Okeanos’s Story

 

Within the primordial Void, a gentle swirling began, Nothingness started to rile and writhe.  Chasm became Chaos, and Chaos gave birth to Complexity.  Ripples gave way to Waves, and I, Okeanos, came to be.  I held back the Nothing, gathering all the Something in my primordial embrace.  I, Okeanos, drew my first breath, and the waters receded, the earth becoming solid beneath me; the Mother of Matter came into Her own.  Mountain and Valley, Desert and Tundra, the whole earth was revealed by my receding waters.  I, Okeanos, breathed once more, and the waters coalesced, revealing the Sky Father, where the stars caught fire, and the spheres began to sing.  Sky above, Earth below, and I was the Water all around, the sea in which their love arose, blossomed, died.  In between that birth and death, eleven more children Gaia bore by Ouranos.  The most beautiful of all was Tethys, the sweet water spring at the center of the world, from whence flow the rivers of Eden.  From the moment she sprang forth from Gaia, I, Okeanos,  was in love.

 

Salt water mixed with sweet, and from our love sprang the first life, filling the seas.  Our daughters, the three thousand Oceanids, became the protective nymphs of saltwater seas and brackish marshes.  Our sons, the three thousand Potamoi, became the river gods, fathers of the Naiads, nymphs and spring and lake and stream.  So great was our love, and so fertile the womb of Tethys, that our waters rushed forth, flooding over all the earth, rishing and rushing and threatening to subsume the sky.  Gaia and Ouranos pleaded with us, begged us, and finally commanded us; for the good of all that is, we must separate, I, Okeanos, becoming the waters above, and Tethys, my beloved, became the waters below.  And so a new realm opened up, behind and between, before and beside our own world, the vault of the heavens and the depths of the hells, and Okeanos and Tethys were parted, and the world was made safe for humans.

 

Tethys, I think, will tell you her tale in the future,  but we continue now with my own story, for I was brokenhearted and alone.  Long eons passed, and I, Okeanos, feared to look down, that I might see Tethys below, and I feared my tears might drown all the earth.  And so, I, Okeanos looked up.  And there I beheld Asteria, Phoebe’s daughter, the river of light in the nighttime sky, the goddess of nighttime prophecy.  Time passed, healing all wounds, and my heart beat once more with love.  I took Asteria to my bed, and of our love was born a daughter, the Mistress of Sea and Sky, little Hekate, the ThreeWay Witch.  Our tale, however, she will tell to you.  My time for speaking is done.



okeanos.JPG

 

Ωκεανος

 

Okeanos’ River of Protection

 

Sometimes, there are people who are bad for us.  Sometimes, it’s their fault; they’re malicious, evil, and want to do us harm.  Sometimes, it’s less intentional; they’re broken and full of poison, which is leaking out onto you.  However, no matter the reason, there are times when you just want to keep a person away from you.  You don’t necessarily want to hurt them, but they need to keep the F away, physically as well as energetically/spiritually/psychologically.  This magic is designed to create a sort of “bubble of protection” that keeps them and their shit away from you and yours.  It’s important to include your home and “affiliates” in the mix, because otherwise, there is some danger that badness aimed at you might splash off onto someone else.

 

The way I’ve constructed this particular spell, anything headed your way is deflected into the nearest body of running water, there to be washed out to sea.  It’s effective against most kinds of malicious magic, but particularly proof against stuff that arises from “hot” emotions like anger.  There is almost no risk of damage to the person who you are protecting yourself against, and also little risk of “blowback” onto others in your vicinity; the work is grounded into the groundwater and eventually washed out to the sea.  This work is not recommended for people who live in the desert.

The work centers on Okeanos, one of the oldest gods of Greece.  Ὠκεανός  is the primeval water god of Greece.  He was originally understood as a great salt-water river than encircled the whole world.  Unlike other Greek ocean deities like Poseidon or Aphrodite, he rules over the deep, unnavigable waters.  In ancient days, we think he was the god of the Mediterranean, but, as Greek boating technology improved, his domain expanded to the Atlantic.  These days, I think of him as the god of the depths of the sea and also the depths of outer space.  Hekate tells me he is her father, although not all classical sources concur with this.  Unquestionably he is the father, with his sister Tethys, of the Okeanides and the Nymphs, genii loci goddesses who guard over sacred pools and springs.  In the Iliad, Hera seems to think of Okeanos and Tethys as her foster parents: “to the ends of the generous earth on a visit to Oceanus, whence the gods have risen, and Tethys our mother who brought me up kindly in their own house”.

 

In this charm, we call on Okeanos to create a circle of watery protection around you, a circle of running water that the “restrained” party cannot cross.  Any energy they send your way (intentionally or not) falls into the boundary river, and is washed out to the sea, where it diffuses (and de-fuses) into the depths.  The spell is worked with with an ikon of Okeanos drawn by Brian Charles of briancharlesart.com according to instructions received by me (Sara Mastros) from Okeanos.  

 

 

In order to cast this spell, you will need:

  • a pen with black ink

  • a small bowl of salt water (ocean water is ideal, but regular tap water with table salt in it is fine)

  • A white candle (a tea light is fine)

 

Using the pen, write your name on Okeanos’s chest, as though you are held in Okeanos’s arms.  Encircling you, the ouroboros snake of protection, and Okeanos’ river, which is the root of all water on earth.  Outside the circle, write the name or description of whomever or whatever is threatening you.  It cannot cross the ring of water.  Any spellwork or energy they send you way is trapped by the water, and diverted into the groundwater, and thence washed out to sea.  

 

Place the candle on top of your name, within Okeanos’ arms.  Dip your fingers in the salt water, and trace along the circle of the ouroboros snake, beginning at his head and proceeding clockwise.  Be sure to get the whole circle wet, which may require wetting your fingers several times.  Once you’ve got the whole circle wet, wet your fingers one last time, and make at least three complete circuits without picking your finger up, while saying aloud:


Okeanos, sea snake that encircles the world, encircle me, my home, my family, and my livelihood in your mighty waters, protect and defend me from all attack.  Any incursion by those that threaten me, send it away.  Sink it to the deepest depths, let it diffuse into the water, and loose all of its power.  If my enemy comes by, turn them away.  If they ill-wish, let the wish be diverted into the waters.  If they curse, let the curse be drowned at the bottom of the sea.  Do no harm to my enemy, but turn them, and all their works, away, away, away!  They cannot cross your encircling boundary, they cannot cross your running waters.  Any ill wish, any energy at all, if it comes from my enemy, turn it aside, and give it to the waters.

 

Let your daughters, the Silver Maidens of the Springs and Rivers, dew drop clad, with hair of seafoam splash, let them ensnare it in their spider-silk shawl, let them sink the tangled mess into the waters below, it’s fires all are gone out.  Let it pass through the ground and be grounded, let it rish and rush, burble and bubble down through the streams, rubbed clean and smooth and safe, like sea glass; all it’s sharpness gone, transformed into to a thing of beauty.  Let it wash out into to the waters and be gone.  Let it come to rest at the bottom of the sea, cold and beautiful, a glittering magical treasure that can do no one any harm.   There let it rest until it is found, and let it be a blessing on the finder.

 

Okeanos, Lord of the Great Waters Below, Lord of the Great Waters Above, Great Water Who Encircles the World, encircle me in a river of protection, and keep me safe and whole and strong.