randomactsofkarmasc | Entries tagged with herakles

I am (slowly) getting my Herakles' thoughts organized to share. Someone had expressed an interest in studying myths, so I thought I'd post my resource list.

Herakles' References

Though the Zodiac is described by some as a “circle of animals”, that description is best suited for the constellations which appear, to us on Earth, as circling around the Earth’s ecliptic. The signs of the Zodiac, according to the Greeks, are more accurately described as a dodecahedron around the Cosmos. Dion Fortune describes the creation of the Zodiac in the Sphere of Chokmah, in which a series of rays are alternately pulled out from the Center by the Ring Chaos and pushed in toward the Center by the Ring Cosmos. After leaving the Center, traveling to the Circumference, and then returning to the Center, the Ray leaves the Center on the opposite side, travels to the Circumference, and then returns to the Center. The motion of Ring Cosmos, Ring Chaos, and Ring-Pass-Not causes the Rays to precess, so eventually, there are six pairs of in/out loops. (See My Metaphor for more.)

In the readings I have done, the Path of Manifestation is counter-clockwise; the Path of Initiation (or Ascension) is clockwise. Herakles' Labors are frequently referred to as a metaphor for the Zodiac and as a Path of Initiation. I happened across an article (The Zodiac Dodecahedron) that referenced the mathematician Paul Schatz, who mapped the constellations of the Zodiac on a 2D net that could be folded into a dodecahedron. Since I had been unsuccessful in determining a sequence of the Zodiac constellations to correspond with the Labors, I thought I would try aligning the Labors to the signs instead. The instructions for constructing the dodecahedron from that article were rather confusing and I searched the Internet for an alternative and found another article (Time for Provocative Mnemonic Aids to Systemic Connectivity).

This site provided a much simpler 2D net of the dodecahedron:

2D net of Zodiac dodecahedron

I printed it out, then cut, folded, and taped it to make a dodecahedron of Zodiac signs to study. (It was much easier for me to "see" the following having a 3D version I could hold and turn.)

Compare the dodecahedron of signs to a map of the constellations:
animated gif of dodecahedron as 3D and 2D

animated gif of dodecahedron as 3D and 2D

from https://www.laetusinpraesens.org/docs10s/blackhux.php

map of Zodiac constellations

from https://www.maclab.sk/clanky/zverokruh/en-ring.png

The author of Provocative Mnemonic Aids commented,

"Curiously the signs which are opposite in the image on the left [2D map] are contiguous as coloured in the central pattern [3D dodecahedron] (when folded into the 3D form on the right). There is however one exceptional set of opposites -- coloured turquoise. Although opposite in the image on the left, they are on opposite sides of the 3D version and are therefore not contiguous."

In other words, even though Gemini and Sagittarius are opposite each other as constellations, they are adjacent to each other as signs. If a path started at Sagittarius, then travelled to Gemini, the next constellation (precessing counter-clockwise) would be Capricorn. (Notice that Capricorn is adjacent to Gemini on the dodecahedron.) Opposite Capricorn is Cancer, then precess to Aquarius, then Leo, then Pisces. But with Pisces, our opposite constellation is not an adjacent sign on the dodecahedron. That is because Pisces immediately preceeds the Vernal Equinox, one of the Pillars of the Heavens which divides the hemispheres of the Cosmos and the seasons of the year (winter/summer). (And note how the path on the 2D map aligns with Fortune's description of the formation of Chokmah!)

Similarly, a clockwise path is possible, traveling from constellation to opposite constellation, with the corresponding signs on the dodecahedron being contiguous. That is, until the path reaches one of the Equinoxes. The signs of Virgo and Pisces (which both immediately preceed the Equinoxes in the calendar year) are opposite each other on the dodecahedron. And there is one path (traveling clockwise) and one path (traveling counter-clockwise) that touches each opposite constellation/contiguous sign in order, ending with the Equinoxes. (And we can thank the Herakles' myth for providing an explanation why the Pillars are separated. :-) )

Have fun finding the Paths!

In some comments I've made elsewhere (Magic Mondays, Ecosophia's Open Posts, and other Dreamwidth-authors' posts), I've made reference to my current side-quest (which has morphed into a full-fledged Quest, at this point). Pixelated, in another forum, mentioned that she's been watching my Dreamwidth for an update on my Quest. I haven't done one, mostly because I had this idea that I would figure everything out and write a well-organized essay on what I've learned. But, in reflecting on Pixelated's comment, I realized that might not be the best approach. In my online conversations about by Quest, others (hat tip to Violet!) have recommended resources that were very helpful. And at the rate I am going, it is going to be a while before I have my thoughts organized into a coherent essay.

