Tag: Dionysus

Calendar of the Moon for Monday, April 9th

Calendar of the Moon
9 Fearn/Elaphebolion

Dionysia Polis I

Color: Purple
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a purple cloth lay a chalice of red wine, grapevines, a fawnskin, masks, and the thyrsus of Dionysus.
Offering: A mystery play on some instructive subject should be rehearsed during these five days, and on the fifth day it should be performed for some outside audience, whether invited in or taken elsewhere.
Daily Meal: Wine. Grapes. Goat meat. Figs. Dates. Lentils. Meat or rice wrapped in grapeleaves.

Invocation to Dionysos

IO Dionysos, Lord of the Vine,
We call upon the Womanly One,
child of Zeus and Semele.
We drink from your cup and join
The maenad train, O Lord of Masks
That teach the truth. In your cup we gain
Escape from care and ecstasy in the vine,
Your blessing under which
The sacred and profane became one
And the gods’ wedding party never ends.
Twice-born, we will give thanks,
We’ll tell our stories again and again
Of running with maenads
Of the secrets of the earth
And the heavens, and all that lies between,
Of fate, and time, and how to slip
Beyond their confines into immortality.
We’ll teach your mysteries,
Which teach other mysteries,
To all who will listen.
We’ll testify
To the gift of the Womanly One
Dionysos.

Chant: Io Dionysos Io Dionysos

(Pass around the chalice of wine and then pour the rest out as a libation. All should then go to rehearse the mystery play, performed in his honor.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for Sunday, March 2

Calendar of the Moon
13 Nion/Anthesterion

Anthesteria Day 3: Khutroi

Color: Purple
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a purple cloth set a great jug of water, the ship of Dionysos, a wreath of grapevines, nine purple candles, and a cauldron in which are many beans.
Offerings: Food. Feed people in the community.
Daily Meal: Beans and lentils and rice. Grains cooked with honey. Only water to drink today. A great meal should be prepared, and many people from outside the community should be invited, especially those who are in need. If there is not room, the meal may be cooked and taken to the appropriate shelter or soup kitchen.

Khutroi Invocation

After the joy of the vine,
We come to water and work.
Water of the flood, which washed away
Our ancestors, may you give us
Only aid, and may we not see
Your terrible aspect, drowning the millions.
Work of the world, the greatest of which
Is the giving of sustenance to those who have none.
As we come to a better understanding
Of what it is to be past childhood,
After the day of joy and mirth
We come to the threshold
Of work and toil for the good of others.
For this is truly the mark
That we have passed youth and innocence:
When we realize the Fate does not
Take care of everyone, including we ourselves,
And that we must stand in for Fate
And alter the order of the world,
Giving of ourselves that others may survive,
And thus become Fate.
On this the Day of Pots
We open our cooking fires
To the rest of the world.

(All depart and proceed to the kitchen, where the meal is prepared in silence, with all meditating upon the effort that it will take to feed all that they can, and what that means to one’s understanding of oneself as a mature being connected to the web of life.)

Pagan Book of Hours

Calendar of the Moon for Tuesday, March 13th

Calendar of the Moon
13 Nion/Anthesterion

Anthesteria Day 3: Khutroi

Color: Purple
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a purple cloth set a great jug of water, the ship of Dionysos, a wreath of grapevines, nine purple candles, and a cauldron in which are many beans.
Offerings: Food. Feed people in the community.
Daily Meal: Beans and lentils and rice. Grains cooked with honey. Only water to drink today. A great meal should be prepared, and many people from outside the community should be invited, especially those who are in need. If there is not room, the meal may be cooked and taken to the appropriate shelter or soup kitchen.

