LivingTheLiminal

I’m very proud of this.

This is a commission for the wonderful @x-elfled-x for my first (oh there are so many I love) favourite story of hers Forever Yours. This is the flower from that story and she wanted it to glow.

Janus is a Roman God, the Gods’ God, divom deus. The lord of doors, transitions, beginnings. When His temple gate was open, it signaled that the Romans were to war. All of the rituals in honor of the Gods honored Janus first. He is the God of the days of the year, the doorkeeper of Heaven and Hell, and who looks upon all the corners of the world. He can have two faces or four. His primary symbol is the door, but he carries a key and a staff. He is a keybearer, and a guide. Like Hecate, Janus is also a God of childbirth, of generation, and even called the Good Creator.

His most common offerings are wine and incense along with cakes, called strues. For the private cult of Romans, Janus receives the first offering, before all others. Burchett believes that His placement at the forefront of the Gods invoked in ritual indicates that Janus is the God who serves as a passageway to the rest of Them. Ovid mentions a cake Ianual, and Cato mentions one called strues, which may be the same thing. Ovid only mentions it was of meal and salt, and Paulus-Festus says strues is strips of bread laid crosswise. Perhaps a good replacement would be hot cross buns, or a braided bread loaf, as we know little enough about the original recipes.

On the first day of the year, sweetmeats were served to encourage sweetness in the year ahead. (Yeah… I’m not eating sweetmeats, which are, historically, the thymus or pancreas of an animal.) He is Father of the Morning, and yet may have had purview over Dusk as well. He could also oversee harbors and waterways.

Martial describes him in a way that makes him the beginning of time, of the universe and the first receiver of prayers. He could even be said to be the Chaos at the beginning of time. Surviving sources also mention twelve altars to Him, but few have been uncovered.

Needless to say, Hecate and Janus share many of these traits. They both carry keys, are associated with doors and childbirth. Though He is absent Her underworldly character, they are also both associated with the road and travel. Though Janus appears to be native to the Romans, and Hekate is an adoptee from the East, the overlap is fascinating to me.

But it is Proclus who gives us their clearest connection in one of his hymns. There, we see Hekate and Janus as Creator Gods, and treats Janus as a form of Zeus.

Hail, many-named Mother of the Gods, whose children are fair Hail, mighty Hekate of the Threshold And hail to you also Forefather Janus, Imperishable Zeus Hail to you Zeus most high. Shape the course of my life with luminous Light And make it laden with good things, Drive sickness and evil from my limbs. And when my soul rages about worldly things, Deliver me purified by your soul-stirring rituals. Yes, give me your hand I pray And reveal to me the pathways of divine guidance that I long for, Then shall I gaze upon that precious Light Whence I can flee the evil of our dark origin. Yes, give me your hand I pray, And when I am weary bring me to the haven of piety with your winds. Hail, many-named Mother of the Gods, whose children are fair Hail, mighty Hekate of the Threshold And hail to you also Forefather Janus, Imperishable Zeus, Hail to you Zeus most high. -Proclus Diadochus (5th c. CE), Hymn VI: To Hekate and Janus, trans. Vogt, as printed in Ronan.

Ronan rightly points out that Proclus’ hymn is Chaldean in philosophy, and Janus stands as a Demiurge known in the Oracles as Hadad. This accounts for the ascetic, world-denying tone of the prayer, for the Chaldean Oracles emphasize utilizing their practices to ascend mortality and rejoin the Divine Ultimate Reality that Had, Hadad and Hekate represent.

By the 4th c. CE, Arnobius is speaking of Janus as Hekate’s son, by Ouranos, which can reasonably be said to refer to the Chaldean triad again, though we know of no other genealogy that defines their relationship as such.

When I sat down to research this, I had in mind writing a ritual to perform on New Year’s Day. It would be based on the Roman celebrations, but lo and behold, that’s basically the same as what we do now. The Romans didn’t really celebrate Janus on January 1st, indeed, the original opening of the year was in March with the Kalends, until the Julian Calendar was created. Often a Consul was taking office, and so there would be some oath-taking ritual for him, but otherwise, the New Year was welcomed mostly with rich food and drinking. Revelry in other words, much like we do today. They did give small offerings to Janus, but nothing formal with processions or temples. Gifts were given to friends and neighbors to honor the day, and they made sure to do some work that day, because sloth was considered a bad omen.

