Chiromancy (Palm Reading)

Palmistry, or Chiromancy (pronounced "KYE-roe-man-see" and named after Leich de Hamong/Louis Hamon, the famous nineteenth century palmist who also went under the name of "Cheiro") is an ancient way of divining. It was common during medieval times and is known to have existed when Greece and Rome were at their height.  Your palm changes throughout your life. Although your hand gives an outline of your life, it is only a tentative outline. As with all divination, just because it is set in your hand, does not mean that it is set in stone. You can change your palm by changing your life.

Interpreting the Palm

Generally, the dominant hand -- the hand used for writing -- is the hand used during a palm reading. It marks a person's fortune as it exists on this plane. The passive hand represents events relating to the person's Great Work, or their fate. Before making any strong pronouncement about a person's life, check that the event is marked in both palms. If it exists only in the dominant hand, steps can be taken to prevent the occurrence. If it appears only in the passive hand, steps have already been taken to avert the issue. If a person is ambidextrous, use the right hand as dominant, and the left as passive.

The Major Lines

The lines are looked to as the major source of information in the palm. thick, deep, well-colored, unbroken lines represent positive qualities. Thin, broken, "chained" lines with weak circulation denote poor qualities. Networks of many lines in a hand -- like a spiderweb -- shows a person cautious about life, who is usually guarded. Strong, clear lines, with only major lines dominating the palm are the mark of a straightforward, boisterous person, comfortable with themself.

The Lifeline
The lifeline wraps itself around the base of the thumb, beginning near the headline, and ending near the wrist. The point where the lifeline separates from the headline shows the point of "breaking away" from the subject's birth family. If this section of the line is chained, the birth family was a source of strife. If the lifeline is completely separate from the heartline, it is a sign that the subject was not close to their family.

The lifeline is measured from the thumb-forefinger crease to the wrist. Early events are shown earlier in the line. Late life events will be closer to the wrist.

The strength and length of the lifeline show the health and longevity of the subject. a long lifeline reaching down to the wrist is the sign of a long life. A weak line shows poor health and constitution. A break in the lifeline should be examined in both palms, as this may be a sign of grave illness or sudden death. Lines reaching off of the middle of the lifeline either up or down may represent children, male and female, respectively.

The Headline and Heartline
The headline and heartline should always be examined together, as one may be more dominant in the palm than another. If the headline is dominant, it denotes a sensible, logical person, who may be a bit cold emotionally, and prone to obsession. If the heartline is dominant, it shows a sensitive, caring person, prone to emotional outbursts and heartache. If the two lines are in balance, the person has a healthy balance of their mental and emotional capacities.

The headline is measured from the thumb-forefinger crease to the mount of the moon. A strongly psychic person may have a headline reaching well onto the mount of the moon, often overlaid by X's and triangles on the mount.

The heartline is measured from the crease under the pinky finger to it's end near the finger-mounts. The heartline sometimes branches near the end of the line (this appears as a Y shape in the palm). This may be an early warning of mental illness in later life, or it may be a clue to the emotional nature of the subject. Examine which finger the "branch" reaches toward. The planetary nature of this finger shows the emotional issues that most occupy the subject.

The Line of Fate
The line of fate is measured from the wrist to the fingers, and runs almost vertically, bisects the palm. The finger of Jupiter, which it reaches towards, influences the line of fate. It is used to measure the subject's finances and divine luck. Observe the mount of mars when examining the line of fate. If the line of fate firmly connects the headline and heartline, making a clear "M" along with the lifeline in the middle of the palm, it is the sign of financial success. The more strong and clear the "M", the better the financial situation. A line connecting the lifeline with the line of fate near the wrist denotes an inheritance of some nature.

The Line of Fortune
The line of fortune begins near the line of fate at the wrist, and reaches toward the ring finger. If the line of fortune connects with the line of fate, it shows that financial success will come from hard work. The line of fortune is sometimes known as the career line, as smaller lines branching off of it show changes in the career.

The Line of Health
The line of health begins near the line of fortune, and reaches toward the pinky finger. A strong line of health shows great health and vigor, and also a natural charmer and great communicator. A weak, broken line of health often shows a sickly nature.

The Lesser Lines

Rings
Rings appear to encircle the mount of each finger, just below the creases where the finger naturally bends.  A ring of the Sun indicates great strength of Will, with the drive and ability to influence others.  A ring of Saturn indicates sorrow and a tendency to desire what is beyond current means.  If the ring of Saturn cuts into the line of fate, this is doubly so, and the individual will send their life feeling as if the world owes them something.  A ring of Jupiter indicates a deeply spiritual person.  If this ring is present along with positive markings on the Mount of the Moon, this indicates an individual with great potential for occult study.

Children
Dramatically strong, yet short offshoots from the lifeline indicate children.  Lines of this nature pointing up towards the fingers indicate sons, and lines pointing down toward the wrist indicate daughters.  Birth order may be determined by moving down the lifeline towards the wrist.  These birthlines can also indicate the completion of a large life goal, or spiritual birthing, if the individual is childless.

Wristlets
Lines encircling the wrist indicate the longevity of the individual.  Each wristlet counts as roughly twenty years of life, and each partial wristlet counts as ten.

The Lovelines
Running parallel to the lifeline on the mount of Venus are the lovelines. Each loveline shows a great romance in the subject's life. Often only one loveline will run nearly the entire course of the lifeline. This is the sign of one true love in life. The subject will meet the lover shown in relation to the loveline's appearance along the lifeline.

Marriage and Partnerships
Different from the loveliness are the lines of partnership, which occur in the percussion along the side of the mount of Mercury.  The lines of partnership indicate both great loves and great friendships, and often point ot marriage.

The Girdle of Venus
Stretching across the mounts of Saturn and Jupiter, the girdle of Venus is an indicator of a highly sensitive and intellectual nature; however, such sensitiveness renders the bearer moody, touchy, and easily offended. It is often seen in the hands of high-strung, suspicious, and anxious people.  If coupled with a fleshy mount of Venus, the girdle shows a highly sexual nature.

