Many lifetimes ago, near the coastal mountains of ancient Thessaly, lived a king and queen who were very much in love. Queen Alcyone and her husband, Ceyx, spent their days side-by-side, building an empire that shone like gold thanks to true love’s eternal flame.
But husband and wife cannot spend every waking moment together, and one day Ceyx announced that he was embarking on a journey across the sea—alone.
Alcyone was riddled with fear. It wasn’t so much that she worried about their temporary separation, but that Ceyx was traveling by ship. You see, Alcyone was the daughter of Aeolus, the King of Wind. She knew firsthand about the danger of the open sea when met with a winter storm.
Alcyone begged and pleaded with her beloved to stay put. When that didn’t work, she suggested that he postpone his trip until the seas calmed. Ceyx was overcome with emotion. He loved his wife more than life itself, but he felt called to make this journey. Besides, he was confident that he would return in better shape than when he left.
Alcyone watched tearfully as Ceyx and his crew took off towards the horizon, the feeling of dread growing heavier and heavier as he drifted from sight.
That same night, a severe storm tore through the sky. Sheets of rain flooded the great ship and ripped the sails to shreds. The men were no match for the will of the gods, and as the boat began its descent into the watery depths, Ceyx prayed for the safekeeping of Alcyone. As he took his last breath, he wished that their love would live on, long after his body became part of the sea.
Back on land, Alcyone was unaware of her husband’s torment. She kept herself busy by weaving and praying. With her hands expertly pulling and knotting the threads, she spoke to all the gods, but Hera was her lifeline.
As the goddess of marriage and the faithful (albeit jealous) partner to Zeus, Hera was sensitive to Alcyone’s plight. She also knew what Alcyone did not—that Ceyx was dead.
Hera decided to share the truth with Alcyone, so she sent her faithful messenger, Iris, to visit the God of Sleep. Iris explained the situation to the drowsy idol, who in turn woke his son to carry out the errand on his behalf. His son, Morpheus, was a shapeshifter who could expertly mimic the appearance of any human.
At his father’s request, Morpheus transformed into Ceyx as he appeared in the final moments of life. Clothes tattered and dripping wet, he stood over Alcyone’s bed and spoke to her as she slept. He told her that she was right, that he was no match for the winter seas, and that her face was the last thing he saw before everything went dark.
Alcyone woke with tears streaming down her face. She knew her husband was dead, and she had no desire to live without him.
At dawn, she returned to the water’s edge, the same place where she bid Ceyx farewell at the start of his journey. She screamed and howled her pain into the wind, hoping that the gods would show her mercy.
And just as her voice became too weak to yell another word, she spotted what she thought was a small boat bobbing in the distance. But as it drifted closer, she saw that it was a body. Even from the tall cliff where she stood, she knew that she was looking at the corpse of her beloved.
Desperate to feel him in her arms one last time, Alcyone took off running toward the cliff’s edge. The wind whipped her clothes as she plummeted to the sea, but before her body made contact with the raging waters that were sure to take her life, she felt herself lifting upwards—she was flying!
Alcyone looked at her arms and, in their place, saw wings. As she flew towards her husband, she hardly noticed that her entire body was covered in feathers. It was only when she reached the spot where she saw her husband’s body moments earlier that she realized her prayers had been answered. Instead of a corpse, there was a bird.
Alcyone and Ceyx were together again.
Tears poured from Alcyone’s eyes, but this time, they were for Hera. She praised the goddess for responding to her cries and as she and Ceyx soared above the ocean in their new forms, Alcyone was engulfed in a blanket of calm. It was as if her true love had never left her side.
It is said that every year, there is one week during winter when the seas are silent. The ocean stills and not even a breath of wind can be felt. These are the days when Alcyone and Ceyx are nesting out at sea. The Halcyon days, as they are called, are some of the happiest moments of our lives. May we treasure them with the same spirit as Alcyone and Ceyx, lovebirds in this life and the next.
Wolf and Raven Candle
$ 8.00
Both the wolf and raven are regarded as creatures of omens (good and bad), prophesy, magic, healing, and transformations. Their myth and lore travel deep into a variety of cultures. Native American tribes believed in the Athabascan Myth, for example, that the… read more
SpiritSong Tarot
$ 24.00
Spiritsong Tarot won second place for ATA Reader’s Choice Award for Best Tarot Deck of 2017 This Spiritsong deck is a melding of two traditions of divination: one in which animals are seen as guides between our world and the… read more
