I led this ritual for the online Modern Temple of Aphrodite Community on Discord earlier in December, but I think it is also a great practice to use as we approach the new year. If you are interested in connecting with fellow Aphrodite devotees in a spiritual community, I invite you to join us!
Introduction
There’s a lot going on in the world right now. I know many of us are dealing with the chaotic aftermath of the US presidential election, and there is a lot of fear and uncertainty around what the next four years will bring. We are trying the best we can to plan for how to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe, especially those with minority identities that may be targeted, and to stand up for justice and love amid a climate of hate and bigotry.
On top of what is going on in the world on a larger scale, we also have everything we are dealing with personally, which is no less important. Our daily struggles may seem small compared to bigger worldly woes, but everything you are experiencing is valid. It’s hard to look beyond to the wider world when we are confronting our own personal troubles, may that be conflict with loved ones, loss of a job, mental health struggles, financial issues, problems with our physical health, or something else. It’s all valid.
It’s also the holiday season, with whatever joy or strife that brings for you. I personally struggle a lot this time of year with seasonal affective disorder, and the societal pressure to have everything be jolly for the cold, dark month of December can be a bit much to handle. New Years is also coming up – A time to look towards the future, to dream and plan.
All of this to say, we have a lot of emotions we are dealing with right now, on both large and small scales. These may be positive, negative, neutral, or a swirling combination of all of them.
Our emotions are energy. You are designed for emotions to flow through you, to be expressed, and then dissipate. Emotions cause problems when they get stuck somewhere along this process. I’m sure we’ve all witnessed the consequences of keeping emotions bottled up, either with ourselves or someone else. It never ends well.
Emotions activate all the parts of the self – mind, body, and spirit. We must feel our emotions fully in order to let them go. We must experience them with our whole being for them to become the power that fuels us.
Because emotions ARE power. They are energy waiting to be expressed and channeled for our desired purpose. Even the ones we label as negative can become positive. Anger can inspire us to create change in our lives and the world. Fear can be transmuted into love and action. When we are conscious of our emotions and feel them fully, we get to choose how we use that power.
Sometimes we are lost in how to get to that place of choice. Our emotions are too big and we don’t know how to transmute them into something that serves us. This is when we can call on the Divine for help.
Aphrodite is a goddess of emotions. Of ALL emotions. Of love, yes, but also rage and despair. She is a goddess of all emotions because everything must be felt to get to the depth and intensity of the love She shines in the world.
When our emotions are too big, let them be an offering to Aphrodite. Surrender the energy of that fully felt emotion to Her and ask Her to help you transmute it. Call on Her to help soothe that emotion, and help to clear a path forward.
This is what we will be doing in this ritual. We will be going on a light journey to Aphrodite’s temple to make an offering of our emotion, and from that sacred fire will be born a hope for the future.
Settle in and get comfortable. I invite you to close your eyes and drop into your body. Take three deep breaths to come into the sacred space.
Ritual
Cast the Circle
I cast this circle of love around,
Proclaiming this as sacred ground.
With fires of passion, love, and mirth,
The groundedness and
Strength of Earth
With healing waters,
Wellsprings flow,
The playful winds around me know
Like light and love within this space,
Divinity is every place.
I call on powers young and old,
With grateful praises
I extol,
Love in this place
And all around,
The love within this sacred ground.
So mote it be.
Quarter Calls
North
Element of Earth, Guardian of the North, please bless us with your strength today. May we remain grounded and centered in our truest selves. Hail and Welcome!
East
Element of Air, Guardian of the East, please bless us with your inspiration today. May we speak our truth with wisdom. Hail and Welcome!
South
Element of Fire, Guardian of the South, please bless us with your passion today. May we lead our lives with love. Hail and Welcome!
West
Element of Water, Guardian of the West, please bless us with your healing today. May we heal our own wounds as we heal the wounds of the world. Hail and Welcome!