Shapes on the Palm



Grids
A grid occurs at a point of the palm where the energies that area dissipate. If a grid covers the entire palm, the power of its bearer is constantly drained by vexations and imagined slights. If a grid appears on a mount, it saps or thwarts the qualities of the mount.

Crosses
Crosses denote troubles, disappointment, danger, and when found on lines, the harm to the bearer may be aggravated. Occasionally it can refer to a dramatic change in one's life due to a crisis or hardship. A cross is only favorable when it is located between the head and heart lines, when it is referred to as the "Croix Mystique", and indicates a propensity towards mysticism, occultism, and superstition.

Stars
A star is a symbol of great and sudden brilliance in a person's life. This brilliance is often arbitrary and unexpected, and is always an event that the individual can exercise little control over. A line that ends in a star signifies the greatest accomplishments possible; however, the star often carries with it an unpleasant price. A star on the mounts will naturally denote great proficiency with the mount's corresponding traits, yet these traits may consume some of the other bearer's qualities.  A star in the palm indicates a need for Temperance in ones’ life.  These negative influences can be seen as being “star-crossed”.

Islands
The Island is always a negative sign. Unlike the star or the cross, the island is a gradual and prolonged, and often subtle period of strife in an individual's life. Because of the gradual nature of this malady, the bearer may not have even noticed that they are in a darker period of their life.  These misfortunes will last to the extent that the island is long.

Squares
The square is almost always a beneficent symbol. A square surrounding an ill-marked area signifies repair and eventual containment of the negative influences.  The one instance in which the square denotes negative influences is when it is found on the lifeline, where it indicates incarceration.

Circles
The circle is a very rare marking in chiromancy. It is an evil mark unless it is on a mount, in which case it usually augments the powers and promise of a mount. If it touches any line, it brings inescapable misfortune related to the line it touches.

Triangles
The triangle is nearly always a positive sign. It denotes success corresponding to the location of the mark. If found alongside a line, it will naturally take on significance dependent upon the line, marking a point at which accomplishment is achieved. The triangle will never reach the great heights of success that its cousin, the star, but it possesses balance and will not carry with it the backlash that so often accompanies the star.

Chains
The chain, like the island, is a negative sign.  Chains bind up the energy of the lines they occur on, and can be seen as islands linked together, presenting new obstacles arising from past negative influences.

Tridents
The trident is always a positive marking. If it arises from a line, it will increase the qualities of that line and draw additional power from the mounts or lines that the branches on either side point towards. If it is found on a mount, the trident increases the properties of that mount in conjunction with its neighboring mounts. The trident is such a powerful symbol that it eclipses the star in beneficence, as it has none of the ‘star-crossed’ energy related to that marking.

Tarot Layouts

There are many different ways to use the tarot cards.  They can be taken as a whole telling the story of the Fool's Journey and they can be interpreted only a few at a time in order to divine an answer to a question or divine the future.  Below are several layouts for reading the tarot cards.
 

Three Card Spread

The three card draw is Tarot “quick and dirty’.  It is especially useful for confirming a longer reading. It has much in common with modern rune divination layouts.  Some readers prefer a laying out the middle card first and then the cards on the left and right, but the cards are still read right to left as past, present, and future.

The Celtic Cross

The Celtic cross is probably the oldest and most popular pattern for reading the tarot. It has survived so long because the layout of the cards is simple, but powerful. A strong thought-form has built up around this spread due to its use by so many people over the years.

You can think of the Celtic cross as divided into two sections: the Circle/Cross on the left, and the Staff on the right. The Circle/Cross section is made up of two crosses - a central one (card one and two) nested within a larger cross (six cards). The smaller cross represents the heart of the matter - what is most central to you at the time of the reading. It is the hub around which the wheel of your life is turning.
The larger cross consists of two lines that overlay the mini-cross. The horizontal line shows time moving from your past on the left into your future on the right. The vertical line is your consciousness moving from your unconscious on the bottom to your conscious mind on the top. Together these six cards give you a snapshot of your inner and outer environment at the time of a reading.
The cards of the Staff section comment on your life and lie outside of the immediate situation. Here, your Inner Guide helps you understand what is shown in the Circle/Cross section. You receive guidance about yourself and others, your life lessons and your future direction.

Interpretation

Look at the six cards of the Circle/Cross section. They show what is going on in your life at the moment of the reading.
Examine the cards in pairs in the following order:
Look at Cards 1 and 2 to find out the central dynamic.
Look at Cards 3 and 5 to find out what is going on within you at different levels.
Look at Cards 4 and 6 to see how people and events are flowing through your life.
From these six cards, create a description of your immediate situation.
Consider the Staff section of the spread in this order:
Look at Cards 7 and 8 to find out how more about the relationship between you and your environment.
Look at Card 10 - the projected outcome. How do you feel about it? What does it say to you?
Review the cards to discover the factors leading to the outcome. See if one card stands out as key. Also:
Compare the projected outcome (Card 10) to a possible alternative outcome (Card 5).
Consider how the near future (Card 6) contributes to the projected outcome (Card 10).
See if Card 9 tells you something you need to know. Do you have a hope or fear that is relevant?

Diana’s Bow Spread

The Diana’s Bow spread is also known as the Seven Card Ellipse Spread, Diana’s Crescent, and the Seven Stars Spread. This layout is good for when you are asking about a project. The basic question that will be answered is "What is to be done?"  It offers advice, guidance and warning, which is seen as the divine guidance of the Goddess Diana.  This spread is especially poplar among the Romani or Gypsies.  The dramatic fanning and slow turning of the cards is characteristic of this layout, and is also associated with Romani fortune telling.

Shuffle the cards and fan them out in front you, face down. Draw seven cards from the fan. Do not turn them face up. Shuffle these seven cards and lay them out as shown in the diagram below. Turn them over, one by one, interpreting each card as you go.  This spread is unique in that the cards are not to be considered as a whole until card four is turned.  Then cards one through four may be examined together.  Only at the end of the reading may all of the cards be considered together.

