I consider this to be a companion to the Parentalia. Even though it’s a Greek Holiday. Because while both pantheons are different, they are also inextricably linked to each other. There are even some like me, who worship both Gods and work with them together. Nemesis and Fortuna work especially well with one another.
When this celebration begins, I use it as the beginning of the end of the Parentalia. Like the Parentalia, the dead roam the streets. But, they have something else to add. In the Greek Anthesteria, it’s believed that not only are the dead walking.
They believe that the Guardians of the dead, those spirits and Gods that cross them over, are also among us. Particularly the Keres. The Keres are children of the Goddess Nyx, the Goddess of Night. And Erebus, the God and personification of darkness. Especially the night mist.
The people rejoice and drink of the vine, image from Malvus
This festival is very fun to do. Like the Parentalia, they honored their ancestors. But unlike Parentalia, chthonic Gods could be honored. Dionysus has many underworld characteristics. People often overlook that aspect of him.
But the original Dionysus was called Zagreus. And he was the child of Persephone and Zeus her father. Since Hades couldn’t sire a child, being the embodiment of death and all. He was eventually killed by the Titans in the underworld. Only to be reincarnated as a child of Zeus and Hera.
Dionysus in his cthonic aspect rules this day. And he demands merriment rather than mourning.
On this, the first day of the Anthesteria, we observe the Pithoigia or “the opening of the jars”. Last year’s jars of wine are ceremonially opened. The people ward their doors from evil by smothering tar on the door ways. They chew hawthorn and buckthorn leaves to protect themselves from the shades of the dead. Then, they party.
Everyone, including the slaves, have fun.
Businesses as usual is suspended as in the Parentalia. Everything is topsy turvy. Libations are sacrificed to Dionysus. Spring Flowers decorate the rooms of the home. To invite the spirit of spring.
I also personally think that the flowers are a type or cleansing. Flowers and plants are natural cleansers. Not just medically but spiritually as well. I have been shown floral cleansing rituals. Where a faith healer will arrange a bouquet of roses or other flowers in a home.
The purpose is for the flowers to absorb the bad energy. And release the good natural energy of the earth into the home. This provides both a cleansing and a blessing.
The flowers would decorate all drinking vessels. As well as children older than three years of age. The first and last day of the festival were both considered bad luck. Hence all the apotropaic rituals. Expiation rituals were also done.
A libation offered at a symposium, image is from a red-figure cup ca. 480 BC
For those who don’t know, expiation is a type of ritual, sometimes involving a sacrifice. It’s where a person will do a ritual to remove sins. Or sometimes bad luck or bad energy in general. Particularly it’s for the redeeming of sins. In Roman rituals I would say it’s sort of the removal of both bad luck and bad energy.
So by offering to Dionysus and the ancestors as well, we’re in effect protecting ourselves from harm. Other than that, this day is just about relaxing. Having fun. And being with friends and family. A perfect companion to the Parentalia.
Aphrodite as a Goddess of Death, Venus Retrograde Begins
Well Venus Retrograde is one of my least favorite Retrogrades ever. And during a new moon is even worse. Double Chthonic power. Well technically triple. Because Karkinos, the Crab of Cancer is involved too.
He had to die to become the Totem Spirit of Cancer.
The difference is, he’s a gentle and sweet protector of all beings. But also a fierce warrior who fights evil. Protector of the Nymphs. And made immortal twice, once on Earth. And again in the Heavens.
The link I put in his name tells his story in the Deviant Art description.
But he is a loving entity. Unfortunately it is also going to strengthen the chthonic power of Aphrodite. I have mentioned several times before, but will say it again. When planetary retrogrades happen it means the Gods who rule those planets enter their death aspects. I mentioned a while back in my last post that the season was shifting.
That it felt like Halloween was coming early this year. And we all needed to prepare. Venus in retrograde is continuing that. I call the Chthonic version of Aphrodite, Adonian Aphrodite. It bares mentioning that this is the first retrograde she’s had since 2021.
Pandora Astrology has some fascinating insights. On the combination of Leo and the Venus Retrograde, the Astrologer Fran Xin Yi said,
On Venus Retrograde,
Technically she isn’t supposed to have a relation to death. She doesn’t officially have an avatar of death. But in worshipping her. In meditating with her. In working with her.
