DIVINE MESSAGES   DIVINE RE-TURN CONTINUED Dr. Deus

Welcome once again to Divine Messages. This month's column will be the second of three consecutive issues in which we will expose the very simple fact of the immortality of the soul with the world's best example...the world famous "rarissimo" oneric spiritual phenomena of Ascensions on the Winged Horse which could indeed be, as interpreted by the Ancient Greeks, who were said to be extremely rational in their logic thinking, an allegory of the soul's immortality!

From the previous and following cases of Ascensions, we shall try firstly to attempt to determine if the Legendary Universal Eternal Spiritual Winged-Horse really exists, because as stated in April's column, in the Marduk's Victor's Myth, the whole issue of the whole conflict, in regards to the existence or non-existence of the Spiritual World, sways between the existence or non-existence of this legendary Winged-Horse, which would be, the Spirit of the also legendary Universal Monarch... the King of this Other World which, at times, we all get to visit in dreams!

This is a good never-ending story installed a long, long time ago... for the better understanding of the functioning of the world.

As you may have understood last month, the Winged-Horse Story is the #1 Spiritual Story in the Orient and as you shall soon see in the present column along with next month's, that this Eternal Winged-Horse Story is by far the #1 Spiritual Story of the Whole World... which made the History of the World.

Have a pleasant flight and try enjoying yourselves while finally getting educated a bit... :-) ...and you shall see that the Tour of the Winged-Horse in Occident is just as much fun...as in Orient.
 
 

GRECO-ROMAN MYTHOLOGY

The other half of our World Tour, as you may anticipate, begins by the Winged-Horse in the Greco-Roman Empire Mythology and in order to start on a mellow note, here are a few extracts from "Origins and History of Consciousness" by Eric Neumann... p.218-9

"The profound psychological intuition of the myth is revealed even more strikingly in the fact that Pegasus, on being released from the Medusa, (when Perseus cut her head off) is credited with creative work upon earth. We are told that, just before the Winged-Horse flew up to Zeus amid thunder and lightening, he struck (with its front hooves)the Fountain of the Muses... the fountain of inspiration from the ground of the earth. As we shall see later, this aspect of the Pegasus myth lies at the root of all creativity. Pegasus carries, (at a later date) the hero Bellerophon( also called Hipponos, "skilled with the horse") to victory, but is also inward-flowing libido (energy) that wells forth as creative art...which rises up in the direction of the Spirit. Thus, to put it abstractly, the hero Perseus espouses the spiritual side, he is the winged one, and the gods of the spirit are his allies in the fight with the unconscious."

All of this is to say that the Ancient Greeks, Etruscans and Romans alike believed that Pegasus is a God from the Spiritual World ....and we shall now see very rapidly why they interpreted this particular dream as being an allegory of the immortality of the Soul.

The recipe of the formula is very simple and quite childish because if you read carefully you will see that all the major Greco-Roman Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes, namely Helios, Zeus(Jupiter), Poseidon(Neptune), Athena(Minerva), Hermes(Mercury), Aries(Mars), Hades(Pluto), Apollo(Phebus), Eos, Selene, Perseus, Bellerophon....and etc... all flew on the Winged-Horse and therefore in the concept of the immortality of the soul, all these most famous personages were in fact always the same person....

So, once again here is another string... beginning with Helios, whose story by itself, contains the essence of the entire story.

I- Helios, is the very old Sun-God, who sees everything... for example he is the only one who saw the rapt of Proserpine by Pluto. He is the guy that you see in the Statue of Liberty in New-York City, wearing the Solar Rays Crown. In the Encyclopedia of Mythology, English version, p.139, French version p.136 we can read the following texts...

"It was related that Helios was drowned in the ocean by his uncles the Titans, and then raised to the sky, where he became the luminous sun."

"Every morning Helios emerged in the east from a swamp formed by the river-ocean in the far-off land of the Ethiopians. To his golden chariot, which Hephaestus had fashioned, the Horae harnessed the winged horses. They were of dazzling white, their nostrils breathed forth flame and their names were Lampon, Phaethon, Chronos, Aethon, Astrope, Bronte, Pyroeis, Eous and Phlegon. The God then took the reins and climbed the vault of heaven."

"Drawn in his swift chariot, he sheds light on gods and men alike: the formidable flash of his eyes pierces his golden helmet; sparkling rays glint from his breast ; his brilliant helmet gives forth a dazzling splendour; his body is draped in shining gauze whipped by the wind."

"At midday Helios reached the highest point of his course and began to descend towards the West, arriving at the end of the day in the land of the Hesperides, where he seemed to plunge into the ocean. In reality,...he would sail all night and in the morning regain his point of departure."

You see, my friends, this is "The Never Ending Story of the Winged-Horse"...and consequently #43 goes, with great honour, to Helios.

II- Selene (Luna), also known as Mene (Moon), another extremely ancient sideral personage, who from her gold crown was illuminating the obscurity of the darkness of the night. Every night, beginning her journey, once her brother Helios had terminated his own, the divine Selene with the large wings, "after bathing her beautiful body in the Ocean, and dressing herself in splendid clothes, would elevate herself in the sky, carried in a chariot drawn by brilliant chargers."

Sometimes, also, she was mounted on a single Horse. (EM English version, p.140, French version p.137).

It is said, further on, that the rays of Selene, come and caress the sleep of mortals at night in their sleep!!

So, the #44 goes with grace to Selene.

III- Zeus, the God of Light and the source of all celestial manifestations is the greatest of all the Immortal Gods of the Olympus...

"You are so well the Supreme Lord of the Universe that nothing on earth happens without you, nothing in the etherian heaven, nothing in the sea." (Cleanthus, 232 B.C. in "Hymn to Zeus".)

...also flew on Pegasus...because it is his Horse...and better than that Zeus/Jupiter would at times transform himself into the fabulous Horse himself and in that way he seduced many women including Carme, in Crete, who in time gave birth to the Creto-Mycenian Goddess Britomartis! Yes! (Encyclopedia of Mythology, French version, p.96)

"And Pegasus, taking its flight, left the earth...and flew towards the Immortals. He now lives in the palace of Zeus, carrying Thunder and Lightning for the pleasure of the prudent Zeus." (as reported by Hesiod in "Theogony", 280 (FM))

Zeus, is also the guarantor of the order between gods and men alike...and is often represented sitting on a throne with Winged-Horses at the base!

So, #45 goes to Zeus.

IV- Poseidon, the powerful God of the Sea, is, in Southern Greece, very often represented as a Horse himself. It is said that he, Neptune, in that form united himself with Demeter also transformed as a Mare. In the Triumph of Poseidon, he is shown with a halo around the head, holding the Trident, while rising from the Sea, in a chariot drawn by four Horses, therefore demonstrating his dominion over the darkness of Sea of life and death.

"He established residence in the depths of the Aegean Sea where "had been built for him a magnificent palace, sparkling of gold, and of eternal time span." When he was going out, he would harness his rapid Chargers, with the bronze hooves and the golden mane; and himself, covered by a gold armour, would grab his fancy fashioned whip and would throw his chariot on the liquid plain. Around him, could be seen playing marine monsters, which came from the deepest abysses to pay homage to their Sovereign; while the joyful Sea would open in front of him, and the Chariot would fly with lightness above the waves, which could not even wet the axle of his Chariot. But, at most occasions, the apparitions of Neptune were accompanied by terrible and most powerful storms..." (Encyclopedia of Mythology, French version, p.130)

Just as Zeus, Hades and a few others, he is said to be a chthonian God which represent the obscure forces of germination and death which favor life on earth. They are said to have a very strong relationship with Mother Earth. As Gods of the Depths, they can make the whole world shake from within.(EM & FM)

"Answer my prayer, Poseidon, you, who carries the Earth on your shoulder...." (Odysseus ix, 538.)

Therefore, #46 goes to Poseidon/Neptune

V- Athena, the goddess is also known in Rome as Minerva Capta, an Etruscan Goddess. She is strong and beautiful, and very well skilled with many talents...among which the building of ships... and the art of weaving and embroidering. Nothing exists in writing in regards to her flying on Pegasus....but it is said that she is very skilled at domesticating Horses as well as wild forces of nature.

However, she appeared to Bellerophon in a dream, ..."IN A DREAM"... THIS IS A MOST IMPORTANT STATEMENT... and gave him a gold bridle thanks to which he was able to tame the Horse Pegasus.

NOTHING IS BETTER LEFT UNSAID...... CHECK IT OUT.

Encyclopedia of Mythology, English v., p.108, French v., p.102... and issued from Pindare's "Olympics" xiii, 63 to 87... for those who wish to read in depth.

In any case, Athena, it is said "became equal to her Father (Zeus)... in both strength and prudent wisdom."...Theogony, 896... and is represented wearing a head-dress which is flanked by two Winged-Horses, one on each side... as in the gold and ivory sculpture of Phidias Vth century B.C. (FM)

What she wishes to teach to humans is that it is "the Metis, the magical intelligence, and not the strength, that makes a good Man." (Iliad, xv, 412.)