Interpretation
1. Turn over the first card:  This represents the past, or that which is ending.
2. Turn over the second card:  This represents the present.
3. Turn over the third card:  This represents the future, or that which is beginning.
4. Turn over the fourth card:  This represents the path to take and what to do.  It is the counsel of Diana.  Review cards one through four.  How do they influence each other?  How does the advice of card four apply to cards one through three?
5. Turn over the fifth card:  This represents helpful or harmful outside influences.
6. Turn over the sixth card:  This represents hopes and fears.
7. Turn over the sixth card:  This represents the final outcome. Review the cards together as a whole.  How do they influence each other?  How does the advice of card four apply to cards five through seven?

Priorities Spread
Sometimes prioritizing our lives can be the most daunting task of all.  This simple layout is designed to guide you towards what is most important and helps to point out what can wait.  This is very useful for seeing where your energies are going.
 
Position 1: Important and Urgent
Position 2: Important but not Urgent   
Position 3: Urgent but not Important
Position 4: Not Important and Not Urgent


The 15 Card Spread

The 15 Card Spread layout, also know as The English Spread, is associated with Crowley's Book of Thoth tarot deck. It originated among the Golden Dawn. This spread is extremely helpful when at an impasse, or caught between several choices in one's life as it offers advice in the form of options.  It is my personal favorite spread for giving readings.

The fifteen cards are placed clockwise into four triads around a center triad.  Each of these triads presents an aspect of the situation.  Usually, the center card of each triad presents the general influences of the situation.  The card to its left shows the mental and emotional influences of the situation, while the card on the right presents the physical and material aspects of the situation. 

Interpretation

Examine the triads of cards in the following order:
Look at Cards 1, 2 and 3 to find out the central dynamic. This will give you an idea of what is going on in the person’s life, and what the reading is specifically about.
Look at Cards 4, 8, and 12 to find out what direction the future is pointing to.
Look at Cards 15, 11, and 7 to discern an alternate choice for the future. 
Look at Cards 14, 10, and 6 to see how people and events are flowing through your life. Consider Cards 5, 9, and 13, the projected outcome. How do you feel about it?
Review the cards to discover the factors leading to the outcome.
Look at Cards 1, 2 and 3 review the theme of the reading.
Compare cards 1, 2, and 3 with cards 4, 8, and 12. What about your current situation put you on this course of action?
Compare cards 4, 8, and 12 with cards 15, 11, and 7.  Which is more favorable?  How can you change your course of action if needed?  If your current course of action is favorable, how can you ensure that the less favorable future does not occur?
Look at Cards 14, 10, and 6. How can these factors assist you in making the best possible decisions for your future?
Consider Cards 5, 9, and 13. How do they work with the immediate future you are heading toward?  How do they interact with the alternate future?  What do they tell you about the resources offered to you in cards 14, 10, and 6?
Consider other groups of cards formed in the layout, and how they relate to each other. For example:
What are the internalized (emotional and mental) influences of cards 3, 4, 5, 15, and 14?
What are the core influences of cards 1, 8, 9, 10, and 11?  Together do they help give a more clear vision of what the specific subject of the reading is?
What are the externalized (physical and material) influences of cards 2, 6, 7, 12 and 13?
How do other card triads positively and negatively influence each other?  Do any of these influences make a “good” card negative or lessen the blow of a “bad” card?  Do the suits of these cards strengthen or weaken each other?
Cards 15, 10, and 7; Cards 11, 14, and 6; Cards 4, 9, and 12; Cards 5, 8, and 13

Prayer to Shakti

Oh, Shakti!
Mother of the multiverse
Cosmic intelligence that permeates all things
Void without limit
Point without place
Moment without time
Circumference of all things
Pure Being, Consciousness, Bliss
Divine Dynamic Life force
One Goddess -- Eternal
Who dances in our spirits
and illuminates all things
Be here with us now.
Awaken as the Kundalini serpent within our bodies
Connecting us forever and again with your eternal radiance

Written for the Women's Goddess Retreat 2012

Charm of the Spiral Castle

In a silver castle
far beyond the sea
grows a golden apple
on a silver tree.

On the Isle of Apples
through the pearly mist
stands a spiral tor-mound
on which the castle sits.

Waters flow upon the isle,
pools of life-in-death.
A sacred river circles it
the ancient stream of Lethe.

The castle spins between the worlds
to touch the vault of heaven.
Stars dance around its towers four
two Bears, one Crown, the Sisters Seven.

Upon the highest tower
with linen at her feet
spins the castle's Lady
in her uneasy seat.

Down below the castle
iron touches fire,
where Cain pounds at the anvil
all that we desire.

The Mighty Dead reside within --
Ancient, wise, and brave --
for those who walk the Crooked Path --
seek Rose Beyond the Grave.

Seek the turning castle
by right of Scarlet Thread.
It won't be found with mortal eyes
but ones hallowed by the dead.
~Natalie Black, Imbolc 2012

Cross-posted from my other blog.

Athena Devotional

Just a quick note to mention that Bibliotheca Alexandrina publishing house is seeking submissions for a future Athena Devotional.  You can learn more about the project here. I've submitted some of my work from this blog. *crosses fingers*

Black Dog

If you are going through hell, keep going.
~Winston Churchill

Churchill knew about Bipolar Disorder firsthand.  He was stalked by this own black dog; just as is my father, just as I am.

The dog hungers for anxiety. It lives on fear and self-deprecation. It has a nose for the tragic.

Medications can chain the dog. They make him invisible. They make me wonder if there ever was a black dog in the shadows of my mind, in the darkness at my door.

But the dog is real, and when that barghest fixes you with his baleful stare the color drains out of your world and you remember all of the pain that can be laid at your doorstep.  You are accountable, and the dog is judge, jury, and executioner.

Carry your guilt and the dog will grow teeth to gnash at your soul. If you have worries, fears, the dog will sneak in on padded feet and poison your thoughts.

You must fight the dog.

You cannot take it out back and shoot it. No. That rage only feeds the beast. You cannot abandon it at a shelter, no matter how many times you might check yourself in, or attempt to check out.

The dog will find you where you live. It will roam around you, just out of sight, yet you will sense the terrible weight of its great shaggy bulk slowly smothering you.

You will hear it howling in the darkness. Sometimes you might spot its heavy paw prints in the dirty places of your mind. Do not follow its tracks. The dog is crafty and will try to lead you off of the path of recovery.