For myself, I have always simply read Proclus’ Hymn, and offered a brief acknowledgement of Hekate and Janus before beginning my simple celebration and cooking the foods that are traditional in my area. And, it appears that for now, I will be continuing that tradition. I’m really looking forward to my hoppin’ john, pork, and cornbread, not to mention the swiss roll I’m going to have to share. Not every occasion calls for a complicated ritual.

Happy New Years! May the year to come shower you with health, happiness, and peace!

 Sources:

http://www.livius.org/articles/religion/janus/? http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/imperialfora/nerva/geminus.html

Burchett, Bessie Rebecca. Janus in Roman Life and Cult, George Banta, 1912. Dunn, Patrick. The Practical Art of Divine Magic: Contemporary and Ancient Techniques of Theurgy, Llewellyn, 2015. Gagarin, Michael and Elaine Fantham. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome vol.1, Oxford, 2010. Harland, Philip A. Travel and Religion in Antiquity, Wilfrid Laurier, 2011. Johnston, Sarah Iles. Hekate Soteira, Scholars, 1990. Ronan, Stephen. The Goddess Hekate, Chthonios, 1992.

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✨If you’re a Witch who hates doing dishes, like I do, make it into a way to practice your Craft. Make some magic and bring out your inner domestic goddess/god!✨

✨Turn on some Witchy music and sing or dance while you wash

✨Say affirmations

✨Make it an opportunity to cleanse away an unpleasant day or experience

✨Enchant your dish soap or sponge

✨Meditate

✨Skype or Facetime a Witchy friend

(Lots of UPG in this one folks. I make no bones about the fact that while my practice is definitely influenced by what we know of ancient Greece and Caria and Thrace, I am not a reconstructionist, and I remain inspired by my neo-Wiccan roots.)

In the Hymn to Demeter, we read that it was only Hekate who heard Kore’s abduction, and Helios who saw. The two of them are responsible for reuniting Demeter with the newly-crowned Goddess of the Underworld, Persephone. Some scholars have speculated that this is a reflection of some sort of lunar quality to Hekate, making Her a suitable pairing with Helios’ role as the Sun. Most likely this is because Helios is often conflated with Apollon, and Hekate with both Artemis and Selene. The Sun and the Moon know the fate of the Kore, and inform the Mother.

And that bond carries through over the ages. We see Kirke, the Witch-Goddess who sometimes is a granddaughter of Hekate, is commonly a descendant of Helios. Medea is also a child of Helios, as well as a priestess of Hekate. There are even versions wherein Helios and Hekate are married! And Helios is another of the major gods of the PGM, alongside Hekate, Selene, Artemis, and Hermes. And in the Argonautika, Medea swears by Helios and Hekate.

In the PGM, Helios is ton megiston theon, ‘the Greatest God,’ and Hekate is megiste, ‘the greatest.’ Helios is associated with to ieron pyr, ‘the sacred fire,’ a quality that characterizes the Chaldean Hekate.

It is Sophocles’ who has given us my favorite verse invoking the two, however, in a fragment from The Root Cutters, which dates to the 5th century BCE:

O Lord Helios and Sacred Fire The Spear of Hekate of the Crossroads Which She bears as She travels Olympus And dwells in the triple ways of the holy land She who is crowned with oak-leaves And the coils of wild serpents.

Today, for many Pagans, Winter Solstice is a time to honor the Sun (or the Son!) But the Greeks didn’t really see it that way. The association of this particular astronomical event with the Sun comes, in part with the Romans, and the God Sol from the cult of Mithras. Like many Roman deities, Sol, usually called Sol Invictus (The Invincible Sun), was conflated with a Greek God, in this case,  Helios. The festival of Sol Invictus was celebrated on the Winter Solstice.

While the Greeks had festivals in the winter, particularly for Poseidon, Zeus and Hera, the Winter Solstice didn’t figure much. Their calendar was largely based on the lunar cycle, so solar events like the solstices weren’t featured.

