Daenerys and Jon | Venus and Mars
Venus, the goddess of: Love. Fertility. Prosperity. Victory. Desire. Beauty.
Epithets: The Mother. The Victorious. The Freedwoman. The Lucky. The Purifier. The Changer of Hearts.
Venusian deities include: Aphrodite, Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Astoreth, Asherah
In ancient Babylonia, Venus was known as the ‘divine lady’ and the ‘illumination of heaven’. As the evening star, Venus appears after sunset in the night sky, disappearing for several days before re-emerging as a morning star on the sun's opposite side. The unique path of Venus through the sky has given rise to many prominent myths spanning cultures throughout history. The morning aspect of Venus was designated ‘Lucifer’* by the ancient Romans, literally translating to 'Light-Bringer', a figure presented in poetry as the herald of dawn. Venus has associations with sweet-smelling flowers such as roses and myrtle. The circle-and-cross symbol for Venus, like the Ankh, may represent life or sexual reproduction, and denotes the female sex.
*While the latin word for morning star, Lucifer, has since been applied to the allegorical fall of Satan, it's important to note that another allegorical Venusian figure, Jesus Christ, is also referred to as ‘the bright morning star’ and ‘tu verus mundi lucifer’, or, ‘the true light-bringer of the world’.
Mars, the god of: War. Spring. Virility. Valor. Fertility. Agriculture.
Epithets: The Father. The Protector. The Avenger. The Venerable. The Healer. The Peacekeeper.
Martian deities include: Ares, Nergal, Laran, Maris, Lenus, Mangala
In ancient Mesopotamia, Mars was seen as a ‘star of judgment’ and the ‘fate of the dead’. In Roman art and literature, the wolf appears as a sacred animal or symbol of Mars. In one depiction of Mars on the Altar of Peace, he can be seen alongside a wolf, holding a spear wreathed with a garland of laurel, symbolizing peace gained through martial victory. Often, Mars is depicted as nude, representing his fearlessness in battle. Similar to Venus, Mars takes a notable retrograde path through the night sky—appearing to move backward and further east each night before continuing west. The symbol of Mars depicts a sword and shield, used to denote the male sex, as well as the element of iron.
(Venus and Mars by Geraldine Arata)
While Venus represents the watery female essence, and her male counterpart, Mars, represents the fiery male essence, attributes of both deities can be found in Daenerys and Jon alike—from the warlike aspects of Mars to the path Venus takes through the sky and its association with ‘lightbringing’.
The journey that Daenerys takes seems to correspond with the planet's movements through the heavens:
“To go north, you must journey south, to reach the west you must go east. To go forward you must go back and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow.”
Venus rises first in the summer sky as the evening star, plunging into the darkness during winter to rise again on the sun’s opposite side as the morning star to herald the sun.
Jon is, likewise, experiencing the path of the planet Venus in an allegorical sense—descending to the underworld only to rise again through resurrection.
Similarly, when it comes to Azor Ahai, we see Daenerys filling the prophecy literally:
“When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone.”
In Jon's case, he fits the prophecy figuratively:
After his first two swords shatter (Rhaenys and Aegon), Azor Ahai (Rhaegar) plunges his sword (phallus) into a willing (consenting) Nissa Nissa (Lyanna), whose cries of anguish and ecstasy crack the moon (her womb). Her blood, soul, strength, and courage went into the steel (her baby), and thereafter, Lightbringer (Jon) was never cold to the touch, but warm as Nissa Nissa (his mother) had been warm.
Jon even describes himself as a sword:
I am the sword in the darkness
And while it is still mere speculation that his true name is also Aegon Targaryen in the books (though there are arguments to be made), bearing such a name would give him further association to Mars and his shield:
Aegis is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, depicted as an animal skin or shield
Targe means shield in late Old English
Aryan borrowed from the Sanskrit word ā́rya/ari- meaning attached, faithful, devoted kinsman
The shield that guards the realms of men
As for Daenerys, her name might literally translate to ‘light lady’ or ‘lady of light’:
Dae (alternate spelling of 'day’), of American origin, means ‘light and hope’
Nerys means ‘lady’ in Old Welsh
I am the light that brings the dawn
According to director Alan Taylor, George R.R. Martin confirmed during the filming of season one of Game of Thrones, that:
“It really is all about Dany and Jon.”
But just as both characters encompass the role of Lightbringer, Daenerys and Jon, together, represent the complementary opposites of Venus and Mars: Love and war. Water (ice) and fire. Female and male.
Born of Venus (Aphrodite) and Mars (Ares):
Concordia (Harmonia), who represents social, marital, and political agreement.
Twins Formido (Deimos) and Pavor (Phobos), who represent dread in the midst of battle and the personification of the fear brought by war, respectively.
Cupid (Eros), who represents desire, love, attraction and affection.
Thus, the union of Venus and Mars:
Inspires fear and dread in battle
Creates ideal social concord
Begets love
A Dream of Spring
“People know an ending—but not the ending.” —George R.R. Martin
Spring marks the end of winter. It is associated with renewal, rebirth, rejuvenation, regrowth, and resurrection. March, the month in which spring arrives in the Northern Hemisphere, was named for the Roman god Mars, the god of Spring. The second month of spring, April, or Aphrilis, was sacred to the goddess Venus—its name perhaps derrived from equivalent Greek goddess Aphrodite.
Venus, as the ‘light-bringer’ appears most brightly in the December sky, signalling a phase of rebirth, where winter comes to an end, or spring. To the ancient Greeks, the planet Venus was known as Phosphorus, or ‘bringer of light’. The morning star also went by another name, Heosphorus, meaning ‘dawn-bringer’.
Dawn is described as:
"The first appearance of daylight in the morning; daybreak; sunrise”
However, dawn has another definition that might suggest further positive connotations:
“The beginning or rise of anything; advent: the dawn of civilization"
Art commissioned by @dragonanddirewolf
“It was only when a great warrior arose with his blazing sword Lightbringer that the darkness was put to rout, and light and love returned once more to the world.“
