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Episode 99: Underworld Deities
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Welcome back witches, to another captivating episode! This week we're exploring the realms of the Underworld. In this enchanting journey, we delve into the shadowy depths of ancient wisdom, uncovering the profound significance of these mystical beings. Join us as we unravel the stories of Hecate and Nyx, delving deep into their enigmatic realm of magic and mystery. So gather 'round, disciples of the night, and let us embark on a spellbinding odyssey steeped in the essence of otherworldly power and ancient enchantment.
We would be forever thankful if you left our podcast a 5-Star review. If you really loved the show and want more Get in Loser content, check out our Supercast & Buy Me a Coffee links below. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GetinWitches, on TikTok @weredoingwitchcraft, or email us at weredoingwitchcraft@gmail.com. You can support our show through our links below.
Supercast: https://getinloserweredoingwitchcraft.supercast.com
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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio- The Witch
References:
- Kapach, Avi. Primordial Goddess Nyx. (2023). Mythopedia. https://mythopedia.com/topics/nyx
- Otherworldly Oracle. Nyx Goddess of the Night. (2022). https://otherworldlyoracle.com/nyx-goddess/
- Teaandrosemary2. Nyx: The Goddess of the Night. (2021). https://teaandrosemary.com/nyx-goddess-night/
- <a href="https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/goddesses/nyx/">Nyx – Greek Goddess of The Night: https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net</a> - Greek Gods & Goddesses, June 10, 2018
- The Encyclopedia Britannica. Nyx. (2024-last edited) https://www.britannica.com/topic/Thanatos-Greek-mythology
- Avi Kapach (2023). Underworld God: Hecate. Mythopedia. https://mythopedia.com/topics/hecate
- Hecate. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecate
- Working with Hecate: Offerings, Herbs, Crystals and More. Terravara. https://www.terravara.com/working-with-hecate/
- 13 Ways to work with Hecate. (2020). Otherworldly Oracle. https://otherworldlyoracle.com/hecate-goddess/
- Dani Rhys (2023). Hecate’s Wheel Symbol: Origins and Meaning Today. Symbol Sage. https://symbolsage.com/hecate-wheel-symbolism-and-meaning/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Witchcraft Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft in the occult, but feel lost in where to start? Then welcome to Get In, Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey. Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we've learned about
Exploring Goddesses Nyx and Hecate
00:00:15
Speaker
the craft. So get in, witches, as we delve into the underworld and learn more about the goddess Nyx and Hecate.
Smart Home Technology Humour
00:00:42
Speaker
And I don't know if you noticed when we were doing the intro, Mike is, I guess, playing with the lights on our lamps. I saw it like, yeah. He's playing with the lights on the app on his phone. And the whole time he was gone, okay, so I need to download this app, right? Because I just haven't done it.
00:01:03
Speaker
But obviously you can change different colors and things like that. And he always, we never manually turn the lamps on or off. We just always use the app to do it. And so the whole time he was gone to the States, I would text him and be like, can you turn the lamps on? Because I don't have the app. And he's just like, download the app.
00:01:26
Speaker
No, just turn the lamps on. It's fine. Just leave them on. Like we're not paying for electricity anyway. It was like that in our house with our thermostat. We had the ecobee.
00:01:39
Speaker
And Anthony had the app, and I never set it up, but I had to have his permission, and I was always forgetting when he was home to be like, how can you just go in and accept me as a user on it? So he would be TDY, because you have to be on the same Wi-Fi to do it. So if he was TDY, and I was trying to do it, he couldn't add me as a user. So I'd have to be like, can you turn the thermostat down? Can you turn the thermostat up? It's really cold today. Can you turn the thermostat up?
00:02:06
Speaker
Yeah, he's like, oh my god, just set it up when I get home. And then you never do like, no, and then we just like completely forget. It was like a year and a half before like we lived like that for a year and a half before I was like, oh my god, I need to. Yeah, I need to do the lamp thing because
00:02:28
Speaker
He ended up setting a timer on the lamps. Now the light, not that one, but the other lamps in my living room are green light right now. But he ended up setting a timer on all the lamps. But I think he wasn't paying attention to the time zone because the lights would turn on like
00:02:50
Speaker
in the middle of the day, right? And then they would turn off at night. And so we'd just be sitting there because I don't want to turn on the overhead light. Like I don't want to turn on the big light. So I'm like, okay, guess it's time to go upstairs guys. Oh my gosh. Yeah. I need to download that app. That's hilarious. But I've totally been there. Yeah. So annoying.
00:03:15
Speaker
Ours was just the heat and air conditioner. Nothing important. Just something minor like the AC and the heat. No big deal. You can't see anything in your house. It's fine. There he goes again. Oh, well.