Therefore, Athena is given the #47.

VI- Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods and the Divine Psychopomp which escorted the souls of the dead to either Heaven or Hell, is shown at many places with the Winged-Horse , Pegasus. The EM for example, in the old original French version, shows Hermes next to Pegasus in a beautiful painting of Mantegna (Louvre Museum) on page 110 of the French version.

In Mead, "Thrice-Greatest Hermes", an invocation to Hermes is addressed to "the Good Daimon Sire of all things good, and the nurse of the whole world," where Daimon, as Mead suggests, stands for the "Father-Mother of the Universe." Ref. Glasson, "Greek Influence in Jewish Eschatology", p.69. Also, in "Works and Days" of Hesiod, Daemons are "Spirits of the Men of the Golden Age."

(Dictionary of Angels, p.93)

Hermes is the psychopompos, god of the Underworld, daimon of reincarnation. He received his art of divination from Apollo, his winged sandals from Perseus. In Homer, it is Hermes who leads the ghosts of slain suitors to Hades. He was given the name "Trismegistus", "Thrice-Greatest Intelligencer", because, so it is said, he was the First Intelligence to communicate celestial knowledge to men. It is also said, that the Cabala was shown to Hermes by God on Mount Sinai and that, in fact, he was none other than the Hebrew lawgiver Moses! (Ref. Barrett, "The Magus", Bibliographia Antiqua, p.150... as stated in the Dictionnary of Angels, p.140.)

"Hermes, (the Messenger of the Greek Gods)...had in his hand the beautiful gold wand which he used, to his own will and pleasure, to shut the eyes of humans or to put them out of their sleep... With his wand, he would lead the troupe, and the little souls were following, releasing small little piercing noises. In the profound cavities of a grotto, bats were taking off with little yells when one of them was detaching itself from the bunch suspended to the rock." ...(Odyssseus, XXIV,1.)

Hermes, was according to different researchers, the first one to be called "The Light of the World" and to wear the title of "Christos", which in Greek means "Celestial Messenger", ...being the equivalent of the Jewish "Messiah" and the sanskrit "Avatara".... which as described by the Monier-Williams' Sanskrit Dictionary is said to mean.... "Coming down with the approval of the higher source from which it came from and with the benefit to the place at which it arrives." Ave!

So, with plenty of ease and agility #48 goes to Hermes/Mercury.

VII- Pluto, you know Hades, the Lord of Hell, and of the underworld, ...well it is the same guy, once again. No kidding, this guy was riding some fabulous horses when he kidnapped the young Proserpine. This is again the dualistic nature showing up... and at the end of the story there is always reward or retribution. In any case, this is the story....

"A good morning Persephone was picking up some flowers with a few friends ,when suddenly, she saw a beautiful Narcissius . But a narcissius that you never see, with a bunch of flowers!

With a shout of surprise, the young girl precipitated herself to grab this astonishing flower, and got away out of sight from her comrades. She was already stretching her arms when ....in a loud noise of thunder ...an enormous crevasse opened up splitting the ground.

And from this crevasse emerged, in a furious gallop, a black chariot, drawn by two Horses that were so dark, that they appeared blue. And standing on the Chariot, the frightening Hades in person."

He grabbed her and brought her in his world from where she never wanted to come back afterwards. No one had seen anything except, Helios, the Sun-God....who sees everything.

So, #49 without any hesitation goes to Hades/Pluto.

VIII- Aries, is usually represented with his armoured combat (debate) gear, wearing the High Crest Corynthian Helmet, flanked by two Winged-Horses, one on each side, and wearing a front chest Armour on which we can see Two Winged-Horses facing each other. There is a beautiful sculpture exposed in FM.

He often dies in combat.... but he is always brought back to life by the Gods of the Olympus. Apparently, considered as the physical father of Romulus, he led Rome to the Empire of the World.(EM & FM)

So, #50, happily goes to Aries/Mars.

IX- Apollo, also called Phoebus, "The Brilliant",

and assimilated to the Sun, and considered as the most powerful of all gods....also rode on Pegasus.

"It is to Apollo, the God of Delphes, to dictate the most important, the most beautiful, and the first of all Laws." (Plato, "The Republic", IV,427.)

At times, the Gryphon, the fabulous animal, with the body and ears and eyes of a Horse, with wings of Eagle....has become the sacred animal of Apollo, and it may have been substituted to Pegasus, because it belonged like him to the Solar God. (My translation of a few lines extracted from "Lux Perpetua", p.289.)

Apollo, with the fiery eyes, is the God of Knowledge. His sight reaches everything.... and for him there is no distance. "Nothing escapes him, no thoughts, no words, no actions....he knows everything." (Pindare's "Pythics" iii,25.)

Consequently, #51 is awarded to Apollo/Phebus.

X- Eos, the Goddess of the Wind....

"Sometimes she was mounted on the Horse Pegasus and bore in her hands a torch. Most often saffron-robed Eos rode on a purple chariot drawn by two horses." (EM english, p.143, French, p.138.)

Therefore, # 52 goes to Eos.

XI- Phaeton, a mysterious Hero considered to be the Son of the Sun and of the Sun-God Helios.... also flew on the Chariot of the Sun. However, being young and inexperienced he had difficulties in his task and lost control of the Winged Horses... and the chariot flying to close to the Earth rapidly dried large rivers and sat forests ablaze everywhere, so much that Zeus had to get rid of him by a shot of lightning. (Encyclopedia of Mythology, French version, p.137.)

So, Phaeton is our #53.

XII- Perseus, everyone knows that he is a good guy, he flies on Pegasus and destroys the Gorgon ... taking her head as a present to Athena....which becomes her Egid.

There is no need to expand on this world famous story which is a landmark in the Mysteries of Mythology, which explains the presence of an illustration of Perseus on the magical Horse Pegasus on page 1 of the Encyclopedia of Mythology, english version, for example.

In any case, Perseus, in the accomplishment of his divine mission, is helped, in this regard, by a few of the ghosts of the ancient riders of the magical Horse of the past...Hermes, Hades and Athena. We will get to this phenomena a little later.

So, Perseus is our Winged-Horse Rider #54.

XIII- Bellerophon, a weird personage, who flew on the Winged-Horse in a dream and subsequently killed the Chimera..... Apparently, question of apparitions, Athena appeared to Bellerophon "IN A DREAM", .... THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STATEMENT..... and gave him a gold bridle thanks to which he was able to tame the Horse Pegasus.

(***Encyclopedia of Mythology, english version, p.108, French version, p.102.***)

Therefore, Bellerophon, with his wonderful dream in which he flew on the Winged-Horse Pegasus, which was interpreted by the Greeks as an allegory of the Immortality of the soul, gets awarded #55.

XIV- Herakles/Hercules... the famous hero, was also associated with the Winged-Horse as you may have seen in the Walt Disney movie...so he gets #56.

XV- Oenomaos... a quite unknown personage, a son

of Aries and Harpina, whose name is derived from "Oeniros" the Greek word for dream. This Oenamaos, who reigned close to Olympia, had a daughter named Hippodamia, whose name is derived from the Greek word "Horse". Interestingly, it is said that Oenomaos decided that he would give the hand of his daughter to the man who would succeed in beating him in a Chariot Race. He was sure to win because his Chariot was pulled by Winged-Horses presented to him by Aries, his Father.

However, due to a wicked ruse of his own daughter Hippodamia, he lost to Pelops... and Oenomaos found his death in the defeat. (Encyclopedia of Mythology, French version, p.118)

Consequently, Oenomaos receives #57.

XVI- Hephaistos/Vulcan... the gold, silver and all-metals' Divine Smith of the Gods is another Winged-Horse Rider, who is no one else than the Creator himself and this is very easily recognisable by his works.

Besides building the Palaces of the Olympia he also fashioned the Gold Throne of God, the Scepter and Thunderbolts of Zeus, the Magical Arrows of Artemis and Apollo, the Armour of Hercules... and so many other wonderful things among which the most important of all is... the Winged-Chariot of Helios!!!

Nothing was impossible for him... and to the request of Zeus he even molded the first woman, Pandora... and was charged to give her "life", intelligence and extraordinary beauty.

Hephaistos help Zeus at many occasions and one of his chief exploits took place on the day that he "Cracked Open the Skull of Zeus with an Axe in order to give birth to Athena from his mind!" ... talk about a strange Caesarian... not for eyes to see, but for brains to see what spiritual birth is all about.

(These little extracts from The Encyclopedia of Mythology, French version, p. 118 to 122.)

So, Hephaistos receives the Winged-Horse Award #58.

XVII- Hippothoos, is another relatively unknown personage who mingled with the Horse and mounted on the Divine Throne.

Son and Grand-Son of Poseidon, he was left to die by his own mother, Alope, and was saved by a Horse (a Mare) who breast fed him. He was then found by some people who brought him to the father of Alope and this guy left him to die starving somewhere else... and the Horse came back to feed and save him again.

Later on this guy, Hippothoos will end up reigning on the Gold Throne of Poseidon... showing that he had the same attributes.

("The Encyclopedia OF Mythology", French version, p.132.)

