Marine Goddess Ceto. Shark Mother's Message to Mortals
Summary of Contents: Ceto in mythology | Arrival and Appearance | Ceto's Trident | Monster in a Gentle Mood | Siren Song | Festival Day | Monster's Message to Mortals
Festival Day - 12 July
Goddess Ceto in Mythology
There is not much by way of legend featuring Ceto. She doesn’t appear in Homer’s epic dramas Iliad or Odyssey.
Perhaps she wouldn’t have bothered with Odysseus on his journey home to Ithaca, unless he and his crew were sport-fishing for shark.
Introduction to these Diaries
What kind of Heaven do you expect. Soft fluffy paradise of eternity, or oblivion of nothingness? Out-of-body survival expert Margo Williams discovered a surprisingly simple system of management and afterlife recycling.
There are many goddesses and gods in the community. Speaking their name aloud evidently sends a signal; creates a link to wherever they are at any given moment. If it works for you as it worked for Margo, and they respond, be respectful but be yourself. Honesty and thoughtfulness are appreciated.
Sacrifice nothing but your time. Most of them seemed approachable and appreciated being remembered.
The ancient temples that still can be found in some places, although mostly broken, are huge monumental structures; impressive sacred spaces, their scale designed to impress, to be worthy of divine visitation.
However, it is not the size and splendour of any sacred space but the sincerity of the person seeking contact.
Anywhere can be a temple.
"Not much information by way of myth about Ceto?" Nick Hammond asked out-of-body survivalist Margo Williams.
Ceto Arrival and Appearance
"I had to find out about Ceto for myself. The hard way it was, too.
Goddess Ceto probably could assume any form she wished, human-shaped like Amphitrite and Doris, as did Scylla on that rare occasion but she didn’t, ever.
I was aware of how great an honour and privilege to be spoken to by so many of the gods and goddesses but to honour only the gentle ones, I presumed the hard ones would be moved to greater irritation.
Marine goddess Doris’ strange coloured food gift was truly a blessing.
A flash of brilliant orange light burst then an enormous misted bulk filled the air, though of no definite shape. It spread outward from floor to ceiling and it reeked of rotted fish.
The mist bulk seethed close around me revealing an extraordinary, and impossible-to-miss figure inside. Vivid orange, literally carrot-coloured.
Orange spiky hair, orange-coloured eyes; big ugly gapped shark-teeth. Her body half-human with massive breasts, the biggest of any being I ever saw. Skin slightly scaled, massive human feet, red toenails hooked like talons.
And a long thick tail swished behind.
She yanked me up, held one-handed off the ground. I felt dizzy and sickened by the rotting fish-stink.
"I AM A GODDESS!" she snarled into my face. "And a monster. Goddess and monster!" she repeated slowly. "Goddess and monster," faster this time. "Goddess and monster!"
She glared orangely at me. "And I can take any shape and be what I wish." She let go, seized hold of my leg and yanked me away.
We arrived on a shoreline to sounds of roaring waves and instantly I was dunked underwater. Somehow I crawled back onto the beach. Ceto stood waiting, she held an enormous sharp-edged razor shell in her taloned hand.
"Respect is due to me," she said. "I was never well known and it is time. I am angry that mortals do not honour me." Swish, she sliced low at my legs.
I jumped, only just in time but was too slow seeing the next danger. She p.....d me hard with her free-hand fist and knocked me out.
Ceto's Weapon of Choice - Trident
Terrible sensation brought me back into consciousness.
She was s....g at my leg. I kicked out at her but couldn’t get loose. The razor shell was scarlet with my b...d. I felt nauseous, thought it would be the end for me.
Several more s.....s, she then threw down the razor shell. "If other mortals worshipped me knowing it was me, this would not take place."
I tried to make sense of what she meant by that. She spelled it out.
"I am a goddess all should fear and respect." She snarled, revealing the full set of shark-teeth. She dropped the razor shell, shook her fist; a long-handled trident appeared in her hand.
She s.....d me, then held me up like caught prey.
The ground seemed so far below. She shook the trident so I fell to the ground. She kicked, rolled me over then s.....d again and held me up on the trident prong.
Everything went black. I fainted.
Monster in a Gentle Mood
"You show courage." I heard Ceto say, though my head rang from a pounding b..w to my f..e that brought me back to consciousness.
"You don’t scream but you cannot hide your fear of me." She smiled like a shark with an easy k..l. "You are a brave mortal welcoming me, yet should you not have done so it would have roused my anger."
"And that would have spoiled the gentle mood I am in today. STOP SHAKING!"
She stamped her foot, the ground shook. Again she s.....d me with the trident. "It shows courage to honour me." She swished her tail, it was that which had pounded me so crushingly hard.
"I can be cruel. I enjoy it." She s.....d down with the trident but this time I jumped and dodged the incoming swipes, as best I could.