00:03:36
Speaker
Listeners, if only you could see this right now. It's like it's
Podcasting Challenges and Growth
00:03:39
Speaker
like it's in here. It's like rainbow lighting just keeps changing. Yeah. And also I apologize if you hear my freaking pup, my Chihuahua thinks he's HOA of the neighborhood. And so whenever kids are like, there's kids everywhere and we don't have a fence. So like kids are all over. Yeah.
00:03:58
Speaker
yards and stuff and every time he thinks he hears something. Oh my gosh. I know next thinks that everyone in the TLF like in around just outside in the parking lot like everyone is trying to break in and murder us. So every little noise she like loses her shit and we're just like,
00:04:18
Speaker
ready to murder her. If you bark one more time, I'm going to lose it. Right? Yeah. So hopefully, I mean, I have them locked in the hallway. So hopefully, it's quiet during our recording.
00:04:33
Speaker
it should be. We'll see. If it's not, they're just saying hello. I know. I feel like every episode we're like, anyways, here's some disclaimers for today. Loud noises. Yes. And I remember when we first started the podcast, we were really, really like, we would even
00:04:52
Speaker
go out of our way to record at odd times to try and keep the noise level down. Or if we would go through a line and there would be a noise in the background, we'd be like, let's just redo that one. Or like, anyway, there's some fucking noises dealing with it. Yeah, it is what it is. We try.
00:05:15
Speaker
The first season, that was when you were in England and there was like jets every five
Deep Dive into Hecate
00:05:20
Speaker
seconds. Yes. We'd be like, Oh my God, another jet. And then I would start, Oh my God, another one. Between the jet and my like obnoxious neighbor with his stupid ass car that he would rub in his driveway for like 15 minutes. Yes. We would just sit there and patiently wait. Yeah. And now whenever we edit the episodes, there would just be like 15 minutes of me being like, this guy is such a fucking tool.
00:05:49
Speaker
But think of how far we've gone. This is our 99th episode. We're almost at 100 episodes. Almost 100 episodes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Nutso. Crazy.
00:06:00
Speaker
I love this for us. I love this episode that we're about to record that we're recording right now because this has been the coolest thing that I've researched in a long time. There's a lot of good information in this one. I really enjoyed it. The whole time I was researching my half, I would be like,
00:06:17
Speaker
Did you know? And I would tell Anthony and he's like, that's insane. Yes. Yeah. It's really interesting, but I guess let's get started. So yes. What are we talking about today? We're talking about the underworld and some goddesses of the underworld. We are. And I'm going to kick things off with talking about Hakate or Hakati. There's like different pronunciations of her name.
00:06:44
Speaker
So people pronounce it Hecate. Some people call her Hakate or some people call her Hakati. I guess based on historically accurate, her name is most closely pronounced like Hakate. So if I'm going through this and I just pronounce it three different ways.
00:07:04
Speaker
then I'm sorry. And I was gonna say I've only heard it pronounced heck-a-tay or heck-a-tea. I've heard both of those. And that's how I always thought it was pronounced. Like that's what I always heard as well. And then whenever I was doing the research, I was like, Oh, wait, what? And then I had to like even Google the pronunciation too, because how it
00:07:22
Speaker
was phonetically written is like, okay, but this is how I have been saying it. But then right, like, it's weird. So yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, and I feel like the pronunciations when we Google them, we're always like, I think this is how it's said, because you never know, like, sometimes you just look, go to like, look up a pronunciation, and it'll say it the weirdest way. And then you like, look at a different one, and they say it completely different. So we're always like, guessing anyway.
00:07:47
Speaker
That is true. Or sometimes I'll say it with like a British accent, but if we try to say that with a British accent, it just sounds like we're mocking them. Yeah. And that's not it. No, we're just really trying our best here. We really are. So no hate to anybody, you know, just doing our best. But so for the background for Hakate, etymology of her name is uncertain because of her origin. And there are many debates on where she actually originated from. So there are
00:08:16
Speaker
history from Greece, Egypt, the Anatolian, and Old English. And so essentially, Hecate is a powerful goddess. And because her origin isn't fully understood, she doesn't actually appear in Homer's epics. And many scholars believe she was adopted into the Greek pantheon from the Carians of Asia Minor. So her earliest appearance in literature was in Hesiod's Theogony in the 8th century BCE.
00:08:45
Speaker
And she was depicted as a goddess with domains in the sky, earth, and the sea. And she was popular among the witches in Thessaly, which is an area in Greece that's kind of like the eastern coast, like middle part of Greece along the eastern coast. And the oldest representation of her was actually found in Selenunty, and this is located in Sicily.