Invocation of Aphrodite
O Glorious Aphrodite,
Goddess of Light and Dark,
You who are tenderness and compassion,
You who are fury and strength,
You who walk the line between the sacred and the profane,
We call to you.
Goddess of Love and Emotion,
Please help us to find our truest selves.
Bless us with courage to face our fears,
With bravery to stand for what is right,
With perseverance to overcome any trial,
With hope to dream of a brighter future,
And with love to share with all beings.
O Far Shining Goddess,
Hold us tightly in your loving embrace.
Hail and welcome, Aphrodite!
Journey to the Temple
(Audio recording below for the guided meditation/journey portion of the ritual)
You find yourself on a small dirt path looking down on a rocky shoreline. The pebbles crunch underfoot as you turn to your left to gaze at the waves crashing in the ocean below. You are not too high up – You can still feel the tug and release of energy with each cresting wave. You take a deep breath and the salt air fills your lungs, refreshing and cleansing. The crisp breeze off the ocean caresses your face, creating a pleasant stinging in your cheeks. You take another deep breath and you catch a faint scent of roses tickling your nose, a sweet floral complement to the tang of the saltwater. You pause for a moment to watch the waves crash, the brilliant blue of the water glittering with each swell and release.
As beautiful as the sea is, you know that this is not why you are here today. You feel a deep yearning pull within you, and you drag your eyes away from the water. You turn back to the path and begin to walk the slight incline towards the top of the rocky outcropping. As you continue up the path, a white structure begins to come into view.
With a few more steps, you see a resplendent marble temple before you. The structure is open to the air, with tall scalloped columns ringing the perimeter. The steps to the entrance are smooth, and you ascend the white marbled steps to the temple. The columns support a roof engraved with images of beautiful women, dressed and undressed in a variety of styles, with short hair, long hair, both slender and curvy frames – And you realize that these are not different people. These are all images of the Goddess, as She has been seen throughout history in different times and places. Gracing the images are shimmering gold accents that seem to light the sculptures from within. In that uniting, glorious radiance, you know that you are in the temple of Aphrodite.
You walk further into the open temple, hearing the crashing ocean waves to your left. A gentle, honeyed breeze wafts in from the right, and beyond the columns, you can see a garden. But what draws your attention now is the fire burning in a low brazier before you in the middle of the temple. You see the orange and yellow flames dance, licking the sides of the brazier and coming up to the height of your waist. Above the fire is a square opening in the roof, and you can see the sky beyond as you watch the sparks and smoke drift gently upward.
You kneel before the sacred fire that burns for Aphrodite. It is here that you will make your offering.
As you stand before this fire, you FEEL. You tap into your emotions that have been swirling within you. What do you want to offer to Aphrodite? What energy do you want to be transmuted into hope? Into joy? Is it your anger? Your grief? Your pain? Your sadness? Your overwhelm? Your fear? What do you want Aphrodite to accept into Her loving embrace and nurture into something new?
…
As your emotion swells to the top of all the chatter in your mind, embrace it. It may be something you’ve tried to run away from. Something you try to hide. Bring it out of the darkness and into the light. Feel this emotion coursing through you, feel it resonate in every fiber of your being. When this emotion reaches the peak of its crescendo, offer it to Aphrodite. Surrender your feelings to the sacred fire. Feel the emotion pour out of you like a torrent and channel it into the flames.
…
When you have sent all that you can into the fire, the flames rise up in answer. The fire roars in front of you, consuming all you have offered. You feel the heat on your skin – a warm comfort after the release of emotion. From the ashes of your emotions, let a fierce love be born. Let hope be born. Let whatever you need most right now emerge from the darkness into the light.
…
As you watch the fire die down, envision how you want to walk into the future. The once roaring flames slowly dance before you, dwindling to nothing, having consumed all you have given. The coals have grown cold, and you approach the brazier. In the ashes, wrapped in tendrils of glittering gold dust, is a seed – Something new born from your offering.
