Witchvox Article

Author: Jonathan Sousa
Posted: April 13th. 2008
Times Viewed: 2,931

The following was originally written in 2005 for inclusion in the SOE liturgy for a joint celebration honoring the Feast of Heroes (Veteran's Day) and the Feast of Hekate and the Cthonoi (November 16). It was used as a prelude for attendees to approach the altar and make libations to their personal Heroes, living and dead. It has been updated in light of recent events, both local and worldwide.

What is Remembered, LIVES!

Blessed are the Heroes, who attest to our common humanity in the Family of our most Ancient Mother!

Among the varieties of Mediterranean Pagan cultures, the Heroes were honored as abridge between mortal and Immortal. A Grecian concept is that, aside from Initiates of the Mysteries, Heroes (or those who died a Heroic Death) were the only ones deemed virtuous enough to enter the Elysian Fields.

The cup has been filled with wine. The sacred bread rests upon the altar. The incense smoke carries our prayers upon the wings of the wind. Our hearts pierce the shadowed veil to touch upon that which honors the past and future, yet exists in the eternal present. The time is NOW!

To that end, I salute the Heroes and Heroines of yesteryear, today, and times yet to come.

I honor from antiquity: Trophonios, Orpheus, and Ascelepiaus, all sons of Apollo who, in dying before death could claim them, attained to immortality through sacrifice; Hypatia of Alexandria, famed as much for her wisdom as for her beauty; Heracles, a mighty son of Zeus; Medea, Hecuba, Kirke, and Kassandra, the handmaidens of the Gods renowned for their power, their passion, their pride; Pythagoroas, Empedocles, Pausianias, and Apollonius Tynaeus, sons of the Sun come to enlighten our minds; the blessed Emperor Julian, who worked to revive and elevate the Old Ways to their pristine glory, and who - for this "crime" - was killed with a spear in the thigh and branded forever an "apostate" by the Gallileans, though we who remember know him as the Ever Faithful; Praexturus and Pauline of Eleusis, last true hierophants of the Mysteries, who, realizing too late the arrogance of the Priesthoods in their marble palaces and the despondent cries of the People, were martyred when the Temple of Demeter was razed to the ground and salt sown where the fields of grain once stood; and Sappho, teacher of Lesbos, who cultivated the mind and the heart through the Poet's Art and mystical lore.

I honor those who lost their lives during the Dark Ages, who upheld the dignity of the Human Spirit and stood - sometimes unknowingly - against tyranny, hatred, and oppression. Of these, I include especially: Peter de Albano, Sibilia di Milan, Mariana, Jehan (Joan) of Arc, the good Christians of Salem Village persecuted based on outright lies, Giordano Bruno, Julia Brandon, Laura Milarepo, and those Witches of Naples who, seeking to restore the balance of Nature through willing sacrifice, while "holding hands together - chose their deaths in the Sea, while chanting the Praises of the Mother Goddesss"...

Further, I honor those who have been persecuted in the names of the false god, whose name is ignorance, delusion, and spite - the Burning Times are not dead: Matthew Shephard, slain because of the love that refuses to be named; Tempest Smith, who chose death rather than endure the bigotry and malice of her peers in school; those 20 beheaded in Indonesia during 2006 (at the hands of their own mothers and fathers) for hearing the call of the ancestral spirits; the 300 killed in Sudan THIS YEAR (2007) for healing with herbs, speaking with the Dead, and being unpopular, branded as sorcerers and workers of evil in the wake of an AIDS epidemic. I honor those taken in the genocide of Darfur, and any other places where tyranny yet lingers.

I honor those who, in the current age, knowing the true worth of Heroic sacrifice, gave of themselves completely to protect our liberty, our freedom, our faith, our pride, our lives. I honor those who died during the Day of Infamy on September 11, 2001 - be they soldier or civilian, business person or paramedic, millionaire or poverty stricken caught in the fall out, law enforcement or city official, of all Creeds, all Races, all Cultures, all Ways. I honor my grandfather William, who fought in America's forgotten war, who was finally immortalized 2 years before his death on a memorial monument in Warren, RI.

I honor the Heroes of the Present - who live to inspire. I honor those who defend this nation, be it through political activism, peaceful protest, armed service, or prayer. I honor those who, despite our differences, can build bridges and champion Truth. I honor those working to cure disease, to comfort the sick and broken-hearted. I honor those who lend a hand in aid, an ear to listen, and/or a shoulder to cry on. I honor the new mother giving birth to her child... the victim of abuse who faces their abuser... the battered and the rejected who say NO and NO MORE.

I honor the Heroes yet to come, ourselves and our children, and all the budding branches of the human family beyond this generation.

I call down the blessings of heaven
to hold us all to the highest and the best.
I call upon the deep powers of the Underworld,
being bold to rouse the sleeping shades,
to nurture and uphold the Laws of Truth.
I call upon the most holy Earth,
to be a firm foundation,
that our own efforts become a beacon
to lighten the roads of those yet to come!

No more shall we permit injustice. No more shall we cultivate hate. No more shall we live in fear. No more shall we allow evil to abide unchallenged.

As one, we move into the future. As one, we stand up for what is right.

Doing that, which is all that the Gods require,
we claim Their Power to change our World.

What is remembered LIVES.

Footnotes:
1. The Stars of Elysium (SOE) was in existence from Nov 2005 until Autumn of 2007. While loosely affiliated with the Hounds of Artemis as an Outer Court, it was a separate and distinct project sponsored and endorsed by the Holy Order of Triformis. SOE's purpose was twofold: A) to provide celebratory worship for the Immortals of Greece and Italy within the Pagan community of RI, CT, and MA, and B) a means for Pagans to help out in the greater community, through charity and awareness of humanitarian concerns (AIDS, Hurricane relief, environmental issues, etc) . Provided people could stand on sacred ground under a bond of Peace, SOE was decidedly a "non-member" based organization. We survive in RI Pagan history for providing one of the best public rituals i.e. our annual ritual to Hekate, the Underworld Powers, and the Heroes. The SOE materials are held in trust by Nemesis (its primary liturgist) on behalf of the Holy Order of Triformis.

2. The title "What is Remembered, LIVES" was inspired by a line from the Samhain/Spiral Dance ritual of the Reclaiming Tradition, provided to the San Francisco area community each Hallows-tide. Specifically, from the song they use to open the Gates between the worlds.

Copyright: (c) 2005, 2007 -- (The above was adapted from the Stars of Elysium liturgy for the Feast of Heroes (written by Nemesis in November 2005) i.e. Veterans Day. It has been updated in the light of recent events. Permission granted to repost, if you so desire, provided this notice accompanies it, and it is not changed in any way). ~~~ Nemesis (SilverRoseofDea@aol.com) ... (c) 2007.

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