Valentine's Day: Festival
of Love and Desire
It will soon be that time of year when our thoughts turn to
sweethearts. Those we have now, or those we have had in the past.
Valentine's Day is one of our most popular holidays,
inspiring a flurry of card and gift giving to those we love.
The origin of the concept of romantic love goes far back to
ancient times long before the legend of St. Valentine.
Eros, Greek God of Love and Desire
The first idea of romantic love came from the god, Eros, in
Greek mythology. One of the versions of the birth of this very appealing god
was presented by the Greek poet Hesiod, who tells us in his Theogony, that Eros
was one of the first gods born out of Chaos (the void), along with Gaia (the
earth) and Tartarus (the underworld). This puts his birth all the way back to
the beginning of time. Theogony describes Eros in the following enthralling
terms: "…and Eros, the fairest of the deathless gods; he unstrings the
limbs and subdues both mind and sensible thought in the breasts of all gods and
all men." (Hesiod, Theogony, 120-2)
This is quite a good description of the state that engulfs
us when we fall in love. From this passage we can assume that he had power over
not only man but also the gods.
The other significant depiction of the myth surrounding
Eros' birth is that he was the son of Aphrodite and Ares. Being the son of the
goddess of love puts him in a less powerful role. The charming legend of Eros
and Psyche, from Metamorphoses by Apuleius, the Roman writer, is spawned from
classical mythology.
The love story of
Eros and Psyche
The story goes that a king had three daughters, the youngest
being beautiful to the degree that she rivaled the goddess Aphrodite. Her
physical charms were so great that people began worshipping her instead of the
goddess of love. Aphrodite became enraged at this turn of events and in an
attempt at revenge, conscripted her son Eros into using his powers as the god
of desire to force Psyche into falling in love with the most hideous, grotesque
creature imaginable. But when Eros cast his eyes upon Psyche, he himself fell
hopelessly in love. In a cunning plan to satisfy his own desires and deceive
his mother, he transported her to an isolated place where stood a magnificent,
magical castle. This was to be Psyche's new home, and when night fell, Eros
came to her bed and whispered under the cover of darkness that he was her new
husband. She was not, under any circumstances to seek knowledge his identity.
She lived quite happily until she requested that her sisters
could come visit her to alleviate her isolation. When they saw her beautiful
surroundings, jealousy drove them to cause trouble by encouraging her to find
out the identity of her husband. That night when she went to bed she took a
lamp that she could light when her husband had fallen asleep. When the light
fell upon the divine features of this beautiful god, Psyche was so startled and
enthralled, she let a drop of oil fall, which woke him. He realized that his
identity was revealed and immediately departed.
Psyche's grief at the loss of her love was so great that she
was inconsolable. She begged help from various goddesses, even ultimately going
to Aphrodite, begging to be reunited with Eros. This effort was to no avail.
Ultimately Eros longed for her as much as she for him so he went to the god
Zeus for help. Zeus intervened with Aphrodite and brought the lovers together.
Cupid and his arrows
of desire
Eros' Roman name was Cupid, which means desire. In Roman
mythology he is depicted as a capricious winged child carrying a bow and a
quiver of arrows. Due to the popularity of this depiction by poets and artists
over the centuries, this is how we see this darling little god today. He gads
about ready to let his arrows fly, striking our hearts with love and desire for
appropriate and sometimes inappropriate people. Who of us has not felt the
excitement and exquisite pain that is produced when one of his arrows has
pierced our heart?
St. Valentine, patron
saint of lovers
While Cupid or the ancient god Eros gives us the
inspiration, St. Valentine supplied the name of our current holiday. There are
a number of Valentine legends as to why his name is linked to lovers. One is
that the Roman emperor Claudius II thought that single men made better soldiers
and therefore forbade them to marry. St. Valentine is said to have secretly
married many young lovers and therefore became their patron saint. Another
story has Valentine, while being imprisoned for his Christian faith, falling in
love with his jailer's daughter and sending her a love letter before his
execution.
