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Nymphaion
I sometimes draw inspiration for magical work from classical literature. In Book 13 of the Iliad (How Odysseus Came to Ithaca), Homer describes a cave in the harbor of Phorcys at the island of Ithaca. This cave is sacred to the water nymphs known as Naiads. There actually exists a "Cave of the Nymphs" in Ithaca, also called "Marmarospilia." However, I was more interested in some of the esoteric hints that can be found in this passage.
The first hint regards timing, as Homer describes when the sailors transporting Odysseus arrive at the harbor. Note that Odysseus is also asleep.
The brightest star at dawn is Venus, the morning star. The olive tree is a symbol of Athena. The proximity to a spring of nymphs calls to mind the fate of Tiresias who was struck blind by a bathing Athena. The presence of honey may allude to Ambrosia, the nectar of the gods. The "sea-purple" cloth may allude to Tyrian purple, a dye made from the secretions of sea snails. Lastly, we see that mortals enter from the north and descend into the cave. Gods and immortals enter from the south, perhaps from a smaller hole in the southern ceiling like the cave in modern-day Ithaca.
Materials
I often use my home shower as part of a regular healing practice. As time has passed, my shower and bathtub have become imbued with the natural healing energies of water. Perhaps I could boost the efficacy of this effect by introducing a little Naiad magic. The first task I set myself was to find a Naiad and barter for a some power. Luckily, I knew where some Naiads might be hanging around.
As alluded to by the passage in the Odyssey, this operation is essentially Venusian. This meant that I'd be better off with minimal planning and let Intuition and Desire lead the way. Whatever I was making needed to have some way to "turn on" and "turn off" to avoid attracting errant deities (and incidental blindness). The entrance to my bathroom is coincidentally on the north side, though I didn't think the direction mattered much in this case. Nothing about the passage indicated to me that anything special need be done with the Anemoi. The more important point was that I was building a "door" for "immortals," specifically.
In terms of power sources, honey and something purple seemed appropriate. I was unlikely to find sea snails, but perhaps a visit to the beach would yield some purple shells. I'd also collect something from a Spring adjacent to a Lunar temple. However, as I was on my way to the nexus I had a sudden desire to stop by a thrift shop. While looking through the shelves of knickknacks, I found a decorative ceramic oil warmer and a bottle of purple shells! The oil warmer wasn't quite a krater, but it was bowl shaped. Adding a candle would be a convenient way to switch it off and on.
We had had several days of rain, so I knew the Spring would be flowing. The river flowing through the nexus was fat and treacherous. This meant reaching the Venusian temple, which required fording the river, was untenable. Luckily, the Lunar temple was more accessible. We were just passed the Full Moon and this was still evident upon reaching the Lunar temple. The entire area was noticeably colder and wrapped in a persistent breeze that seemed to blow from nowhere despite being among dense forest.
As expected, I found the Spring past the Lunar temple was flowing steadily. Water flowed from a small perch at the top of a 20 foot cliff where it formed a small pool from which it flowed along the valley floor into the main river. Alas, it occurred to me upon first approach that I had nothing to barter. I immediately knew I should have brought my recently acquired shells. I headed back to the trailhead, sorted out seven of the best looking purple shells and returned to the Spring. Such is the nature of a Venusian quest.
I began this part by greeting the Spring and waiting for a sign that I was okay to approach. When I reached the pool, I found a small flat stone sitting under the delicate waterfall formed by the flowing Spring. I instinctively knew to place what I had to barter on the stone. I set the shells on the stone and waited for an indication of acceptance. After a few minutes, the water landing on the stone knocked each of the shells off and into the pool, one-by-one. I got the sense that these shells were of sufficient quality for the Naiad to spin her web. Finally, I received a message to collect a certain amount of the Spring water. Strangely, despite flowing from the same physical source, this batch of water was noticeably different from the Lunar water I've collected here in the past. The water was heavy and smelled deeply of the Earth.
Construction
Laying a path from my bathroom to the Spring involved consecrating the oil warmer in much the same way as I prepare other talismans. In this case, I adapted the method to use the elemental energies harvested from the honey, shells, and Naiad water (dew). I facilitated this transfer using a sigil of Oceanus. I also wrote a short charm, taking inspiration from the Orphic Hymn to the Nymphs.
Ianvs
I sometimes draw inspiration for magical work from classical literature. In Book 13 of the Iliad (How Odysseus Came to Ithaca), Homer describes a cave in the harbor of Phorcys at the island of Ithaca. This cave is sacred to the water nymphs known as Naiads. There actually exists a "Cave of the Nymphs" in Ithaca, also called "Marmarospilia." However, I was more interested in some of the esoteric hints that can be found in this passage.
The first hint regards timing, as Homer describes when the sailors transporting Odysseus arrive at the harbor. Note that Odysseus is also asleep.
When the brightest stars rose, which comes to tell us that the dawn is near...
