The One Day I Left Without My Hermes Talisman, I Broke Down

Part of my regular blogging is to discuss my daily life as a Hellenist, and the experiences that happen therein, whether big or small. And I felt that this one was noteworthy for a profound reason.

Being the God of roads and the Patron of travelers, I have come to realize how deeply Hermes is involved with humankind, because people are always on the move. We are not stationary beings. We are always going somewhere, whether it be down the road to the store or work, or on a long vacation or journey. So I recently got into the habit of carrying or wearing a Hermes talisman every time I left my house, seen in the picture above.

In prayer, I asked for the piece to be endowed with the holiness of the God and His protection and favor on all of my travels when it is with me, and I made it a priority to always have it, and for two or three weeks, I always did, especially when I went to work.

But yesterday, October 9th, for some reason I did not take it with me, but left it on my podium in my office. As I pulled out onto the main road that runs by my house, the car stopped. I drifted it to the middle turning lane out of the heavy traffic, but nevertheless still within its dangerous grasp, as I realized the car was out of gas. Which made no sense because the gauge said I still had 35 miles, and the gas station was only three blocks down. There should have been no reason for my current situation.

But there I was. I knew the car was out of gas because it had happened before when I either didn't notice or didn't bother to gas it up when I should have, but never with 35 miles left. There should have been more than enough to get down to the station. I was luckily able to call a friend close by, who came with her gas can and got me down to the station.

As I was talking to my wife on the phone about it, I will never forget saying, "The one day I go out without my Hermes talisman." I have thought on what Hermes may have been trying to tell me in this. I think it's two things. One, humans should always remember that they need the Gods. I myself have never thought otherwise, but it was a general reminder. And two, the Gods are always with me, because clearly bad things can happen to me when their presence is absent. Hermes may have taken the opportunity to stop that car to show me this. 

Always take the Gods with you on all your journeys. 

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

No, The Gods Didn't Used To Be Humans

The more I learn about Orphism, the more I distance myself from it. Of course, in ancient times, Orphism was not a major movement. No City declared it as their State religion. In fact, it was only one of the many cults out there, and there is no historical evidence to even construct a coherent Orphic religion. It was a minority movement at best, based on the teachings of Orpheus. 

Nevertheless, there are still people in modern Hellenism and Paganism who subscribe to it. Which, at the end of the day, is their own choice and right. I'm not here to tell them that their beliefs are invalid, as it were. So one should not take this post as an attack on Orphism. My only point of opposition is a disagreement, and an explanation as to why, as I enjoy discussing different beliefs and philosophies. If you believe in Orphism, that's fine! I just don't agree with this significant theology of it.

One of the most disagreeable things about Orphism is their belief in general and inherent infinite ascension. In other words, they believed that the soul starts at the most basic level, such as animals, and evolves to humans, then to levels of Divinity, even to the Olympian Gods themselves. In short, they believe the Gods used to be humans who have now completed their journeys. 

We must first look at the fact that Gods were here before humans, because Greek religion says that Gods created them. Prometheus shaped the human body and Athena breathed life into the human. Even if you don't believe the Gods directly created humans, there's no denying that the Gods preceded them. Ouranos and Gaia came first, and gave birth to Titans, who then gave birth to the Olympian Gods. There's no way the Gods, therefore, can be the reincarnation of humans because humans did not exist when they did.

Second, The Olympian Gods are the highest of all Gods, you can't go any higher. So if humans evolved into Olympians, don't you think there would be trillions of Olympians by now? Even in ancient times, wouldn't there have eventually been at least thousands? But there has always been 12 in the theology of Greek religion. And there is logically nothing beyond Olympos because it's the sum of all the universe. How could there be anything higher than the universe itself?

Some people will point to Gods like Psyche who used to be human before they became Gods, but what you have to understand is that they were granted Godhood by other Gods. They didn't become one on their own. Secondly, humans who became Gods did so after accomplishing near impossible tasks, things that made them more than the average human, before the Gods would grant them ascension. In other words, a human doesn't become a God simply by existing. It has to be extraordinarily earned. It's not inherent. And it's something that happens to the exception, not the rule. 

