parties, and at a young aged I asked my mother what people were doing (as it happened every time someone opened a drink) and I was told it was for the dead. Where this tradition came from I am unsure, but it probably has something to do with the island's deep Catholic roots knotted by ones of Santeria.

From Burket (p. 194)
Thereafter the honouring of the deceased is incorporated into the general celebrations with which the city honours its dead every year: days of the dead, nekysia, or days of the forefathers, genesia. On such days the graves are adorned, offerings are made, special food is eaten, and it is said that the dead come up and go about in the city. The offerings for the dead are pourings, choai: barley broth, milk, honey, frequently wine, and especially oil, as well as the blood of sacrificed animals, there are simple libations of water, which is why there is talk of the bath of the dead.


The pouring of these libations is thought to go down through the soil and reach the dead, feeding them. I find that adding poetry, or songs to remember the fallen is important to keep alive their sacrifices - whether we agree with them or not politically. Essentially, it is just as important to keep in mind those that are still alive; I have family and friends in the service, and we must remember those who have survived. I am an avid admirer of the hardships and heroism found in WWII, as well as modern wars - my grandfather serving in the Army Air Corps during the Second World War.

"The cult of the dead remains the foundation and expression of family identity: the honour accorded to forebears is expected from descendants: from the remembrance of the dead grows the will to continue." (194)


Praise the fallen; remember them.

Hellenic Household Worship

Courtesy of Labrys; link here.
Created by Christos Pandion Panopoulos for Labrys
Edited and translated by Lesley Madytinou & Rathamanthys Madytinos

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Myth and Music

Since my main interest of music is of the obscure variety, I will limit my thoughts on Neofolk and Martial, since the themes of heathenry and paganism has been widely covered before in the realms of metal - as we can see a whole genre evolve from this naming itself Folk, Viking and Pagan Metal.

The most prevalent theme within Neofolk is the Northern Germanic one, with aspects of heathenry like honor, myth, spirituality and the symbolism of runes found in bands like Forseti, Sonne Hagal and :Of the Wand and the Moon:. While some of the bands may not espouse the belief system of polytheism, instead following ideals of Secularism, Freethought and even Satanism - as is with Boyd Rice - the influence is still prevalent throughout the genre. Unfortunately, a lot of Neofolk and Martial bands tend to be labeled as racist or Neo-Nazi due to their fascist or totalitarian imagery, particularly the sculptures of Arno Breker, causing a lot of potential listeners to steer away from them. The bigger controversies tend to center around the band Death in June and Blood Axis. Similar things have happened in the metal sphere when the anti-christian or violent imagery cannot be overlooked by the viewer.

While many bands do not necessarily sing about the gods, I still find their music inspiring and complementary to my devotion and inquiring nature accentuated with the likes of Corde Oblique, Irfan, Pantheon Legio Musica, and my utmost favorite band, Rome. Bands like Sagentoeter, however, explicitly sing about the Northern Gods in their album "Prayers to Othinn" with song titles to "Bring back the Old Gods" and "The Raven's Song."


A Good introduction to Neofolk and Martial Industrial is the 4 CD set "Looking For Europe," containing a total of 53 songs, with a small book that covers the history of the genre and introductions to many of the bands.

For more information, visit:
Heathen Harvest
Neofolk.it
last.fm/tag/neofolk


We Call Your Wolves
Friedrich Hielscher (1979)

We call your wolves
And call your spear
We call all twelve
Down from heaven to us here.

Above all we call You.
Now comes the wild hunt,
Now let the horn resound,
No lament for the dead.

The enemy has already fallen
Before the morning breaks.

The prey has no name,
The enemy no face,
The carcass has no seed,
Righteous is the court of justice.

The harvest is past,
The chaff is daily sold,
The ravens now demand
The portion they are due.

The hunt has begun:
Now, Lord, your salvation
sustains us!

Translation by Michael Moynihan
VA - Wir Rufen Deine Wolfe

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Quantum physics and the questions of our reality

Below is a snippet of a fascinating article I found about quantum physics from Foundational Questions Institute, or FQXi.

