Beneath the Surface

The project for Aphrodite about which I wrote earlier? I've begun it. It isn't a big thing, really quite a small and simple thing, but I think that's all right.

I wasn't really sure what best to call this. "Hearts of Aphrodite" came to mind, as did "Aphrodite's Bottle." I haven't decided yet. So I suppose I will just describe it.

I am putting a blessing bottle on Aphrodite's altar. It will hold little folded-paper hearts, like so:

On each heart will be written the name of a person; the ones in the pic are for my immediate family, and I'll be adding hearts for other family members, friends, whoever seems to belong there or to need to be there. I know a lot of people. :)

The bottle, as you can see, is pretty big (for comparison, it is sitting in the middle of a big old comfy chair):



And the hearts are clearly quite small:



(Actually they are rather a cross between a heart and an arrowhead, either of which is appropriate.)

In any case, and as the reason for this post, I want to offer this to the community as well.

If you would like the name of someone you love (romantically, platonically, familially, whatever sort of love you feel) to be included, let me know and I will add a heart for them.

I want to keep this loose and easy, so here are a few bullet points to prove I still know a little html :):

• Mine is a private home altar intended solely for personal use, maintained consistently for over a decade but not affiliated with any group, or official in any way.


• I am not a priestess of Aphrodite, only a dedicated devotee.


• I am not a mystic and am quite limited in all areas of woo. I don't do magic, I don't do spirit work; I pray and I talk to the gods.


• I am a hard polytheist and a semi-reconstructionist; however, to the best of my knowledge there is no historical basis for this.


• Obviously, there are no promises or guarantees of any sort. :)

If you would like me to add a heart or hearts to the bottle, here's how to let me know:

Email (hearthe at gmail dotcom) or message me here with the name or names. I don't need a full name or a "real" name but I do need it to be identifiable in some way.

For example, "Robert Jones" or "Robert Michael Jones" or "Sue Jones' Grandpa Bob" or "Ravensong's Grandpa Jones" or "Sue Jones' paternal grandfather" or "Ravensong's Grandpa B" would all be fine ways to identify the same person. Similarly, "Anne Martin," "Ms. Martin who taught Jadefire in first grade," "Ms. Martin from Tuscaloosa Elementary" "Jeannie Smith's first grade teacher" and so forth would all work for the same individual. (The paper isn't infinitely long but I can write pretty small. :)) It just needs to have some specificity.

A religious/spiritual/magical name is fine, as is an internet name if you and/or the person often go by it.

The subject line should include the words "APHRODITE'S BOTTLE," ideally in all caps.

Only send the name, nothing else. There may be specific reasons you wish this person well, but Aphrodite blesses us all as she deems fit.

It is absolutely fine to send your own name. :)

Once the name is in the bottle, it cannot be removed. If I add your best friend's name, and two weeks later she does something heinous, I cannot take her name out.

If you have a color preference, let me know and I will try to honor it, although of course I'm limited by what I have in my supply basket.

Laurelei Black is building a temple for Aphrodite, and you can help--donations are being accepted via GoFundMe at

http://www.gofundme.com/38qes0

This is such an important work, please consider donating if you can. (Or, if you can't, consider spreading the word!)

As a long-time devotee of Aphrodite, I can't begin to describe how happy the idea of a real-world temple for the goddess makes me. :)

Aphrodite, fairest of Olympos' jewels,
flawless in form, unsurpassed in grace and beauty.
Shining Aphrodite, constant your presence,
subtle your schemes, overwhelming your power,
irresistable your treasures. Kind-hearted one,
mistress of feeling, I praise and honor you.
O Aphrodite, who strips away self-control,
who leaves sweet desire in its place, I pray to you.
Glorious goddess, source of passion, I thank you
for precious moments of instinct, for fire and fury,
for the depth of pleasure, for the essence of need:
Aphrodite, dearest goddess, grant me your gifts,

I felt like I needed some shorter prayers--not every occasion calls for a hymn :), not that mine are terribly long in any case--so I've started work on some.


Beloved Aphrodite,
dearest goddess, most worthy of praise,
I thank you for your blessings.
For love and for passion,
for loss and for longing,
for desire and for fulfillment,
for these I thank you,
for these I adore you,
for these I honor you.

Aphrodite, kind one, fair one,
companion in joy, comfort in despair,
if ever I have praised you,
if ever I have honored you,
if ever I have poured libations
or lauded you with hymns,
bless me now.

Okay, okay, I know what I said about bad poetry, and I'm nowhere near done with them, but this one is to Aphrodite, and as a devotee I feel it's sort of my duty :). Just because I myself feel her influence so strongly, I suppose. I imagine at least a few others are like that with the gods most dear to them--it's hard to understand how others don't see them everywhere, and you feel like shouting "Look! Right there! It's so obvious!"


Peerless Aphrodite, all beauty your gift,
all love your presence, all lovers wholly yours.
In kisses soft and savage, in jealous
agonies, in dreams of love forbidden,
in passions unwise, in torments of lust,
in these we feel your touch, exquisite goddess.
Aphrodite, bringer of unreason,
ruthless leveler of men and women,
giver of incomparable blessings,
we thank you for longing and fulfillment,
for soul-deep devotion, for flesh on flesh.
Aphrodite, we praise and honor you.



(Also this explainswhy I'm still up. That and the nap I so foolishly succumbed to this afternoon. :))