I began to notice something. That during her retrogrades there was definitely an aspect of death here. And an old pain. Like a wound that has never truly healed. Eternity could never heal it.
Not even for an immortal. Not even if someone you lost came back. Not even if they became a God like you.
A D O N I S
Chapter I : Early Life
Prepare yourself for one of the most tragic tales of Greek religion. Once you finish reading this, you will see why Aphrodite’s connection to Adonis is one of death. From the beginning. Now we can’t talk about Adonis without first talking about his parents. Because their lies the source of woe.
It was said by the Greeks, that he was the son of Princess Myrrah also known as Smyrna. And his Grandfather/Father Cinyras, King of Cyprus. The story says that the King’s wife Cenchreis, bragged that her daughter was more beautiful than Aphrodite herself. So Aphrodite cast a curse on the Princess to lust for her own father when she was older. The Princess told her nurse about her unnatural desires.
I should also explain that many stories list different Kings as Myrrah’s father. And that in the story where her Dad is the King of Syria, he was the one who started this mess. He was the one who boasted Myrrah was more beautiful than Aphrodite. And she commanded Eros, her son, to strike her with one of his magic arrows. Like I said there’s dozens of versions of this story.
But traditionally, this is the version that is most accepted.
Anyways, she tells the nurse about her mental and emotional struggles against her own feelings. That she knows it’s wrong but she can’t help it. The poor girl can’t even sleep. This seems more like evidence of a mental disorder than anything magical. And it isn’t just sex either.
It’s a twisted form of love. Which provides evidence that this is not a curse. Though there are curses that use mental or emotional manipulation with help from spirits or Gods. But this is very rare. Her on going mental state gets so bad, that she tries to commit suicide to prevent herself from carrying out her fantasies.
The nurse can’t bare to see her that way. And she doesn’t want the princess to die. So she decides to help her sleep with her father. She figures it’s the lesser evil. And what the King doesn’t know, won’t hurt him.
King Cinyras is in bed, talking to the Nurse in the dark, while his daughter Myrrah is secretly hidden in the shadows. In the background, you see the King chasing after Myrrah with a sword, trying to kill her after finding out who she was
So on the festival of Demeter, the Queen is away. Because in honor of Demeter, there can be no intercourse for the women honoring her. And that goes on for Nine Nights. This is apparently a special devotion done only by her most loyal followers. Everyone else is partying.
That means the King can’t have sex with her. In fact he can’t even sleep in the same bed as his her. This is to avoid temptation. The nurse knowing this, goes to Cinyras. She finds him half drunk and almost asleep.
She tells him that a young girl his daughter’s age wants to lay with him. And more to the point, this girl doesn’t just want sex with him. That she loves him more than words can describe. And that her only demands are that she remain anonymous. And that they make love in the dark.
She claims it’s because the girl is from a prominent family. And it simply wouldn’t do if people found out about the affair. It would dishonor her own family. The King doesn’t think this is weird at all. In fact it made sense.
So now imagine an older man. His best years are long behind him. He’s flattered. He can’t believe a young woman from a prominent, noble, family wants him. And he’s drunk and horny.
And for Nine Nights he’s alone. I know, I know. This isn’t anywhere near a good excuse for adultery. But it does happen. When a marriage goes stale.
And your partner takes you for granted. Of course you may have taken them for granted first. And so the staleness of the relationship maybe both peoples fault. But the point is there is a void there. And there’s always someone around to fill a void.
So of course he said yes. Most men in his position would probably have done the same. To feel that high we get as teenagers of being wanted by someone. I can understand that. I’m no where near that old.
And I want that for myself. I’m sure many people who read this blog do as well. To error is human after all. Of course there’s the fact that he’s a King. Can have anything he wants especially women.
And had privileges that even today most of us can only dream of. It’s an unusual situation. He has an affair with her. Seeing her always in the night. When they sleep together, it’s always in the dark.
So he does not know who it is that he’s with. He wanted to know who this woman was who loved him so much. So one night he brought a lamp to see her face. And is horrified to see it’s his own daughter. He was disgusted with himself and her.
And he took a sword and tried to kill her then and there.