You feel a different pull now – A yearning calling from your right. You pick up the glittering seed, along with a handful of ash. Your offering created this new potential, and your energy and emotions are the nourishment to help it grow.
You walk towards the garden now, descending a set of smooth marble steps. Your eyes are met with a riot of color – a garden in full bloom no matter the season. The scents of rose, jasmine, gardenia, and honeysuckle wash over you, bathing you in their sweetness. You walk among the trellises and hedges until you find a bare spot of soil, a rare sight in the bustling garden.
You begin to kneel, but something else catches your eye and you straighten. You see a figure walking toward you. She is beautiful – tall and elegant. You see a dancer’s grace in Her movements as She slowly approaches, Her robe gently swirling behind Her. Her eyes radiate with the most brilliant light you have ever seen, overflowing with the purest love and compassion.
Neither of you speak. She reaches out to embrace you, and enfolds you into Her arms. You collapse into Her, letting yourself be held. Her embrace is warm and tender, though you feel a quiet strength behind the softness. You stay wrapped in Her love for what feels like hours, though it is only minutes.
As She releases you, She tilts your head up to meet Her gaze. Her eyes, while still compassionate, are filled with a fire you did not see before. The power of this love is overwhelming, but you do not want to look away. Silently, She places Her hand on your heart, and you feel a fierce love pour into you. She withdraws Her hand but holds your gaze.
You feel this love swell in your chest, a brilliant light at your heart’s center. Its heat radiates from you, spreading out down your limbs and up to the crown of your head, filling your entire body. You feel this fierce love crack open the facade you present to the world. You feel it flood out your judgements and doubts. You feel it seep into your bones, nourishing you and lighting a fire within you. You fill with light, and it bursts forth from you into the universe.
In that brilliant flash of light, you are nothing but pure love.
As the brightness fades, you can no longer see the Goddess, though you can still feel Her presence with you. You know that She is there, and will always be there, whenever you need Her.
With this new light within you, you kneel down, digging away earth to plant the seed and ashes from your offering. As you place it in its new home, you hold your hands over it, sending that loving energy towards your hopes for the future.
…
As you cover the seed with soil, you know deep in your bones that it will grow into something beautiful.
Taking that feeling of hope with you, you turn back towards the temple. Though your work here today is done, you know that you may return at any time. You say a silent prayer of gratitude to Aphrodite, and then walk back down the path from which you came.
…
Take a few deep breaths, to come back to yourself and the present moment. Wiggle your fingers and toes. Drop back into your body. Feel yourself in this time and this place.
If you have food or drink or something else to ground, you may wish to consume that now.
I also invite you to journal about your experience in this sacred space.
Gratitude to Aphrodite
O Glorious Aphrodite,
Goddess of Dawn and Dusk,
Goddess of Love and Emotion,
We thank you for your blessings.
O Far Shining Goddess,
May we carry your fierce love with us
Every day of our lives.
Blessed be.
Release the Quarters
West
Element of Water, Guardian of the West, thank you for your blessings of healing. Hail and Farewell!
South
Element of Fire, Guardian of the South, thank you for your blessings of passion. Hail and Farewell!
East
Element of Air, Guardian of the East, thank you for your blessings of inspiration. Hail and Farewell!
North
Element of Earth, Guardian of the North, thank you for your blessings of strength. Hail and Farewell!
Release the Circle
We know that love is all around,
Though our circle now may be unbound.
Let us celebrate, joyous here,
Spreading love both far and near.
So mote it be.
Brightest Blessings to you in the New Year!
Are you ready to…
- Dive deeper into your spirituality
- Level up your magickal skills
- Develop a fulfilling devotional practice
- Receive guidance on a variety of spiritual topics
- Embrace your power
- Love the amazing being that you are
All with the support of myself and a community of like-minded spiritual seekers?
If your heart is singing YES, I invite you to join us in The Temple of Flower and Flame!
Priestess of Aphrodite 