Aphrodite: 6 Powerful Ways to Connect With the Goddess of Love and Beauty
Who is the Goddess Aphrodite?
Aphrodite is the ancient Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and the sea.
Mythology tells us that she was born from the castrated genitals of the primordial sky god Ouranos at the creation of the kosmos.
She arose whole from the cerulean seafoam and glided to land atop of a seashell.
When she stepped onto land flowers blossomed at her feet.
Her divine attendants the Kharites adorned her with fragrant oils and luxurious garments.
Aphrodite’s name comes from the ancient Greek aphrós meaning ‘sea-foam’.
Is Aphrodite Reaching Out to Me?
Maybe you’ve started noticing her name popping out at you.
Or perhaps you’ve always felt drawn to her elegant iconography and wish to get to know her further.
No matter how you came to the decision to connect to the decadent goddess of love, know that it’s completely valid.
You don’t have to be called by a deity to worship them.
why Cultural Context matters
The majority of us weren’t brought up as Pagans.
So a lot of us don’t really know how to go about practising.
The best way to grow fulfilling relationships with the gods is to venerate them within their own cultural context.
Honouring the gods of ancient cultures means acknowledging that they knew best about how to honour and petition the gods.
Honouring Aphrodite in the way that she was worshipped for thousands of years is not only respectful.
But increases your chances of success in building a long-term relationship with her.
A big part of embracing the Greek cultural context is to not impose your past religious beliefs onto her worship.
If you were brought up within a monotheistic religion.
You will have internalised some toxic beliefs about deity.
It’s time to deprogramme.
Here are some things to be aware of when connecting to Aphrodite and other Greek gods:
The myths aren’t literal.
The gods welcome everyone regardless of gender identity, sexuality or ethnicity.
The gods don’t get angry.
The gods don’t have ‘beef’ with one another.
Below, you’ll find how you can begin and maintain a relationship with the Greek godess Aphrodite.
Rooted in the ancient Greek culture she was originally worshipped in.
Aphrodite Summary
Festival: Aphrodisia
Home: Mount Olympos
Parents: Ouranos, or Zeus and Dione
Colours: Pink, red, white
Minerals: Aquamarine, pearl, rose quartz
Plants: Anemone, apple, myrtle, pomegranate, rose
Symbols: Eros, conch-shell, a mirror
Sacred Animals: Dove, goose, sparrow, swan
Traditional Offerings: Barley, frankincense, honey, milk, olive oil, votive offerings, water
Non-Traditional Offerings: Apple, candles, chocolate, makeup, perfume, rose incense, rose water, strawberries
Epithets: Anadyomenê Risen from the Sea, Areia Warlike, Doritis Bountiful, Epistrophia She Who Turns to Love, Euploia Fair Voyage, Eustephanos Richly Crowned, Khryseê Golden, Melainis Black of Night, Nikêphoros Bringer of Victory, Ourania Heavenly Divine, Pandemos Common to All People, Philommeidês Laughter-Loving, Pontia Of the Sea
1. Learn About Aphrodite’s Myths
The first step in connecting to Aphrodite is to read her myths.
Don’t take the myths literally.
The myths are stories that reveal insights into the nature of the gods in a more subtle, allegorical way.
Some of Aphrodite’s most famous myths include her mermaid-like birth from the seafoam, getting caught in a tryst with her lover and studly god of war Ares, and the story of her tragic lover Adonis.
Not to mention her role in the start of the Trojan war.
Yes, it’s fun times at Olympos High.
The story of Aphrodite’s birth is retold in Hesiod’s Theogony (circa 700 BCE).
Which I recommend you read btw.
Don’t stress, it’s short.
Aphrodite Mythology Resources
2. Learn About Aphrodite’s Epithets
Epithets are titles or descriptive functions of deities that were used in antiquity.
Some of these epithets are cult titles and some are titles from the poetic tradition.
Epithets help us to understand the full spectrum of a deity and their function in ancient times.
Aphrodite is often considered just a goddess of love and beauty.
But a cursory study of her epithets reveals a far more complex picture:
Ourania ‘Heavenly Divine’
Melainis ‘Black of Night’
Androphonos ‘Killer of Men’
Khrysee ‘Golden’
Eustephanos ‘Richly-Crowned’
Nikephoros ‘Bringer of Victory’
Pandemos ‘Common to All People’
The key is to remember that the gods are varied beings.
The ancient Greeks understood them to be multifaceted.
3. How to Create An Altar to Aphrodite
My altar to Aphrodite (I’ve changed it a bit since this photo was taken).
Altars are an excellent way to dedicate a small space to the veneration of a divine being.
The best way to feel the long-term presence of Aphrodite in your life is by setting up a dedicated altar and creating kharis through regular offerings.
Aphrodite Altar Ideas
Image of Aphrodite
Offering bowl
Incense burner
Pink, red or white candle
Pink, red or white roses
Pearl or rose quartz
Seashells
My own altar is pretty minimalist.
If you prefer something more maximalist that’s absolutely fine.
Just remember, you have to move the 20,000 knickknacks on your altar every time you want to dust it.
And I do mean weekly!
4. How to Pray to Aphrodite
One important thing the ancient Greeks did was to differentiate between Ouranic (sky gods) and Kthonic (underworld) gods.
Aphrodite is considered an Ouranic deity.
The ancient Greeks would have prayed to her with their hands held up raised towards the sky.
According to classical scholar Walter Burkert ancient Greek prayer followed a distinct formula:
‘Hear me!’
The name of the deity with their appropriate epithets.