00:09:11
Speaker
And again, if I'm pronouncing any of these places incorrectly, obviously, we're just trying our best. I have the pronunciations written out here. I went and looked, so I'm trying my best, but there's a lot of words that I've never seen before, like this is so empty. I have never seen that before. Throughout history, people have called her the daughter of the Titans Asteria and Persis, but
00:09:33
Speaker
That was just one explanation of her parentage. There are many and even in some stories of her parentage, Zeus was said to be her father. She's considered a virgin goddess like Athena and Artemis and she was known as the goddess of magic, witchcraft, and the underworld. Sometimes she's portrayed as sinister and sometimes portrayed as kind and helpful. She is both light and dark and encompasses all of these things.
00:09:59
Speaker
Even though she wasn't in Homer's epics, she was still seen throughout Greece as the goddess of witches, the household, crossroads, travel, agriculture, night, light, entranceways, the moon, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants,
00:10:14
Speaker
Graves, ghosts, necromancy, and sorcery. She's also a liminal figure and she's associated with things like borders, city walls, and the border between the physical or the living world and the world's beyond. And so if you're wanting to know a little bit more about what
00:10:31
Speaker
what we mean when we're talking about liminal spaces and what it means to be in that liminal space. We have a couple of episodes where we talked about this a lot, our Hedgecraft episode. And then I do think we also have an episode where we talk about liminal magic as well too, right? Yes, we do. I think that was season two. I don't remember what episode number it was, but we do have an episode on liminal spaces.
00:10:55
Speaker
Yes. If you're interested in learning more, go back and look that up because I didn't put the actual episode number in there. I just know that we've covered it. I wasn't going to go too deep into it just because this is a long episode.
00:11:07
Speaker
So she's also, like I said, associated with poisonous plants. And some of those are Euachenite, Mandrake, and Belladonna. Hecate was often linked with many other goddesses, both Greek and non-Greek, like Artemis, Selene, Persephone, Cradius, and Bremo. And in some stories in lore, Hecate has been used as an alternative name for some of these goddesses, which I thought was interesting. And it's just weird how
00:11:38
Speaker
throughout history. The Romans often referred to Hakate as trivia because of her association with the crossroads. And I have in quotes here, she of the triple road. And she shared this title with Diana and each of them were protectors of travel and the crossroads or the three ways. She's most often seen holding a pair of torches, a key, knives, snakes, and she's accompanied by dogs.
00:12:06
Speaker
Howling dogs are said to herald her appearance and so dogs were also often offered as a sacrifice which is really sad. I'm sure considering how much she loves dogs, I don't think she liked that either.
00:12:23
Speaker
Some legends tie her to weasels as well. And in one lore, it says that she created weasels by turning them into women. And in later periods of time throughout history, she was also depicted as three formed or triple bodied. And there's a tie to Wicca, you know, often
00:12:43
Speaker
depicted Hekate might be interlaced with the crone version of the triple goddess. And whenever she is depicted as this crone version of the triple goddess, she represents the wisdom that comes with age. And so just a little bit of lore surrounding Hekate
00:13:00
Speaker
She appears in some versions of the birth of Zeus. And if you remember in episode 62, go listen if you haven't listened to that episode yet because the lore surrounding Zeus and his siblings is wild as hell. Yeah, it is. But the TLDR is Cronus, the titan father of Zeus, swallowed each of his children as soon as they were born because he was a weak man who was afraid one of them might overthrow him at some point.
00:13:24
Speaker
His wife wanting to save Zeus hit a stone in a blanket for Cronus to eat instead of the actual baby. In the lore where Hakate is mentioned, she is the one who gives a stone swaddled up like a baby to Cronus to eat. She's not always mentioned every time. In the stories related to Zeus's birth, she's not always mentioned, but in some stories she is.
00:13:46
Speaker
Shekate helped the Olympians when they were under attack by the Giants, and she fought alongside the Olympians and used her torches to defeat the giant Klytis. That is not how I thought this was pronounced. It looks like it should be pronounced Klytias. No, it's pronounced Klyt-us. Klyt-us. Klyt-us, like Kly-ter-us, but without the er. Oh my gosh.
00:14:11
Speaker
So, Hecate appears in the stories related to Persephone and Demeter as well. When Persephone was abducted by Hades, Hecate was the only one who heard her cries. She told Demeter what she heard, but she didn't know exactly where Persephone was taken. And Demeter eventually found out where Persephone was taken after speaking with Helios about the situation. And eventually Zeus forced Hades to send Persephone back to Demeter for at least
00:14:41
Speaker
part of the year. So Hakate acted as an attendant helping Persephone to reunite with her mother. So let's talk a little bit about Hakate's powers. Protection of the home and the cities is a big one related to her power. Because she is a goddess of boundaries, she can help keep evil from entering a space.
