Planetary Magic: How to Invoke the Magnetic Power of Venus
Venus Veticordia by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
The archetypal energy of the planet Venus is feminine, sensual and magnetic.
Venus is an invocation of the senses.
She encourages us to luxuriate in our physical bodies.
By aligning with her energy, Venus helps us to see the riches already inherent in our lives and assists us in drawing our deepest desires to us.
A Brief History of the Planet Venus
The word ‘Venus’ comes from the Proto-Italic *wenos, with its furthest roots in Proto-Indo-European *wen meaning ‘to wish, love’.
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, often appearing in the sky as the morning and evening star.
Scientists believe that Venus was formed from great swathes of swirling gas and dust around 4.5 billion years ago.
The planet Venus may once have had seas; these primordial waters likely dried up as temperatures rose.
In true languorous Venusian style, a full day on the planet Venus is longer than its entire year.
Venus’s Eight Year Orbit Pattern
One magical thing about Venus is her orbit shape. The pentagram or petals of Venus is the orbit that Venus makes when viewed from earth.
Venus creates the petals of Venus every eight years.
Why Connect With the Planet Venus?
Venus is far from just the planet of love magic. Connecting to the planet Venus allows you to magnetically attract your deepest desire.
The alchemical glyph of Venus is the circle on top of the cross ♀.
In astrology, Venus rules the fixed sign of Taurus and the cardinal sign of Libra.
Of precious stones, pearls, and of rocks, lapis lazuli and almartach; and of plants, roses and all flowers with a good odour and are pleasant to look at. Among colours, sky blue and gold tending a little to green.
The Picatrix (circa 1000 CE)
Here you’ll find several ways to connect to the planet Venus and its sultry, bewitching energy.
The idea is that you go through each step in order.
Each section builds on one another to form a magical Venus veneration practice.
Planet Venus Correspondences
Day: Friday
Number: 7
Element: Water
Zodiac Signs: Taurus, Libra
Colours: Green, pink, red
Minerals: Aquamarine, emerald, green jade, malachite, lapis lazuli, rose quartz, ruby
Metals: Copper
Plants: Nutmeg, rose, saffron, vanilla
Deities: Anahita, Aphrodite, Freya, Inanna, Ishtar, Venus
Offerings: Chocolate, flowers, green candles, honey, incense, rose water, scented oils, wine
1. How to Create An Altar to Venus
It’s Friday and it’s time to get our altar on.
The best way to petition a planet and to feel it’s positive influence in your life is by setting up an altar and giving regular offerings.
Let’s set up an altar to the planet Venus!
Green is the most traditional colour, but pink and red are also wonderful choices.
Venus Altar Ideas
Image of Venus
Offering bowl
Incense burner
Green, pink or red candles
Red or pink roses
Aquamarine, malachite or rose quartz
Glyph of Venus
Venus loves beauty. So arrange the items in a way that creates visual harmony.
Keep this altar very clean.
2. Venusian Glow Up
Like every bad 2000’s romcom we’re going to start our Venus ritual with a glow up.
Take a long luxurious bath and anoint your body with diluted rose essential oil. After your bath, dress in clean green, red or pink clothing.
Wearing Venusian colours sympathetically aligns you with her energy.
Green is the colour traditionally associated with Venus in the Picatrix.
But I think red and pink are also appropriate due to her associations with the various goddesses of love throughout history.
Feel free to put on makeup and perfume if that’s appropriate for you.
3. Meditate on the Glyph of Venus
Now that we’re clean and dressed Venus style, it’s time to align the mind with her energy.
In his excellent book, The Practical Art of Divine Magic (2015).
Patrick Dunn explains the practice of a creating a deity based phantasm.
Phantasms are vivid sensory images of a deity visualised through multiple meditations.
The idea is that you evoke this visualisation within your mind whenever you wish to connect with a specific deity.
You can create a mental phantasm for Venus or visualise the glyph of Venus to focus your mind.
Sit before your Venus altar and visualise the glowing green glyph of Venus.
Concentrate on holding the glyph in your mind’s eye.
Conjure up the feeling of being infused with her magnetic energy as red rose petals float down from the sky.
If you struggle to visualise, hold an image of the glyph in front of you and mindfully gaze at it.
