Hades (Pluto)
Hades in mythology represents three different things. Hades the event is the trauma that sends people to the underworld, for example kidnapping or death. Hades the place is the underworld - not hell, but the place spirits live. Some parts of it are frightening, while others are pleasant places for spirits to hang out and enjoy the afterlife. And Hades the god is the lord of the underworld, the guide you meet when you go there, either by dying or by undergoing some sort of shamanic journey. Hades is not only associated with death and shamanic trance, but is also associated with the wealth found underground: gold, jewels, other rich minerals not available on the earth's surface. The spirit world is also a source of spiritual/psychological wealth and insight, for those who are willing to dig deep within themselves. Hades was known as "the invisible one", was a shadowy figure in the underworld, and almost never left it. When people went there, they usually dealt with his wife Persephone rather than him. He owned the place; she handled customer service. Hades and Dionysus are both aspects of the dying god, who lives it up in spring and summer, dies with the harvest, lives in the underworld in winter, and is reborn in the spring, in parallel with Persephone.
Modern Hades are people who are interested in aspects of human nature most people are either not interested in or feel threatened by, including uncomfortable truths and evil deeds. They typically show a lifelong interest in such esoteric areas as spirituality, religion, psychology, paranormal phenomena, Faerie, fantasy worlds, or criminology. Hades are deep, sensitive, and imaginative, and can be wise. They may be dreamy, spiritual types, with rich fantasy lives. They can also be eccentric, with an ironic sense of humour. They tend to be chivalrous romantics at heart, and are often considerate, which can make them vulnerable. They may have a spiritual or mystical bent, and may prefer a life of voluntary simplicity. They may be deeply musical, in a spiritual kind of way. (Music is often included in worship, and can be considered a form of deep spiritual wealth.) They often love the wilderness because of its deep quiet and beauty. They are quiet, introverted, reclusive, private, self-contained, with an air of mystery or unknowability. Sometimes they are even socially invisible.
Themes
psychologists; mystics; underworld figures; dark heroes; druids; the Faerie king; hidden riches; the recluse; death; faith; the shaman, the spiritual guide, the muse; the demon; the deep one, the unfathomable one, the alien; the outsider; Father Time; the Angel; the good counsellor
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Ancient symbols
the cornucopia
gemstones
precious metals
shadows
Modern symbols
the crow
the vulture
the unicorn
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Examples
- Politics: William Lyon Mackenzie King* (Canadian prime minister)
- Scientists: Carl Jung* (psychiatrist); Jean Piaget (psychologist); Immanuel Velikovsky (psychiatrist)
- Actors: Paul Bettany; Humphrey Bogart*; Charlie Chaplin*; Robert De Niro*; Harrison Ford*; Brendan Fraser; Jet Li; John Malkovich; Ricardo Montalban; Viggo Mortensen; Leonard Nimoy; Joaquin Phoenix; Alan Rickman*; Tim Roth; Jason Statham
- Artists: Paul Cézanne*; Rembrandt*; Johannes Vermeer*; Bill Watterson
- Directors: Luc Besson; M. Night Shyamalan
- Music: Johann Sebastian Bach*; Ludwig van Beethoven*; Johannes Brahms*; Johnny Cash*; Art Garfunkel*; George Frederic Handel*; George Harrison*; Sergey Rakhmaninov*; Pyotr Tchaikovsky*
- Writers: Dante Alighieri; Michael Crichton; Robertson Davies; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle*; Patrick O'Brian*; Edgar Allan Poe*; J.D. Salinger*; JRR Tolkein; Leo Tolstoy*
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Fictional Hades
the boy who saw ghosts in The Sixth Sense
Harry Potter
Comic book characters: Batman; the Phantom Stranger; the Shadow; the Spectre
Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes
Holden Caulfield (Catcher in the Rye)
Sherlock Holmes
Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre
the Beast in Beauty and the Beast
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