Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, Fertility, Pleasure, Beauty and the Sea. She is pure love, love itself in all forms. From high spiritual love to the physical love, sex. She is beautiful, erotic, desirable, unpredictable, seductive, uninhibited and unapologetic in what she is.
She is a Greek Goddess (also known as Venus to the Romans) but has links to Sumerian, Babylonian and Pheoenician cultures due to her connections with Innana, Ishtar and Astarte. The Greeks adpoted her from the sea people Philistines of Askalon who named her Atergatis/Ashtoroth and they changed her name to Aphrodite. Maybe a way to help pronounce her name and the word Aphros means foam, therefore Goddess born of foam/sea.
There are a couple of stories in how she was created. Some say she was born from Uranus’ genitals as they were cut from him and cast into the sea, creating her. Some say she was Zeus and Dione’s daughter and some say she was born from an egg, which dropped from the sky into the sea. The fish took it to land and doves kept it warm until Aphrodite hatched out of it.
The ever shifting sea is a symbol of the essential female and as Aphrodite was born of the sea, this would make sense that she is all woman in all her aspects a woman can be/is. The Greek and Latin names for the Scallop shell Kteis and Concha mean woman’s genitals and is associated with her very much, due to its sea connection and the connection to female sexuality.
Aphrodite will teach you to love yourself completely. She will help you to see your beauty, the beauty within and without, to let go of your inhibitions and not be ashamed of who you are, especially not be ashamed of being a woman. Helping you find your sexuality, express it and be comfortable in your body. She will do this in a loving way and guide you on how to express yourself. She will also help you in relationships and fertility.
‘All acts of Love and Pleasure are my rituals.’
This is part of the Charge to the Goddess by Doreen Valiente. This line fits so perfectly for Aphrodite as she is love, sex and pleasure. As long as there is consent, there is nothing wrong or to be ashamed of when it comes down to these things. Sex is just love expressed in a physical way and can also be powerful and magical. Its a ritual to Aphrodite herself, to express and feel her energy between you and your lover.
Aphrodite Correspondences
Colors
Red, Pink, Silver, Aqua, Sea Green, Blue.
Symbols
Dolphin, Goat, Dove, Sparrow, Goose, Partridge, Wryneck, Swan, Bees, Scallop Shell, Sea Shells, Mirrors, The Sea, Evening Star (Planet Venus), Triangle, Number 5.
Crystals
Rose Quartz, Pearls, Silver, Jade, Gold, Copper, Aquamarine, Opal.
Oils/Herbs
Rose, Myrtle, Watermint, Quince, Ash, Grape, Apples, Laurel, Vanilla, Musk, Verbena, Jasmine, Frankincense.
Aphrodite Meditation
Find a quiet spot, if you can have some Rose Quartz by you or to hold, light a candle and some incense. Sit, close your eyes and take three deep breaths. Set your intention to meet Aphrodite.
Imagine you are on a secluded beach. The ocean is clear, with blue and greens, the sun is shining and the sand is golden. For the moment you just stand there, looking around you. Taking it all in and being at peace. You take a deep breath in, smelling the fresh sea air and start to walk along the beach near the ocean, listening to the laps of the waves on the shore.
Thinking of how nice it would be to enter the water, you start walking into the sea, feeling the warm cleansing water on your feet and then up to your waist as you make your way deeper in. You start swimming and floating on the water, immersing yourself, feeling cleansed and refreshed. You turn towards the beach and see a beautiful woman. She is calling to you.
You make your way back and greet her. She says ‘I am Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty.’ You say hello and thank her for connecting. She then takes your hand and tells you to walk with her. You start your walk with her and get to know her.
Does she take you anywhere? What does she say to you? Does she give you a message? Ask her questions.
After a while and when you are finished talking and connecting, Aphrodite gives you a gift and disappears. You look all around you to see where she went and notice her descending into the sea. Smiling you say thank you.
You may want to take another walk along the beach or go for a swim. Take your time in coming back.
