While taking a class on the history of the Goddess, I became interested in the Goddess Ananke. Ananke and Her consort Khronos were primal energies emerging from chaos, producing the world egg and then wrapping themselves around it, causing it to burst. Out of that egg came the world and all that it contains. Just imagine, the world being formed by two energies – those of Inevitability or Necessity and by Time. How simple and yet how complex.
The story of Ananke and Khronos is large. Those ancients who held onto this story were not speaking of small things. This is the creation of a Universe. And yet, in the theory of “as above – so below,” we can look and see Ananke and Khronos at work in our lives all the time.
Time and Inevitability – perhaps everything can be broken down into these two principles. With Time and Inevitability, we are born, we age, and we die. A life is led, perhaps filled with love, perhaps many things. As children we play and learn and eventually become adults. We marry. We have children. Some step into careers and choose not to procreate, rather putting their energies into work and other kinds of relationships, still creating, just not procreating. Also, it is possible that some of those lives will follow a darker path into poverty, criminality, envy, and greed. It is hard to know at birth the path that will be followed by a child. And yet there is a certain amount of inevitability that when a child is born into a life containing a dark poverty of spirit, the child may not thrive in healthy wholesome ways in adulthood.
Time and Inevitability – since we are coming out of the traditional Thanksgiving Day, we can use it as one example. Many large families get together with turkey and all the trimmings and football on the TV. We all know that in this large family, there are many opinions, with diversity at play in every way possible. The potential for argument is all there and even happens. It is contained by one thing – love. Love that holds gratitude, that time has brought them together, still alive yet all moving toward the inevitable.
Time and Inevitability – our days leading to night, our summers leading to winter. Here we are, now facing winter. Our summer has long ended, our winter is beginning, the Inevitability of Time brings change. There is hope in that because not only does summer end and winter begin – summer returns. It is Inevitable!
That is the promise of Ananke. That while we may experience Darkness, the Light will return.
Ananke and Khronos were the parents of the Moirae (or the Three Fates). Moirae means “parts” or “shares.” It was believed that the Moirae assigned each person their “fate” or their share in life. These Three Fates were: Klotho, meaning Spinner – the one who spins the threads of life; Lakhesis, which means “apportioner of lots” (one who measured the thread); and Atropos, meaning “she who cannot be turned” or she who cut the thread. It was said that at the birth of each man they appeared spinning, measuring, and cutting the thread of life. Life was hard then, the gods of man were stern and inflexible. Life was stern and inflexible.
We know now that life offers choice in how we fill it. We live with Time. It is a constant. We live with one certain Inevitability. In all of that lies choice in how we live while we have life. We will have days of joy and days of sorrow. We will have times to play and times, so filled with stress, we will wonder why we continue. In those days of darkness and even as we face the changing season and move into winter, we know that summer returns. So too, will the light and a return of love. That is the promise of Ananke.
Meet Mago Contributor Deanne Quarrie.
Anake’s Promise – Interesting post – what I notice is how linear time takes precedence here over cyclic time. We humans experience both but the dominant culture sees time as sequential with beginnings middles ends… and this perspective is self limiting don’t you think?