Author Topic: Venus? (Read 1191 times)

Slandred · « **on:** May 25, 2016, 06:31:26 pm »

Hello, I joined this website a few weeks ago so please forgive me in advance if this isn't the right board.

Lately I've been interested in figuring out my Patron God/dess. My friend has discovered that hers is Lucifer/Eosphorus and she told me that he has confirmed it by various means. She has also felt naturally drawn to Lucifer for a long time.

I really think that my Patron Goddess is Venus but I have a few newbie doubts. I've always felt very drawn to Venus. I am a sucker for love and anything involved with love or Venus makes me feel drawn to her. I've researched and studied her myths and cults for days and I've never felt such a strong attachment before.

My main concerns involve confirmation and offerings. How do I appropriately present myself to Her? How can I ask for a confirmation? How do I give pleasing sacrifices to Her? I'm assuming (and strangely I feel compelled) to give offerings in the nude.

There are some roses on my front yard. My parents, especially my mother, is Christian, and would be suspicious if I asked her for any ritual materials (candles, statue/ttes, etc.). The objective of this post is to gain insight on the previous paragraph.

Thank you!

Lana288 · « **Reply #1 on:** May 25, 2016, 08:12:49 pm »

Quote from: Slandred;191844

I really think that my Patron Goddess is Venus but I have a few newbie doubts. I've always felt very drawn to Venus. I am a sucker for love and anything involved with love or Venus makes me feel drawn to her. I've researched and studied her myths and cults for days and I've never felt such a strong attachment before.

My main concerns involve confirmation and offerings. How do I appropriately present myself to Her? How can I ask for a confirmation? How do I give pleasing sacrifices to Her? I'm assuming (and strangely I feel compelled) to give offerings in the nude.

Welcome to the Cauldron!

It sounds like you're on the right track; researching her and her cults is a really good way to connect with her, and to find out how to better connect with her. I can't give you more than general advice, because I don't really work with Roman deities, but I do have a couple ideas to share.

The first is to give it time. Deities can be *really* overwhelming when they first show up, and it could be that she's not actually your patron. She could just be "saying hi". I would definitely suggest waiting a few weeks/months and seeing if she sticks around.

The second is to keep it simple. I don't know what offerings she would like, but maybe a couple flowers or a bowl of water would be enough to start with. I've generally found that when you're working with a deity, consistency of offerings is far more important than having Huge, Lavish Sacrifices sporadically.

Just remember that there's no rule that you Must Have a Patron Deity. It's okay to "just be friends" with a deity. It leaves you that much more open to explore your options within and outside paganism.

Castus · « **Reply #2 on:** May 25, 2016, 09:42:46 pm »

Quote from: Slandred;191844

Hello, I joined this website a few weeks ago so please forgive me in advance if this isn't the right board.

Lately I've been interested in figuring out my Patron God/dess. My friend has discovered that hers is Lucifer/Eosphorus and she told me that he has confirmed it by various means. She has also felt naturally drawn to Lucifer for a long time.

I really think that my Patron Goddess is Venus but I have a few newbie doubts. I've always felt very drawn to Venus. I am a sucker for love and anything involved with love or Venus makes me feel drawn to her. I've researched and studied her myths and cults for days and I've never felt such a strong attachment before.

My main concerns involve confirmation and offerings. How do I appropriately present myself to Her? How can I ask for a confirmation? How do I give pleasing sacrifices to Her? I'm assuming (and strangely I feel compelled) to give offerings in the nude.

There are some roses on my front yard. My parents, especially my mother, is Christian, and would be suspicious if I asked her for any ritual materials (candles, statue/ttes, etc.). The objective of this post is to gain insight on the previous paragraph.

Thank you!

I have a few thoughts:

First, there isn't any rule in paganism that says that you necessarily need to have a "Patron God/ess". While you certainly can have one, especially in the sense of having a deity or set of deities that you give honour or devotion to, there isn't any specific need for one outside of a few specific traditions; and there are some who will tell you that such relationships of Patron/human are ahistorical. Not saying that you're doing anything wrong -- you aren't, -- just that it seems from your post that patron deities are treated as a given and that isn't perhaps the best attitude.

Second, is this Venus, or Aphrodite? I only ask because I have a background in Roman paganism and am familiar with Venus specifically, as her cultus often intersected with mine. Historically Venus was of course a goddess of love, but also was much more complex than she's given credit for. Venus' cult had strongly patriotic aspects as mother of the Roman state -- reinforced by her association with Julius Caesar and his family, and by the Aeneid -- and was viewed as actually rather proper and matronly in some aspects. She was also viewed as a protectress and warrior goddess, and Caesar dedicated or attributed several victories to her.

For these reasons, I would caution strongly against typecasting Venus as 'just' a goddess of love. She's much more, and that is something which should be expected. And while if it's something which you feel strongly about I wouldn't say 'don't do it' I do have... reservations, about the idea of giving her offerings in the nude. It certainly wasn't something done in ancient Rome -- ever -- and is not something I would think of when it comes to Venus. However I respect that you may not be looking at this from a Roman reconstructionist viewpoint, and encourage you to do what you feel would be best.

Slandred · « **Reply #3 on:** May 25, 2016, 10:06:39 pm »

Quote from: Castus;191863

Second, is this Venus, or Aphrodite? I only ask because I have a background in Roman paganism and am familiar with Venus specifically, as her cultus often intersected with mine. Historically Venus was of course a goddess of love, but also was much more complex than she's given credit for. Venus' cult had strongly patriotic aspects as mother of the Roman state -- reinforced by her association with Julius Caesar and his family, and by the Aeneid -- and was viewed as actually rather proper and matronly in some aspects. She was also viewed as a protectress and warrior goddess, and Caesar dedicated or attributed several victories to her.

I'm not sure if my research turned out to be faulty but Venus seems to be more "pure" than Aphrodite. In my understanding, and I mean this with respect to both(?) goddesses, Venus is against sexual vice/immorality while Aphrodite was more... promiscuous.

If it helps, my Zodiac is Cancer, whose ruling planet is the Moon associated with the goddess Diana/Artemis, maybe Selene/Luna, going by Greco-Roman pantheons.