**Oracular Forecast – Eleventh Year of the Treasury – Perihelios (I), 2023
Perihelios (I) Dec. 24 – Jan. 21, 2022/2023
(Ο) Omicron, (Ι) Iota, (Ζ) Zeta
Remember that the effects of your actions will never be limited only to those whom you wished to effect; you are not immune to you own machinations. All that is done has an outcome that can not always be foreseen by mortal eyes. Neither is it the responsibility of the Gods to warn us of all the dangers we might set lose upon ourselves and others. The other side to this knowledge, is that through carefully attending to the motions we place, we might be able to nurture a positive outcome– but only if we remain diligent. This means we must continually monitor our designs, so they are in accord with what is necessary, not only what is desired. And there are times when the necessary includes retreat, for we can not be expected to foresee or affect only positive outcomes; or to wage wars beyond our capabilities in the aftermath.
**All Oracular Forecasts are divined twice a year, on Aegletia 7, and Ktistêsia.
What is fear but Your warm embrace, my Lord, which reminds me that I am precious; that my life is worthy of the cost of living? You stimulate my instincts and my sense of preservation.
What is fear but a catalyst to greater things; greater awareness of my limitations, and of the impact of my will unrestrained? You restrict my maneuvers when I’ve thought less about them than my desire.
What is fear but a dissonant chord struck to wake me from unproductive dreams; from stagnation and complacency, from perilous behaviour and inaction? You liven me to move when stillness threatens to expose or suffocate me.
What is fear but Your Will made evident within the wilderness of this, our modern age; a reminder of that which must be conquered, O Conquerer; of that which must be resisted with every breath of human life? You revivify my oaths to be true and loyal to none and nothing other than what serves the greatest good within my own ability to accomplish.
And for this, Apollon, my Beloved Lord, I thank You.
— Columbine, Aegletia, Day 4, 2022
Day 4
*Celebrating Leto and the ferocious spirit the Holy Twins have inherited from Their Mother.
**Acknowledging risk, danger, fear, and the unknown; existing within the liminal spaces of existence.
**Oracular Forecast – Tenth Year of the Treasury – Perihelios (I), 2022
Perihelios (I) Jan. 3 – Feb. 1, 2022
(Σ) Sigma, (Δ) Delta, (M) Mu
Do not back down. You will not be bulldozed over by any assailant, so why would you allow them to believe, even for one second, that they will drive you out of your own house? You have built this place from the foundation stone, and are its caretaker. Do not flee the foe, for like a dry branch in the wind, they will snap in half, leaving only you, and bitter dreams carried away, like leaves. Even that which has stood a thousand years, is eroded in the wind, and no institution can withstand the force of Truth, and solidarity. Unjust rules should never be adhered to in right conscience. This labor must be paid, for the betterment of all. Everyone. Even the adversary– for Apollon does not discriminate in the healing arts. Healing and destruction are well met on the path, and so to heal, we must destroy what prevents that healing in the first place.
**All Oracular Forecasts are divined twice a year, on Aegletia 7, and Ktistêsia.
Hands clasped in comfort. Royalty free image, found via Google.
In previous years, the focus of the Treasury’s Aegletia articles has mainly been about how to celebrate within a group dynamic, or family unit. But not every worshipper is aligned within such a dynamic. In order to have this addressed, this year, Apollon called me to contribute insights and suggestions on how one might do so with only onself, and the Gods. That is why this year’s series is titled: Aegletia, Solo.
It hasn’t been particularly difficult to adapt the Illuminations, with a sigular celebrant in mind. There have been years when I myself was effectively alone in celebration. With a teenager and a very young child, I can not always entice or persuade them to participate very much. So, I know what it is to enjoy this festival with just my Gods to keep me company.
But today is the Seventh Illumination; Fellowship. How can one who may be without any kind of fellowship, even children, partake of this day’s themes in an authentic and participatory way? Well, it’s quite easy, actually. All we have to do is remember, that though we may be separate from one another, we are in fact, not alone in our celebrations.
You, in your home or other prepared space, and I, in mine, are very much experiencing the Aegletia in tandem. There are individuals all around the Earth, each making their own contributions to Apollon’s festival, each in loving communion with our Lord, His Sibling and Mother– and also with us. We are not alone, and it has been this way from the very beginning.
Before the festival was given the name Aegletia, before even the foundation of the Treasury itself, in that very first year of celebration in 2011, I did not do so alone. Certainly, I was the only celebrant in my household, but at least one other person also marked the occasion of nine days, in the seclusion of their own home. I know this to be a certainty. Fellowship has been a part of this celebration since its very inception.
