This month’s full moon will be on Tuesday July 16th, 2019. I led the following ritual for my Pagan group back in 2017, and you may have heard me mention it in some of my other posts. (Since leading this ritual, it became clear the Aphrodite was working with me more than the other goddesses, and the rest is history. My spiritual practice has definitely made some big shifts since 2017, but I believe the essence of this ritual is still in alignment with the Love goddesses and is powerful all the same.) This ritual was designed for a group of about 20-30 people, but can easily be modified for solitary practice. You will need a vial of rosewater for each participant, some slips of paper with the chant on them if you are working with a group, and decorations for the altar (I used artistic images of romantic partnerships of all kinds scattered about the altar, along with some roses and elemental representations). The invocations and some other parts of the ritual are in the Goddess’ native languages (or as close as I could get – I took some creative liberty and used Italian instead of ancient Etruscan for Turanna). The Greek is phonetic, but the Latin and Italian are in their original form (with perhaps a couple of edits to cue me on the Latin pronunciation). Immense gratitude to my friends who translated the Greek and Latin for me! Brightest blessings to you for this lunar cycle!
Call the Quarters
North
We call to the North, to the element of Earth to be with us this evening. Please help us to enjoy the earthly pleasures of our physical bodies, help us to remain grounded and reasonable when we are in conflict with our loved ones, and help us to remain strong when our loved ones need our support. Element of Earth, hail and welcome!
East
We call to the East, to the element of Air to be with us this evening. Please help us to improve our communication in our love relationships, help us to inspire and be inspired by those we love, and help us to enjoy the meeting of the minds as we enjoy a meeting of the hearts. Element of Air, hail and welcome!
South
We call to the South, to the element of Fire to be with us this evening. Please help us to kindle and maintain passion in our romantic relationships, help us to tend to the flame of desire even when we feel like it’s almost going out, and help us to let our hearts lead the way. Element of Fire, hail and welcome!
West
We call to the West, to the element of Water, to be with us this evening. Please help us to heal from past and present wounds from old or current relationships, please help us to be the balm to our lovers’ ills, and please help us to accurately express the truest emotions in our hearts. Element of Water, hail and welcome!
Invoke the Goddesses
Kalo teen theya Afrodeetee!
theya tees agapees,
theya tees lagnee-as,
theya tees ekstasees eroteekees.
A, sponsoras tees enafsmas tees deemee-oor-yee-as keh too paloo,
parakalo, mas embneh-ee na sin-neh-chee-soo-meh afto poo theloomeh,
na deemee-oor-yee-soomeh neya technee ke kata-skefs-meh,
keh na epee-tee-choo-meh ta oneera mas.
Makaree ee agapee-sas,
agree-a keh pro-sta-tef-tee-kee,
peh-ree-stee-chee-zee teen pareya mas.
I invoke the goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of love, passion, desire, and sexual rapture. O patroness of the spark of passion and creation, please inspire us to pursue that which we desire, to create new art and inventions, and to strive for our dreams. May your fierce and protective love surround our circle. Hail and welcome!
Wehnerem, dea amoris, gherminum, atque sexualitatem, invoco. O patrona hortorum ac winetorum, radickes nostrum nos mone sicut volamus kumulos amoris. O dea decoris et speciei, speciei in witas cotidianas nostrum nos mone. Portentum diwinum weris, energiae-amantes et ardentes tui kirkulum nos kirkumeat. Awe et salwe!
I invoke the goddess Venus, the goddess of love, blossoms, and sexuality. O patroness of gardens and vineyards, please remind us of our roots as we soar to the heights of love. Oh goddess of grace and beauty, please remind us of the beauty in our everyday lives. Divine harbinger of spring, may your loving and passionate energies surround our circle. Hail and welcome!
Invoco la dea Turanna, la dea dell’amore sacra e della felicita`. Le appelliamo, aiuti quelli di noi chi sono innamorati a ricordare di amare senza limiti. O patronessa alata di pace, amore, e bellezza, per favore ci auti a creare relazioni romaniche che sono rispettose e corroboranti. Permetta le sue energie tranquille e affettuose di circondare il nostro circolo. Ave e salve!
I invoke the goddess Turanna, the goddess of sacred love and happiness. We call to you, to help those of us in love remember to give our love freely. O winged patroness of peace, love, and beauty, please help us to create respectful and nourishing romantic relationships. May your peaceful and loving energies surround our circle. Hail and welcome!
