1. What is your deity's name, and what concepts of the human condition do they represent?

She is Hera, Queen of Heaven. Hera is also the Goddess of Marriage, protector of women (married ones mostly), and Goddess of the Sky. She is equated in many of the Hymns as air--the element we would greatly miss if it were not there.

2. Give a brief description of your god's backstory. How were they born/created? Who are they married to?

Hera was (according to some) the eldest daughter of Cronos and Rhea (MANY others say she was twin to Zeus, and Hestia was the eldest). She was swallowed by Cronos upon birth. MANY different places claim to have been her birthplace; numerous figures are cited as the ones who raised her.

After Zeus’ many advances on Hera, she forced him to marry her (the first Olympian wedding) and she stayed faithful to her ever-faithless husband.

3. What is something about your deity that most people don't know?

Hera was not just tricked by Zeus in the guise of a cuckoo bird, he (according to many scholars) raped her when she rejected him yet again. Her way of NOT being just a victim was to turn the tide on him and force him into marriage.

4. What's something unique you've learned from working with them this year?

Hera’s bitchy persona was created by Homer (or the people who wrote as Homer). In ancient Grecian times, a wealthy many would have many mistresses and concubines at his wife’s consent (she would even be a part of the choosing of those in his bed). In some cases the offspring of those ‘affairs’ would be given higher status than children born of the wife, especially if the married couple only produced daughters. Hera truly is a very loving Goddess, and only wants the respect of her husband asking for consent.

5. If you were to spend a day with your deity, what activities would do? How would they react to those mortal activities?

If I were to spend the day with Hera, we would most likely start the day with a complete makeover, and then shopping on Rodeo Drive, Fifth Ave, and Boutiques of Paris. I’m with the Queen of Heaven, we wouldn’t need an airplane, or passports, or anything like that.

Meet Hera in the flesh and witness the gods walk the earth at this year's Spring Mysteries Festival