So, Hippothoos gets #59.

XVIII- Dionysos/Bacchus, is another of the Winged-Horse Riders of this ancient Mythology worth mentioning.

The ethymology of his name means Dios or Zeus of Nysa, and seems by analogy to be the Greek form of the Vedic God Soma!

In any case, besides others, he is the God of Wine, of Vegetation, of Pleasure, of Civilisation and of Resurrection. Stories and legends abound and the best ones regard his assassination by jealous people and his ultimate resurrection... and as Plutarch says so well...

"Dionysos becomes the God who is destroyed, who disappears, who abandons life and who rebirths later on."

Also, quite interestingly, Dionysos has a very unique talent of charging with folly, or turn totally crazy and insane those who refuse to recognise his divinity or who decide to plot against him. One of the best stories which shows this supranormal ability is the one about the pirates who take him as prisoner and tie him somewhere in the hold of the ship. For those who don't know about this story, the ship was stopped by growing vegetation and the pirates were haunted by different visions of Dionysos and finally, they all jumped off the ship except the only man on board who had recognised the Divinity of Dionysos.

By the way, Bacchus was the most celebrated of all the Greek Gods and during one of the main celebrations, Dionysos is shown riding in pure majesty his beautiful "Chariot drawn by the Centaurs".

(These extracts from "The Encyclopedia OF Mythology", French version,

p.151 to 156.)

Therefore, he gets #60.

XIX- The Centaurs and the talking Horse Arion...

Since we are on the subject, we might as well discuss briefly of the Centaurs who are simply a Trinitarian representation of the Winged-Horse Riders and their spiritual counterparts. It shall be noted that the prophet Mohammed is at times represented as such in Indonesia for example. Some say that the Greeks borrowed this representation from the Vedic Gandharvas. In any case,

these were reputed for their wisdom such as Pholos who received Hercules and Chiron who instructed Artemis and Apollo and had other numerous Greek Heroes as Students.

Another most inspiring representation of the Horse Divinity is in the legendary Human-Horse Arion, the progeny of Poseidon and Demeter who was a horse having the both right feet of a human and was speaking the language of humans... just to illustrate that this horse was of divine nature.

(The Encyclopedia of Mythology, French version, p.158 & 131 respectively.)

So, we will not grant nothing to the Centaurs, because they are the symbolic representations of some earlier Riders already mentioned... but, Arion came and walked...and we give him one....# 61.

XX to XXIII- The Greek and Romans Emperors

Although, we have jumped over other heroes and gods of Greek Mythology, who flew on the Winged-Horse... this privilege of ascending to heaven on Pegasus was also granted to other more recent and historically recognised personages of the Greco-Roman lore which were known and remembered as the Emperors...most of them who were simple impostors such as August, the first Emperor, who claimed to have dreams in which Jupiter appeared to him or even the terrors of Nero and Domitian... but, there were also some good ones who could have been true Riders of the Winged-Horse, by their faith such as Emperor Trajan often represented with the Winged-Horse with Pegasus...and without forgetting Alexander the Great and even Julius Caesar,...and of course the last Emperor Julian the Apostat. For your info, there exists plenty of material in this regard in "Lux Perpetua" by world renowned historian Franz Cumont... and let's briefly take a look at a few prospects...

XX- Alexander the Great, (356-323 BC) King of Macedonia (336-323 BC)

Alexander the Great....is also a rather universal personage who was motivated by his dreams... actually his whole conquest was guided by his dreams. He also had a fabulous Horse by the name of Bucephalis.... Bucphale, in French... which played an important rile in his stories simply because it was "The Horse of the Kings of the World" (Quinte Curce VI, 5-18 )...and rightfully "The Horse of the Universal Monarch"!

It should be noted that Alexander also appears in the Bible in the first

chapter of the First Book of the Maccabeus.... where he is stingily reported as a being a tyrant... which is kind of contrary to everything that I've read elsewhere. This is not normal and makes me wonder why?

And for your info, Alexander was also recognised, in 332 BC, at the age of 24, by the Great Priests of Amon as to be a Son... or a living reincarnation of Amon-R, who just like Osiris traveled the World to spread his knowledge and was the last person to this present day to wear the title of Touthank Amon-R..."The Living Image of the Sun-God." (EM, Amon-R section)

An interesting point to remark, is the fact that, at this time, the favorite animal of Amon-R was made to be the Bull Apis....and this explains why the most famous Dream Horse of Alexander began to wear the name "Bucephalis"... Bull-Head... and also the reason why Alexandria, founded a year later in 331 BC, became suddenly the Universal Intellectual and Artistic Capital of Learning for a while....with its prestigious Libraries and Universities and a New World Trade Center, dominated by a 400 feet high Lighthouse, symbolic of the Light of the World... and we shall understand more about the logic of this in next month's column.

In any case, Alexander had created, before his death at the young age of 33, a very large Empire....which he conquered very peacefully.... people of all countries were opening their arms to him. And still today people still wonder why....and also why in his kingdom, conquered and conquerors were treated the same? No oppression, no blood effusion, just happy people living in a border free peaceful kingdom of peace...... but yet a conquest!

Anyways, Alexander the Great, because of his Horse..."The Horse of the Kings of the World" (Quinte Curce VI, 5-18 )...and rightfully "The Horse of the Universal Monarch" gets to receive without any hesitation #62.
 
 
 

XXI- Emperor Julius Caesar #101-44 BC #63

Quite strangely this world famous Roman "for a few days" Imperator, who was primarily an historian motivated by his dreams... seems to have indeed also flown on the Winged-Horse!!!

"The oldest representation of the apotheosis in Rome, shows us already, Julius Caesar, standing in a chariot carried away by Winged-Horses." (Lux Perpetua, p.293)

This may sound crazy at first sight, but Julius Caesar was a dreamer who paid attention to his dreams and Suetone the historian (69-125 AD) who wrote the "Lives of the 12 Caesuras" tells about an oreiric anecdote relating that Julius Caesar, in his early 30's, during a pilgrimage to Spain, cried in front of a statue of Alexander the Great in Cadix, shortly after he had one of his dreams interpreted by some "Spanish Divinators" who predicted that he would one day dominate the world.(Cesar, from the collection, "Les Grands de Tous les Temps", published by Dargaud.S.A.,1968, p.24.)

I have a pretty good idea of what this dream could have been... but anyways, Caesar was confused with all this and did not know to handle his conquest and made so many mistakes and even conquered allies, like the Gauls, as if they were enemies... and his "Incest Dream" prior to crossing the Rubicon to engage combat against Pompee...was a true "Guidance Dream" which clearly indicated that he was screwing the will of the Lord, who had given birth to him.

Anyways, he was not in history, the only Winged-Horse Rider who did not exactly understand what was expected of him or partly succeeded or failed in his earthly mission of demonstrating the existence of the spiritual world and establish the Kingdom of God on Earth. Not really easy by any means.

Strangely enough, a short while after he was proclaimed "Imperator", during the night of the 14th of march of 44 BC, his wife dreamt that he was getting assassinated... and so he was on the following day, just according to the dream!

"Who was Julius Caesar?" This is a very good question... which was answered by Jacques Madaule, author of a little work entitled "Cesar" (1959)...

"On the 15th of march, 44 BC, the curtain fell on the history of Caesar. It rose almost immediately on his legend. Regarding his writings which he left us, they equally hold of both. Caesar sculptured his own statue; but like these antique stone images, we miss the glance, this glance which, dying, he rested on Brutus. Who was Caesar? Nor his acts, nor his writings, nor his words, nor his death, even, tell us enough. We would have needed to hear the tone of his voice and seen shine the brightness in his eyes..."

Regardless, there are many representations of CaesarÆs Apotheosis which is nothing less than his "Divinisation"... riding in pure majesty on the Winged-Horse Chariot of the Universal Monarch...in different compositions executed in the famous paintings of " The Triumph of Caesar" by Montegna or "Caesar, Master of the World" by Ybon...and etc., but the best remains the one mentioned earlier...

"The oldest representation of the apotheosis in Rome, shows us already, Julius Caesar, standing in a chariot carried away by Winged-Horses." (Lux Perpetua, p.293)

(These 3 representations can all be seen in this little book...Cesar, from the collection, "Les Grands de Tous les Temps", published by Dargaud.S.A.,1968, on pages 69, 59 and 74 respectively.)

And then of course, since many people know about the Story of the Universal Monarch and of his most famous Winged-Horse, comes an era of impostors who know how the story works and clam to have flown on the Magical Horse... for instance Emperor August the successor of Caesar...

O- Emperor August (63 BC-14 AD) ... he was an imposter knowing the game, most likely because he was told by Caesar about it...and he was saying that Zeus/Jupiter was appearing to him in dreams and perhaps it is true, but he never transfigured into him, for the simple reason that in his time it is someone else who flew on the Winged-Horse... and he could not be the Universal Monarch... therefore he gets #0.

Nevertheless as Franz Cumont says in Lux Perpetua on p.292...