Introduction
The July Full Moon is called the Full Thunder Moon, after the many summer storms during this time. It is also called the Full Buck Moon, as young male deer are just beginning to grow their new antlers for the upcoming mating season. Here in North Carolina, the air is hot and humid, the vegetation lush and fertile, and the true feeling of summer is reaching its zenith. Summer for me is a time of joy and celebration. I love the heat, and summer is often a time of vacation and adventure. What better time to invite love into your life than the hot and lusty month of July? Just as the bucks are getting ready for some sexy times ahead, so, too, can we prepare ourselves to be open to love, to be more adventurous in the bedroom (or outside of the bedroom, if that’s your jam), or to sweeten an existing relationship.
Many of you are probably familiar with the goddesses Aphrodite and Venus, whom I have invoked here today. Less familiar is the goddess Turanna. She is the modern-day form of the ancient Etruscan goddess Turan, also a goddess of love and beauty. Ancient Etruria covered much of the middle area of modern-day Italy, with Tuscany being a major part. Aphrodite, Venus, and Turanna share much lore in common – in fact, with a cursory search on the internet, it is difficult to find much to distinguish one from the others. While they each started with their own distinct followings, the exchange of cultures over the centuries, particularly the Greek influence on the Romans and the Roman influence on the Etruscans, meant that much of the mythology blended together.
From my research, as well as my personal relationship with these goddesses, I can tell you that while their lore may be similar, they are very much distinct. I have come to view these goddesses as a different type of triple goddess – not that of the maiden, the mother, and the crone – but a triple goddess of three love goddesses who were wrapped up into one over the course of history. I like to call on them in concert for this reason, though each goddess has her own specialties.
Aphrodite is a lover and a fighter. She helps those whose relationships are in trouble to fight for their love. In the lore, she was frequently the lover of Ares, the god of war, and perhaps love and conflict are not as separate as we would like to think. She has a very fiery nature, though she is also associated with water and the ocean, from her birth of rising from the sea foam.
Venus is a nurturer, originally being a goddess of blossoms, gardens, and vineyards. She helps love to grow, from the original spark of passion, to the depth of true love. While all three goddesses are known as goddesses of beauty, her particular affinity for flowers draws me to her as the goddess of everyday beauty.
Turanna is a peace-keeper. Her domains are that of love and harmony. If you are having conflict in your relationship, she can calm frayed nerves and soothe wounds of the past. Turanna survives on in Catholic Tuscany as the “good fairy of peace and love.”
Heart Opening Meditation
We are going to start our ritual with a heart-opening meditation, so that we may fully accept the power of love into our lives, and be ready for the working to follow.
Close your eyes. You are in a safe space here. Let’s make it even more secure by cleansing and shielding. Envision roots sprouting from your feet and burrowing into the ground, anchoring you in the nourishing and ever-loving earth. You see the light at the core of the earth flow upward toward you, bathing your roots in pure energy. Your roots form a conduit for this energy to move up the rest of your body, bit by bit. First toes, then feet, then ankles, until this brilliant glowing golden light has bathed every cell in your body.
Now, if you like, and it feels right to you, you may see the light cascading upward out of the crown of your head, as if you were growing branches of light. Continue growing up, up, up into the atmosphere, until you have reached the cosmos. Once your branches have found that pool of ethereal energy, you may bring some back down your branches, down into your head, your chest, your arms, and the entire rest of your body. Feel these two harmonizing energies balance within you – earth and sky – and know that you are divine.
You may release these energies if you like, now that you are protected by the earth and the sky. Now, envision yourself surrounded by a globe of golden white light. In this sphere, there is only love. You are totally safe.
I imagine you’ve already started to pay attention to your breath, but if you haven’t, become conscious of it now. You don’t need to breathe in a special way – just notice the vital life force circulating through your body. Now, sense your heart, or your heart chakra if that makes more sense to you. See your heart start to glow with that same brilliant golden white light. Imagine that you are breathing in and out of your heart. With each breath, your heart gets even brighter, filling your chest cavity with light and spilling out to the rest of your body. You start to feel a warmth fill your heart. With a few more breaths, your heart is glowing like the sun, illuminating everything around it. You feel your insides soften, your heart growing stronger and brighter than ever before. You take one final breath, and you open a door to your heart – a door to the light within. You feel the abundance of light overflowing from you, out into the world (or to a specific person if you like), while feeling totally and completely nourished inside. You breathe here for a moment, finding the equilibrium of your light with the world. If you wish, you may vow to keep this conduit open, so that you can receive and give love freely, always surrounded by your glowing sphere in which there is only love. Or, while still keeping your heart door open, you may slowly dim the energy and ground, if that feels best for you right now.
