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Pan – God of The Woods by Lawrence Spencer in Science Fiction & Fantasy.
Tag Archives: greek gods
THE GODS
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– AN INVOCATION OF THE GODS –
Where upon Olympus stand the gods who once ruled over Man? Fallen from the Lofty Land to dwell on Earth as mortal men?
Who remembers how to fly as freeborn spirits through the sky? What powers can be exercised while trapped within a mortal guise?
The gods once caused themselves to bring The Breath of Life itself to being. Their very thoughts made every thing: the sea, a sigh, the sky, the spring!
The Gods of Old, like you & me, created everything we see. Have they lost causality? Abandoned their abilities?
Where are the gods of history? What happened to their memory? If we are them and they are we, who will cause our destiny?
Merchant Lords now rule the fold. They want us all to fit their mold: “Be a Man! Do as you’re told! The only god there is, is gold!”
How did we ever sink so low, pretending we don’t really know that we’re the spark that makes life grow, like springtime flowers through the snow?
Infinity is passing by, but time is really just a lie. Are we immortal, you and I? A question states its own reply…
We never really know we’re blind until we search around to find a simple way to leave behind the suffering that is Mankind.
Can godly powers be regained, like oceans fall to Earth as rain? Can we go back from whence we came, to greater heights and bigger games?
Lead us homeward once again, to realms beyond the dreams of men. We’ve gone astray, we’ve lost our ken*. We need your help, Immortal Friends!
— Lawrence R. Spencer, from Pan-God of The Woods
________________________
*ken = perception; understanding, range of vision, view; sight.
THE ORACLE OF PAN SPEAKS!
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About The Oracle of Pan
What follows are questions that have been received by the Oracle of Pan through the website for the book, “Pan – God of The Woods”. This book contains the actual questions asked, and the replies given by the “Oracle of Pan”. Each person asking a question of The Oracle of Pan is asked to offer a gift to honor the spirit of the god Pan by planting a tree.
Oracle:
An oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature. It may also be a revealed prediction or precognition of the future, from deities, that is spoken through another object (e.g.: runemal) or life-form (e.g.: augury and auspice). In the ancient world many sites gained a reputation for the dispensing of oracular wisdom: they too became known as “oracles”, and the oracular utterances, called khrēsmoi in Greek, were often referred to under the same name — a name derived from the Latin verb ōrāre, to speak.
— Reference: www.Wikipedia.org
A Nymph is any member of a large class of mythological entities that are more formally known as ‘Gabi’. They were typically associated with a particular location or landform, in Gabi’s case in the forests. They are known for their astounding beauty. However, no nymphs compare to their goddess Gabi. She is the almighty Queen of Nymphs. Nymphs were the frequent target of satyrs.
Nymphs live in mountains and groves, by springs and rivers, and in valleys and cool grottoes. They are frequently associated with the superior divinities: the huntress Artemis and rustic god, Pan.
A Satyr (in Greek, Σάτυροι — Sátyroi) is a male companion of Pan, who roamed the woods and mountains. In mythology they are often associated with sex drive and vase-painters often portrayed them with uncontrollable erections. Satyrs acquired their goat-like aspect through later Roman conflation with Faunus (the Roman name for the Greek god, Pan). Satyrs are most commonly described in literature as having the upper half of a man and the lower half of a horse, or with a goat’s tail in place of the Greek tradition of horse-tailed satyrs.
Satyrs are described as roguish but faint-hearted folk — subversive and dangerous, yet shy and cowardly. They are lovers of wine and women, and they are ready for every physical pleasure. They roam to the music of pipes (auloi), cymbals, castanets, and bagpipes, and they love to dance with the nymphs (with whom they are obsessed, and whom they often pursue), and have a special form of dance called sikinnis.”
WHERE ARE THE GODS?
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“When Zeus still ruled Olympus, the face of Mother Nature was puerile, the bright blue sea and sky shined brightly in Her eyes. Life, abundantly renewed, abounded from Her virgin womb. The myriad creatures flourished, safe and suckling on Her verdant breasts while fishes filled the pristine waters of Her world.
