286 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard
plague humanity. Pandora closed the lid just in time to
prevent the escape of Hope, which remains as a comfort
in our most difficult times.
Prometheus knew that Zeus in his turn would
someday be overthrown by a new god, but refused to
tell who it would be. In a futile attempt to torture it
out of him, Zeus bound Prometheus with chains to
one of the Caucasus mountains, and sent his mighty
vulture/eagle to tear at his liver every day. As
Prometheus was an immortal, it grew back each night.
Eventually, he was released from this agony by Heracles.
In my youth, I so identified with Prometheus that
I took his as my first magickal name. His willingness
to defy the tyrannical King of the Gods to benefit
humanity has always had an irresistible appeal to me.
(Interestingly, the first safety matches, invented
in the early 1800s, were called “Prometheans.”)Inanna and Dumuzi
Inanna (ih-NAH-nah) was the
Queen of Heaven in ancient
Sumeria. Known as Ishtar (ISH-
tar) in later Babylon, she was
the most important God-
dess in Mesopotamia. De-
picted as richly dressed or
naked, Inanna is a God-
dess of love, fertility, and
war. She is also the personification of the planet Ve-
nus, symbolized by an eight-pointed star.
Her best-known story is called “Inanna’s Descent
into the Underworld.” Deciding to extend her dominion
over the lower world as she has the upper, Inanna
passes through seven gates and must leave something
behind at each one. She is stripped of her crown, her
scepter, her powers, her jewelry, her girdle, her
clothing, and finally even her name, entering Aralu,
the Underworld, naked and nameless. When she finally
gets there, her cruel sister Ereshkigal (air-ESH-ki-gol),
ruler of the realm, sentences her to death, hanging her
rotting corpse on a meathook.
With Inanna’s death, however, nothing would
grow on the Earth anymore. Wise Enki, high god of
creation and medicine, who held the secrets of life and
death, declared that Inanna could be reborn only if
someone took her place. She chose her husband
Dumuzi, god of vegetation, who from then on ruled
the Underworld for half the year. At the Fall Equinox,
the beginning of the Sumerian new year, Dumuzi re-
turned to the Earth. His reunion with Inanna revital-
ized all Nature.Isis and Osiris
Isis (IY-sis) was the Goddess most widely
worshipped by the Egyptians, and later, throughout
the Roman Empire. She was the Queen of Heaven and
Earth, and also ruled on the sea. Her brother andhusband was Osiris (oh-SYE-ris), the green god of the
fertile fields, representing the principle of Good. His
brother Set was the red god of the burning desert,
representing the principle of Evil.
Once Set overcame Osiris, cut-
ting his body into 14 pieces and scat-
tering them all over Egypt. Over
many months, Isis devotedly sought
and collected all the pieces but
one—his penis. She made him a
new one of wood, and then per-
formed special ceremonies with the
other gods to join all the
pieces together and restore
Osiris to life—just as the
crops cut down in the harvest spring forth again in
their season. Thus did Osiris become the god of resur-
rection and eternal life, as well as Lord of the Under-
world and judge of the dead. He is usually shown as a
wrapped mummy with a green face.
Isis bore Osiris a son, named Horus (HORE-us).
Commonly shown with the head of a hawk, he
represented the life-giving power of Ra, the Sun-god.
He fought and defeated Set, but lost an eye
in the battle. This “Eye of Horus” became
one of the most powerful symbols of
magickal protection, known as the udjat.Demeter, Persephone and Hades
Koré (KOE-ray) (“girl”), the flower-maiden, was
the daughter of Demeter (de-MEE-ter), Goddess of
agriculture. One day, when Koré was out picking flow-
ers, she espied a beautiful black narcissus. But its roots
went down to the Underworld. When she plucked it,
the ground split open, and grim Hadés (HAY-deez),
Lord of the Dead, rode out in his ebon chariot pulled
by fire-eyed black horses. He seized Koré and carried
her down to his dark realm of Erebos to become his
bride and queen. There she she was known by her true
name, Persephoné (pur-SEF-on-ee).
Demeter was so distraught over the disappearance
of her daughter that she ceased attending to the fertility
of the fields and wandered the world grieving in search
of Koré. Meanwhile, the Earth grew barren and
cold, as the first Winter settled over the land.
The people were starving due to
Demeter’s neglect and were no longer
able to make offerings to the Gods.
Zeus appealed to Demeter to relent,
but she insisted on the return of
her daughter. So
Zeus decreed that
Persephone must
be released—pro-
vided she had not
eaten anything
while in the
Underworld.- Spectrum 2.p65 286 1/15/2004, 9:31 AM