Challenge To Champion ~ When Gods Knock Us Down

I find myself intrigued when the Gods send Heroism disguised as disaster. Last night, I was reading the myth of Meleager and the Kalydonian Boar. The basic idea of the story was that Artemis became upset with the fact that Her worship was being neglected in Kalydon, a City in the Greek region of Aetolia, and so She sent a powerful, gigantic boar to ravage the land and prevent people from carrying on their daily lives. At least, this is the beast's origin that this particular myth provides. Meleager and some other local hunters including the woman Atalanta, took up the job of tracking down and killing the beast once and for all, which they successfully did at the hands of Atalanta and Meleager who led the party and delivered the final blow. 

Meleager became a venerated Hero after His death, not just because of killing the boar, but because of his unusual termination. At the time of His birth, the Fate Atropos connected His life with the wood that was burning on the hearth, presumably in His home, and said that His life would end once the wood was burned up. His mother preserved the wood for as long as She could, but after the Kalydonian Boar hunt, She realized that her two brothers, who had also joined the hunt, had been killed by Meleager. He originally wanted to give the victory of the hunt to Atalanta because She first struck the beast, thus weakening it, but the brothers violently contested on the basis of gender, forcing Meleager to take their lives in defense. Nevertheless, His mother wasn't having it. She burned up the last of the wood, bringing His life to an end. Overcome with grief after realizing what she had done, she committed suicide, which is another moral common in Greek myth; don't be hasty or act out of emotion.

But what I got to thinking about last night was not the Heroic status of Meleager itself, or the hunt for the boar generally. My philosophies were on the intentions of Artemis during this time. She sent the boar, knowing that men and women would assemble to save their people and region from it. She knew they would come together to do something great or beyond everyday human feats. Artemis didn't have to let them kill the creature, but She did provided that they could. In fact, She could have struck down all the hunters, and for that matter, all of the civilization with a single shot from Her bow. There's no real contest between Gods and men. Yet, She allowed the boar and the people it impacted to do battle with one another, knowing that the humans would come out on top and realize that they had reached yet another great achievement in their existence. 

Perhaps sometimes the curses that the Gods send, aren't curses at all, but opportunities. Or maybe there are times when we have to face being challenged, disfavored, or thrown to the bottom of the totem before we find the humility and motivation inside of us to pull ourselves back up to the Gods and human greatness again. It is possible that all of us, at some point, will have our own Kalydonian Boar in our lives, for many different reasons. The only choice is: slay or pay? We're not meant to sit at home and grow old, having nothing in our wake. We're destined to do all that we are capable of, to be as great as we can. And sometimes, the Gods move us off our butts so that it can happen.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris Aldridge.

The Cyclops & His Walls

If an ancient Greek had been taking a stroll through the countryside and stumbled upon the ruins of massive walls or fortifications, he or she might have thought of them to be Cyclopean Walls or structures. After the times in which Homer describes in his poetry, such as those of Mycenae and Troy, dating back to 1260 BCE, around 400 to 500 years before Homer himself, Greeks who looked upon these mysterious ruins and rubble thought that they had been built by the Cyclopes, a race of humanoid giants with only one eye in the center of their heads, the name Cyclops meaning "Round Eye." Being that the buildings were so incredibly strong and grand, it was thought that humans could not have achieved such architectural stamina. Therefore, they were thought to have been built by the Cyclopes.

The Cyclopes did not just constitute the infamous Polyphemus, who was the Cyclops responsible for obstructing Odysseus on His journey home. There were many others like this giant, some of whom were employed by Zeus in the Titanomachy to help Him overcome Kronos and the Titan forces against Olympos. The Cyclopes were even said to have forged Zeus' thunderbolt, Poseidon's trident, and the helmet of Haides. These giants were also generally known as excellent engineers in the arts of architecture and metals. The creatures had an incredibly brilliant side to them.

Of course, today, we know that humans can and did build those structures and monuments like the great walls and fortifications of times long ago. Although, assistance from beings a little stronger may have helped, I'm sure. I also think that the idea of a Cyclopean structure might have referred to natural land formations as well, such as the rocky hill of the Acropolis. This was built by Nature, not men, and in that respect, we know it to be a building feat beyond the capabilities of humans. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the hands of something far greater and stronger than us, built the mighty fortification upon which Athena and Her people placed the Parthenon and the heart of Her City itself. 