00:15:02
Speaker
On the flip side, she can also refuse help and allow or even encourage unwanted spirits to go in and cause trouble. So like that duality there that I spoke about earlier. As she is the goddess of boundaries, she holds the keys to the land of the dead and acts as a guardian to the souls on their journey to the underworld. She also helps women in need of reproductive healing and aids in the birthing process and can be called to protect your dog from harm.
00:15:29
Speaker
which is really sweet. She can also be called upon for strength guidance when doing shadow work, journeying or anything else that involves confronting darkness. And so a little bit, I just wanted to mention a little bit about
00:15:44
Speaker
the wheel that's associated with Hikate is one of her symbols and this is a visual representation of the goddess and it contains three distinct worlds that are connected at the center and we will have a depiction of her wheel on our socials this week so that you guys can see what we're talking about but it's thought to be a depiction of a labyrinth serpent around a central spiral
00:16:07
Speaker
usually the central spiral is in the shape of a Y and this is a depiction of the three crossroads but it's also seen as an X or sometimes a star in the middle and the snake all around the outside so that labyrinth serpent that I mentioned is representative of rebirth and renewal and it's said to show the power of knowledge and life and it can represent a journey and enter discovery as one goes through their life
00:16:33
Speaker
and wearing the wheel is said to be a symbol to invite her blessings and her prosperity into your life. Now that we've talked a bit about Hakate and the lore and background associated with her, let's talk a bit about how we can work with Hakate. So she respects effort. So you need to put in the work. This is not a goddess that you can go half-assed into working with. It's all or nothing with Hakate.
00:16:57
Speaker
she doesn't think you're putting in the effort, she will not work with you. And one of the things about it that she really respects is when you meet her on her turf. So in order to do this, like one of the easiest ways is to meet her at a crossroads. So what you would do here is you would cleanse yourself and your space
00:17:16
Speaker
and leave offerings at a crossroads. And if you live in a really urban area, it might be difficult to find a three-way crossroad. And if that's the case, you can also create a symbolic crossroad with large branches, but make sure it's in that Y three-way crossroad intersection. And if you do leave offerings at a crossroad, collect some of the crossroads dirt to use in your rituals and meditations.
00:17:42
Speaker
You can also create an altar for her. So what you will do with this is cover your altar space in black or red or purple cloth and place symbols on the altar that are associated with her. So some of these symbols could be a depiction of the triple goddess, a replica of historical statues of her, images of dogs, herbal offerings, old keys, images of graveyards, a broom, moons or stars,
00:18:07
Speaker
Hecate's will add a devotional candle to your altar and incense. When you want to connect with Hecate, light the candle and incense and meditate on her. You can even say a small prayer. There are examples of prayers and incantations you can use online. However, because Hecate appreciates the effort, I would suggest sitting down and crafting one of your own. When you first create your altar space and honor, Hecate cleans and consecrate your space and tools in Hecate's name initially.
00:18:38
Speaker
then re-cleanse and recharge every month on the dark moon. And the dark moon, just in case you don't know when this happens, this is the waning crescent phase right before the new moon.
00:18:49
Speaker
So when it comes to offerings, traditionally offerings are left at a crossroads, like I mentioned, usually in rural areas where the roads continue uninterrupted for a longer distance. But these offerings that I talk about below can be used in your altar, or if you have a symbolic crossroads that you put, whatever you, you know, do what works best for you, but whatever it is, just make sure you're putting in that effort, especially if you're dedicating it to Hakate.
00:19:16
Speaker
So for herbal offerings, these are things like you. And for you, you can use branches, berries, or objects made with you, wood, cypress, thyme, belladonna, mandrake, lilies of the valley, hemlock, mint, lavender, rue, mullein, also known as hags taper, and graveyard dirt, which is used to make torches and can even guard against evil. For food, you can use wine, almonds, grapes, or other fruits.
00:19:45
Speaker
cake, red meat, ale, eggs, honey, breads, and sweets that are crescent shaped. And for intangible offerings, the best recommendation here is to do whatever as an offering that you enjoy doing creatively, if that makes sense. So these are things like paintings, poetry, song, dance, prayer, chanting. Whatever you like to do,
00:20:07
Speaker
do it in her name as an offering to her. And as far as crystals associated with Hakate, these are things like amethyst, clear quartz,
00:20:17
Speaker
jet, moonstone, obsidian, selenite, and tourmaline. The herbs associated with Akate, anything associated with graveyards, death, and the underworld like Cyprus, and as mentioned earlier in the herbal offerings, herbs considered poisonous can help you connect with her. Obviously, like with everything, do your own research and work with these carefully.