So, if you find yourself hesitating on the day of the Seventh Illumination, know this: we are here with you. We are links intertwined; a chain that reaches back for a decade— because this, my darlings, is the tenth Aegletia. For ten years we have reached out, together, to Apollon, our Lord, Prince, and King. For ten years, He has accompanied us in our fervor. This celebration was established to bring together those who would honor Him at the turning of the seasons toward winter, when after joining us to accept our loving farewells, Apollon would continue on to Hyperborea. And together, we have bid Him many fond farewells.
This is the tenth. It will not be the last. Take heart in the knowing of the many who have come before you, those who remain, and those yet to come. All of us together form Apollon’s Treasury. You, I, my Sisters– and all the masses of individuals from all over the world. We are His gift to one another, and we will hold each other up in Fellowship– today, tomorrow, this year, and for so many years to come.
Blessed is the Treasury of Apollon, both outer and inner circles, beloved of our Lord; and Blessed is the Bright One, Himself, for whom we each have burned, and will burn again!
“Flower Still Life in a Glass Vase”, by Catharina Ykens.
Beauty, the Sixth Illumination of Aegletia, I’ve found to be among the most accessible. It requires nothing but an open heart– no accoutrements or props are neccessary. We need only bring the love we share with Apollon, and the Godesses Leto and Artemis, along with our love for ourselves. There are many things, I’d wager, to love about ourselves. Each unique individual is a sublime work of art, and as long as we showcase that art in ways that bring us, and the Gods, joy, we celebrate beauty.
Beauty is a bridge that brings people, and Deities, together. It is a glue that helps to give love cohesion. When we share a loving moment with a friend, as our Gods may often be to us; or when we pour that love out in the form of art, poetry, and the like; we are undertaking the mightiest forms of ritual, as is stated in the Charge of the Goddess, that many of us are familiar with, and draw inspiration and solace from.
Apollon is never opposed to beautiful expressions of love, whether they stem from Wicca or Hellenism, or some other place or paradigm. And today, He is most welcoming.
So, whatever it is that you want to share with Him– be it a form of “scripture” that brings you peace, a collection of your favorite poetry, lovely art to gaze upon, a dance that you’ve choreographed (or one recorded in media), a film that once left you speechless, or something that only you can think of– do so with your whole heart open, and recieve the unmired beauty of His love, in return. Feel it, and know Him in your very bones.
Beauty, my darlings, is the breath of Apollon’s every exhalation, and we are each blessed to be shown this beauty, through our worship of Him.
Praise be to Apollon, Artemis and Leto, on this, the Sixth Illumination of Aegletia!
Allegorical scene, probably the Goddess Leto. Attributed to José Mirabent y Catell.
Who is Leto? Who is Leto in relation to Her Children? Who is Leto outside of that relation, and why would one choose to honor Her as more than the Mother of Artemis and Apollon? Surely this is all She is. After all, this seems to be all that survives of our knowledge of Her from antiquity. This is not true of course; surviving lore notwithstanding. Once one makes a commitment to getting to know this Goddess, on Her own terms, one quickly finds not only the demure Consort, smiling placidly under thick veils meant to enforce an otherworldly (and necessary) distance, but also a very vibrant, opinionated, and dangerous beauty. But what could be so dangerous about a perpetual mother figure? What indeed….
I think oftentimes the pride Leto bears for Her offspring allows us to overlook the life She led prior to Their births, and the fervent cultus that followed after Her, in Her own right. Leto allows this because She is indeed not boastful of Herself, alone. A Goddess who enjoys very much the trinity She shares with Her Children, She seems to prefer to be remembered relative to Them. And we honor Her when we honor Them. Yet, I posit here that we must not forget who Leto is and was to the people who praised Her for Herself.
So, who is Leto? She is a Goddess of change, and of carnage. A Goddess who sees the truth of what must be, and makes it happen. She is not passive. She is not weak, in any sense of the word. Leto wields Her life, Her honor, and Her will like the edge of a sabre, cleaving through obstacles as if they were mere sport. Because She thrives on opposition, is a bold strategist, and sways with the slightest glance, as well as the clever word. She became Zeus’ Consort through sheer force of will, and not a small amount of mystery.
She who owns Herself, only reveals Herself to those She chooses. Leto chose Zeus. She who owns Herself is not intimidated by those who have come before. Leto won Hera’s respect by respecting Herself; by knowing Her worth and bargaining to bring that value into the Court on Olympos. Ever confident, and ever gracious is the Goddess Leto, who is also the Mother of Wolves, seeking Her prey with bared fangs.