Even today, there are people who use the term Cyclopean, myself included, as a label for natural greatness in Earth's structure, especially those which are Archaic and prehistoric. So, the bigger question is, who or what are the Cyclopes? Perhaps they are earlier forces of creation in the world and Universe, before the coming of the Olympians. After all, they were said to be children of the very first original Gods - Ouranos and Gaia (Heaven and Earth), of whom nothing came before. Could there have also been physical Cyclopes? Certainly. Robert Wadlow, the Giant of Illinois, was the tallest man in the world of his time at 8ft, and Andre the Giant stood 7ft. People in ancient times would have certainly called them giants. We still do today. Compared to the rest of us, they are huge. So would it be hard to imagine there being ancient people of abnormal height, some of whom may have been born with one eye or lost one eye? It's entirely possible.

But I think the Cyclopes, in part, were among the first forging powers of our Universe and of our planet, who now either rest peacefully in the embrace of Gaia, or who stand at the assistance of the Gods if and when needed.  

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris Aldridge.

Credit for Photograph

* A Cyclop Statue At The Geological Museum, June 11th, 2008, taken by Deror avi.

Link to picture.

Women's Day Is A Valuable Front Against Fascism

Today is International Women's Day, and March itself is Women's History Month. On the surface, we may think of it as just another time to honor the contributions and sacrifices of America's often unsung or oppressed citizens, but I think that the observance of women's rights goes far beyond that, and into all of humanity, male and female alike.

Being a woman during times of gender oppression, didn't simply encompass things like a denial of employment opportunity or property. It used to involve sheer crimes against humanity.

Ever since monotheism and namely Christianity took over the West, their establishments have always considered women to be the destruction of man and the place in which he lives. The bible is quite clear about this worldview, starting with the story of Adam and Eve. If you look deeper into the myth, you realize that it's about sex, and sexual power, in part, lying with the female. That's not to say that men don't have sexual power as well, but women hold a tremendous amount. Not only are they very successful at achieving, but they are also the nurturers of the babies. The apple is an ancient symbol of female sexuality. Eve did not tempt Adam with a fruit, but with her sexual power, and that power has been hated ever since, not only because it came from a woman, but because it's considered an "original sin." In short, sex is bad, especially if a woman comes out from under her male counterparts and lives her own life in her own power. Nothing scares a male-dominated monotheistic establishment more. 

In the United States and Europe, if a woman was not sexually conservative, and was considered promiscuous, she could be committed to a mental institution. In other words, the state literally kidnapped women who expressed their sexual power. If a woman dared to enjoy herself instead of remaining sexually oppressed, should could be locked up, and some were.  Yes, you read right. This wasn't Saudi Arabia or the Holy Roman Empire. This was the United States of America and Europe in times like the 19th Century, and although we don't have the same persecution today, women are still demonized for being sexually free in the United States. If a man loves sex, it's fine. But if a woman loves sex, she's a dirty, immoral slut. In general, our society as a whole has been immensely sexually oppressed for nearly all of its existence. Sexual freedom, while tolerated for men, is still not overtly popular or accepted. Both sexes are subjugated in this manner because the establishment knows that such oppression makes it easier to control and manipulate people. When you have your foot on the throat of someone's most basic humanity, you have them enslaved. The enslavement is also causing severe de-evolution. Instead of having people sexually educated and expressively healthy in their sexual activity, our abstinence only philosophy has utterly failed and given us more ignorance and therefore more problems like unwanted pregnancies, STDs, and cheating to such an epidemic extent that we have made reality shows out of it. 

These crimes that were inflicted upon innocent human beings have never been addressed in our culture even to this day, because our governmental leaders still don't want to support human liberation entirely, for fear of offending a large voting population or being painted as immoral or ruthless by fascist-supporting media. 

The reason Women's Day and Women's History Month is important is because there are still people today who want to bring those crimes against humanity back into our society. While we have ultimately defeated fascism at every turn over the last 242 years, the threat is always there as long as America remains free. Like a predator, it waits in the shadows, stalking and hoping for us to let our guard down. We must never turn a blind eye to it, or give it any form of home. We must always be ready and willing to drive it out of human civilization every single time.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris Aldridge.

Source Article

Being Hellenic Isn't Just About Blood

When my DNA results came back last year, I was very disappointed that it did not reveal any known Greek lineage, even though I still came from the over all Classical World. Not being specifically Greek, at least in part, was an emotional blow to someone like me who is devoted to the Greek Gods, and who at one point thought for sure they had Greek blood somewhere. Before the results came back, I stated that it wouldn't change who I was, and it hasn't. But I also got to thinking what it really means to be Hellenic, and I realized it's about more than just blood.

