Hephaestos
Set forth with pride, and do your work.
Let not the hardship of it kill your will.
Take not pride in what you can do.
Take pride in what you do.
Let the holy spirit of Hephaestos fill your heart.
Let his joys take you.
Divine smith and lord of the fire.
Bringer of the tools that make us men.
Lord of Volcanoes
The ancients believed that the forge of Hephaestos lay within the heart of volcanoes. The very word volcano comes from his Roman name, Vulcan. Of Hephaestos, I know almost nothing, however. I have never really felt him in the world as I have the others, though I can see how others have. Civilization itself owes much to this God, for it is his strange influence that made man into a tool user, and eventually a forger of metal. A critical turning point in our growth into civilized beings.
As a lord of Volcanoes, however, there is a dark and destructive aspect to this God, as there are to all Gods, but one which shows itself most astonishingly and with such enormous power on the earth, that it boggles the mind.
Master Smith
Hephaestos is tied closely to two of Olympus' great powers. Athena and Aphrodite. Athena herself bears the name Athena Hephaesteia in her aspect of craftsman (craftsperson.) This in relation to crafts of metal. Aphrodite is tied to him by their intimate association and mythological marriage. In truth, these are simply the overlaps in their influence. The wise use of craftsmanship and the love of same.
The Lame God
As the lame God of Olympus, Hephaestos bears another very intersting message for us, and that is that all men must be judged on their abilities and not simply on their appearance. Lame and ugly as Hephaestos was said to be, no one could ever clame that he was anything other than a master at his craft, and this applies so readily today, especially here in America where the shallowness of our culture often leaves me in shock.