Today, I'm posting a mix-tape for Hera. This idea is not mine; it's a combination of a wonderful idea by Sannion and Hellenion's monthly libation schedule. Hellenion is a Hellenistic organization from America and I used their wonderful calender and the great store of information they have gathered to start my own practice. Every month, Hellenion members pour a libation to a different Hellenic God or Goddess. This month, it's Hera's turn, and while I will not be continuing this practice in the next Hellenic year, I will most certainly keep up the practice until then. To make the day more special, I have created a mix-tape of songs which either describe or would speak to Her.
Hera is one of the Theia who has gotten a pretty bad reputation throughout the years. She's seen as frigid, vengeful and jealous. Truthfully, Her husband's escapades, combined with Her own principles, must have started to make eternal life pretty frustrating for the Queen of the Theoi. Unsurprisingly, many of the chosen songs have to do with Hera's relationship with Zeus, and dealing with his cheating ways, but we start off on a more positive note (and end it that way as well, incidentally).
We start at the beginning, a young Hera, reborn from Kronos, regurgitated and standing on mount Olympus, looking out over the kingdom that She and Her brothers and sisters have taken from the previous generation of Deathless entities who have ruled the planet. A young Hera, full of hope; the world full of promises.
This is the song my girlfriend and I will play/sing/serenade at our wedding. It's been 'our song' since my girlfriend put it on the first mix-tape she ever made me. It's my ode to marriage, my ode to love, and my ode to staying together with the person you love as long as you possibly can, enjoying every single minute you have with that person. Hera is the Theia of marriage, and one day, I'll invite Her into mine.
We move on, to Hera's marriage and young love with Her brother; beautiful and eternal, but overshadowed by the first of what will be many affairs. This song has that beautiful mix of hope and pain--the desire to move past the pain and back to the naive love that you once had with the person who has just crushed you.
The darkest of the songs, although others seem to interpret this song as positive. Listen to it from the viewpoint of Hera, talking to Her husband, Their fighting, Their crying, over His betrayal, and Her own frustrations for never standing up to Him. Set just before the events of her coupe, this is Hera at Her weakest, Her darkest. This is the moment before everything got better. The rain, then, is obviously a link to Zeus the Thunderer, conqueror and creator of storms, thrower of the illuminating lightning.
Moving on; Zeus has learned to better His ways, but not before putting Hera in Her place. This is the defining moment in Their relationship: the calm after the storm. Hera takes Her place as true Queen of the Gods and finds Her strength.
Hera is one of the Theia who has gotten a pretty bad reputation throughout the years. She's seen as frigid, vengeful and jealous. Truthfully, Her husband's escapades, combined with Her own principles, must have started to make eternal life pretty frustrating for the Queen of the Theoi. Unsurprisingly, many of the chosen songs have to do with Hera's relationship with Zeus, and dealing with his cheating ways, but we start off on a more positive note (and end it that way as well, incidentally).
Nicki Minaj - Moment 4 Life
We start at the beginning, a young Hera, reborn from Kronos, regurgitated and standing on mount Olympus, looking out over the kingdom that She and Her brothers and sisters have taken from the previous generation of Deathless entities who have ruled the planet. A young Hera, full of hope; the world full of promises.
"Ain't being cocky, we just vindicated / Best believe that when we done this moment will be syndicated / I don't know, this night just remind me of / Everything they deprived me of
This is my moment, I waited all my life I can tell its time / drifting away I'm one with the sunsets, I have become alive."
Doria Roberts - Perfect
This is the song my girlfriend and I will play/sing/serenade at our wedding. It's been 'our song' since my girlfriend put it on the first mix-tape she ever made me. It's my ode to marriage, my ode to love, and my ode to staying together with the person you love as long as you possibly can, enjoying every single minute you have with that person. Hera is the Theia of marriage, and one day, I'll invite Her into mine.
"Let’s take a picture now / I do not want to forget / The way you look at me when / everything is perfect / A perfect memory of when things are so good / And everything has worked out just the way we knew it would."
The Naked and Famous - Young Blood
We move on, to Hera's marriage and young love with Her brother; beautiful and eternal, but overshadowed by the first of what will be many affairs. This song has that beautiful mix of hope and pain--the desire to move past the pain and back to the naive love that you once had with the person who has just crushed you.
"We're only young and naive still / We require certain skill / The mood it changes like the wind / Hard to control when it begins
The bittersweet between my teeth / Trying to find the in-between / Fall back in love / eventually / Yeah yeah yeah yeah"
Charlotte Martin - Every Time It Rains
The darkest of the songs, although others seem to interpret this song as positive. Listen to it from the viewpoint of Hera, talking to Her husband, Their fighting, Their crying, over His betrayal, and Her own frustrations for never standing up to Him. Set just before the events of her coupe, this is Hera at Her weakest, Her darkest. This is the moment before everything got better. The rain, then, is obviously a link to Zeus the Thunderer, conqueror and creator of storms, thrower of the illuminating lightning.
"When it was getting dark, I didn't need a match / I never needed light to see you / You thought I disappeared but I was always here / I could never get that far from you
Though I misunderstand and been misunderstood / So love me 'cause you can and not because you should
Every time it rains / I know it's good to be alive / Every time it rains / I know I'm trying to survive"
Imogen Heap - Shine
Moving on; Zeus has learned to better His ways, but not before putting Hera in Her place. This is the defining moment in Their relationship: the calm after the storm. Hera takes Her place as true Queen of the Gods and finds Her strength.
"Shine - I will not cry and I will not die no / Shine - I will be there for me / Shine - I'll be just fine if I stay all mine / I'll shine, shine."
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