Cinyras chases Myrrah with a sword to try and kill her
He chased her out of Cyprus and persecuted her across countries. The story says that she ran across Arabia. But she became tired. She walked and walked and always he was closing in on her. She became so exhausted, depressed, and afraid that she prayed to the Gods and begged for mercy.
It was the only way she could escape her father. So they changed her into a tree. The first myrrh tree in existence. The smell of the myrrh incense and the sap is said to be her tears. It’s also said that myrrh is the incense of the dead.
It’s used traditionally for funerary practices. It was offered to the baby Jesus of Nazareth by one of the Magi. This was done in symbol of his future death.
Myrrah/Smyrna as the first Myrrh tree, giving birth to Adonis
Could this sad, sordid tale be the reason for that?
Other stories claim that Aphrodite engineered the whole thing. I don’t think so. These were later additions to the story. Probably to make her seem cruel and fickle. In fact I doubt she “cast a spell” to cause incest in the first place.
Nothing about Myrrah’s incest with her father screams “I was under a spell!”. It all points to mental disease. A strange psychological obsession with her father. Another version says that the incestuous “curse” came from the Furies. Likely as punishment for the blasphemous words uttered by the Queen.
But again I call BS. Far worse has been said or done to Gods and retribution like that never followed. Plus if she was cursed, so would Adonis. But he was definitely not cursed. He was blessed.
He ends up being the most handsome man in Greek history. So handsome that he had two Goddesses fight over him. And one of them raised him. Which is all sorts of weird in it’s own right. But his charms could not be resisted even amongst the Gods.
But we will get to that part soon as well. Adonis grows in the trunk of the tree that was once his human mother. Being born of a woman changed into a tree, changed Adonis’ genetic structure. It made him partially magic. And to make him even more magical, he was released from the trunk of the tree by a Goddess.
I’m still trying to find out who it was. But more than likely Artemis. She has a role as a childbirth Goddess. This is just one of the versions of the story. For me it’s the most accurate.
The others are so convoluted that it’s hard to trust them. In some stories the Princess angered Aphrodite. And not the queen. And it was due to not honoring her. And and the number of nights that she and her father had sex were twelve instead of nine.
In another story, Aphrodite pitied Myrrah/Smyrna. She saw the girl hide in the woods after sleeping with her father out of shame. So she changed the girl into the tree to hide her. And then Adonis was born. Regardless of the version you believe in, Zeus decreed that the child should be raised.
And named Adonis. Now, for reasons we don’t know, his mother never became a human again. Maybe it’s because she didn’t want to go back to her human life. Or perhaps it was because she became the very first myrrh tree. In ancient cultures and magic, such a thing would be a pretty big deal.
Imagine becoming the Adam or Eve of a new race. That’s how it would have been seen. And in Ancient Greece like in many other cultures, plants and trees have souls. So Adonis was obviously not Myrrah’s last child. After him, she gave birth to many of her own kind.
The child Adonis was later taken to the Underworld by Aphrodite to be raised by Persephone. As he now needed a mother. And she raised the boy herself. Aphrodite would not return for the child until he was a grown man. Bringing him to the land of the living.
Chapter 2 :
Adonis as a child in the land of the Dead
Right away we see that Adonis is connected with the dead. Even before he actually died. Living amongst the dead, we can speculate that Adonis gained the secrets of the other world. He may have journeyed throughout the underworld. Learning strange magics.
And all manner of occult knowledge. Which gave him magical powers far beyond that of a normal human. If my theory is true, that would explain his physical beauty. Before she was Persephone the Queen of the Dead, she was first Kore the Maiden Goddess of Spring. He may have gained a deep knowledge of nature.
Both inside the Underworld and out. And his physical beauty grew to the level of Persephone. That combined with his supernatural birth is probably why he became so irresistible. For even though she raised him, she would always have to leave him during the spring. Only to return in Winter.
Each time seeing him having grown older. From a boy to a man. And becoming utterly enamored of him.
Chapter 3 :
Aphrodite
Battle of the Goddesses
Persephone
When Aphrodite finally saw him again, she was awe struck. She could not believe that this was the same child she had saved years before. Adonis was gifted with such a handsome face and attractive body, that even the Goddesses could not refuse him. And Persephone who had raised him, wanted him too. She wanted him to stay in the Underworld with her.
