HARMONIA
Harmonia[1] is the Greek goddess of harmony and concord (Roman Concordia), and the Queen of Thebes. As the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, Harmonia’s parentage speaks directly to her energies as the balancing factor in both the harsh and gentle aspects of life. She is said to ease conflict and strife in both love and war. In the bigger picture, Harmonia also represents the primordial balance and cosmic symmetry of the universe.
The mythology of Harmonia is mostly focused on her conception and her cursed necklace, which brought tragedy and misfortune to her descendants. The Necklace of Harmonia is one of the most notorious magical objects in Greek mythology but, to understanding its origin and impact, we need to start at Harmonia’s marriage to Cadmus… or actually at Cadmus himself. Notice how very Libran it is to establish Harmonia’s story and identity through another?
CADMUS
Cadmus was a Phoenician prince and one of the original monster-slaying Greek heroes. He is also the founder and first king of Thebes, which is his dominant story. Here is the gist.
Cadmus consults the Oracle at Delphi while on a mission to find his sister. The Oracle tells him to give up his current mission and instead establish a new city. This endeavor involves following a cow, sacrificing it, killing a great serpent, and burying its teeth…which births the men that help him build the city of Thebes[2]. One little glitch, the serpent Cadmus kills is sacred to Ares, who demands service as penance. At the end of his indenture, Ares awards Cadmus with Harmonia, who then becomes the queen of Thebes.
NECKLACE
The wedding between Harmonia and Cadmus was attended by everyone – mortal and gods alike – including Hephaestus, Aphrodite’s husband. Yep, I said husband. The union that produced Harmonia was a secret affair between Aphrodite and Ares. Needless to say, Hephaestus was not happy and took his anger and humiliation out on Harmonia, by giving her a cursed necklace as a wedding gift. Forged by the god himself, Hephaestus reportedly made the necklace of gold and jewels in the shape of two serpents clasped at their mouths (which speaks to the symmetry and balance of Harmonia, as well as the couple’s later transformation into serpents). Along with being generally cursed with tragedy and misfortune, the necklace was also said to bring eternal youth and beauty to its possessor…which turns out to be its own curse.
Here are just a few mythologically significant figures in Harmonia’s lineage who suffered the misfortunes of the necklace:
* After Harmonia, the necklace passed to her daughter, Semele, who was tricked into asking her lover (Zeus) into revealing himself, thus causing her death.
* Queen Jocasta remained young and beautiful but committed suicide after discovering she had married her own son, Oedipus… who gauged out his own eyes when he found out.
* Later descendants attempted to free their lineage of the curse by offering the necklace at the Temple of Athena in Delphi. However, a Phocian leader stole it and gave it to his mistress. Her son succumbed to madness and set the house on fire, killing everyone inside.
Harmonia and Cadmus had a very loving relationship but they did suffer greatly through the deaths of children and grandchildren, presumably all due to the cursed necklace. Filled with grief, the couple moved away from Thebes, leaving its rule to their descendants.
There is one final tragedy that might be attributed to the cursed necklace. The union of Harmonia and Cadmus is somewhat metaphorical in uniting the west and east (one etymological suggestion is Cadmus means “east”), but the wedding also marked the end of the golden age, where gods and mortals met on friendly terms.
TRANSFORMATION
We have reached the final stage in the story of Harmonia and Cadmus, which brings us back to serpents. Reflecting on the tragedies in his life, Cadmus concludes that they all started with the killing of the great serpent. He decides that if the gods felt the serpent was so important then maybe he ought to be a serpent himself. Instantly, the transformation begins. Harmonia rushes to be at her husband’s side. Cadmus wraps his arms – then serpent body – around her as she begs the gods to transform her too. Her plea is heard and the two serpents are said to live forever together in peace.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Harmonia’s story speaks very nicely to her position in the Girdle as the first primordial energy of Libra:
* Represents harmony, balance, and union (all Libra functions)
* Parents are Mars and Venus (the Aries/Libra axis)
* Wedding precipitates the separation of mortal and divine … or Self (Aries-Virgo) and Other (Libra-Pisces)
* Transformation into a serpent, a creature representing earthly descent (Libra being where the sun metaphorically sets)
The moment you realize you are not alone in this world is the moment you invoke Harmonia.
May she bless your life with harmony and may her accursed necklace never be found.
[1] There is also a nymph named Harmonia who is the grandmother, with Ares, of the Amazons. However, despite their names, these two figures are different and never conflated.
[2] This is the hometown of Honorius of Thebes, purported author of the grimoire “The Sworn Book of Honorius” and creator of the Theban alphabet.