GoodGod!

Meet the Gods: Hades

 

(art by Samantha Sullivan)

 

Merry meet.

 

As the wheel turns to Samhain, it is natural turn to deities of the dark, of the underworld. This month we get to know Hades.

 

A god with a place that shares his name, Hades is thought to be the god of death – in the Greek pantheon, that was Thanatos. Rather, Hades invites all to join him in his kingdom, the underworld. Hades is not hell, it’s the place all who die go.

 

Wanting a bride, Hades is said to have asked Zeus for one of his daughters and was offered Persephone. On one of his rare trips to the world above ground, he kidnapped her, driving his chariot deep into earth to return to his underworld.

 

Her mother, Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, mourned and the crops died and the trees dropped their leaves. Learning that the kidnapping was the idea of her brother, Zeus, Demeter complained. Zeus asked Hades to let Persephone go. However, during her time below the surface, she had eaten seeds from the pomegranate, the food of the dead. Although she was reunited with her mother, having eaten the pomegranate seeds required her to spend time each year in the underworld. And each year she descends and each year Demeter mourns and each year the crops die and the leaves fall.

 

Hades came to rule the underworld after killing his father, titan Cronus. As one story goes, Cronus feared a son of his would overthrow him as he had overthrown his own father and so Cronus swallowed each of his sons as they were born. After being tricked into vomiting, the siblings emerged to battle and beat their father. The brothers drew lots to divide up the cosmos that was now theirs. Zeus got the sky, Poseidon got the sea and Hades got the underworld.

Its darkness makes him invisible. (Some stories credit his invisibility to the helmet he wears.) He is often depicted with an evil smile, wearing a black robe made of souls. He holds a bird-tipped scepter that can cause earthquakes. Hades appointed Cerberus – a three-headed dog – to guard the underworld, never allowing in anyone who was not supposed to be there.

 

As the god of the dead, Hades oversees the entire population of those who have died, accounting for his fairly constant foul mood. He punishes those who were evil and provides bliss to the heroes.

 

In his position, he defends the right of the dead to funerals and presides over those rites. He is one you can invoke for help when faced with making funeral plans.

 

 

 

The Greeks were afraid of death and would not mention the names Hades or Persephone for fear of invoking death. Death was scary, desolate and dark. In the Greek world, neither Hades nor Persephone were evil deities. The Christian pantheon, however, turned Hades into hell and the god into the devil.

 

Hades is also considered god of the world’s hidden wealth – from fertile soil for growing crops to minerals mined from the earth.

 

Demeter, Hestia and Hera were his sisters.

 

At Samhain, Hades is a god to recognize and honor. In the old times, animal sacrifices were common, with the blood being poured in a hole to be sure it reached the underworld. Today, you may choose a candle that represents Hades to you; red, white and black are all common choices. An offering might be a wine, cakes, honey and meat. Best, perhaps, that offerings be left outside in a hole for him. A song, poetry or a key are also appropriate offerings.

 

Hades can be asked to call forth the ghosts of the dead, and what better time then when the veil is thin?

 

To get his attention, numerous sources suggest beating or stomping on the ground, or yelling.

 

Merry part. And merry meet again.

 

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About the Author:

 

 

Lynn Woike was 50 – divorced and living on her own for the first time – before she consciously began practicing as a self taught solitary witch. She draws on an eclectic mix of old ways she has studied – from her Sicilian and Germanic heritage to Zen and astrology, the fae, Buddhism, Celtic, the Kabbalah, Norse and Native American – pulling from each as she is guided. She practices yoga, reads Tarot and uses Reiki. From the time she was little, she has loved stories, making her job as the editor of two monthly newspapers seem less than the work it is because of the stories she gets to tell. She lives with her large white cat, Pyewacket, in central Connecticut. You can follow her boards on Pinterest, and write to her at woikelynn at gmail dot com.