Aphrodite complained that this wasn’t part of the deal. He was to live a human life in the surface world. Apparently the dispute was bad. Because Zeus himself had to come down from Olympus to settle it. By divine decree, he ordered that one third of the year would be with Aphrodite.
The other third with Persephone. And the final third with whoever he chose. It’s claimed that he chose Aphrodite. But another legend says that both Goddesses decided to share him half time after. The suggestion being made by the Muse, Calliope.
~ Lovers ~
Small footnote. He did have other lovers.
– Erinoma
– Apollo
– Herakles
– Dionysus
It’s stated that when it comes to men, he’s more passive instead of dominant. Or at least that’s how he was with Apollo. On Herakles, I am doubtful. Because most stories of his homosexuality were later additions. A sort of ancient homoerotica.
I have had debates with friends on the subject. In some stories I definitely believe there are gay relationships between Gods and mortals alike. My issue isn’t the sexual orientation. Gods have no true gender because their defy all of that by their majestic and mysterious existence. I doubt certain stories based on when they arose.
The stories of Herakles being gay was wrought with contradictions. Hence why I don’t really believe in them. But there are tons of references of homosexuality and even transsexuality in Ancient Greek religion. The Gods themselves can change their original sex to either one. Or more than one.
Intersex people (what was once called hermaphrodites) also play an important role in Greek society. Dionysus is said to have become so obsessed with him, that he abducted him. Erinoma is a bit more confusing. The story claimed he raped her because of a spell cast on him by Aphrodite. Because Hera was jealous of Zeus’ affection for her.
I doubt the veracity of any of that. All I can say is that they did have a child together.
Chapter 4 :
The Final Fate of Adonis
Adonis fighting for his life against the Boar
Unfortunately, like many Greek legends, happiness was not to last. Adonis was a great hunter. In fact I often worship him as a God of the Hunt. He was excellent. One of the most skilled ever seen in the world.
It was said that sometimes the Goddess herself would accompany him on his hunts. One day he went to a small region called Afqa. A place in Beirut, Lebanon. Which further encourages the idea that he is the God Adon of Semitic religion. It’s also a culturally significant place according to UNESCO.
One day he went hunting. A normal day by all accounts. He tried to kill a wild boar. Only this boar was enormous. Even by the standards of a normal boar.
And it was not afraid of him. It looked at him defiantly, and charged him. And he charged it as well. His net to capture it with one hand, and his spear in the other. But he was not captured.
He was impaled by Adonis’ spear yes. But with one final act of defiance, he took the divine hero with him. And impaled him with one of it’s tusks. He slowly bled to death. And by the time Aphrodite got there, he was already on his final moments upon this earth.
She poured nectar over his body as part of a funerary ritual. And her tears mingled with his blood, and the nectar. And for the first time, the anemone flowers began to spring. Meaning that like his mother before him, Adonis became the living embodiment of a form of vegetation.
It was also said that his blood became the Adonis river. A river which has since been renamed. It was red with his blood in the beginning. He’s also the living embodiment of this river. As usual, there’s a bunch of stories accusing other Gods of his murder.
For reasons such as jealousy. But those were again, later additions. And again, I don’t believe they would have done that. At least not most of them. I should also mention that in Rome, Adonis is worshipped under the same name.
And there are only a few differences. The main difference besides the names of the Gods involved, are that Adonis love triangle happened after he died. Venus saw him hunting and fell in love with him. But when he died he went to the underworld. And Prosperine fell in love with him.
Then when Venus tried to bring him back to life is when the struggle between both Goddesses started. And Jupiter had to come down to settle everything. But the events of his story unfold pretty much the same way.
Chapter 5 :
Adonis and the Cult of the Dead
The Priestesses and Disciples of Aphrodite celebrating the Adonia
After his death, Aphrodite declared that the death of Adonis would be celebrated. For he would be one of the Heroes of Ancient Greece. Now most people are thinking,
“Hero? What did he do?”
Heroes in Greece were Saints of the Hellenic religion. And unlike Catholicism which has official Saints declared canonized by the church. And the Folk Saint who is declared a Saint by the people themselves, Heroes were both. The Gods and human religious officials, as well as regular people could declare a person a Saint or Hero. You had warrior heroes like Herakles and Perseus.
