Our language is permeated with terms taken from the myths, especially Greek and Roman. To drive to the city you deal with the chaos (from the Greek myth describing the primordial state of things before creation) of traffic, while listening to the top-40 song “I’m Your Venus” (from the name of the Roman goddess of beauty) or thinking about buying Nike (named for the Greek goddess of victory) shoes or perhaps a Mars bar (named for he Roman god of war). No doubt the tires on your car are made of vulcanized rubber (from Vuclan, the Roman patron god of metalworking). On your journey, you may pass a museum (named in honor of the Muses, patroness spirits of culture in Greek mythology); perhaps next Saturday (named for Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture) you will find some time to stop in.
The news comes over the radio. In Europe (named for Europa, a mortal woman who had a liaison with the Greek god Zeus), preparations are being made For the Olympics (revival of the games held at Olympus, the home of the Greek gods), even as diplomats in London (named for Lugh, a Celtic sun-god) are discussing what will happen to all those Thor (the Norse thunder-god), Titan (named for Greek giants), and Jupiter (the Roman name for Zeus) missiles.
When you are at the office, a moody co-worker may be described as mercurial (from mercury, the Roman messenger of he gods). You may have erotic (from Eros, the Greek god of sexual love) thoughts about someone with whom you work. However, in these harassment-sensitive times, making an amorous advance to a colleague might prove the Achilles’ heel to your otherwise honorable career. You may even be concerned about venereal disease (from Venus, the roman love goddess).
The names of the gods make a great deal more sense when one understands their linguistic derivations. One of the names of the Greek god Apollo, Pheobus, means “the shining one,” a reference to his role as sun-god. Such gods were personifications, and yet they were viewed as real spiritual forces that had to be worshiped and appeased. This use of personification tells a great deal about the cultures in which it was common.........
The Greek myth of cupid and psyche is, on the surface, a charming love story with a moral. But I makes a great deal more sense when it is understood that the names of the characters have meanings. Cupid is the roman name for the Greek god of love, Eros; eros means “sexual love” in Greek. Psyche means both “soul” and “butterfly” in Greek. Therefore, this myth is a statement on the relationship between physical love and soul love, wherein the soul, like a butterfly, undergoes a metamorphosis.
Anthropomorphism is the projection of human features or qualities on to the divine. The king of the Greek gods, Zeus, was depicted as a hen-pecked husband, and for good reason, as he was constantly involved in affairs with both goddesses and mortal women. In Greek mythology, the sun was at first the god Helios (Greek for sun) and later was the chariot driven by the god Apollo. Or in many myths all over the world the marriage of “father” sky and “mother’ earth produces all life.
The Greeks worshipped in sanctuaries located, according to the nature of the particular deity, either within the city or in the countryside. A sanctuary was a well-defined sacred space set apart usually by an enclosure wall. This sacred precinct, also known as a temenos, contained the temple with a monumental cult image of the deity, an outdoor altar, statues and votive offerings to the gods, and often features of landscape such as sacred trees or springs. Many temples benefited from their natural surroundings, which helped to express the character of the divinities. For instance, the temple at Sounion dedicated to Poseidon, god of the sea, commands a spectacular view of the water on three sides, and the Parthenon on the rocky Athenian Akropolis celebrates the indomitable might of the goddess Athena.
Basic Hellenic Magical Rite
The following is a general framework for a Neopagan Hellenic Magical Rite (Greek: magikê teletê, Latin: ritus magicus) derived from ancient sources. The general structure derives from the Neoclassical Sacrifice: General Celebratory Ritual Outline, which contains full annotation of its sources; only the specifically magical aspects are annotated in the following. The purpose here is to set out Hellenic practice, not to discourage or disparage deviation from this norm. Also, this document is limited to the structure of the ritual and does not cover the principles of spell construction.
ij. Preparation:
The entire ritual should be memorized; it is not effective to read during a magical operation. (Memory is part of the basic training of a Magos)
Cleanliness is crucial; bathing in running water is best. You and your assistants (Grk. sunergoí, Lat. adiutores) should dress in clean garments, typically an ungirded white linen robe or toga (Grk. himátion); avoid wool and leather, which are ritually impure. Your hair should be unbound except for a white woolen band or a wreath (especially of a plant dear to the God, such as laurel or olive). Participants may be barefoot and anointed. (All this is typical. Specific operations may require you to be skyclad, to wear a black garland, to be girded with palm fibers from a male date palm, etc.) The Hellenic Magos occasionally uses a magic wand (Grk. ho magikòs rhábdos, Lat. magica virga) or may hold a virgula divina (divine sprig, e.g. of laurel or olive; Grk. thallós), amulet or fillet, as needed by the working [wand]. Sometimes preparatory sexual abstinence (for 24 hours., 3 days, or 7 days) is appropriate (to build libido), as well as either dietary restrictions (no meat, uncooked food, or wine) or fasting. Before the operation you should prepare any amulets, phylacteries, substances, etc. that you will need.