Khutroi Invocation

After the joy of the vine,
We come to water and work.
Water of the flood, which washed away
Our ancestors, may you give us
Only aid, and may we not see
Your terrible aspect, drowning the millions.
Work of the world, the greatest of which
Is the giving of sustenance to those who have none.
As we come to a better understanding
Of what it is to be past childhood,
After the day of joy and mirth
We come to the threshold
Of work and toil for the good of others.
For this is truly the mark
That we have passed youth and innocence:
When we realize the Fate does not
Take care of everyone, including we ourselves,
And that we must stand in for Fate
And alter the order of the world,
Giving of ourselves that others may survive,
And thus become Fate.
On this the Day of Pots
We open our cooking fires
To the rest of the world.

(All depart and proceed to the kitchen, where the meal is prepared in silence, with all meditating upon the effort that it will take to feed all that they can, and what that means to one’s understanding of oneself as a mature being connected to the web of life.)

Pagan Book of Hours

The Breviary of the Asphodel Tradition

Calendar of the Moon for March 12th

Calendar of the Moon
12 Nion/Anthesterion

Anthesteria Day 2: Khoes

Color: Purple
Element: Earth
Altar: On a purple cloth set a pitcher of wine, the ship of Dionysos, some children’s toys, six purple candles, and a wreath of grapevines and flowers.
Offerings: Ritual sex. Giving up of things left over from childhood. Wine libations.
Daily Meal: Goat or lamb. Lentils. Greek food. Wine.

Khoes Invocation

On this day comes the child to his adulthood.
On this day comes the child to her readiness.
On this day he tastes the sweetness of maturity.
On this day she tastes the joy of ripening.
On this day we honor that which has come to fruition
And that which can no longer be protected.
We give up our self-enclosed innocence
For the promise of the deeper experience.
Come forth and join the rite of passage
That you may give up that which was before
And come to that which will be.
Io Dionysos!
Fair-Flowering, Reveller, Stormer,
Twice-Born, Lord of the Dance,
We who kneel before you pray
That you will be gentle with our
Little madnesses, and if you must
Drag us by the hair
To some new understanding,
Let it be done soon, and quickly,
For we would rather leap to doom
Than delay on the edge of the cliff.

(Let all make a circle, and let cups of wine be passed around to everyone. Let two who have been chosen from inside or outside the community come forth and lay in the center of the circle, and perform the hieros gamos, whilst the others turn their backs and chant wordlessly. Afterwards, let the wine be poured out in a libation, with the last two cups used to anoint the couple, and have them drink in a toast. Later that night, sex is appropriate between those whose vows do not exclude it, but those who would lie together must meditate on the responsibility inherent in being a sexually active adult, and how it brought them out of childhood and into adulthood.)

Calendar of the Moon for March 11th

Calendar of the Moon
11 Nion/Anthesterion

Anthesteria Day 1: Pithogia

Color: Purple
Element: Earth
Altar: On a purple cloth set a bottle of wine that has not yet been opened (preferably last year’s homemade), a chalice of water, many cups, a wreath of pruned grapevines, and three purple candles. All should enter the sanctuary bearing the model of a Greek ship with purple sails, entwined with grapevines, which should be carried with all ceremony to the altar and set thereon.
Offerings: Libations of wine to Dionysos. Opening yourself to experiencing Him.
Daily Meal: Goat or lamb. Lentils. Greek food. Wine.

Pithogia Invocation:

Behold the ship of Dionysos!
He sails into each safe harbor
Like a wind of change that cannot be denied.
Be warned, you who have become
Too comfortable, for he will cast up
Your safe life and show you
All the thorns you have pretended not to see.
Honor the god of the Lesser Madness
Lest the Greater Madness swallow you whole!
Taste his gift and wonder, that raw juice
Left to age can slowly ferment
And turn into that which gives delight
And terror both.
Tremble, for he is coming for you!
Whether you drink his gift
Or give it back to him,
It matters not; your days of
Blind unquestioning comfort
Are numbered none, and end today.

(Each comes forward and selects a cup, into which is poured equal parts water and wine. Each may taste of the wine, if they wish, and then pour out the rest as a libation, or they may pour it out entirely. As the pour the libation, each says, “Io Dionysos!” The ship remains in the sanctuary for three days, until Anthesteria is over.)

