Discussion on the Goddesses of Love

[Mnemosyne]

The weather is getting warmer and love is in the air. No, I am not suggesting that love is not strong in the cold, winter months! Well, I realize that we all follow different pantheons here or believe in one god or goddess. For that reason, I was wondering what goddess do you turn to when seeking guidance for love and/or what stories about goddesses of love have had an effect on your life.

I really like the Greek stories about Aphrodite. In my opinion, she is so mysterious. For example, where did this goddess of love come from? One myth states that she was born after Cronos castrated his father, Uranus. A drop of Uranus' blood fell into the sea; suddenly, the sea began to foam, and Aphrodite was born. Another myth states that Aphrodite was the daughter of Dione and Zeus. I believe that after emerging from the sea, Aphrodite was taken to the island of Cythera by the Zephyrs (the west winds).

How does this story about a goddess of love relate to our lives? Well, love in our lives can be born like the goddess of love herself. How did it come into being? Also, if one love leaves your life, another one can quickly enter your life. After all, the goddess of love is mysterious and can quickly enter your life as if being carried by the Zephyrs.

So what is your connection with a goddess of love? Do you look toward a particular goddess or do you just call on a particular diety?

[Azure]

Um, it's not just blood that falls in the sea. . .

At the moment, I call on the goddess who started the relationship, who happens to be his guardian, as he's Hellene: Athene. I was raised in Athens, so I sort of regard her as a close friend as well, even though my belief system is very Celtic.

Generally, I find that calling on Brid and Lugh is reasonable for most things, since they are closest to me.

[Mithrea]

Here is what I have:

Amor -- Roman God of love. or Eros (Greek) Awoke the Goddess Psyche with a kiss. (This is who we think of as cupid)

Hathor -- Egyptian Mother Goddess and Goddess of Love. She is associated with the sensuality of music and dancing.

Prende -- Albanian goddess of love and consort of the thunder god Perende.

Radha -- Hindu goddess of emotional love. She gave birth to the golden egg of the universe.

Turan-- Etruscan goddess of love associated with swans.

I have others in my notes but most of them seem to be tied strictly to sexual love.

Such as:

Xochiquetzal-Ichpuchtli -- Aztec goddess associated with sexual love, flowers and pleasure

Huehuecoyotl and Ixtlilton -- Aztec gods of lust.

Kama (deva) - Hindu god of love stimulates physical desire.

Rati -- Hindu goddess of sexual desire.

Despite my list, I have always called on Aphrodite when I need aid or wisdom. Of course, as of yet, I am forced to have faith that she will bring me someone when I am truly ready since so far, I am still miserably single ;)

Does anyone know of any Chinese or Japanese deities associated with love? I am really curious about Asian deities and religions though I haven't had much time to study up.

[Mnemosyne]

Good list, Mithrea! For some reason, I often overlook Etruscan gods and goddesses. Thanks for mentioning Turan. You remind me of me. I am familar with various gods and goddesses; however, I would call on my main goddess or Aphrodite for advice on issues concerning love.

I don't know of a Chinese diety of love right now. However, I do know of a Japanese diety of love. There is a Japanese god named Aizen-Myoo. In art, Aizen Myoo is red and has six arms. Usually, he has weapons in his hand- scary thought for a god of love, but then again, love can be scary. He usually has a lion in his hair. Maybe I can find a picture of a sculpture of him on the internet. He is an interesting god, because he is associated not only with physical desire, but also intellectual desire. Hope this helps a little, Mithrea. I know, I know, this thread was suppose to be on goddesses of love, and I just mentioned a god of love.

