Poseidon: God of Sea,Earthquakes and Horses

Poseidon is god of the Sea and other waters; of earthquakes; and of horses.In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a chief deity at Pylos and Thebes. His Roman equivalent is Neptune.Poseidon was protector of seafarers, and of many Hellenic cities and colonies. Poseidon supports the Greeks against the Trojans during the Trojan War. In the Odyssey, during the sea-voyage from Troy back home to Ithaca, the Greek hero Odysseus provokes Poseidon's fury by blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, resulting in Poseidon punishing him with storms, the complete loss of his ship and companions, and a ten-year delay. 

He is distinguished from Pontus, the personification of the sea and the oldest Greek divinity of the waters. The name Poseidon means either “husband of the earth” or “lord of the earth.” Traditionally, he was a son of Cronus and of Cronus’s sister and consort Rhea, a fertility goddess. Poseidon was a brother of Zeus, the sky god and chief deity of ancient Greece, and of Hades, god of the underworld. When the three brothers deposed their father, the kingdom of the sea fell by lot to Poseidon. His weapon and main symbol was the trident, perhaps once a fish spear. As the god of earthquakes, Poseidon was also connected to dry land, and many of his oldest places of worship in Greece were inland, though these were sometimes centered on pools and streams or otherwise associated with water. In this aspect, he was known as enosichthon and ennosigaios (“earth-shaker”) and was worshiped as asphalios (“stabilizer”). As the god of horses, Poseidon is thought likely to have been introduced to Greece by the earliest Hellenes, who also introduced the first horses to the country about the 2nd century BCE. Poseidon himself fathered many horses, best known of which was the winged horse Pegasus by the Gorgon Medusa.Poseidon came into conflict with a variety of figures in land disputes. Notable among these was a contest for sovereignty over Attica, which he lost to the goddess Athena. Despite losing, Poseidon was also worshiped there, particularly at Colonus (as hippios, “of horses”).

He was the father of Pelias and Neleus by Tyro, the daughter of Salmoneus, and thus became the divine ancestor of the royal families of Thessaly and Messenia. Many of his sons became rulers in other parts of the ancient Greek world. Otherwise he had many monstrous offspring, including giants and savage creatures, such as Orion, Antaeus, and Polyphemus. Progenitor of many, with several consorts, Poseidon also was married to the Oceanid Amphitrite, with whom he also had multiple offspring, including the sea creature Triton.

Worship of Poseidon

Poseidon was a major civic god of several cities: in Athens, he was second only to Athena in importance. Athena became the patron goddess of the city of Athens after a competition with Poseidon. Yet Poseidon remained a numinous presence on the Acropolis in the form of his surrogate, Erechtheus. At the dissolution festival at the end of the year in the Athenian calendar, the Skira, the priests of Athena and the priest of Poseidon would process under canopies to Eleusis. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and the Athenians would choose whichever gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring sprang up; the water was salty and not very useful, whereas Athena offered them an olive tree.

The Athenians or their king, Cecrops, accepted the olive tree and along with it Athena as their patron, for the olive tree brought wood, oil and food. After the fight, infuriated at his loss, Poseidon sent a monstrous flood to the Attic Plain, to punish the Athenians for not choosing him. The depression made by Poseidon's trident and filled with salt water was surrounded by the northern hall of the Erechtheum, remaining open to the air. 

Poseidon was seen as creating new islands and offering calm seas. When offended or ignored, he supposedly struck the ground with his trident and caused chaotic springs, earthquakes, drownings and shipwrecks. Sailors prayed to Poseidon for a safe voyage, sometimes drowning horses as a sacrifice. According to Pausanias, Poseidon was one of the caretakers of the oracle at Delphi before Olympian Apollo took it over. Apollo and Poseidon worked closely in many realms: in colonization, for example, Delphic Apollo provided the authorization to go out and settle, while Poseidon watched over the colonists on their way, and provided the lustral water for the foundation-sacrifice. 

Walls of Troy

Poseidon and Apollo, having offended Zeus by their rebellion in Hera's scheme, were temporarily stripped of their divine authority and sent to serve King Laomedon of Troy. He had them build huge walls around the city and promised to reward them well, a promise he then refused to fulfill. In vengeance, before the Trojan War, Poseidon sent a sea monster to attack Troy. The monster was later killed by Heracles.