The roots of Valentine's Day most likely came from the
ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which had been celebrated for eight
hundred years on February 15th. The day was dedicated to the god Lupercus and
young men would take a woman as a sexual companion for a year, by means of
drawing her name in a lottery. Pope Gelasius changed this custom, which was
unacceptable to the Catholic Church. He decreed that the lottery be changed so
that both young men and women drew the names of saints to emulate for the
coming year. Valentine instead of Lupercus became the patron of this feast.
Despite this change in custom, Roman men continued to seek the affections of
women on this date and sent notes of endearment to their sweethearts, including
Valentine's name in their missives.
It would seem that the ancient god still lives, for today
the spirit of love and desire resides as strongly as ever in the hearts of
those struck by Cupid's arrows, be they young or old.
What delightful gift will guide Cupid's arrow to the heart
of your true love this holiday?
Use the power of love
gemstones to:
Find true love and romance
Improve a love relationship
Rekindle lost love
Increase the power of love
Improve your marriage
Meet someone special
Different gem stones
are used for help with different kinds of love situations. Read these articles:
Attract love and increase passion with love stones
Creating Positive Relationships
Click the photos below to read about the special energies of
each stone. Find the ones that will help you to refresh an existing love, stop
quarrels, find a new love, enhance passion, etc.
How to Combine the
Love Gemstones:
Rose quartz, emerald, moonstone, lapis lazuli, jade... These
are just a few gemstones that are popular for their love properties.
What makes one love
stone different from another?
Each of earth's gem stones has unique properties.
In this article, we will look at some of the differences and
how to combine different types of stones to produce desired results for a
happier, healthier love life.
Find your Soul Mate…
Finding love that is right for you can be difficult. The
mere act of want or desire puts one in a position of need, which can be
frustrating and make one feel less powerful. I believe that Buddha had it right
when he said that the source of all misery is desire.
Obviously, if you are looking for love, you are in a
position of desire. Your emotional and mental attitude toward achieving
anything in life is a large part of what determines your success. This is more
true when one is seeking a love partner because of the intensity of the
emotions connected to loving and being loved.
Looking for love can make one feel insecure, or
self-conscious. Perhaps you have had a bad relationship in the past and are
afraid to open yourself to more pain or disappointment.
You may have a good idea of all the things you want from a
partner, but wonder if you have what it takes to attract such a fantastic
person. If you are shy, making the first move can seem nearly impossible. You
might feel lonely, and don't believe that there could really be someone out
there just for you…
Trying to attract
love can stir up a myriad of unhealthy emotions that can block your intention
and focus.
A gemstone with love properties will not magically make your
soulmate appear. But it can help you to develop a healthy state of mind that
will allow you to find the love you are looking for. Gemstones emit energy - you
can channel that energy through yourself to achieve the love you seek.
This quartz crystal is so powerful in opening the heart at
so many levels that it often needs amethyst to calm things down!
Rose quartz is a stone of unconditional love. Calming and
reassuring, it gives one an appreciation and love of self; it opens the door to
sensitivity and strengthens empathy. It restores trust and creates inner
harmony.
If you have never received love, it will open a path; if you
have lost in love, it will offer comfort. If you have been damaged by an
unhealthy relationship, it will strip away negativity and replace it with
self-trust and self-worth.
Some of the ways rose
quartz can be used to attract love:
Place a rose quartz sphere in a location where you want to
draw love all around you.
Use a rose quartz wand to focus energy and intention on your
soulmate. (Read more about how to use
gemstone wands.)
A rose quartz stone under the pillow at night will keep you
young and bring the love of your dreams to you.
Perform a love ritual using a rose quartz heart. The heart
carved from rose quartz is a powerful love symbol
.
Use a rose quartz egg to make love grow or bring fertility.
Wear rose quartz jewelry to attract love or to develop more
self-love.
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