The Mirror of Venus

A sea of emotions transfigured by Her reflection

Hi, erotes! It’s Friday- Venus Day!

I hope you are all thriving and enjoying the depths of Pisces season.

I think it’s only fitting at this time to talk emotions, and though it makes me uncomfortable every time I bare my own struggles like this, transmuting hardship and trauma is integral to my artistic process so I cannot be fully honest about it (which is kinda the point of this substack) without mentioning these things sometimes.

“Venus with a Mirror” (Giovanni Bellini, c. 1555)

A couple days ago I was cleaning my house and thinking about the Orphic Hymn to Aphrodite. These words of praise to the Goddess of Beauty and Love, written over two thousand years ago, kept repeating in my head as the incredibly loud sound of the vacuum cleaner drowned out all other sounds, including the constant traffic noises coming in through the windows to the busy street I live on.

“Heavenly, smiling Aphrodite, praised in many hymns,
sea-born, revered goddess of generation, you like the nightlong revel and you couple lovers at night(…)”

At one point while doing the vacuuming I realized the kind of thoughts emerging between random lines of the Orphic Hymn had shifted from the usual anxious brain chatter about my endless to-do list towards a calm analysis of some events in my life.

“O scheming mother of Necessity.
Everything comes from you; you have yoked the world,
and you control all three realms.”

This is not the first time I’ve entered a meditative state while performing everyday actions like cleaning, tidying up or bathing— that kind of experience has been a constant in my life for longer than I can remember. Depending on how busy and chaotic life gets with my job and caring for others, there are times when that is all the meditation I can squeeze into an exhausting schedule.

“You give birth to all,
to everything in heaven, upon the fruitful earth
and in the depths of the sea, O venerable companion of Bacchos.”

I began to think about the somewhat recent termination of a partnership I used to have with a rather complicated individual (I meant to say chauvinistic, malignant narcissist with no empathy or self-awareness whatsoever), and I felt softly nudged into viewing the root of that toxic relationship via the perspective of glamour.

You delight in festivities, O bridelike mother of the Erotes.”

The Oxford English Dictionary defines glamour as “an attractive or exciting quality that makes a person or thing seem particularly appealing or desirable”. I think the key word here is seem. In the midst of the deafening howl of the noisy appliance, I could hear a voice within, and the following words floated into focus: “The qualities that tend to easily charm or impress you about other people are mirrors to your own wounds and insecurities”.

“O Persuasion whose joy is in the bed of love, secretive, giver of grace,
visible and invisible(…)”

I reflected on how that incredibly simple revelation applied to me. Even though it wasn’t exactly newsflash (I had reflected on these issues before), there was something about the wording of the message that caught my attention as I continued to push the vacuum forward, using my free hand to move furniture and other objects out of the way of my weekly cleaning spree.

“lovely-tressed daughter of a noble father,
bridal feast companion of the gods, sceptered she-wolf,
beloved and man-loving giver of birth and of life."

I recognized and accepted that some unhealed patriarchal wounding had dragged me into that mess in the first place. I’d idealized an incredibly unhealthy situation and ignored hundreds of red flags and inexcusable behavior for several years, blinded by how poorly I thought of myself and how little I thought I deserved.

“With your maddening love-charms you yoke mortals
and the many races of beasts to unbridled passion.”

Once again, I thought, it all comes down to the self love that the patriarchy has been actively trying to keep me (as well as every single woman alive) from actualizing ever since I was born. The force fed self hatred. The notion that my worth depended on external (male) validation. The dangerously false idea that I could never be as good as a man at anything. The crazy notion that I had to work ten times as hard as a man does in order to earn respect in any field. The sickening, fake ass “beauty” standards that made me detest my Goddess-given earthly vessel for too many years.