The next part details some qualities of the sacred space:At the head of this harbor is an olive tree covered with its long leaves, and near the tree is a beautiful dusky cave, sacred to the nymphs who are called Naiads. In the cave are great bowls (kraters) and two-handled jars of stone (amphoras), and in these the bees hive their honey. There are also tall poles of stone like the beams of a loom, where the nymphs weave webs of sea-purple wonderful to behold; there are springs of water never dry. It has two doors; one turned to the north, by which mortal men may descend; one on the south, meant rather for gods, by which men do not enter, but this is the road of the immortals.
The brightest star at dawn is Venus, the morning star. The olive tree is a symbol of Athena. The proximity to a spring of nymphs calls to mind the fate of Tiresias who was struck blind by a bathing Athena. The presence of honey may allude to Ambrosia, the nectar of the gods. The "sea-purple" cloth may allude to Tyrian purple, a dye made from the secretions of sea snails. Lastly, we see that mortals enter from the north and descend into the cave. Gods and immortals enter from the south, perhaps from a smaller hole in the southern ceiling like the cave in modern-day Ithaca.
Materials
I often use my home shower as part of a regular healing practice. As time has passed, my shower and bathtub have become imbued with the natural healing energies of water. Perhaps I could boost the efficacy of this effect by introducing a little Naiad magic. The first task I set myself was to find a Naiad and barter for a some power. Luckily, I knew where some Naiads might be hanging around.
As alluded to by the passage in the Odyssey, this operation is essentially Venusian. This meant that I'd be better off with minimal planning and let Intuition and Desire lead the way. Whatever I was making needed to have some way to "turn on" and "turn off" to avoid attracting errant deities (and incidental blindness). The entrance to my bathroom is coincidentally on the north side, though I didn't think the direction mattered much in this case. Nothing about the passage indicated to me that anything special need be done with the Anemoi. The more important point was that I was building a "door" for "immortals," specifically.
In terms of power sources, honey and something purple seemed appropriate. I was unlikely to find sea snails, but perhaps a visit to the beach would yield some purple shells. I'd also collect something from a Spring adjacent to a Lunar temple. However, as I was on my way to the nexus I had a sudden desire to stop by a thrift shop. While looking through the shelves of knickknacks, I found a decorative ceramic oil warmer and a bottle of purple shells! The oil warmer wasn't quite a krater, but it was bowl shaped. Adding a candle would be a convenient way to switch it off and on.
We had had several days of rain, so I knew the Spring would be flowing. The river flowing through the nexus was fat and treacherous. This meant reaching the Venusian temple, which required fording the river, was untenable. Luckily, the Lunar temple was more accessible. We were just passed the Full Moon and this was still evident upon reaching the Lunar temple. The entire area was noticeably colder and wrapped in a persistent breeze that seemed to blow from nowhere despite being among dense forest.
As expected, I found the Spring past the Lunar temple was flowing steadily. Water flowed from a small perch at the top of a 20 foot cliff where it formed a small pool from which it flowed along the valley floor into the main river. Alas, it occurred to me upon first approach that I had nothing to barter. I immediately knew I should have brought my recently acquired shells. I headed back to the trailhead, sorted out seven of the best looking purple shells and returned to the Spring. Such is the nature of a Venusian quest.
I began this part by greeting the Spring and waiting for a sign that I was okay to approach. When I reached the pool, I found a small flat stone sitting under the delicate waterfall formed by the flowing Spring. I instinctively knew to place what I had to barter on the stone. I set the shells on the stone and waited for an indication of acceptance. After a few minutes, the water landing on the stone knocked each of the shells off and into the pool, one-by-one. I got the sense that these shells were of sufficient quality for the Naiad to spin her web. Finally, I received a message to collect a certain amount of the Spring water. Strangely, despite flowing from the same physical source, this batch of water was noticeably different from the Lunar water I've collected here in the past. The water was heavy and smelled deeply of the Earth.
Construction
Laying a path from my bathroom to the Spring involved consecrating the oil warmer in much the same way as I prepare other talismans. In this case, I adapted the method to use the elemental energies harvested from the honey, shells, and Naiad water (dew). I facilitated this transfer using a sigil of Oceanus. I also wrote a short charm, taking inspiration from the Orphic Hymn to the Nymphs.
With this libation of dew and honey, I open a secret path to the damp cave where the daughter of great-hearted Okeanos dwells. Let the pure and nurturing waters of your spring flow swiftly from the Earth. Clothe this temple with your healing dew for as long as this light shines.
To activate the connection, I lit the candle, placed a shell in the bowl of the oil warmer, and spoke the words, "The path is open." I guided the energies of the sacrificial shell to the shells left at the Spring in the nexus. This forged a path between the locations for power to flow. As the "dew" from the Spring condensed in my bathroom "temple", I used it to reinforce my normal healing practice. After my shower, I closed the connection and spoke, "The path is closed." and extinguished the light.Ianvs