Supernatural Friday: A Valentine's Day Myth: Psyche and Cupid

Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Born from the foam near the island of Cyprus, Aphrodite was a jealous and passionate goddess. Not only did she love the men and gods in her life, but her sons and grandchildren, as well. Sometimes her possessive instincts led her too far. It was when her son, Cupid found a human to love—one whose beauty might rival hers—Aphrodite did all in her power to thwart the marriage.

Psyche was worshiped for her beauty in her homeland. Angry, Aphrodite sent a plague and let it be known the only way the land could get back to normal was to sacrifice Psyche. Psyche who was also the king had Psyche tied up as a sacrifice from some presumed fearsome monster. It was Cupid who released and married the princess.

The young couple, Cupid and Psyche, were not allowed to have  a happy life together, but Aphrodite and Psyche’s own two jealous sisters worked to foul things up. 

Cupid was a wonderful lover and husband. There was one odd thing about their relationship though. He made sure Psyche never saw what he looked like. Psyche didn't mind, for she had a fulfilling night life in the dark with her husband, and during the day, she had all the luxuries she could ever want. When the sisters learned about the luscious, extravagant lifestyle of their lucky, beautiful sister, they urged her to pry into what he kept hidden from her. Cupid was a god, and gorgeous with Aphrodite for a mother. Except for reasons known best to him, he didn't want his mortal wife to see his form. Knowing their sister well, Psyche’s sisters preyed on her insecurities and persuaded her that her husband must be a hideous monster. Psyche assured her sisters they were wrong, but since she'd never seen him, even she started having doubts. To satisfy the girls' curiosity, she held a candle over her sleeping husband one night to look at him.

His angelic form was exquisite. While Psyche dawdled, ogling, a bit of wax dripped on her husband. Her awakened, irate, disobeyed, injured husband-angel-god flew away.

"See, I told you she was a no good human," said mother Aphrodite to her convalescing son Cupid. "Now you'll have to be content among the gods."

Cupid might have gone along with the de facto divorce, but Psyche couldn't. Impelled by love of her gorgeous husband, she implored her mother-in-law to give her another chance. Aphrodite agreed, but ungraciously, saying, "I cannot conceive that any serving-wench as hideous as yourself could find any means to attract lovers save by making herself their drudge; wherefore now I myself will make trial of your worth."

Aphrodite had no intention of playing fair and devised four tasks, each task more exacting than the last. Psyche passed the first 3 challenges with flying colors:

She sorted a huge mount of barley, millet, poppy seeds, lentils, and beans.

Ants (pismires) help her sort the grains within the time allotted. She did gather a hank of the wool of the shining golden sheep. A reed tells her how to accomplish this task without being killed by the vicious animals. She filled a crystal vessel with the water of the spring that feeds the Styx and Cocytus, wit the help of an eagle.

But the last task was too much for Psyche: she had to bring Aphrodite back a box of Persephone's beauty cream.  Going to the Underworld had proved a challenge for the bravest of the Greek mythical heroes. Psyche barely batted an eye when Aphrodite told her she would have to go to the most dangerous region known to mortals. That part was easy, especially after the tower told her how to find the entryway to the Underworld, how get around Charon and Cerberus, and how to behave before the Underworld queen. But the hard part was making herself beautiful. If the perfect beauty of the perfect goddess Aphrodite needed this Underworld beauty cream, how much more would it help an imperfect mortal woman? She got it, but went ahead and opened it and fell into a deathlike sleep. Just what Aphrodite wanted.

Thankfully, with Zeus' connivance, Cupid brought his wife to Olympus where, at Zeus's command, she was given nectar and ambrosia so she would become immortal. Finally Aphrodite reconciled with her daughter-in-law on Olympus, who was pregnant and was about to give birth to a grandchild the goddess would dote on.

 

Supernatural Friday: Myths of Wind

It's March 1st and sometimes March comes in like a lion, with heavy winds. Of course, it still being winter, understandable. But are there myths or legends about wind? Well. . . yes, there are.

