Panpsyche, Panhyle, and Paneros' Birth; and, other stuff...

Today is the first “official” occasion on which I have been able to celebrate the birthdates of three of the four members of the Tetrad: Panpsyche, Panhyle, and Paneros. The beautiful rendering of the Tetrad’s star/sigil shown above is by Michael Sebastian Lvx, who was instrumental in obtaining the vision of that symbol last October, as related here. He used Coptic rather than Greek letters because that is more consonant with his own workings of late, so just note that difference–it’s perfectly acceptable to have such variations, of course! Of course, the Tetrad have had a lot of play on this blog recently, including at PantheaCon 2012 and at PantheaCon 2013!

I am about to “break ground” on writing up their myth, and it will be out and available before March 17th, the birthdate of the fourth of their number, Pancrates. Like last year, when I originally had the experiences that lead me toward recognizing their existence, last night was another night of little to no sleep for me, and a great deal of pain. Last year, the pain was largely abdominal, for I was “giving birth” to them, in some sense; but this year, the pain was in my throat and in my feet, because now they are struggling and in the “birth-pangs” of standing on their own and speaking out. (Yes, there are probably purely mundane reasons for those particular pains as well, and I’m still dealing with them as I type this, but I am choosing to see them as not unrelated–one cannot be “All-Soul” without also being “All-Body,” after all.)

I wish I had more to offer them that is “new” for this year–but, the fact that their original/initial myth is not yet available, but will be in less than three weeks, makes me feel less bad about that. The soul of the work, the body of it, and the love of it and for it, is all in place; now, the power of it is all that remains to be unleashed, and I’m looking forward to that very much indeed! For those who might wish to honor them who have not yet done so today, I’d highly suggest in the meantime singing the “Carol of the Tetrad” in absence of anything else.

Praise to the Tetrad! Praise to Panpsyche and Panhyle! Praise to Paneros and Pancrates! Praise to their many parents and grandparents! Praise to Antinous and Polydeukion! Praise to Set and Lucius Marius Vitalis! Praise to all the gods!

*****

There are a variety of other issues which need to be noted in the meantime before I get to further posts about PantheaCon 2012. So, I’ll do so here…

…which is entirely in-line with my latest “Queer I Stand” post at Patheos.com’s Pagan Portal, in which I tackle the issue of “Retreat and/or Advance.” By being “in-line” with the above statement, I mean to suggest that the integration of spiritual insights and activities should happen within the processes of everyday life, and not separated from it, or else it is less likely to be a viable occurrence at all. So, any thoughts and comments on that piece are welcome on the column itself, or on the present entry.

A while back, I noted that Rafael Morelos was the latest queer youth suicide-by-bullying victim that I’m aware of. Rafael lived in the Cashmere school district in central Washington state–my home state, and current place of residence. Well, unfortunately, things have not stopped with Rafael, and there have been further suicides in the Cashmere school district. I have not been able to obtain further details (i.e. the name of the victim) on this, but I am aware of it, and will keep a look-out for further information; if anyone finds the name in the meantime, please let me know. A petition on Change.org has been started in relation to this, and is in desperate need of further signatures, so please take a moment and sign it.

And, also in Washington state gay suicide news, KOMO News 4 reporter/anchorman (Dan) Eric Slocum just committed suicide. He struggled with depression for a very long time, but I had no idea that he was openly gay, and it saddens me all the more to know this about him now. He always had an appreciated gravitas in his television appearances that would have been equal to that of any of the major national news anchors. He will certainly be missed…

And further, while he is neither queer nor a potential Sanctus, I just wanted to note the passing of Davy Jones of The Monkees. The world is a lesser place for not having him in it now. I always enjoyed The Monkees music (and still do!), and he was a quintessential part of that group. I still quote lines of his from the television show relatively regularly…So, here’s a song that I think is a fitting tribute to him in his own voice, which is probably not getting as much play as it perhaps should just about now.

And, in other music-related news, Lady GaGa has started the Born This Way Foundation to empower youth. It’s not yet another anti-bullying campaign, it’s something to actually try and get young people to find their own power…and, thus, I cannot endorse it highly enough. (It helps that I like The Eleventh Muse quite a bit anyway, of course, but still…!?!)

And, just to “paganify” these news briefs a little more, have a look at these recent entries by Sannion at the House of Vines here and here–you’ll be glad you did! Happy Anthesteria! Io Dionysos!