‘Whatever name it pleases you to be called’ repeated afterwards.
Naming the place from which the god would come.
Explaining what previous offerings the person has made to the deity.
A short request for aid.
A vow made.
I’ve loosely used this prayer format to create the prayer below.
Prayer to Aphrodite
To pray to Aphrodite, simply stand with palms up and arms raised towards the sky.
Then say your prayer.
Hear me, Aphrodite! You who are Laughter-Loving, Golden and Heavenly. Or whatever name it most pleases you to be called.
I have created an altar for you and I would like to feel your gracious presence in my life, may this offering of incense please you.
We’re fortunate to have several surviving Homeric Hymns (circa 700 BCE) to the gods and you can recite one out loud as a form of prayer.
These hymns are considered offerings in themselves, and would usually have been recited to music at state festivals.
Here’s one of the Homeric Hymns to Aphrodite that’s in the public domain.
Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite
I will sing of stately Aphrodite, gold-crowned and beautiful, whose dominion is the walled cities of all sea-set Cyprus.
There the moist breath of the western wind wafted her over the waves of the loud-moaning sea in soft foam, and there the gold-filleted Hours welcomed her joyously.
They clothed her with heavenly garments: on her head they put a fine, well-wrought crown of gold, and in her pierced ears they hung ornaments of orichalc and precious gold, and adorned her with golden necklaces over her soft neck and snow-white breasts, jewels which the gold- filleted Hours wear themselves whenever they go to their father’s house to join the lovely dances of the gods.
And when they had fully decked her, they brought her to the gods, who welcomed her when they saw her, giving her their hands.
Each one of them prayed that he might lead her home to be his wedded wife, so greatly were they amazed at the beauty of violet-crowned Cytherea.
Hail, sweetly-winning, coy-eyed goddess!
Grant that I may gain the victory in this contest, and order you my song.
And now I will remember you and another song also.
5. How to Give Offerings to Aphrodite
To build a relationship with Aphrodite, it’s helpful to give her regular offerings in the style she was offered to in antiquity.
The ancient Greeks created kharis or reciprocity between humanity and the gods through offerings.
The Romans summed it up when they said, do ut des ‘I give that you may give’.
Far from being a form of bribery, offerings are about strengthening a relationship.
Traditional Offerings
Frankincense incense
Grains
Honey
Milk
Olive oil
Wine
Always wash your hands before giving an offering.
Hesiod says in his Work and Days (circa 700 BCE):
Do not pour libations of sparkling wine to Zeus and other immortals at dawn with unwashed hands. They do not hear your prayers, but spit them back.
After washing your hands, say a prayer, pour out a libation, light your incense or place the sacrifice in the offering bowl.
Then spend a few minutes in quiet contemplation.
You may experience warm and pleasant feelings or you may not feel anything.
There’s no need to do anything after this.
You don’t need to check that your offering was accepted through divination.
Seriously.
Put down the deeply useless pendulums.
Just gratefully accept that Aphrodite heard you!
How Do You Dispose of Offerings?
Leave offerings out for an hour or two before disposing of them.
Libations can be poured directly onto the ground outside.
Libations can be poured down the sink.
Food offerings can be composted.
Try to avoid leaving food offerings outside as it can attract pests and harm wildlife.
How Often Should You Give Offerings?
The answer is as often as you want to.
The more important a deity is to you the more frequently you’ll probably want to give offerings.
My own Aphrodite devotions are performed mostly on a weekly basis:
I buy fresh flowers for Aphrodite’s altar every few weeks.
I burn incense for her on Fridays.
I dedicate a rose scented bath to her on Fridays.
I sometimes anoint my palms and forehead with oil whilst praying at her altar.
I say prayers of thanks after seeing something beautiful.
6. How to Communicate With Aphrodite
We can communicate with the gods in several ways. Historically, these would have been through:
Prayer
Offerings
Divination
Omens (signs)
Theurgy
We can utilise these practices today to achieve the same outcome.
Divination
Divination was super popular in ancient Greece.
It included anything from bird omens, to divination by entrails (yikes).
Mercifully, for my vegan heart, we have things like tarot and oracle decks.
To connect with Aphrodite through divination simply make an offering, and ask your question in the form of a prayer.
I’ve personally found that using a deck that resonates with Aphrodite and her areas of influence helps quite a bit.
What if the messages don’t make sense?
I usually assume I haven’t genuinely received guidance in those situations.
Signs or Omens
Not everything is a sign.
If you’ve been furiously searching for videos or articles about Aphrodite and then one pops up in your social media feed…
That’s not a sign.
That’s just the algorithm.
My personal experience with signs is that they’re reasonably uncommon.
and they tend to really leap out at you as significant within the moment.
So.
How do you ask Aphrodite for a sign?
Make an offering and say your prayer and ask for a sign.
Ask her to send the sign within a reasonable timeframe.
Perhaps within a week and ask that it be obvious to you.
If you don’t receive one?
Don’t sweat it!
Theourgia
Communicating with Aphrodite through meditation overlaps with ancient theurgy practices.
Theourgia or theurgy is a form of divine magic thats aims to achieve henosis, or union with the divine.
Unfortunately, we don’t know too much about theurgy so modern books on the subject are modern reconstructions.
The Practical Art of Divine Magic (2015) by Patrick Dunn.
You can also connect with Aphrodite through simple meditation.
Make her an offering and ask her to be with you through prayer.
Allow yourself to recieve any impressions.
MORE GREEK GODS
Be sure to check out my other blog posts focused on the Greek gods.