This article was originally published in Panegyria in March of 2015.

Aphrodite was my first Patron Goddess. She claimed me when I was very young. My first paper about Pagan deities was done in the 10th grade. It was a comparative study on the love goddesses of the Norse, Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians. It was an oral report. I sat there nervously for a week, through everyone else’s report waiting for my turn, and when it was all over the teacher asked if anyone had been missed. I raised my hand, and she looked at me confused. She said, “You volunteered to go first. You got an A.” I don’t remember doing it. I guess I said the right stuff. It was years before I realized I must have channeled that report.

I don’t tell people that I’m a priestess of Aphrodite. Because it’s often thought that Her ministry is all about sex, and for some it is. My ministry is more about love. I talk about THAT often. I work to create a loving environment for everyone I meet. I feel that life is kinda pointless if people don’t give and receive love. I know that’s not everyone’s opinion, but it IS mine. Love is a driving force in my life, and always has been.

Invoking the Greek Gods as a member of the Eleusinian Priesthood is different from being a Wiccan invoking deity for ritual. The Gods come to you quickly and powerfully, sometimes even before you are told that you’re holding them. I come to this work a seasoned priestess. There are few times when the Gods have landed on me so intensely as during the months of preparing for Spring Mysteries Festival.

She started sneaking into my thoughts, changing my tastes, causing me to think more about my visual appearance, and having more desire to look nice than to eat that. I found it amusing to discover She doesn’t like sour cream. I would have thought She would. She thinks there’s something very wrong with cream that has gone sour, Cow Goddess that She is.

There are aspects of Her that I have forgotten were Hers, and had come to claim them as my own. Such as my love of makeup, delicious foods, fashion, romance, flouncy skirts and being a living work of art. Then there are aspects of Her that I’ve forgotten to live everyday, like that love of taking care of yourself, the sheer delight of being in the flesh, the beauty of my delicious curves, and the lusciousness of playing with my hair.

Aphrodite is everyone’s lover. She’s enamored with you. She loves everything about you. She wants to delight in your essence, and revel in your scent. She loves the flesh that is you. She loves the heat that is you. She loves that you breathe in and out and that you exist in all your lusciousness. She’s quick to correct you when it involves doing something to your detriment. But, She makes up for it in the love she pours upon your spirit.

It’s been a wonderful journey reconnecting with Her. Embodying Her is like stepping into my old self. It’s easy, fun, and sexy. I’m loving it, and I appreciate that She allows me to see you through Her eyes more often than not. It’s easy to see your beauty and to love you unconditionally, because She let’s me see through Her eyes. I’m looking forward to seeing each of you through Her eyes at Spring Mysteries. This journey is incredible.

Mighty Aphrodite, I am Yours.