Consorts and children

                           

Poseidon was said to have had many lovers of both sexes . His consort was Amphitrite, a nymph and ancient sea-goddess, daughter of Nereus and Doris. Together they had a son named Triton, a merman.

Poseidon was the father of many heroes. He is thought to have fathered the famed Theseus.

A mortal woman named Tyro was married to Cretheus (with whom she had one son, Aeson), but loved Enipeus, a river god. She pursued Enipeus, who refused her advances. One day, Poseidon, filled with lust for Tyro, disguised himself as Enipeus, and from their union were born the heroes Pelias and Neleus, twin boys. 

Poseidon also had an affair with Alope, his granddaughter through Cercyon, his son and King of Eleusis. Cercyon had his daughter buried alive but Poseidon turned her into the spring, Alope, near Eleusis.

Poseidon rescued Amymone from a lecherous satyr and then fathered a child, Nauplius, by her.

A mortal woman named Cleito once lived on an isolated island; Poseidon fell in love with the human mortal and created a dwelling sanctuary at the top of a hill near the middle of the island and surrounded the dwelling with rings of water and land to protect her. She gave birth to five sets of twin boys; the firstborn, Atlas, became the first ruler of Atlantis.

In an archaic myth, Poseidon once pursued Demeter. She spurned his advances, turning herself into a mare so that she could hide in a herd of horses; he saw through the deception and became a stallion and captured her. Their child was a horse, Arion, which was capable of human speech. 

Poseidon also raped Medusa on the floor of a temple to Athena. Medusa was then changed into a monster by Athena.When she was later beheaded by the hero Perseus, Chrysaor and Pegasus emerged from her neck.

His other children include Polyphemus (the cyclops) and, finally, Alebion and Bergion and Otos and Ephialtae (the giants).

Isis and Osiris

When Osiris was born many signs and wonders were seen and heard throughout the world. Most notable was the voice which came from the holiest shrine in the temple at Thebes on the Nile, which today is called Karnak, speaking to a man called Pamyles bidding him proclaim to all men that Osiris, the good and mighty king, was born to bring joy to all the earth. Pamyles did as he was bidden, and he also attended on the Divine Child and brought him up as a man among men.

When Osiris(God of life, death and afterlife) was grew up he married his sister Isis(Goddess of healing and magic), a custom which the Pharaohs of Egypt followed ever after. And Seth(God of chaos) married Nephthys(Protective goddess of death), for he too being a god could marry only a goddess.

Osiris became sole ruler of Egypt and reigned on earth as Ra had done. He found the people both savage and brutish, fighting among themselves and killing and eating one another. But Isis discovered the grain of both wheat and barley, which grew wild over the land with the other plants and was still unknown to man; and Osiris taught them how to plant the seeds when the Nile had risen in the yearly inundation and sunk again leaving fresh fertile mud over the fields; how to tend and water the crops; how to cut the corn when it was ripe, and how to thresh the grain on the threshing floors, dry it and grind it to flour and make it into bread. He showed them also how to plant vines and make the grapes into wine; and they knew already how to brew beer out of the barley.

When the people of Egypt had learned to make bread and cut only the flesh of such animals as he taught them were suitable, Osiris, went on to teach them laws, and how to live peacefully and happily together, delighting themselves with music and poetry. As soon as Egypt was filled with peace and plenty, Osiris set out over the world to bring his blessings upon other nations. While he was away he left Isis to rule over the land, which she did both wisely and well.

But Seth the Evil One, their brother, envied Osiris and hated Isis. The more the people loved and praised Osiris, the more Seth hated him; and the more good he did and the happier mankind became, the stronger grew Seth's desire to kill his brother and rule in his place. Isis, however, was so full of wisdom and so watchful that Seth made no attempt to seize the throne while she was watching over the land of Egypt. And when Osiris returned from his travels Seth was among the first to welcome him back and kneel in reverence before "the good god Pharaoh Osiris".

Yet he had made his plans, aided by seventy-two of his wicked friends and also the evil queen of Ethiopia. Secretly Seth obtained the exact measurements of the body of Osiris, and caused beautiful chest to be made that would fit only him. It was fashioned of the rarest and most costly woods: cedar brought from Lebanon, and ebony from Punt at the south end of the Red Sea for no wood grows in Egypt except the soft and useless palm.