[Mithrea]

Well OOPS! I screwed up too. I mentioned Gods . . . :o

[*~*Chary*~*]

Typically in situation such as this I call upon Hathor as i feel a strong connection to the Egyptian pantheon (maybe i was priestes or a follower in an earlier life)

hee hee hee i like this bit ( call me kinky :eyebrow: )

An interesting story involving Hathor - all the more interesting because it is very similar to the Japanese tale of the sun goddess who leaves the company of the gods to sulk - is the story of Ra's temper tantrum. Baba a predynastic baboon god, taunted Ra who stood for Set becoming ruler rather than Horus, "Your shrine is empty!" With that, Ra stormed off to be alone - presumably this is a story about a solar eclipse - and refused to join the other gods. Realising that they'd gone too far, the others sent Baba away, but still Ra refused to stop sulking. Finally, Hathor decided on a plan. She went into Ra's presence and stood before him and started to dance and strip, revealing her nakedness and lewdly showing him her private parts. The dance caused Ra to laugh, forget his hurt feelings and he once again rejoined the gods.

Hathor is powerful yet gentle and her aid in rituals is very energising

[Eeluna]

Great discussion! Aphrodite is my Matron and I have a very close relationship with Her. I enjoy researching other Goddesses also, and I tend to focus on the ones associated with Love. Here's some info, from my notes, on a few who haven't been mentioned yet:

Aine is the Goddess of Love and Fertility in Irish mythology. She may be a Sun Goddess and is associated with the Summer Solstice. She frequently took mortal lovers but could be vicious if men tried to force themselves upon Her.

Benten/Benaziten is one of the 7 Japanese Divinities of Good Luck, and the only Goddess among the bunch. She is thought to bring inspiration, talent, wealth, and romance. She was usually portrayed mounted on a dragon. Patroness of music, fine arts and female beauty, She is believed to bring good luck in marriage, and was called the Queen of the Sea. She is also associated with snakes.

Freyja is the Norse Goddess of Love, beauty and abundance. She is associated with boars, falcons, cats and goats. Also associated with Witchcraft, poetry, music and Springtime, Her plants are the daisy and strawberry.

Lada is the Slavic Goddess of Love and Beauty. She brings the plants and animals of Spring with Her when She returns from the Underworld at the Equinox. Birds are Her totem animal. She personifies marriage, pleasure and happiness.

Lakshmi is the Hindu Goddess of good fortune, wealth, beauty and Love. She is assoicated with the Lotus, and according to one myth, She rose, like Aphrodite, from the froth of the ocean with a lotus in Her hand. Another legend says She was floating on a lotus flower at the time of creation. She is also strongly associated with elephants, especially white ones. She is the Universal Mother, bestowing contentment and prosperity upon Her devotees.

Minne is a German Goddess of Love and Fertility. She is strongly associated with devotion and fidelity.

Oshun is the Yoruba Goddess of love, beauty and sensuality. There is a river named for Her in Africa. She is strongly associated with jewelry and dancing.

Ot is the Mongolian Goddess of Fire. She is said to have been born at the beginning of the world when Earth and Sky were seperated. She blesses weddings and Her radience is said to penetrate throughtout all realms.

[Mnemosyne]

Chary, your story made me giggle. I like that Hathor. Isn't it bizarre that so many people are discussing Hathor in this forum. I think that she has been the goddess of the day.

Great list, Euluna. :thumbsup: I had no idea that Freyja was associated with strawberries. Perhaps that explains why people have strawberries and champagne on romantic dates. That is so cool that you mentioned the goddesses of love from so many cultures. I too like Benten, the Japanese goddesses of love. Supposedly, she married the dragon, so that he wouldn't get hurt. Hence, she usually is seen with a dragon in art.

[*~*Chary*~*]

hee hee glad you liked it Mnemosyne :thumbsup:

[golddust]

Angus Og

[Emerald Oak]

Actually, people eat strawberries on dates because they're naturla aphrodesiacts (did I spell that right?) But, let's philosiphize a bit.

Maybe, since Strawberries are Freyja's fruits, THAT'S why they get people's motors running.

And that word--Aphrodiesact (or whatever)--Doesn't it sound a lot like the Goddess name "Aphrodite?"

