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Order
of the White Moon Presents
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Danu GrayWolf
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This website created as a level three final project for Sisters in Celebration.
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Hygeia is the Goddess of health and healing. She is the daughter of Asklepios (Asclepius), the god of medicine, and the companion of Aphrodite. Her mother is Epione, the Goddess of the soothing of pain. (Other accounts claim her mother is Athena.) Her sisters are Panakeia, the Goddess who cures all, and Iaso, the Goddess of Remedies. The Romans named Hygeia “Salus”.
Most sculptures show Hygeia holding a large snake. This serpent is usually wrapped around her body and drinking from a “patera” or medicine bowl that Hygeia holds in her other hand. Hygeia is where we received the concept of good hygiene. She is not only the Goddess of “healing” but she is also the Goddess of “the prevention of disease and consistent good health”.
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The following is a direct quote from Wikipedia regarding Hygeia, taken from Plutarch. Life of Pericles 13.8:
"Athena Hygieia" was one of the cult titles given to Athena, as Plutarch recounts of the building of the Parthenon:
“A strange accident happened in the course of building, which showed that the goddess was not averse to the work, but was aiding and co-operating to bring it to perfection. One of the artificers, the quickest and the handiest workman among them all, with a slip of his foot fell down from a great height, and lay in a miserable condition, the physicians having no hope of his recovery. When Pericles was in distress about this, the goddess [Athena] appeared to him at night in a dream, and ordered a course of treatment, which he applied, and in a short time and with great ease cured the man. And upon this occasion it was that he set up a brass statue of Athena Hygeia, in the citadel near the altar, which they say was there before. But it was Phidias who wrought the goddess's image in gold, and he has his name inscribed on the pedestal as the workman of it.[1]”
As Goddess of healing, Hygeia is known for healing both the physical and the mental ailments of people and animals. She is a very practical Goddess, advising rest, healthy diet, cleanliness and sometimes medicines for good health, and is an advocate for preventing pain and disease. This application coincides with most holistic practitioners today. Naturopaths and holistic practitioners believe that it is much better for one’s body when disease is prevented in the first place, instead of waiting until illness to begin treatments of symptoms. Ayurvedic medicine claims that when the body’s doshas are in balance, the body has the opportunity to regenerate.
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Ritual for calling in healing Hygeia energy Tools needed: Smudge tools Ritual: Take a ritual bath. Call your circle, inviting Hygeia to join you, as well as your spirit guardians and helpers. Raise energy by doing some form of exercise, such as the examples listed above. Feel free to use a video/dvd if you need to. Do not over work your body; simply move into the postures, forms, etc. until you feel your body has received enough exercise to be warm and flexible. Sit in your altar space and feel the blood flowing through your body, warming your limbs, making your heart beat. Take deep breaths and appreciate how alive you feel in this moment. (Steep your tea, if you chose this drink, right after your exercise so it will still be hot at this point.) Take your drink and savor it. Feel it run down your throat into your stomach. Ask Hygeia if there is anything you can do to improve your health. Notice any impressions, visuals, or thoughts that come. Sit with your drink in quiet contemplation and gratitude until you have finished it. Thank Hygeia for giving you the wisdom and strength to keep your body in balance. Give gratitude to your helpers. © September 10, 2008 Danu Gray Wolf |
This is not your normal “bring in healing energy” ritual. Hygeia is not a Goddess who just flashes out healing to you and you are well; she brings wisdom to her daughters, and she teaches us how to heal ourselves. I am not saying that she will not heal you if you are sick; I am suggesting, based on my research that she tends to impart wisdom to us. She teaches us to care for ourselves; the ball is in OUR court…we determine based on our actions whether or not we will be well. Following Hygeia, therefore, is a serious daily commitment that you make to her and to yourself.
“…good health isn’t the absence of trauma or pain, but rather, the most complete embodiment of our authentic selves. The depth of sensation, emotion and experience. The fullness of expression and response. The fulfillment of our passions and our purpose, our destiny and our dreams. It’s how we live, more than how long. “Wellness” means living well: consciously and compassionately, artfully and purposefully.” ~ Jesse Wolf Hardin
Sources:
http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/AsklepiasHygeia.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygieia
http://library.thinkquest.org/26264/inhabitants/gods/lesser/site010.htm
Pictures are statues available for sale at http://www.goddessgift.net/page46.html
Quote by Jesse Wolf Hardin taken from Anima blog at http://animacenter.org/blog/?p=286 permission is always freely given.