Then Seth gave a great feast in honour of Osiris; but the other guests were the seventy two conspirators. It was the greatest feast that had yet been seen in Egypt, and the foods were choicer, the wines stronger and the dancing girls more beautiful than ever before. When the heart of Osiris had been made glad with feasting and song the chest was brought in, and all were amazed at its beauty.

                                        

Osiris marveled at the rare cedar inlaid with ebony and ivory, with less rare gold and silver, and painted inside with figures of gods and birds and animals, and he desired it greatly.

Seth declared that he would give the chest to whosoever it fits exactly. And at once the conspirators began in turn to see if they could win it. But one was too tall and another too short; one was too fat and another too thin - and all tried in vain.

At last Osiris tried and it fit him perfectly. To this Seth banged down the lid. He and the conspirators nailed it shut and sealed every crack with molten lead. Osiris died in the chest and his spirit went west across the Nile into Duat the Place of Testing; but, beyond it to Amenti (where those live for ever who have lived well on earth and passed the judgments of Duat) he could not pass as yet. Seth and his companions took the chest which held the body of Osiris and cast it into the Nile; and Hapi the Nile-god carried it out into the Great Green Sea where it was tossed for many days until it came to the shore of Phoenicia near the city of Byblos. Here the waves cast it into a tamarisk tree that grew on the shore; and the tree shot out branches and grew leaves and flowers to make a fit resting place for the body of the good god Osiris and very soon that tree became famous throughout the land.

Presently King Malcander heard of it, and he and his wife, Queen Astarte, came to the seashore to gaze at the tree. By now the branches had grown together and hidden the chest which held the body of Osiris in the trunk itself. King Malcander gave orders that the tree should be cut down and fashioned into a great pillar for his palace. This was done, and all wondered at its beauty and fragrance but none knew that it held the body of a god. Meanwhile in Egypt Isis knew as soon as her husband was dead, though no one told her, and fled into the marshes of the delta carrying the baby Horus with her. She found shelter on a little island where the goddess Buto lived, and entrusted the divine child to her. And as a further safeguard against Seth, Isis loosed the island from its foundations, and let it float so that no one could tell where to find it.

Then she went to seek for the body of Osiris. She asked all whom she met, but no one had seen it - and in this matter her magic powers could not help her. At last she questioned the children who were playing by the riverside, and at once they told her that just such a chest as she described had floated past them on the swift stream and out into the Great Green Sea. Then Isis wandered on the shore and again it was the children who had seen the chest floating by and told her which way it had gone. And because of this, Isis blessed the children and decreed that ever afterwards children should speak words of wisdom and sometimes tell of things to come.

At length Isis came to Byblos and sat down by the seashore. Presently the maidens who attended on Queen Astarte came down to bathe at that place; and when they returned out of the water Isis taught them how to plait their hair - which had never been done before. When they went up to the palace a strange and wonderful perfume seemed to cling to them; and Queen Astarte marveled at it, and at their plaited hair, and asked them how it came to be so.

The maidens told her of the wonderful woman who sat by the seashore, and Queen Astarte sent for Isis, and asked her to serve in the palace and tend her children, the little Prince Maneros and the baby Dictys, who was ailing sorely. For she did not know that the strange woman who was wandering alone at Byblos was the greatest of all the goddesses of Egypt. Isis agreed to this, and very soon the baby Dictys was strong and well though she did no more than give him her finger to suck. But presently she became fond of the child, and thought to make him immortal, which she did by burning away his mortal parts while she flew round and round him in the form of a swallow. Astarte, however, had been watching her secretly; and when she saw that her baby seemed to be on fire she rushed into the room with a loud cry, and so broke the magic. Then Isis took on her own form, and Astarte crouched down in terror when she saw the shining goddess and learned who she was.

Malcander and Astarte offered her gifts of all the richest treasures in Byblos, but Isis asked only for the great tamarisk pillar which held up the roof, and for what it contained. It remained the most sacred object in Byblos, since it had once held the body of a god.

King Malcander provided for her, and set out for Egypt. Next morning, as the ship was passing the Phaedrus River, its strong current threatened to carry them out of sight of land. But Isis grew angry and placed a curse on the river, so that its stream dried up from that day. She came safely to Egypt after this, and hid the chest in the marshes of the delta while she hastened to the floating island where Buto was guarding Horus.