“Come, O goddess born in Cyprus, whether you are on Olympos,
O queen, exulting in the beauty of your face,
or you wander in Syria, country of fine frankincense (…)”

I took one last look around the living area and kitchen, decided I’d done a decent job, then hauled the heavy equipment upstairs carefully (as to not trip on the wire). The resounding blare went on, and so did the Orphic Hymn in my head. I cleaned the room where my altar to Aphrodite stands and quickly thought to myself it was almost time to replace the flowers I’d left for her there. With the image of the fading roses still in my eyes, a new train of thought emerged, pink and blooming.

“or, yet, driving your golden chariot in the plain,
you lord it over Egypt’s fertile river bed.”

What would I do if I just woke up tomorrow loving myself entirely and without reservations?

What would my day look like if my first thought upon waking was how much I love this life that was gifted me by the Great Goddess, and I deserve to live it to the fullest?

“Come, whether you ride your swan-drawn chariot over the sea’s billows,
joying in the creatures of the deep as they dance in circles(…)”

How would my inner dialogue change if I only ever spoke to myself from a place of love and devotion?

Which activities would I prioritize, and which habits would I avoid if I just decided to embody self love like I deserve to be happy and healthy just because I am here, I am alive, and like everyone else, I am a child of Mother Earth?

What would I do differently today from what I did yesterday, or a year ago, if I suddenly decided I am worthy of that love?

“Or you delight in the company of the dark-faced nymphs on land,
as, light-footed, they frisk over the sandy beaches.”

I thought about those questions as they kept arising and I kept on cleaning. And I was surprised that I could actually think of very concrete answers to all of them.

It became clear to me that since I was able to visualize all those answers in my mind, then I must be capable of acting on them.

“Come, lady, even if you are in Cyprus that cherishes you,
where fair maidens and chaste nymphs throughout the year
sing of you, O blessed one, and of immortal, pure Adonis.
Come, O beautiful and comely goddess;
I summon you with holy words and pious soul.”

A year ago I wrote some lyrics in honor of the Goddess Venus as the Morning and Evening Star. The song touches on how the very experience of Her beauty has the capacity to completely alter the course of human life, which is something I firmly believe and have been shown over and over throughout my current incarnation— and quite possibly previous ones as well.

It’s called Star, and includes shimmering instrumentals by my wonderful brother in art, Paul. He crafted a dreamlike sonic atmosphere so pure that I was driven to write words of praise to the Goddess as soon as I first heard it.

I’ll leave the spotify link here (as well as an embedded Bandcamp player below👇) for those who feel called to listen.

This song is very dear to me and to Paul, and hopefully you will enjoy it, too.

Next Friday we are releasing Take Them Down (pre-save here), which goes in a radically different direction: it is not a song of beauty, but a rustic war cry invoking raw feminine rage against the dominant paradigm of rape and violence that has plagued our communities and relationships, harmed our children, destroyed our nature, and kept our people sleepwalking for way too long.

The house looked great that day, by the way, after the cleaning spree. But it is once again starting to get a little messy.

There’s work to do…

Meanwhile, here’s

Star:

Mirror of the firmament azure

Flashing glimpses of the stolen hues

Shimmer on, O dubious Star

Stray the mortal avenue from afar

Forever bound to her graceful faithlessness

I do not seek beauty

Nor would I fain possess it

For all those who dare pry open the snuff-box

should promptly fall asleep

Birth of Venus and the Fishermen (Gustave Moreau, 1866)

Thank you so much for reading.

You can support me by liking and sharing this post.

I’d also love to hear what you have to say in the comments.

Have a lovely Venus Day!

Love,

VA ♀

Pre-save “Take Them Down”: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/venusaphrodite/take-them-down

All things Venus Aphrodite, including merch if you’d like to support my work: https://linktr.ee/v3nusaphrodit3

All things Mnemosine (my other project with Wrath): https://linktr.ee/mnemosineband

“Star” lyrics/visualizer:

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• Translation of the Orphic Hymn to Aphrodite by A. Athanassakis, available here