Alex Vilenkin and Jaume Garriga ponder how unusual our universe is and whether this is all just a quantum dream.
 

[...] Other measures had downright bizarre implications, predicting that “normal,” biologically–evolved human brains should be outnumbered by so–called Boltzmann brains—disembodied minds that float in space. Boltzmann brains could be complete human beings, just brains, or maybe even silicon chips—material objects with the thinking power to “hallucinate” the universe we think of as real. Pick the wrong measure, and poof: You’re a Boltzmann brain!

It might sound like crackpot cosmology, but Boltzmann brains are a serious sticking point for some measures. Quantum mechanics tells us that things can pop up from the fluctuating vacuum. These “things” could be as trivial as an electron–positron pair that blinks into existence and then disappears again a split–second later. Particle physicists are well aware of this phenomenon; it happens all the time. Less likely, a whole atom could perform this magic trick. Even more improbably, a whole human being—or Windsor Castle, or a Honus Wagner baseball card, or a fully–formed brain thinking exactly your thoughts—could spontaneously materialize.

“It’s ridiculously improbable!” says Vilenkin. But given an infinite amount of time, even things that are ridiculously improbable are bound to happen. “So how do I know whether I’m a normal person…or a vacuum fluctuation?”

Don’t have an identity crisis just yet. Theorists agree that our universe must contain more “normal” brains than it does Boltzmann brains. “The world around a typical Boltzmann brain looks very different from the world around us,” says Garriga. Plus, a Boltzmann brain likely wouldn’t stick around for long, so the mere fact that we all continue to think coherent thoughts from one moment to the next should be some assurance that we’re real.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Apollo

Today was a busy day. My face is reddened due to the over-exposure to the sun, and I wish I had used some cream before I had gone out. Perhaps it was appropriate.

I went along and bought some items I needed today to perform my libation, like incense, a charcoal burner and candles - which I purchased at Ikea, snagging also some delicious lindonberry jam, oat cookies and a small hanging ivy for my Dionysos Kissos. I take public transit, so it took me a good four hours and long walks between destinations. I cleaned the house, sweeped, dusted and threw away boxes and bags of unnecessary junk.

After my libation my brother called with unpleasant news about the car (nothing new, at this point) with the engine going caput. Ah, Hephaestus' blessed hand was missing the day the installed that darn engine.




This is set atop an small podium; I never thought I'd actually find a use for it.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

The Metal-Smith

I dreamt last night with Hephaestus. I had an old car shop that I was attending, though I really had no skills to call my own (perhaps all the car-talk that my brother fills me in on a daily basis has something to do with this). I wasn't surprised to see him, and he stood before me. I found him to be beyond beautiful, and nowhere near the lame or cripple that he is often called by the other Theoi. Perhaps it means something, and I will look further into him.



 
[65] LXV. TO VULCAN [HEPHAISTOS]

The Fumigation from Frankincense and Manna.
Strong, mighty Vulcan [Hephaistos], bearing splendid light, unweary'd fire, with flaming torrents bright:
Strong-handed, deathless, and of art divine, pure element, a portion of the world is thine:
All-taming artist, all-diffusive pow'r, 'tis thine supreme, all substance to devour:
Æther, Sun, Moon, and Stars, light pure and clear, for these thy lucid parts to men appear.
To thee, all dwellings, cities, tribes belong, diffus'd thro' mortal bodies bright and strong.
Hear, blessed power, to holy rites incline, and all propitious on the incense shine:
Suppress the rage of fires unweary'd frame, and still preserve our nature's vital flame.

According to Neokoroi, he is the god of honesty, hard work, dependability and loyalty. He is not concerned with getting the glory, but with getting the job done, and doing it well. He encourages his followers to tackle their problems with vigor and persistence, and shows them how to take rough and unpleasant things and turn them into works of beauty. He is a peacemaker, capable of seeing the many different sides of an argument. He doesn't jump into a fray until he has carefully weighed all sides of the dilemma. But when he does, his actions are swift, decisive, and efficient. He is the patron of all civilized arts, though smiths and metalworkers are his special charges.

