The Swans and Goldfinches of Artemis

I was reminded of the strong connection between the goddess Artemis and birds this morning, especially swans which were sacred to her brother Apollo and goldfinches, which were sacred to Artemis.  In the play “The Birds” by Aristophanes the goldfinch is associated with Artemis, where the Priest says: “Pray to the swan of Delos (Apollo), to Latona the mother of quails (Leto, their mother), and to Artemis, the goldfinch”.  Artemis is also shown feeding a swan on a vase image dating to the 5th century BCE.

Having spotted both these birds this morning I feel rather chuffed, but also reminded of the work I did a few years back researching for “Artemis Virgin Goddess of the Sun & Moon“; after the recent publication of “Hekate Liminal Rites” which in a roundabout way was the reason that I also wrote on Artemis.  Both these ancient Greek Goddesses are misrpresented so often, to different extremes.  Where as Hekate usually suffers from a very distorted “evil old crone” image; Artemis suffers in the opposite direction, where she is usually made out to be nothing but a “happy go lucky moon goddess with a bow and arrow”!

When you gaze a little beyond the surface however, just like with Hekate were we find that she is in fact a Goddess of light, who is given titles such as “lightbearer”; “world soul” and “companion” – illustrating her benevolent nature.  So too Artemis who has many positive ephitets hinting at goodness such as “golden throned” and “fairest and most beautiful” and “of good repute”, “the leader” – however, she also has titles and stories associated with her clearly showing her malevolent and much darker side.  She is “delighter in arrows” , “golden sworded”, “the strangled lady” and “the thunderer”.  Some examples of Artemis’ nature are hinted at even more clearly when one examines the myths and reasons for it being given, rather than just looking at the lists.  For example:

Artemis Skythia:
This title is used for Artemis in the Life of Apollonius of Tyana, here he describes the ritual scourging that was done in honour of Artemis.  Scourging of course is still used in many modern magical and pagan traditions, the best known example being that of Gardnerian Wicca.  However, the use of the scourge in these modern traditions are often symbolic and it is not generally used with the intention of causing pain.  For the Goddess Artemis this would not have sufficed, because the scourging that was done in her honour was done until blood was flowing freely and the blood from the wounds wound then be smeared over her altars.    Gory as it sounds, this was a replacement for human sacrifice which was also known to happen in honour of this (and many other) goddess, and it was a well known practice at Skythoi previous to this practice of scourging, which was considered to be less babarian!

I will write more about Artemis in future, because I have discovered so much more about this fascinating Goddess over the years since completing Artemis Virgin Goddess of the Sun and Moon, and I am certain that there is still a great deal more to discover.  There are so many interconnections also between Artemis and her cousin Hekate, that I may have no choice!

Enjoy your Tuesday!

Creative Visualisation: Luna

This is an extract from Practical Planetary Magick, written by myself and David Rankine and published by Avalonia. A while ago I posted the Mars meditation, and it was hugely popular with readers on some of the social networking sites I am on – especially on facebook – so I decided to post a couple more extracts from the same book. I hope that if you are reading this, and if you find yourself inspired to spend a few minutes trying out this creative visualisation, you will find it a useful practice.

Creative Visualisation: Luna

Sit comfortably and relax, closing your eyes.  In your mind’s eye fix the image of yourself sitting as you are in the room.  Hold this image, and then see a white mist filling the room, obscuring the walls, the floor, the ceiling, everything, until all around you is white mist.  As the mist disperses you find yourself in a silver chariot pulled through the night sky by four silver horses.

Standing next to you in the chariot is a beautiful woman with long silver hair in a flowing silver dress.  As silver light radiates from her you know this is Luna, the moon goddess, travelling her course through the night.  Her light dims a little, and as you look forward you see one of the front horses turns black.

You keep looking around, at the stars above, and the dimly lit landscape below, and as you do so her light dims again, and the other front horse turns black.  You realise the phases of the moon are reflected through her light and the colour of her horses.

“Understanding the nature of cycles will help you move forward on your path,” Luna tells you, “the ebbs and flows of your own nature and how they respond to your environment.” As she speaks her light dims further, and you know a third horse has turned black.  She smiles, and her light fades completely, enabling you to look at her beauty easily.  You glance forward and see the chariot is now pulled by four black horses.

