|
Neptune
Neptune is the
Roman god of the
sea,
springs,
lakes and
rivers and finds parallel with the
Irish god
of the well,
Nechtan, from whence all the
rivers of the world
flow out and
around in
bounty and
elegance.
He is also
known as the god of horses, under the name
Neptunus Equester and is patron of
horse-racing.
Neptunus comes from the word
nuptus which means “covering” and alludes to
the nuptiae, the
marriage of Heaven and
Earth.
Neptune is the
brother of
Jupiter and
Pluto, and each
brother presides over one of the three
realms of the universe;
Heaven,
Earth and
the Netherworld. For a time
Neptune was
paired with
Salacia, the
goddess of salt
water.
In Rome, the
Neptunalia was the festival of
Neptune on
July 23rd, at the height of
Summer. The
festival of
Lucaria (the
grove) was
celebrated on July 19th and 21st. The
Furrinalia, devoted to
Furrina,
goddess of springs was hosted on July 25th. All three
festivals relate strongly and
bond with each
other.
Neptune had
two major temples in Rome. The first was
built in 25BC
and stood next to the
Circus Flaminius (the
Roman racetrack). The temple contained a
famous sculpture of a marine group by
Scopas. The second, the
Basilica Neptuni,
was built on the
Campus Martius and
dedicated by
Agrippa in honour of the
naval
victory of
Actium.
Neptune is one
of three Roman gods to whom it was
appropriate to offer the sacrifice of
bulls,
the other legends being
Apollo and
Mars.
Neptune's two
paredrae;
Salacia and
Venilia represent the
overpowering and the
tranquil aspects of
water, both natural and
domesticated.
Salacia (sea) would impersonate the
gushing,
overbearing waters and
Venilia the
still or
quietly flowing waters (wind).
The embodiment
of Wind on Water bears
sweet fruit of Life,
the sparkling rhythms of
Celestine and
Earth merging
in honoured taste.
Poseidon
Poseidon,
Lord
of the watery Sea was venerated at
Pylos and
Thebes. His heavenly name means “husband”
and “lord” of the
Earth, symbolizing the
male aspect of Gaia and the
eternal swirl
and myriad of
beauty and
sparkle.
In his
kindly
facet, Poseidon is seen as
creating new
islands and offering
calm seas. When he is
offended and
angry, he strikes the ground
with his mighty trident,
causing chaotic
springs, earthquakes,
drownings and
shipwrecks,
ultimate watery chaos through the
breach of
flow.
Poseidon is a
son of
Cronus and
Rhea. He is
swallowed by
Cronus at birth but is later saved by
Zeus
together with his brothers and sisters. In
another account he is saved by
Rhea, who
concealed him among a flock of lambs and
pretended to have given birth to a colt,
which she gave to Cronus to
devour.
In the
Iliad,
when the world was divided into three,
Zeus
received the Sky,
Hades the
Underworld and
Poseidon the
Sea. In the
Odyssey (v.398),
Poseidon has a home in
Aegae.
The
main
Temple of Poseidon was at
Cape Sounion,
circa 440BC.
Sailors
prayed
to Poseidon for a
safe voyage and would
offer up horses as a sacrifice.
Alexander
the Great stopped at the
Syrian seashore
before the
Battle of Issus, and
offered the
sacrifice of a four-horse chariot, to
invoke
the sea God from his
slumber.
Poseidon is
the cause of certain forms of mental
disturbance. A Hippocratic text of 400BCE,
“On the Sacred Disease” says that he was
blamed for certain types of
epilepsy.
Poseidon
rides
a chariot that was pulled by a
hippocampus
and by horses that could
ride on the sea. He
is associated with dolphins and the
trident.
His palace is located on the
ocean floor and
is made of coral and
gems, with the
mystery
and beauty of the
azure blanket bringing
comfort and
enlightenment.
|
"Like
as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end,
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards to contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crowned,
Crooked eclipses gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift
confound,
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to
mow.
And yet to times in hope my verse shall
stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand."
- William
Shakespeare |
The
Divine
forms of Mighty Neptune and
Monumentous
Poseidon remind us to
connect deeply into
our own sacred form of Self, that there is
more to our own "swells" than meets the
eye,
just as there is more to the
tip of the
iceberg. Recognize
your own Power and
Strength, as these
reside within your
divine
Temple and are as
individual as are we all.
|
