Uncategorized

MagickalArts

August 1, 2018 /

Let freedom Ring-Part Two

The Cosmic Horae: Order, Justice and Peace Shall Rule

The Executors of Divine Order

Dike(Order) – Eunomia(Justice) – Eirene(Peace)

Dike: Hora of Order

Themis’ daughters are the seeds of extension for maintaining what has been decreed within the heavens. These are the controls that remand the individual to the laws of karmic order when encountered at death by their mother Themis. Their attributes are the affirmation of cosmic and earthly law being reflections of the same dynamics of order and balance that are upheld in both heavenly and earthly matters.

Dike, in her role as keeper of justice and order made judgment of the moral order of humanity. Dike is often associated with the astrological sign of the Virgin, Virgo. The analytical and careful attention to detail being the primary energy called upon to maintain moral order and justice for all mankind. Hers was the responsibility to ensure that man acted in accord with right action and bestow swift punishment for any infringement, especially in the case of one who was acting as judge and counsel.

The Greek poet, Hesiod speaks of Dike in this way in his epic poem, Works and Days:

“Listen to right and do not foster violence; for violence is bad for a poor man. Even the prosperous cannot easily bear its burden, but is weighed down under it when he has fallen into delusion. The better path is to go by on the other side towards justice; for Dike (Justice) beats Hybris (Outrage) when she comes at length to the end of the race. But only when he has suffered does the fool learn this. For Horkos (Horcus, Oath) keeps pace with wrong judgments. There is a noise when Dike (Justice) is being dragged in the way where those who devour bribes and give sentence with crooked judgments, take her. And she, wrapped in mist, follows to the city and haunts of the people, weeping, and bringing mischief to men, even to such as have driven her forth in that they did not deal straightly with her. But they who give straight judgments to strangers and to the men of the land, and go not aside from what is just, their city flourishes, and the people prosper in it: Eirene (Irene, Peace), the nurse of children, is abroad in their land, and all-seeing Zeus never decrees cruel war against them. Neither famine nor disaster ever haunt men who do true justice; but lightheartedly they tend the fields which are all their care. The earth bears them victual in plenty, and on the mountains the oak bears acorns upon the top and bees in the midst. Their woolly sheep are laden with fleeces; their women bear children like their parents. They flourish continually with good things, and do not travel on ships, for the grain-giving earth bears them fruit.”

Eunomia: Hora of Justice

Eunomia exerted her power as provider of governance of justice through good law. Legislation, judicial determination and their processes and the ultimate outcome of enforcing those determinations made were her specialty. Eunomia’s name is used to describe the “principle of good order”. Her image was often painted on vases and in the company of Aphrodite as a reminder of the need for lawful action in matters of the heart, marriage and loving relationship.

Eunomia was the mother of the three Graces; Aglaea (Grace and Beauty), Euphrosyn (Good Cheer, Mirth and Merriment), and Thalia (Festivities and Banquets). Again, we see the disbursement of the mother’s gifts flowing through the Graces, each needing the space of governance to ensure neither excess nor poverty in their expression.

Demosthenes, the prominent Greek statesman speaks of Eunomia in his rhetoric, Against Aristogeiton :

“You must magnify Eunomia (the Goddess of Order) who loves what is right and preserves every city and every land; and before you cast your votes, each juryman must reflect that he is being watched by hallowed and inexorable Dike (Justice), who, as Orpheus, that prophet of our most sacred mysteries, tells us, sits beside the throne of Zeus and oversees all the works of men. Each must keep watch and ward lest he shame that goddess, from whom everyone that is chosen by lot derives his name of juror, because he has this day received a sacred trust from the laws, from the constitution, from the fatherland,–the duty of guarding all that is fair and right and beneficial in our city.”

Eirene: Hora of Peace

Eirene was the personification of peace. Hers was the final blessing of the action of rightful justice exacted in a lawful way with resolution that would ultimately restore and disperse the Divine Justice of her mother, Themis. So great was her influence that the citizens of Athens set up an altar and erected a votive statue to her in the Agora of Athens. The statue shows her as a young beautiful woman holding the infant Ploutos (the God of wealth) in her arm. In artwork she is also depicted carrying a cornucopia, the symbol of the abundance that may be gathered when peace rules every action.

The poet, Hesiod describes Eirene in this way:

“But they who give straight judgments [i.e. those who invoke the goddess Dike (Justice)] to strangers and to the men of the land, and go not aside from what is just, their city flourishes, and the people prosper in it: Eirene (Irene, Peace), the nurse of children, is abroad in their land, and all-seeing Zeus never decrees cruel war against them. Neither famine nor disaster ever haunt men who do true justice; but hardheartedly they tend the fields which are all their care. The earth bears them victual in plenty, and on the mountains the oak bears acorns upon the top and bees in the midst. Their woolly sheep are laden with fleeces; their women bear children like their parents. They flourish continually with good things, and do not travel on ships, for the grain-giving earth bears them fruit.”

Order, Justice and Peace Shall Rule

There is much we can learn from the Horae and much we can apply to the way in which we live today. The principles of lawful order and justice for all of humanity remain the same. The desire for a peaceful coexistence and the balance and Karmic blessings that are the products is still a dream for many. Remembering the work of the Horae and the natural cycles that surround and are in support of a balanced and orderly life are the beginning steps towards establishing Themis, or Divine order. Taking time to honor and show devotion to the order that is established within your life already and then seeing it grow and extend exponentially into every facet of your life’s work, much like the energy imparted in the daughters of Themis and Zeus, will feed the archetypal energy of these Deities and draw the power of their pursuits back into balancing chaos and discord.

And, the ultimate blessing will be that of knowing the peace of living a life that has come full cycle in embracing the cycles of the seasons, the will of the fates and scales at life’s end of Themis.

References:

1. Hesiod, Works and Days 212 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :

2. Demosthenes, Against Aristogeiton 25. 11 (Greek rhetoric C4th B.C.) :
3. Hesiod, Works & Days – Greek Epic C8th-7th B.C.

***

About the Author:

Robin Fennelly is a Wiccan High Priestess, teacher, poet and author.

She is the author of:

The Inner Chamber Volume One

It’s Written in the Stars

Astrology

The Inner Chamber, Vol. Two

poetry of the Spheres (Volume 2)