00:20:39
Speaker
But Hemlock, Belladonna, you, and Ditney of Crete are some of the main ones that people associate with Hakate. And also Time Sage and Garlic are some ones that everybody pretty much has in their home and can be substitute. You don't have to work with poisonous plants to work with her.
00:20:57
Speaker
So other ways that you can work with her, take care of dogs. They are sacred to her, so taking care of dogs will bless you and your pet if you have a dog. If you don't have a dog, you can also take your time to volunteer at a shelter. Take dogs for walks, donate blankets, food, toys, etc. to a shelter.
00:21:15
Speaker
Another way that you can honor her is to hold a feast in her honor. In ancient times, feasts were held in her name and included foods that contained things like lavender, honey, eggs, and garlic. And so whenever you have a feast in her name, what you want to do is set a place at your table for the goddess and a plate at her altar. Use lighting from candles to light the space. Don't use any lights from, you know, lamps or overhead lighting.
00:21:40
Speaker
And there are specific dates that correspond with her as well. So dates to celebrate with a feast would be November 16th. This is said to be the night she hunts the crossroads with her hounds. August 13th is a day that the ancient Greeks would leave offerings at crossroads for her kate. And also you can hold the feast on Samhain or on the dark or new moons. So either of those days would work. So now that we've talked about
00:22:07
Speaker
ways that you can work with her, let's talk about how to tell if she is calling you to work with her. The thing about Hakate is she does not discriminate when she calls to people. Often those who are afraid or intimidated by her power are more likely to receive her call, and she favors people going through major life changes.
00:22:26
Speaker
Some people say that she tends to call to younger witches because she feels she can teach them the old ways more effectively and she may call to you if you often hear dogs howling that seem to come from nowhere or if you see objects associated with her like torches or keys.
00:22:43
Speaker
You may have some strong dreams where these objects are involved and can include other things like serpents, daggers, doorways, or black dogs. And also seeing the repeat of the number 3 or 13 can also be an indication that she's calling to you as well. Since crossroads are her domain, she may call to you by giving you a strange experience at a crossroads.
Transition to Nyx
00:23:06
Speaker
And if you're drawn to cemeteries and graveyards, this could also be a sign that she's calling you to work with her. Or say if dogs are drawn to you and just animals in general, that could be a sign.
00:23:18
Speaker
And Hakate's name keeps showing up in your daily life randomly through conversations, books, TV shows, online, et cetera. If you're seeing her pop up just randomly over and over again, that's a good sign that she's trying to call out to you. And lastly, if you're someone who spirits communicate with you and or you're sensitive to psychic communication, this is a really good hint that maybe Hakate is trying to reach out to
Unveiling Nyx
00:23:44
Speaker
you as well. So that is a bit about
00:23:46
Speaker
So now I'm going to be talking about Nyx. So just like where her name comes from in Greek, Nyx means night in Roman or like Latin.
00:24:03
Speaker
It would be Nox, and she's also known as Nox. She actually has a lot of names, which I found really interesting. I feel like I'm going to say a lot, but this is maybe half of them. She's known as the Mother of Night, Astraea, Darkness, Goddess of the Night, Queen of Nightfall, Daughter of the Void,
00:24:23
Speaker
goddess of darkness, creator goddess, darkness of the abyss, the gothic goddess, which i feel like that's probably a more modern one, but it was listed like multiple times so i was like well i'll include it. primordial darkness, supreme princess of the night of chaos, the mother of the horrors and existence, true goddess of endless night and chaos, subduer of gods and men, winged reaper of the night, and like this goes on and on and on and on.
00:24:50
Speaker
But I also really like that she was also known by names such as Eufron or Eufrosine, which comes from the Greek words that mean kindly or cheerful. Because for her, it's kind of the same as with Hecate, where she was kind of sometimes portrayed as sinister, but not always. Like she was also kind of like motherly.
00:25:10
Speaker
So I like when they fall under what death goddesses I think is what they kind of fall under their underworld gods and goddesses or deities. So I always like when there is a little nice plug for them because I feel like most of the time they are seen as being sinister or scary or whatever. So
00:25:30
Speaker
Yes, and it's good to show that polarity of they're not all bad. Because the thing about it is too, you wouldn't want to work with a goddess that is all bad.
00:25:43
Speaker
Yeah. It doesn't make sense. No. So Nyx is the primordial goddess and personification of the night, venerated by the ancient Greeks and Romans. She's also known as the spirit of darkness, light, motherhood, fertility, death, mystery and the unknown, justice and magic.
