My Patron God - Hades

Hey there, buttercup!

I'm so excited to talk about my patron god, Hades! Working with him has helped me so much in my spiritual practice! I won't lie to you, I was terrified when he first came into my life, but I quickly realized that there was no reason to resist.

When I first discovered Hades was my patron god, I was sitting at my altar after a ritual. I had two candles on my altar: a peacock candle for my goddess Hera (I plan on doing a post about her as well) and a plain white candle for my unknown god. As I was sitting there, the white candle started to flicker like crazy! I instantly knew he was trying to get my attention....as I sat there, the name "Hades" popped into my head. I freaked!

You see, I come from a Christian background and Hades is always associated with the Devil. That's just one of those things that was left over from that.

I don't know how any of you communicate with your deities, but when I communicate, it's like a conversation in my head. I told Hades that I needed some time to think everything over and do some research. He agreed, but told me he wouldn't stick around long. If I hadn't made up my mind in two weeks, he would be gone from my life. This was my first indication that he is fair, but definitely not patient!

After I closed my circle, I started going through my old journals and Tarot readings I did when I was trying to figure out who my patron god was. I didn't understand the completely understand the readings until I went back. But when I did them, I realized they were gradually shifting my focus to the things I needed to understand. The first area of focus was my shadow aspect. I needed to understand certain things about myself that I had been trying to suppress. The next day, I did a reading to show me how to deal with my shadow aspect. I drew the King of Wands. My interpretation: a father-figure that wants to be a part of my goals and dreams. At the time I didn't understand, but when I read it again after the circle, I immediately knew that this was the right path for me!

I started reading about Hades and looking for people that have worked with him. The initial impression I got is that he is definitely not evil, just like death is not evil. It is a natural part of life that we all will have to experience one day. However, he is very stern and not someone you want to cross.

As I started to develop a personal relationship with him, I came to realize that all these things about him are true. But there's so much more to it! Yes, he is stern and impatient. But he's also very fatherly and caring. His teaching method is very much one of "tough love," like the father that will tell his child not to touch the hot stove, but will sit back and watch him or her do it so they learn their lesson.

As someone who has had to experience a lot of loss (my dad died when I was 11 and my ex-fiance that I was with for 6 years died three years ago when I was 23), I think there is a lot that Hades can help me understand about death.

Hades is also considered a god of wealth because of the crystals that grow in the ground. The ancient Greeks thought they came from Hades. I have done some work with him for getting my finances in order and have had success so far and hopefully much more to come!

He is always glad to pass on wisdom and will tell it like it is. He's not really one for the cryptic.

As someone that has had to deal with a lot of death, I feel like Hades is the perfect god for me to work with!

I hope this was an interesting read for you guys! If any of you have personally worked with Hades, I would love to hear about your experiences!

Much love and light to you!

Blessed Be

Ralph Fiennes as Hades in Wrath of the Titans. I love the way he is depicted here! :)