[Mnemosyne]

Yeah, I think that strawberries are natural aphrodisiacs. I was thinking that perhaps that they have become aphrodisiacs, since they are the plants for Freyja, the Norse goddess of love. You're right; the word "aphrodisiac" comes from Aphrodite's name.

[tainted echoes]

i've always noticed that aphrodisiac comes from aphrodite..

i used to always associated love with aphrodite because i felt some strong connection with her legend. she was born in the foams of water, according to most tales and as i have a strong connection with the water..it just made sense. plus, she seems to glow...in my own mind, when i get an image of her.

then again, i'm really into greek mythology...(although sometimes, i almost feel like those dieties were real at one time. *shrug*)

[Mithrea]

Originally posted by tainted echoes
i'm really into greek mythology...(although sometimes, i almost feel like those dieties were real at one time. *shrug*)


Wait, they weren't? :lol: It depends on how you define "real" I guess . . . ;)

[Mnemosyne]

Yeah, I guess it depends on how you define the word "real." Perhaps you might think that the gods and goddesses are not real, because they play such an important part in the literature from the ancient world. However, if you read the posts on this site or even talk to people around you, you will find out that the gods and goddesses still play a part in our lives today. Thus, they are still alive and "real."

As you have mentioned, we get many of words in the English language from the Greek and Latin language. The word "aphrodisiac" comes from the goddess name Aphrodite; the word "martial" comes from the god of war, Mars; or even the word "cereal" comes from the goddess of the grain, Ceres. The gods and goddesses come to mind even in our everyday vocabulary. hmmm. I don't know if the word "aprhodisiac" is an every day word though.

[tainted echoes]

if aphrodiasiac was an everyday word, i'd crack up.

well, yeah i guess it does mean by how i define real and i'm really not sure..actually, i don't think that "real" is the right word for what i meant but i cant think of anything better. sorry.

[Mnemosyne]

:rotfl:

Yeah, the word is not a word that you hear each day. I think that I understand what you meant by the word "real." no bothers. I thought that it was interesting that you, tainted echoes, wrote that you got a golden image of Aphrodite when she came to you in your mind. If you read ancient literature, Aphrodite is sometimes called "Golden Aphrodite." Gold is a shiny, glowing metal.

[tainted echoes]

she was called golden aphrodite? after all i have read about her..i never saw that.
-i suddenly feel the urge to go research her more, lol. :-D

[Mnemosyne]

Yes, the lovely goddess was called "Golden Aphrodite." In Renaissance art, she usually has beautiful golden locks. People generally don't have golden hair in the Meditterean region, so they thought that it was beautiful to have that hair color. If you recall, Paris also gave Aphrodite the golden apple at a banquent. She won the golden apple over Athena and Hera. So the word "golden" is associated with Aphrodite in that story as well.

I believe that Homer called her "Golden Aphrodite." That epithet is also used in the Homeric Poems. The Homeric poems are hymns for the gods and goddesses. You can read the hymn to Aphrodite at this site.

http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~clit387/aphrodite.htm

[tainted echoes]

ohhh i see, i'm reading it right now. that makes more sense and i know about the golden apple. i knew that aphrodite was described as blonde..if not in those words.

"Do not be angry with beauty, because it is beautiful
Every earthly Venus, like the first Venus of Heaven,
Is a dark birth which emerges out of the endless sea." -Friedrich von Schiller

well call me slow. *blushes* (i know that has to do indirectly, i guess i'm publicly making a point to myself)

[Mnemosyne]

Don't be hard on yourself. It was your vision of Aphrodite that reminded me of the many times that she is referred to as "golden." Hopefully, your images of Aphrodite make more sense now. I think that she appears to you as golden for a reason. :)

[tainted echoes]

i'm drawn to something and i'm really not sure yet, but in the first post that i made, someone told me what agnostic meant and i think thats me, but like i also said, i believe in some pagan ideas and most wiccan ideas. *shrug* maybe i finally found something i'm comfortable in.

hmm, we've gone over discussing greek goddesses and please excuse my bad memory, but someone brought up japanese love goddesses. who knows of all of them? i'm real interested in finding out.