But it chanced that Seth came hunting wild boars with his dogs, hunting by night after his custom, since he loved the darkness in which evil things abound. By the light of the moon he saw the chest of cedar wood inlaid with ebony and ivory, with gold and silver, and recognized it.

At the sight hatred and anger came upon him in a red cloud, and he raged like a panther of the south. He tore open the chest, took the body of Osiris, and rent it into fourteen pieces which, by his divine strength, he scattered up and down the whole length of the Nile so that the crocodiles might eat them.

Now Isis had to begin her search once more. This time she had helpers, for Nephthys left her wicked husband Seth and came to join her sister. And Anubis, the son of Nephthys, taking the form of a jackal, assisted in the search. When Isis traveled over the land she was accompanied and guarded by seven scorpions. But when she searched on the Nile and among the many streams of the delta she made her way in a boat made of papyrus: and the crocodiles, in their reverence for the goddess, touched neither the rent pieces of Osiris nor Isis herself. Indeed ever afterwards anyone who sailed the Nile in a boat made of papyrus was safe from them, for they thought that it was Isis still questing after the pieces of her husband's body.

Slowly, piece by piece, Isis recovered the fragments of Osiris. And wherever she did so, she formed by magic the likeness of his whole body and caused the priests to build a shrine and perform his funeral rites. And so there were thirteen places in Egypt which claimed to be the burial place of Osiris. In this way also she made it harder for Seth to meddle further with the body of the dead god.

One piece only she did not recover, for it had been eaten by certain impious fishes; and their kind were accursed ever afterwards, and no Egyptian would touch or eat them. Isis, however, did not bury any of the pieces in the places where the tombs and shrines of Osiris stood. She gathered the pieces together, rejoined them by magic, and by magic made a likeness of the missing member so that Osiris was complete. Then she caused the body to be embalmed and hidden away in a place of which she alone knew. And after this the spirit of Osiris passed into Amenti to rule over the dead until the last great battle, when Horus should slay Seth and Osiris would return to earth once more. But as Horus grew in this world the spirit of Osiris visited him often and taught him all that a great warrior should know - one who was to fight against Seth both in the body and in the spirit.

Horus gathered his forces and prepared to begin the war. And Ra himself, the shining father of the gods, came to his aid in his own divine boat that sails across the heavens and through the dangers of the underworld. Before they set sail Re drew Horus aside so as to gaze into his blue eyes: for whoever looks into them, of gods or men, sees the future reflected there. But Seth was watching; and he took upon himself the form of a black pig - black as the thunder-cloud, fierce to look at, with tusks to strike terror into the bravest heart.

Meanwhile Ra gazed into the eyes of Horus to see what would come of this war. While he gazed the black pig passed by and distracted his attention. And Horus looked; and he did not know that it was Seth, but thought it was a wild boar out of the thickets of the north, and he was not ready with a charm or a word of power to guard himself against the enemy. Then Seth aimed a blow of fire at the eyes of Horus; and Horus shouted with the pain and was in a great rage. He knew now that it was Seth; but Seth had gone on the instant and could not be trapped.

Ra caused Horus to be taken into a dark room, and it was not long before his eyes could see again as clearly as before. When he was recovered Ra had returned to the sky; but Horus was filled with joy that he could see, once more, and as he set out up the Nile at the head of his army, the country on either side shared his joy and blossomed into spring.

There were many battles in that war, but the last and greatest was at Edfu, where the great temple of Horus stands to this day in memory of it. The forces of Seth and Horus drew near to one another among the islands and the rapids of the First Cataract of the Nile. Seth, in the form of a red hippopotamus of gigantic size, sprang up on the island of Elephantine and uttered a great curse against Horus and against Isis that there would be mighty flood against his enemies. At once the storm broke over the boats of Horus and his army; the wind roared and the water was heaped into great waves. But Horus held on his way, his own boat gleaming through the darkness, its prow shining like a ray of the sun.

Opposite Edfu, Seth turned and stood at bay, straddling the whole stream of the Nile, so huge a red hippopotamus was he. But Horus took upon himself the shape of a handsome young man, twelve feet in height. His hand held a harpoon thirty feet long with a blade six feet wide at its point of greatest width.