The Kamaitachi—Japanese wind spirit—was traditionally classified as a wind yokai ("monster"). It is often associated with a trio of weasels with sharp claws, rides on a gust of wind and cuts peoples' skin on the legs. There are times that the three are described as brothers. Other times, as triplets. Yes, triplets can be brothers, but again, a female can be born among them, or all tree can be sisters.

A person walking in the mountains will be beset by a ferocious wind, and later discovered with deep but painless gashes in their skin as if by some very sharp instrument. The myth goes on to say that the first weasel knocked the unsuspecting victim down, the second cut the victim's flesh and the third applied medication to the wounds. By the time the victim realized what had happened, he/she were left only with painful wounds that weren't bleeding.

Now, Ysätters-Kajsa is a female wind-troll. People in the Swedish province of Närke used to believe in this creature. She was probably the only one of her kind in Scandinavia.

In Slavic mythology, the Raróg, sometimes also known as Zhar Ptitsa or Żar Ptak, is a hawk, falcon, or fiery dwarf, turning himself into a whirlwind. While in Lusatia and the Urals it is believe to throw a knife into a whirlwind, in order to kill the demon that resides inside it. Bulgarians, Russians, and Pommeranians cast themselves face down before a whirlwind, hoping to ward off misfortune and illness. As for Russians, they would shout "a belt around your neck!" in order to strangle the demon.

Shenlong literally "spirit dragon." This is a spiritual dragon from Chinese mythology that controls wind and rain. These giants floated across the sky and due to their blue color that changed constantly, made it difficult to see clearly. Shenlong governed the wind, clouds and rain on which all agrarian life depended. The Chinese took great care to avoid offending them. If the Shenlong grew angry or felt neglected, the result was bad weather, drought, flood or thunderstorms.

There was an Egyptian mother goddess, called the "Hidden One". She is the personification of the life-bringing northern wind, and often portrayed as a snake or a snake-head on which the crown of Lower Egypt rests.

The Anemoi were wind gods in Greek mythology. Each were ascribed a cardinal direction, from which their respective winds came, and were each associated with various seasons and weather conditions. They were sometimes represented as mere gusts of wind, at other times were personified as winged men, and at still other times were depicted as horses kept in the stables of the storm god Aeolus, who provided Odysseus with the Anemoi in the Odyssey. Astraeus, the astrological deity sometimes associated with Aeolus, and Eos, the goddess of the dawn, were the parents of the Anemoi, according to the Greek poet Hesiod.

Of the four chief Anemoi, Boreas was the north wind and bringer of cold winter air, Notus was the south wind and bringer of the storms of late summer and autumn, and Zephyrus was the west wind and bringer of light spring and early summer breezes; Eurus, the east wind, was not associated with any of the three Greek seasons, and is the only one of these four Anemoi not mentioned in Hesiod's Theogony or in the Orphic Hymns. Additionally, four lesser Anemoi were sometimes referenced, representing the northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest winds.

The first peoples of North America considered the wind to be a living force in and of itself. The wind to them is a god - a power that is capable of communicating a larger-than-life language to those who would hear it. Those who were certifiably authorized to interpret these cosmic messages were shamans, medicine men, and the wise and spiritual leaders among tribes.

The Inuit Indians had an Air Spirit among the ranks of their Sila (a term that means Wisdom and Weather). Their Air Spirit controls the seas, skies and wind. Although considered a kind and beneficial spirit, it strikes wrath against liars, beggars and theives in the form of illnesses. It is also blamed for bad weather and poor hunting.

Among the Micmac (a tribe belonging to the Wabanaki Confederacy native to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. They also migrated to Maine, US) there is a story of a hero named (in English) Strong Wind who turned evil people (specifically the nefarious sisters of his beloved) into aspen trees, and to this day he makes them tremble in fear when he comes near the aspen forest.

Outside of the US, the Aztec wind-god, Ehecatle (a facet of Quetzalcoatl), was believed to blow the moon and sun into orbit.

The legendary Thunderbird in North American indigenous peoples' history and culture is considered a "supernatural" bird of power and strength. The Thunderbird's name comes from that common belief that the beating of its enormous wings caused thunder and stirred the wind.

