Veneralia
Change Your Heart
In ancient Rome the month of April belonged to Venus, the goddess of love, beauty, sexuality, fertility, victory, gardens, and was considered the Mother of Rome (with Mars being the father, and Patron of the month of March). On the 1st of the month the Romans held the festival of Veneralia in honour of Venus in her various forms, and a goddess known as Fortuna Virilis who presided over male virility and also the marriage matters of the working and lower classes.
Venus, like many Greco-Roman deities had different epithets - names that denoted a particular version of these deities. The version of Venus celebrated on this day was Venus Verticordia, “the Changer of Hearts” who was, strangely, all about changing women’s hearts from being lustful to being chaste and adhering to Rome’s sexual mores. Twice Venus Verticordia was honoured by the Roman people outside of her festival - First the creation of a statue was modeled after the most chaste of the roman women - Suplicia - and placed in the temple of Fortuna Virilis, who is thought to be a much more ancient goddess from before the adoption of the Greek pantheon.
Later, Venus Venticordia got her own temple when a virgin girl was struck by lightening and left is a truly frightening state with her tunic pulled up and the pieces of her horse scattered about. This was considered a sign (or prodigy in the roman religious vernacular) that three vestal virgins had sex with three members of the equestrian, which was not a simple broken rule but the desecration of a sacred oath. The Vestals were buried alive and the soldiers slaughtered, as was the style at the time, and the temple was created to appease the goddess and beg her favour. These actions were prescribed in the Sybilline Books, a book of prophecies the Romans used in time of war or these disturbing prodigum, which were considers signs of divine retribution.
The main activity of Veneralia was bathing - both bathing the statue of Venus Verticordia and bathing of the bodies. The Cult of this goddess was only open to women, but on the first of April everyone was welcome to witness the bathing and adornment of the statue of Venus with roses and myrtle, and to bath themselves in water fragranced with the same flowers. Richer women and wives seemed to worship Venus Verticordia specifically, while poorer women dedicated the day to Fortuna Virilis, who was considered a version of Venus who ensured virility and chastity from their husbands and growth in their fields and wallets.
Modern Worship
Here’s my thing - I’m not someone who thinks women should have to adhere to sexual mores put forth by the state, nor do I believe the sexuality of women to be inherently dangerous. While I respect Venus’s role as this goddess honoured by wives and women for whom chastity worked, this is not my preferred epithet of the goddess of Love. Instead this day will kick off the month of Venus and I will honour her in all of her forms. I already began my day with a shower where I bathed with flowers. I created a perfume of rose, patchouli, and a splash of ylang ylang and used it to dedicate my alter of Voluptas to this day. I also am burning Honeysuckle incense in honour of Fortuna Virilis, as it is both a flowers of sensuality and pleasure, but also good luck and fortune! The fact that the above painting of Venus Verticordia has them in the foreground let me know I was on the right track there.
Venus was considered the mother of Rome, but she was also the grandmother of Voluptas. She is the matron of the deities of love, sex, eroticism, soulmates and spiritual love, and of courser pleasure and sensuality. Without Venus’s taking of multiple lovers, the birth of her child Cupid, the anger at his wife Psyche, and the trials she inflicted on all of them, Voluptas would never have been born. Pleasure would not have a magical source here on earth without her in all of her good and bad forms and stories.
Venus Verticordia was the changer of hearts, so how can we honour this idea on Veneralia? Obviously I do not want you to force yourself into a chaste lifestyle if this is not for you, but nor should sex be forced on you. Consider your heart and what it truly wants from sex, sexuality, and relationships. Is that what you’ve got? Are you happy with the love and sex in your life, or have you been wanting something different? Pray to Venus to help you change your heart, to allow you the courage and confidence to choose your own sexual path outside of the rules and regulations of society at large, or even your family and friends. Ask her to change their hearts to love and accept you no matter what.
You could also celebrate in the Greek way - a big beautiful orgy!
April was a month of celebration, games, frivolity, fun, food, and wine in ancient Rome. As part of my Voluptuous practice I’m building a calendar for worship that combines the holy days from the Roman calendar, with those from the modern witch calendar, and days I specifically find significant. You’ll notice on my Calendar April 20th - 4:20 - is marked as a religious holiday. This is one that combines a roman festival of agriculture, with the day dedicated to the growth and imbibing of cannabis! This is the first one that will be my own “creation” and I’m excited to be able to offer this as a sign of my devotion and gratitude to Voluptas. Subscribe to get new updates about the calendar, and future posts (both public and private) about my personal experiences with the goddess of Pleasure.
