Have A Wonderful October Celebration

No matter if you celebrate the Rite of Haides with our temple during the end of this month, Samhain with the Neo-Pagans, or the Day of the Dead in November with the Hispanic community, I wish all of you very wonderful and spiritually uplifting celebrations. We have all had to deal with the loss of a friend or a family member that wounded us deeply, and may still leave a scar on our hearts. But in wonderful Gods like Haides and Hermes Chthonic, and knowing of wonderful worlds like the Isle of the Blessed and the Asphodel Meadows to name a couple, we can trust that those who have lived good and virtuous lives will have splendor and peace in the lives to come. Throughout the course of my own life, I have lost good friends and also my father, 4 grandparents, and my dear mother-in-law who was like a real mother to me in life. But the Gods eventually gave me peace with it all. I know they are in better places and on wonderful journeys. And I can take comfort in the memories and times we shared, and learn and grow from them, because that's what life is, an experience.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Priest Christopher.

Myth of the Month: Persephone

Demeter, the Olympian Goddess of agriculture, the fields, fertility and abundance had a beautiful daughter She loved dearly, named Persephone. Born of both Demeter and Zeus, She was fully Divine, and a fair and wondrous Goddess who liked spending the day picking flowers and enjoying nature.

One day, Haides, God of the Underworld, saw and fell in love with Her, desiring Her to be His wife. He went to Zeus and asked that He be granted this honor, His daughter's hand in marriage. The King of the Gods agreed and Haides too Her down into His confines, to rule the Underworld as His Queen, all of this having been done without the consultation of Demeter, as a mother's consultation was not required at this time in history.

But upon hearing this, Demeter was both devastated and furious. For 9 days and nights, She searched over the world, but without success. Then Helios, the Titan Sun God, loyal to Olympos, told Her what had happened, as He was able to see everything. Demeter knew She could not overrule Zeus, but She could use Her own personal leverage. And thus She declared, until my daughter returns, nothing shall grow upon the Earth. I shall remove my presence and all shall die.

Zeus then called Haides and Demeter into negotiation, and it was agreed that for half the year, Demeter would be reunited with Her daughter, while Persephone would spend the other half of the year with Haides below. During the latter, winter and death covers the Earth. But when Persephone returns, so does Demeter's presence, and spring and summer reign. Thus, Persephone became, among other things, the Goddess of spring, and Demeter the Goddess of the seasons.