People who were born Hellenic have the easiest time being it, but not necessarily acting like it. There are countless ethnic Greeks today who are basically the Stockholm Syndromes of their people, who side and have a relationship with their Christian oppressors who teach them to hate the original Greek society they came from. It's basically a hatred for self. So just because someone has Hellenic blood, doesn't necessarily make them a real Hellene. Being an authentic Hellene is a mentality, a worldview, and a lifestyle.

It's about an undying love for the original Gods, for Hellenic virtue, honor and piety, for life and all of its wonders and pleasures, and for your ancestors. And it's also about having the mentality of a Hellene - meaning that your worldview does not oppose, destroy or contradict what it meant to be Hellenic. Sadly, Greece and her people have not been governed by the Hellenic mindset or values, and it doesn't take much to see how far the country and society has fallen since the time of Christian obstruction.

Blood is great, but it only goes so far. Your birth you had no control over, but the way you think and live is something you have complete control of, and therefore the latter is where you make your choice as to who you are, and who you are not.

In the Goodness of the Gods,
Chris Aldridge.

A Sense of Faithful Fear

If you base your religion on the views of the ancient Greeks, there's no denying that Greeks do fear, as well as love, the Gods, but it's for a good reason and perhaps not in the way you think.

Firstly, any mortal who doesn't have some level of fear for a God, is foolhardy at best. Fear isn't something that is directly taught in Greek religion, it's simply there by nature. You should fear a God for the same reason you'd fear a bolt of lightning, or a raging sea, because they are more powerful than you and can wipe you from life in the blink of an eye. A God is also far wiser than yourself will ever be. Fear is the result of a recognition of superior power. It is the "right" kind of fear because it breeds humility and prudence. Without a good sense of these things, we may find ourselves in more trouble than we can get out of.

Fear does not mean you're not brave, strong or confident, there is simply a fine line between these things and arrogance and stupidity. For example, saving someone from drowning is brave, strong and confident, but swimming with sharks is stupid, and you will eventually become drive thru for a dinosaur. Fear is merely the recognition of your place and limitations, arrogance is a failure to do so. Now some people might ask me, "Didn't the Heroes do things that most people would have considered beyond human limitation?" Yes, they did, but they were sent by the Gods to do something that was possible. They also didn't sink in over their heads. In fact, the Gods routinely provided them with assistance so they wouldn't. Bellerophon couldn't have killed the Chimera without Pegasos (the horse of heaven). A Hero always knows, recognizes, and most importantly, accepts the difference between themselves and the Divine. Being an affront to the Gods is not what it means to be a Hero.

I find that a lack of fear and piety among Pagans can be an issue. I've seen Pagan writers call Gods "scoundrels," and Pagan worshipers call them "assholes." While it may be rare, it is certainly a real case. A mortal picking a fight with a God is idiotic at best. Probably the only reason they haven't punished those people is because of their forgiving nature, or they think there is something mentally wrong with that individual. At any rate, you're never going to gain the favor of a God by insults, arrogance, or impiety. Even if they don't punish you, they'll probably turn away. Would you help someone who insulted you? Probably not, you likely wouldn't even give them the time of day until they shaped up and treated you with proper respect.

The only time fear is wrong is when it's unwarranted. Fear the Gods because you know they can destroy you, but love them because you know they're kind enough not to, and you will find wisdom. 

In the Goodness of the Gods,
Chris Aldridge.

Christian Witchcraft Making News: My Thoughts On "Jesus The Magician"

Christian Witches will be holding their first ever convention this year in Salem. I understand that, for some people, mixing Christianity with Witchcraft or Paganism is a starting point, because I myself used to be there. From 2008 or thereabouts, until 2009, I was a Christian Witch or a Christian Magician. Like pretty much every Christian Witch, I believed Jesus was a magic-wielding wizard, and the bible a spell book, even though Jesus never said he was such, and the people who wrote the bible hated Witches and Pagans pretty much every time they turned the page for a new entry. I didn't care, it was how I saw the world at that time. Saint Michael and Azrael were my patron angels, the foremost beings against evil and lost souls, which was something I needed at the time since I lived in my grandmother's old country home that was believed to be haunted. I would cast spells in the name of Mary, Jesus or Yahweh, and I wore a cross with a pentagram in the middle. I was very serious about it, but back in my time, Christian Witches were largely silent around my neck of the woods. Nowadays, their community is starting to gain a foothold.