[Mnemosyne]

Hopefully, you have found something here that you find comforting. :)

I discussed Benten, the Japanese goddess of love very briefly. She was part of the Shichi Fukujin. There are seven Shichi Fukujin; they bring people good fortune and happiness. People would pray to her before weddings, since she would bring good luck to married couples also. Like other goddesses and gods, she is not just asssociated with love. She is also associated with the sea and music.

[tainted echoes]

most are associated with sea..whether goddess of sea or not. (ie. aphrodite..hmmm)

i've heard of benten over tea time tables, years ago. my grandfather would sometimes bring up the topic to make my grandma mad, but then she'd talk about it. (a privilage of having a japanese grandfather) :lol::lol:

[Mnemosyne]

Yeah, the Greek and Japanese goddesses of love are connected to the sea. If you think about it though, the sea plays an important part in the lives of the Japanese and the Greeks. Doubtfully, cultures not near the sea would put such an important emphasis on the ocean. It is fascinating to think of all the connections that the goddesses of love have besides love.

[tainted echoes]

however, of the love gods that i can think of..(which is maybe..2?) it seems the only thing they have in common is love. i could be wrong though, correct me if i am.

[Mnemosyne]

Actually, the goddesses can represent different types of love. Since we were discussing Aphrodite, I will quickly use her as an example. Some people believe, the philosopher Plato for one, that Aphrodite can represent common love AND pure love. So even love can be broken down into more specific catergories.

The goddesses of love can have representations other than love. The Norse Freyja and the Egyptian Hathor quickly come to mind. Both goddesses can be associated with love and the underworld.

Freyja- oh magical Freyja! I love to discuss her. This Norse goddess of love desired to have beautiful objects. Once she wanted a magnificent necklace called the Brisingamen. In order to get the necklace, she spent the night with some dwarves. Odin had to punish Freyja for her behavior, so he made her the goddess of death.

Hathor- She was the Egyptian goddess of love. This sweet goddess looked after children, brought joy to people, and loved to have a good time through dance and music. Beside being the goddess of love, Hathor also helped carry the dead to the underworld and give the dead food and drink. For this reason, you can associate Hathor with the underworld. Since the Egyptians looked so forward to the afterlife, I can see why they would want to see this fun goddess in the underworld.

Goddesses of love just not devote all their energy on love. They can help us with other matters as well.

[tainted echoes]

hmm good point. freyja sounds interesting..do you have any links on hand to read? if not i'll go searching.

[Mnemosyne]

Oh, Freyja is so interesting. There are many links to websites on the Norse pantheon on this site. I found this site about Freyja right now. It's really informative.

http://freyja.freehomepage.com/

Like Aphrodite, I kind of like to think of Freyja as a golden goddess. Here's a quick story to explain my thinking. Once her husband, Od disappeared. Freyja was so sad that she wept golden tears. Oh, poor Freyja!

[tainted echoes]

that sounds so delicate..wow. ima go read it now. the link i mean. thanks so much.

[Mnemosyne]

hhmmm. Even though Freyja did cry golden tears after missing her husband, I would not consider Freyja as delicate. Some stories say that Freyja would cause wars between kings. She also possessed great magical powers and taught her skills to the Aesir gods. What a powerful goddess!

Oh my, we were discussing how some of the goddesess such as Benten and Aphrodite had connections to the sea. Although she has many powers, Freyja is not a sea goddess. However, her father, Njord, was guess what? That's right; he was a sea god.

[tainted echoes]

see, i was right :lol:

hmm, i wonder if any love goddess was associated with death. i wouldnt really be surprised, as some are associated with war..ima go research.

[Phoenix Blue]

Ishtar was associated with love and war. I don't know about love and death, though.