Though it is darker now, it is easier for you to see the ground below and the stars above.  You realise that the dreamlike quality of this journey is a reflection of the power of the moon, and see a silver light emanating from Luna again, and one of the horses turn silver.

“One of the greatest gifts I give is intuition, always trust yours, for it is there when you have nothing else,” Luna informs you.  You thank her and watch enraptured as she becomes brighter and brighter again, regaining her former radiance.  As she does so all the horses turn silver one by one.  You know this is an endless cycle, and as you watch her, the white mist appears, filling the chariot around you, until once again you are surrounded by white mist.      Again the mist disperses, and as it fades away you find yourself once more sitting in your room.  Take some time to write up your experience and contemplate what you have learned.

Hekate’s Titles

I should probably not be surprised that I am often asked to name some of the Goddess Hekate’s titles.  As one of the most complex and interesting Goddesses of the ancient world, and as a Goddess who have been vilified and continues to be put in a box far too small to ever contain her, Hekate has also had many epithets bestowed upon her over the years.  In the book Hekate Liminal Rites, we give a short list of the most popular of these titles associated with Hekate, these are:

• Chthonia(‘earthly one’),
• Dadouchos(‘torch-bearer’),
• Enodia(‘of the ways’),
• Kleidouchos(‘key-bearer’),
• Kourotrophos(‘child’s nurse’)
• Phosphorus(‘light-bearer’).
• Propolos(‘companion’)
• Propylaia(‘before the gate’),
• Soteira(‘saviour’)
• Triformis(‘three bodied’)
• Trioditis(‘of the three ways’)

These titles alone shows clearly how contracting her nature can be, but also how there is much more to Hekate than the simpleminded hag goddess some people try and make her into.  Hekate’s followers in the ancient world included some of the best known magical practitioners of all time – Circe and Medea; Empedocles, Hesiod, Porphyry and even Sophocles wrote about her and was associated with her, as were the famed witches of Thessally.  She was linked even to King Solomon in magical practices!

I know that it is a popular practice in modern paganism to invoke deities based solely on a few characteristics or “archetype” features associated with them, maybe adding a title or two, but for those of you who are seriously interested in this Goddess and wish to work with her, I would suggest a bit more indepth work and study.  Yes, throw yourself into the deep end and “just go for it” but make sure that you are also prepared for the consequences – she is  sometimes referred to as an “initiatory Goddess” and that is not for nothing!  She is a harbringer of change – through both creation and destruction, and it is best advised that you enter into such territory with the necessary equipment!

There a few books on this Goddess which I will always recommend; these are:

• Hekate Liminal Rites, by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine (history and sources of practices associated with her)
• Hekate Keys to the Crossroads by various contributors, edited by Sorita d’Este (a collection of essays detailing modern day experiential accounts with Hekate)
• The Goddess Hekate by Stephen Ronan (a collection of essays on the Goddess Hekate, lots of material on Hekate Soteira, as well as images of Hekate and fantastic translations of various hymns)
• Hekate in Ancient Greek Religion by Robert von Rudloff
• Hekate Soteira by Sarah Iles Johnson

Starry Goodness!

As both an author and publisher, its difficult at times to maintain an excitement for new books.  After all it can at times, like any other job, be like “hard work”.   So imagine my surprise when earlier this year a project crossed our way which not only fitted exactly into our catalogue, but which was also well written, exciting and presented a whole host of original ideas.  This book “Stellar Magic” by the author Payam Nabarz is now forthcoming from Avalonia and will be available from ourselves, as well as many bookshops from as July!  We loved it because it complimented some of our own work so very well,  whilst offering a completely new and contemporary look at magical work with the Moon, Planets, Stars and Constellations – providing research, insights, ideas and many full rituals which can be worked by solitary practitioners of magic, as well as groups.  In fact many of the rituals would be ideal for groups of people working together who want a structured programme of  work, it can be easily adapted and Payam is throrough in his advice, whilst also encouraging a great deal of creativity and flexibility.

