🦪Areia Anthea🦪

Happy Aphrodite April, My Sweet Starlings!!! 🥰

30 Days of Aphrodite has been a staple of our Aphrodite April festivities since the beginning which is why I decided to do things a bit differently this year. Instead of one challenge, I created two. One for beginners and one for experienced worshipers.

This post contains the challenge for experienced worshipers. If you're looking for the beginners/general version you can find it here.

Of course anyone is welcome to participate, but some questions might be difficult to answer for those who haven't been worshiping long.

How you choose to go about the challenge is up to you. Please don't put pressure on yourself to do the entire thing or do answer the questions a specific way. There is no right way. This challenge is about your unique beautiful profound magical relationship with Aphrodite. Let that shine through!

If you participate please tag your posts with #30 Days of Aphrodite so we can all see each others answers!

And with that said, I present to you

✨30 Days of Aphrodite✨

(The Experienced Worshiper Edition)

1. Share the origin story of your relationship with Aphrodite

2. What was the first offering you ever gave Aphrodite?

3. What was the first ritual you ever did for Aphrodite?

4. Share some pictures of your altar for Aphrodite throughout your worship

5. What was your first experience like communicating with Aphrodite?

6. Share the ways you prefer to communicate with Aphrodite.

7. How do you know Aphrodite is around you?

8. Where do you find/feel Aphrodite the most?

9. What are some associations of Aphrodite that are significant to your worship?

10. Share some UPGS.

11. Share a funny experience you had with Aphrodite.

12. Share a profound experience you had with Aphrodite.

13. What are your favorite ways to connect with and honor Aphrodite?

14. Do you have any nicknames for Aphrodite? Does she have any for you?

15. Share some of your favorite resources about Aphrodite.

16. Share the ways Aphrodite empowers, comforts, supports, and guides you.

17. Which misconception of Aphrodite bothers you the most?

18. Which aspect of Aphrodite do you connect with or work with the most?

19. Which aspect of Aphrodite would you like to connect more with?

20. In honor of the New Moon, what’s something new you’d like to bring into your worship of Aphrodite?

21. What do you wish more people knew about Aphrodite?

22. What does an average day with Aphrodite look like?

23. What song represents your relationship with Aphrodite?

24. What is one question you’d like to ask Aphrodite?

25. Create a new modern epithet for Aphrodite

26. What is the most shocking thing you learned about Aphrodite?

27. How has your past thoughts and opinions of Aphrodite changed?

28. How has Aphrodite changed and impacted your life?

29. What advice do you have for those just beginning their worship of Aphrodite or those wanting to approach her?

30. What does the future look like for Aphrodite and you?

Aphrodite and goats, my two favorite things!

Hi! 

There are two paths you can go to start with. If you’re more comfortable reading about modern hellenism first, then I recommend you check out this post by @thepastelpriestess. It’s not my personal prefered approach, but I understand that it’s less intimidating for a lot of people. 

The second path is the historical approach, and my favorite. That doesn’t mean you’ll go recon, but I find it avoids falling into the trap of thinking the gods according to their myth and/or as unidimensional beings. In that category I recommend: 

Jennifer Larson, Understanding Greek Religion 

Jennifer Larson, Ancient Greek Cults: a guide

Daniel Ogden, A Companion to Greek Religion

I saw a post about this particular aspect of Aphrodite and I think it is time that I put down my own thoughts on the subject. To be completely fair, this is the aspect of Aphrodite that I feel the most. Now, we all live and feel love differently, and it is why I decided to make my own post instead of hijacking the post of someone else, who fatally, has a different understanding of such a wide and complicated subject than I can have.

Yes, Aphrodite is associated with the idea of fighting, but that’s not it. She truly is a goddess of war, because love is an ever unending war. And I admit I am slightly tired by the idea, especially here on Tumblr, of love being this rosy, beautiful thing. Those are of course a part of it, but love is also bloody and painful. How can we forget that Aphrodite rules over affairs and not just marriages? She isn’t only the goddess of fairy tale-like love stories, but also the one of those heartbreaking every day tragedies caused by passion, infatuation or just complicated circumstances. Isn’t it a war two lovers go through when being together means ending another relationship (or worse, marriage)? Isn’t war when you have to fight against distance?

Why are we so scared to admit that love can be as terrifying as it can be soft and sweet? Love and war have many many things in common, both can be traumatizing and leave deep wounds. And no, don’t start telling me that a relationship is abuse when it starts being painful. It’s not the case. Love can hurt for many other reasons (longing comes to mind). 

The Aphrodite I know is someone who once asked me “What would you do for Love?” I can safely answer that I would fight for love, I would risk my life for love. I have the same devotion for Love than the one a soldier would have towards its nation. 