[Eeluna]

Aphrodite is associated with death. She has many other names related to the many functions She fulfilled in ancient times. Some of those names, connecting Her with death, are:

Androphonos--Man Slayer (as in Destroyer or Death Goddess)
Epitymbria--She of the Tombs
Tymborychos--Gravedigger

[Mnemosyne]

Originally posted by Phoenix_Blue
Ishtar was associated with love and war. I don't know about love and death, though.

That's right; Ishtar is associated with love and war. Also, there is the story where she goes to the underworld to see her sister Erishkigal. I don't think that Ishtar got on well with the underworld since the plants stopped growing on earth and procreation ceased. For that reason, Erishkigal's husband would replace Ishtar for six months of the year. This story really reminds me of the Persephone/Demeter story. I guess you can associate Ishtar with death.

Oh my, Eulena, I did not know that Aphrodite was called those names. In what ancient literature, can you find Aphrodite called these names? Like the other goddesses though, we can link Aphrodite to war. After all, she liked to spend her "fun" time with Ares, the god of war. That is the only link that I can think of with Aphrodite and war. If you ever read the Iliad, Aphrodite does go on the battlefield. When she is wounded, I believe Zeus tells her that "love does not belong in war."

[tainted echoes]

that reminded me of persephone in the beginning too, before you mentioned her. actually, i know she isn't "officially" a goddess of love but i think that her tale is so..i dont know, "tragic" because she is a person of the sun, grass, spring and is cast to live in the underworld. yet, in the original story i heard about her, she ended up loving hades in the end..and in some ways, that's more forgiving and caring than aphrodite.

if what i said even makes sense, i remind you it's my own personal opinion. *shrug*

[tainted echoes]

whole bunch of random information about aphrodite, whether common or not. (http://www.paleothea.com/SortaSingles/Aphrodite.html)

""Aphrodite as a bringer of death, or "peace," sometimes bore the name of Irene, Dove of Peace. Another of her death-goddess names was Epitymbria, "She of the Tombs." Romans called her Venus Columba, Venus-the-Dove. Her catacombs, mausoleums, and necropoli were known as columbaria, "dovecotes." Thus the soul returning to the Goddess after death was again envisioned as a dove." - Barbara Walker, The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets."

i found that from here (http://www.lkwdpl.org/wildideas/overshadow.html)
(i pasted hardly any of it, i didnt go past the copyright thing. ;))

i know that gives hardly information but maybe you can make of it something i didnt. if i had my own opinion, i would say maybe Epitymbria came from egyptian...but thats a both 1)stereotype(sorta) and 2)its a bad guess. i'll leave it up to Eeluna to give you the real answer. *walks away muttering to self*

[Eeluna]

I wish I had kept better track of where my information came from. I've read a lot of books, and while I did keep of list of what I read, I didn't always reference my notes as to which book each bit of info comes from. I'm definitely keeping better track of things in the future. Sorry I can't point you in the right direction.

[tainted echoes]

don't be sorry, it's kind of you to answer at all :)

[Arzhela]

Oh drat now I'm confused! I was so sure that Freya cried golden tears for Freyr, her brother. I'll have to go read those D'Aulaires myths again... Well, there are always different versions of myths.

[tainted echoes]

could have been both..

[Mnemosyne]

Yeah, I do remember that Freyja cried golden tears. I think that I read that in a basic Nordic mythology book ages ago. But as you know, there are so many different versions to myths, since many myths are brought to us by oral tradition. The myths give us some basic understanding of the goddesses. However, nothing is set in stone. We can all have our own perceptions of the goddesses of love.

[tainted echoes]

or, quite possibly, in the years to come, new legends and myths will be made, and nothing can be said about it..things happen. *shrug* i'm welcome to opinions on the matter, because i'm curious as to what goddesses do..but..myself, i'll never be good at actually remembering the stories. *blushes*

[Mnemosyne]

I have recently been interested in the symbolism associated with deities. Earlier, we were discussing how some love goddesses were associated with strawberries; thus, strawberries are now thought of as an aphrodisiac. Besides strawberries, a few goddesses of love can be connected with apples. For example, when Paris must decide whether Hera, Athena, or Aphrodite is the most lovely of the goddesses, he chooses Aphrodite and gives her the sought after prize, a golden apple.