So here's an overview of where my thinking is at so far (without doing proper attributions, for the most part, because that requires organized notes. I have lots of notes, they just aren't organized yet.)

1. JG/JMG developed a way to align the 10 Spheres of the Cabala to the Wheel of Life (which has 8 stations).

2. I was studying Ogham stuff (for my AODA curriculum) and noticed it could be aligned to the Wheel of Life, too. I did an summary of things aligned to the Wheel from JMG, Hall, and Hidalgo, mostly to help me with Ogham.

3. Then I read in Secret Teachings (a book I am slowly working my way through) that some believe the Zodiac used to have 10 signs (Virgo-Scorpio was one sign and the Greeks added Libra to make things symmetrical).

4. I located one of Hall's references and tried to read just the section regarding the Zodiac, but it was too interesting and I ended up reading the whole book.

5. Meanwhile, another Dreamwidther posted something that led me to the Five Stages of Greek Religion book. And somewhere along the way, I had read the Herakles 12 Labors could be aligned to the Zodiac. And also that Herakles originally had 10 Labors, but the King assigned two more, because he thought two of them shouldn't count.

6. Gadzooks! So Herakles used to have 10 Labors and the Zodiac used to have 10 signs?!? Quest accepted.

7. The Five Stages of Greek Religion mentioned one author who thought Herakles was a consort of Hera. I tried to find that reference, but could not. Instead, I found an article that referenced the same author, plus several more who tried to figure out who Herakles was in relation to Hera (and what does Herakles really translate to?) (The version I like so far is that Zeus was the head deity of one culture that 'consumed' another culture (invaded? maybe, maybe not...) and that Hera was the head deity of the second culture. To peacefully coexist, the cultures blended their pantheons and Zeus gave up his first wife (Hebe) and Hera gave up her consort (Herakles), so Zeus and Hera could be together (and eventually Herakles and Hebe got together) (but this isn't really relevant for my Quest, other than reinforcing the idea that you really should not take myths literally... there are many many layers of meaning.)) Back to the Quest:

8. Herakles' Labor (ten/twelve) align to the Zodiac.

9. Herakles is a solar deity... he 'fell' to humanity and had to redeem himself to be divine again.

10. Herakles' path to divinity was in two parts: the Twelve Labors and Jason/Argonauts/Golden Fleece. The Twelve Labors represent a Path of Initiation. Which initiation? Well, before he went to Hades, Herakles was initiated into the Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries, so I'm assuming that Initiation. And that makes Jason and the Argonauts the Path of the Greater Mystery (which results in achieving the Magnum Opus, the Golden Fleece).

11. The Lesser Mysteries are about transmuting Lead to Silver (joining your Mind and Soul to reflect the Divine); the Greater Mysteries are about transmuting Silver to Gold (rejoining the Divine).

12. So now my Herakles' Quest relates to the Zodiac, the Wheel of Life, and Alchemy!

13. I spent much time trying to figure out how I could fit the Zodiac on the Wheel of Life without it being arbitrary. I read up on Astrology and found some interesting tidbits (Herakles had Pillars and the colures are considered the Pillars of the Cosmos!). And then had several references to the Dendera Zodiac show up in books and online. (The Dendera Zodiac is Egyptian and is shaped into an octagon!)

14. However, I also found that the Lesser Mysteries refer to two sixth-month periods (which makes 12, the Zodiac) and the Greater Mysteries had a ceremony that lasted 9 days (and the second day involved being in the ocean, which seems like a fairly obvious Binah reference), so I'm thinking the Greater Mysteries/Golden Fleece will end up being aligned with the Wheel of Life (and the Spheres of the Cabala) and the Lesser Mysteries/Twelve Labors will end up being aligned with the Zodiac.

So, my current plan is to organize my notes and find gaps and research/meditate to fill in those gaps. I am hoping to be able to align Herakles' Labors to the Zodiac and to the stages of spiritual alchemy as described in the Book of Lambspring (which provided the images used by the Octagon Society). Then I am going to go through the curriculum of the Octagon Society again, to see what I missed the first time. And then, maybe, I'll have a better understanding of Herakles.

If you have any resources you think I should read to help me on my Quest, let me know. At some point, I'll start a separate post to document the books, articles, and websites I've used so far, in case some of you find the Herakles Quest interesting, too. :-)

Thanks!

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