00:26:02
Speaker
As a primordial deity, she is capable of controlling, altering, creating, and manipulating anything and everything in creation, and less a being equal or greater than her interferes. She has near supreme and absolute power over creation. She is also known to be immune to power, such as power absorption, power replication, and ability learning. The Romans also associated her with the hellish realm of death, magic, and witchcraft.
00:26:32
Speaker
She's the daughter of chaos, although sometimes it's just chaos, and then other times it's chaos and phonies. And she was said to not have been born on Earth, but within Gaia. Her siblings were Tartarus, Erebus, and Amor.
00:26:49
Speaker
and she's a primordial goddess, and she was believed to have been created near the beginning of time itself. Some of her lore states that she was the first of all creation, and I found this quote that came from the ancient Greek mythos that said, before there was anything, there was darkness or night, and it was there that Nyx came to be. She's the member of a group of primordial gods, which I've said multiple times, but they're known as the protogenoi.
00:27:17
Speaker
Which, if I'm saying that wrong, I looked up the pronunciations, and every single one of them said it that way, but it looks like a strange word. I don't know. This feels very wrong, but I'm gonna say it. She rules over the night, shocker. And her home is in the depths of the underworld in Tartarus, which is known as a place of torment, suffering, and darkness.
00:27:39
Speaker
She's said to be a very beautiful shadowy figure who's cloaked in dark robes that are covered by shining stars. Some lore describes her as a black-winged goddess that drives a chariot that is followed by the stars and she's sometimes even shown crowned with an aural of dark mists or like donning a wreath of poppy.
00:28:00
Speaker
She's said to ride across the heavens chasing Helios, the sun, in a chariot drawn by black horses, and sometimes she's accompanied by sleep personified. She married Erebus, the god of darkness, and their children were Hemera, who was day, and Ather, who was light.
00:28:17
Speaker
and it said that Hemera would return to their home in Tartarus at the end of the day when Nyx would leave the underworld to gather Erebus together. And the couple would bring nighttime upon the world and as the night drew to a close, Nyx would return to her home allowing Hemera to scatter Erebus once more and make Aether's presence known, which would then bring the day. And then Eos, the god of the dawn, would arrive and give the others a break. So it was like this perpetual cycle of them just like leaving their home, making it day and night.
00:28:47
Speaker
which I thought was kind of cool. That is cool. It reminds me of I can't remember exactly don't remember we've talked about this, but another. It was another pantheon. It was another pantheon. Yeah, I don't remember which ones it was. But I do. I when I was doing this, I was like, Oh, yeah.
00:29:03
Speaker
This sounds familiar, but two different gods and goddesses, I don't know. Here. She later had many more children, like Nix has a ton of children. So these are Hypnos, the god of sleep, Thanatos, the god of death, Eris, the god of strife, Jarrus, the god of old age, Moros, the god of doom, Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance, Apati, who is the goddess of deceit,
00:29:28
Speaker
Charis, the god of destruction, Dolos, the spirit of trickery, the Marae, which were the fates, the Hesperides, which were the keepers of the golden apples of immortality, Mollmus, the god of blame, Philotes, who was the goddess of friendship, Oysus, who was the goddess of misery, Shiron, the fairy man of the dead, and
00:29:52
Speaker
The Oneiroi, which were the gods of dreams, and some were states that the Marais served her and weren't actually her children, but for the most part they are listed under her children pretty much everywhere I look. It was a lot of children. Not only is it a lot of children, but it's like destruction, sleep, old age, strife, misery.
00:30:17
Speaker
Yeah, she made some some wild children. Yeah. So according to Hesiod's theogeny, she was the mother of numerous primordial powers that included the fates sleep, death, strife, nemesis, old age, and pain. So not only were they like gods and goddesses, but they were primordial powers.
00:30:36
Speaker
Throughout antiquity, Nyx was mentioned in poems and drawn in art, but she was very seldom worshiped. She is often described as having a motherly personality, being seen as warm and caring, and she's also said to treat those within her care like as her own children, and this is said to be seen within her relationships with Hades and Hecate.
00:30:58
Speaker
And so some of her lore, basically like some lore starts Nyx's story out with, in the beginning there was nothing, and then suddenly all came, being so different from nothingness that it bothered him. And in this lore, in particular, the nothing here is chaos, and the all was the Christian God. And the two basically get into this like very bloody war to determine who would dominate the void beyond all voids.