In my view, logically everything has its own individual course of direction. The course of Immortal Life is Immortal, while that of mortality is mortality. The Gods were, are, and always will be, and therefore they cannot be changed by humans. Gods are Gods and that is all.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge. 

The Time of Typhon Comes With Hurricane Helene

With the recent news of several states being slammed by the latest Hurricane Helene (which might be a fitting name for this post), it got me thinking about a wonderful topic of mythology, which I always love talking about as I am a Greek mythologist. 

Great storms from the sea have been hitting and influencing human civilization and societies since before written history, and this time, the hurricane struck not only Florida, but several others, including my home State of North Carolina. It's certainly not the first time that a hurricane has devastated American land, and it won't be the last, and my prayers are with those who have been impacted.

To my memory, when I was a child, the worst we ever faced in North Carolina was Hurricane Hugo. Even though we lived in the central part of the State, and the storm hit the coast about 4 hours away, it still left us without power for a long time. Fortunately, we didn't get flooded out, but I image the coastal regions suffered greatly.

Greek religion always gives us something intriguing and mysterious to think about, though. In the religion and mythology of the Hellenes, hurricanes are caused by Typhon (a monster whom Zeus defeated and banished into the depths of Tartaros). It's where we get the name typhoon. So, O' blessed Muses, let me tell the story with wonderful elegance.

Gaia and Tartaros bore the monstrous giant named Typhon, after the Gods of Olympos had overthrown the Titans and destroyed the Giants. He was the youngest of the children, and so chaotic and horrible he was, with one hundred snakes about him that breathed fire and shrieked noises both known and unknown. Typhon challenged Zeus for His throne, and all shook and resounded, for it was a battle of cataclysm. 

Zeus rumbled the heavens and exploded throughout the sky, and all of Earth responded, even down into the bowels of the world itself, gloomy Tartaros, where Titans and enemies of the Gods lay imprisoned, and even did they tremble as fear gripped all of the universe. The lightning of Zeus killed all the heads of the monster, and beaten and mangled as he was, Typhon was hurled down into the depths of Tartaros along with the others.

What a battle that must have been to witness! And I think, in some ways, the ancient battle between chaos and order, law and lawlessness, good and evil, still continues today across the world, whether it be among civilizations or nature itself. The good news is that the Gods always win, and good will always overcome.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

Photo of Zeus and Typhon is in the public domain because the copyright condition of the life of the author plus one hundred years has expired in its country of origin and in the United States of America.

I Like Fall Because It Was When I Met Artemis

It's no secret that summer is my favorite season. I think most people feel that way. It's when everything is alive, warm, and people can get out of the house and live life to the fullest. You hear people talk a lot about bad winters, but you never hear someone say, "it's going to be a bad summer."

But there is certainly something to say about autumn. Millions of people love the colors and cool breezes, and I do as well, but there's always been something more profound for me about the season for the past 19 years. It was the first time I experienced the spirituality of the Greek Gods, and namely at the time, one was Artemis.

I grew up in a forest in central rural North Carolina, which rested down inside of a shallow valley. In my young adult years, I continued to live there, but all throughout my time growing up, I loved to venture through the mysterious woodlands of the countryside. Sometimes, I would even find intriguing wonders, such as new creeks and abandoned farming structures and equipment. But nothing compared to the natural beauty that increased with each step I took. Each grove, field or grouping of trees was more gorgeous than the last. It was like walking farther and farther away from the old world I came from, which as I child, I mostly found no peace or support in.

Then, in 2005 and into 2006, I first began exploring Hellenism as a religious and spiritual concept. Of course, as a school student, I had learned some of Greek Myth in my literature and history classes, so it was not as if I was unfamiliar. But seeing the movie Troy revived my interest in ancient Greece like never before. Of course, such a movie is about Hollywood entertainment, not the Hellenic religion and The Iliad itself, and I understood that. But I began to feel Her (Artemis) all around me, being a lover and resident of a forest. And I wondered how I could best get into contact with Her.