In general, your attitude should be one of good cheer (eúphrôn), trust and self-respect, not humility or fear; think of a Homeric hero seeking aid from a superior. However, it is foolish to attempt to compel a Divinity.
iij. Timing and Location:
Magic is best performed at liminal times and places, that is, on the cusp of change, neither here nor there, neither now nor then. For example, places include crossroads, roofs, hearths, boundaries, thresholds, the shores of bodies of water, as well as consecrated sanctuaries. Times include the new moon, full moon, dawn, dusk, midnight, moonrise, the solstices and equinoxes. These general considerations aside, the specifics of a working and astrological considerations may dictate the particular time and place.
iv. The Altar:
The altar (Grk., bômós, Lat. ara) may be a wooden, brick or stone table, pillar, heap of stones, a stack of sod cut for the occasion, or anything else that can accomodate the equipment, the sacred fire (see The Fire, below), and perhaps an image of the God to be invoked. The altar may be portable or permanent, but it is most convenient if it is at least waist-high. An indoor altar should be covered with a clean linen cloth.
v. The Sanctuary:
The sanctuary (Grk., témenos, Lat. templum) is often defined by a wall, although that is not necessary; indeed it may be defined just for the working by the Circumambulation. Also you may define a temporary sanctuary by unfolding a sufficiently large white linen cloth.[cloth] If the sanctuary is permanent, it is usually entered from the east. An indoor sanctuary should be swept clean, especially by a besom (ritual broom, especially made of laurel).
vi. The Fire:
A permanent altar may have a large built-in hearth in which wood (e.g. grapevine, laurel, juniper) or charcoal can be burned. On the other hand, one or more candles or oil lamps (filled with olive oil, never red in color) can suffice for an altar fire, unless other substances are to be burned, in which case a brazier will be required. The fire is lit before the start of the working.
vij. Lustral Water:
Fill a portable lustral bowl (khernibeíon) with pure (preferably spring) water for purification. (Ordinary tap water can be purified by the addition of a little previously consecrated water, salt or natron.) The lustral water should be discarded (as impure) after the working.
viij. Incense:
Incense may be burned on the altar fire or in a censer. Censers may be lit before the operation is begun, but additional incense is normally burned during the working. The most commonly used incenses are frankincense, myrrh, styrax and kyphi. Incense is most commonly prepared by grinding the ingredients and combining them into small pellets (pítura), although uncut incense may be burned. Sulphur may be burned for purification.
ix. Other Offerings:
Magical workings usually call for libations of (unmixed) wine, honey, milk, water or oil, and food offerings such as fruits, vegetables, bread, cakes and broth (most often in units of seven). Solid food offerings may be burned on the altar fire or brazier; otherwise they are put in an offering dish for later dedication. Liquid offerings may be poured on the ground, the altar fire (for flammable liquids), or into an offering dish.
x. Verbal Performance:
Ancient magic differed from ordinary religious ritual in that spells were silent or murmered (Lat. susurrus magicus, Grk. ho magikòs psithurismós), as opposed to ordinary prayers, which were normally spoken out loud. There seem to be two reasons for this. First, spells are often concerned with private matters, for which even ordinary prayers might be silent or murmured. Second, magic often inverts ordinary practice as a way heightening consciousness (hence the use of archaic words, foreign languages and pantheons, inverted rituals, etc.).[verbal performance] On the other hand, audible incantations can help to entrain your assistants with your intentions.
For greatest effectiveness, certain spells or parts of spells (vowel chants, etc.) - the spells proper (Grk. epôdaí, Lat. carmina) - must be sung or recited sonorously, if circumstances permit. In any case, all ritual actions should be accompanied by appropriate verbal formulas, in the mind (by attentive imagination) if not out loud.
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