English version:

Ouranía, of whom many sing, laughter-loving Aphrodíti, 1

Sea-born, birth-giving Goddess, friend of those romantic encounters which extend to dawn, holy one,

At night, causing mortals to mate, wily mother of Necessity;

For everything comes from you, and you have bound the Kózmos;

You are sovereign over the Three Realms and are the origin of everything, 5

That which is in the Sky, in the fruitful Earth,

And in the deep Sea, holy attendant of Vákkhos.

You delight in festivity, nuptial, mother of the Ǽrohtæs,

Oh Seductive-one who enjoys making love, secretive, joy-giving queen,

Obvious yet hidden, aristocratic daughter with the beautiful hair, 10

Bridal, dining companion, sceptered by Gods, wolven;

You give us our progeny, lover of man, desirable one, life-giver;

You couple mortals in unbridled necessity

And the many kinds of wild beasts, frenzied from your charms of love;

Come, daughter of Kýpros, whether you are in Ólymbos, 15

Royal Goddess, delighting in your beautiful countenance.

Or on your throne in Syria, rich in frankincense,

Or riding through the plain in your golden chariot,

Or flanked by your priests at the fruitful River of Egypt,

Or riding your swan-drawn carriage upon the waves of the Sea, 20

Rejoicing in the little ones as they dance about in circles;

Or you delight yourself with the dark-eyed Nymphs on the divine earth,

As they lightly leap upon the sandy beaches of the sea-shore.

Or when seated in Kýpros, oh queen, with your nurse, where your beautiful

maidens and virgin Nymphs through all the year 25

Sing of you, happy one, and immortal holy Ádônis.

Come, blessed Goddess, who possesses an exceedingly lovely form,

For I summon you with pure words and devout soul.

Original:

Οὐρανίη, πολύυμνε, φιλομμειδὴς Ἀφροδίτη, 1

ποντογενής, γενέτειρα θεά, φιλοπάννυχε, σεμνή,

νυκτερίη, ζεύκτειρα, δολοπλόκε μῆτερ ἀνάγκης·

πάντα γὰρ ἐκ σέθεν ἐστίν, ὑπεζεύξω δέ τε κόσμον·

καὶ κρατέεις τρισσῶν μοιρῶν, γεννᾷς δὲ τὰ πάντα, 5

ὅσσα τ’ ἐν οὐρανῳ ἐστι καὶ ἐν γαίῃ πολυκάρπῳ,

ἐν πόντου τε βυθῷ· σεμνὴ Βάκχοιο πάρεδρε,

τερπομένη θαλίῃσι, γαμοστόλε, μῆτερ ἐρώτων·

πειθοῖ λεκτροχαρής, κρυφίη, χαριδῶτι ἄνασσα,

φαινομένη τ’, ἀφανής τ’, ἐρατοπλόκαμ’, εὐπατέρεια, 10

νυμφιδίη, σύνδαιτε, θεῶν σκηπτοῦχε, λύκαινα·

γεννοδότειρα, φίλανδρε, ποθεινοτάτη, βιοδῶτι·

ἐνζεύξασα βροτοὺς ἀχαλινώτοισιν ἀνάγκαις,

καὶ θηρῶν πολὺ φῦλον, ἐρωμανέων ὑπὸ φίλτρων·

ἔρχεο, Κυπρογενὲς θεῖον γένος, εἴτ’ ἐν’ Ὀλύμπῳ 15

ἐσσί, θεὰ βασίλεια, καλῷ γήθουσα προσώπῳ,

εἴτε καὶ εὐλιβάνου Συρίης ἕδος ἀμφιπολεύεις,

εἴτε σύ γ’ ἐν πεδίοισι σὺν ἅρμασι χρυσεοτεύκτοις

Αἰγύπτου κατέχεις ἱερῆς γονιμώδεα λουτρά,

ἢ καὶ κυανέοισιν ὄχοις ἐπὶ πόντιον οἶδμα 20

ἐρχομένη χαίρεις νεπόδων κυκλίῃσι χορείαις·

ἢ νύμφαις τέρπῃ κυανώπισιν ἐν χθονὶ Δίᾳ,

θυιὰς ἐπ’ αἰγιαλοῖς ψαμμώδεσιν ἅλματι κούφῳ·

εἴτ’ ἐν Κύπρῳ, ἄνασσα, τροφῷ σέο· ἔνθα καλαί σε

παρθένοι ἀδμῆται νύμφαι τ’ ἀνὰ πάντ’ ἐνιαυτὸν 25

ὑμνοῦσιν, σέ, μάκαιρα, καὶ ἄμβροτον ἁγνὸν Ἄδωνιν.

ἐλθέ, μάκαιρα θεά, μάλ’ ἐπήρατον εἶδος ἔχουσα·

Come to me now: loose me from hard

care and all my heart longs

to accomplish. You

be my ally."