Leto walks the line between regal and feral. She is the embodiment of feminine duality (which is not and never was exclusive to ciswomen), and through Her guidance and example, we all may learn to carry our will as both a weapon to be admired for its edge, and a gift to be bestowed upon those we choose.
In this sense, we are also children of Leto, supping at the foot of our Blessed Mother. So in the end, although we have acknowledged that much of Her sphere lay outside the confines of Motherhood, we see that, by Her own design (as all things in Her life are), even what lay outside, is fully integrated into Her most well understood Divine properties. She both is, and is not defined by Her own perception of Her role as Mother.
I invite you to continue this contemplation before a representation of Leto, on this, the fourth day of Aegletia. Behold Her Glory, and attempt to understand these mysteries, as they relate to you personally. I can only impart my own impressions, and the Goddess Herself is supreme in knowing the ways and properties of Her domain. Seize this opportunity to be with Her, to learn directly from Her, for She is not often so accessible, choosing mostly to remain Our Lady, Ever Removed.
Also, keep in mind that you may or may not come to the same conclusions I have. It’s taken me years to come this far. We all interpret information differently, and we don’t all receive the same information, to begin with. Settle your own mind, in your own way.
Hail, Leto, Blessed of Herself! Hail, Leto, speaking quiet truths! Hail our Lady, Mother of the Twins, Most Magnificent! Hail, Leto, Consort of Zeus, and counterpart to Hera, our Queen!
Hail, Leto, in Her own right!
Hail, Leto, of the Blessed Veil!
“Leto, pregnant with the twins Artemis and Apollo, with the eagle of Zeus at her feet”, by Hendrik Goltzius.
O Blessed Mother, veiled and mysterious, shrouded in twilight, obscured in the light; we see You on the brink of night and day. This morning/evening, Your pull is evident, both viscerally and emotionally!
I felt what holy terror pools beneath Your feet, lapping at our tender ankles; and I have felt the love which You, Righteous Mother, have offered up to the world! You are like a star of the North, and Your radiance becomes You, O Leto!
Mother of Artemis, Mother of Apollon, prideful Consort of Zeus, we revere and embrace You, and Your audacity! Through Your will, You earned the Queen’s favor, and Her respect, and thus was a home made for You, beside the King!
Yet the Queen’s favor is as harsh as Hera is unyielding, and Her respect comes at a price. So did You, Leto, then traverse the earth for Your birthing place; such was the Trial of the Queen.
Fleeing pursuit beside a flowing river, You rested, and Artemis came. Later, when You were spent from the necessity of travel, when no known land would allow You true respite, the island Delos, land of Asteria, rose from the grave-like sea, Her rocky soil offering rest and peace.
And upon Your Sister’s body, newly reborn from the briny waters, did You labor greatly, for nine days and nine nights!
Hearing Your pangs, O Mother, Goddesses descended from Their thrones, coming swiftly to Your aid! Within Your unbound cries, Goddess Most Striking, the glorious truth was revealed! A Son would be born to Zeus!
A mighty Son, a haughty Son. A Prince most supreme, and the Goddesses came; all but Eileithyia, Hera’s own.
But there was to be no worry, for even as Eileithyia longed to perform Her duty, so too did Bright Artemis, infant already born! Clever was She even then; and pragmatic. Listening to Eileithyia’s whispers, those concealed by Your own cries, Leto, Brave Artemis delivered Your Son into the world!
Such was His beauty, such was His power– newly beheld– that all Goddesses present were moved in awe!
This, dear and Blessed Leto, is how Apollon, Your magnificent Son, our Lord, was born!
If these words have pleased and enticed You, O Lady, join us at our table! Join us along side Artemis, and along side Apollon! If we have made You feel loved and welcome, be pleased to sit with us in honor!
We have laid these offerings out before You, in feast. We pour libations to You. We have set aside a place, just for You!
For all that You are, Wolf Mother, for all that You have done and will do, we give our thanks, love and reverence!
Blessed are You, Leto! Blessed is Artemis! And blessed is Apollon, our Lord!
“Birth of Diana and Apollo under the palm tree of the island of Délos”, by Alexandre-Denis Abel de Pujol.
Artemis of the Wilds, we invite You in, Mistress who ensures good health through the culling of the herds!
We invite You in to sit at our table, and to be served on this joyous occasion, that which we have prepared in feast for Your honor, and the honor of Apollon, Your Brother!
