The Grove
Look.
There… a touch of pink, a golden splash… you can just see it over the top of that tree. It won’t be long now.
In this early-morning stillness, I am reminded that I am not alone in waiting. We stand poised in a between-time at the edge of spring. The equinox brings us to a point of equilibrium where light & darkness are in balance, but light is steadily growing stronger. Just as my day is blooming into being.
I watch as gem-bright hues stain the sky a little more & consider the season. The Sabbat’s very name comes to us from an Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn. Being a Hellenic pagan, I suppose it’s natural for my thoughts to then turn towards the Greeks & Eos. She is the daughter of the Titans Hyperion & Theia. Her siblings are solar Helios & lunar Seline. Each morning she rises from the river Okeanos to chase back night with her rosy fingers for both gods & man. She throws open celestial gates for Apollo to ride his chariot through each day. Apollo might have the sun chariot, but she has a pretty sweet ride herself. She’s often depicted as riding around in a golden chariot pulled by winged horses, or alternately born aloft by her own set of wings.
Spring calls to mind the 1st blush of love. The Divine Male comes into his own sexually. Both he & the Divine Female start to become aware of each other. If that’s the case, then Eos fits right in at this time of year. She has a bit of a sweet tooth where man-candy is concerned. Some sources suggest that she picked the wrong guy to have a fling with & ran afoul of the goddess of love. She got a little too friendly with Ares once. A jealous Aphrodite cursed her with being constantly in love, bringing with it a host of problems.
Case in point. Her love life’s… umm… active, to say the least. Her conquests include the hunter Orion & bad driver Phaethon who lost control of his father Helios’ chariot put Earth in danger of burning up when Zeus killed him with a bolt to prevent further damage. The Trojan prince Tithonos is said to be her official consort. Sure, love makes you a little silly sometimes & you might not think clearly whilst in its initial grip. Eos begged her father to make him immortal, but she neglected to ask that he be granted youth as well. Things might have been OK at the start of their union. She had her gorgeous young hunk to fall into bed with each night. Her mistake became obvious when age took its toll. His body steadily failed him, yet he had no release from his torment. One version of myth tells how she took pity on him & turned him into a grasshopper. To her credit, perhaps, some stories tell how she she still lay down next to the old man & kissed his sparse white hair as he fretted in his sleep.
Ultimately Eos is not just Apollo’s herald but herald for the season. She reminds us daily that no matter how dark the night, be it literal or personal strife, dawn is just around the corner. Light will return, bringing with it new creative potential. No shadow will stand up to her radiance for long. Perhaps it might be a good time for some spring cleaning. Are there any old habits that you need to let go of ? Are there situations that are no longer healthy for you? Let it go. Embrace the Sabbat & what it has to offer. Be renewed in it. Let Eos guide you.