But there were also regular non warrior heroes like Adonis. What made them heroes were how they lived their lives. Or how they died. If it was a strange life or a strange way to die. Or if the person was heroic for possessing knowledge or wisdom about something.
An old image of Adonis (sitting down) with Aphrodite standing over him, and Eros her son (God of Erotic Love) standing between them. A not so subtle reference to their attraction.
Adonis became the Hero or Patron Saint of love, sex, physical beauty, and desire. This is what helped make him so important to the Greeks. Greek men wanted to be like him. And attract beautiful women. And Greek women adored him (literally) because he helped them find men who were like him.
The Adonia was originally an Athenian festival. But was later celebrated all over Greece. Even in places like Hellenistic Alexandria. Adonis technically was a folk hero, rather than an official hero. At least in the beginning.
He was venerated by the followers of Aphrodite. But his festival wasn’t part of the state sanctioned holidays like other heroes. At least not in the beginning. Women were seen as the only ones to celebrate this holiday. And of every station in life.
From slave women to nobles to prostitutes. Women danced on the roofs of their houses. What is strange is that at some point he not only became a hero, but a God. Of course some people say he was a God from the get go. I’m still doing the research.
But it seems that it either happened at the same time. Or the transition happened elsewhere. Many people seem to think that Adonis is actually the Hebrew-Canaanite God, Adon. And there is some evidence to support that claim. So Adonis is both a God and Hero.
Like Herakles. On the Adonia, women would also plant seeds of lettuce and fennel. These which were the “gardens of Adonis”. Then they would have a parade down the street with these potted plants. Along with the makeshift gardens, and small idols of Adonis.
The idols and gardens would be given a ritual sacrifice at a spring or at the sea. It was said that they would be buried in the potted plants.
Dates of the Adonia & Official State Certification
Adonis and his hunting dogs versus the boar
Adonia 1
– Aristophanes says it’s in Early Spring
Adonia 2
– Plutarch says it’s in Midsummer
Adonia 3
– In Kemet (Egypt) and Syria it was Late July with the Rising of the Sirius Star
Adonia 4
– In Rome, the Adonia was celebrated on July 19th
Personal Adonia (5)
I do divinations in Early Spring to see more or less when Adonis wants to be worshipped. I worship him again on Midsummer. And with the astronomical Rising of the Sirius Star. Then finally July 19th. Basically most Adonia I celebrate are in Summer.
I also celebrate the Adonia everytime there is a Venus Retrograde (like now). So for a whole season, I celebrate the chthonic form of Adonis. And I meditate with Adonian Aphrodite and Persephone. As well as the other Chthonoi. I celebrate him both as a God and a Hero.
Eventually the Adonia did become state sanctioned at least in a few places. In Alexandria, for example, one of the main celebrations was a singing competition. Women competed with each other to sing funeral songs for the honor of Adonis. In Argos they had a full shrine dedicated to him inside the temple of Zeus the Savior (Zeus Soter). An Avatar of Zeus who is a protector of people and places.
The scholar Lucian of Samosata actually mentions that in the city of Byblos in Lebanon. He claimed worship of Adonis was not only there. But was also a mystery religion. Which lends more credence to the idea that Adonis is the same God as Adon. His middle eastern influence was already prevalent in the Middle East long before he became a Greek figure.
Finally, the cult of Adonis made its way to Rome. Specifically central Italy. And it spread becoming more popular with time. Also, Adon in Hebrew means “my lord”. Not just “lord” like most people keep insisting online.
Other Details
They had two children together. Twins named Beroe and Golgos. Golgos was the founder of the city of Golgi in Greece. It’s unknown whether he or his sister were full Gods or Demi Gods. His sister was a nymph from Beirut.
Of course some accounts claim she was human. And her mythos is confusing. She keeps getting conflated with Amymone. The daughter of Danaus, King of Libya. And Europa the Canaanite Queen.
It seems the connection comes from how innocent and beautiful both women were. And the fact that she was so beautiful, the Gods fought over her. Namely Dionysus and Poseidon. But apart from that I haven’t found any evidence that she’s the same person as Amymone. Plus Amymone isn’t even the daughter of Aphrodite and Adonis.
She is mysterious though. Namely because of this : why is there such confusion as to what she is? Golgos her brother seems to be a Demi God. Who grew old and died. She’s the one who seemed to have become entirely supernatural.
