The Orphic Hymn of Helios (the Sun)
Updated translation and Live Chat on 3/9/25 at 2pm
Business First: Please take note that the Live Chat on Sunday, 3/9/25 takes place at 2pm EST, *on the day that the US begins daylight savings time.* Here is a time converter if you want to make sure you have the correct time locally.
Also important: I am experiencing an upsurge in Long Covid symptoms, so I’ve had to postpone everything on my calendar for March except the Live Chat.
Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post for the Live Chat link.
Here comes the Sun (Again)
Perhaps it’s the fact that we’re coming up on an equinox (and a gnarly eclipse).
Perhaps it’s the gloom of repression and violence hangs heavy over the skies of the United States, where I live.
Perhaps it’s the upsurge in Long-Covid cardiovascular symptoms I’m experiencing these past few weeks - breathlessness, racing heartbeat at the slightest exertion, only partially mitigated by the battery of medications and herbal formulae I ingest every day.
Or, in true Orphic fashion, it’s all of the above — the living fractal cosmos making itself felt at all levels simultaneously.
Any way you look at it, I am craving more sunlight these days. More transparency. More justice. More righteousness. More joy.
I first published my translation of the Orphic Hymn of Helios in 2023, but over the past few weeks I experienced a nudge to look at it again.
And when I say, “nudge,” I mean a dizzying, whirling, buzzing sensation of speed and a feeling of being dragged in a very specific direction. At first, I wrote the feeling off as a combination of my Long Covid symptoms and the “shock and awe” tactics of the current US regime.
But then when I listened more closely, the whizzing hurtling feeling invited me closer. And rather than getting more disoriented the closer I approached, I instead found myself drawn into a quiet humming radiance of magnetic light.
Enter Helios, A Different Type of Sun King
In esoteric circles, we often hear the Sun compared to a King. Lists of correspondences draw upon royal imagery to make a whole set of connections that often perpetuate the hierarchical assumptions of the society that produces them.
We’re told that the King is wise and central, the king is the highest human at the top of a “great chain of being,” the king is like the heart and we cannot live without him, the king is strong, the king is all-powerful, the king is a just judge, etc. etc. etc.
But I ask you: outside of fairytales, is your experience of kingship positive?
Have the all-powerful kings and autocrats we’re familiar with shown themselves to be worthy of that sort of trust?
Call me a cynic, call me a realist: I’d wager to say that 95-100% of them have not.
All of which begs the question: whither the Sun King?
The Orphic Hymn to Helios gives us some clues for how to proceed.
First a caveat, one I’ve said before and I’ll say again: The Orphic Hymns are still a product of their place and time, and it’s important to remember that as much as we want to UNDERSTAND the esoteric content of the Hymns and the many gifts they bring us, the goal is never to return to or recreate some idealized version of the past, as happens all too often in alt-right “trad” culture.
We need to look at the past in all its complexity, to see how the ancestors forged pathways, even under the constraints of their own social order, for liberation and cosmic connection.
For this type of fugitive* historical endeavor, the Orphics are a fantastic resource. (*I’m using “fugitive” here in the sense pioneered by Black activists and theorists, for instance Alexis Pauline Gumb, Fred Moten, and my teacher and brother Bayo Akomolafe.)
For instance, a hymn will open with a very traditional image or metaphor (the Sun as Ruler, for example), and take it in an entirely unanticipated direction (the Sun plowing a field, or leading a circle dance). Through a spiraling fractal of associations, our understanding of “rulership” and of the Sun itself is de- and re-formed.
In short, the Orphic Hymns are an initiation. They guide the initiate through the doorway of “conventional myth” into the intricate, fractal labyrinth of the cosmos itself.
So let’s open “the doors of our ears” (to paraphrase the Orphic Derveni Papyrus), and look at this strange Orphic Sun.
Ruler of What?
First, let me say that there IS some very conventional language of rulership in the hymn. Helios is described as “Cosmic Lord” (Greek: kosmokratōr) and “Master of the Cosmos” (despota kosmou). A quick and rather superficial reading of the hymn might therefore lead us to believe that Helios is being described as a king of kings, or some sort of mighty cosmic superhero.
But when we look closer at what Helios is actually DOING in the hymn, his actions don’t conform to traditionally “kingly” roles. Instead, he’s involved in:
timing and dance
plowing and laying down grooves
chariot racing
ritual trance-states
Overall, the Greek wording of the hymn balances references to loftiness and majesty with much more everyday imagery of Helios as setting the pace, laying down tracks, and making sure everyone’s moving in a healthy way. Even Helios’ mighty title “Master of the Cosmos” is immediately counterbalanced by the much more down-to-earth imagery of a rank-and-file sentinel guard.
Helios is perhaps less a He-Man and more a dance instructor or DJ.
Helios and the Leadership of Choral Dance
When considering the Orphic Hymn of Helios, it helps to look at actual Greek folk dancing, some of which scholars agree is based on ancient dance patterns and techniques.
(A word to exercise due diligence here when researching folk dance and its relationship to ancient dance forms. Not everything “folk” is ancient. In fact, some of the most famous modern “Greek” folk dances turn out to be Ottoman or even, in the case of the “Syrtaki,” invented by Hollywood choreographers for the movie “Zorba the Greek.”)
The “Syrtos” is one of the folk dances believed by scholars to resemble some of the dance descriptions we have from antiquity. (It also has a roughly 4/4 beat, like the dance described in the Orphic Hymn of Helios.) The link below gives a good general idea of the type of leadership this sort of dance required.
Notice that the dance APPEARS to move of its own accord, by consensus, with the dancers supporting and taking cues from each other. This does not necessarily mean, of course, that there is no-one leading. But it DOES mean that this leadership is exercised subtly, through practice and muscle memory, and through group attunement to each other, and to the musical beat.