His festival months are
Apaturia: 3 days in Puanepsion (October-November)
Hephaestia (celebrated on different dates) and
Khalkeia: 30 Puanepsion (October-November)
 
 And a little synchronicity occurred wile talking to my Love, discussing suddenly the appearance of quails for him, while I finished this entry on this side of the line.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Golden Verses of Pythagoras

selected and arranged by Florence M. Firth (1904)


1. First worship the Immortal Gods, as they are established and ordained by the Law.
2. Reverence the Oath, and next the Heroes, full of goodness and light.
3. Honour likewise the Terrestrial Dæmons by rendering them the worship lawfully due to them.
4. Honour likewise thy parents, and those most nearly related to thee.
5. Of all the rest of mankind, make him thy friend who distinguishes himself by his virtue.
6. Always give ear to his mild exhortations, and take example from his virtuous and useful actions.
7. Avoid as much as possible hating thy friend for a slight fault.
8. [And understand that] power is a near neighbour to necessity.
9. Know that all these things are as I have told thee; and accustom thyself to overcome and vanquish these passions:
10. First gluttony, sloth, sensuality, and anger.
11. Do nothing evil, neither in the presence of others, nor privately;
12. But above all things respect thyself.
13. In the next place, observe justice in thy actions and in thy words.
14. And accustom not thyself to behave thyself in any thing without rule, and without reason.
15. But always make this reflection, that it is ordained by destiny that all men shall die.
16. And that the goods of fortune are uncertain; and that as they may be acquired, so may they likewise be lost.
17. Concerning all the calamities that men suffer by divine fortune,
18. Support with patience thy lot, be it what it may, and never repine at it.
19. But endeavour what thou canst to remedy it.
20. And consider that fate does not send the greatest portion of these misfortunes to good men.
21. There are among men many sorts of reasonings, good and bad;
22. Admire them not too easily, nor reject them.
23. But if falsehoods be advanced, hear them with mildness, and arm thyself with patience.
24. Observe well, on every occasion, what I am going to tell thee:--
25. Let no man either by his words, or by his deeds, ever seduce thee.
26. Nor entice thee to say or to do what is not profitable for thyself.
27. Consult and deliberate before thou act, that thou mayest not commit foolish actions.
28. For it is the part of a miserable man to speak and to act without reflection.
29. But do that which will not afflict thee afterwards, nor oblige thee to repentance.
30. Never do anything which thou dost not understand.
31. But learn all thou ought'st to know, and by that means thou wilt lead a very pleasant life.
32. in no wise neglect the health of thy body;
33. But give it drink and meat in due measure, and also the exercise of which it has need.
34. Now by measure I mean what will not incommode thee.
35. Accustom thyself to a way of living that is neat and decent without luxury.
36. Avoid all things that will occasion envy.
37. And be not prodigal out of season, like one who knows not what is decent and honourable.
38. Neither be covetous nor niggardly; a due measure is excellent in these things.
39. Do only the things that cannot hurt thee, and deliberate before thou dost them.
40. Never suffer sleep to close thy eyelids, after thy going to bed,
41. Till thou hast examined by thy reason all thy actions of the day.
42. Wherein have I done amiss? What have I done? What have I omitted that I ought to have done?
43. If in this examination thou find that thou hast done amiss, reprimand thyself severely for it;
44. And if thou hast done any good, rejoice.
45. Practise thoroughly all these things; meditate on them well; thou oughtest to love them with all thy heart.
46. 'Tis they that will put thee in the way of divine virtue.
47. I swear it by him who has transmitted into our souls the Sacred Quaternion, the source of nature, whose cause is eternal.
48. But never begin to set thy hand to any work, till thou hast first prayed the gods to accomplish what thou art going to begin.
49. When thou hast made this habit familiar to thee,
50. Thou wilt know the constitution of the Immortal Gods and of men.
51. Even how far the different beings extend, and what contains and binds them together.
52. Thou shalt likewise know that according to Law, the nature of this universe is in all things alike,
53. So that thou shalt not hope what thou ought'st not to hope; and nothing in this world shall be hid from thee.
54. Thou wilt likewise know, that men draw upon themselves their own misfortunes voluntarily, and of their own free choice.
55. Unhappy that they are! They neither see nor understand that their good is near them.
56. Few know how to deliver themselves out of their misfortunes.
57. Such is the fate that blinds mankind, and takes away his senses.
58. Like huge cylinders they roll to and fro, and always oppressed with ills innumerable.
59. For fatal strife, innate, pursues them everywhere, tossing them up and down; nor do they perceive it.
60. Instead of provoking and stirring it up, they ought, by yielding, to avoid it.
61. Oh! Jupiter, our Father! if Thou would'st deliver men from all the evils that oppress them,
62. Show them of what dæmon they make use.
63. But take courage; the race of man is divine.
64. Sacred nature reveals to them the most hidden mysteries.
65. If she impart to thee her secrets, thou wilt easily perform all the things which I have ordained thee.
66. And by the healing of thy soul, thou wilt deliver it from all evils, from all afflictions.
67. But abstain thou from the meats, which we have forbidden in the purifications and in the deliverance of the soul;
68. Make a just distinction of them, and examine all things well.
69. Leaving thyself always to be guided and directed by the understanding that comes from above, and that ought to hold the reins.
70. And when, after having divested thyself of thy mortal body, thou arrivest at the most pure Æther,
71. Thou shalt be a God, immortal, incorruptible, and Death shall have no more dominion over thee.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Nineveh