During this time, autumn in North Carolina was setting in, and in a State with such lush woodlands, the colorful majesty is always indescribable. The array of colors around me brought the first time I walked into the forests and tried to connect with Artemis. The immense peace and intrigue alone that I was given during this start of my journey was one of the most wonderful gifts ever blessed upon me.

So while I'm always a bit sad to say goodbye to summer, it's also true that autumn, and as well as all other seasons, have beautiful and wonderful purpose. Not just in my own life, but that of all the universe around us. In those forests of my younger days and at the start of my newer life, Artemis showed me just how beautiful and wonderful life is, in a far greater and more enlightened way than I had ever realized. I will always be grateful and love Her dearly for those memories and upbringings. 

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

Then As Now, We Have Gods and Doctors

Since the annual Festival of Asklepios (Son of Apollon and God of medicine) on the Attic Calendar is tomorrow, and a family member of mine recently made miraculous strides in their battle against pancreatic cancer, I thought talking about the physical and spiritual side of ancient and modern medicine would be a great blog topic, especially since a number of people today think that medical science and religion have to be separate.

I'd first like to talk about my family member, quite close to me, who was diagnosed with one of the deadliest forms of cancer a couple months ago, pancreatic. We were all naturally very concerned, but after a couple rounds of treatment, the tumor is no longer visible, and the stage itself is treatable. So it looks like they're going to be one of the few people who pull through the disease, or who can at least not be killed by it. So it's always great news when someone close to you, or anyone for that matter, finds out that they're gaining the upper hand against such a frightening illness.

The upcoming festival I'm talking about is called Epidauria, and takes place annually on September 18th, in the Month of Boedromion. More or less, it's a Healing Festival of Asklepios that took place in Epidaurus, the believed birthplace of Asklepios, and it was here that the most important sanctuary of Him was built, located on the Northeast of the Peloponnese. During this time, and in Healing Temples in general, people would sleep in these sacred locations to gain the blessings of Asklepios for their illnesses and afflictions, or would bathe in the local natural springs or baths. But these weren't the only methods. There was also a theater, as it was believed that watching good performances benefited health.

But the larger point of this has to do with the fact that, for the ancient Greeks, their Gods were naturally involved in everything they did. They had doctors, just as we have doctors today, but the difference is that these doctors, and the people they treated, did not disregard the essential benefits of spirituality and Divinity. Most certainly, the doctors looked to the natural world to develop cures for the diseases and afflictions they treated, but it was also understood that the natural world came from the Gods, and therefore, so does medicine and healing. What they were given to heal with, were good things, and all good things come from the Gods. That's why the original, authentic Hippocratic Oath begins with an invocation to every single God of the Greek pantheon.

In our world today, people seem to live under the delusion of otherwise, and think that if they support medical science and go to doctors for cures and treatments, that they can't also thank Gods for their recoveries, but even a lot of people today would disagree with that notion. In fact, I would argue that the amazing technology and remedies we have today, have been answers to prayers for healing and disease prevention.

However, that is certainly not to say that traditional remedies, such as those invoked in the Asklepion (Sanctuary of Asklepios), are not beneficial as well. I've said before that a good dose of medicine and spirituality will make you whole again. Because for all of the medical tools we have to draw from today, there is still something inside of us that the mundane cannot heal or satisfy. 

If you go to a doctor, or specifically a psychiatrist, and tell them that your religion helps fight your mental illness, or helps you overcome your physical afflictions, they will tell you to keep doing it. In short, keep praying, keep invoking your Gods, keep being spiritual, because it's clearly just as good a medicine for you. They won't tell you to discount their own prescriptions or treatments, but they won't tell you to stop what you're doing either.

If I were to go to an Asklepion today, which I think, would be an exceptionally awesome event to see and experience, and I slept in the temple or sanctuary, the dreams sent to me by Asklepios could not only instruct me on how to heal my illness, but the good dreams themselves can fight depression and stress, improve my neuro connections all together, and strengthen my motor skills. If I bathed in the warm, natural waters of the springs or mineral baths, it could very well improve my blood circulation, which will help prevent something that can be very deadly, blood clots. The baths will also reduce my stress, reduce pain, improve skin conditions, and generally aid in rehabilitation. And if I enjoyed the wonderful performances of the theater with my dear friends or likeminded people, I could also experience a number of the benefits I just described, such as stress relief and improved memory and mood. 