When you are ready, take three deep breaths and come back to the room.
Write down your experience. What message did she have for you? Did you notice anything particular surrounding you at the beach? What was the gift she gave you?
How to connect with Aphrodite
Here are a few ways you can connect with Aphrodite.
Meditation
Try to connect with Aphrodite through meditation. You can either try the meditation above or find another meditation. You can even just sit, close your eyes, relax and ask her to come to you. Focus on your intent to connect with her and see what happens. Is there any changes to the energy? Or do you feel a presence with you? The more you practice meditating and trying to connect with her, the more you will start to feel and notice her there with you.
Create an Altar
Find a space you can create a small or big altar for Aphrodite. This can be any place where it won’t be disturbed. Decorate it any way you choose with things that you associate with her. You could choose from the correspondences above or anything that feels right for you. Sit in this space daily and focus on your connection to her.
Take a walk by the beach
As Aphrodite is associated with the sea, take a walk or even sit on the beach. Focusing on connecting with her and being still.
Salt bath
Take a salt bath, surround yourself with some shells, rose quartz and rose scents. Relax and hold the intention to connect with the Goddess Aphrodite.
Offering
Give an offering to the sea in her name.
How Aphrodite can help you
Aphrodite the Goddess of Love can help you with all things love related and help you step in your power as a woman. Whether it be with self love, to help you love yourself completely in all ways. To help you let go of your inhibitions and to be free to be a woman. A woman who knows herself and all her sides, spiritual love, physical love, pleasure and to let go. To not be ashamed of who you are. All in a loving way and not a sleazy way. I say sleazy as in the way society has made pleasure and sex into something we class as ‘bad’ or a ‘man’s right to take a woman’ etc. I believe her rituals are all acts of love and pleasure and there is nothing wrong with this. As long as everyone is consenting, properly consenting, its all about love.
Love is the way.
Click here to read Aphrodite’s message
Continued Reading and Resources
Goddesses for Every Season by Nancy Blair
https://www.ancient.eu/Aphrodite/
http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myths/goddess_symbols_aphrodite.htm
https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/goddesses/aphrodite/
https://www.lemonandolives.com/aphrodite-goddess-of-love-and-beauty/
This Goddess worksheet will help you on your journey to connect to each Goddess. It will guide you on ways to connect and have space for you to write your own journey.
FAQs
What is Aphrodite the goddess of? ›
She was known primarily as a goddess of love and fertility and occasionally presided over marriage. Additionally, Aphrodite was widely worshipped as a goddess of the sea and of seafaring; she was also honoured as a goddess of war, especially at Sparta, Thebes, Cyprus, and other places.
Which is the island of Aphrodite? ›Cyprus is often referred to as the island of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
Was Aphrodite born from the sea? ›The parents fought and Gaia created a stone sickle, which she gave to Cronus to attack his father. Cronus castrated Uranus and threw his father's testicles into the sea. They caused the sea to foam and out of that white foam rose Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.
How do I connect with my Aphrodite? ›Here are some ways you can invite Aphrodite (or that loving self-love energy) into your life. Take a sacred bath. If you want to make it especially Aphrodite-centric you can put pieces of rose quartz around the edge of the tub (or in it). Add rose petals to your bath or rose-scented bath bombs.
What is Aphrodite's family tree? ›If she was the daughter of Ouranos, her siblings include the Titans, such as Cronus, Rhea, Hyperion, and others. If she was the daughter of Zeus, her brothers and sisters include Ares, Hephaestus, Apollo, Artemis, and other Olympian gods and goddesses.
Who was the ugliest god? ›Hephaestus. Hephaestus is the son of Zeus and Hera. Sometimes it is said that Hera alone produced him and that he has no father. He is the only god to be physically ugly.
What happens if you swim around Aphrodite's rock? ›Locals have come here since ancient times to worship the goddess of love, and in recent times, the mythical legends combined with the natural beauty have made this one of the most popular places to visit in the Paphos region. According to the legend, those who swim around Aphrodite's rock will receive eternal beauty.