Chant:
Flower of the vine
King of the wine
Dancer in the soul
We gladly pay your toll

Calendar of the Moon for February 14th

Calendar of the Moon
14 Luis/Gamelion

Lenaia Day III

Colors: Purple and green
Element: Water
Altar: A large post is set up behind the altar, draped in robes of purple and green, with a mask of Dionysus upon it, and arms raised upwards made of grapevine and fruit tree branches. The altar is draped in purple and green, and upon it set two purple candles, a wreath of grapevines, two jugs of wine (one white and one red), and a chalice.
Offerings: Dancing. Drumming. Music. Transforming dreams into reality.
Daily Meal: Wine. Goat or lamb. Lentils. Grape leaves. Greek food if possible.

Lenaia Invocation I

Hail, son of Semele! Iakkhos, Giver of Wealth!
Not only wealth of body and thought,
But wealth of spirit as well,
Numinous in sacrifice,
One whose mysteries
Cannot fully be spoken,
One who we can only truly know
Through the way of unknowing,
We ask for fertility of soul
Not merely for us, but for
The whole world of humanity.
We dance for the soul’s creation
And re-creation, again and again,
You who understand the cycle
And know that all endings
Are simply beginnings.
From our souls down through our bodies,
From our bodies into your Soul,
From your Soul into the Earth,
We give you our open eyes
That you may fill them with vision.

(Instead of a particular chant, a drum circle is formed and all dance for at least an hour. Any appropriate chant may be used. After the drum circle is closed, the red wine is passed around and shared, with the worker saying, “Behold the blood of Iakkhos.” The remainder is poured out as a libation. Then the white wine is passed around and shared, with the worker saying, “Behold the dreams of Iakkhos.” The remainder is poured out as a libation.)

Calendar of the Moon for February 13th

Calendar of the Moon
13 Luis/Gamelion

Lenaia Day II

Colors: Purple and green
Element: Water
Altar: A large post is set up behind the altar, draped in robes of purple and green, with a mask of Dionysus upon it, and arms raised upwards made of grapevine and fruit tree branches. The altar is draped in purple and green, and upon it set two purple candles, a wreath of grapevines, two jugs of wine (one white and one red), and a chalice.
Offerings: Dancing. Drumming. Music. Transforming dreams into reality.
Daily Meal: Wine. Goat or lamb. Lentils. Grape leaves. Greek food if possible.

Lenaia Invocation II

Son of Semele! Iakkhos, Giver of Wealth!
Not only wealth of the land,
But wealth of thought,
Creativity of the mind,
Spun out of enchantment
Woven of fascination
Cut through with ecstasy
And the fine threads of madness.
The earth sleeps outside,
But our spirits never sleep,
And always they thirst for your
Inspiration and growth,
Sprouting new thoughts
From the fertile field of nonsense
That we did not expect
And will greet with amazement.
We dance for fertility of mind!
From your body into the Earth,
From the Earth into our feet,
From our feet up through our heads,
You give us your intoxication
And we return it three times over.

(Instead of a particular chant, a drum circle is formed and all dance for at least an hour. Any appropriate chant may be used. After the drum circle is closed, the red wine is passed around and shared, with the worker saying, “Behold the blood of Iakkhos.” The remainder is poured out as a libation. Then the white wine is passed around and shared, with the worker saying, “Behold the dreams of Iakkhos.” The remainder is poured out as a libation.)

Calendar of the Moon for Sunday, Feb. 12th

Calendar of the Moon
12 Luis/Gamelion

Lenaia Day I

Colors: Purple and green
Element: Water
Altar: A large post is set up behind the altar, draped in robes of purple and green, with a mask of Dionysus upon it, and arms raised upwards made of grapevine and fruit tree branches. The altar is draped in purple and green, and upon it set two purple candles, a wreath of grapevines, two jugs of wine (one white and one red), and a chalice.
Offerings: Dancing. Drumming. Music. Transforming dreams into reality.
Daily Meal: Wine. Goat or lamb. Lentils. Grape leaves. Greek food if possible.