As human beings, we are naturally religious and spiritual people. It's part of our genetic and evolutionary makeup. We are meant to connect with Gods and the natural world that is part of them. We need the Gods to be whole and complete. There are some things that a pill or a machine cannot cure, relieve or answer. And just because we advance in a field, doesn't mean the Gods aren't part of that. The ancient Greeks never had cars, but Hermes remains the Gods of travel still, for example. Just as Apollon and Asklepios remain the Gods of healing and medicine, and when the mortal doctors can do no more, the Gods can and will step in, just as they did with my infant son during his premature birth and recovery.

It is a wonderful world, and a wonderful universe, with many wonderful, diverse things, that the Gods have given us to experience and take part in.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

Are You Working For What You Can Own?

In the ancient Maxims of Delphi at number 79, you will find the words, work for what you can own. On the surface, a lot of people might interpret it to mean, be self-employed, that to work for someone else is to be subjected to limited potential, and the attainment of only what that person wants you to have. Thus, you are not being the best version of yourself.

However, I think the Maxim means something far more deeply rooted in the human experience. It means to be fulfilled by your work. Your goal should be to work in a field that you enjoy, not hate. That pays you a living, not exploits you. And that you can feel a sense of purpose and even pride out of.

Self-employment can most certainly bring someone to these ends, but it is not the only road to them. It's possible to be self-employed and be miserable and unproductive. I know because I spent five years as an Independent Contractor, trying everything under the sun to make the job work, and it never did. I was overworked and financially broke when I decided that it wasn't worth it and something else had to be done if I was ever going to make any kind of living.

Since graduating high school in 2004, I have had at least 26 different jobs, and only recently did I finally obtain one that I liked, could keep, and that paid me a living wage. It was at this latter time that I truly came to understand the meaning of working for what you can own. It means to own everything about your work, like your financial stability, happiness and purpose. A slave, in any regard, is not working for what they can own.

Some people might say that having 26 different jobs throughout your life is reckless or even immature, especially if you left most of them because you quit or wanted to do something else. But it shows that, sometimes, you have to be willing to travel though roads, and not be content with unhappiness and neutrality, if you are to ever achieve the things you want out of life. You will find greater things along the way that you otherwise would not have.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

When Is A Dream From The Gods?

As far back as Homer's Iliad, Greeks and cultures in general have believed that dreams are, or at least can be, messages, signs, omens and even prophecies from the Gods, either for our benefit or not. Even sleep itself is brought by a God (Hypnos), which means that the entire state of being is in connection with Divinity. 

I will start by saying that, in my view, there is one state of dreaming that probably holds less validity than others when it comes to messages. If you have ever awakened early in the morning and then went right back to sleep, you have probably noticed that, during the second phase of your sleep, you dream erratically and randomly. In layman's terms, your dreams are crazy. This is probably the stage in which your dreams are the least meaningful. In my experience, the real dreams come during a complete and restful night's sleep.

When you find yourself in a dream, there are some common indicators that it may be a message from the Gods.

• The dream feels realistic, both in perception and feeling. For example, some have said that they still taste food from a dream upon waking up.
• Normally, they are dreams that you remember, and dreams that make sense. In short, straightforwardness. 
• Finally, they have a meaning or a message, not just randomness in the mind.

One of my own notable dreams that happened to me recently this year involved my dad, an encounter that I could only interpret as a message between me and my parent who has been deceased since 2011. In it, he told me that he was still proud of me and that I was on the right path in life. I had been feeling like a failure because of some significant setbacks that I had suffered previously, but it seems that my dad wanted me to know that I was still a good man. It meant a lot to me.

Sometimes, a dream is just that and nothing more. But they can also be doorways in which Gods, Heroes and even passed friends and family members can communicate with us from the realms beyond us. Why this is, we can only speculate. Perhaps the dream world puts us in a more limbo state in which our consciousness can transcend more. It's a mystery. In any case, we should always listen when they speak.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

we'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris and Anastasia Aldridge.