Seth opened his mighty jaws to destroy Horus and his followers when the storm should wreck their boats. But Horus cast his harpoon, and it struck deep into the head of the red hippopotamus, deep into his brain. And that one blow slew Seth the great wicked one, the enemy of Osiris and the gods - and the red hippopotamus sank dead beside the Nile at Edfu. The storm passed away, the flood sank and the sky was clear and blue once more. Then the people of Edfu came out to welcome Horus the avenger and lead him in triumph to the shrine over which the great temple now stands. And they sang the song of praise which the priests chanted ever afterwards when the yearly festival of Horus was held at Edfu.

There were no more battles on the Nile or in the land of Egypt; and Osiris rested quietly in his grave, which (since Seth could no longer disturb it) Isis admitted was on the island of Philae, the most sacred place of all, in the Nile a few miles upstream from Elephantine. But the Egyptians believed that the Last Battle was still to come - and that Horus would defeat Seth in this also. And when Seth was destroyed forever, Osiris would rise from the dead and return to earth, bringing with him all those who had been his own faithful followers. And for this reason the Egyptians embalmed dead and set the bodies away beneath towering pyramids of stone and deep in the tomb chambers of western Thebes, so that the blessed souls returning from Amenti should find them ready to enter again, and in them to live for ever on earth under the good god Osiris, Isis his queen and their son Horus.

The Seven Chakras

The entire universe is made of energy, and your body is no exception. The 7 chakras play an important role in the balance and health of our bodies.Long before modern technology and science, ancient cultures knew that all living things carried a life force with them. They called the centers of energy that moved inside of us the 7 chakras.

What are the Chakras?

Chakra is an old Sanskrit word that literally means wheel. This is because the life force, or prana, that moves inside of you is spinning and rotating. This spinning energy has 7 centers in your body, starting at the base of your spine and moving all the way up to the top of your head. In a healthy, balanced person, the 7 chakras provide the right balance of energy to every part of your body, mind, and spirit. But, if one of your chakras spins too quickly, is blocked, or moves slowly, your health will suffer. By learning about the 7 chakras, you can become more in tune with the natural energy cycles of your body.

You can use this information to connect physical, emotional and spiritual imbalances with the chakras that empower them. And with those discoveries, you can begin to balance your chakras and live a healthy and harmonious life.

Muladhara: (Colour: Red)

The name of this chakra, Muladhara, comes from the words Mula, which means root and Dhara, which means support. So, this chakra’s role is to connect all of your energy with the Earth, which is called grounding. When you think of your root chakra, think of your day to day survival here on earth. This energy center’s role is to give you everything you need to survive. For us in this modern age, that typically translates to financial and emotional security. 

This chakra is located at the very base of your spine, near your tailbone. It goes up to just below your belly button. When your 1st chakra is balanced, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and peace when you think about things like money, safety and shelter. Our root chakra gets a lot of use, so having an overactive root chakra is very common. An overactive root chakra will cause anxiety and jitteriness. This happens because fear is based on the need to survive. That is fear’s role – to keep us alive. So, an overactive root chakra will shout messages of survival, even when no real threat is there. Physically, you might have digestive problems, lower back issues, hip pain, and ovarian cysts in women or prostate issues in men.

Svadhishna: (Colour: Orange)

The 2nd chakra is the svadhishana which translates to “the place of the self.” This chakra is all about your identity as a human and what you do with it. In fact, this chakra brings you creative energy to help enrich your life. Your sacral chakra is the home of the creative life force energy that helps you enjoy your life here on Earth. It’s the energy that motivates you to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

The sacral chakra is located right below the belly button and extends to its center. When your 2nd chakra is balanced, you will relish in the pleasurable things life has to offer, without overdoing them. Sex, good food, and creative activities will be inspiring and enjoyable, and you will get a sense of wellness and abundance from them.This chakra is often overactive when we face things like addiction and gluttony. Pleasure is a good thing, and you should never feel guilty for enjoying the good things life has to offer.

However, if you find yourself enjoying things that aren’t nourishing for your soul or healthy for you, then your sacral chakra is likely out of balance. Symptoms include addiction, obesity, hormone imbalances, and restlessness.