Mixing Christianity with magic certainly didn't begin with modern Witches. As long as Christians have been coming to the Americas, some indigenous people and populations have combined it with their own customs, some of which included magic and spellcraft. As far as our community today, my thoughts on Christian Witches is that I have no problem with a Witch who is a Christian because they love Jesus. However, I do have a problem with a Witch who is a Christian because they are scared of the devil and hell, which was really the main reason behind my own mixing in the early days of exploring magic and Paganism. Sometimes before I would do magic work, I would say, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us," just as a precaution against the event that I was "sinning" with my practices. A lot of people keep Christianity intertwined "in case they are wrong," and those kinds of people are neither Christian or a Witch in my view. As long as they're doing it from a place of sincere longing and not simply shivering fear, I'm cool with them. If not, I may ask them why they're doing this to themselves, because there's no way anyone could be happy like that.

For some people, Christianity can be very hard to let go of itself, because it's what you've been taught your whole life. Even when I officially converted to Hellenism in 2009, Christianity still bled over into my life at times, because I had not yet started studying my new religion. All I knew was that I believed in the Greek Gods. It actually took a little while before I realized how to begin my new course in life.

When it comes to the bible, I can see how some people may interpret certain things as being magical or spell-worthy, such as the battles between Moses and the Pharaoh's magicians, the chanting of Psalms, or the prayers and stories that can be viewed through magical lenses, but I also think it's important to realize that the people who wrote it probably didn't see it that way. If we're honest with ourselves, the bible is a giant protest against Witches and Pagans, and stands against everything we hold dear, such as freedom of the mind and body, a religious reverence for Nature, and a love for the original Gods of mankind. I suppose it would all depend on the kind of Christianity you want to mix with Witchcraft, but I don't really think the bible itself is compatible. You'd have to ignore a great number of things in it.

But at the end of the day, religious freedom means any religion. If someone wants to be a Christian Witch, however they bring it together, its their own business. It's not hurting anyone, so if it makes them happy, so be it. As Witches and Pagans, we shouldn't be resenting, attacking, or shunning people for their personal religious and spiritual choices. That's not who we are, that's what we broke away from. Back in the day, I got a lot of flack from people, so I know how it feels to be thrown into a limbo where no one accepts you, and it's not fun. We would certainly find the Christian Witches far more likable than the Evangelicals in any case. So I say let people do their own thing in life. We don't have to always agree, but instead of tearing each other down, let's live in peace together.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris Aldridge.

View Article Here

Religion Is A Rescue, Not A Downfall

Most people in the world are religious, or are at least theists, in one form or another. In any case, spirituality itself is certainly a dominant, and natural human trait. We are born with schema, the natural mental construct of looking for patterns and meanings, and therefore Higher Powers. We are born looking for Gods and Goddesses, born with an inherent desire to find Deity. Religion is simply a system established around any one of those given pursuits. Like all good things, religions can be perverted, but in its correct self, being religious, spiritual, and knowing Deity is one of the greatest blessings ever given to humanity.

Those who hate religion will often paint any wrongdoing by religious people on the biggest billboard they can find. However, they never talk about all the people who turned from suicide or crime because they found religion. They refuse to bring to light those religious people who created the greatest civilizations in history, and those people who were among the greatest humanitarians and peace-loving individuals in the world. They don't talk about the fact that the founders of the sciences that we still practice today were theists. Sometimes, they won't even mention that the vast majority of religious people are in fact good and upstanding. There's a reason they don't bring up any of it, because this hate, like any form of hatred, is about promoting an agenda of prejudice and bias.

I'll tell anyone truly, if the Gods and their religious and spiritual principles hadn't been in my life all these years, I don't know if I'd still be alive or living in any form of stability. Hellenism has instilled an immense sense of piety, honor, and morality that I didn't have beforehand, no matter how many other positive influences were around me. There was a time in the past when I didn't see anything wrong with lying to people or cheating them. I didn't feel any reason to have an inherent respect for other people or even their properties and rights. Like some, I thought, It's only wrong if you get caught or It doesn't matter as long as it's not happening to me, or if I benefit from it.

I came to realize through the Gods and their guidance that it does matter if you live your life without honor and dignity, that it does make a difference how you treat others and if bad things become of those around you, not only because they are humans too, but because the same might happen to you if its allowed to continue. It matters because attitudes like mine were not only those that destroy the person holding them, but also are the ones that allow all injustices to flourish in the world. How we live as human beings will determined ourselves and our planet. There are some universal rights and wrongs, whether we like it or not, and connecting with Higher Powers or higher purpose helps bring it all into perspective and understanding, because the Highers are the ultimate orders, as in the stable structure and balance. That's why being religious has brought so many people back from chaos.

Even the simple peace that being Hellenic has given me has allowed me to keep up successful battles against things that commonly destroy humans, like depression and fear. Without my Gods and my religion, I'd have nothing to turn to for supreme trust and power. Where would I be? I don't want to wonder.

In the Goodness of the Gods,
Chris Aldridge.