Kill the dog with sunlight, with joyful songs, and silly films, and warm hugs from loved ones. Kill the dog with kindness. Forgive yourself. Be gentle with yourself. The dog will slowly starve.

Let go. Forgive. Reject guilt.

Kill the dog.


You can read more about Churchill's own Black Dog, here.

Another Yuletide Filk

Response was positive for my carol from earlier this month, so I thought I'd try my hand at another one. A special shout out to Cerridwen is in this song, as a Solstice gift to my sweet soul-sister Lily Savage.

A Joyful Winter Solstice
to the tune of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

A Joyful Winter Solstice
the Sun is born again
from the sacred cauldron-womb
of mother Cerridwen.

His fire shines on gilded pines
Oh, hear the ancients sing
of tidings of magic and joy.
Magic and joy!

Oh tidings of magic and joy!

The world was cold and darkened
the Sun had gone away
but now He has returned to us
on blessed Solstice day.

To light our hearts and warm our souls
Oh, hear the ancients sing
of tidings of magic and joy.
Magic and joy!

Oh tidings of magic and joy!

A Yuletide Carol

We've been listening to holiday music this week at work. I find it soothing, uplifting, inspiring... but it also causes me a bit of melancholy. I want Pagan songs for what I feel is a very strongly Pagan holiday. Shades of Paganism live in carols like "The Holly and the Ivy" and "Deck the Halls", but what about the miracle of Solstice? Isn't Solstice the real reason for the season?

With that in mind, I listened admiringly to the sweeping carol "O Holy Night". It is a beautiful, grand, and celebratory song of praise and wonder. I felt, well... jealous. And then something wonderful came over me, whole and pleasing. The muse brought me this filk of that carol today, and now I share it with you.

O Solstice Night
(to the tune of O Holy Night)

O Solstice night,
The stars are brightly shining.
It is the night of the Sun God's rebirth.

Long lay the world,
In cold and darkness pining,
Till He was born and His light warmed the Earth.

O thrill of hope!
The weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Lift up your hearts!
O hear the ancient voices!
O night divine!
O night the Sun is born.

O night divine!
O night, O night divine!

Back to the Blogging Board

The other day I was reading my boss's blog, and enjoying it thoroughly, when I realized it hadn't been updated since July of 2009. I thought, "I should really encourage her to get back to writing in her blog" when the irony of the fact I haven't been keeping up with my own blog hit me. When I asked her about her abandoned webspace she defended herself with "Oh, I just don't have anything to write about." Which I promise you is not true. Even if the library wasn't going through a complete overhaul of our cataloging and circulation system (which we are) the day-today workings of a public library leave ample room for all manner of interesting anecdotes. I appreciated her sentiment, though. I, too, have not written recently for what I deemed lack of subject matter. I haven't done anything new/groundbreaking/vaguely interesting to anyone with Athena worship in a while, and, with the season of the Witch upon us, I've been poking around in Cochrane's letters and wishing I had the gumption to actually follow the Spiral Castle Tradition full time.

What is the Spiral Castle Tradition, you ask? Gentle reader, allow me to introduce you to a Tradition of Witchcraft in the 1734/Clan of Tubal Cain mold that Laurelei and I created whole hog from immersing ourselves in the Robert Cochrane letters and Graves' seminal The White Goddess. It is a ecstatic mystery tradition with legitimate roots in British Traditional Witchcraft. It is a three-degree initiatory tradition, although we make no claims of succession to anyone, apostolic, or otherwise. Our calendar is based on the eight festival cycle, along side a lunar calendar related to tree-months and totemic animal cycles. The central Deities of the tradition are the Red God: Tubal Cain, and two Goddesses, the White and the Black. Note 7/18/2011: We're blogging about it here.

Is anyone actually a part of this oh-so-nifty tradition? Well, sort of. I mean, if you count myself and Laurelei. I currently practice the tradition when it suits me, along with the Athenian festival calendar (when it pertains directly to Athena) and Thelemic practices including Liber Resh vel Helios and the Star Ruby (because who doesn't love using Greek in ceremonial magick?). So , yeah, my spiritual practices have been very *ahem* eclectic as of late. This is in addition to my loose studies in Goddess/feminist spirituality such as the Women's Goddess Retreat. I just can't seem to focus on one thing, which is probably why, although I am filled with good intentions to mentor to the local occult community, the student have thus far not appeared.

I have grand plans for all of these irons in the fire. I've started three different books, but none of them are anywhere near completion. The first, Under Her Aegis, is my attempt at a guide to the modern worship of Athena. The next is an untitled book on Thelemic Witchcraft. I can hear you laughing, but really, Gardnerian Wicca owes a huge debt to Crowley, and the promulgation of Thelema in the New Aeon has found its most vital medium in NeoPaganism. The systems compliment each other very well. The third work is a monstrosity I fear I will never finish. It is my attempt to distill my collected knowledge of Witchcraft into a single book. I see it as my Great Work, and, because of that, I wonder if it is even meant to be completed. It is more than a simple Book of Shadows. On my best days I see it as a greatly expanded volume in the spirit of Huson's classic Mastering Witchcraft.

All of this, and I still intend to go back to library school. I have always had lofty aspirations -- a good trait in an occultist.

Life is not all coven-planning and writing the next great treatise on Witchcraft. I fret over seeing my family for Thanksgiving later this week. I worry about our Yuletide gift-giving budget. I go to work happily and hope that the forthcoming new catalog and circulation system will run well and smoothly.

And, hopefully, I continue to blog. :)

133.33 and the Librarian Occultist

I am vexed, dear reader. It will come as no shock to you that I'm a librarian. I'm upfront about it right here in the "About Me" blurb on my blog: "I'm a librarian, a Hellenic Polytheist, a Traditional Wiccan, and an occultist." I first started working a library when I was in high school and I am now seeking my Master's degree in Library Science.

The overlap between my passion for libraries and my passion for occultism doesn't come up very often. True, I do see my work as a librarian as an abstract way of honoring the power of Athena, but I am "in the broom closet" at work. I am happy to serve quietly in my own way.

