Nemesis



Photographer: Suzy Conway

Nemesis is the ancient Greek goddess of divine retribution, the one who relentlessly pursues you till your dues are paid. Her name literally means 'distribution of what is due' and thus I have always found the Roman identification of Nemesis with Invidia (lit. envy) somewhat incongruous. Nemesis is not to do with envy at all. Nemesis is to do with justice, a balancing of power in the universe and, at a deep personal level, an awakening. To some degree Nemesis is close enough to karma and theosophist M.me Blavatsky spoke of Karma-Nemesis. Karma is the inescapable law of cause and effect, the "as you sew you shall reap" to which every sentient being, including gods, is subject to, according to Hindus and Buddhists.



Photographer: Suzy Conway





But there are major differences between Nemesis and karma. The Greek gods were arbitrary and capricious and Nemesis did not pursue the gods, no matter how unjust their actions were. She only pursued humans, that was the nature of Greek religion. The Greeks did not believe in free will - Socrates was killed because he advocated choice for human beings. Remember the tragedy of Oedipus? It was his inescapable fate that he would marry his mother and then blind himself for his sin. No matter how hard Oedipus tried to avoid his fate, mindful of the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother, eventually he did what he was meant to do. Nemesis relentlessly pursued him throughout the ordeal. Greek tragedies depicted the downfall of a noble hero or heroine, through a combination of hubris or arrogance and defiance of the divine law, fate, and the will of the gods. Nemesis was always there to ensure that the goal of retribution was accomplished.




We no longer follow the religion of the ancient Greeks, but Nemesis continues to play a major role in our collective unconscious. Carl Jung identified Greek gods and goddesses with archetypes and for him Nemesis was the shadow:
"man also has a shadow side to him, consisting not just of little weaknesses- and foibles, but of a positively demonic dynamism. The individual seldom knows anything of this; to him, as an individual, it is incredible that he should ever in any circumstances go beyond himself. But let these harmless creatures form a mass, and there emerges a raging monster; and each individual is only one tiny cell in the monster's body, so that for better or worse he must accompany it on its bloody rampages and even assist it to the utmost. Having a dark suspicion of these grim possibilities, man turns a blind eye to the shadow-side of human nature."

Photographer: Suzy Conway



I am quite interested in the wisdom of the Tarot (which Jung also appreciated). The Tarot is an ancient system of divination, magic and esoteric knowledge. There is a card, a major Arcana, that I associate with Nemesis. It is The Judgement, number XX. In The Judgement we see an Angel (Nemesis is often depicted as a winged woman) blowing a trumpet and people rising from their graves: the image of the last judgement. When I come across this card in a reading, I see those people as versions of myself, my past selves and actions, which the Angel is calling me to confront and let go. In other words, it is Nemesis that forces me (us) to look on what I (we) have done, forgive and move on from there.

We all have our Nemesis in our lives. We instinctively recognise her and often try to run away from her. I do not fear her. I welcome her in whatever form she chooses to come. She makes me look deep inside myself and scrutinise my actions especially those which I would prefer to forget, the things I wish I had never said or done. The past can never be rewritten nor can it ever be buried pretending it never happened. It has a way to come back to haunt us to make us look and resolve it. Nemesis sees to it.





(All photos unless otherwise stated are modelled by Alex B.)

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