Also called Aiolos.
Their story
Aeolus, son of Hippotes, lived on the floating island of Aeolia with a bronze wall around it. Zeus made him keeper of the winds. He welcomed Odysseus for a month and gave him an ox-hide bag holding every wind except the west wind that would carry him home. Within sight of Ithaca, the crew opened the bag thinking it held treasure, and the storm blew them all the way back.
Best times to give to them
- Before a journey
- During a storm
- When you feel close to your goal
What they like being given
- A small cloth bag, tied shut
- Incense released into the wind
- Bread shared with guests
How to honour them
- Keep a small tied bag on the altar as a reminder to hold your temper and your secrets.
- Ask for fair winds before travelling.
- Offer hospitality to travellers, as he did.
How they can help you
- Travel
- Self-control
- Finishing what you have begun
Symbols
- bag of winds
- floating island
- bronze wall
Homer's Aeolus is a mortal favoured by the gods; later writers made him a god of the winds.
Sources
- Homer, Odyssey 10.1-79
- Virgil, Aeneid 1.50-80