Leo (Northern Hemisphere)
In the Northern Hemisphere, Leo is the eleventh month of Our Zodiacal Hellenistic Mystery Calendar. In ancient Greece, this month was named according to the chart below.
| Athens | Delphi | Delos | Rhodes | Sparta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metageitnion | Boukatios | Metageitnion | Karneios | Karneios |
Eleventh is the final Stabilizing month, representative of Life in the Divine World under the rule of Zeus. The Soul, the Universe, and the Year have been guided by Hermes to Zeus, King of All, for Life in the Divine World.
The Eleventh Labor of Herakles is to pick Golden Apples from a garden guarded by the Hesperides. The tree bearing the Golden Apples is guarded by a dragon. This dragon symbolizes the limits of mortal knowledge, and the Golden Apples represent true, divine knowledge or Gnosis. But Herakles does not collect the Apples himself: He shoulders the burden for which Atlas is usually responsible, freeing Atlas up to grab the Apples on his behalf. This suggests that it is not simply by demanding or taking that one can gain true Gnosis, but rather that it is by recognizing one's own limits and how one may best fit into shouldering the burdens of the Cosmos that one can expect Nature to deliver Gnosis to oneself.
However, Atlas tries to fool Herakles into shouldering his burden forever: one must not lose sight of one's purpose, lest they shoulder more than their fair share of burden.
Festivals in Leo
| Day | City | Name | Deities Honored | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Athens | Herakleia | Herakles | Celebrates the death and apotheosis of Herakles, only in Athens open to non-citizens | Date uncertain - see Hellenion |
| 4-10 | Delphi | Pythia | Apollo | Celebrated with Pythian Games | Held once every four years, the year before the Greater Panathenaia / Olympic Games; Dates uncertain - see Pytho |
| 10 | Delphi | Boukatia | Zeus Patroos, Apollo | Celebrated with first-fruits offerings, symposium | Date uncertain - see Pytho |
| 15-18 | Athens | Eleusinia | Demeter | Procession, games, sacrifices | Held every other year; in the 4th year of the Olympiad, a bigger version is held called Great Eleusinia |
| 16 | Athens | Kourotrophos | Hekate, Artemis | "Child bearing"; celebrates birth |