A few years back, when I started digging into more witchy things once again, I came across ‘Deity Work’ which tickled me greatly because for as long as I can remember I have had a mild obsession with Egyptian and Greek/Roman Gods.
Then, out of nowhere there was Hera. And she hasn’t left the back of my mind since.
Now, you might think, but wouldn’t it be better to go into what Deities are, what working with them might look like or where it comes from? And, honestly, you might have a point thinking that. However, when there’s an overwhelming sensation to write about Hera something tells me that I should probably listen and honour this feeling. We will go into the how and why and where of Deity work itself more at a later point, for now, Hera wants some attention.
As probably many others of my generation I was introduced to Hera through the Disney movie Hercules. In this movie she is portrayed as a beautiful pink coloured goddess who is, above all, a loving mother to dear little Hercules. It wasn’t until after I actually did some research that I found that Disney took some massive creative liberties when it came to this motherly relationship.
The family tree is quite mind boggling, but I’ll give it a shot. Let’s dive into some Greek Mythology. First, there were Ouranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth) and from them came the twelve Titans: Kronos, Rhea, Oceanus, Tethys, Hyperion, Theia, Coeus, Phoebe, Iapetus, Themis, Mnemosyne. All of which have stories of their own but I will try to contain myself. In order to get to Hera we need two of these Titans: Kronos and Rhea, brother and sister, and also, husband and wife. This shouldn’t shock you, it’s all very Greek.
Kronos and Rhea had six children together: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia. These six became the first generation Olympians. Now, for those that have watched Disney’s Hercules, but have never explored Greek Mythology further, you might have noticed Zeus and Hera following in their parents footsteps: they are indeed brother and sister, and, husband and wife.
Many of the stories which feature Hera seem to revolve around her marriage with Zeus and even more so the many times Zeus seemingly forgot that he was married. But as Hera would probably tell you as well (at least, I like to think that she would) her husband is the least interesting thing about her.
In mythology she is often depicted as a jealous wife. And you can’t really blame her when most of mythology can be summed up with the sentence ‘So, Zeus put his dick where it didn’t belong’. That would hurt anyone’s pride, even more so when you are the Queen of all Gods, that really should gain you some respect.
Beyond the jealousy, she is usually portrayed as a powerful woman, a regal woman, the patron Goddess of marriage and childbirth. Animals often associated with her are the peacock and the cow. The peacock for its pride and beauty, the cow for the nurturing aspects of her personality, she is a mother after all.
Throughout other cultures there are similarities to the Greek Hera, as she represents aspects of life which would be found all over the world, not just in Ancient Greece. Her Roman counterpart is Juno, as Roman and Greek mythology share much of the same mythology, Hera’s stories are mostly also Juno’s. Juno is married to Jupiter (Zeus’ Roman twin), and the month of June is named after her, still a big month for weddings, which is fitting.
In Norse mythology we find Frigg, married to Odin (who holds the same status amongst the Norse gods as Zeus did among the Greek). She is also associated with marriage, loyalty and motherhood. I will have to do a deepdive into Odin and Frigg, because I feel like the jealousy that is associated with Hera, isn’t also associated with Frigg. I wonder if that might be because Odin was a better husband than Zeus was.
As with many things in my personal journey in Paganism and Witchcraft, it’s based mostly on feelings and there is so much that I don’t know yet about Hera, but I do know the feeling that I get around her. And despite her jealousy, I prefer to think of her as a passionate woman who really just shouldn’t be messed with.
While researching her a bit more I came across Robert Graves who apparently has a specific view of Hera in his book ‘The Greek Myths’. As with basically all of the things I have written so far, I wonder what my view of them will be in a year’s time after I’ve researched things even more. Hopefully my love for Hera will only grow, because she’s been a very welcome presence in my life so far.
At times, when I can’t sleep I like to go into my mental altar room, and that’s where I’ll find her. And she also shows up with a calm and loving presence. With what she represents it’s not surprising that she seems to keep coming back into my headspace and I keep wanting to learn more about her.
During a roadtrip through Scotland I came across the white peacock that’s in the header image, which to me felt like a very sure sign that Hera was meant to be a part of my journey.
thewitchywanderings.com 