And so Ceto toyed with me on the beach while humming a tuneless tune.
"If you scream, I will keep you," she taunted between hums.
Ceto and the Song of My Soul
Eventually, after a while of the game, she stopped, smiled horribly and said, "That satisfies me for now."
She turned, stomped down the beach into the ocean. As she moved into deeper water she expanded to well over thirty feet high, the colossal breasts maintained in perfect outsized proportion; then Ceto vanished below the surface.
I took the opportunity, exhausted, b......d and in serious pain, to limp away along the beach, though no idea to where. There was no way home without Ceto but I didn’t want to go back to the goddess monster.
I wondered what to do.
Surprisingly, I saw someone further along the beach. A female sitting on a rock.
Joy and hope surged on sight of someone not monster.
As I approached, the breeze carried sounds of a perfect-pitched voice. She was singing softly to herself, or so I thought. And what singing it was!
Sounds sweet and high, and deliciously seductive. I felt drawn closer to listen.
Goddess? I wasn't sure. Long dark hair, perfect physique. Olive skin so natural in contrast to the bright orange; eyes an incredible vivid green. And the perfect song, the sound of it. Listening was not enough, I wanted to be part of it.
All I wanted in the world at that moment was to be one with her song.
For she sang my song. The song of my life.
It touched deep within me, held me in a way I had never known before. And I didn’t care that this perfect female had no legs; and instead of feet she had the caudal tail fin of a fish.
She beckoned me closer. "You please me," she said. "Therefore I let you go."
Ceto is a Rare Sight Even Among the Gods
Thereafter, some encounters with Ceto were better than others, less violence. Generally she was gentler on her festival day but not always.
I didn’t ever again see the dark beauty or hear the siren’s song of my life. Like the Devourer, whose rare appearance in human form is Native American, the ocean’s Shark Mother showed herself mostly as monster.
"I cannot decide what to do with you today. You show fear," she growled when next she responded to invitation.
The stinking orange mist this time smelt sulphurous like rotten fish and eggs as it billowed an opening to reveal its dangerous occupant.
You would assume that being vivid orange would stand out, but the mist totally shielded the bright colour. Ceto truly was a rare sight even among the Gods. Orangely hideous, scaled; spiked hair.
Ceto's Festival Day
"Understandable," she added. Ceto’s tone was amused shark. "I am not the gentlest of goddesses. I am known for my cruelty, and am proud of it."
Her monster face lowered close to mine. I felt the scales of her hands. She lifted me, her massive breasts also were scaled. I brushed against them, it felt like she was encased in sharp iron scales.
This time I noticed three hairs protruded from her massive n.....s.
"I have much to do today," she continued. "First, a member of every sea creature will pay me homage and then the festivities will begin. Every monster, land or sea will be there."
"Many gods and goddesses will come and it will go on until I say it will stop. I command everyone to enjoy themselves."
She raised her other hand, held up a lobster cage. Inside it was a s......n. By the size I guessed a man but not a bit of f...h remained. It was horrible to see.
She shook it and grinned, nastily. "Only taken three days for him to look like this." She dropped the cage on the floor. "Beware mortals who abuse the oceans, I enjoy taking the l...s of those who anger me."
She told me how many other unfortunates she recently had seized, twenty.
Monster's Message to Mortals
She dropped me. Even before I hit the ground, quick as orange lightning, she grabbed hold of my ankle, hauled me up and b.t my heel.
Then paused to explain something. That day her orange eyes glowed with a fiery light unlike any other god, goddess or monster. "You have to suffer for the foolishness of mortals."
I so nearly screamed. How I didn’t, I don’t know but my eyes filled with tears at the excruciating discomfort.
"I am in a kindly mood today." Ceto b.t harder. "Do not shake. It is a sign of weakness. You have to be strong. Strength has been given you. Wisdom has been given you. Use your gifts!"
I tried not to shake but it was impossible. She b.t me again.
"I am kindly disposed for reasons I will not go into with you, a mere mortal," she said, but then did so. "Mortals need to know of us, even me."
She let go. I fell to the ground and scuttled away on my knees. She stomped after me, and so I stopped.
"Perhaps I will give you a gift. Yes, a little money. Do with it what you will, but don’t waste it." She hauled up the lobster pot and rattled its contents by way of farewell.
"Return now to the shell you call a body. That will be all now. Go back to your work. Feeble mortal that you are, you work hard. I, the mighty Ceto, respect you."
She stared hard, fiery and thoughtful, then added. "I will give you another gift, of having no fear of any of us."
Even with Ceto’s gift, I always feared the monsters.
Thank you for your company on this short introduction to goddess Ceto. If you would like to know more about Margo Williams' experiences and suggestions for how to survive in the hereafter read this book. Now available from Amazon.
