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Hellenic Deities: Aphrodite

🌹 Goddess of love, beauty, sex/desire, fertility and war

🌹 Symbols: Roses, myrtle, the ocean, seashells, pearls, the beach, apples, mirror, honey

🌹 Sacred animals: Swans, bees, doves

🌹 Colors: Pink and red

🌹 Crystals: Rose quartz, aquamarine, aragonite

🌹 Most Important Myths:

-Birth from Uranus’ severed genitals and the sea foam

-Arranged marriage to Hephaestus

-The exposure of her affair with Ares

-Judgment of Paris

-Death of Adonis

-Seduction of Anchises

🌹 “Don’t take the myths literally” understanding:

Aphrodite is not envious, petty or vindictive. She is an incredibly loving, warm being. She also does not envy anyone because she doesn’t need to. She’s Aphrodite! Comparing someone to her, beauty-wise, will not anger her. But, she wants you to see your own beauty through her, instead of trying to make hers rub off on you. She does insist on great respect and has a fierce side that should not be underestimated. Yet, she is absolutely delightful.

It is also not exactly that she was horribly “unfaithful” to her husband. She was forced into a loveless marriage and then actually found love. She just found it elsewhere and was shamed for it. That story is less about infidelity and more about how you can’t force love that isn’t working and have to follow your heart, even if that has consequences

🌹 Devotional acts: Self-care of any kind (skincare, salon trip, spa day), a long hot bath (with bath salts/essential oils/bath bombs, etc), shopping, putting a nice outfit together, doing your makeup, writing romantic poetry or love songs, writing yourself a love letter, watching a romantic movie, sexual pleasure (either alone or with a partner), buying yourself flowers (especially roses) or chocolates, doing self-love affirmations in the mirror

🌹 Assistance and Support:

-Obviously, Aphrodite is a huge help in romantic matters. But, it may not be the help that you are expecting. If you are yearning for or with someone who isn’t good for you, she is notorious for imploding or ending such situations. She will wake you up to what is really going on. Aphrodite wants you to actually be happy in love, not to invest in or stick to what you think will make you happy but really isn’t. Yes, she can also help you manifest the right person. You just need to do the inner work and healing required to align with that kind of relationship.

-She also is well-known for helping people when it comes to self-love and self-esteem, especially those who are more feminine. She will push you to improve your body image, feel more confident in your skin, see your beauty and attractiveness, and, above all, to know your worth

This is the only way I have found she can be a bit strict or “tough love”. As you build a bond with her, she will not tolerate you being down on yourself or accepting less than you deserve. But, this comes from a place of affection and love

-Aphrodite can also improve your relationship with sex. She encourages sex positivity, teaching you to fully embrace your pleasure, rid yourself of shame, and feel comfortable in your sensuality

-She also can teach you the power and the value of femininity. If you are a more feminine individual, she will encourage you to embrace that and own it, regardless of society’s negative ideas about femininity. If you’re more masculine, she will get you to do the same, to accept your feminine side without fear

-She can be called on when doing glamour magic, love magic, sex magic, and even earth magic, as she is a fertility goddess

🌹 Additional Note

-It is best to work with her on Friday, as this is the day she rules. You can and should, of course, work with her any day but this will be the most “charged” day in terms of energy

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"In Greek mythology, pearls are said to be the tears shed by Aphrodite"

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Aphrodite; Prayer to protect your heart

Blessed Aphrodite,

Goddess of Love, born of seafoam and starlight,

I come to you with an open heart,

Wounded by longing, yet still beating with hope.

Let not false love find purchase in my spirit,

Nor cold hands hold what is meant to burn with warmth.

Teach me to love without losing myself,

To give with wisdom, to receive without fear.

Guard my heart from those who would break it in carelessness,

And guide me to those who cherish with truth and tenderness.

In moments of loneliness, be my comfort.

In the storm of emotion, be my calm.

Aphrodite, divine protector of the heart,

Hear my prayer and hold me close.

May your beauty surround me, and your strength dwell within me.

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B A H M A N

Mermaids, 2024, oil on canvas, 101.6x30.5 cm

Instagram

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𝑨𝒑𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒆 ✸ [𝑯𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔]

[aphrodite-e-shrine]

my girl

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Aphrodite; Coping with sadness

O Aphrodite, Lady of love,

I come to you with a heart weighed by sorrow,

Be near me now, in this quiet ache.

Remind me that to feel deeply is not weakness,

But a sacred part of love’s great tapestry.

Let my sadness be seen, held, and honoured—

Not hidden, nor silenced, nor rushed away.

Aphrodite, guide me gently through this sorrow.

When I cannot smile, let me breathe.

When I cannot love, let me rest.

When I cannot hope, hold the hope for me.

And when the time is right,

Let joy return like the sea’s steady tide—

Quiet, certain, and kissed by your light.