Come now, if You please, to sit in comfort and merriment, to lounge within His sway, and to bless us also with Your enduring grace, O Artemis who mirrors our Lord’s light in the darkness!
First, were You born beside the river, causing no pain to Your Mother, such is Your power; then did You, infant still, deliver Apollon, our Shining Lord, beneath the fronds of the palm, whose shade cooled dear Leto during Her ordeal!
Nine nights did She labor, and nine are the nights of the Aegletia! Nine nights did you remain by Her side, and for this and all Your other glories, we honor You, as You are!
Artemis, You are blessed, and we, made stronger by our love for You! Artemis, who is in eternal compliment to our Lord, may You receive our thanks as You recieve these libations, and partake of this meal, laid out before You in reverence!
“Apollo and Diana Slay the Children of Niobe”, by Jan Boeckhorst.
As I (Lykeia) am getting closer to the conclusion of my pregnancy, Leto has been on my mind a lot as she was during my previous pregnancy. I have been trying to find a way to work her into the domestic calendar of my household just because she is such an important goddess, and then it occurred to me, given her associations with the underworld and with motherhood, it would be the most appropriate to honor the goddess just prior to the sunset signifying the beginning of Noumenia as the goddess of the previous period that has died and gone and mothering the new month brought forth by Apollon Noumenios even as she mothered him. It would be akin too to a birth of a new day via the night shroud of the goddess who herself has been described as being darkly garbed in a very concealing and obscure manner.
In some ways the close association with motherhood and the dead is kind of an odd one, but yet in other ways it makes sense, especially given just how dangerous of a time child birth was in the life of a woman. So much so that the clothes of mothers who died in childbirth were offered to Artemis at Brauron. Likewise the transmission of new life into being is so like that of death that it requires a certain period of miasmatic influence from the presence of the spirits and beings associated with death as would a person upon dying (but perhaps less so since the purification period is considerably shorter than the 30 days following the day of a person). Still the very real link between birth and death as having a common access is one that really indicates strongly the nature of Leto as both an underworld goddess and a mother goddess. Especially in cults that believed in reincarnation, we could see this exemplified as a return of souls via the mother as portal. In some ways this may also be linked to an association with Demeter in which the grain goddess in some versions is also the a mother of the god Iakkhos in the netherworld, Demeter herself regarded at times as a mother of the dead likely in a similar manner in which the stones of the earth are linked to the bones of one’s ancestors. The dead and the tomb is intricately linked to the advent of new life. As a goddess linked to the tomb and underworld she is thus the ultimate mother of life. Even her mild, often sweet-tempered and calming disposition (when not riled into anger) is very suggestive of her underworld connection as a kindly being that brings rest and comfort to the souls of the dead even as she grants forth the souls of infants to inhabit the wombs of mothers.
It is of little wonder that creatures that go beneath into the hidden realms of the earth are largely sacred to her, such as bees (creators of sweet elixir) who build hives in the roots of trees, in the earth…and in the myth of her grandson Aristaios in the carcass of bulls, frogs which multiply in great numbers beneath the surfaces of ponds and are intimately connected with the underworld as we see in the play “Frogs” where they keep the nursery of Apollon’s reeds (another teasing connection of birth place and the underworld), earth-denning wolves, as well as serpents and shrew (especially in connection with her syncretism with the Egyptian goddess Wadjet) that likewise nest within the ground and spawn numerous offspring from these recesses. Symbolically then it may seem that the earth itself is spawning the young of these creatures from deep within.
As this makes her even more so a great candidate as the mother of Noumenia, even as her niece Hekate closes the month. This will be a great continuation of what I am already doing at the doorway in which she is the deity I address first in my prayers, as mother of the underworld, mother of mothers, mother of the portal and sacred gates. This has become such a significant part of my understanding of the nature of this goddess and it has had a profound impact on the way I am building my relationship with her and her presence in my oikos. Hail Leto!
“Landscape with Aeneas at Delos”, by Claude Lorrain.
I have written often of Apollon’s term in Hyperborea. Of course when it comes to the cycles of Apollon in Hyperborea there are scholarly discussions of the god traveling to Hyperborea only once every 9 years, thus uniting it with the 9 year cycle of the original organization of the Pythian Games. This would be before the games were later reorganized in four year periods like those of the Olympic games. Now if these scholars are correct and the games were synchronized with the departure and return of Apollon to Delphi then would have his absence in Hyperborea been moved by the Delphians to coincide with the new date of the games? I don’t think anyone has successful answered this to my satisfaction.