My frustration comes from a kind of open secret among the librarians I have known concerning occult literature. The secret is that books on occultism walk. What I mean by this is that these books (133.33 in the Dewey Decimal classification system) once checked out from the library never find their way back to the library. Often these books are not even checked out, but are blatantly stolen from the library. Go to any public library and examine the 133.33 section (it is an old habit of mine that I always go there first whenever I am in a new library). You will find it to be sadly lacking.

I've witnessed several responses to this dilemma. Some libraries choose to keep occult materials in a special "restricted" section, usually behind the circulation desk where they cannot be stolen outright. Other libraries keep the books as reference materials only so that they cannot be checked out. Still other libraries, and this breaks my heart, have elected to not carry occult materials at all. This is, of course, censorship, even if the library feels that it has no other course of action.

I have wondered for many years just who these occult book bandits are. The public library systems I have worked in have all been in very conservative rural communities. Is it rebellious teenagers looking for the small thrill of lifting a Wicca 101 book, or is it the rabid Christian fiction reading matrons attempting to save their community from "Satan"?

Who benefits from this form of censorship? Certainly not sincere seekers like the one I assisted earlier this week. Our online catalog showed twenty books on astrology, all of them listed as "long overdue" or "lost processing". The poor man simply wanted to know the stories behind the zodiac signs. I wanted very much to share with him the information orally, but, again, I am closeted at work and feared drawing attention to myself.

I am at a loss for a solution to this problem. Here at home I've enchanted my own personal library (which would make anyone with even a passing interest in witchcraft green with envy) so that any book loaned out (which, granted, only ever happens with those I trust implicitly) will find its way back home to me. The task of enchanting a public library collection seems daunting at best, and brings up some gray ethical issues for me.

I dream of someday directing a library filled with controversial books. Dangerous books. Books that open the reader's mind. For now I work quietly and wonder where have all the occult books gone?

Athena and Medusa

I have applied to be an Exegetai of Athena through Neokoroi. Part of the process of admittance includes the submission of two articles to their newsletter He Epistole. I shared my first article, Virgin Athena, here. Included below is the second article, with many inspirational thanks to the divine Thalia Took, who just happened to draw Medusa as the Goddess of the Week!

Athena and Medusa

In most myths Athena comes across as a gentle Goddess whose punishments are rare and just. This is not the case with the tale of Medusa. On the surface Athena's relationship with Medusa seems cruel and self-serving, very different from her relationships with other figures of mythology, but further investigation proves there is more going on between the two figures than the myth readily admits.

Medusa's story is a sad one. She was a lovely girl, often compared favorably to the goddess Athena. Medusa's beauty drew the unfortunate and unwanted attention of Poseidon. Medusa fled to a temple of Athena seeking sanctuary from the sea god's advances through prayers to virginal Athena. Poseidon found Medusa in the temple and raped her. As punishment for this desecration of her temple Athena transformed Medusa into a gorgon, a hideous creature with snakes for hair whose gaze turned men to stone. Medusa was beheaded by the hero Perseus with the assistance of Athena. From her body sprung forth her sons by Poseidon, Pegasus the winged horse and Khrysaor. Athena then gathered blood from Medusa's corpse and placed the head of Medusa, the Gorgoneion, prominently upon her breastplate, the aegis.

Who was Medusa and why is her myth so entwined with that of Athena, who seems to only want to punsish her for a crime that she was not at fault for? Pausanias points out that Medusa was said to have been from Lake Tritonis in Libya, which was also sometimes cited as the birthplace of Athena under her epithet Athena Tritogeneia, or Triton-born. This same epithet, along with that of Athena Glaukopis, has been cited as evidence that Athena's father was in fact Poseidon, not Zeus. Pausanias states:

"When I saw that the statue of Athena had blue eyes I found out that the legend about them is Libyan. For the Libyans have a saying that the Goddess is the daughter of Poseidon and Lake Tritonis, and for this reason has blue eyes like Poseidon."

So, we have links to two mythological figures of Libyan origin near Lake Tritonis with links to Poseidon. Athena and Poseidon have a famous rivalry concerning patronage of Athens, but Athena was never raped by Poseidon, was she?

Amazingly enough, there is a story of Athena being raped by her father. Although he is not named Poseidon, a story by Lycophron states that Athena was the daughter of the winged giant Pallas who attempted to rape his lovely offspring. Athena defended herself against his advances and slew him. She flayed the giant, taking his wings for her own use and his skin as her aegis. Here it is the fatherly male and not the transformed young woman whose visage becomes the basis for the aegis.

What of Pallas's wings? In early depictions of Athena she is shown winged, notably in Sparta. These wings would later be placed on the shoulders of Nike, goddess of victory, who accompanied Athena and was sometimes referred to as Athena. The Gorgons were also winged, shown with the same curling quadrupled wings as early black-figure-vase images of Athena. Medusa famously gave birth to the winged horse Pegasus, who myth states that Athena bridled and tamed. Suidas makes the connection between Athena, daughter of Poseidon and tamer of horses clear:

"Hippeia Athene (Athena-of-Horses) : They say she is a daughter of Poseidon and Polyphe, daughter of Okeanos; she was the first to use a chariot and was called 'of-Horses' because of this."

Athena was raped by her father, who may have been Poseidon, just as Medusa was. These events took place on the shores of Lake Tritonis in Libya and lead to associations with wings and winged horses by both Medusa and Athena. Both transformed a mutilated piece of themselves or their attacker into the aegis. There are clear connections here between Medusa and Athena, but what about Medusa's most notable feature, that of her snaky hair? Does Athena have connections to snakes also, and if so, do they bear any echo of Medusa?

Athena's associations with snakes are second only to her legendary affinity for owls. She wears the snake-tasseled aegis, and was said to be the mother of Erikhthonios, who was either part or all snake. So damning was her association with the snake that she forbid anyone to look upon her serpentine son, lest they recognize that she was its mother. The Arrephoria ritual of Athens commemorates these events. Anciently the snake in Greece was seen as the protector of the home. It guarded the grain, much in the way a housecat would in later Europe. Several deities with home protection roles had serpent associations, such as Zeus Kestos. Athena was so associated with the protection of cities that she was viewed in abstract terms as a great serpent. Her aegis is covered in scales and ringed with snakes to reenforce this association.