[aphrodite-e-shrine]

epithets for aphrodite !

𓂃﹏𓂃﹏𓂃﹏𓂃﹏𓂃﹏𓂃﹏𓂃﹏𓂃﹏

androphonos - killer of men

this epithet doesn't mean actual men i believe, just means like killer of people since men can be a general term for humans! could be wrong though <3

anadyomene - goddess rising from the sea

aphrogenia - foam born

i feel that the idea of a goddess rising from the sea is something so special, standing up from the foam, feeling the waves lap at her legs. i think these bring me close to her in the idea that it gives her a sort of human nature, and it's comforting that i can imagine and feel these things at the beach, that she felt once too.

areia - of ares; the warlike

aphrodite enoplios / hoplismena - armed

to me, these represent the times when love is not necessarily perfect, when it has its downs. it's kind of hard to explain, but she's a very comforting goddess to me, and these epithets represent when i need defence, she will be here to guard me. personally, these epithets link her to artemis as well as ares, obviously!

epistrophia - she who turns to love

erototrophus - mother of love

these two epithets are very very special to me, especially erototrophus. i call her mother aphrodite, because i feel like we have that relationship where i'm like her daughter (not literally lol, just the dynamic we have) and these loving epithets just hit that spot where she feels perfectly comforting, motherly and loving to me.

kopois - of the garden

this epithet helps me connect her to nature, especially the idea that roses bloom where she walks. i think it's gorgeous that she is surrounded by lush greenery in a pretty garden lol. i think this epithet also can connect her to artemis!

mechanitis - skilled at inventing

i can't really explain why i like this epithet, i just do. maybe it's because i like a smart woman, maybe it's because i worship athena and i feel this epithet is very athena-y, i don't know.

nikêphoros - bringer of victory

occasionally, i pray to aphrodite for stuff outside of her domains, and this epithet i love to use for prayers for school/tests, stuff i really want succession in, etc, plus i just think it's cool!

ourania - heavenly

this epithet is a beautiful epithet, and i love to use it in prayers. it's just such a nice adjective for her i think!

philomides - laughter-lover

to me this epithet really showcases the different forms of love. laughter-loving to me means loving laughter, no matter who it's with. your friends, your family, your partner, even a stranger. laughter is such a special thing that spreads love.

symmakhia - ally in love

ally in love is how she feels when times get tougher for me, especially in relationships. she's there to uplift me, to support me and comfort me when i need it.

kypria - cyprus-born

this epithet is mostly just a location one, obviously, but i do like it!!

i hope these epithets were explained enough, and possibly helped/interested you!!

𓂃﹏𓂃﹏𓂃﹏𓂃﹏𓂃﹏𓂃﹏𓂃﹏𓂃﹏

[aphrodite-e-shrine]

Lady Aphrodite

Just to mention, this art ain’t mine. Anyways, Hail Aphrodite.

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afrodite and ares

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A Guide to Aphrodite’s Epithets

Aphrodite is a goddess of many forms. She is one of the older goddesses, born from Ouranos. She is the sister to the Titans, the Furies, the Meliae, and the Giants.

She is the mother of Harmonia and Eros, the Graces and Peitho, but also of Anteros, of Phobos and Deimos and Adestria. She is vengeful and chaotic, existing in the passion that drives wars and artists, in the lust that fuels affairs and assaults, in the love that fuels suicides and marriage.

In my experience, the epithet you worship is insanely important. Aphrodite Ourania is much more lighthearted than Aphrodite Skotia, or Aphrodite Tymborychos.

Aphrodite Ourania is a Lady of the Heavens. She is lipstick marks on softly written poetry, she is pink roses in a pearl encrusted vase.

Aphrodite Ambologera is children braiding each others hair at kindergarten, teenagers whispering about boys and girls, twenty one year olds partying hard and living life.

Aphrodite Anadyomene is the feeling of ocean water over your feet. She is collecting seashells on the shore, collecting sand and water for spells and rituals.

Aphrodite Apaturia is teenage drama, that seems life ending at first but silly as you grow older. She is the gossip and drama that weaves its way into youth, and she smiles as you live your own movie.

Aphrodite Apotrophia is the mother standing over her child, watchful for creeps. She is the older sister clinging to the younger, she is the one you pray to after being assaulted, the one that will hold you close and take revenge for you.

Aphrodite Areia stands beside her lover in battle. She sees the passion that drove these young men to war, sees the fight in their eyes. She fights alongside them, whispering reminders in their ears about who they are fighting for, for their wives and daughters at home.

Aphrodite Despoina is seen in femme fatales, the click of black stilettos and women that know their worth. She stands beside women with fire in their eyes, by hardworking women that know they are meant for more, by CEOS that know their place, and that their place is at the top.