This other link below shows how even in practice sessions, the leader is teaching through example, with the goal of making the movements so intuitive for the chorus that they can dance the final performance even without him. (This Syrtos is from Samothrace, rather than Crete, but is similar in rhythm and steps.)
The dance teacher’s movements are graceful, in tempo, and most importantly, set an example for the dancers. It’s not a top-down sort of leadership. It’s a “do as I do,” mimetic modeling.
We need more of THIS sort of rulership right now.
We need leaders who set a healthy pace and pathway for themselves and others, who lead by example, and who do it all so gracefully and gently that we hardly even notice they’re there.
This is NASA’s recording of the sound of the sun’s magnetic radiation and light. Compare it with the sounds and imagery of the Orphic Hymn of Helios.
Basking in Magnetic Light
When we do encounter such forms of leadership in real life, there is an incredibly healing quality to their presence. We are drawn to people like this the way we are drawn to lift our faces towards the sun on a mild early Spring day.
Sunlight has long been used as a medical therapy and magical remediation, at least as far back as earliest Ancient Egypt, and probably way before that too. Likewise, the most esoteric passages of the Orphic Hymn of Helios also hint at solar rituals that were part of the Mystery rites themselves. (We’ll discuss those passages in more detail in the Live Chat. In the meantime, I’d encourage you to look for clues in the hymn itself.)
For now, though, I’d like to leave you with three possible (and extremely accessible) methods of solar healing, because a dose of solar medicine is exactly what we need at this moment in time.
First, we need to look for those folks who are quietly leading by example, and get behind them. Join their causes, imitate their way of moving in the world, amplify their work.
Second, if you’re able, I’d recommend finding some joy through choral movement, dance, or song. I use “choral” here in its widest sense. For instance, being physically disabled, I can no longer dance like I used to when I was a club kid in the 90s, but I do meet up regularly online with some fellow crips to engage in mythic weaving and storytelling. It’s a space that nourishes my soul. Your space might be a nightclub, a barbershop quartet, an ecstatic drumming group, or tai chi in the park with some elders. The point is to be in a group that engages in some form of “attunement” with each other to produce collective harmonious art or movement.
And finally, SIT IN THE SUN and breathe Helios in. Obviously, exercise due precautions. I am not promoting “sun-gazing” or getting burnt to a crisp. I AM recommending a conscious practice of being in sunlight for a period every day, and taking a moment to inhale and exhale the light. You can make this as simple as you want - a walk with a few deep breaths, a 5-minute meditation in a sunny window, or simply remembering to look up and breathe in and out every time you exit your home. (And please do check out this excellent post by
on her Etruscan-inspired solar meditation practice.)Solar Food for Thought
In our Live Chat on 3/9/25 (link below), we’ll have plenty of time to dive deeper into the imagery of the Hymn of Helios. I’ll make sure to cover the more esoteric aspects of the language, but here are some reading questions to get you started.
As you read the hymn below, ask yourself:
What specific actions is Helios described as performing?
What “beats” or rhythms is he associated with, and how are those reflected in solar movement and lore?
Where is Helios located, in terms of directions or spatial locations?
Where are there pairs of words or phrases in the hymn that seem to suggest opposites or polarities that Helios somehow encompasses?
What phrases or images most surprise you? Which delight you? Are there any that make you nervous or uneasy?
Can you imagine any ritual practice that either might have originally been done in conjunction with this hymn, or that you feel drawn to do/invent now?
(For the astrologers in the house): do you see any language that reminds you of astrological associations of the Sun, and/or techniques involving the Sun?
I hope to see many of you “in person” at the Live Chat. Scroll all the way down for full details and link.
And because you made it this far, this video has been cheering my days while I’ve been translating and writing.
Of Helios
Incense: Powdered Frankincense
Listen, Blessed One,
You who possess the All-seeing Eye of Eons,
Golden-rayed Titan, Hyperion,
Highest Heavenly Light,
Self-generated, Unwearying,
Sweet sight for living beings,
Cherished face of the Living Ones:
On the right, You beget Eos, the Dawn.
On the well-omened left, You sire Nyx, the Night.
You head the mixture of years,
seasons, and hours,
prancing out the four-measured beat
of a circling choral dance.
You are Swift-runner,
Whizzing Whistler,
Fiery Beamer,
Beating out the course of a boundless
disk in wheeling rounds, driving the twirling
song-path of an immense, spinning bullroarer,
a magician’s spinning disk.
You are Guide to the reverent,
summoning them by name,
and you vent your fury
on the impious.
Golden Lyre:
dragging, drawing, grooving
the harmonious course of the cosmos,
You are Signal-Master
of good works and well-tilled lands,
Year-, season-, and hour-nourishing Boy.
Cosmic Lord,
Whistling Pan-piper,
Fire-runner,
Circling Spiral-spinner,
Light-bearer,
Shifting, Spangled Manifester,
Life-bearer,
Fruitful Healer,
Smoldering and Eternally Blooming,
Unstained, Father of Time,
Undying Zeus,
Fair-weathered All-Shiner,
Orbiting Eye of the Cosmos,
Extinguisher of Torches
with Your beautiful, bright beams,
Revealed Righteous Action,
Lover of Flowing Streams,
Master of the Cosmos, Trusty Sentinel,
Forever Most High, Comrade to All,
Eye of Righteous Action,
Life-giving Light:
O Charioteer, speed on!
Drive that four-yoked chariot
With Your whistling whip!
Hear our words, and manifest
Sweet Life for initiates.Hear my translation of this hymn as interpreted by harpist and vocalist Katina Mitchell!