What does an Aphrodite look like? ›APHRODITE was the Olympian goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation. She was depicted as a beautiful woman often accompanied by the winged godling Eros (Love). Her attributes included a dove, apple, scallop shell and mirror. In classical sculpture and fresco she was usually depicted nude.
Why is it called Aphrodite's rock? ›According to one legend, this rock is the site of the birth of the goddess Aphrodite, perhaps owing to the foaming waters around the rock fragments, and for this reason it is known as Aphrodite's Rock.
Are there two aphrodites? ›According to Plato, there are two Aphrodites, "the elder, having no mother, who is called the heavenly Aphrodite—she is the daughter of Uranus; the younger, who is the daughter of Zeus and Dione—her we call common." The same distinction is found in Xenophon's Symposium, although the author is doubtful whether there are ...
Who does Aphrodite fear? ›
| Parents | Ares and Aphrodite |
|---|---|
| Gods of | Fear, panic, terror |
| Home | Mount Olympus |
| Roman Name | Metus, Pavor, Terror |
5 While that approach has certainly yielded important information on gender dynamics in late-Classical Greece, it tends to overlook the fact that though this Aphrodite is female, she is also divine.
How do I offer to Aphrodite? ›Incense/Candles: A pretty simple offering. Use ones with scents that she's associated with or that remind you of her. Rose and ocean scents, as well as myrrh, apple, and myrtle, are all candle or incense scents you could offer.
How do I pray to Aphrodite? ›Left: “Dear and beautiful Aphrodite Queen of the hearts of men, please grant me the knowledge, the patience, and the strength to be a good husband for all the years to come. My gift to you will be my continued devotion and self reflection in loves named your humble admirer.
What are Aphrodite's powers? ›Her special powers were those of love and desire. She had a belt that had the power to cause others to fall in love with the wearer. Some of the other Greek goddesses, such as Hera, would borrow the belt from time to time. Aphrodite had the ability to cause fighting couples to fall in love again.
Did Zeus and Aphrodite have a child? ›HERMES The herald of the gods seduced Aphrodite with the help of his father Zeus. She bore him a son, the godling Hermaphroditos (and some say Eros).
Did Ares and Aphrodite have a child? ›Aphrodite had three children by Ares. Their sons, Phobus (Panic) and Deimus (Fear), became Ares' constant companions, driving his chariot on the battlefield. Their daughter Harmonia (Harmony) fell in love with the mortal Cadmus, who served her father for eight years to atone for killing a dragon sacred to Ares.
Who killed Aphrodite? ›370 ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) : "Bright Aphrodite [wounded at Troy by Diomedes fled back to Olympos and] fell at the knees of her mother, Dione, who gathered her daughter into her arms' fold and stroked her with her hand and called her by name and spoke to her : '. . .
Who is the god of poop? ›Sterculius was the god of the privy, from stercus, excrement. It has been well observed by a French author, that the Romans, in the madness of paganism, finished by deifying the most immodest objects and the most disgusting actions.
Who is the god of stupidity? ›In Greek mythology, Koalemos (Ancient Greek: Κοάλεμος) was the god of stupidity, mentioned once by Aristophanes, and being found also in Parallel Lives by Plutarch. Coalemus is the Latin spelling of the name.
Who is the prettiest Greek goddess? ›
Aphrodite was the most beautiful of all the Goddesses and there are many tales of how she could encourage both Gods and humans to fall in love with her.
What type of rock is Aphrodite's Rock? ›Petra tou Romiou. I did find out that the rock is a limestone breccia and there are nice grooves on the upper part which look like slickenside. Slickenside is a smooth and shiny polished face of a rock, the result of a friction between two moving blocks of rock. Petra tou Romiou is composed of limestone breccia.
Can you swim Tou romiou Petra? ›Petra tou Romiou beach
The beach at Petra tou Romiou strand is with pebbles. The sea waters are deep and sometimes rough. When swimming, stay close to the sea shore and enjoy your bath in the crystal clear waters is safety. In order to go to the beach there is a passage under the road.
