Veneralia is an ancient Roman celebration of Venus that took place on the Kalends of Aprilis, that is, the first of April.
Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome, considered Venus to be his ancestor and Mars to be his father, so the ancient calendar of Rome began with the month of Mars (March) followed by the month of Venus, beginning with the celebration of the Goddess to whom it was dedicated.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Veneralia, an ancient Roman festival, celebrated the goddess Venus, highlighting her significance in love, beauty, and fertility.
During Veneralia, people would adorn themselves with flower crowns and fragrant herbs, believing it would attract Venus’s favor and blessings.
A prominent ritual component of Veneralia involved the offering of roses to Venus, symbolizing love and desire, with couples exchanging love tokens as a form of devotion.
Veneralia was a time for romantic endeavors, and it was believed that any relationship initiated during the festival would be blessed by Venus herself.
Contents
Lore & Celebrating Veneralia
On this day, Venus was celebrated as Venus Verticordia (changer of hearts). According to Ovid (Fasti) this aspect of Venus rules over vows of chastity, morality, beauty and reputation.
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- Ovid (Author)
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Honoring her encouraged adherence to social norms about sexuality for both men and women.
During the festival, women carried the Venus’s statue to the men’s baths where it was ceremonially washed and dressed the statue of Venus at the temple near the Circus Maximus and then both the statue and its attendants were covered in myrtle.
In addition, the statue of the Goddess Fortuna Virilis (Manly, virile) was washed and dressed and offered incense and flowers.
Women wore crowns of myrtle and bathed, bathed in the public baths and poured out libations to Venus of pounded poppy with milk and honey and sought guidance from the Goddesses regarding their marriages, romances and sex lives.
The festival is said to have been founded on the advice of the Sibylline oracle in response to a rash of sexual offenses that had shocked Roman society (including vows of chastity broken by not one but three Vestal Virgins) and apparently offended the Gods, resulting in unusual natural phenomena.
A woman was chosen based on her purity or virtue to dedicate the statue of Venus Verticordia which may originally have been housed in the temple of Fortuna Verilis before being moved to her own temple sometime later.
The myth of Venus and its energy
There are several versions of her birth, and the one reproduced everywhere is that she was born from the sea foam, where the blood of Uranus, castrated by his son Saturn, fell.
She landed on the islands of Cyprus and Cythera, where she was welcomed by the Gods, accompanied by Eros (Love) and Imeros (Desire).
Thanks to the birth of Venus, the current of Love, Creation can come into being, passing through the womb of the Goddess. She emerges naked from the Ocean to symbolize that Truth and Beauty are the essence of Creation and the sole guarantor of Life.
Gaea and Uranus, the First Couple, represent the unmanifest and spiritual world, but to come into being, a current is needed to create movement… Love. After the castration of Uranus (mutilation of the state of primordial stillness), the Universes take shape and are ordered according to their vibrations.
Zeus granted her the right to choose a husband… he chose Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the Gods and the deformed son of Hera, born through parthenogenesis.
Art was born from this marriage, which saw the harmony and beauty of the Sacred Feminine merge with the technique of the Divine Masculine. However, she maintained her inner independence and had many lovers, both among the Gods and mortals.
She is the Celestial Courtesan, the sensual seductress who has allured humanity since the beginning of time and, darting her ray of Love, invites us to carnal union and to live our present with joy, awareness, and totality, without imposing rules.
She suffers not and is never a victim: she chooses her lovers alone and consummates relationships to create new life.
Veneralia Ritual Components
| Ritual Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | April 1st |
| Purpose | Honoring and celebrating the goddess Venus |
| Offerings | Flowers, perfumes, incense, love tokens |
| Ritual Activities | Prayers, invocations, meditation, love spells |
| Decorations | Adorned altars, images of Venus, floral arrangements |
| Feast | Sharing a meal with loved ones, enjoying sensual delights |
| Symbols | Doves, roses, seashells, mirrors, love charms |
Veneralia Traditions and Customs Table
| Tradition/Custom | Description |
|---|---|
| Love Spells | Casting spells for attracting love and enhancing relationships |
| Beauty Rituals | Pampering oneself, indulging in self-care, enhancing personal beauty |
| Offering to Venus | Presenting offerings of flowers, perfumes, and love tokens to Venus |
| Aphrodisiacs | Consuming or creating aphrodisiac foods and drinks to stimulate passion |
| Love Charms | Crafting or wearing love charms for attracting love and enhancing romance |
| Sacred Baths | Taking ritual baths with love-enhancing herbs and oils to cleanse and attract love |
“The Mystery of Regeneration” Ritual
The Goddess born from the sea has always been connected to water. Ritual bathing is therefore the simplest way to give yourself love and beauty, honoring the Goddess of Love.
This ancient Mystery of Regeneration can be celebrated whenever you feel burdened by daily life, marriage, cohabitation, and negative habits. Daily life, and especially marriage, deposits the dust of oblivion in the subtle bodies and in the Consciousness… creating a rupture and sanctifying it with a ritual has the purpose of cleansing the mirror of Consciousness and sending us back to the Absolute Present.
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Love Goddess Spell Poppet Tutorial
You can also do it inside your home or in an outdoor fountain or pool… the location is not so important, but the spiritual disposition with which it is performed. We have already seen that Virginity signified integrity, inner purity, unmanipulated by man… the pulse of the Goddess is rediscovered in our hearts when we return to being One within ourselves.
Prepare a welcoming environment with candles and scents, and when everything is ready, take a deep breath and remove your robe, letting it fall to the floor, giving to Mother everything you wish to shed.
Focus on your purification intent and gently enter the water… let everything dissolve into the water.
When you feel purified (it’s important not to use soap, to completely detach yourself from the ordinary bath), focus on who you are… on your priorities and what dormant energies you want to bring to light in this new beginning.
Ask the Goddess to help you remain whole and aware of your earthly mission… feel like a Virgin Goddess with a bright future ahead of her.
Pray, chant, and meditate until the loving hand of the Goddess invites you to emerge… now you are reborn to a new life and begin another cycle of your life.
Rub a scented oil on your skin, giving yourself a gentle massage, and don your new robe…
Conclusion
Vernalia has its roots back to ancient Rome, but it’s still pretty alive nowadays. Honoring Venus and her energy is a powerful move to attract and manifest more life, beauty and feminine vibes into our life.
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