~ Deity work: Aphrodite ~ DEVOTIONAL ACTS
I came up with a bunch of easy devotional acts and I felt like sharing with the rest of Aphrodite’s followers. This goes without saying, but this is only but a list of possible ways to honor her - it’s up to each individual to try the ones they find appealing and to ignore the ones that they don’t. That said, the list:
Read prayers out loud. Whether you wrote them or not, it doesn’t matter (just don’t pretend you wrote it if you didn’t because she won’t like it, my dude)
Talk to her. If you have a statue of Aphrodite, talk looking to the eyes. If you don’t have a statue of her, look at your own eyes in a mirror - that’s her right there, listening to you. You’ll see how much easier it’s to connect with her if you’re looking to each other’s eyes.
Dress up for her. Wear clothes that make you feel confident and beautiful for no other reason than honoring her and yourself.
Compliment people on a daily basis. It don’t matter if they are friends or strangers. A quick ‘I love your hair’ will surely make someone’s day and I guarantee you’ll feel amazing afterwards.
Work on loving yourself. You could practise self care, say affirmations about your body when you wake up (I look at myself in the mirror and say ‘My cellulite doesn’t bother me anymore’ every day), come up with a skin-care routine, take some looong soothing bubble baths… You name it.
Sleep a little bit earlier than usual or take naps during the day. Call ‘em your ‘Beauty sleep’ unironically.
Create your own face and/or hair masks. You could use ingredients linked or related to her, like cinnamon or strawberry.
Sexually please yourself / explore and know your body.
Make love or just have sex.
Write love letters or stories. They don’t need to be directed to anyone in particular and they don’t even need to be about romantic love - there’s countless of other kinds of love: love between friends, between siblings, the love of a mother to her child and viceversa… You could even write about a fandom ship and call it a day - just think of her while you do it, let her inspire you.
Start a rose garden. It could be as easy as buying freshly cut roses and starting your bush from that: there are a few tricks you could try, like sticking its stem in a potato or in the inside of aloe vera and planting them - these are supposed to promote root growth. If you do this, don’t ever neglect it because it will be the same as neglecting your relationship with Aphrodite Herself. Nurture the flowers like you’re nurturing your relationship with her and talk to the flowers like they are your friends.
Create a playlist with songs that remind you of her. Press play and let it go uninterrupted from the first to the last song while you clean, cook, study, bathe, whatever.
If you play an instrument, play for her. Make it her own personal concert. I recommend taking a chair and placing it in front of you. You can leave the chair empty and loudly invite her to come and sit OR you could place a statue of her on the chair or a mirror to, again, lok at her eyes while you play. (Make sure the statue or mirror are secure in the chair and they won’t fall over.)
Do you sing? Sing for Her! Again, do the personal-concert-with-a-chair-in-front thing explained above. Leave it empty or place a statue or a mirror on it.
Bake her something sweet. Could be as simple as cookies or as elaborate as a full on cake. That’s up to you. Offer it to her and wait a moment before eating it. Here’s a post about why you should eat that offering, if you’re reluctant or unsure.
Treat yourself to new stuff. Could be clothes, make up, baking items, books… Whatever you want to have but are unsure about actually purchasing it or not. Just do it.
Change your look. Dye your hair a different color, maybe even a crazy one, change your typical hairstyle, cut your hair a different way, do your nails or try a different fashion style.
Research her story. Look up myths, compare how they portray her to how you personally feel her, study how ancient Greeks viewed and honored her.
Meditate upon her. Feel her energy, hear her voice, absorb her thoughts. Listen to her and let her guide you. I play this music while doing this.
Create an altar or shrine just for her. Do your meditation, devotional acts and spellwork that need her aid on this place.
Journal your experiences when doing deity work. Use a notebook, your laptop, cellphone or even your own grimoire. Write date and time and proceed to describe what you did for her, with her, what you felt, maybe if you dreamed about her, if you think she sent you a sign or is trying to say something, if you think you met her while astral projecting - ANYTHING about her. Write it down. As you grow in your practice you will want to see how it all started and how far you’ve come - eventually you might even be able to decipher the signs she sent you and never completely understood.
Keep your space clean, nice and tidy. Show that you respect her enough to live like a decent human being.
Honor her by doing something for someone else. Feed stray cats or dogs, feed ducks, swans or pigeons, buy lunch to a homeless person.
Help people know her. Share your personal experiences, write about her on your blog, create a devotional blog just for her, spread knowledge, help people find her way to her.
Take a trip to the sea. Bathe in the water, go diving, walk barefoot on the beach, feel the sand on your toes, collect pretty shells as you go, take a bag with you and help clean off trash and cigarette butts.
Sweeten your tea with honey instead of sugar.
Become a beekeeper / help local beekeepers.
Plant flowers that attract bees in your own garden or in public parks.
I hope you find some of these inspiring. Let me know if you did!
See also: Tip to start deity work and Offerings for Aphrodite
