Thanatos

 Thanatos 

Thanatos is the primordial god of death. He is not to be confused with violent death, which is Keres. He is peaceful death. He is often depicted as a winged male youth or bearded man, often seen with a torch and scythe. He is often described as hating mortals and gods alike. Thanatos is the son of Nyx and Erebus and the twin brother to Hypnos (Sleep). He was not widely worshipped in ancient Greece, mostly out of fear of provoking his name as he is death. 

   He was shown in some temples, but not a lot. Again he was feared to be invoked. As many of the Chthonic deities were feared of being invoked. 

  

What are his symbols?

Scythe, poppies, upside down torch, sword, butterflies, snakes spiders, owls, ravens. 

What incense to use for him?

I use sandalwood, storax, frankincense, would like to use opium/poppy one, and sometimes lotus. I have also used pomegranate incense and he seems to like that. 

What crystals to use?

I use any black stone. 

What are his sacred colours?

Deep blues, black, silver, red and purple. I also associate grey with him sometimes. 

What do I offer him?

I have found that Thanatos loves pomegranate half or seeds. He does love a good glass of wine! But then who does not? I have offered olives too, which he seems to very much enjoy. I have given him beef jerky before, I know weird, but he liked it. Also dates are a great shout. 

What is on his altar?

My altar i know is messy, I cannot seem to stop getting it like that. But there is of course a lot of butterflies on his altar. The painting behind is one I did for him. There is the Santa Muerte statue as I cannot afford the actual statue. I have string lights up of butterflies. There is a poppy brooch I use for my veiling.  There is two small books on moths and butterflies. A candle I made him. An offering dish. Of course, you do not need to put as much as me. This is stuff I have got over a year and keep giving him. 

   Altars are not required. You do not have to have them. 

What are some of my favourite prayers for Thanatos?

TO DEATH [THANATOS]
Fumigation from Manna
Hear me, O Death [Thanatos], whose empire unconfin’d, extends to mortal tribes of ev’ry kind.
On thee, the portion of our time depends, whose absence lengthens life, whose presence ends.
Thy sleep perpetual bursts the vivid folds, by which the soul, attracting body holds:
Common to all of ev’ry sex and age, for nought escapes thy all-destructive rage;
Not youth itself thy clemency can gain, vig’rous and strong, by thee untimely slain.
In thee, the end of nature’s works is known, in thee, all judgment is absolv’d alone:
No suppliant arts thy dreadful rage controul, no vows revoke the purpose of thy soul;
O blessed pow’r regard my ardent pray’r, and human life to age abundant spare. (Orphic Hymn for Thanatos)

To Thanatos

May11

To Thanatos, so kind and so good, I offer my praise.
Son of the darkness and the night, of wise Erebos
and raven-haired Nyx, brother of Hypnos who grants a respite
ephemeral and sweet, O Thanatos, you bring a repose
of a longer span–an endless sleep is yours to bestow.
Beautiful Thanatos, well-wreathed with poppies red as blood,
black-winged god, fleet-footed one, bearer of the sharp-edged sword
with which you cut a lock of hair from each who enters Hades’ realm:
some call you merciless, hard of heart, O god who takes
from us those we most love–and yet, dear Thanatos,
yours is a mercy great and freeing, a boundless comfort,
a final peace. O god who gives us life’s last blessing, I praise you. (To Thanatos)

  

POPPIES

To Thanatos,

Who cloaks himself in poppies as blood red as blood that flows through our veins,

I invoke you to these rites incline,

 

Hear my prayers,

Grant me a peaceful end to life,

One of no fear,

One where I open my arms to you like an old friend,

 

Help me to have less fear of you, O Thanatos,

Hold that poppy to me and say: ‘It is not so dreadful my dear.’

 

O Thanatos,

Why must I fear you so?

You are peaceful, not violent like Keres,

 

O Thanatos,

Who cloaks himself in poppies as blood red as the blood that flows in our veins,

Help me to embrace you when my times is near. ( From my unpublished The wings of a butterfly; Thanatos prayer book) 

What is it like worshipping Thanatos?

I find it very peaceful. He can be gentle or strong presence. We do not talk about the dream where he tried to scare me and I just went: "Thanatos!" And hugged him. Thanatos is very kind. He listens and is very patient. He enjoys the offerings and he is just a massive comfort. Sometimes I even talk to Hypnos!  He does like it when you mention Hypnos, I feel like the brothers are very close. I often say he is someone who I also would have considered my patron, if Hades was not my patron. 

What days do I worship Thanatos? 

I worship him every day on the 9th, and Thursdays. He does not have a sacred day and I believe his sacred number is 9, hence why I chose the 9th of every month. Thursday does not really have any rhyme or reason, I just like having a day dedicated each week to him. 

What myths is Thanatos more prominent in?

The myth of Sisyphus and how the King managed to chain Thanatos. He was then set free when Zeus told Ares to set Thanatos free. Sisyphus was then sentenced to Tartarus to roll a boulder up a hill that would then roll down it again. Thanatos was also unfortunately, wrestled by Herakles in another myth. This god has no luck I swear. 

If you wish to talk about Thanatos or enquire about anything else email: marywillsbooks@gmail.com