"The Emperors were supposed to become after their death the companions of the Sun Invincible... "Sol Invictus", just as they had been his proteges during their lifetime, and conducted by him towards the eternal vaults. And these are not their emphatical flatteries, inspired to court poets by servile adulation. A papyrus, found in Higher-Egypt, shows us the Faith in this form of Apotheosis which spread to the extreme confines of the Empire. Phebus/Apollo himself announces to the Romam people the death of Trajan and the advent of his successor.

"I," says the God in his own terms " have just elevated myself with Trajan on a chariot harnessed with white horses and I arrive towards you to announce that a new Prince, Hadrian, to which all things have been submitted due to his Virtue and to the Fortune of his divine Father."

This deification, obtained through the intermediary of the Sun, making place to the Sovereign on the Chariot of the Sun, remained an Article of Faith, right up to the end of paganism."

In any case, this declaration of Apollo, suggests that Emperor Hadrian could have been a Winged-Horse Rider... if it was not Emperor Trajan who conquered lots of territory on basically the same route taken 4 centuries earlier...but Nostradamus in his Centuries mentions Hadrian four times...in 1,8, 1,9, 2,55 and 3,11 which suggests that it must have been Hadrian.

XXII- Emperor Trajan (53-98-117 AD) or Emperor Hadrian (76-117-138) receives #64.

XXIII- Emperor Julian the Apostat (331-361-363) the last of the Roman Emperors apparently would have flown on the Winged-Horse... because, unsatisfied with changing Christianity, he became a fervent follower of Mithraism. Yes! Because of his Spirituality, he was convinced that Mithra, the "Sol Invictus" to whom he had propitiated, would be the one who would permit him to leave this world with the hope of a better future...(Lux Perpetua, p.302)...and we know that Mithra was one of the Riders of the Undying, Shining, Swift-Horsed-Sun! It is said that Julian considered himself to be the Spiritual Son of The Sun and that after his death he would be carried in a Fiery Chariot to the top of Mount Olympus, in the whirring of a thunderstorm...to reach the palace of his Father in etherian light."

(Lux Perpetua p.292)

So, Emperor Julian for his fair performance deserves #65.

Anyways, to the testimony of the writers and authors, one can add the ones of the monuments and even money coins which demonstrate without any doubt the vitality of these ancient mythological beliefs from which was inspired the cult of the Emperors. (Lux erpetua, p.293) ... and there is so much more.

In resume, as Franz Cumont says on p.288 of Lux Perpetua.....

"It is therefore doubtless that Pegasus was regarded as an agile psychopompos, which, in an audacious flight, lifted right up to the height of the stellar vaults of heaven the privileged mortals who had obtained to reside over there forever. The Mythology consecrated Pegasus to the Sun and it was towards this Aster that he was bringing back the souls to which he had given life and was calling them to him."

"It is the reason why this Pegasus-Saviour has been represented alone, even without Rider, as a symbol of Immortality."

..... and further along, he mentions that all these representations, were actually symbolic images ....."reminding of the Ascension to Heaven."

Oh! by the way, I completely forgot about the Etruscans and The Winged-Horse in the pre-recorded initial times of the Roman Empire.... but it is always the same story as numerous Imperial Etruscan tombstones, such as the ones of Felsina, show the Emperors as being carried away to heaven on Winged-Horse(s) or in chariots drawn by the same. (Lux Perpetua, p.290-291.)

.....and I hope that this has been quite sufficient to pinpoint the fact that the Winged-Horse played a primordial role in Greece and Rome in regards to the establishment of the strong belief of the immortality of the soul.... and the simple reason why this particular dream was considered to be an allegory of the soul... and also that these little resumes of the different lives of the Immortal Winged-Horse Rider give you a little picture of the character of this immortal personage.

And now let's head into Celtic Mythology to hear once again the same story but viewed from another slightly different cultural angle.
 
 
 
 

In Celtic Mythology, the Winged-Horse also played the same role....but the story is not linear as it was with the Greeks, for the simple reason that the advent of writing came very late in the Celtic Civilization and therefore everything was only passed orally from generations down....and consequently only small fractions of their rich culture remains.

Still today, researchers do not exactly know where the mysterious Celts came from.... all they know is that they arrived in western Europe, from somewhere in the East, with the axe and cows.... chopped forests down and turned them into pastures for their animals. They were fearless warriors to whom death was nothing and were extremely feared by their enemies.... and, yet, among themselves, lived in total peace and harmony for numerous centuries.

To the Celts, a large number of animals were held sacred and among which the most sacred of all was the Horse.

As stated in the Encyclopedia of Mythology english version, p.225, the White Horse at Uffington, Oxforshire (Berkshire), England, is perhaps the most dramatic representation of the Sacred Horse, in Celtic times. More details are exposed in the book " Celtic Mysteries " by J.Sharkey, in two texts describing the Sacred-Horse representations on plates 26 and 27.

" The Uffington White Horse marks the place as sacred to a Celtic Horse Deity, and probably as the site of regular ceremonial games and tribal gatherings. Cut into the chalk of a hillside, its stylised design, (with the beak of a bird)....and its huge scale, exactly 365 feet long, from nose to tail show the devotion and artistic sophistication of its creators.... a few centuries B.C. A mound below and to the left to the Horse is known as Dragon's Hill which implies an association with the occult forces of the Earth." (Plate 26)

" The designs on many ancient Celtic coins show a marked resemblance to the Uffington Horse. It was common to have the King's head and name on the obverse and a splayed horse or horse and chariot on the reverse. The fragmentation of the figures seems to suggest motion may have had a special symbolism for the users of the coin." (Gold coin of the Aulerii, Britain, 1rst c.BC.)(Plate 27)

You see, the second text suggests that there is a relationship between the Celtic King and the Spiritual Horse....and also on page 6 of the same, Mr.Sharkey, writes the following....

" Cultural affinities between the Celts and India can be also traced in the animal rituals in which the spirit of the new king is rendered incarnate with that of a Horse." ..... which clearly suggests that the Celtic Myth of Royalty has striking parallels with the one in India. In order to illustrate this tradition, here is something, which shows how it still was some 800 years ago. (As stated by J. Sharkey in "Celtic Mysteries"

p.13)

" The shamanistic identity with Animals was clearly reflected in Celtic Ritual even in Christian Times. In AD 1185, the Welsh historian Giraldus Cambrensis was horrified by what he called a " barbarious and abominable rite of enthronement " practised by an Ulster clan, and in his "Description of Ireland" he describes it all very clearly: " The whole people of the country being gathered in one place, a white Horse is led into the midst of them, and He who is to be inaugurated, not as a prince but as a brute, not as a king but as an outlaw, comes before the people, confessing himself a Beast with no less impudence than imprudence. The mare being immediately killed and cut into pieces and boiled, a bath is prepared for him from the broth. Sitting in this, he eats of the flesh which is brought to him, the people standing around and partaking of it also. He is then required to drink of the broth in which he bathes, not drinking it in any vessel nor even his hand but lapping it with his mouth. These unrighteous rites duly accomplished, his Royal Authority and Dominion are ratified."

Wow! What a party? But, still, all of this was under the careful supervision of the Druids, who were....according to the Greek writer Sotian just like the Magi of Persia and the Brahmins of India. The Druids were a combination of shaman, priest, poet, philosopher, physician, judge ....and more importantly the custodians of visions and prophecies. In short druids were also dream interpreters.... for who the dream was a necessary transition in discovering the "other lands" of the mysterious world beyond death, which they called Sidh, and which was populated by supernatural inhabitants, also known as the Sidh, which are said to be of two kinds - the tall shining ones and the opalescence lit from within. By the way, it is interesting to note that in many stories of the Buddha his Swift Horse is often called Sindh Horse and I would imagine that the sacred Horse of the Celts was also called the Sidh Horse. Regardless, back to the dreams, there was such an affinity between Druids and Dreams that, the Island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland was known as Isle of Dreams or Isle of Druids.....which tells that when you speak of Druids you are in the sphere of Dreams.... and that the Druids were Dream Doctors, or Oneiromancers, if you prefer, just like the Magis.

Mention is made in the 11th century, "Book of the Dun Cow" of a ritual by which the new king was selected: " A spell was chanted over him (the druid) as he lay bloated in a trance-state so that he could see in the dream sphere, the shape and appearance of the man who would be made king." (same book p.14)

This easy movement between the King, the human warrior hero and his otherworldy archetype, the Sun-God, the Sun himself, the victor in the eternally renewed battle with darkness, is a common practice in every kind of Celtic story. For them, the Celts, their unique king, like Arthur asleep below a hillside is their "once and future king" - ritually bound as a cosmic embodiment of the Ancient dream state.(same book p.9 & 11)

It is also said that the Celts entered a collective dream state where the past, present and future, psychic and physical realities merge, to become a bridge between the divine and the human. In short, the Key to the Celtic Mysteries is simply the merging of the spiritual and physical planes.... through dreams. (same p.10)

So, all of this to simply say, is that for our Mysterious Celts, for whom death was nothing, were reincarnationists, who knew that their immortal king was always the same soul inside a new body. "The King is dead, long live the King" they said when they buried his body and would throw a real party when he would reappear in some other times. Therefore, let me try to illustrate, by watching a few of these legendary Kings,...and also, at times Queens of the Celts.... how it simply worked.

