#fireandfennel

I get asked this occasionally, and I haven't really answered in full here!

In myths, the Giant Fennel plant's stalk was hollowed out and used to transport fire.

"[Prometheus] outwitted him [Zeus] and stole the far-seen gleam of unwearying fire in a hollow fennel stalk. And Zeus who thunders on high was stung in spirit . . . and he made an evil thing for men as the price of fire; for the very famous (periklytos) Amphigueeis (Limping God) [Hephaistos] formed of earth the likeness of a shy maiden as the son of Kronos willed." Hesiod, Theogony 560 ff (trans. Evelyn-White)

The fire stolen by Prometheus was taken directly from Lord Hephaestus's forges. I assume the fennel stalks were readily available there, as giant fennel plants grow readily on volcanoes. I haven't found many other associations for plants with Lord Hephaestus (unsurprising, since not many things grow near volcanoes/are used in metalworking).

I do love the image of giant fennel torches lighting the way for Lord Hephaestus and His work.

I also like the idea of fire being tamed, brought to new places, and being useful rather than destructive. I feel like the fennel serves as a mobility aid for fire. The myths describe expectations placed on Lord Hephaestus-- that He would not be able to do as much as others due to His disabilities.

And yet, He became the master of the forge, the famous, glorious, renowned artificer. He invented a wheeled chariot to carry Him around, wheeled automatons to attend to His needs, golden and silver lions and dogs to guard His palace, and almost every tool and weapon used by the Gods.

Fennel exemplifies the power Lord Hephaestus holds.

In the myth of the return of Hephaestus, Hera, Queen of the Gods, mother of Hephaestus, cast him down from Olympus after His birth due to His disability. Hephaestus was rescued from the sea below by Thetis, Goddess of the sea, and raised as Her own.

After many years, Hephaestus became a renowned blacksmith. He crafted a beautiful golden throne and sent it to Hera, but when She sat in Her throne, hidden golden netting ensnared Her, and despite the other Gods’ best efforts to free Her, She was trapped. The other Gods begged Hephaestus to let Her go, but He refused and said "I have no mother”.

It wasn’t until Dionysus got Hephaestus drunk and carried Him by mule back to Olympus– and finally convinced Him to release Queen Hera, and forgive Her. And with this, He rose back to Godhood and returned to Olympus.

There are many lessons we can learn from the Gods, even in modern times.

I work with Hekate, Hestia, Apollon and Hephaestus.

I really like the warm feeling your page gave me, and I also want to get to know more people who also work with Hephaestus (especially Is someone like you who has a very close and stable relationship with Hephaestus) If you don’t mind, I really wish to know you(=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ

English is not my native language, so I used translation software, hoping to accurately convey the message I wanted to say😊

Hiya, friend!

My favorite place? Hmmm. I guess it'd probably have to be at home with my cats. However, the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York is definitely a close second!

Thanks for the ask!

There hasn’t been a major hurricane here since the 90s, and there’s no infrastructure for hurricane preparedness. We don’t have building codes that include hurricane protections. There’s no where for people to go when it hits.

I’m genuinely worried for my community, I live in an aging state (the largest chunk of the population is seniors) and there are hundreds of unhoused people on the streets. I’m also worried for myself, we have preparations but the possibility of evacuating is expensive and I don’t have a wheelchair accessible, safe location to go to.

I have life threatening health conditions that often need emergency intervention on a frequent basis. I have a lot of medical equipment and extremely specific health needs. My options for shelf stable foods with my dietary restrictions is just canned chicken (still not recommended for me to have raw, but in an emergency I could eat it) and Ensure high protein shakes (which are 40$ for a 24 pack, and I have to drink at least 3-4 per day to not get heart palpitations from nutrition deprivation, but I medically should be having at least 6 per day).

I need more water than the average person because of my heart issues, and I don’t have safe drinking water at home as is, so it makes preparations difficult. My food stamps thankfully just came in, but there’s so few grocery stores near me that most were completely sold out of essential items like water.

I’m hoping everyone will be safe. Kind words/thoughts/prayers/cat pics welcome.