The name of Petra tou Romiou ('rock of the Greek' in Greek) comes from the hero. It is said that in certain weather conditions, the waves rise, break and form a column of water that dissolves into a pillar of foam. With imagination, this momentarily looks like an ephemeral, evanescent human shape.
What is Aphrodite's eye color? ›| Aphrodite | |
|---|---|
| Title | |
| Status | Immortal |
| Eye Color | Any color but originaly OCEAN BLUE |
| Hair Color | Any color but originaly blonde |
Aphrodite, of course is the woman in the blue dress, and I might argue that her hair is almost an auburn color. Certainly, it is a rich shade of brown at the least.
What is Aphrodite's main symbol? ›Aphrodite's major symbols include myrtles, roses, doves, sparrows, and swans. The cult of Aphrodite was largely derived from that of the Phoenician goddess Astarte, a cognate of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar, whose cult was based on the Sumerian cult of Inanna.
Does Aphrodite like rose quartz? ›In Greek mythology, rose quartz appeared in stories where gods and goddesses like Cupid, Adonis, Aphrodite, and Eros used the precious stone's properties to restore, renew, and recharge love.
Where can you usually find Aphrodite? ›Greek goddess of love and beauty
The Temple of Aphrodite Urania is located northwest of the Ancient Agora of Athens and northeast of the temple of Apollo Epikourios. It's believed that in the sanctuary of Aphrodite's temple, there used to be a marble statue of her, made by sculptor Phidias.
"She [Aphrodite] went to Kypros, to Paphos, where her precinct is and fragrant altar, and passed into her sweet-smelling temple. There she went in and put to the glittering doors, and there the Kharites (Graces) bathed her with heavenly oil . . . filled with fragrance."
What is the difference between Aphrodite Urania and Aphrodite Pandemos? ›
Aphrodite Urania was an epithet of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, signifying "heavenly" or "spiritual", to distinguish her from her more earthly aspect of Aphrodite Pandemos, "Aphrodite for all the people". The two were used to differentiate the more "celestial" love of body and soul from purely physical lust.
How many children Aphrodite have? ›In fact, after the bronze net scandal, she bore the god of war as many as eight children: Deimos, Phobos, Harmonia, Adrestia and the four Erotes (Eros, Anteros, Pothos, and Himeros).
Are Venus and Aphrodite the same? ›In Roman mythology, Venus was the goddess of love, sex, beauty, and fertility. She was the Roman counterpart to the Greek goddess Aphrodite. However, Roman Venus had many abilities beyond the Greek Aphrodite; she was a goddess of victory, fertility, and even prostitution.
What is Aphrodite's curse? ›Aphrodite was furious with Eos because Ares had fallen in love with her. She cursed her to live the rest of her life in a futile quest of true love. She had multiple lovers and gave birth to many children but never managed to find the ideal partner who would live up to her expectations.
What is the scariest Greek god? ›Phobos (Ancient Greek: Φόβος, pronounced [pʰóbos], Ancient Greek: "fear") is the god and personification of fear and panic in Greek mythology. Phobos was the son of Ares and Aphrodite, and the brother of Deimos.
What are 3 facts about Aphrodite? ›01Aphrodite is one of the goddesses that reside in Mount Olympus. 02She is known as the goddess of love, sexuality, pleasure, beauty, and passion. 03Aphrodite was born off the coast of Cythera from the genitals of Uranus. 04She is also known as the Lady of Cythera, the Lady of Cyprus because of her birth story.
Does Aphrodite support LGBT? ›In the poetry of Sappho, Aphrodite is identified as the patron of lesbians.
Is Aphrodite polyamorous? ›Aphrodite was a progressive and inclusive figure. She was openly polyamorous and pansexual, had children, both biological and adopted, but was not cast as primarily a mother – all revolutionary concepts even for today.