Lenaia Invocation I

Son of Semele! Iakkhos, Giver of Wealth!
Not wealth from below the Earth,
But wealth from above it!
Fruit like jewels, wealth of tree and vine!
Tonight your living coffers sleep
In stasis through the winter’s cold.
Yet their roots are anchored firmly
In the frozen soil of life,
And soon they will awake
To draw upon its nourishment.
We sing fertility into your roots!
Our dances prepare the soil
That you may in turn be fed.
From our heads down through our feet,
From our feet into the Earth,
From the Earth into your body,
We give you our life force
That you may one day return it.

(Instead of a particular chant, a drum circle is formed and all dance for at least an hour. Any appropriate chant may be used. After the drum circle is closed, the red wine is passed around and shared, with the worker saying, “Behold the blood of Iakkhos.” The remainder is poured out as a libation. Then the white wine is passed around and shared, with the worker saying, “Behold the dreams of Iakkhos.” The remainder is poured out as a libation.)

Calendar of the Sun for Jan. 26th

Calendar of the Sun
26 Luis/Gamelion

Gamelia: Day of the Sacred Marriage

Colors: Red and green
Elements: Fire and earth
Altar: On cloth of red and green, place a chalice of water or wine, a blade, a red candle and a green one, incense, a wreath of flowers or herbs, and a branch on which are slipped two rings.
Offerings: Do something in partnership with someone else.
Daily Meal: Sweet cakes, breads, and fruit. Two of everything.

Gamelia Invocation

On this day we invoke the sacred marriage
Of the Lady and Lord,
Whether we call them Hera and Zeus,
Jupiter and Juno,
Dagda and Boannan,
Shiva and Parvati,
Ariadne and Dionysus,
Odhinn and Frigga,
Or any other two who joined not only in love
And the bonds of the fiery flesh,
But chose to be bound together
In the sight of their community
And create the keel of the ship
That was anchored by love
And that carried the hopes of many others.
For to be married is to make a commitment,
Whether that marriage is to another soul
Or to the soul of the Divine.
Come forth and show us divine love,
And may we all be in awe
Of its holiness and power.

(The ritual for this day is the Great Rite, performed by one man and one woman. If done symbolically, the man plunges a blade into the chalice held by the woman, and then it is poured as a libation. Ideally, it should be done literally, either by members of the house or by two who have come in for this purpose. If outsiders, it would be an auspicious time to conceive a child. All sit facing outwards in a circle and chant as the couple are wrapped in a red cloth and lay together in the center, and when it is done all repair to their rooms and either contemplate love or have ritual sex, alone or together.)

Today We Honor The Goddess Hestia

The Goddess Hestia

Hestia is one of the three great goddesses of the first Olympian generation, along with Demeter and Hera. She was described as both the oldest and youngest of the three daughters of Rhea and Cronus, sister to three brothers Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, in that she was the first to be swallowed by Cronus and the last to be disgorged. Originally listed as one of the Twelve Olympians, Hestia gave up her seat in favor of newcomer Dionysus to tend to the sacred fire on Mount Olympus. However, there is no ancient source for this claim. As Karl Kerenyi observes,”there is no story of Hestia’s ever having taken a husband or ever having been removed from her fixed abode.” Every family hearth was her altar. Of the Olympian gods, Hestia has the fewest exploits “since the hearth is immovable, Hestia is unable to take part even in the procession of the gods, let alone the other antics of the Olympians,” Burkert remarks. Sometimes this is assumed to be due to her passive, non-confrontational nature. This nature is illustrated by her giving up her seat in the Olympian twelve to prevent conflict. She is considered to be the first-born of Rhea and Cronus; this is evidenced by the fact that in Greek (and later Roman) culture ritual offerings to all gods began with a small offering to Hestia; the phrase “Hestia comes first” from ancient Greek culture denotes this.