Even so, personally, I take the winter solstice as an opportunity to honor Helios, and to recognize that many ways in which He interacts with Hekate. Rather than looking at the neo-Pagan Wheel of the Year as part of a mythological cycle, I, in my personal praxis, have taken the Sabbats to be described by keywords and themes. For that, I look at the Winter Solstice as having the keyword, ‘Promise’ and a theme of warmth and coming sunlight.

For me, the Promise of the Winter Solstice is one of the year ahead, that life will return, and that warmth will come into our lives anew. In my personal life, that Promise is deeply entwined with my relationship with Hekate and Helios. Hekate, as Soteira and Zoophoros, is the Anima Mundi manifesting Life in the world, and further enlivened by the attention of Helios. I celebrate this perspective of life, and the Gods which contribute.

A rite to celebrate Hekate and Helios at the Winter Solstice:

Prepare for the rite by showering and dressing in clean clothes. I like to braid and bind my hair up (those rare times it is long enough to do so!), and then before starting the ritual proper unbind it and then ritually anoint myself. Decorate the altar with a glass bowl of water, candles, yellow, red, and orange items. Suitable offerings are spicy foods, yellow foods, sweets, and rich wines or spirits. Traditional Greek offerings would be things like barley, garlic, olive oil, and wine.

Establish sacred space according to your tradition.

Invocation: Khaire Hekate! Soteira! Kleidoukhos! Radiant-haired Goddess unto whom I have sworn my oaths! To you I lift my voice, Bright Goddess of the Heaven, Earth, and Sea! To you I offer my service, Bestower of Virtue! To you I make this rite, Glorious All-Giver! Zoogonos, you are! Anima Mundi, you are! Geneteira, you are! Hekate, Hekate, Hekate! Hear my voice, and bless this sacred rite! Khaire Helios! Megiston theon! All-Seeing! Bright Father who witnesses all things! To you I lift my voice, Golden Faced Titan of the Heavenly Hosts! To you I offer this service, You who Gladdens Mortals! To you I make this rite, Lord of the Seasons! Father of Ages, you are! Guide of Prosperous Deeds, you are! Sword of Hekate, you are! Helios! Helios! Helios! Hear my voice, and bless this sacred rite!

Then ask the Gods to bless those in attendance and the offerings being given today. I usually ad lib this to make it seem less rehearsed.

We gather on the longest night, when darkness lays close on the land, and the Moon hangs small in the sky. Cold seeps into our homes, and into our bones. But your promise, Hekate and Helios, stands true. Your light warms us from within, and so we brighten our homes in your honor. For your promises shine within our hearts, and we offer our thanks for this blessing.

May the gifts which we pour forth upon the altar be a token of our gratitude, and may this small rite be blessed by you today!

Each attendant then pours a libation of water or wine into the bowl while offering their own thanks, either silently or aloud, and the others take a moment for meditation and prayer.

Any food offerings are then served on a plate to the Gods. The remainder is given to the attendees for feasting.

Thus do we honor the Gods for all the gifts they have and will give. We pray that it has been received well, and ask now that you speak clearly to your devotees.

A moment of prayer, spent meditating upon the candlelight.

Each person takes a candle and pours the melted wax into the bowl in turn, and taking a moment to allow the wax to cool, take the wax carefully in hand to read for divination.

Discuss the divinations as needed.

Great Gods, Hekate and Helios, you have attended our rite, and our thanks have been offered and we have been blessed by your presence.

Thanks to you, O Gods who saw the fate of the Kore, You who spoke the truth to Demeter in Her time of need.

Close out the ritual according to your tradition.

Sources:

Theoi.com http://www.patheos.com/blogs/keepingherkeys/2017/12/hekate-and-the-month-of-december/ https://hekatecovenant.com/resources/about-hekate/hekate-helios-hekate-liminal-rites/

Bremmer, Jan. Gods of Ancient Greece: Identities and Transformations, Edinburgh, 2010. Currie, Bruno. Homer’s Allusive Art, Oxford, 2016. Faraone, Christopher A. and Dirk Obbink. Magika Hiera: Ancient Greek Magic and Religion, Oxford, 1997. Fox, Hugh. The Mytholoical Foundations of the Epic Genre: the Solar Voyage as the Hero’s Journey, E. Mellen, 1989. Pachoumi, Eleni. The Concepts of the Divine in the Greek Magical Papyri.

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