Aphrodite
Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus
and Dione. She was often associated with beauty and power to awaken love.
She is commonly known as Venus. The pleasure of sexuality is both objective
and subjective at the same time, where imgaination and reality merge simultaneously
- this is what the sarced body of Aprodiite can offer. Her powers depend
very much on a magical amulet covered with petent symbols and her Girdle
that make the bearer irresistible. Aphrodite has imspired a great many
poets with her beauty and was dispict in many hymns and literature.
She is the image of eternal mircale
of love and sends love bittersweet upon mortal, beast and sea creatures.
However, her powers have no effect on Artemis - Goddess of Hunt, Athena
- Goddess of Wisdom and Hestia - Goddesss of Hearth. It was said that Aphrodite
and Hera just cannot get along.
She is also associated with the
sky and sea, and was woshipped as Queen of Heaven. Birds such as dove are
sacred to this Goddess. As the goddess of the sea, Aphrodite was able to
protect sailors on their journey and guide them home safely.
Working with Aphrodite.
When working with love rituals, it is best to
work on yourself, instead of focusing your demands on your lover. Changing
yourself to make yourself feel confident, worthy of love and commanding
the respect for yourself would indeed draw your lover to your sooner than
burning down the candle. When you desire to attract someone, invite Aphrodite
into your workings and meditate on her qualities. Ask her to bring forth
your sexuality that is in you, and not being afraid to show it. Mediate
on self-love for no love can come before loving yourself. Chant a little
prayer, get up and do a little bellydance, feel free and let yourself capture
the energies that the Goddess given you. End of with by grounding yourself
off the excess energies, bring yourself back to reality, and give thanks
to Aphrodite.
Athena
Athena or Athene, is the virgin
Goddess of wisdom and war. She is also known as Minerva by the Romans.
She is the daughter of Zeus, and was said to have emerge from his head.
Her sarced animals are the wise owl, serpent and the crow. She represents
intelligence and civilized side of war, the leader of warfare. She is often
seen as a young woman woman wearing a helmet and holding a shield. Athene
is credited to have tamed horses for men to use and invented the bridle.
Other inventions include the flute, trumpet, plow, chariot, rake, ox yoke,
and more. She was the guardian of "womanly arts," which included cooking,
weaving, and spinning, as well as the first who taught the science of numbers.
She also sent the idea of a wooden, hollow horse to Odysseus in a dream,
which helped the Greeks to win the Trojan war.
Her intelligence is also proved
in the contest between Athene and Poseidon to bring the best gift. Poseidon
presents the gift of the horse, which is although helpful as a tool of
transportation to the people but also signifies war. Athena won the contest
with her gift of olive, where not only whose oil held many properties,
but also signifies peace. The city of Athens is named after her. Athena
is the favourite child of Zeus and is allowed to use his weapons, including
his thunderbolt. She is a rational defender, but her weakness is that reason
rules her; she is not usually emotional or compassionate.
Artemis
Also identified with Selene, Goddess
of Moon and Diana (Roman Mythology).
She is the daugther of Zeus and
Leto and her brother is Apollo, God of god of the arts, archery, and divination.
Artemis is the protector of children and women in child-birth. She is the
Goddess of the hunt and accompanied by her hounds. Her sarced animal is
the deer. Artemis is the eternal virgin, who is never married and do not
care much for men. She is, however, unshy of her sexuality and her body.
She is beautiful but chaste. Often with her companion nymphs and roaming
around the forest, She is physically strong and is able to defend herself.
Artemis has her dark side, with deaths of a number of people were attributed
to her. One of the unfortunate was Actaeon, the hunter who came upon her
accidentally as she was bathing, was turned into a stag by her and was
ripped apart by his own hunting dogs.
HYMN TO SELENE - by Homeric Hymn
Sing, muses, of the moon with long wings
from whose divine head sky-revealed lustre
spirals down to earth and great adornment arises
from her gleaming radiance.
The unillumined air glitters from her golden crown
beams are released in the sky whenever
on the evening of the full moon
far-shining Selene bathes her soft skin in ocean
and clothes herself,
and yoking her foals, radiant, proud.
She drives the beautiful maned horses eagerly
before her
so completing a great cycle - rays come brightest
from the sky when she waxes.
A sure sign for mortals is this:
She conceived and begot a daughter
Pandeia, Enchantress, magician, pre-eminent beauty
among immortals.
Hail Selene, white armed Queen of the sky with
flowing hair
Demeter
Or also known as Ceres (by the
Romans), Demeter is the Goddess of fertility, harvest. Her name means "mother
earth" and was divinities of the gifts from the earth along with Dionysus.
Demeter is intimately associated with the seasons. According to myth, Demeter's
daughter, Persephone, was captured by Hades to be a mate and Queen of the
Underworld. Demeter was so bitter that she cause a dreadful year for mankind
- the ground was unfertile, the rainfallls stop, the ground breaks and famine
spread. Alarmed, Zeus sought Persephone's return from Hades but her return
to Demeter was limited to six months, and she was to spend the other six
months in the Underworld. In the six months Persephone return, Demeter's
happiness was reflected in the spring, summer season, where the earth soften
and fruits grow. Six month pass and Persephone leaves Demeter, causing
to the downturn of the seasons. Her return would brings along spring.