Aphrodite Gameloi walks you down the aisle alongside your father, watches as you say your vows. She stands beside Hera and blesses your marriage, crying and wishing you the best as your own mother would.

Aphrodite Gentyllis sits with you as you birth your first child, and every child after that. She holds your hand and kisses you on the forehead, wishing you the best as she leaves for the next.

Aphrodite Melainis looks in shadows at night, watching you as you walk home. She will take revenge for you if you need, and it will be delivered brutally.

Aphrodite Nikephoros stands beside olympians and generals alike, celebrating in their victory. She stands beside soldiers as they rejoice, by athletes as they cry, and by children as they win their first tournament. She is there for the small and the big victories, from making your first successful dinner to winning a war.

Aphrodite Pandemos sees no difference between a while child or a black child. You are all her children, and she will kiss you on the forehead and tell you she is proud. She stands with you, whether you can afford fancy offerings or altars, she is of the people, for the people.

Aphrodite Peitho stands beside you as you seduce your first lover. She is there as you beg your parents for a dog, as you persuade your mother to let you sleepover at your friends house for the first time.

Aphrodite Skotia stands beside you as you insult. She stands with you as you cover yourself in the ruins of your purity, and she cradles you when you weep for your innocence. When you cry over your sins, she is there, reminding you that she too, is Unholy, and it is okay.

Aphrodite Tymborychos stands with the survivors community, with rape victims and domestic abuse survivors. She stands with women that have slaughtered their abusers, with daughters and sons that have stood up to abusive parents. She stands in the middle of riots for freedom, because if her children cannot stand free then their oppressors should not stand at all.

She is all of these at once, and she is there. You can find her wherever you look, in poetry books or romance novels. You can find her in the laughter of young girls and the tears of victims. You can find her in graveyards, whispering her revenge to abusers and murderers, reminding them that she is a gravedigger and a mother, and harm that befalls her children is a slight to her.

DISCLAIMER: You do not have to choose an epithet. This is here to remind you that Aphrodite comes in many forms, and the Aphrodite you worship sometimes won’t line up with someone else’s. <3

[aphrodite-e-shrine]

Love will prevail.

[aphrodite-e-shrine]

♡ᴀᴘʜʀᴏᴅɪᴛᴇ • ɢᴏᴅᴅᴇss ᴏғ ʟᴏᴠᴇ, ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ, ᴅᴇsɪʀᴇ, ғʟᴏᴡᴇʀs, ᴡᴀʀ, sᴇx & ᴛʜᴇ sᴇᴀ♡

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I’m so tired of the demonization of Aphrodite. So often I see people, especially people of non-pagan faiths, claiming that Aphrodite’s defining feature is jealousy and deceitfulness, when that couldn’t be farther from the truth. She is so gentle and kind, only wanting the best for us. She wants us to realize our own beauty, she wants us to see ourselves the way she sees us.

She has made me feel so loved and taken care of, I couldn’t ask for a better goddess of love and war.

έπαινος αφροδίτης🐚🥀

[aphrodite-e-shrine]

Aphrodite isn't just love and sex and frilly pink bows,

She's passion, the raging fire that burns between the hearts of two friends or lovers when one is under duress,

She's the unbreakable bond of family (found or bio), everlasting, infinite, no matter how close or far they are,

She's the pain of a broken heart, manifest in anger and vindication, the one standing behind you as you confront an abusive partner/friend/family member,

She's salvation for everyone who has ever been or is being hurt,

She is self love for everyone with self esteem issues, looking you in the eye as you stare into the mirror and saying 'You are wonderful just as you are',

She's the comfort when you're in your darkest times, Her hands cradling you as you cry into Her shoulder,

She's the swelling of your heart when you experience new love or when you pick up a child,

She is justice for every queer person of the world just trying to exist peacefully-- transgender/sexual, intersex, aromantic, asexual, non-straight,

And She is the feeling of your smile slowly fading when you didn't realize you were smiling at all.

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I’m so tired of the demonization of Aphrodite. So often I see people, especially people of non-pagan faiths, claiming that Aphrodite’s defining feature is jealousy and deceitfulness, when that couldn’t be farther from the truth. She is so gentle and kind, only wanting the best for us. She wants us to realize our own beauty, she wants us to see ourselves the way she sees us.

She has made me feel so loved and taken care of, I couldn’t ask for a better goddess of love and war.

έπαινος αφροδίτης🐚🥀

[aphrodite-e-shrine]

Happy Valentine’s Day, and happy Friday! Today I suggest you take the time to celebrate, and give offerings to Lady Aphrodite to thank her for the love in your life, even if it isn’t romantic. Valentine’s Day is a day for love, gratitude, and sharing that love and gratitude with others, and even more than that, today is a day dedicated to Lady Aphrodite. Take time for yourself and others, and have an amazing day everyone <3