Barbara Walker states in her Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets under the entry Gorgon that “Gorgo, Gorgon, or Gorgopis... was the title of Athene as a death goddess.” She links the name Medusa with that of Athena's mother Metis and states that she believes that Athena was worshiped as Medusa/Metis in Libya where she was the destroyer aspect of the Egyptian goddess Neith who was called Anath among the Phoenicians and Ath-enna in Libya and North Africa.

Jane Ellen Harrison argues that the Gorgoneion is nothing more than a ritual mask, perhaps worn by Libyan priestesses in rites related to wisdom and the moon. The Orphics refer to the moon as “The Gorgon's Head”. Amazingly, an ancient image of Athena shows her winged and holding a crescent moon.

The similarities between Athena and Medusa weave an obscured but revealing pattern. Athena could no more punish Medusa than she could punish herself. Medusa, it seems, is only another older face of the complex Goddess known to us under the names Anat, Neith, Metis, Medusa, and Athena.

Sources Cited:

Theoi Project: Athena
Theoi Project: Medusa & Gorgons
Gimbutas, Marija: The Language of the Goddess.
Walker, Barbara: The Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets: Athena, Gorgon, Medusa
Wikipedia: Gorgoneion

Virgin Athena

I have applied to be an Exegetai of Athena through Neokoroi. Part of the process of admittance includes the submission of two articles to their newsletter He Epistole. I thought that the first one might be of interest to the blogosphere, so I am sharing it here.

Virgin Athena

Athena is famous in Greek mythology for being one of only three Goddesses who were considered “virgin”. It was said in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite that alone of all creation these three Goddesses, Hestia, Artemis, and Athena, were immune to the arrows of Eros and the seductive spell of Aphrodite. But for Athena being a virgin ran deeper than simple immunity to romance. Athena was, rather surprisingly, a mother figure in Classical Athens, and is linked to Hephaestos in what could be an ancient heiros gamos festival.

Athena's legendary virginity begins with conflicting stories of her birth. In the most famous version, attributed to Apollodorus, Athena is born fully grown from the head of her father Zeus. Zeus had been warned that his bride Metis, wise counsel, would bear him a child greater than himself, so he chose to swallow Metis whole. Nine months later he was stricken with a terrible headache that served as the birth pangs which brought Athena into existence. Just as later Catholics would claim that their divine virgin Mary was conceived Immaculately by the will of the Father God, so was Athena born, not of a womb or woman, but from the perfect mind of Zeus.

A second and less well known birth story comes to us from Lycophron, in which Athena was fathered the winged giant Pallas. This Pallas later attempted to rape his daughter. In a rage the young Athena killed her father and flayed him, taking his skin for her breastplate – the aegis – and his wings for her own use. In the oldest known depictions of Athena, such as at Sparta, she is shown winged. This was the first, but not the only threat to Athena's chastity in myth.

When Zeus ached and moaned with the labor pains that would bring forth Athena we are told that Hephaestos took up a labrys and split mighty Zeus's head asunder in order to release the pain. Thus, Hephaestos was the first of the theoi to catch a glimpse of the newly formed Athena. We can only guess from later events what Hephaestos must have thought when he saw the radiant goddess for the first time. Perhaps Eros launched one of his famous arrows at the lame craftsman. Maybe he was taken in by the earth-shaking war dance she performed immediately upon her birth. As a smith, he may have just been impressed with her excellent taste in armor, since she was born fully armed. In any case, Hephaestos desired Athena and contrived to win her for his wife.

After Hephaestos set out to trap his mother Hera in a golden throne he fashioned for her he demanded the prize of either Athena or Aphrodite as his wife, according to many sources, notably Hyginus. If Athena rejected his proposal it is not recorded. Regardless, Hephaestos won Aphrodite as his bride rather than Athena and according to Homer [Odyssey 8.267] he regretted the decision. Aphrodite proved to be a lovely but unfaithful wife and Hephaestos harbored secret lust for Athena.

Athena came to the forge of Hephaestos seeking arms. What she received instead, according to Apollodorus, was an attempted rape by Hephaestos. In disgust it was said that Athena wiped Hephaestos's semen from her thigh with a fillet of wool that she then flung to the ground. The fertile earth, Gaia, became pregnant by this seed and bore the child Erikhthonios, king of Athens. Gaia gave the boy to Athena, who she claimed was his true mother. Ashamed, Athena hid the growing child in a kista, or chest, that she kept in the folds of her aegis.

Why was Athena ashamed of Erikhthonios? Why would she keep his existence a closely guarded secret? Erikhthonios was said to have the form of a serpent from the waist down. Is this deformity alone enough to cause Athena to shut away her fosterling, and, where did Erikhthonios gain this peculiar serpentine aberration?
Since the earliest recorded times Athena has been identified with the snake. This is demonstrated in her serpent-tasseled aegis, and in her special role as the guardian of the city, just as the snake served in ancient Greece as a symbol for the guardian of the home. Athena has deep roots in the prehistoric craftswoman serpent and bird goddesses that Marija Gimbutas documented in her work. Just as Gaia claimed that Athena was the true mother of Erikhthonios, so do Erikhthonios's defining features point to Athena having been his mother.

Athena guarded Erikhthonios with obsessive caution. It was said by Pseudo-Apollodorus that she sent the kista he was kept in to Pandrosos, the daughter of Kekrops, forbidding her to open the chest. With curiosity that echoes the fall of Pandora – who Athena had a hand in making – Pandrosos opened the chest and beheld Erikhthonios, at the sight of which Athena drove Pandrosos mad. Pandrosos then flung herself to her death from the Acropolis. These horrible events were commemorated each year at the Athenian festival of the Arrephoria. During the Arrephoria maidens were given a secret kista at the temple of Athena on the Acropolis filled with “unspoken things”. The maidens were strictly admonished not to look inside of the kista but to deliver it to the garden shrine of Aphrodite, below the Acropolis. The maidens then returned to the temple of Athena bearing a second kista, also filled with secret contents, from the garden of Aphrodite. I have concluded that the kista bore knowledge of Erikhthonios as the son of Athena and Hephaestos, just as it held Erikhthonios himself when Pandrosos kept it. It is telling that Athena sends knowledge of Erikhthonios to Aphrodite, the wife of Hephaestos, whose charms and seductions she was supposed to be immune to.

