Following on from yesterday’s post, it is only logical to now spend some time getting to know Perses. This isn’t easy because he’s a bit of an enigmatic character, even the fabulous resource Theoi is a little light on information. And I think this is why some people shy away from him. I have heard people argue that he should never be invoked under any circumstance, but why should that be?
I suspect mostly this is because he is an unknown quantity, and those who are perhaps a little faint of heart are put off by his epithet “The Destroyer”. But I would argue that this very title alone is why we should be calling upon him alongside Hekate in many of our rituals, but more of that shortly.
So what do we know about him? Well we know that he is one of three children born to the Titans Krios and Eurybia. He married the Goddess Asteria and his only child is the Goddess Hekate. We know that some considered that he presided over the constellation Perseus (although others associated him with the Dog Star Sirius). He is often thought of as a God of war, presiding over the start of the campaign season, and he was known as The Destroyer, his name possibly stemming from a root word which means to lay waste.
And yet according to Hesiod he was also known as being preeminent among all men in wisdom, what a contradiction! A bit like his wonderfully complicated offspring. What is it they say? Like father like daughter!
So here we have a Titanic God, father of the Goddess Hekate, and he is wise, and he is a warrior and he is capable of destroying and laying waste to all around him, I can think of a whole host of reasons why I would want to invoke him, not least because, you know, he’s Hekate’s dad and it might be nice to just say thanks for making such a cool daughter. Anyway here are a few ideas:
- Cursing and Retribution*
- Removal of Blockages
- Aid in overcoming addictions and/or bad habits
- Guidance in difficult situations
- Clarity in quarrels or confrontational situations
- Aid in making fair assessments and judgements
- Help in healing and getting rid of serious illness*
*Disclaimer 1 – Yes I am aware there is the rule of three, and karma and a whole host of other very good reasons why we shouldn’t curse, not least that we are supposed to be evolved human beings. But the ancient world was full of defixiones (curse tablets), petitions for retribution and binding spells, it was a recognised practise and one quite regularly associated with his daughter. Morals were different then and actually the moral compass for some still sees retribution as a valid path now. So why wouldn’t we want to call on a God called the Destroyer, sort of makes sense if you’re that way inclined doesn’t it?
*Disclaimer 2 – Petitioning Gods and Goddess for help in healing is no substitute for consulting a fully qualified medical professional. It should be considered as a complement rather than an alternative to modern medical techniques. You must also be very careful about wording of these petitions, the universe has a wickedly twisted sense of humour, if you ask for help healing a cancer in your hand, be very careful to ask that your limbs stay intact and with full recovery to rude health, you really don’t want to get cured by having an amputation now do you? And this is another reason why people possibly shy away, it doesn’t do to be slap dash in situations like this.