Manipura: (Colour:Yellow)

The 3rd chakra is the Manipura which translates to “lustrous gem.” This chakra is where your self-confidence, identity, and personal power are born. This chakra starts in the center of the belly button and extends up to the breastbone or where your two sets of ribs connect in the center of your chest.

When your 3rd chakra is balanced, you will feel a sense of wisdom, decisiveness, and personal power. Many call this chakra the warrior chakra, as the feeling you get from it is comparable to a wise warrior going into battle. He has the confidence to win and the wisdom to know the personal truth he is fighting for. The chakra becomes overactive when the power we have over our own lives extends into the lives of others. When this chakra is too energized, you may feel quick to anger, the need to control and micromanage, greediness and a lack of compassion or empathy.

Anahata: (Colour:Green)

The 4th chakra translates to “unhurt.” This chakra is where your love, compassion, and kindness are empowered. We all associate our hearts with love, and that’s exactly what the 4th chakra is all about. And this includes love for others and love for yourself, which is why this chakra is also associated with health and healing.

The heart chakra’s center is located right over your heart and it radiates down to your breastbone and up to your throat. When your 4th chakra is balanced, you are able to equally feel love for yourself and others. Even when tough things happen, you can still see the compassion and kindness in others. When the heart chakra becomes overactive, we lose our personal boundaries and start to make unhealthy choices, all in the name of love. It’s important to treat yourself with the same compassion and kindness that you give others, but when the heart chakra is overactive, you may find yourself always putting the needs of others before your own.

Vishuddha: (Colour: Blue)

The 5th chakra is thethroat chakra or vishuddha translates to “very pure.” This chakra gives a voice to your personal truths. This chakra lets you speak your truth with clarity. Resting right above the heart, the throat chakra is connected to the compassion and love you have for yourself and others.

The throat chakra’s center is right in between your collar bone, and it radiates down to the center of your heart and up to the center of your eyes. When your throat chakra is balanced, you will be able to clearly speak with love, kindness, and truth. In fact, you will know exactly which words are appropriate for each situation. And speaking with a balanced throat chakra will enlighten and inspire those around you. Our 5th chakra becomes overactive when we’ve spent a lot of time trying to make our voice heard. If you’ve often felt ignored or invalidated when you express yourself, you may have tried to overcome this by giving yourself a louder voice.

Those with overactive throat chakras will often interrupt others, often be told they have a loud voice or love to hear themselves talk.

Ajna: (Colour: Indigo)

The 6th chakra is the third eye chakra Ajna which translates to “beyond wisdom.” This chakra opens up your mind to information beyond the material world and the 5 senses. Extrasensory perception, intuition or psychic energy, all come from the third eye. There is actually a small pinecone-shaped gland in your brain that takes in light. This gland, the pineal gland, is responsible for helping you feel awake in the daytime and sleepy at night. Long before brain imaging, ancient cultures knew this Third Eye existed, and they also realized it received information from sources outside of the five senses.

The third eye’s center is in between your eyebrows. It radiates down to your mouth and up to the top of your head. A balanced third eye is a beautiful thing, and it’s really what you are trying to achieve when you start on a path to spiritual development. When your third eye chakra is balanced, you will equally feel in tune with both the physical world and the material world. You will receive psychic information as frequently as you receive information from your 5 physical senses, but it will not overwhelm you. It is very unlikely your 6th chakra is overactive.

Most of us are very in tune with our physical reality and find it difficult to receive information outside of it. That being said, if you have an overactive third eye, you likely spend most of your time engrossed in psychic activities like tarot card readings, astrology, and paranormal experiences. When your 3rd eye chakra is overactive, these activities become overwhelming and distract you from living a human experience.

Sahaswara: (Colour:Violet)

The 7th chakra is the Crown or Sahaswara, which translates to “thousand petaled.” This chakra is pure consciousness energy. The Crown chakra is one of those energies that’s hard to explain. You can think of it like magnetism. When you hold a piece of metal to a magnet, you can feel the energy and tension, but you can’t see it. Consciousness energy is everywhere and in everything. It connects us to the entire universe. Our own personal consciousness is located in the 7th chakra, but it’s really more like the seed of a universal energy than something personal or individual.