I- Dagda, the Daddy, who is the Lord of the Perfect Knowledge, possesses a magic club which can kill by one end and resurrect the dead by the other....a magical harp which played by itself wonderful airs and a cauldron of elixir vitae that would never go empty. He is believed to be represented by the Cerne Abbas Giant.

Because of what was stated earlier, Dagda receives #66.

II- Ogmios, the God of Eloquence also known as the Verb. Ogmios, is described as an old man whose head is nearly bald, and which hairs that remain are completely white, draws considerable crowds of humans tied by the ears by a golden keychain which extremity passes through the thong of the god.

In Ireland he is called Ogma. He is the inventor of Ogham, a mysterious language of magical signs which is so powerful that it can paralyze any adversary. Ogmios, is the assured eloquence of his power, who by magic attracts his people. He is also the symbol of the power of the ritual word which unites the World of Men to the World of Gods. He is the God of the singular Combat against the Forces of Darkness. He has a big Club in his hand....and a dramatic representation of Him, ...(or any other male Rider of the Sidh Horse) ...the Cerne Abbas Giant, can be seen of him on The Hill of Cerne Abbas, Dorset, England....carved in a chalk hill it is of the exact same nature as the Sacred Horse of Uffington, but exactly half in size....182 &1/2 feet tall...and related to Agrigarian Rites associated with phallic worship of the Sacred Horse.... which is exactly 365 feet. You see, this measure just happens to equate the number of days in a year, or the time it takes for the Earth to go around the Sun, therefore showing its solar relationship and the permanent continuity. On another hand, the Giant, is only half the size, indicating that he is of lesser importance than the Magic Horse, in a celestial point of view, and is only present half the time of the year, which means that he is not there all the time.... for a while he is there and another not.... and then he reappears.... and then he dies... and then he is not there for a while..... and then he reappears.... and so on. This is the simple reason that the faces of Kings were changing on the Celtic coins, while the Magical Horse, constantly, remained.

Consequently, Ogmios is granted # 67.

III- Epona, the Horse-Goddess, figures on countless representations, from the Gaul to North-Africa passing by England and Italy. She is one of the few Celtic Gods to enjoy a widespread cult. She is usually represented alone on a Horse, side-saddled seated, wearing a long robe, a cloak and a diadem and carrying a Key.... or sometimes the same way , accompanied by a kid, and is considered to be the patron and protectoress of Horse Riders, travellers and also of those on their way to the other world. She is sometimes seen as a Fecondity Goddess because we often find at the base of her statues a horn of abundance or a fruit basket. (EM &FM)

Therefore, as you may anticipate Epona becomes # 68.

IV- Taranis, who would be the all-mighty Master of the Universe. Both terrifying and sublime, Taranis scares by sudden lightnings and rollings of thunder.... but he is also the life-giver which makes everything grow. His main weapon, is the thunderbolt or lightning and it is said that it blinds the one who sees it, deafens the one who ears it and kills the one who receives it. He is represented as a mature bearded man holding a large wheel of fire, representing eternal motion. He is also seen on a Horse, surmounting a snake-tailed Giant demonstrating his dominion. He is the one also represented on one of the plates of embossed silver decorating the inside of the very famous Cauldron of Gundestrup (Denmark, circa 50 BC.). Traces of his cult have been found in Gaul, Germany, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Great-Britain. (FM)

Because of his Horse and other attributes of the Universal Monarch...

Taranis gets to be granted # 69.

V- Lugh of the Long Arm, whose name has affinities with the Latin Lux...Light...and many places in Europe like Leyden in Holland or Carlisle (Caer Lugubalion) were named after him...the Greatest Warrior of All, the Sun-God himself, the victor of the eternally renewed battle with darkness..... who in that particular life was the King of the Tuatha Dé Dannan. Besides being a Warrior, he was also a wiseman, a magician, a musician and master of all techniques.

Because he is the Sun-God and of course some magical horse which can be found in different stories, Lugh of the Long Arm obtains # 70.

VI- Cu Chulain, the famous most lovable Irish Hero who is totally inoffensive in daily life but turns into a supreme warrior in battle. It is said that he was considered to be the spiritual Son of Lugh of the Long Arm, who is always next to him in combat as related in the following dream story exposed in an episode of an epic...from extracts of the " Celtic Mysteries " by J.Sharkey p.10 & 11...

" The great epic Tain Bo Cualgne, "The Cattle Raid of Cooley", shows the warrior hero Cu Chulainn single-handedly defending the Northern Province against "the Men of Ireland". In one episode, when the champion is badly wounded and needs a respite, the Sun-God Lugh of the Long Arm himself appears .... walking unconcernedly through the carnage of the battle.

"Who are you?" Cu Chulainn asks the Ghost Warrior.

" Your Father from the Outerworld am I,...Lugh of Enthliu. Sleep a while, Cu Chulainn," says the Radiant Warrior, " and I will oppose all during that time." He examines each wound so that it becomes clean. Then He sings him "men's low strain" so that Cu Chulainn falls asleep."

" The Ghost Warrior from the Sidh, "a man born not of a woman" tells Cu Chulainn to sleep, " for they have no power over your life at this time". In the bardo state the Hero is neither dead nor awake; like Arthur asleep below the hillside, he is "once and future king" - ritually bound as a cosmic embodiment of the Ancient dream state."

You see, this normal oneiric phenomena, which has been called by some as "Transfiguration".... a universally well-known phenomena when a ghost of a previous life, a Spiritual Father of the Otherworld, appears for guidance and/or instruction. Striking parallels can be found, once again, in all civilisations in this regard....for instance in Genesis 15,1, when the Lord appeared to Abraham in a vision of the night...

" Do not be afraid, Abraham, I am your shield and your exceeding reward." Anyways, we can easily understand why Cu Chulain had no problem in subjugating alone all the Men of Ireland.....who fastly understood that he was the reincarnation of the Sun-God.

Besides Cu Chulain has a magical horse which understands everything...and shares the same attributes as Lugh of the Long-Arm who has a Chariot drawn by two magical Horses, a white one and a black one... and consequently he receives # 71.

VII- Sucellus, a very famous Galeic personage, another reincarnation of the immortal God with the club. Comparable to Zeus, he is wealthy, powerful, sovereign and majestic. His Majesty, Sucellus, has a name which can be divided in two...."Su" which means "well" and "cellus" ...."to hit", which means that he is the God who hits well and therefore the God who gives the good death.(FM)

Again due to his Universal Monarch character, Sucellus, is awarded # 72.

VIII- Rhiannon, the beautiful Swift-Horse Goddess which no one could catch. She mounts a White Horse and, in spite of her calm and serene pace, no other horsemen, even at full gallop can catch her. She becomes the wife of Pwyll, the Prince of Dyfed, another famous Celtic Hero.... and their story, which always involve magical Horses, which safeguard insures life and continuity, is still popular, even to the present day. (EM & FM)

And consequently, Rhiannon, gets # 73.

IX- The Irish Hero Mannannan Mac Llyr....also known in Wales as Manawyddan ab Llyr, whose family name "Llyr"... meant "Ocean" and was renowned to be a God of Storms and Waves. I tell you this because they say that, while this God is on Earth, he has a Magic Charger who flies through space.

Oh! People think that this is only legend but this guy, according to Geoffroy of Monmouth, existed in the past, and that he was the King of Great-Britain... a long time ago... and was immortalised as King Lear by Shakespeare!

Now, he has a Twin Brother, which appears to be his spiritual self and is named Bran who is an enormous giant, whose body is so huge that it cannot be contained in any Castle nor Ship...but often uses it to make a bridge over large rivers to pass armies of people on. Bran is also represented as an intrepid traveller who sails to Occident and to the Other World of Above. He possesses a Cauldron in which he resurrects the Dead! King of the Sidh, which includes the infernal regions, he must fight there against the Dragon in order the defend magical treasures!

His, brother, Manawyddan, in Wales, who became the King, was only a poor farmer and skilled shoe-maker! So, you see what I mean. He was made of two parts ... a Giant Spiritual One combined to a Minuscule Human one.

In Ireland, however, Mannannan mac Llyr, had the powers of the Twins combined together, and is a powerful magician. He wears a flaming helmet, wears an invulnerable armor, his sword kills of the first shot and he has a magical Cape which renders him invisible besides again having the Magic Horse which goes through space. On the Sea, he has a little boat... with no sails, no rudder, nor oars... which transports him magically exactly where he wishes. Just like the Khonshu of the Egyptians, he is the "Navigator of the Mysterious Regions".

He eventually became the Patron of Irish Fishermen as Barfind and in Wales as Barrin... and the Christian Church made of him Saint-Barry and he is especially worshiped by the fishermen of the Isle of Man which was named after him... and where his gigantic tomb can still be seen at the Castle of Peel! Even on the New Continent, in New-Brunswick, Canada, the Grand Manan Island also wears his name!

