9. Εἰς Σελήνην, θυμίαμα ἀρώματα.
To Selene, Goddess of the Moon
Divine medium: aromatics
Κλῦθι, θεὰ βασίλεια, φαεσφόρε, δῖα Σελήνη,
I call the light-bearing Goddess, Queen Selene,
ταυρόκερως Μήνη, νυκτιδρόμε, ἠεροφοῖτι,
Bull-horned Moon, roaming each night through the sky,
ἐννυχία, δαιδοῦχε, κόρη, εὐάστερε, Μήνη,
Night’s torchbearing daughter, beautiful, celestial Moon.
αὐξομένη καὶ λειπομένη, θῆλύς τε καὶ ἄρσην,
Growing and waning in power, female, and also male,
αὐγάστειρα, φίλιππε, χρόνου μῆτερ, φερέκαρπε,
Starry light, lover of horses, Mother of time, bringing fruition.
ἠλεκτρίς, βαρύθυμε, καταυγάστειρα, νυχία,
Electric amber deep-seated power, pure starry light of night,
πανδερκής, φιλάγρυπνε, καλοῖς ἄστροισι βρύουσα,
All-seeing, fond of the sleepless, beautiful, astral, swollen,
ἡσυχίηι χαίρουσα καὶ εὐφρόνηι ὀλβιομοίρωι,
Silently charming and wise, bestow a whole life fate.
λαμπετίη, χαριδῶτι, τελεσφόρε, νυκτὸς ἄγαλμα,
Joy-giving lamplight, fulfilling night’s glory,
ἀστράρχη, τανύπεπλ', ἑλικοδρόμε, πάνσοφε κούρη,
Astral foundation, with a long-robed, twining course, all-wise Daughter,
ἐλθέ, μάκαιρ', εὔφρων, εὐάστερε, φέγγεϊ τρισσῶι
Come, blessed, wise, starry three-fold light,
λαμπομένη, σῴζουσα νέους ἱκέτας σέο κούρη.
Lamplit power, Savior of these new suppliants, thou, Daughter.
NOTES
Selene (Σελήνη), Goddess of the moon, is also known as Mene (Μήνη)[1]. She is also known as Phoebe (Φοίβη), the sister of Phoebus, [G]od of the sun.[2] Selene is also associated with the Goddess Artemis, whose twin brother Apollo is associated with the sun.
Basileia means ruler, Queen, the “basis.”
Selene may be translated as “synchronized (Σ) + Hellenes (ελήνη)” because the new crescent moon (month) synchronized the calendar (kalends) of the Hellenic world.
“The ancient Greek calendars are all constructed in the same way: the month is in principle a genuine moon, which lasts from the new moon through the full moon to the disappearance of the moon.”[3]
The moon is called bull-horned because it resembles horns in its waxing and waning phases.
The 27-day moon cycle and its powers are inextricably linked to the 27-day menstrual cycle of women and the progression of pregnancy.[4] In “Eight Months Child,” Hippocrates tracks a pregnancy according to the number of moon phases.[5]
The moon’s path and position vary considerably based on its phases and the seasons of the year.[6]
Cicero wrote that: "…the moon…emits many streams of influence, which supply animal creatures with nourishment and stimulate their growth and which cause plants to flourish and attain maturity.”[7]
Amber is a magnetically-charged fossil. The moon sometimes appears amber in color and has a demonstrable magnetic pull on the tides.
The moon’s three-fold light is waxing, full, and waning.
[1] Schmitz, L. (1870). SELE′NE (Σελήνη). In W. Smith (Ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (Vol. 3, p. 768). Boston: Little, Brown, and Company.
[2] Schmitz, L. (1870). SELE′NE (Σελήνη). In W. Smith (Ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (Vol. 3, p. 768). Boston: Little, Brown, and Company.
[3] Burkert, p. 225.
[4] It is possible that there is also a link to the 27-letter Greek alphabet, comprised of letters that correspond to the numbers 1-9, 10-90, and 100-900.
[5] Hippocrates IX, Loeb Classical Library (ed. Henderson), p.77.
[6] For a clear explanation of the moon’s varying path, see this webpage by Karen Masters: http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/legal-information/46-our-solar-system/the-moon/observing-the-moon/128-how-does-the-position-of-moonrise-and-moonset-change-intermediate
[7] Cicero, De Natura Deorum Vol. XIX, ps. 172-173 (trans. Rackham, Loeb Classical Library, 1933)
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cicero/de_Natura_Deorum/2A*.html