Immediately after their birth, Cronus swallowed Hestia and her siblings except for the last and youngest, Zeus, who later rescued them and led them in a war against Cronus and the other Titans. Hestia, the eldest daughter “became their youngest child, since she was the first to be devoured by their father and the last to be yielded up again”—the clearest possible example of mythic inversion, a paradox that is noted in the Homeric hymn to Aphrodite (ca 700 BC): “She was the first-born child of wily Cronus—and youngest too.”

Poseidon, and Apollo of the younger generation, each aspired to court Hestia, but the goddess was unmoved by Aphrodite’s works and swore on the head of Zeus to retain her virginity. The Homeric hymns, like all early Greek literature, reinforce the supremacy of Zeus, and Hestia’s oath taken upon the head of Zeus is an example of surety. A measure of the goddess’s ancient primacy—”queenly maid…among all mortal men she is chief of the goddesses”, in the words of the Homeric hymn—is that she was owed the first as well as the last sacrifice at every ceremonial assembly of Hellenes, a pious duty related by the mythographers as the gift of Zeus, as if it had been his to bestow: another mythic inversion if, as is likely, the ritual was too deep-seated and essential for the Olympian reordering to overturn. There are theories (by modern neopagans among others) that Hestia, as goddess of “home and hearth”, was one of the most ancient of all gods later worshiped as Olympians; as a maternal goddess of humans finding safety and homes in caves around a fire, worship of Hestia, by other names, may literally be hundreds of thousands of years old and has continued through classical Greek times to the present day.

“The power worshipped in the hearth never fully developed into a person,” Walter Burkert has observed. Hestia evolved into a lesser goddess in the same ranks of Pan and Dionysus, who was incorporated into the Olympian order in Hestia’s place. At Athens “in Plato’s time,” notes Kenneth Dorter “there was a discrepancy in the list of the twelve chief gods, as to whether Hestia or Dionysus was included with the other eleven. The altar to them at the agora, for example, included Hestia, but the east frieze of the Parthenon had Dionysus instead.

Jan 5 – Theodosia/Gift of God

Jan 5 – Theodosia/Gift of God
On this day on the island of Andros in ancient Greece, the water of a spring by the temple of Dionysos tasted like wine. This continued for a week although it only tasted like wine inside the temple.

This was the same day in Alexandria that water was drawn from the Nile as part of the ceremonies of the Koreion (see above). Blackburn notes that Aion (the miraculous child of Kore) was associated with Sarapis and Dionysus which may be why the liturgy for this day commemorates the miracle at the wedding-feast of Cana when Christ turned water into wine.

Source:Blackburn, Bonnie and Holford-Strevens, Leofranc, The Oxford Companion to the Year, Oxford University Press 1999

Winter Solstice Celebrations Around The World – Brumalia

Winter Comments & Graphics
Brumalia

(Roman Kingdom)

 

Influenced by the Ancient Greek Lenaia festival, Brumalia was an ancient Roman solstice festival honoring Bacchus, generally held for a month and ending December 25. The festival included drinking and merriment. The name is derived from the Latin word bruma, meaning “shortest day” or “winter solstice”. The festivities almost always occurred on the night of December 24.

~Magickal Graphics~

Samhain Verse

Samhain Verse

Dionysus
by Pat Califia

The grapes must be cut down
Or no one but the bees
Will be drunk next summer.
They are full of juice,
Tight-skinned like the testicles
Of a boy with his first shadowed chin.

The harvesters move, row by row,
Unburdening the vines
And making the bees angry.
The grapes are trampled, then put away
While the darkness works its magic.

Not all harvests are so orderly
Comes a day when chaos pours out
Along with the blood of the grape.
Threshing ground and trampling vat
Are abandoned for a wilder dance
In the green meadows, high on the hills.
Where the elder trees of the forest
Still remember their sisters,
Who once cast their leaves and shadows
Upon the floor of the valley.
The plow may subdue the earth, for now.
But the wilderness remembers its ancient boundaries.