00:31:24
Speaker
And while God created like the Most High, being the immeasural power to help him, Chaos created a legion of primordials, and among them, Nyx and Erebus, who were the goddess and the god of night. So after the battle ended, Nyx and Erebus began having children of their own together, who became known as the prime evils. So she was important in the lore and mythology of the Orphic theogenes,
00:31:51
Speaker
So according to the Orphix, she was the daughter of Phanis, who was the original ruler of the cosmos. And in this version of Nyx's lore, she's the mother of Uranus, who she eventually passes her rule of the cosmos to, where she continued to serve Uranus as his successors from her, like, auricular cave as an advisor.
00:32:12
Speaker
And some of the Orphic accounts even note that she nursed the Titans and hid them from Uranus. But there I didn't like dig too deep into that one because I was like this is gonna be a whole nother story and we were already like a lot of information so if you're interested in that I would definitely look into it but the story was pretty interesting.
00:32:31
Speaker
According to the Iliad book 14, Nix is both older and stronger than Zeus. And because of this, she was the only goddess that he ever feared. Nix is one of the most powerful of the protogenoi. She was rivaled only by Erebus and Tartarus and surpassed only by Chronos and Chaos. So Hera had once asked Hypnos, who is Nix's son,
00:32:55
Speaker
to put Zeus to sleep so that she could plot against him. And when Hypnos' powers weren't enough to overcome Zeus, he began to hunt Hypnos. But when he sought refuge with his mother in her cave, basically Zeus just stopped the hunt because he was too afraid to anger Nyx. So he just gave up and returned home.
00:33:15
Speaker
thought you were big in bed, didn't you? He's like, oh, I'm going to get him. And he's like, mom, help. And he's like, never mind. And then some lore also ties Nix into Christian lore and the story of the great flood in the Bible. And I found this hilarious. And if you can hear my dogs, I'm sorry, they're just being crazy and wrestling in the hallway. Just big dogs. Yeah, it's Rune's birthday. So we can't be too upset.
00:33:44
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, so I found this really funny, but basically Nix was noted to have watched in quote unquote, utter glee as humanity was destroyed by the Christian God. But she accepted the fact that there were like a few survivors because she holds a grudging respect for humans.
00:34:03
Speaker
She holds animosity for humanity, despising what they are and what they did to her and her family throughout history. But like, she's like, well, they persevered. So basically like, they're cursing about one. Yeah, he comes up like wipes the earth out in the flood. And then like, Noah and his little family survive with like, apparently two of every animal. But I don't know how they got like polar bears and arctic foxes and penguins on this boat.
00:34:28
Speaker
right and then also like when you just screw in your kids like to read so many questions right some of these bible stories are wild to me but so she sees them survive and she's like i guess i can respect that
00:34:44
Speaker
I found this whole part of her lore hilarious to me. And then there's another version in her lore that omits chaos from the picture entirely, making Nyx the very first deity. So in this version, Nyx is said to have laid a silver egg in which all the gods would be born. And Orpheus claimed that the beginning of everything actually does come from Nyx. So
00:35:07
Speaker
She has some interesting lore, it's kind of mixed on whether she was a first deity or if she had parents and who these parents are or is even a little murky, whether it's Chaos or Vanis or if she just was the darkness at the beginning and was the creator, like the creator deity. So yeah, if you're interested in learning more, I would definitely say to research that because it is a little bit murky with her.
00:35:33
Speaker
But if you want to work with dicks, remember, as with any deity that you want to work with, you should study their lore and their mythology and their history first. You should spend time researching and getting to know any deity that you're interested in working with because you want to know what they're about and what you need to be doing to work with them.
00:35:51
Speaker
So for Nyx, her correspondences, her part of the day is the night. Day of the week is Monday. Colors, the two main colors for her are going to be black and silver, but also considered are gray, white, dark blue, dark green, and dark purple. Candles would be black or white. Domain is the night, creation, divination, and destruction.
00:36:15
Speaker
Animals are blackbirds, black voles, owls, dogs, serpents, bats, and black cats. Her medal is silver, her symbolism is the moon, stars, nighttime and darkness, dark mists, wings,
00:36:30
Speaker
chariots, the veil, and keys. Her crystals are agates, like basically any agate, obsidian, onyx, selenite, black tourmaline, moonstone, jet, hematite, black sapphire, and black calcite. Plants and herbs would be dahlias, canas, lobelia, tubros, night-blooming jasmine, poppies, moonflower, detura, and really just any night-blooming flower. And since hornix would be myrtle, aloes, and camphor,
00:36:59
Speaker
For perfumes, you could use white poppy, white rose, and wallflower. Offerings for nicks, incense, blackbird feathers, eggs or eggshells, moon water. For foods, eggs, beef, milk, black fruits, dark red wine, and dragon fruit.