Empower the Rosewater Vials
Now that our hearts are open, we may embark on finding what we need in the realm of love for this lunar cycle and beyond. This could be anything from finding a mate, to reducing conflict in a current relationship, to healing from a past wound, to sweetening a current partnership, to spicing up your sex life. Take a moment and think about what you need from love right now. As we go to pick up our rosewater vials off of the altar, we will sing a chant together, to each of the three goddesses that I invoked earlier. I have passed around sheets of paper with the phonetic pronunciation of each line. If you feel called, sing all three! If you feel drawn to one particular goddess, you may just sing her line each time we cycle through. And if you want to wait a few times so you know how to pronounce it, that’s okay, too. Once everyone has gotten their vials, we will chant several more times to raise energy. Think of your specific intention, and imagine it going into the vial and radiating its light.
Chant (Everyone)
Afrodeetee, parakalo, mas peri-loo-zeh meh tees ev-lo-yees, tees agapees.
Wehnus, cum benedictionibus amori larghinos.
Turanna, per favore copra noi delle benedizioni d’amore.
Aphrodite, please shower us with the blessings of love,
Venus, please shower us with the blessings of love,
Turanna, please shower us with the blessings of love.
Chant (Everyone – Phonetic)
Afro-dee-tee, pa-ra-ka-lo, mas peri-loo-zeh meh tees ev-lo-yees, tees aga-pees.
Weh-nus, coom bene-dict-ion-iboos amori lar-ghee-nos.
Tu-ran-na, pair fav-or-ay cop-ra noyee dey-lay bene-dic-zee-own-ee d’amor-ay.
Conclusion
Afrodeetee, sas ef-cha-ree-stoo-meh yee-a tees ev-lo-yee-es agapees-sas.
Wehnus, ob benedictiones amoris te aghimus gratias.
Turanna, Le ringraziamo per le benedizioni d’amore.
Aphrodite, thank you for your blessings of love,
Venus, thank you for your blessings of love,
Turanna, thank you for your blessings of love.
Etsee tha eene.
Ita sit.
Sara’ fatto.
So mote it be.
So mote it be.
So mote it be.
Now, everyone take a minute to ground. Touch the earth, hug a friend, come back to the here and now.
What you do with your rosewater is up to you. You could anoint yourself with it, either at pulse points or at your heart chakra. You could spray it around your bedroom in preparation for an amorous night. You can also use it to simply lift the mood and increase harmony in any room of your house.
Now that we are all back and grounded, it’s time for Cakes and Ale.
Cakes and Ale
Blessed be the hands that grew the grain, that harvested the fruit, and that baked the bread. Blessed be all hands, seen and unseen, that brought us this nourishment tonight. Blessed be.
Gratitude to the Goddesses
Thank you, Turanna, for being with us tonight. Thank you for your blessings of love and harmony. We honor you. Blessed be.
Le ringraziamo, Turanna, per la sua presenza questa notte. Le ringraziamo per le benedizioni di amore e armonia. Le onoriamo. Sia benedetta.
Thank you, Venus, for being with us tonight. Thank you for your blessings of love and nourishment. We honor you. Blessed be.
Praesentiae(eye) hanc noctem tui te aghimus gratias, wehnus. Ob benedictiones amoris atque alimenti te aghimus gratias. Kelebramus te. Benedicta sit.
Thank you, Aphrodite, for being with us tonight. Thank you for your blessings of love and passion. We honor you. Blessed be.
Sas ef-cha-ree-stoo-meh, Afrodeetee, yee-a tees ev-lo-yee-es sas agapees ke pathoos. Sas tee-ma-me. Ev-lo-yee-teh.
Release the Quarters
West
Thank you West, and the element of Water, for your healing energies this evening. Hail and farewell!
South
Thank you South, and the element of Fire, for your passionate energies this evening. Hail and farewell!
East
Thank you East, and the element of Air, for your inspirational energies this evening. Hail and farewell!
North
Thank you North, and the element of Earth, for your grounding energies this evening. Hail and farewell!
Priestess of Aphrodite 