And as the sun goes down, Dionysus appears
To dance among his feral women,
His own life safe
Only as long as they can sieze and rend
Anything else athwart their path –
And the wine holds out.
The dance as if they were trampling
The fruit of the vine,
But the red stain has crept
Much higher than their ankles.
They wear golden bells and the skins of leopards.
The hunt has made them happy at last.

If the women cannot kill the god
Who pretends to direct them,
They will take the head of any man
Who struggles to remain upright
When madness has become a virtue
And everything forbidden is permitted.
Backs straight as if they had forgotten.

A lifetime of toiling over field and stove,
The prancing shrieking women dress
Their fores in ivy and demand
They bend their knees or hit the ground
To service what can never be tamed altogether.

The darkness works its magic.
The grapes must be cut down.
A plowshare may be hammered
From a sword,
And just as easily turned
Once more into a weapon
With enough force, enough heat, and
Hard punches from a hammer.
Women are so dangerous
When they become overheated.

Only the profligate might survive this night
And waken eager to drink
Still more of the grape god’s blood,
To help them forget the fences
That were so easily trampled down
Within the walls of this temperate town.

(Reprinted with permission from Pat Califia’s newest book, Diesel Fuel. Pat Califia’s WWW page address is http://www.patcalifia.com)

MABON – THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX

MABON – THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX

This is the Harvest Home and falls in a busy season. Agricultural work all
through the harvest season, from Lughnassadh to Samhain, should be done
communally and with simple rites, keeping the presence of the Gods in mind, and
accompanied by games and amusements where they can be fitted in. The Harvest
Queen with her chosen Lord preside at all these occasions, leading the work, the
dances and the feasting. Wagons coming in from the fields at Mabon form a
parade. There are garlands around the necks of the draft animals, and the
Harvest Queen rides in rustic splendor on the last wagon.

THEMES

Many fruits and nuts full-ripe. Leaves turning. Harvest in full swing. Bird
migrations begin. Chill of winter anticipated. Farewell to Summer. Friendship
and family ties remembered.

Thesmophoria, the Eleusianian Mysteries and the Cerelia, all in honor of Demeter
or the Roman Ceres. Feast of Cernunnos and of Bacchus.

The myth of Dionysos: the young god is sacrificed or abducted as Winter begins.
Hy is restored to his mother in the spring. Dionysos (vegetable life) if the
offspring of Persephone (the seed corn) and Hades (the underworld, beneath the
surface of the earth).

PURPOSE OF THE RITES

Thanksgiving to the gods for the harvest. Magic for good weather and protection
of the winter food supply. Blessing the harvest fruits.

FOLK CUSTOMS

Gala processions to bring home the harvest. One or two fruits left on each tree,
no doubt originally meant as an offering to the spirit of the trees. Harvest
customs are too numerous to list here. Refer to The Golden Bough. They include
relics of purification rites and sacrifice of the God-King.

SYMBOLIC DECORATIONS

Colors: gold and sky-blue
Autumn leaves and berries
Fruits of harvest
Nuts
Acorns
Pine cones
Autumn flowers

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Husing bees
Harvest parade
Barn dances
Harvest ball
Country fair
Canning and preserving parties

THE RITE

Takes place late afternoon of Mabon Day, in a field or garden, not in wild
woods. The Circle may be marked out with autumn braches. Altar in the west. A
sky-blue altar cloth makes a beautiful background for harvest-gold candles and
decorations of autumn foliage.

Make an image of the Goddess from a sheaf of grain, so that the ripe ears form a
crown. Place this image, decorated with seasonal flowers (chrysanthemums are
sacred to Her, being really marigolds) above the altar. It is a barbaric-looking
figure – no Praxiteles goddess. Have a jug of cider and a supply of cups or
glasses near the altar.

Build the central fire in the cauldron and wreathe the cauldron with autumn
branches.