More information on this book can be found at http://avaloniabooks.co.uk/catalogue/titles/stellar_magic2.htm; extracts, together with a biography for the author, video interviews and much more can be found at the book’s website http://www.stellarmagic.co.uk

BOTH Sides of Heaven!

Everyone has an opinion when it comes to Angels, Demons and Fallen Angels and this is why I thought it would be great to produce an anthology with essays collected from some of the foremost modern occultists, magicians and researchers on this topic. It would provide a counterpoint to all the fluffy thinking which has been made popular in the last few years about angels, a book on Angels as viewed from a magical perspective through the ages. If I had a huge budget and support team, I could have produced a book a hundred times the size, but instead I asked a handful of people I know have a longstanding interest in and love of angelic beings. I knew that they would have views and experiences which would contradict each other, yet compliment each other – and that they would all be very different, even when on the surface they were writing on the same topic. I was not dissapointed, nor I hope will readers of this unique anthology be. It is out later this week– (see Both Sides of Heaven at Avalonia).

Both Sides of Heaven is a collection of 18 essays, the first of which I wrote to both introduce some of the concepts in the other essays, as well as covering some areas of angelology which the contributors did not touch upon.  My essay, A Host of Winged Messengers introduces the beautiful and fascinating web of articles by the contributors which follow.  It was a great honour for me to work on this project, which is the fourth anthology I have produced in the last four years – thank you to all the contributors who made this project possible!  Each and everyone of you are a star amongst the heavens – which side is up to you!

A Rather Exciting Few Days!

Its always nice when things happen to make you feel happy and bouncy!  Well the last few days has been rather a lot like that, maybe its the Midsummer madness or something to do with the shift of the seasons, but I am feeling rather more excited about the world around me than I have done in a really long time!

There is plenty to be excited about too.

This past weekend, David and I decided to take a mini-break from work and investigate some of the Sheela-na-gig figures in our local area.  The weekend before I went to visit Kilpeck again with a couple of friends on the way taking them back to the station (we live 20 + miles from the nearest railway station!).  Of course Kilpeck is home to a very famous Sheela, as well as many other interesting figurines carved as corbels around the church.   Closer to where we live there is a less known Sheela, sometimes described as a “monkey” though I think its pretty clear that she has just been eroded and possibly even deliberately damaged with time.

(See figure on the right, legs spread like the Sheela-na-gig’s and it looks like she has two breasts,
one of which she is holding on to.  The two figures are flanked by two six-spoked designs, interesting
because these are linked to the “Wheel God” a figure which was very popular in Britain – see The Isles of the Many Gods for details – the figure to her left, seems to be male and may have had an exagerated phallus, and there is something which suggests a ram horn, again a popular motiff associated with many early British male deities)

In addition to doing a bit of sightseeing and getting to know this beautiful part of the world a lot better, we have also been hard at work at Avalonia.  We have THREE books being released in the next three weeks!  The first of these BOTH SIDES OF HEAVEN, edited by and contributed to by yours truly is now available for pre-order from the Avalonia Books website.  See http://www.avaloniabooks.co.uk for details.  The one thing I enjoy a great deal when I have worked on anthologies in the past (for example Priestesses Pythonesses & Sibyls or Horns of Power ) is that it gives me an chance to be introduced to a variety of traditions and opinions in one place in this exciting format in which different voices and different ideals are brought together with experience and research, but from very different viewpoints.  With Both Sides of Heaven this is also true – and I am as much looking forward to hearing back from the writers themselves when they read each other’s essays, as I am from the readers.  I am really hoping that it will open some real debate about Angels, Fallen Angels and Demons amongst its readers, and that it will also allow readers to be introduced to the diversity of views, opinions and research being done into this area of esoteric study at the moment.

Finally, for those of you in the USA who have been thinking of buying a copy of the book Wicca Magickal Beginnings – Amazon.com is running a special offer on it at the moment, at just US$16.99 spotted by a reader earlier today.So go grab yourself a bargain -  its a great book (and not just for Wiccans, though it is aimed more specifically at Wiccans who have studied in one of the initiatory traditions, or Pagans who draw from the Wiccan tradition and work with salt & water, Circle, Guardians at the four directions etc):