Fresh water poured into a riverWineMilkA river cleaned
Invocation Approach
Tone
Ancient and even
Address
OceanusWorld RiverFather of Rivers
Relationship
The boundary that keeps the world in one piece
Warning
He is not the sea and does not take salt as his own
Resonance
Those working with origins boundaries and genealogy
Symbols
The encircling riverSerpentBull hornsThe edge of the map
Mythology Summary
Oceanus is the Titan who is the river encircling the world, the fresh water that rings the inhabited earth and from which all rivers and springs come. In Homer he is the origin of the gods, 'Oceanus, from whom all the gods are sprung', which cuts across the Hesiodic genealogy that makes him a son of Earth and Sky. He stayed out of the Titanomachy, and Aeschylus has Prometheus name him as the one Titan who did not move against Zeus. He is the boundary of the world rather than the sea inside it, which is why his offerings are fresh water and not salt.
Modern Practice
Oceanus is called on at the beginning of a genealogy project, a house move, or any working about origins and the edge of what is known. The practice is a libation of fresh water into a running stream or poured at a shoreline, with the understanding that the sea belongs to other gods.