(Most of these extracts are from the Encyclopedia of Mythology, french version, p.210-211.)

In any case, he is considered to be a God of the Powerful Forces of the Sea....of Waves and of Storms... and due to his Magical Charger which flies in space...he deserves # 74.

X & XI- Finn Mac Cumhail and Ossian...these are two other personages, father and son respectively, spiritually speaking, who again have the same attributes.

Finn, obviously apparent to Mannannan mac Llyr, was supposed to be an incarnation of the Breton God of the World of Above, Gwyn ab Nudd, the King of the Galleic Fairies.

Numerous are the adventures of both Finn (also known as Fingal) and his spiritual son Ossian (also known as Ossin)...and their dual story seems to begin at the battle of Gavra in Ireland in the year 283... where Finn lost his life. However, the story says that Ossian was saved by Niameh the Fairy who took him to "Tir nan Og", the Celtic Paradise...where Ossian spends 300 years of delicious youth...while the face of the world of humans changes. However, with time, a strong desire builds inside him to see again his native land and Niameh gives him his Magical Horse, recommending him of not setting foot on the ground of the Earth. I guess that there is no need to add that this magical Horse is a Flying Horse.

Unfortunately, the Horse's girth broke open and the saddle slipped and Ossian fell on the ground and when he managed to get up, he was only an old blind man deprived of his divine God-given talents. (The Encyclopedia of Mythology, french version, p.217-218.)

What a dramatic representation of the human fate of the Immortal Winged-Horse Riders and consequently, Finn Cumhail and Ossian get awarded #s...75 and 76.

XII- King Arthur, the last major Sovereign of medieval Occident, is possibly the last of the Celtic Hero-King, worth mentioning at this time.... who favored the union of the Celtic nations " who could hear themselves talk from one shore to the other of the English Channel". I do not think that he needs any presentation and I only mention him, because they say that he would come back one day to deliver his people. You have to realise that he went very far, in the beginning of the 6th century to go, find and bring back with him both the Holy Grail and the Cross of the Christ. For your info the Holy Grail was a magic Cauldron "of Inspiration and Science" which all the Gods envy and try to steal from each other. In any case, Arthur had some pretty wild dreams, I am pretty sure, to go and attempt to accomplish some "Impossible missions" like that. It is also interesting to note, that even though it had been proclaimed by Pope Justin, in his debate against Origene a couple centuries earlier, that Christianism was not a reincarnationist faith anymore.... Arthur, still believed that he would be reborn again and was a reincarnationist, even though he was Christian.

Because of his dreams and the fact that he was recognised, in the dream realm, as the King of the Sidh, by the Druids... Arthur receives # 77.

A century later, the biggest question in Rome was about dreams.... and it was declared by Jerome, that dreams were messages of the devil and condemned them. Consequently, the Church, even though the Bible is loaded with dreams, proclaimed that dreams were not divine messages and had to be ignored!

Surely hoping that the presentation of these few folkloric personages, combined with other visual facts, has been sufficient to demonstrate the strong Celtic belief in the existence of the Magical Flying Horse and the immortality of the soul.... and especially the one of their immortal King, who was always appointed by spiritual succession rather than parental relationship, as it has always been done to this day.

So, this is also the reason why the King's faces and names were changing on the Celtic coins .... but never the Sidh Horse....who is the Spirit of the King of the Sidh.

"In God we Trust."...they still print on money in some places... showing that they must have had some trust in God... in some other times! :-)
 

SCANDINAVIA & NORTHERN EUROPE

From now on, now having a pretty good idea on how it works with our Winged-Horse... we will be flying through the rest...

In Teutonic and Scandinavian Mythology, the Flying Horse is again present everywhere which interestingly, will add a little more to the knowledge

about it.

Over there the big string begins with ....

I- "Odin" or "Woden" or "Wotan"....the Rider of Sleipnir....the magical flying Horse which was venerated just like his Rider. You may wish to read more about him in "The Encyclopedia Of Mythology" English version from pages 252 to 258....of which these are some interesting extracts....or parts of such....

"Odin is supposed to be the principal god of the Teutonic people and has been regarded as such for centuries, especially among the ancestors of the Germans." (252)

"Odin was armed with a shining breast-plate and a golden helmet. In his hand he grasped the spear Gungnir..... His Horse, which was sometimes white and sometimes black, which was able to fly in the air, was the best and Swiftest of all Stallions....and no obstacle existed that it could not overcome. One day, Odin was riding in the land of the Giants. One of the inhabitants of the country, a certain Hrungnir , admired this Horseman... who cleaved the air and waters so effortlessly, and began to praise the qualities of his steed..... and he saw Odin flying on Sleipnir....." (254)

"One of the most extraordinary episodes in the life of Odin....is the one which concerns .....his resurrection. ..... Odin was accomplishing a magical rite, the purpose of which was his own rejuvenation. For the gods themselves, like men, were doomed to decrepitude."(257)

"Odin often mingled in the affairs of men, though he rarely appeared to them in the splendor of his divinity. More often he assumed the disguise of a simple traveler." (255)

Odin is sovereign. " He is the first and the oldest of all Ases ; he reigns on all things, and, even though others gods may be very powerful, they serve him all, like good children would serve their father." (Gylfaginning, XIX)

Odin is a God of knowledge... and besides knowing the hydromel's formula he also discovers the mysterious language of the runes, and having done so.... "he begins to germinate and to know, to grow and to prosper." (Havamal,141).... and in my point of view the language of the runes is simply the language of dreams.

Also, another interesting episode is the one which relates to the killing of Ymir, who represents the forces of darkness. "It is said in ancient poems of wisdom that, it is since that day, that night and day are distinguished and that we count the time by the years." (Gylfaginning,VII)

So, our famous buddy Odin, with his Magical Flying Horse, easily steals # 78.

II- Tiuz, who is a very ancient god venerated by all Germanic people. He was anterior to all others. He was known by different nations stretching from England to Iceland and Finland under the various names of Ziu, Tiuz, Tyr and Tiw. "It is admitted in general that the name derives from the Indian sanskrit " Dyaus", to the Greek "Zeus", to the Latin "Deus"..... which comes from the common name used by Assyro-Babylonians "Div" .... for "Divinity"... or "God", if you prefer.

Having the same attributes of Odin, including the Flying Horse... Tiuz receives #79.

III- Thor, the god of thunder, also known as Thur and Donar, has also been revered by all Germans, which many considered to be the first and most powerful of all gods and Roman authors compare him to Jupiter. "Moreover, in imitation of the Romans who dedicated one of the days of the week to Jupiter - Thursday, .... as in Jeudi " Jovis Dies"... for the French - the Germans ...have named the same day as Donnerstag after Donar (or Thor, which is only another form of the same name). Thus the Germans still say Donnerstag, the French Jeudi, and the English Thursday ....speaking of the same God of Thunder. (ref. EM, e.,v., p.258)

" When thunder rolled people believed they heard the wheels of Donar's chariot on the vault of heaven." (EM, 258)

You should read his story because you will hear that, in his travel across the worlds, at a place where he could not cross over, he met with Odin, who was operating the boat to cross on the other side....and treats Thor as a Horse thief. Very funny.

The Vikings particularly loved this guy because he was the living symbol of Freedom.... the Viking.... where "Vi" , as in "vie" in French, means "life" .....and King. Thor was therefore the King of Life and the Ever-living King.

Therefore, in the same tradition, Thor with his Chariot receives #80.

IV- Fryer, is the clear and brilliant God, and he has a boat which he can fold as a handkerchief and carry in his pocket. Nobody can ever hate him and this is a privilege that he obtained at birth. God of Peace, he only thinks of untying the hands of those who are tied.... and making the most wonderful presents....

"I will hit you with my magic wand and you will go where no human can see you anymore." (Skinisf÷r, XXVI)

He has a beautiful Horse.... which he wants to give as present to his Lady-love... and it is also said that he sits in Odin's sacred seat from where he can see the world of Giants. In other words, he is the Rider of the Sacred Spiritual Horse of the Otherworld.

He is the god of germination, growth, fertility and sexual act. And this is truly original, he is represented by a large Horse phallus when whole families offer him incantations. This is true and written in the "Volsa Thattr"....and it is the women who mainly honor him and defile in processions. (FM)

" He is even more venerated, for the fact that under his reign, his people were more fortunate than before, in matters of peace and good seasons." (Ynglinga Saga, X)

So, this guy existed and ruled his people..... and when he dies, they carry him in secret to the (burial) mound without telling anyone...and tributes to the immortal god keep on being offered to him and poured into the mound..." the gold by one window, the silver by another, and the copper coins by a third one. Then the good seasons and peace are maintained." (Ynglinga, X)

Therefore, Fryer, in the same continual tradition receives # 81.

VII- Heimdall, born from 9 mothers. He sees everything and never closes the Eye and listens to everything. He watches at the foot of the rainbow which leads humans to gods.

Heimdall, is armed of a sword and mounts a charger with a shining mane. (Encyclopedia of Mythology, French version, p.235.)

