The First of the Labours of Hercules, The Lion of Nemea.

Summary, the capture of the Lion of Nemea.

The lion of Nemea means the lion of the clearing.

The lion represents the archaic and primitive product of the psyche. As long as the psyche does not integrate the lion, it maintains a function of destructuring the identity and/or destroying others in the environment.

What does the work of the Lion of Nemea means to Hercules?

This work represents the metamorphosis of the hero when he thought he had reached the pinnacle of his achievement. Before facing the 12 labours, Hercules had reached a kind of perfection since becoming king of Thebes. He had been with 50 women and had 50 children. He had an unshakable, invulnerable reputation, where nothing could touch him. He had reached the maximum of what one can develop as a personality.

By analogy, this is similar to the success stories we create for ourselves when we reach a professional, spiritual or socio-cultural peak. We believe that we are at the peak of our achievement. If we allow ourselves to be taken in by this kind of delusion, sooner or later a disruptive event will come along to bring us face to face with ourselves. This is what happened to Hercules, for one day Hera drove him mad and we are told that he killed his children. He then fell into despair and sought refuge in the shadows of his depression until one day he met a Pythian (also called Pythoness, an oracle) who said to him: "If you want to get out of this dramatic state in which you have found yourself, you have the task of completing 12 works by obeying absolutely the orders of Eurystheus. Eurystheus means the one who goes beyond the limits. Eurystheus is an incompetent who has taken the kingdom that Hercules should have had because of his birth. This means that Hercules is forced to obey someone who is inferior to him in a rank and ability. This is tantamount to sitting on his pride. Thus, in order to complete the 12 labours, Hercules must learn humility and obedience by following the path of his soul.

When Hercules finally agreed to undergo the initiation, which has since been called the 12 labours of Hercules, he looked at himself for the first time in his reality, and when he looked at himself he felt as if he were choking with astonishment. In fact, before the lion, Hercules sees himself, and what does Hercules sees? He sees his monstrosity; he sees that he has forged a pseudo-identity of light on top of his deepest fears. In other words, he has created a false self, a persona built on the fear of emptiness.

How does one shake off this false self, maintained in human relationships, in order to enter the clearing of inner peace?

Because nothing could touch him, Hercules thought he was invulnerable, when in fact he had become insensitive. All the strategies of the ego to protect itself from the fears that characterise it. The abyss of fear that lies beneath the armour of its representations must finally be looked into so that its true identity can be revealed.

This is why the Lion of Nemea represents the Lion of the clearing. To place one's consciousness in the clearing represents the ability to clear a space of light in the jungle of representations. That is, to have experienced at least once in one's life an encounter with the Self, with that aspect of stillness that allows one to feel truly at home.

Hercules moves from a false invulnerability based on insensitivity, where nothing could touch him, to a true invulnerability based on the fact that he places his consciousness in this space of light, right in the heart of his heart. In the end, this is invulnerability in the sense of no longer being dependent on the gaze of others and the need to be loved in order to exist.

How will Hercules look himself in the face without cheating? How will he shake off this false invulnerability he has built for himself? In reality, Hercules has long confused invulnerability with insensitivity!

The great metamorphosis must take place in the darkness, in the intimacy out of the limelight that the ego constantly seeks.

How can we overcome this paradox that says I want to become more spiritual, more loving, more open to the world, when it is the old I that says it wants to become more spiritual, more loving, more open to the world? How can the pointing finger point to itself?

In the mystery of himself, the heroic man looks himself straight in the eye: he finally sees himself as he is. As a result, he is seized by rage. He chokes! Chokes? Well, yes: he finally gives up justifying himself, talking and arguing in order to seduce and make himself loved. He who suffocates keeps saying: "I suffocated", "I did everything", the ear sensitive to the language of birds distinguishes. The sensation of suffocation is a cry from the body, telling of the saturation of the psyche, of the need to control everything in constant hypervigilance. Suddenly the lion runs out of air. Isn't it said of someone who impresses his companions with his sovereignty and his tendency to conquer all available space that he "doesn't lack air"? When the lion's ears twitch, the hero begins to listen to the sounds coming from within, and now he takes a further step: by suffocating the animal, he learns to be silent. He knows his strength; he knows that he is often right, but he learns to be silent. The hero begins his metamorphosis by giving up his greatest quality. The animal sent by the moon, born from the foam of the waves like the goddess of love, dies. Undoubtedly, the man to whom this great work falls is choked with astonishment when he sees himself as he really is. He understands that his whole life has been based on an attitude of seduction. He realises that his clarity and willpower were built on fear. He understands that his words of truth were spoken to protect rather than to enlighten.

He has finally learned to say "yes" to all that he is, without trying to become or appear to be someone else. This is certainly the simplest and most effective "yes" mantra, capable of profoundly changing the psychic state of the human being.

However, we must remember that the laws that govern the outer world and those that govern the inner world are exactly opposite. The transformation of the external world requires our ability to say "no" and to reject what we find unacceptable. The metamorphosis of our inner reality is achieved through an unconditional "yes" to the totality of which we are.

To sum up:

What are the qualities of the hero to penetrate this great work of metamorphosis and expansion of consciousness?

The first point is to feel the call, to listen to the call, for this is where the courage to embark on the adventure is born.

At the beginning, the hero does not know what he is looking for, because he has no goal. The hero does what he has not been trained to do in order to reveal the gift and power of creation that has been given to him and of which he is not yet aware. In fact, the hero gives up his abilities in order to enter a world unknown to him.

He will need courage to go into the unknown, and he will need to acquire qualities such as invulnerability, which is the fruit of this work. This space of clearing where he can deposit his consciousness in his heart. In this universe, Hercules feels complete and independent of the need to be loved and of the gaze of others in order to exist. This is the courage to face oneself without escape, without a system of escape in one's vulnerability, i.e. without weapons, without violence directed against oneself and without the desire to change oneself.

At this stage, the hero will acquire the strengths of the feminine. He is not a hero who conquers the heavens by force, but one who opens himself to his vulnerability. Vulnerability here represents the vehicle that will dissolve the shell of the persona. The dissolution of the shell will bring Hercules into contact with a zone of pure presence, which at the same time remains infinitely sensitive. However, it is important to understand that it is not necessary to purify all parts of the persona. The astral is not a place to be purified, but a place to be traversed in order to see the heart of the heart. And the myth tells us clearly that you will purify from your clearing, not from your good will.

Until the moment when, like a burglar, the Self invites itself into you in total invulnerability and in accordance with an increase in your sensitivity.

Summary, the 1st work of Hercules, capturing the lion of Nemea:

https://lucbige- astromythology.simplesite.com/453119420/453473396 by SatyamAstro/Nicolas Roessli and supported by DeepL.com

To go further, a book in French has been written by Luc Bigé and translated into English by Google, La voie du Héros: Les douze Travaux d'Hercule : https://reenchanterlemonde-com.translate.goog/produit/la-voie-du-heros/?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=fr