Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Food Sacred to Hera

Since cattle are Hera's, dairy and beef are good for a feast honoring Hera.

And - butter. The gods love the smell of roasting fats from meat, and the smell of butter cooking.

Butter is a love offering in Hinduism, too. Little Krishna ate the butter offering!

Reading List About Hera

These are some sources about the goddess Hera and her cults.

Recommended readings:
"Woman's Power, Man's Game: Essays on Classical Antiquityin Honor of Joy K. King". edited by Mary DeForest.This is an excellent collection of essays, including Joan O'Brien's"Hera, Nurse of Monsters". this is an excerpt from her book"The Transformation of Hera".

"The Transformation of Hera" is included in Google Books.

Anything written by Karl Kerenyi - also spelled Carl Kerenyi,Karolus Kerenyi, or Karoly Kerenyi. "The Gods of the Greeks" more light-hearted, as if he were tellingthe stories to a friend after dinner. "Zeus and Hera: Archetypal Image of Husband, Father, Wife"

"Ancient Greek and Roman Religion", by H. J. Roseold-fashioned, concise, some items of interest.

"Argonautika" by Apollonius of Rhodes - Hera/Juno is benefactress!

"Theogony" by Hesiod

"The Iliad" by Homer

"Sacred Marriages" edited by Martti Nissinen & Risto Uro has a chapter "Hieros Gamos in Ancient Greek Religion:"The Human Aspect of a Sacralized Ritual" by Aphrodite A. Avagianou

"Ancient Greek Love Magic" by Christopher Faraone has quite a bit about Hera. Yes, she was invoked for love magic too!

"The Greek Myths" by Robert Graves - it is an older set of books, still good to read, but there has been a few decades of scholarship since he penned these. His voice as a poet telling the stories and interpreting them is still Art and many of his insights have shaped the approaches modernClassical scholars seem to currently use.

"Eclipse of the Sun:An investigation into Sun and Moon Myths" by Janet McCrickland.Chapter 25, 'Far-Seeing Mother of the Eyes', features Juno Lucina,Saint Lucy, Theia, and Hera in the Theia section.

There is an Hera image in "Planetary Magic" by Denning & Phillips, in the section 'Correspondences of Saturn'.

Creatures of Hera

The association with trees and planks is interesting. Binding the plank to a tree was one of the symbolic rituals that was done.

Olive, oak, pear, juniper, sycamore,and lugos/willow are associated with her, especially the latter.

The Transformation of Hera by Joan V. O'Brien contains a chapter about Hera as Mistress of Animals at Samos.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Peacock Medicine

Read about Peacock in Ted Andrews' Animal Speak. This is a great article!

Peacock

Peacock medicine, peacock totem information:


The Peacock
The peacock is a bird of the pheasant family. The male is actually a peacock and the female is a peahen, both are peafowl. The most distinct features of the peacock are its feathers and its eerie call. Two species of peafowl are the blue, or Indian peacock of India and Sri Lanka and the green, or Javanese peacock from Burma to Java.

These stunning birds hold an air of self confidence. Their train of tail feathers are brightly colored either a metallic green or blue and formed of the birds upper tail coverts which are enormously elongated. Each feather is tipped with an iridescent eyespot that is ringed with blue and bronze. These eyes represent their ability to see into the past, present and future and can teach those with this medicine how to awaken their clairvoyant gifts.

Peacocks have much lore and myth associated with them. Peacock feathers are believed to have protective powers and are used in Indian and Shaman rituals as an aid in healing. A tail feather is moved over a sick or injured person in gentle strokes to remove negative psychic imprints that have attached themselves to a person's energetic field. Those with this medicine are highly sensitive and proper maintenance of their personal energy field is essential. When an individual with this totem has acquired a strong and solid aura they have the potential to become powerful ritualistic healers.

In courtship displays, the cock elevates his tail, which lies under the train thus elevating the train and bringing it forward. At the climax of this display the tail feathers are vibrated, giving the feathers of the train a shimmering appearance and making a rustling sound. This display along with the eerie call of the peacock draws attention to it. They stand with dignity and demand to be noticed. Those with this totem often gain recognition for their talents and have the potential to be prominent leaders in their chosen field.

The peacock reminds us to see the beauty in all aspects of life. Its eerie call sounds similar to a laughing screech and reminds us to laugh with life and not take things so seriously. As it presents itself with confidence and awes us with its beauty it teaches us how to keep the ego under control and to set all vanity aside. Past lives associated with superiority has been linked to peacock medicine people. By observing the peacock we can learn to strut our stuff with dignity and grace.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Sovereignty

Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 11th edition defines Sovereignty as: supreme excellence or an example of it; supreme power esp. over a body politic; freedom from external control; autonomy; a controlling influence.

The philosophy of Sovereignty is discussed on the Stanford website.

There is another discussion of Sovereignty on the Wikipedia website.

The medieval concept of feminine sovereignty is pertinent to our study of The Throne of Destiny:

"Around c. 1380-1400, the issue of feminine sovereignty was addressed in Geoffrey Chaucer's Middle English collection of Canterbury Tales, specifically in The Wife of Bath's Tale. A later English Arthurian romance, The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell (c. 1450) uses much of the same elements of the Wife of Bath's tale, yet changes the setting to the court of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The story revolves around the knight Sir Gawain granting to Dame Ragnell, his new bride, what is purported to be wanted most by women: sovereignty.

We desire most from men,
From men both rich and poor,
To have sovereignty without lies.
For where we have sovereignty, all is ours,
Though a knight be ever so fierce,
And ever win mastery.
It is our desire to have master
Over such a sir.
Such is our purpose.
The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell."

The concept of Sovereignty implies the quality or authority of being independent and in charge of the conditions under which you live.
Sovereignty refers to legally and practically arranging your affairs in such a way that you are in charge of your life, and prepared for challenges to freedom. Sovereignty carries with it responsibility.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Queen of the Coming Age

In the invocation to this rite, Juno is referred to as "Future Queen of the coming age, whose peacock has as eyes myriads of stars!"

She is called upon to "Teach us how to control our lives."

She is also described as ruling Aquarius.

This ritual is one of a series begun by this Lyceum in 2001 that prepare us to enter The Fifth World, and the changes heralded by the year 2012.

The Goddess Juno has correspondences with the Aquarian Age, to which the phrase "the coming age" might also refer. The FOI liturgy Mystical Awakening of Aquarius and Juno , in which Juno is invoked as ruler of Aquarius, makes this clear.

Juno's Peacock, whose dark blue tail is decorated with myriads of "eyes," represents the night sky spangled with "myriads of stars." This stellar imagery illustrates Juno's connection to the contellation of Aquarius, which in turn corresponds to The Star (Tarot Trump XVII).