First Experience With Aeëtes
Hello lovelies!
Just wanted to share my first experience with the Witch-King!
~
For the past few days, I’ve felt an extremely strong connection to Aeëtes, Witch-King of Colchis, golden son of Helios and brother to my main goddess, Kirke. You may recognize Him from the myths of Jason and the Argonauts—He’s most commonly known as the Keeper of the Golden Fleece. For three days or so, I’ve been getting various signs such as; his name randomly appearing in my searches (online), random associations with him including dragons and eagles, and his almost constant presence.
I’ve never really considered working with Him at all; Yes, I am well versed in the mythology and lore behind Him, but usually my mentions of Him were always in reference to Kirke, Helios, and to a lesser extent, Medea (whom I’ve worked with in the past). But many people forgot that He too is a gifted pharmakeia, or witch, and a child of Helios, which makes him, alongside Kirke, at least partially divine—a Titan, in a way. (This also includes Perses and Pasiphaë, of course, but I’ve never really connected to either of them.)
Originally, I assumed that the signs were from Kirke, as they usually are (it doesn’t help that have many similarities), so I didn’t think much of it. However, this morning, I was on a meditation walk; Connecting with Helios: the Sun and checking in on Kirke. I was planning on doing a simple ritual and offering for Her and was asking what She wanted.
However, I kept feeling this energy that kept calling to me, the same that I had been feeling for days. It wasn’t aggressive at all, He was just trying to get my attention—in fact, it held a sort of familiarity to it (which is probably since His energy holds similarities with Kirke). I was a bit surprised when Kirke seemed relaxed with this new energy (this was the first time She had met with Him in my presence and She’s usually quite protective and cautious with new entities); She even wanted me to heed Him. So, I turned my attention to Him and I heard His name: Aeëtes—note that when I say I ‘heard’ His name, I mean it in a claircognizant (clear-knowing) manner (I’m an empath as well as claircognizant).
So, once I got home, I cleansed myself and my space, poured a libation of consecrated sunwater and pulled out my mandala book. I love using mandalas as a meditation tool as the repetition helps me concentrate. Once again, I meditated, this time, properly reaching out to Aeëtes. I’ve had one too many bad experiences with unfamiliar entities, so before I truly invited Him into my space, I wanted to get mine and Kirke’s full ‘okay’.
It was probably one of, if not, the most relaxing and lighthearted meditations I’ve ever done. I found a strange, yet comforting softness to His energy that I hadn’t been expecting. As I’m sure many of you know, Aeëtes has epithets such as; the Baleful, The Fearsome, etc. and is described as a warrior and even, a ruthless tyrant. But whilst analyzing the Argonautica, Aeëtes is, in fact, quite a mysterious, shifting character. He is known for being very kind and hospitable to strangers (deeply respecting the practice of Xenia), but is also extremely protective of His power. Also, he acts quite amiably towards Jason but in certain accounts, he plots to do him harm behind his back.
I personally felt no sort of threatening energy from Him in the slightest, and though I could feel His strong protectiveness, it was focused towards me (as in, He was protective of me). He was very jovial and pleasant to talk to. He seemed to connect really well with Kirke and they instantly bonded—She seemed very happy to be with Her brother. One thing I’d like to note is that despite not many mentions being made between the two, Aeëtes entrusted Kirke to teach pharmakeia to His daughter Medea and they are seen as very close, which was quite evident in their interactions.
He did keep a distance during my mediation, respecting the boundaries I had put. Despite this, we were bonding so much to the point where I lost track of time and almost forgot to have lunch; My plan was to do a Theoxenia: offer both Kirke and Aeëtes a seat at my table.
There isn’t much information on specific offerings to Him (considering I’m pretty sure no one, or almost no one, really worships/worshipped Him) so I tried to base my meal off an excerpt from The Life and Death of Jason, Book VI (translated by William Morris) that describes Aeëtes’ Palace (Line 80-84):
“Now midst these wonders were there tables spread,
Whither the wondering seafarers [Jason and the Argonauts] were led,
And there with meat and drink full delicate
Were feasted, and strange dainty things they ate,
Of unused savor, and drank godlike wine;”
Of course, that’s pretty vague, other than the wine part, but I did my best. I ended up having turkey slices, old-cheddar cheese, a sweet bread roll and various berries (blackberries, raspberries and pomegranate seeds). I tried to be dainty as much as possible (unfortunately, I didn’t have wine). I wasn’t planning on this but Aeëtes insisted I also have green tea with a spoonful of honey (quick side note: I’ve been trying for weeks to get back into drinking green tea since it’s healthier than black, but I’ve been procrastinating so even if Him telling me to drink it seems small, I actually appreciated it a lot and thought it was sweet).
After setting out the offering, I ate beside them and had this overwhelming sense of happiness and affection from both of them. I’ve felt it from Kirke before, but never this strong as with their combined energies. Usually with new energies, I get sort of on-edge and tense, but I felt extremely comfortable with Him. I loved His calm, genuine vibe and immediately knew we’d build a good and honest relationship. (Also, He ADORED the blackberries and the tea)
Finally, I made an altar to them both, dedicating one half to each divinity. I let them decide what to put on the altar—they both seem to share a love for jasmine incense as well as the colours gold, purple and black. Aeëtes chose out my dried orchids, an onyx pyramid, a jade heart, black tourmaline and a peach pit (I have no idea why, maybe it’s the fruit thing).
However, the two most interesting things He picked out was my golden oak wand, which has a golden knot attached to it, and a (obviously fake) dragon skull I had forgotten I had. I have four wands (maple, vine-wood, birch and of course, golden oak) and two staffs (ironwood (Kirke’s) and birch), but I’m not too surprised that He chose the golden oak wand.
Oak is a strong and durable wood, associated with spiritual wisdom and true-sight (which we can infer refers to psychic abilities and prophecy). It also symbolizes leadership/sovereignty, will, dignity, courage, honesty and stability. Golden oak specifically has energies pertaining to the Sun (Helios) as well as hospitality (which makes sense considering his deep respect for the practice of Xenia, as I previously mentioned), charity and prosperity. But most importantly, the tree (in the sacred grove) on which the Golden Fleece was hung is an oak!
As for the dragon skull, He particularly loves this and it seems to be His most energetically charged item. He is deeply connected with dragons as He was gifted the ever-watchful Colchian Dragon by Ares to guard the Golden Fleece. Also, His father’s chariot in which He rides in to bring Kirke to Aeaea is pulled by dragons. Additionally, though slightly more far-fetched, His daughter Medea also rides in a chariot pulled by dragons.
In conclusion, I really loved starting to get to know Aeëtes: His energy is extremely genuine and relaxed, but extremely present (one of the main reasons why I work with lesser known divinities is because they are much more present and pay more attention than popular gods with mass followings). For the future, I’m going to continue working with Him and I’ll keep updating on the status of our relationship as it develops!
Lots of love and good intentions!
☀️Aurelia☀️









