Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings. Happy April, and for this first post of this month, I will be exploring Faery studies and Lover Devotionals for this month! April is very often associated with honoring Aphrodite by many modern magickal and spiritual practitioners, and the Love Goddess’s energy is very deep in this month. I think it is safe to assume that Aphrodite April is largely inspired by the fact that in Ancient Rome, Venus was celebrated with the Veneralia, which began on April 1st, leading modern magickal and spiritual practitioners to want to celebrate Aphrodite and Venus in April also!
Furthermore, Spring is often a season deeply tied with Love and Romance, making Lover Goddess energy and the month of April not a very surprising connection. April is also a month in the heart of Spring, only April and May are months fully existing in the Spring season, with Beltane being the true celebration of the height of Spring and the coming of Summer! So, what can we do to acknowledge this very potent Springtime energy in the month of April?
My favorite ways are to study Faerylore and practice Faery Magick! That is likely of no surprise to my long-time readers, but it is the truth. It is a great month to take the time to read up on Faery Stories, and whether that means fairytales, folklore, Celtic myths, or Arthurian legends, is up to you. All of these types of Faery Stories are very much rooted in the knowledge and Arcane Wisdom of the Otherworld, so there is so much magick buried just beneath the surface of these types of stories!
As for practicing Faery Magick, that can look like learning more about Glamour Magick, working on your Herbcraft (via planting or tending your Garden and houseplants or making magickal herbal brews), Earthing (walking barefoot in the grass), meditating outdoors (especially around plant and animal life), and Dancing! All of these types of magickal activities embrace the energy of the Faery Lifestyle amazingly well. In fact, even something as simple as standing outside on a windy day to cleanse your aura or taking a walk in the rain (and April is traditionally a very rainy month in many places) are also very effective ways to bring some Faery Enchantment into your Spring days!
Finally, let’s look a little bit at Lover Goddess Devotionals. Now, you can certainly make the time to do devotionals to Aphrodite, especially if you are looking to have a more traditional Aphrodite April. However, you can also look to performing devotionals for other Venusian Goddesses from any Pantheon, essentially any Goddess you feel most drawn to! Since my practice is so deeply rooted in the Celtic, I work mostly with the Celtic Faery Queens (especially Welsh Celtic). That means that most of my Venusian workings are with the Celtic Venus (but I do sometimes have Aphrodite and Freya involved in these workings as well, given I do have relationships with them, just not to the same degree as the Faery Queens of Avalon)! So, you may be wondering, what Celtic Goddesses possess Venusian Energy? The answer is that many Faery Queens also hold the energy of the Celtic Venus. Blodeuwedd, Guinevere, Rhiannon, and Melusine are all prime examples of the Celtic Venus in an Avalonian context. Aine and Maeve are prime examples of the Celtic Venus in an Irish context. Even Goddesses who are not normally thought of as being Venusian hold some of the energy of the Celtic Venus, like Morgan le Fay, whose aspects of being a Faery Lover and Enchantress are very much in line with the Celtic Venus! All of this means that you can work with all of these Celtic Faery Queen Goddesses in their Lover Goddess glory all Springtime long (or if you are me, all year long).
For me, this April is definitely going to have a great deal of Faery studies and Celtic Venus energy, as I am beginning my first month of The Melusine Mysteries with my students! I hope you have enjoyed this post to welcome in April and my ruminations on the magick and enchantment of Spring. What are your favorite Spring traditions? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a pretty drawing of the Venus symbol with Flowers. I found the image on https://www.spreadshirt.co.uk/shop/design/venus+symbol+with+flowers+black+annie+coasters-D603ea24e89e7102447caf382?sellable=pr378JARkdIRmJr4llg4-996-32.
LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries
Further Reading
- Blood and Roses: A Devotional for Aphrodite and Venus by Bibliotheca Alexandrina
- The Mabinogion translated by Sioned Davies
- Vita Merlini by Geoffrey of Monmouth
- Arthurian Romances by Chretien de Troyes
- Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
- Once and Future Queen by Nicole Evelina
- Melusine by Jean d’Arras
- Glamour Magick by Deborah Castellano
- https://www.priestesstraining.com/april-1st-is-the-ancient-venus-festival-of-veneralia/