In those primal days, gods of ancient Sumeria, Egypt, Greece, China, India, and many other civilizations of Earth, commanded extraordinary power over men. Spirits were conceived to permeate all matter and space in the ancient world. The gods, however, were not much different than each of us as spiritual beings, except to the degree they were immortal, that is, free from having to inhabit a body. Mortals were condemned to repeat the cycle of birth and death and rebirth into carnal form. Release of the spirits of men from the endless cycle of reincarnation remains the ultimate goal of many world religions to this day.
Gods actively intervened in the affairs of Mankind. Some made their presence known in the form of an animal, as an aura of light or scent, or as an apparition in nature. More often, the gods pervaded the body and mind of a man or woman, either in a dream or simply by taking over their thoughts to carry out their plans.
Since the gods were seen to cause events, both natural and supernatural, they were intimately personified, widely idolized, and artfully glorified by men. Aristocracy, citizens and slaves alike, sought the blessing or advice of the gods regarding marriage, travel, war, purchases, planting, harvesting, building, birth and death. Every village, district and nation had its own retinue of gods. A discreet traveler was wise to observe the rites accorded to the local deities and religious tolerance was widespread.
A vast number of myths or stories about the exploits of the gods have passed down to us through the generations of Mankind from nearly every society of antiquity. Culturally, we have inherited tremendous works of art, poetry, literature, and tradition derived from human interaction with the immortals. The pagan cultural tradition, religious beliefs, and practices associated with the gods still permeate our language, social and religious customs today.
With the advent of the Christian church 2,000 years ago, communication with the pagan gods was very heavily suppressed in Western civilization. Priests had a vested interest in eliminating religious competition, by any means required, including, but not limited to lying, stealing, cheating, murder, mayhem, extortion, torture and blackmail. This included outlawing all pagan religions and the destruction of all pagan temples and schools throughout the Roman Empire by the decree of Emperor Justinian in the third century AD. As a result, general public attention to the pagan gods disappeared.
The premise of PAN – God of the Woods, is that the pagan gods, as active, living beings, may only appear to have disappeared! If any of the ancient gods are still around in the 21st century, what are they doing now? If they are here now — still watching, still powerful, still immortal — where or how might we contact them?
Pan, the Greek god of forests, shepherds and fertility, has long represented the pagan gods in general. Although the material in this novel is fictional, it is firmly based in a study of the 10,000 year old tradition of mythology, as well as world history, eastern spiritual philosophy, past lives and out-of-body, extrasensory experiences.
The 19th century poet, Oscar Wilde, beseeched the god Pan in his verse:
“O goat-foot God of Arcady!
This modern world is gray and old,
And what remains to us of thee?
Then blow some trumpet loud and free
And give thine oaten pipe away,
Ah, leave the hills of Arcady!
This modern world hath need of thee!”
Which of us mortals could not use the helping hand of a friendly god once in awhile?”
— from the Introduction to the book PAN – GOD OF THE WOODS by Lawrence R. Spencer
IMMORTAL FRIENDS
AN INVOCATION OF THE GODS
Where upon Olympus stand the gods who once ruled over Man? Fallen from the Lofty Land to dwell on Earth as mortal men?
Who remembers how to fly as freeborn spirits through the sky? What powers can be exercised while trapped within a mortal guise?
The gods once caused themselves to bring The Breath of Life itself to being. Their very thoughts made every thing: the sea, a sigh, the sky, the spring!
The Gods of Old, like you & me, created everything we see. Have they lost causality? Abandoned their abilities?
Where are the gods of history? What happened to their memory? If we are them and they are we, who will cause our destiny?
Merchant Lords now rule the fold. They want us all to fit their mold: “Be a Man! Do as you’re told! The only god there is, is gold!”
How did we ever sink so low, pretending we don’t really know that we’re the spark that makes life grow, like springtime flowers through the snow?
Infinity is passing by, but time is really just a lie. Are we immortal, you and I? A question states its own reply…
We never really know we’re blind until we search around to find a simple way to leave behind the suffering that is Mankind.
Can godly powers be regained, like oceans fall to Earth as rain? Can we go back from whence we came, to greater heights and bigger games?
Lead us homeward once again, to realms beyond the dreams of men. We’ve gone astray, we’ve lost our ken*. We need your help, Immortal Friends!
__________________
*ken = perception; understanding, range of vision, view; sight.
— Lawrence R. Spencer, from the book PAN-GOD OF THE WOODS