Last week’s spicy article on Ochún generated questions around initiation into the Afro-Cuban religion, and I promise to return to that subject next week. This week, as we wrap up the month of February, I want to share my experience establishing a devotional relationship with Themis, the ancient Greek goddess of divine order.
I have some magickal routines: my morning practice, my Dark Moons, which are all devoted to Hekate, and my Full Moons, which are all devoted to Aphrodite this year. In addition, every month of the year is dedicated to a goddess. January is dedicated to Prajñāpāramitā, the Perfection of Wisdom. I began exploring a devotional relationship with the ancient Greek goddess Themis this February.
At the start of the month, I wasn’t sure if Themis would be interested in my devotion. I built an altar for her, lit her candle, recited the Orphic Hymn to Themis, made simple offerings, and invited her into my sacred space. I meditated, listened, and waited. Sometimes it doesn’t happen. For instance, I’ve tried to connect with Brigid and Kuan Yin, but I’ve never been able to establish much of a relationship with either. Themis approached slowly and quietly during the third week of the month. This week, it became clear that she would become a part of my pantheon.
Who is Themis?
Themis is a goddess that can be seen at many courthouses, universities, state seals, on currency, on the desks of many lawyers and most tarot decks. Maryland attorney Michael Allan Dean has an impressive collection of links to images of Themis from around the world.
Themis is most commonly thought of as the personification of justice. She has become conflated with her daughter Dike and her Roman equivalent, Iustitia, to become Lady Justice, blindfolded, carrying scales and a sword. Less commonly known about Themis are her primordial origins, oracular roots, her relationships, and her divine duties in the social order.
Family, friend, and counsellor
Themis is a Titan, a daughter of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (Sky). She is the second wife of Zeus, by whom she is the mother of the Horae (Seasons) and the Moirai (Fates). They are also the parents of the Nymphai Themeides, three nymphs who appear in the myths of Perseus and Herakles as keepers of some articles of the gods such as the winged sandals of Hermes and the helmet of Hades. Euripides wrote that the Hesperides, the nymphs of the evening, are also daughters of Themis and Zeus. Notably, the Horae, Moirai, Nymphai, and Hesperides are all triads. Additionally, in Prometheus Bound, traditionally attributed to Aeschylus, Themis is the mother of Prometheus, a Titan who defied Zeus and gave fire to humans. These relationships offer great insight into Themis’ divine role.
It seems that everyone likes Themis. Although it could have been the function of the herald Hermes or the messenger Iris, it was Themis who convened and dissolved assemblies and presided over feasts. She was the spirit of the agora. Various stories tell of gods coming to Themis for advice or how she steps in to prevent conflict. Zeus respected her, and Themis can be seen sitting next to him, advising him. Pindar referred to her as “Themis Soteira, throned beside great Zeus Xenios”. At one assembly in the Iliad, Hera, whose defining characteristic is her jealousy (allegedly), accepted a cup only from Themis “of the fair cheeks” and confided in her. The Neoplatonic philosopher Porphyry wrote that Aphrodite went to Themis seeking advice about her son Eros.
Despite her marriage to Zeus and multiple children, Themis is described as a virgin and a maiden. She is described as noble, lovely-faced, a light in the night, joyous, and never wrathful. Classical descriptions describe her as holding scales and a sword. The blindfold is a 16th-century addition.
The spirit of the agora
Themis’ name means “to put”. She is the force that brings and binds people together. As the daughter of Gaia, her order is rooted in the rhythms of Earth herself. From tribal customs to the development of the polis (city), she taught humans the rules of conduct established by the gods. She instructed us in assembly, hospitality, justice, good governance, and piety.
The ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote:
“Themis, the myths tell us, was the first to introduce divinations and sacrifices and ordinances which concern the gods [piety], and to instruct men in the ways of obedience to laws and of peace [lawfulness]. Consequently, men who preserve what is holy with respect to the gods and the laws of men are called ‘law-guardians’ (thesmophulakes) and ‘law-givers’ (thesmothetai).”
The word themis also referred to that which is divinely ordained. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Demeter refuses a cup of honey-sweet wine, saying that it was not themis to drink red wine.
Themis isn’t simply a goddess of justice, she is the goddess of divine law and order, and she issued edicts through the Oracle at Delphi.
The Oracle at Delphi
As the daughter of Gaia, Themis is the oracular power of the Earth. She is prophecy incarnate, prophecy as in ordinance, the inspired declaration of divine will and purpose, not the forecast of the future. Themis established the Oracle at Delphi or received it from her Gaia. She, not Apollo’s priestess, is identified on an Attic red-figure kylix, 440–430 BCE, seated on the tripod, veiled, holding a phiale (shallow bowl) and branch, consulting with King Aegeus.
The stories of how Apollo acquired the Oracle at Delphi vary. One myth says that Themis gave it to Phoebe, who gifted it to her grandson Apollo as a birthday gift. Another popular myth tells of Apollo killing Python, the serpent-child of Gaia and guardian of the Delphic Oracle, and taking it over. The story demonstrates a transition to male ownership and the annexation of the wisdom of Mother Earth by the solar god of logic. Themis’ role is remembered in the Orphic Hymn 79.
My devotional practice
Just as my morning practice helps set the stage for my day and keeps me calm and balanced, I try to have a slow and quiet January, and Prajñāpāramitā is the calming presence that I need. February has been a month of getting organised, starting new projects, deepening my spiritual practice, and staying balanced and on top of my duties and responsibilities. Themis’ energy perfectly lends itself to these activities and the divination that can give me insight and help guide my work. Plus, as the Titan-goddess of divine order, law, and justice, Themis is a beautiful figure to invoke in work around these themes.
I will dismantle my altar in a few days and build a permanent shrine to Themis. I will continue to learn about her, make offerings, and dedicate my divinatory work to her.
