"The goddess Aphrodite was sprung from the dark-blue depths of the sea and nurtured by the foam from the frothing waves."
― Apuleius, The Birth of Aphrodite
Orphic Hymn to Aphrodite
“To Aphrodite. Heavenly, illustrious, laughter-loving queen, sea-born, night-loving, of awful mien; crafty, from whom Necessity first came, producing, nightly, all-connecting dame. ‘Tis thine the world with harmony to join, for all things spring from thee, O power divine. The triple Fates are ruled by thy decree, and all productions yield alike to thee: whatever the heavens, encircling all, contain, earth fruit-producing, and the stormy main, thy sway confesses, and obeys thy nod, awful attendant of Dionysos. Goddess of marriage, charming to the sight, mother of the Loves, whom banquetings delight; source of Persuasion, secret, favouring queen, illustrious born, apparent and unseen; spousal Lukaina, and to men inclined, prolific, most-desired, life-giving, kind. Great sceptre-bearer of the Gods, ‘tis thine mortals in necessary bands to join; and every tribe of savage monsters dire in magic chains to bind through mad desire. Come, Cyprus-Born, and to my prayer incline, whether exalted in the heavens you shine, or pleased in odorous Syria to preside, or over the Egyptian plains thy care to guide, fashioned of gold; and near its sacred flood, fertile and famed, to fix thy blest abode; or if rejoicing in the azure shores, near where the sea with foaming billows roars, the circling choirs of mortals thy delight, or beauteous Nymphai with eyes cerulean bright, pleased by the sandy banks renowned of old, to drive thy rapid two-yoked car of gold; or if in Kypros thy famed mother fair, where Nymphai unmarried praise thee every year, the loveliest Nymphai, who in the chorus join, Adonis pure to sing, and thee divine. Come, all-attractive, to my prayer inclined, for thee I call, with holy, reverent mind.”
The Orphic Hymn to Venus can be recited on Fridays, the day of Venus, particularly during the planetary hours of Venus. We recommend lighting a candle and burning incense with any prayer or invocation. Aromatic and sweet smelling incenses such as rose are good choices for Venus, and you could use traditional materials such as aloeswood (lignum aloes), musk, or frankincense. You could light a single candle or if you were performing a more involved ritual or petition you might use seven (the number associated with Venus).
Image: Venus Anadyomene, 1872
Arnold Böcklin
Recreation by Talon Abraxas