Is Aphrodite manipulative? ›Aphrodite's manipulative character is most apparent in the story of Helen, queen of Sparta, whom she offered as her bribe in the Judgment of Paris, inciting ten years of dreadful war at Troy.
What are things Aphrodite likes? ›SHELLFISH Shellfish were regarded as sacred to the goddess Aphrodite and were so regarded as aphrodisiacs - from the scallop or cockle, to the mussel and nerites shell. The pearl was therefore also her stone. COCKLE The cockle-shell was sacred to Aphrodite, who was often depicted emerging from one in her birth scene.
What food does Aphrodite like? ›
Asparagus, dark chocolate, honey, figs, and raw oysters have all be linked to Aphrodite as being her favorite foods.
What herbs are associated with Aphrodite? ›The naked Goddess Aphrodite was portrayed as being adorned in Rosemary at her birth. Rosemary stimulates our bodies and our minds, both of which are helpful for lovemaking. This sultry herb contains calcium, iron and vitamin B6 all of which contain properties which help create a satisfying sex life.
What should I sacrifice to Aphrodite? ›Berenice, who was known for her long, luxuriant hair, promised the goddess Aphrodite that, if her husband were to return safely from the war, she would cut off her hair and offer it as a sacrifice to the gods.
How do you read Aphrodite? ›How to Pronounce Aphrodite? (CORRECTLY) - YouTube
Can you work with Aphrodite and Hecate? ›They are both Greek goddess (though some of their history can be traced further back) so from a Hellenic perspective, of course you can work with both. And even add in more Greek gods. Even the ones who don't always get along. I'd put Aphrodite on a separate shrine from Hekate.
What are Aphrodite's 3 most important powers? ›The Greek Goddess Aphrodite held the powers of fertility, pleasure and eternal youth, along with extraordinary beauty. Her beauty and sexuality were of such high regard that it could spark a war between the Gods and was even believed to have caused the Trojan War.
What is Aphrodite's weapon? ›Aphrodite is the Olympian goddess of love, beauty and pleasure. She is the equivalent of the Roman goddess Venus. Aphrodite's major symbols include myrtle, roses, doves, sparrows and swans. She wears a girdle-like belt called a cestus as her weapon to increase her female attraction.
What was Aphrodite weakness? ›Aphrodite's greatest weaknesses were her vanity, jealousy, and hate of anyone considered more beautiful than herself.
What does Aphrodite symbolize? ›Aphrodite is known as the goddess of love, marriage and fertility. She was also known as the goddess of the sea and seafarers.
Who is the goddess of death? ›Hel, in Norse mythology, originally the name of the world of the dead; it later came to mean the goddess of death. Hel was one of the children of the trickster god Loki, and her kingdom was said to lie downward and northward.
Why is Aphrodite the goddess of love? ›
Aphrodite was the goddess of love, pleasure, and beauty. This meant that she enjoyed flirtatious occasions with a number of others. However, her father Zeus decided that she should marry and end her dallying with men. Zeus forced Aphrodite to marry Hephaestus.
What is Aphrodite's power? ›Her special powers were those of love and desire. She had a belt that had the power to cause others to fall in love with the wearer. Some of the other Greek goddesses, such as Hera, would borrow the belt from time to time. Aphrodite had the ability to cause fighting couples to fall in love again.
What is Aphrodite's sacred color? ›ROSE The red rose was sacred to Aphrodite. It was said to have blushed or been stained red when Aphrodite cut her feet on its thorns rushing to the aide of her dying lover Adonis. PEARL The sea-born pearl was the regarded as the stone of love, and so sacred to the goddess Aphrodite.
What is Aphrodite's color? ›Both Aphrodite and Eos were known for their erotic beauty and aggressive sexuality and both had relationships with mortal lovers. Both goddesses were associated with the colors red, white, and gold.
What is Aphrodite's numbers? ›Five is the symbolic number of Aphrodite/Venue representing perfection of the five senses, the nuptial number of love and union, Venus years being completed in groups of five.