Also called Skylla, Kharybdis.
Their story
In the Odyssey, Scylla lives in a cave high on a cliff, with twelve dangling feet and six necks each ending in a mouth with three rows of teeth. Opposite her, under a fig tree, Charybdis sucks down the sea three times a day and spews it back. Circe told Odysseus to sail close to Scylla and lose six men rather than risk the whole ship. Later writers placed them in the Straits of Messina.
Best times to give to them
- When forced to choose between two bad options
- Before a sea crossing
What they like being given
- None are traditional; a stone and a shell on the altar, one for each danger
- A candle lit while reading or retelling the story
How to honour them
- When caught between two dangers, choose the lesser loss, as Circe advised Odysseus.
- Reflect on what can be saved rather than what will be lost.
How they can help you
- Hard choices
- Accepting unavoidable losses
- Navigating narrow passages
Symbols
- six heads
- dog heads
- whirlpool
- fig tree
Ovid tells that Scylla was once a nymph transformed by Circe's jealousy.
Sources
- Homer, Odyssey 12.73-126, 12.234-259
- Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.898-14.74