00:37:16
Speaker
Her parable deities, if you're working with her and you want to bring in another deity, would be Hemera, Hecate, Diana, and Erebus. Her preferred offerings is anything star related, moon related, and milk. Her energies are primordial, cosmic, feminine, rebirth, transformation, connection to the spirit world, boundaries between realms, my dogs are being insane.
00:37:44
Speaker
trying to go through this and I just go rawr, rawr.
00:37:48
Speaker
They're living their best life. They really are. They really are. And then Nyx can be called forth for cleansing, protection, awareness of self and fertility and some ways that you can work with her. She's said to be extremely strict and it's said that she requires absolute honesty. And this is why it's important to do your research first because you should know what you're getting yourself into should you choose to work with her.
00:38:14
Speaker
Dedicate and alter space to Nyx, including things like the colors of night, like black and silver, candles, offerings, any representation of the night, or any of her correspondences. Another way to work with her would be to embrace the night. So this could mean that you do all of your work with Nyx after sundown. You could also do all of your work by candlelight only, instead of using, like, actual lighting. Just light some candles and work by them, or do your work outside during the night.
00:38:42
Speaker
moon rituals with the night being her domain. It would make sense that working alongside the moon would also make this list. Spend time learning astrology. The stars and the moon are part of her, therefore any kind of work with them does honor Nix.
00:38:58
Speaker
And then because Nyx is considered one of the goddesses of death, connecting to the dead is also a way to work with her. And then how to tell if she is calling you to work with her. You might feel a strong connection to the night. Maybe you feel more peaceful at night, or maybe like night is just important to you in some way. Or you might feel drawn to the darkness, drawn to death. Symbols like the stars and the moon appear to you often, and that's not just like
00:39:24
Speaker
I went outside at night and the stars in the moon were there, so Nix is calling to me. But like you're seeing these images, places that you typically wouldn't or they just keep popping up like in books or wherever you're, whatever you're doing, you're just seeing these things that could be like a sign that she's reaching out to you. You're drawn to uncovering things with your unconscious mind. Nix is said to help others deal with their most unconscious thoughts, beliefs and their past traumas.
00:39:49
Speaker
Please make sure that you understand that this can also be very hard or even painful, like for some people to work through and make sure you're taking care of your mental health should you decide to do so.
Episode Conclusion: Underworld Deities Fascination
00:40:02
Speaker
Go to a therapist first. Yes.
00:40:06
Speaker
We, you know, we tend to, we haven't had a lot of episodes lately where this has come up, but we are huge advocates of seeking therapy when you need to seek therapy and not struggling and doing things on your own or taking what people say on the internet or in a podcast to be like your therapy. You should like, if you need therapy, go to a therapist.
00:40:27
Speaker
And then lastly, if you see Nyx in your dreams, remember that she's capable of taking any form and could appear to you in dreams as like a dark mist or even just as the night herself. Her callings are often described as being very subtle by those that do work with Nyx. So it might not be something that's like in your face obvious, and it might take you like a few times before you even realize it. But those are some ways that she might be calling you to work with her. And that's an energy sounds really cool.
00:40:57
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Like, especially her being like, she's often depicted as sinister in a lot of Lauren mythology or like stories that use or nicks as a character. But in the research, it seems she's more like maternal, very like, motherly and caring and gentle. And so I don't know, I found it really interesting. That is very interesting. I love it.
00:41:22
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. So, you know, you were talking about like Hecate and like dogs and stuff, and all of our like all three dogs today have been on one. Yep. Well, you know what, maybe that's a sign of some of the really weird coincidences, which is what led me to want to research Hakate and learn more about her and
00:41:49
Speaker
Maybe this is another son. Who knows? She's like, all right, dogs, show them. And they're like, oh, we can show them. Yeah, we can show them. We're going to be overachievers today.
00:42:01
Speaker
But yeah, so that's some underworld deities. Yes, and there will be more. This is, I think, one of my favorite subsets of deities to research. It's just so interesting. And their lore is always, like any of the lore surrounding deities is interesting, but I feel like the underworld deities specifically, or the death deities, it's always so like, it's almost shrouded in mystery. Like even though
00:42:30
Speaker
there's information. The information often contradicts itself, whether they're sinister, whether they're good, you know, who their parents are. Because we went through this when we did the fates and the furies too, and the fates are tied to the underworld. I can't for the furies.
00:42:46
Speaker
I can't remember if the Furies were, but the fates being tied to the underworld, there was a lot of like, we don't really know who their parents are. Could be this one, could be that one. So it's really interesting to see like the mystery surrounding underworld deities, death deities, whatever you want to consider them. I love it. It is. And that's it. That's it. Toodles. See you next time.
00:43:18
Speaker
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00:43:34
Speaker
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00:43:53
Speaker
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