Thus I have deduced that, just as Gaia claimed, Athena is the true mother of Erikhthonios, making her one of the number of that fabulous mythic trope of virgin mothers. But how chaste was Athena's relationship with Hephaestos? Were they ever linked beyond one incident of attempted rape? To answer these questions I look again to the festival cycle of Athens, this time to the festival of the Khalkeia, which translates to “bronze chamber”. The Khalkeia was a festival of Hephaestos and Athena as patrons of craftsmanship. Throughout Athens Athena and Hephaestos were paired. Athena has a statue in the Athenian temple of Hephaestos that overlooks the agora, while the ever-burning lamp in the temple of Athena Polis is regarded by Burkert and others as the presence of Hephaestos.

Karl Kerenyi deduces in his Athene: Virgin and Mother in Greek Religion that during the Khalkeia festival Athena and Hephaestos joined in a heiros gamos, or sacred marriage rite, in a bronze chamber. The month leading up to the Khalkeia was a time for young Athenians to prepare themselves for marriage. Athena even takes her “husband's” name in Robert Parker's Polytheism and society at Athens which lists Hephaisteia as one of Athena's epithets, specifically related to the Khalkeia festival.

The marriage of Athena and Hephaestos bore rich fruit depending on which sources are sought. Both Apollon [Müller, Dor. ii. 2. § 13.] and Lychnus [Spanheim, ad Callim. p. 644.] are cited as being sons of the union of Athena and Hephaestos. I find that the idea of Apollon, Lord of the Arts, being the son of the theoi of craftsmanship to be an inspiring and illuminating twist in their collective mythologies.

Even with her yearly Athenian marriage to Hephaestos and a proliferation of sons, Athena still remains virgin. She is a virgin in the oldest sense of the word: ever a maiden beholden to no man. It was this virginity that allowed Athena to exist in realms outside of those typically open to Greek women. Now that we live in a society where women and men are recognized as equals it is time to restore Athena's roles beyond that of the eternally chaste daughter.

Sources Cited:

Theoi Project: Athena
Theoi Project: Hephaestos
Burkert, Walter: Greek Religion.
Gimbutas, Marija: The Language of the Goddess.
Kerenyi, Karl: Athene: Virgin and Mother in Greek Religion.
Parker, Robert: Polytheism and Society at Athens.

Glaukopis

The poets call me the gray-eyed Goddess.
Flashing-eyed.
Sliver as the glint from a spear point.
Wild with battle fury.
But my sight is sharper than a weapon.

The scholars claim I came from a storm.
Mosture laden.
Eerie dark grey-green as the most dangerous clouds.
Bright as Zeus's lightning.
But my wisdom is more penetrating than rain.

The priests say I stare like an owl.
Unflinching.
Glassy blue pupils with no whites.
Able to see even in the faintest light.
But my eyes are older than the darkness.

Turn not away from my gaze, mortal.
I see all.
Rather, look me in the eyes and know the mystery.
Drink of my ancient pools of wisdom.
Know you the color of my eyes.

Written for Noumenia, Mounukhion 1.

Glaukopis is the epithet of Athena that I usually honor in my everyday worship. It has many translations: silver, blue-green, and gray-eyed, shining, flashing, and glinting-eyed, and, the oldest, and one of particular relevance to my own practice: owl-eyed. I have come to think of these many translations not just as an accident of an evolving language, but as a kind of mystery. Athena's eyes cannot be described completely by any one of the translations above, but encompasses all of them. I feel greatly honored to have 'seen' the color of Athena's eyes, although I will never be able to find the right words to explain them. This little hymn is my feeble attempt.

Ta Dio

I hear the sound of your voice
like pan-pipes laughing in my mind.
The maenad in me awakens.
I am drawn into your song.
Spinning spindle
her dance weaving
the song of the seasons.
Hair unbound.
Girdle unbound.
Spirit unbound.
A bacchante in ecstasy.

Io euoi!
Io Zagreus!

I clumsily attempt to seduce the God,
drunk on his vintage,
unaware that he has been pursuing me all along.
I run down the hillside,
seeking the solace of the forest.
Unity.
Yab-yum.

Io euoi!
Io Bromios!

In desparate passion I tear into flesh.
Blood in my mouth,
a life pressed like grapes bursting.
Limbs tangled into vines,
Tasting your sweet goat song,
Singing your raucous lament.

Io euoi!
Io Sabazos!

Tasting you.
Drinking you.
Lord of my Salvation.

Written for the Greater Dionysia 2010.

Release the Snark!

I'm being snarky on the interwebs. I'm sure you'll want to go take a look. My colleague Nehmet came up with a delightful idea for a "Stuff Pagan Culture Likes" blog inspired by the hilarious original, Stuff White People Like. I had so many ideas for derision, um, discussion that she made me a writer. So, go on! What are you waiting for?

Hymn to Pallas

I sing now of the gray-eyed Goddess and Her love for the virgin Pallas.
Together grew these maidens, strong and lovely on the shores of Lake Triton.
Devoted to each other, long were their games of love and battle.
Under the olive groves they embraced, finding delight in the idleness of youth.
In fields of barley they played the war game with wooden spears, tunics tearing.
In jest Athena rolled upon Her back as Pallas raised her sharpened stick.
In paternal panic Zeus thrust the aegis between the sparring girls.
The spear glanced from the terrible gorgon gaze of the aegis wounding Pallas.
She fell into Athena's white arms, bloody and swooning.
The corpse of Pallas grew cold in the Goddess's embrace.
Athena, young and radiant, wailed to the heavens bemoaning the loss of Her lover.
She took up a piece of olive wood from their love bower and with great skill
fashioned a likeness of fair Pallas from the rough timber.
Athena draped Her aegis over the image, keeping it safe and sacred.
She took the name of Her playmate and added it to Her own.
So evermore when poets speak of Pallas they speak not of the nymph but of the Goddess.
Such is the love of ever-near Athena for those who honor Her.
So are we wrapped in the aegis of Her protection.
So are our crafts devotions to Her supreme skill.
Athena, may I always be protected under your aegis.
May I speak with wisdom and listen with the steadfastness of olive wood.
May I sing of your glory now and always.