Every now and then Google Books provides full view of something I really want to read. Considering I do not have JSTOR account (my college provides no such thing for us, unfortunately) I have, for once, found that the document I wanted to read is available to the public: The Journal of the American Oriental Society, published in 1907.  Available here and printable, as well. It has an article in regards to Xenophon's writing on his coming across the ruins of Nineveh (pdf page 110), the ancient Assyrian kingdom.   


I am finding that the ancient Mesopotamia provides a large amount of fascination for me, and Assyria and Babylon and its' kings. I look forward to taking courses in the approximating semesters in regards to this region.   



Monday, February 16, 2009

Faces of the Gods

In some studies, Odin is aligned with Hermes. While I feel that Mercury/Hermes could be the same deity, Odin is more tricky for me, no pun intended. If we go by the etymology and reasoning behind the days of the week, we see that the latin form of Mercury's name falls into what we know as Wednesday, or as in Spanish, Miercoles. Wednesday comes from Wōdnesdæg, meaning day of Woden, or Odin. This is of course, as far as I can go in regards to finding any similarity. Odin has been marked as Hermes due to their roles as retrieving the dead. Now, how can I assimilate Hermes, a god of trickery, thieves and divination to the God of the Slain, the Allfather who received hanged men as a sacrifice, the God who Sacrificed his Eye at the Well of Mimir for enlightenment? Though in Book of Lies, they attribute their similarities as well as being Gods of Communication and Speed, and this source strengthens it course due to their origin of their name stemming from wind. I find that Hermes and Enki retain as well many characteristics of Loki, due to their mischief and trickery.



 

This is something that I will definitely explore further. I've always felt a deep connection with Odin, with deep respect and fear of said personality while at the current moment I find myself fostering a close relationship with Hermes, however the feelings seem completely different than those I hold for the Allfather. While I hold that all Gods can change their respective shapes for us to experience them, Odin is widely known to the shapechanger of the pantheon (next to Loki), I have not found this to be the same for Hermes.

Following I have found that some equate Ereshkigal with Hekate, and while Ereshkigal is the Goddess of the Underworld, her Greek equivalent would be Persephone due to similarities of their stories and not Hekate. Ereshkigal represents the seasons and was abducted and taken into the Underwrold to where she was made queen, unwillingly. One of the most beautiful statues represents this in regards to Persephone's abduction by Hades, by Bernini.