~ What we can take away from this ~
Amoretto in the Garden of Adonis
What we can take away is, this isn’t just a time of mourning for the dead. Funerals and memorials like the Adonia are a celebration of life. Of ones loves, worth in life (and death), and accomplishments. That even in the darkness, there is light. And that is the theme of the Adonia.
Which is why I celebrate it astrologically during Venus Retrograde. So that Adonian Aphrodite may have comfort. That she may know that even in the land of the dead, she is with her loved one. Her other husband. And that he is not truly dead.
But only awaits the time of his rising. This is a good time to meditate on his mysteries. And in meditating on his mysteries, Aphrodite’s as well. And Queen Persephone. For though she rules the afterworld, I doubt she wanted him to die.
I feel a deep pain from her over his death as well. During this time I meditate in the Underworld. I enter a cave guided by Hermes and Hekate. And I make my way to them. And there in the darkness of the underworld, I speak with them.
This retrograde is seen mostly for its negative aspects. The retrograde forces you to look into the negative aspects of relationships. Any and all kinds. But especially loving relationships. Intimate bonds and all of that.
Aphrodite in her sadness, whether she wants to or not, forces us all to look deeply into ourselves. This is how our mettle is tested. This is how we know where we stand. That’s not to say we shouldn’t fucking hate it. But it does come with its own benefits.
You will be forced to face your own internal fears. Lots of breakups tend to happen during this retrograde. Or in other cases, arguments that lead to you getting the cold shoulder from a loved one. Or vice versa. Now I cannot stress this enough, do NOT make major decisions during this time.
Especially financial or relationship decisions. Aphrodite and Adonis don’t just rule love or desire, but prosperity. So this retrograde is a symbolic winter. A time of dying for the crops. Only when it ends to we return to a time of plenty.
Check your zodiac, ascendant, and Venus natal signs for personalized information. Now, I mentioned appeasing Hermes in his Cthonic form during his retrograde before. I even linked a post from the Digital Ambler on how to do this. Here is a post from Magical Recipes Online on the subject. Also, as I mentioned before, Karkinos the Crab of Cancer is with us.
His new moon sharpened the pain of Aphrodite. Karkinos is both a warrior and a gentle soul. So beloved that Hera and Poseidon granted him immortality in the skies. Making him a Totem Animal and Star sign. His influence is one of nurture and support.
And love. As well as sacrifice. Unfortunately, the sign he rules, cancer isn’t quite so forgiving. This is a sign that does not forgive or forget. This sign, in some ways more extreme in emotional upheaval, even than the retrograde.
It forces you to come face to face with your own demons.
Now to make this even stranger, the Retrograde is not in the sign of cancer. It’s in the sign of Leo. What does this mean? Well, it means that we have struggles between ego and actual love and respect. Leo is about pride and power. Venus is about genuine love.
The problem is, her shadow side in retrograde can be very vain. I also see Adonis as being Leo. Which increases this influence.
Also,
Finally,
There’s also quite a few people who say that mention the New Moon in Cancer is a cosmic portal to prosperity. It’s also said to be a time of healing and nourishment. Then we also have the Centaur Demi God Chiron the Wounded Healer in Retrograde (in Fucking Aries). Sorry my Lords. Aries being Aphrodite’s lover, makes this even more aggressive.
And Chiron is even more filled with pain. Having been abandoned by his own mother. Allegedly from a rape from Kronos. Though again, I have been with the Gods in my life for years to know what they are and aren’t capable of. Rape isn’t something they do.
Regardless, Chiron is a great God. And a good friend. The tutor of the Gods. Who studied with Apollo. And the strangest of the Centaurs.
It’s said because he was instructed by Apollo, the spirit of wisdom became one with him. So his front part of the body transformed into a human body with a human lower body. To match his upper body. The rest of his body remained as a horse. This was a sign of his wisdom and knowledge.
However, he has a deep wound in his heart from his abandonment. So this retrograde messes with old wounds. And in Aries it’s even worse. It’s like going through it for the first time all over again.
The influence of Chiron Retrograde in Aries
So that’s the end of the astrological shit show for you. I end this with a link to William Shakespeare’s classic poem. Venus and Adonis. By William Shakespeare. It is a painful yet loving work of art.
Adventures of A Mage In Miami 