Largely among modern worshipers we honor it as a yearly event, which seems to be inspired by a departure and return which we have from Delos. At Delos we have a mingling of the Hyperborean myth with that of the Lycian myth in which Apollon both returns from Hyperborea, with the maidens, and the Old Man of Lycia is paramount, who not only returns Apollon from Lycia to Delos, but also attends to the building of the temple of Apollon at Delphi with the Hyperborean men (at least one of whom, Agyieus, is Apollon…but quite likely both are used symbolically to represent different manifestations of Apollon as the builder of Delphi). For as most are probably familiar, Leto, after birthing her children on Delos, proceeds to carry them to the Xanthus in Lycia. This journey is also bound up in the tale of the Lycian frogs, as well as the unification of Xanthus with Apollon, Artemis and Leto in the forces preserving Troy in the Iliad.
In Delian tradition, despite its early history with the myth of Hyperborea, we have a yearly departure of Apollon to Lycia, where Apollon had his winter oracle. Thus the year was divided equally between Delos and in Lycia on the division of the year by the equinoxes. I think that this seasonal abode of the god for half of the year is also what is chiefly tied to the idea presented by Pausanias from Arcadia, of Apollon being one of two seasonal gods. This, from spring equinox to the autumn equinox, is the time of the year in which Apollon’s domain is acting in nature the strongest. If I remember correctly the Delian calendar differed from the Attic calendar in that it began its year on the Noumenia following the equinox, whereas in the Doric calendar it followed the autumnal equinox. With the case of Delos this makes particular sense as the year begins with the return of Apollon from Lycia.
Lycia of course has an interesting place in all of this. Like what is speculated of Hyperborea, Lycia is a very real place, but also serves as a kind of spiritual place as well. Apollon when called the one who is born in Lycia, the Lycian lord, refers perhaps less to the physical place Lycia, but rather to that Apollon is born in light (as Lycia, refers to wolf, from which we get the myths of Leto being led to Xanthus by wolves, and light just as much as Apollon’s epithet Lykeios). In all regards we see Lycia being accounted as sacred to Apollon as much as Hyperborea has been attributed. In the Iliad the people of Lycia were considered particularly those people of Apollon in a manner I find common with the views regarding the Hyperboreans.
This is not to suggest that Lycia and Hyperborea are the same place, though descriptions following the Orphic Argonautika and academic studies does suggest a possible link of Hyperborea with eastern Europe following along the Danube river to the North. So it is *possible* that there may have been an idea of a relationship between the eastern Lycians and the Hyperboreans who were said to have traveled initially to Delos. That we have the Old Man of Lycia appearing with the Hyperboreans in Delian myth does give a certain strength to this, as with the arrival of Apollon with the Hyperborean maidens, knowing that Apollon has traveled to Lycia in the Delian cycle. So perhaps it was conceived that Hyperborea was located in close proximity to Lycia, or within reasonable distance to each other that would bring the Lycians and Hyperboreans in company together in their legendary arrival to Delos.
Whether Delphi eventually picked up this yearly calendar of Apollon’s movement from Delos is rather unknown, though most modern worshipers tend to experience and worship it as a yearly event rather than following the Delphic calendar in which Apollon was gone for a year once every nine years. It is possible that Delphi, after the movement of the games, altered their celebrations of the movement of the mythos. I have suggested before that people who want to incorporate both Hyperborea and Lycia in their worship of Apollon can do so without any problems. Either by observing yearly trip to Lycia and then every nine years a Hyperborean trip, or by linking the concepts of the travel to Hyperborea and Lycia. If there is anything in any probability of a relationship between Lycia and Hyperborea then it may make further sense to do so.
We can thus celebrate Apollon who is in abode of the light, where the gardens of Hyperborea flourish, where the swans sing, where gold deer graze, and there dwelling people beloved by Apollon, in a land abundant in fruits and holy grain in this glorious land. Which has less to do with geography and more to do with ongoing spiritual symbolism and the kingdom of Apollon in general. And as scholars have been confounded by the lack of evidence in the geographical regions that are ascribed to Lycia, or rather a lack of early period evidence of the kind that would back up such a physical transmission, it is quite plausible that Lycia was treated in terms much like that of Hyperborea. Mostly conceptualized in a spiritual direction, inspired by a place and people rather than Apollon literally taking up residence every winter in Lycia. Thus his oracle was therefore probably viewed in the same concept of being “away,” without it actually being moved to another physical location. As such the symbolism between what is going on with Hyperborea and that going on with Lycia is united in its ideology.
Treasury of Apollon 