Coveners may wear work clothes or white robes, or dress in ordinary clothing in
autumn colors. HPS and HP should wear crowns of autumn leaves and berries.
Everyone walks in a procession to the Circle, each carrying a sheaf of grain or
a basket or tray of apples, squashes, melons, nuts, etc. as they continue to
walk deosil within the Circle, HP and HPS take their burdens from them and stack
them around the altar.

Banish the Circle with sat water. In the prayer of intention, refer to absent
friends and relatives who are present in spirit and to the harvest offering. Bid
Summer farewell.

HP kindles the fire. HPS invokes the Goddess and charges the fire. Communion
materials are cider and Sabbat cakes.

The Ritual of Harvesting:

Have a fruit-bearing potted plant at the North. Reap the fruit and carry it
slowly, elevated at about eye-level on the Pentacle, on a tour of the Circle.
The fruit represents the benefits and results of our efforts during the year.
The elevation, with all eyes fixed on the fruit, represents our assessment and
evaluation of our results. The coveners’ individual messages, burned in the
fire, briefly detail these. The fruit itself is divided with the knife and eaten
by the coveners as a token that they accept the consequences of their actions.

Have a platter prepared for the Goddess, bearing some of each kind of food
provided for the feast. Using the knife, HPS buries this food before the altar,
inviting the Goddess to share in and bless the feast. HP pours a libation. Then
he pours cider all around and proposes a toast to the harvest.

HPS gives thanks to all the gods for the harvest. HPS asks the blessing. The
usual divinations and similar business follow, then feasting, dancing and games
and the rite ends as usual.

EARTH

EARTH
Direction: North.
Rules: The body, growth, nature, sustenance, material gain, money, creativity,
birth, death, silence, chasms, caves, caverns, groves, fields, rocks, standing
stones, mountains, crystal, jewels, metal.
Time: Midnight.
Season: Winter.
Colors: Black, brown, green, white.
Signs of the Zodiac: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn.
Tools: Pentacle.
Spirits: Gnomes, ruled by King Ghob.
Angel: Gabriel.
Name of the North Wind: Boreas, Ophion.
Sense: Touch.
Jewel: Rock crystal, salt.
Incense: Storax.
Plants: Comfrey, ivy, grains:barley, oats, corn, rice, rye, wheat.
Tree: Oak.
Animals: Coworbull, bison, snakes (earth-dwelling), stag.
Goddesses: Ceres, Demeter, Geae, Mah, Nephthys, Persephone, Prithivi, Rhea,
Rhiannon.
Gods: Adonis, Athos, Arawn, Cernunnos, Dionysus, Marduk, Pan, Tammuz.

Deity of the Day for 4/3 is Bacchus

Deity of the Day

Bacchus

BACCHUS: The Roman God of Wine and Orgies. Oh, you know about him already do you?

This drunken rake used to be called LIBER, but changed his name to avoid arrest for indecent behaviour.

Known as DIONYSUS among the Greek free-drinkers, he was constantly surrounded by nubile orgasmic ladies who called themselves Bacchae — although the Greeks called them MAENADS and the newspapers called them something else entirely.

The Goddess Companion

The Goddess Companion      

  

Free in the glad greenwood,
leaping like a deer
who fears no hunter.
There I will dance
with no man watching,
there I will find wisdom
written in the forest shadows.
Is there any gift greater
than feeling such joy?
~Maenad song, Greek Dramatist Euripides
 
On this night in ancient Greece, the Lenaia was celebrated. It was the festival of the Maenads, women who followed a now-mysterious cult of the god of ecstasy, Dionysus. Little is known about the celebrations of these women, who for more than 200 years practiced a religion apparently based upon union with the divine. Yet even, 2,000 years after their societies were disbanded, the Maenads still hold a powerful place in our imagination. What were they like, these seekers of ecstasy? How did they find the divinity within themselves? We may never know, but we can celebrate the instinct for transformation within ourselves, however it may manifest itself.

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By Patricia Monaghan