From a Native perspective, the wind seems to be personified as divine messenger, able to manipulate unseen energy.

Next time, bad weather hits your area, or a strong wind passes through, think of how many people long ago thought of these as gods, monsters and spirits.  Maybe a little appeasement on your part might not hurt?

Supernatural Friday: A Valentine's Day Myth: Psyche and Cupid

Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Born from the foam near the island of Cyprus, Aphrodite was a jealous and passionate goddess. Not only did she love the men and gods in her life, but her sons and grandchildren, as well. Sometimes her possessive instincts led her too far. It was when her son, Cupid found a human to love—one whose beauty might rival hers—Aphrodite did all in her power to thwart the marriage.

Psyche was worshiped for her beauty in her homeland. Angry, Aphrodite sent a plague and let it be known the only way the land could get back to normal was to sacrifice Psyche. Psyche who was also the king had Psyche tied up as a sacrifice from some presumed fearsome monster. It was Cupid who released and married the princess.

The young couple, Cupid and Psyche, were not allowed to have  a happy life together, but Aphrodite and Psyche’s own two jealous sisters worked to foul things up.

Cupid was a wonderful lover and husband. There was one odd thing about their relationship though. He made sure Psyche never saw what he looked like. Psyche didn't mind, for she had a fulfilling night life in the dark with her husband, and during the day, she had all the luxuries she could ever want. When the sisters learned about the luscious, extravagant lifestyle of their lucky, beautiful sister, they urged her to pry into what he kept hidden from her. Cupid was a god, and gorgeous with Aphrodite for a mother. Except for reasons known best to him, he didn't want his mortal wife to see his form. Knowing their sister well, Psyche’s sisters preyed on her insecurities and persuaded her that her husband must be a hideous monster. Psyche assured her sisters they were wrong, but since she'd never seen him, even she started having doubts. To satisfy the girls' curiosity, she held a candle over her sleeping husband one night to look at him.

His angelic form was exquisite. While Psyche dawdled, ogling, a bit of wax dripped on her husband. Her awakened, irate, disobeyed, injured husband-angel-god flew away.

"See, I told you she was a no good human," said mother Aphrodite to her convalescing son Cupid. "Now you'll have to be content among the gods."

Cupid might have gone along with the de facto divorce, but Psyche couldn't. Impelled by love of her gorgeous husband, she implored her mother-in-law to give her another chance. Aphrodite agreed, but ungraciously, saying, "I cannot conceive that any serving-wench as hideous as yourself could find any means to attract lovers save by making herself their drudge; wherefore now I myself will make trial of your worth."

Aphrodite had no intention of playing fair and devised four tasks, each task more exacting than the last. Psyche passed the first 3 challenges with flying colors:

She sorted a huge mount of barley, millet, poppy seeds, lentils, and beans.
Ants (pismires) help her sort the grains within the time allotted. She did gather a hank of the wool of the shining golden sheep. A reed tells her how to accomplish this task without being killed by the vicious animals. She filled a crystal vessel with the water of the spring that feeds the Styx and Cocytus, wit the help of an eagle.
But the last task was too much for Psyche: she had to bring Aphrodite back a box of Persephone's beauty cream.  Going to the Underworld had proved a challenge for the bravest of the Greek mythical heroes. Psyche barely batted an eye when Aphrodite told her she would have to go to the most dangerous region known to mortals. That part was easy, especially after the tower told her how to find the entryway to the Underworld, how get around Charon and Cerberus, and how to behave before the Underworld queen. But the hard part was making herself beautiful. If the perfect beauty of the perfect goddess Aphrodite needed this Underworld beauty cream, how much more would it help an imperfect mortal woman? She got it, but went ahead and opened it and fell into a deathlike sleep. Just what Aphrodite wanted.

Thankfully, with Zeus' connivance, Cupid brought his wife to Olympus where, at Zeus's command, she was given nectar and ambrosia so she would become immortal. Finally Aphrodite reconciled with her daughter-in-law on Olympus, who was pregnant and was about to give birth to a grandchild the goddess would dote on.