Crown of Violets is now available

I mentioned that Asteria Books has been busy, and one of our labors became available today! Crown of Violets, a collection of devotional work dedicated to Aphrodite is now in print. I contributed to this collection and Laurelei edited it and has many pieces in it herself. The ebook is only $2.50, so if you've any interest in Aphrodite at all please do check it out.

Athena's Illiad - Part 2

Introduction

Part 1 is here. I'm considering scrapping this version of Part 2 entirely and jumping directly into the Illiad material instead. I may keep the first paragraph and save the rest of this version for the end of the story. I'm concerned that the reference to Keats is a bit forced.

Athena's Illiad - Part 2

On Olympus debate was stirring about exactly what Aphrodite meant by offering Paris the most beautiful woman in all of the world. We Gods knew that there was a mortal living who was more lovely than any woman in all of time had ever been. Her name was Helen and she was the wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta. The Kings of Greece had nearly gone to war with each other over her hand in marriage. To preserve the peace of Greece all of the Kings had pledged that Helen's chosen husband would be defended against all invaders and usurpers who might lay claim to fair Helen. A number of the Gods seemed convinced that Aphrodite was offering Paris the love of Helen. I was dumbfounded by this talk. Certainly Aphrodite would not risk the peace of Greece for her prize. Paris, well aware of the fabled beauty of Helen among mortals, plied his father Priam into a peacekeeping summit with Menelaus across the Aegean in Sparta. I tried to find fair Aphrodite, to dissuade her from this madness of offering Helen as a prize, but she was gone. Gone to Sparta to appear before Helen, offering forth the use of her magical zone – a golden girdle which made its wearer irresistible – and promising the love of a young and handsome prince en route to Sparta's shores.

Helen and Paris were awakened to love at first sight. Aphrodite's son Eros shot his arrows straight to their hearts, and truly, never had a mortal looked more lovely than did Helen bearing the zone of Aphrodite. Paris knew that the promise of Aphrodite had been fulfilled as Helen confessed her passionate love for him by the light of a sputtering oil lamp. Paris smuggled her away to Ilium that night, taking leave under cover of darkness like a petty thief. Ares, lord of war, rejoiced. He and his mother Hera would have their war. Zeus ignored the whole debacle. “What business have I with the love affairs of mortals?” he claimed, absolving himself of the coming bloodbath. “If you have a care about it, speak with Aphrodite,” he advised me. But Aphrodite had taken her leave of Olympus. She dwelt now in the violet mist around the mast of Paris's ship as it sailed swiftly through the Aegean Sea. She lent her starry crown to guide them back to the great city of Ilium. She took up residence within the hulking walls of Troy.

After the war, when Aphrodite and I were speaking to each other again, I asked her why she had done it. Why, out of all of the women in the world, did she have to offer forth Helen as Paris's prize? Helen, who had been promised to be defended by the myriad kings of Greece. Helen, whose beauty was trumped up by Aphrodite's art. Helen, who she knew would start a war to rage across the sea. Aphrodite drew forth the golden apple from the folds of her peplos. I had not seen it for many a long age, and was surprised at its luster. She regarded its inscription KALLISTI – for the fairest. Her answer was measured, spoken in the most dulcet tones. “This apple was meant for the fairest of Gods. Although it would have been wise for it to go to you, it would not have been truthful. I offered Paris the most beautiful of lovers. I could have given him someone less beautiful than Helen, but I would have been breaking my word.” She turned the apple in her hand, catching the light. “Truth is the mark of beauty. I promised Paris his true love. How could I be false to him when I offer forth truth?” She spoke these words and they fell like a muse upon the ears of poets. One Keats, regarding a Grecian Urn depicting the Trojan War, added them to a verse, “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”

This then is why, for all of my wisdom, I am not a champion of beauty. I seek skill. I do not rejoice in truth, but in craftiness. I am called a war Goddess, but in my heart I long for peace. The only joy I take in war is the nurturing of heroes, true champions of skill. Through war I have gained and lost the best of heroes. Hector was supposed to be my champion, but he was taken from me by the cruel division of conflict. From the battlefield I found another – a warrior who fought with his mind as much as his hands. My Odysseus. But his is another story for another time.

Arrephoria Hymn

Night comes all-bedewing
As I set my mewling son
Into the kista-basket

They said I was one of only three
Immune to your own son's arrows
Yet you have conquered me at last

I cover the kista and send for the maidens
Knowing that I must tell you alone the secret
That we now share a husband

I admonish the maidens not to look in the basket
Knowing that they will regardless
I crafted their grandmother Pandora, after all

They dutifully journey down my sacred hill
Two fall prey to womanly curiosity
Madness and death are their husbands now

The third completes her delivery
Into your grotto and into your hands
She gushes of your legendary beauty

The maid bears the kista back to me
Inside is my serpentine son sleeping soundly
And a bridal gift from you, my secret sister-wife

Khalkeia Hymn

When I was born from my father's brow
A bright and terrible Goddess
It was your hand that wielded the axe
You who served as midwife
To mighty Zeus's agony

As I danced I knew you watched me
Olympus shook and Helios reeled
And it was no surprise that you asked
For my hand, or the Golden Kyprian's,
As ransom for your mother's torture

I envy your dove wife
Who prefers to take bloody battle
To Her bed and bosom
When your hands are the most skilled on Olympus
And your fire burns hottest

You always knew I would come
Come down into your forge
The center of your creative fire
To beg a new set of armor
And to flash my quicksilver eyes at you

You had been waiting for me
Had built me a bedchamber of bronze
A marriage bed of wool
Virgin though I am
You took me in the heiros gamos

They say I scorned you
That I thrust you from me
And abandoned your seed to earth
Mother I am to your child
Yet virgin I remain

And still I come to you
Each year just before the time
Of Zeus the Storm Bringer
I take the bronze key from my aegis
And enter the khalkeia