In other cultures, the apple is associated with beauty. For instance, how does Freyja, the Norse goddess of love, stay eternally young looking? She would see Idun, the keeper of the apples of youth. Freyja and the other Norse gods and goddesses would eat Idun's golden apples to stay beautiful.

Besides apples, what other symbols do you associate with the goddesses of love?

[*~*Chary*~*]

well music is usually associated with the goddesses of love ....

Also i personally associate the Sycamore tree with these goddesses but thats just because working in the egyptian pantheon

Hathor goddess of love and music (as well as other things) is associated with the sycamore

[Asherah]

Anath is my goddess of love. She is the daughter of Asherah and consort to Ba'al Hadaad..

Anyway, she is said to be sexually explosive. :)

Lovers call on her for their hearts' desires.

In my own personal life, I ask her help um **ahem** spice things up between my husband and myself. **we've been together for 12 yrs**

um blush..

[Mnemosyne]

Asherah, I believe that many people ask the goddesses of love to help them out with their romantic partners. :D

Besides issues of love, I believe that you can call on goddesses of love when certain chakras are out of balance. For some reason, I think that goddesses of love help with the sacral chakra and the heart chakra. If the two chakras are out of balance, particularly the sacral chakra, I call on a goddess of love for assistance. Does anyone else believe that the deities help out with the chakras?

[Mnemosyne]

BUMP:boing:

Valentine's Day is coming up. This thread has some great info on goddesses of love from various pantheons. :D

[Flar's Freyja]

Originally posted by tainted echoes

see, i was right :lol:

hmm, i wonder if any love goddess was associated with death. i wouldnt really be surprised, as some are associated with war..ima go research.

Freyja is mainly seen as a love goddess and she is also associated with death. She claims half of the slain in battle as her own, and I also recently read that she decides who is going to die in battle, but I need to research that one further.

[Mnemosyne]

Originally posted by Freyja

Freyja is mainly seen as a love goddess and she is also associated with death. She claims half of the slain in battle as her own, and I also recently read that she decides who is going to die in battle, but I need to research that one further.

Yeah, you are right! I think that Freyja and Odin both decide who is going to die in battle. Oooh, that's weird that so many goddesses of love are also the goddesses of death.

[Asherah]

Originally posted by Phoenix_Blue

Ishtar was associated with love and war. I don't know about love and death, though.


Yes Ishtar was also associated with Love and death, as was her Sumerian counterpart Inanna and her Canaanite counterpart Asherah.

:)

[Asherah]

Originally posted by Mnemosyne

That's right; Ishtar is associated with love and war. Also, there is the story where she goes to the underworld to see her sister Erishkigal. I don't think that Ishtar got on well with the underworld since the plants stopped growing on earth and procreation ceased. For that reason, Erishkigal's husband would replace Ishtar for six months of the year. This story really reminds me of the Persephone/Demeter story. I guess you can associate Ishtar with death.

**That was Inanna** Ishtar descends into the underworld to find Tammuz her son/lover. For 3 days and nites she sought him only to find him and awaken him from his spellbound state. :)



Oh my, Eulena, I did not know that Aphrodite was called those names. In what ancient literature, can you find Aphrodite called these names? Like the other goddesses though, we can link Aphrodite to war. After all, she liked to spend her "fun" time with Ares, the god of war. That is the only link that I can think of with Aphrodite and war. If you ever read the Iliad, Aphrodite does go on the battlefield. When she is wounded, I believe Zeus tells her that "love does not belong in war."

[Mnemosyne]

Thanks for the correction, Asherah. I didn't realize that I got Ishtar and Innana confused. They are closely related though.