JULY 2007 GODDESS OF THE MONTH

Venus is the Roman goddess of grace and love, called Aphrodite by the Greeks. She evolved from an early Italian nature goddess, a bringer of spring blooms and vines, a goddess of growth and the beauty of nature. The goddess of desire, Venus was the irresistible personification of both physical and spiritual love. She gave her name to the second planet of dawn and dusk, as did her sister goddesses, Inanna (Sumeria) and Ishtar (Babylonia).

The story of Venus' birth tells how she arose, naked, from the sea, the source of all life (primordial creation) and a symbol of both the collective unconscious and eternity. It is a wonderful image for the emergence of a young woman into her full femininity. Venus is a striking affirmation of the love of beauty and the pleasure of the senses. Risen from the sea, she is a guide through both the stormy and calm waters of our physical desires and emotions.

From GODDESS KNOWLEDGE CARDS,
Susan Eleanor Boulet Trust.
Text by Michael Babcock.
Published by Pomegranate
Box 6099, Rohnert Park, California 94927