Roman Gods for April 21-30

[neptunesdolphins]

PALES

On April 21, the Parilia is held. Similar to the Celtic Beltane Festival, the Parilia focuses on the purification of sheep and shepherds. Sheep pens would be cleaned out and garlands hung on the gates. Bonfires are lit and sheep are driven through them. Grain and milk are offered to Pales of Shepherds and Sheep. For this festival, I pray for healthy livestock and put a stuffed sheep between two candles.

 

Pales is a mystery as to what They are – male or female, plural or singular. This/these ancient Roman God/s are from the time before the Romans were shepherds, which adds to the confusion of who Pales is/are. I prefer to regard Pales as the entirety of all the concepts about Them. For me, They are the Protectors of Herders and Flocks. neptunesdolphins.wordpress.com/2017/04/21/god-of-the-month-pales/

 

In “Fasti,” Ovid writes of a ritual to Pales.

“Make dark smoke with pure burning sulphur,

And let the sheep bleat, in contact with the smoke.

Burn male-olive wood, and pine, and juniper fronds,

And let scorched laurel crackle in the hearth.

Let a basket of millet keep the millet cakes company:

The rural goddess particularly loves that food.

Add meats, and a pail of her milk, and when the meat

Is cut, offer the warm milk, pray to sylvan Pales,

Saying: ‘Protect the cattle and masters alike:

And drive everything harmful from my stalls.”

 

(The Parilia is also considered the Founding Day of Rome.)

 

VENUS ERYCINA

At the Vinalia Prior (the Festival of Wine from the Last Year), the wine from autumn is opened and offered to Venus Erycina and Jupiter. (This is the first tasting of the new wine.) Originally from Eryx in Sicily, Venus Erycina became Romanized and associated with fertility. During the Vinalia on April 23, prostitutes would offer mint and myrtle to Her, as the Goddess of Prostitutes.

 

ROBIGUS (ROBIGO)

To save crops from wheat rust, the Romans sacrificed dogs to Robigus, the God of Wheat Rust during the Robigalia on April 25. Traditionally, red animals were offered at the boundary of Roman territory to ensure protection of the crops from mildew and blight. Today, people offer red wine requesting that Robigus leave the crops alone. https://neptunesdolphins.wordpress.com/2018/04/22/god-of-the-month-robigus-robigo-of-wheat-rust/

 

In “Fasti,” Ovid presents a prayer for Robigus.

“Your priest, Quirinus, pronounced these words:

‘Scaly Mildew, spare the blades of corn,

And let their tender tips quiver above the soil.

Let the crops grow, nurtured by favourable stars,

Until they’re ready for the sickle.

Your power’s not slight: the corn you blight

The grieving farmer gives up for lost.

Wind and showers don’t harm the wheat as much,

Nor gleaming frost that bleaches the yellow corn,

As when the sun heats the moist stalks:

Then, dreadful goddess, is the time of your wrath.

Spare us, I pray, take your blighted hands from the harvest,

And don’t harm the crop: it’s enough that you can harm.”

 

FLORA

The Floralia, honoring Flora, the Goddess of Flowering Plants, is held from April 27 to May 1. (Fauna, the Goddess of Wildlife, is her Sister.) Coming after the Robigalia, the Floralia affirms the safety of the growing plants from harm. During this time, people adorn themselves and their homes with flowers. They also wear colorful clothing to reflect the emerging flowers. Traditionally, goats and rabbits were set loose in the crowds, while priests threw lupines, bean flowers and vetch about. This was to ensure fertility of everyone and everything. neptunesdolphins.wordpress.com/2018/04/26/flora-goddess-of-flowering-plants/

 

Notes:

Note 1. Ovid, “Fasti,” Book IV. Translator: A.S. Kline, 2004.