He is the guardian of the road which leads to eternal heaven, the divine sentinel, who warns the gods about the coming of the enemy. He operates in the night as well as in the day. He never closes the Eye. He has the horn in which he will blow at the end of the world, to awaken the gods in order to participate in the Last Battle...the Battle of the Gods....where all the resurrected Gods are all on Winged-Horses. (Gylfaginning, 50)

Being just like all the other Teutonic Gods, mounted on Winged-Horses, Heimdall is awarded #82.

VIII- Balder, is like Heimdall, a God of Light... and brightness emanates from him. None of the Ases equals him in Wisdom. He is the most skilled in speaking and the most clement. (Gylfaginning, II) He enjoyed a widespread cult. Apparently, you only have to hear him to love him. He is the favourite of the Gods... and also the promised one who will preside at the Golden Age.

"A most famous magical formula in old German shows him, horse riding with Odin ; his own Horse while walking hurts its leg ; but with a few words, filled with singular virtue, of Odin, it is magically healed."

He has a quiet and peaceful life until he becomes troubled by dreams. Actually, it is the story of a soul waiting in Hell a long time before getting reincarnated. (Encyclopedia of Mythology, French version, p.235, 236.)

It is said the whole world must weep for him in order for him to be released, and only then will he be able to come out to preside to the "return of the sons of the dead gods in the enclosed system of the Ases."

So, due to his Horse, Balder, receives #83.

IX- Hermod, this is another Teutonic God of which we know very little but again he is a son of Odin and at times he is said to ride Sleipnir the famous flying Winged-Horse of his father. (Encyclopedia of Mythology, French version, p.236.)

Therefore, Hermod, another Rider Of Sleipnir, receives #84.

In any cases, even though I have jumped over many other Teutonic legendary Gods, like Njord, Vidar, Vali...etc., which must have by tradition ridden on Sleipnir, this should be plenty sufficient once again that it is basically the same universal story all the time....

Nevertheless, it is particularly interesting to realise that our daily chronology is based, as mentioned in the story of Odin, on the different incarnations of this unique personage... some kind of King of the Ages... who constantly manifested himself in strings of incarnations in all civilisations.... and this reminds me of a passage of "Origins and History of Consciousness" by Neumann p.148....which relates to "The Author of all things"....

"He is a spiritual figure not primarily connected with nature; he belongs to the primordial age, to the dawn of history, and steps out of it to bring culture and salvation to mankind. He is timeless in the sense that he does not enter into time, but dwells in the background of time, in the primordial time that regulates our earthly chronology."

Also interesting that "Chronos" is the name of one of the Winged-Horses of Helios! So, in order to finish this week's presentation, let's fold with a bit of good old Chronos-Logos....Horse-logic.... which is full of simple Horse-sense!

Firstly, the suffix "Day" in English or "Di" in French both come from the Indian sanskrit "Div".....which means "Divinity" or "God" or again "Dieu". So, the 24 hour period during which the earth rotates on herself, in the old days was said to be a god.... like Helios, the Sun-God... that go around the World in one day....and who is replaced when he is done by Mn.... So, in English, we have.....

Sunday.........for the Sun-Div..........the Sun-God .................on the
Winged-Horse

Monday.........for the Moon-Div.......the Moon-Goddess.......on the
Winged-Horse

Tuesday........for Tiuz-Div...............the God Tiuz ................on the
Winged-Horse

Wednesday......for Woden's Div.....the God Odin................on the
Winged-Horse

Thursday.......for Thor's Div.............the God Thor................on the
Winged-Horse

Friday.........for Fryer-Div................the God Fryer...............on the
Winged-Horse

Saturday.........for Saturn-Div...........the God Saturn .............on the
Winged-Horse

.....in French we also have the same....

Lundi.........for Luna-Div ............the Moon-Goddess........on the
Winged-Horse

Mardi.........for Mars-Div..............the God Mars................on the
Winged-Horse

Mercredi......for Mercure-Div... ...the God Mercury...........on the
Winged-Horse

Jeudi.........for Jovis-Div.............the God Jupiter.........on the
Winged-Horse

..... and so on, not only in French and English, but also in German....Donnerstag, Fritag... but also in all other languages.... and this was established as such a very long time ago as a reminder of the never ending repetitive cycle of the Immortal unique God in his different manifestations.

By the way, months have also been established along similar lines.....

January.......for Janus...another Solar-God, the oldest in Rome and associated
with Pegasus.

February.....for Phebus.....

March.........for Mars....

April...........for (Apollo????).....

May............for Hermes....

June...........for Juno.....the sister-spouse of Jupiter

July............for Julius Ceasar....

August........for August the first Roman Emperor....

........and a thing to note again is that just like in the case of the days of the weeks, the months of the year are also named by personages associated with the Winged-Horse... and we shall understand that our calendar years are also based on the regular comings of this most wonderful Eternal Winged-Horse ....which is truly the King of the Ages.....the Conqueror of Time....and of life eternal.

In any case, we will find that this time keeping, will be helpful in statistics, in measuring the time span between these manifestations of the same Winged-Horse... and let's carry on with our visit in...

SLAVONIC MYTHOLOGY

Only a few little fragments of this beautiful, jolly and most limpid mythology still remain today.... but regardless, those remains are plenty sufficient to reconstruct the slavonic belief in the Eternal Winged-Horse....

For the Slavs, the word God, seemed to be originally, "Og".... which in time became "Bog".... which in turn developed into the name "Bogatyr", derived from Tyr... which is the Tiuz of the Scandinavs,.... and would apply to the Winged-Horse's Riders in this area....and which has some surprising similarities with the Japanese "Bogatsus".

So, our condensed Slavonic String will consist of Svarog, Dazhbog, Messiatz, Svantovit, Perun, Triglav, Yarilo, Koupala and the Bogatyrs Ilya-Muromyets, Sviatogor, Mikoula Selianitovitch and Potok.....and again our best reference book will be " The Encyclopedia of Mythology" by Larousse, French version pages 252 to 269 and English version from about 282 to 299, I believe.

I- Svarog, a personification of the Sky, sometimes lighted by the sun's rays, sometimes covered with clouds, and brilliant with lightning... would be the father of all other gods. The prefix "Svar" seems to originate from Sanskrit which means " Brilliant".

"In the shadows of the clouds, Svarog would kindle the lightning's flame....and afterwards, splitting the clouds with flashing arrows, Svarog would cause the Sun to appear, or, in the metaphorical language of antiquity," as related by the Russian savant Afanasiev, .... "he would light the torch of the Sun which had been extinguished by demons of the shadows." This poetic conception was also applied to the morning Sun emerging from the veils of the night. With the sunrise and the renewal of its flame, the idea of its rebirth was connected. Svarog was thus a divinity who gave light to the Sun and birth to Dazhbog." (EM, e.v., p.284, f.v., p.254)

"Among all the divinities to which the Slavs attribute their joys and miseries, they say that there is only one God in the Sky : and this one commands to all others."

(Helmold, "Chronica Slavoreum" ,1150) (FM)

"For the pagan Slav, addressing his prayer to the Sky, saying : " Sky, you see me! Sky, you hear me!" it was not in his mouth a metaphoric expression. He considered the Sky as the Supreme Being...." (EM, p.284)

Due to his Universal Sovereignty Svarog, gets #85.

II- Dazhbog, the Sun, according to Slavonic myths and legends, lived in the East, in a land of eternal summer and abundance. There, he had his golden palace from which he emerged every morning in his luminous chariot, drawn by White Horses who breathed fire, to cross the celestial vault.

In a popular polish story, the Sun travels (in the sky) in a chariot of diamonds, pulled by twelve horses with gold manes.

In another legend, the Sun lives in Orient, in a palace of gold. He goes around in a carriage pulled by three Horses : Horse of Silver, Horse of Gold and Horse of Diamond.

For the Serbs, the Sun is a handsome young man who lives in a Kingdom of Light.... and is surrounded.... by seven "messengers who fly across the universe".... along with the balled-headed old uncle Messiatz. (All these extracts from p.284)

"The daily movement of the Sun in the celestial sphere is represented in some slav myths like the changing of the ages : the Sun is born every morning, makes his apparition as a beautiful child, reaches his maturity around noon and dies at night, as an old man. The annual movement of the Sun is also explained in the same fashion."

( my own translation of a passage of EM, p.256 of the French version, which should be found on page 285 or 286, of the English version.)

And a few paragraphs further we find these interesting passages....

"The Sun-God, (Dazhbog), great divinity of the day and of the light, victor of darkness, cold and misery, has become synonymous of happiness. Human destinies depend of him. He is just. He punishes the bad and rewards the good.

The Slav of Galicia, says still today, when he wishes bad to someone... "May the Sun make you perish!" . The Croatian peasant says ... "May the Sun avenge me of you!"

Anyways, due to his Sun-Chariot pulled by Flying Horses...the Sun-God Dazhbog gets #86.