4. Recite the Orphic Hymn to Venus
The next step in our ritual is to invoke Venus energy by reading the Orphic Hymn to Venus.
The ancient Greeks made offerings to the Ouranic and Khthonic gods in different ways.
Prayer to the Ouranic deities was performed with hands held up towards the sky.
Which is also appropriate for Venus as a planetary energy.
Simply, stand before your Venus altar. With hands held up towards the sky, recite this hymn out loud.
Orphic Hymn to Venus
Heavenly, illustrious, laughter-loving queen, Sea-born, night-loving, of an 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 heaven’s, encircling all contain, Earth fruit-producing, and the stormy main, thy sway confesses, and obeys thy nod.
Awful attendant of the brumal God: Goddess of marriage, charming to the sight, Mother of Loves, whom banqueting delights; Source of persuasion, secret, favouring queen, Illustrious born, apparent and unseen: Spousal, lupercal, 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 Syria’s temple to preside, Or over the Egyptian plains thy car 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 nymphs, with eyes cerulean bright, Pleased by the dusty banks renowned of old, To drive thy rapid, two-yoked car of gold;
Or if in Cyprus with thy mother fair, Where married females praise thee every year, And beauteous virgins 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.
5. How to Make an Offering to Venus
After the invocation of Venus, it’s time to make an offering in her presence.
The Romans summed it up when they said, do ut des.
‘I give that you may give.’
Offerings are about strengthening a relationship.
Offerings to Venus
Chocolate
Honey
Incense
Olive oil
Perfume
Rose water
Wine
We’ve invoked Venus with the recitation of the Orphic Hymn.
But now we’re going to give her an offering with a short, informal prayer loosely using the ancient Greek prayer format.
Hear me, Venus! Heavenly, Laughter Loving, Queen. Or whatever name it most pleases you to be called. I ask that you fill my life with your luxurious sweetness. May this offering please you.
Light the incense, pour the libation, or place the offering into the bowl.
Leave the offering on your altar for a few hours and compost the remnants.
This is the final part of out ritual to Venus.
This ritual can be repeated every month on a Friday. Or however often you feel it’s appropriate to invoke her energy into your life.
You can also use this ritual to petition the planetary energy directly for aid.
6. How to Celebrate Veneralia
Veneralia was an annual ancient Roman festival held in honour of Venus Verticordia on the 1st of April.
On this day, the statue of Venus was taken from her temple and ritually bathed and dressed with floral garlands of myrtle.
Offerings of milk and poppy were also given to Venus.
Women were also encouraged to seek advice on marriage in accordance with the traditional roles that upheld the beneficial order of the Roman state.
In other words, the Romans used this festival to uphold the patriarchy.
Ah, the Romans…
Celebrating Veneralia further invites the energy of Venus into your life.
Veneralia Ideas
Bathe with diluted rose essential oil.
Wear a rose or myrtle flower crown.
Ritually clean Venus’s altar.
Adorn Venus’s altar with myrtle or roses.
Give Venus an offering of milk mixed with honey.
Pray to Venus for assistance in love.
For more information about celebrating the Veneralia.
I recommend this article.
7. How to Create a Sigil Using the Venus Magic Square
Let’s make some magic with the planet Venus!
The seven classical planets each have a magic square associated with them which we can use for magic and ritual.
Venus is associated with the number seven.
With seven columns and seven rows making up her magic square.
These magic squares are traditionally used to create sigils.
The practitioner chooses a planet that’s most in alignment with the energy of their magical intention and uses the appropriate magic square to create a sigil. The idea is that the sigil will become infused with the energy of the planet.
Choose three or four words that best encapsulates your intention.
For example:
‘Increased income’ or ‘I am filled with self-love’ etc.
Then we’re going to find each letter’s number in the chart above.
INCREASED INCOME
9 5 3 9 5 1 1 5 4 9 5 3 6 4 5
Take out any repeating numbers.
9 5 3 1 4 6
Draw the sigil directly onto the magic square, connecting each number in order using straight lines.
Start by drawing a circle on the first number (here it would be number 9) and end with a straight line for the last number (here it would be number 6).
Neatly copy the shape of the sigil on a small piece of paper in a green, red or pink pen.
It’s time to charge your sigil.
You can charge a sigil through meditation or chanting.
Once your sigill is activated, burn it or bury it in the earth.