The crown chakra’s center is at the top of your head. It radiates down to between your eyes and then extends infinitely upward and outward, connecting you to the energy of the rest of the universe. Achieving a balanced crown chakra is the goal of every spiritual warrior, and it’s not easy to do. You can think of it as the Buddhist concept of achieving nirvana. Once you achieve it, you’re not really human anymore – you’ve conquered suffering and death.

Of course, it is the journey of attempting to achieve this balance that brings us happiness, good health, and wisdom. Trying to balance your 7th chakra will align and balance your other chakras.

Zeus: The God of Thunder

In Greek mythology, the primordial deities,  are the first gods and goddesses born from the void of Chaos. Hesiod's first (after Chaos) are Gaia, Tartarus, Eros, Erebus, Hemera and Nyx. The primordial deities Gaia and Uranus give birth to the Titans, and the Cyclopses. The

Titans Cronus and Rhea give birth to Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera and Demeter who overthrew the Titans. The warring of the gods ends with the reign of Zeus.

Zeus is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. His mythologies and powers are similar, though not identical, to those of Indo-European deities such as Jupiter, Perkunas, Perun, Indra and Thor.

Zeus is the child of Cronus and Rhea, the youngest of his siblings to be born, though sometimes reckoned the eldest as the others required disgorging from Cronus's stomach. In most traditions, he is married to Hera, by whom he is usually said to have fathered Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus.  At the oracle of Dodona, his consort was said to be Dione, by whom the Illiad states that he fathered Aphrodite. Zeus was also infamous for his erotic escapades. These resulted in many divine and heroic offspring, including Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Helen of Troy, Minos and the Muses.

The Birth:

Cronus sired several children by Rhea: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon, but swallowed them all as soon as they were born, since he had learned from Gaia and Uranus that he was destined to be overthrown by his son as he had previously overthrown Uranus, his own father.

When Zeus was about to be born, Rhea sought Gaia to devise a plan to save him, so that Cronus would get his retribution for his acts against Uranus and his own children. Rhea gave birth to Zeus in Crete, handing Cronus a rock wrapped in swaddling clothes, which he promptly swallowed.

After reaching manhood, Zeus forced Cronus to disgorge first the stone then his siblings in reverse order of swallowing.  In some versions, Zeus cut Cronus's stomach open. Then Zeus released the brothers of Cronus, the Hecatonchires and the Cyclopes, from their dungeon in Tartarus, killing their guard, Campe.

As a token of their appreciation, the Cyclopes gave him thunder and the thunderbolt, or lightning, which had previously been hidden by Gaia. Together, Zeus, his brothers and sisters, Hecatonchires and Cyclopes overthrew Cronus and the other Titans, in the combat called the Titanomachy. The defeated Titans were then cast into a shadowy underworld region known as Tartarus. Atlas, one of the titans who fought against Zeus, was punished by having to hold up the sky.

After the battle with the Titans, Zeus shared the world with his elder brothers, Poseidon and Hades, by drawing lots: Zeus got the sky and air, Poseidon the waters, and Hades the world of the dead (the underworld). The ancient Earth, Gaia, could not be claimed; she was left to all three, each according to their capabilities, which explains why Poseidon was the "earth-shaker" (the god of earthquakes) and Hades claimed the humans who died.

Gaia resented the way Zeus had treated the Titans, because they were her children. Soon after taking the throne as king of the gods, Zeus had to fight some of Gaia's other children, the monsters Typhon and Echidna. He vanquished Typhon and trapped him under Mount Etna, but left Echidna and her children alive.

Zeus and Hera:

Zeus was brother and consort of Hera. By Hera, Zeus sired Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus, though some accounts say that Hera produced these offspring alone. Some also include Eileithyia, Eris, Enyo and Angelos as their daughters. The conquests of Zeus among nymphs and the mythic mortal ancestor of Hellenic dynasties are famous. Olympian mythography even credits him with unions with Leto, Demeter, Metis, Themis, Eurynome and Mnemosyne. Other relationships with immortals included Dione and Maia. Among mortals were Semele, Io, Europa and Leda .

Many myths render Hera as jealous of his desirous conquests and a consistent enemy of Zeus's mistresses and their children by him. For a time, a nymph named Echo had the job of distracting Hera from his affairs by talking incessantly, and when Hera discovered the deception, she cursed Echo to repeat the words of others.