If you only know Hades from dim-remembered mythologies, then you will be astonished and delighted to meet him again through Waggoner's Hades: Myth, Magic & Modern Devotion.
One of the challenges in writing about Hades is that -- similar to Hestia -- he has no central myth. We mostly know of him by reference in other myths -- the brother of Zeus who was given the Underworld as his domain, the overseer of Orpheus' downfall, and, of course, the Abduction of Persephone.
Each chapter opens with Hades speaking to us, relating a myth or ancient tale from his perspective.
For example, the Battle of Pylos from Homer's The Iliad:
"The sun sets as I walk among the dead on the smoking battlefield of Pylos. Such disregard, so many precious mortal lives ended, all for the sake of a family drama. I wonder, did the Moirai know in advance that these threads were to be cut at this hour? These people, the Pylians, victims of the whims of the gods. My siblings, my nephew. I feel responsible for their suffering. I came with all haste to my people’s defense, but we were overcome. I walk among them now, stopping to touch my thumb into the dust and ashes, marking each of their foreheads. Even without an obol, Kharon will know to ferry them to our home. Elysium will welcome them with laughter and honey. (p. 87)"
As I understand it, Waggoner entered a trance state and invited Hades to work with her on those portions, in effect, making him a co-author. (Apparently, Persephone had a lot to say in Chapter 3, which is where that story is told.) And Waggoner makes it clear that the dearth of documentation about Hades made writing about him difficult. Much of what is presented comes from her work with him since 2016.
Actually, the Introduction describing how Waggoner found Hades and wrote about him is excellent. It lays the author's ideological views, problems with learning about "ancient" deities due to naming conventions and geographical shifts, as well as how fragmentary our knowledge is.
Each chapter also offers the reader data about his symbols, attributes, and correspondences, followed by a rich discussion about how to recognize Hades within modern contexts. It ends with an invitation to work with Hades. These invitations build upon those found in previous chapters, offering the participant an opportunity to build a devotional relationship with Hades.
If you have any interest in this fascinating deity, Hades: Myth, Magic & Modern Devotion will be a great reference for you for years to come.
~review by Lisa McSherry
Author: Jamie Waggoner
Llewellyn Publications, 2024
pp. 256, $21.99