The following work of art is titled "The Rape of Proserpina" and we should note that the root of the word rape means "seize, carry off by force, abduct."
Hekate is not an original Olympian as Hesiod writes that she is the daughter of two Titans and relics of her have been found in Phrygia (modern day Turkey) and Mycenea. However, some sources claim that she is the daughter of Demeter (one and two).

To end, the easiest one for me: the goddesses of love, sex, fertility and war Freyja, Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite, Venus. Perhaps not the latter, as all the information regarding pre-Graeco influence of Venus at the moment seems very sparse. Many of these goddesses have war-attributes, and Aphrodite is no exception: one of her epithets was Aphrodite Areia, the warlike. A surname of Aphrodite, when represented in full armor like Ares, as was the case at Sparta. (Paus. iii. 17. § 5.)

Inanna, Astarte and Ishtar are all Queens of Heaven, while Aphrodite Ourania carries the same title.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Aphrodite

I am trying to bring in as much detail as I can in regards to the findings of gold artifacts of the Goddess Άφροδίτη in the now modern region known as Afghanistan.

This is an image of Aphrodite Bactria, named after the region in which she was found. Her pose is very much in the Grecian style, while having hindi jewelry and a dot (third eye) to show that she is married, while the wings are more of a Near Eastern style placing her as a local deity.

This area, strategically placed within the silk road route, has been trove of treasures for archeologists. Some of their findings include depictions of Buddha with a Greco art-style and images of Herakles, Cybele and Eros.

Some information regarding the region of Bactria can be found here,


While Afghanistan is a relatively new nation—a committee fashioned its borders in the late nineteenth century—the regions bound together include some of the world’s oldest cultures. By 2000 B.C.E. , when the manmade oases flourishing in northern Afghanistan attracted invaders as well as traders, there rose up fortified towns with urban centers. During that era, the renowned city of Balkh became Bactria’s capital city. Described in antiquity as “the mother of all cities,” Balkh was the birthplace of the ancient poet and religious prophet Zoroaster, who may be buried there.

It was Cyrus the Great of Persia who named this area “Bactria” around 530 B.C.E. Darius ruled there shortly thereafter, and Alexander the Great came through around 328 B.C.E. on his way to India. In Balkh, Alexander took Darius III’s daughter as his bride.

Thus, Bactria became an outpost of Greek culture. Aï Khanum, meaning “Lady Moon,” was established by one of Alexander’s commanders, Seleucus, in 300 B.C.E. and unearthed by French archaeologists in 1964, the first evidence of an ancient Greco-Bactrian city. The city flourished until 145 B.C.E., when it was brought down by Eurasian nomads, possibly a tribe related to the nomads buried at Tillya Tepe.


The worship of Aphrodite is far more reaching than I had thought. She is known to be equated with the Sumerian Inanna, Phoenician Astarte, and Etruscan Turan. I am aware however that the Roman Venus was originally a Latin vegetation and vineyard goddess that under Greek influenced became equated with the Goddess risen from the foam.

XXVII. TO MERCURY

Hermes, draw near, and to my pray'r incline, angel of Jove, and Maia's son divine; Studious of contests, ruler of mankind, with heart almighty, and a prudent mind. Celestial messenger, of various skill, whose pow'rful arts could watchful Argus kill: With winged feet, 'tis thine thro' air to course, O friend of man, and prophet of discourse: Great life-supporter, to rejoice is thine, in arts gymnastic, and in fraud divine: With pow'r endu'd all language to explain, of

care the loos'ner, and the source of gain. Whose hand contains of blameless peace the rod, Kerukeion, blessed, profitable God; Of various speech, whose aid in works we find, and in necessities to mortals kind: Dire weapon of the tongue, which men revere, be present, Hermes, and thy suppliant hear; Assist my works, conclude my life with peace, give graceful speech, and me memory's increase.


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