III- Messiatz, is included here because he is the Moon God....and the Moon in their language is Messiatz.... and this has something to do with the word Messiah.... the friend who often sits between the Sun and the Moon.... who have a strong influence on Mother Earth, known by the slavs as Mati-Syra-Zemlia....Mother-Earth-Humid.... who was also considered a supreme being, conscious and just.... which can tell the future, if we know how to understand her mysterious language. (EM, half a page further)

I've included old uncle Messiatz, which may transform himself into a beautiful lady at Night....because he sits with the messengers.... which fly in the Sky.

Understanding where he sits...Old Messiatz gets #87.

IV- Svantovit, the God of Gods, is in resume the sole Lord of the Universe and his always represented with an enormous sword, a saddle and bridle... and of course his Magical Horse, which (...he rode at night... (FM) revealed the future and was venerated like its divine master .... and this can still be seen , apparently, in a Temple of Svantovit, in Arcona. ( The Encyclopedia was written in the 30's.... and this can be read on page 293.)

Due to this Magical Horse Svantovit receives #88.

V- Pyerun, which in Polish is "Piorun" and means "lightning", is our god of Thunder, who really enjoyed a widespread cult..... and even today when a Slav peasant hears Thunder rolling in the sky... he says that it is the Prophet Elija rolling across the sky in his fiery chariot. (EM, e.v., p. 294) So, Peyrun, has a Magical horse of Fire with whom , along with a magical plow, turns the soil in heaven.

And of course, Pyerun obtains #89.

VI- Triglav, the "clairvoyant benefactor", is represented with three heads.... which some say that it represents that he sees everything.... but it clearly suggests that he is an Immortal who came in different bodies..... and has a Black Horse which he uses in his art of divination to tell the future and other things. (FM)

His temple in Stettin (Szczecin) possesses a gold statue of him along with marvelous sculptures representing the whole Creation.... which indicates that he is no one else than the Creator. ( The Temple is also supposed to contain a fabulous Treasure. )

" I am your God.... The fruits of the fields and of the trees, the fecondity of the livestock, and of all that is useful to humans is in my power." ( Herbord, "La vie d'Otto, 1158, tome III, p.4.... my translation) (FM)

Consequently, Triglav, due to his Flying Black Horse is awarded #90.

VII- The Bogatyr Ilya-Muromyets, the peasant's son.... who is superbly represented on his fabulous Winged-Horse on page 295 of EM and the following passages can be read about him on page 297 of the same.

" The numerous byliny (epic poems) which are devoted to him portray him with features which give him a resemblance to the God of lightning, Pyerun."

" Ilya- Muromyets' Horse did not run over the earth, but flew through the air, " above the motionless forest and a little below the clouds scudding across the sky". The arrow which he shot from his miraculous bow resembled that which flew from the divine bow of Pyerun: it brought down church cupolas.....

The origin of Ilya's strength was mythical. he was sickly when born and for thirty-three years, " he remained sitting " unable to rise."

Therefore, once again due to his Flying-Horse, Ilya-Muromyets gets to obtain #91.

VIII- Sviatogor, the strongest of all Slavonic Bogatyrs, had a beautiful Horse with whom he had gone around the world. One day he found a little bag in which was contained the whole weight of the earth and was pulled inside her as tried to lift it. Apparently, the divine and mysterious power of Mother-Earth-Humid is well illustrated in this poem. (EM ~ p.296)

By tradition, Sviatogor, due to his beautiful Horse gets #92.

IX- Mikoula Selianinovitch, who has a Horse and a plow so heavy, that even a whole troupe of Bogatyrs could not lift it.... but that he can lift with one hand. His little Horse, is also Swifter than any of the best chargers, because " Mikoula is loved by Mother-Earth-Humid. (EM, p.296)

As you can anticipate, Mikoula Selianinovitch gets #93.

X- Potok - Mikhailo Ivanovitch, the last known Bogatyr, whose wife had died and went into her Tomb, which he was calling "Popes with Deacon"*, along with his Horse and Combat Gear.... to cut the head of a Serpent, which was at the head of a horde of darkness Spirit, and with the blood that came out, he was able to resurrect his wife.(EM ~ 297)

* ( This is very funny and shows that the religion brought by the priests of the Christian Church was dead in comparison to the one which prevailed earlier.)

This is one of the last byliny of old Russia.... and the last one was entitled...

" Why aren't there any more Bogatyrs in Holy Russia?"

Regardless, Potok, because of his Horse which can enter graves... obtains #94.

XI and XII- Yarilo and Koupala.... are two personages involved into a resurrection myth which illustrate the whole message of the Slavonic reincarnationist belief..... already contained in the rest already mentioned.

Yarilo, the God of Joy, of Spring and of Fecondity, is represented as a beautiful young man.... wearing a white coat and riding a White-Horse. On his head is a Crown of Wild Flowers.

" Where he puts his foot,

Wheat grows as mountains;

Where he throws his glace,

The cobs flower...."

Then Yarilo dies, killed by enemies, and his body is cut in pieces, he is then buried in Mother-Earth-Humid....and the people, after a few short moments of lamentations, celebrate his funerals, singing and dancing.

And then, three months later, comes Koupala, the same God of Joy, of Summer and of Fecondity, who while in the ground was sprinkled, for three months, by "dead water" brought by fairies....who come to water him everyday.... in order to reunite and heal his body.... and around the Summer's Solstice.... they sprinkle him with "Life Water", the Dew of Koupala, which definitely resurrects him for good.

On that particular day, people go for a swim and it is a fashion "to throw Crowns of Flowers into the water." (EM)

Also, on that particular day, people would go around in the forest on tops of mountain to look for a very special flower which is supposed to come only once a year, precisely at midnight, the magic Koupala flower...whom found by anyone, would be a real treasure.

"In front of the One..., who has the luck of finding this Most Powerful Flower of Fire, which precisely at midnight, develops a Human-Bud which explodes in a thundering noise, ... even kings and rich people incline themselves... By its incredible Powers, the one who has it, is said to be able to dominate demons...and to know where to find real treasures amongst the most precious things....(like eternal life!)" (EM)

(It might be interesting to note that in Sanskrit, the word Koupala, which seems to originate from Kuvera, the Indian Horse-Faced God, would be related to the Tibetan Kapala, the Skull-Cup which is the symbol of Tantric manifestation of the Dharmapala, the "Defender of the Faith and of the Law (of Rebirth) of Buddhism".!!) (Ref : "The Iconography of Tibetan LamaU‹ìƒìSVW‹E ‰Eüé)sm" by Antoinette Gordon, 1914, p.14.)
 
 

This Yarilo and Koupala myth was extremely popular and the Christian ruling priest had to impose very strict sanctions to destroy this cult....but they never succeeded in totally eliminating the faith in regards to this reincarnating and name changing "Immortal God of Joy" who rides the White Horse......and consequently Yarilo and Koupala receive respectively #s ...95 and 96.

XIII- Achille Pontarque...

From the Black Sea, an area dominated by the Baltic Slavs...we find Achille Pontarque, the Equestrian Solar God, the Solar God on Horse... who is apparently a Cavalier-God of local origin...."Sovereign of the Sea"... which is like Mithra, but who is not Mithra.... and whose cult predominated from 800 to 300 BC...during some 6 Centuries. He wears all kinds of names.... no one knows his real name.... only the titles of this very powerful divinity... who was always represented with the Great Goddess.

Several gold objects representing these two divinities have been found from the Black Sea to Siberia... namely on the Diadem of Novotcherkask, on the pair of diadems found in Panticapea as well as on the Gold Plates of Merdjani and of Siberia...basically always show the same divine couple combination....which are also found on numerous grave stones of Bosphorians dating from a few centuries BC to the same AD.

Usually on all these representations, one can often see the Tree-Goddess sitting on a throne with her hair tangled in the branches of the tree with the Equestrian God riding on his Horse standing next to her. If the Great Goddess is not there, the Tree which is her emblem is always omnipresent and when she is there the tree is often cut at a certain height and quadrupeds (most likely Deers) and birds (most likely Doves) are shown heading towards it. They say that the co-existence of these two major divinities seems to shed some light ...on the spiritual and funerary roles of these two divine beings. They also say that the Solar Equestrian God, who often wears the Solar Crown is the "paredre" of the Great Goddess, which is a french term used in mythology to express that she is an associated divinity to the cult or functions of the other divinity.

Purely amazing!

(For references, see "Le Culte de Mithra sur la Cote Septentrionale de la Mer Noire" by W.Blawatsky and G.Kochelenko, Leiden E.J.Brill, 1966... and if you have anything on this in english it should be something like "The Cult of Mithra on the Northern Shore of the Black Sea".)

I am only briefly introducing him because he was the Chief-God of the Amazons, who were most surprisingly very kind towards Alexander the Great... when he approached them with the story of the Eternal Horse of the Kings of the World... and therefore Achille Pontarque who is always always with the Great Goddess receives, in a flash, #97.
 

So, this sums up our little Winged-Horse visit into Slavonia...and stay tuned for the next final column on the universal multi-milleniums annals of the legendary Winged-Horse.

For previous articles by Dr. Deus, see the Electric Dreams Backissue directory and the Electric Dreams Articles Page