My matron goddess, Hera, was the first to show up. It started with my noticing peacocks and peacock feathers EVERYWHERE! But it didn't occur to me until I was meditating one night. I was walking down a path to a sacred space to communicate with my unknown god and goddess. I did this meditation all the time, but during the meditations, they were standing in the shadows. On this particular night, however, the goddess stepped out of the shadow. As soon as I saw her, I knew who she was, but she also told me her name: Hera.
About a month ago, I found my patron god. We had just moved into our new house and I set up my altar and felt like I should do a basic ritual just to "break it in" so to speak. I already had part of the altar dedicated to Hera, but the "god" side of the altar was pretty basic. Just a white candle to represent him. During the ritual, the "god" candle started flickering like CRAZY! So I stopped what I was doing. I focused on the candle and went into a meditative state. After a moment, a name popped into my head: Hades. I'll admit, I got a little scared. Once the ritual was over, I did some research. I also went back and looked at my journal and some old tarot readings I did when I was trying to find my patron god. In hindsight, it is so clear what those readings were showing me. I just wasn't ready to see it then.
I have done a lot of research on BOTH of these deities as well as working on a personal relationship with both of them. I feel that both have pretty bad connotations about them. Hera is mostly seen as a jealous and vengeful goddess, but the feeling I get from her is very motherly. She has helped me through some pretty tough stuff.
As for Hades, my initial panic was of course due to the notion that, as God of the Underworld, he is associated with the Devil. Blame it on my Christian roots :\ He is stern, but fair. And the job that he does is a necessary one. One thing I did realize, as someone who has had to deal with a lot of death and grief, is that he can help me to understand the bigger picture of life and death. Hades has become more of the strict father figure to me. He understands. He listens. But he doesn't sugar-coat.
So, that's my experience. Has anyone else worked with either one of these deities, and, if so, what were your experiences like. I'm excited to find out
