Venus Worship through Ritual Adornment
Venus, also known as Aphrodite in Greek mythology, is the Roman goddess of beauty, love, prosperity, aesthetics, sexuality, fertility and desire, and is subsequently symbolic of the Divine Feminine. Goddess Venus shows us the intimate beauty of having a tender relationship with ourselves through acts of self-love that embody all of the divine pleasures she rules over. Venus is, of course, also a planet and is correspondingly associated with love, relationships and abundance and is represented by the same symbol that is used to symbolize the Goddess Venus (♀). Although what Venus governs may seem trivial and materialistic at first glance, that is only because our society has conditioned us to beat ourselves down and feel guilt and even shame for reveling in our own existence, let alone glory. This is why rituals devoted to self-love and Mother Venus are actually rather radical because those actions empower you and nothing is more threatening than someone who truly understands their value and power, and knows how to summon and focus it.
When it comes to goddess worship in modern society, sometimes certain aspects of witchcraft and devotion can seem archaic but if magick teaches us anything it’s that it is absolutely everywhere and can be harnessed in a myriad of ways, so why not get creative? As modern women (men can be witches too but here I refer to witches as she/her), beauty is a huge part of our lives whether we engage with it or not and there are good and bad sides to this. The bad side is quite obvious; women have become definable by conventional beauty standards to the point where nearly every woman (quite frankly, I would be as bold as to say EVERY woman) has had experiences with feeling unworthy or not enough, solely based on these shallow standards. It has also come to the point where women subconsciously pit themselves against each other because of the ruthless competition that this has fostered. However, beauty and acts of self-care are extremely empowering and they have nothing to do with materialism or ego but rather an innate draw to actions that physically bring us closer to our highest selves. So much of spirituality and worship consists of detaching from the physical but as such a dominant force in our world, there has to be spiritual power in the physical realm as well. And there is.
One of the most powerful tools in our world is something so seemingly mundane that at first, it’s hard to process that something so trivial could hold so much power and potential. That tool is our wardrobe. Yes, our wardrobe! Even if fashion is not something you are or have ever been passionate about, your wardrobe holds incredible power and it’s more than likely that on some level, you’ve already unknowingly connected to it. The power of fashion is after all, rooted in history and has been symbolic of things like social, marital and economic status, education, profession, and of course, individual expression. Now, as modern witches, we can take that power of aesthetics to a new level, in honor of Venus.
My favorite thing about worshipping Venus specifically, is that because she is the goddess of love (in all its forms, including and prioritizing love of the self), worship of her, can actually come in the form of self-worship. As I previously mentioned, our society has been manipulated into prevalent feelings of self-doubt, unworthiness and shame to the point where we actually feel guilt for doing anything loving or empowering for ourselves because that has become labeled as “selfish”. This mischaracterization has bred a society that doesn’t love or appreciate themselves and have therefore become disconnected and have lost their sense of (true) self. However, gracious Venus offers us a way to rebel against that rhetoric and reclaim our power and personal sovereignty. That way is through beauty.
When we think of beauty, we generally visualize things like clear skin, nice hair and cute make-up and hair styles but as versatile as those things are, not all of us engage with those methods of beauty. However, as modern witches, we now have access to a new medium of beauty, one that absolutely everyone on Earth now participates in (because we have become so offended by own our divine bodies…a subject for another day)…clothes! Fashion magick, or as I prefer to call it, Fashion Alchemy, is relatively new since the interconnectivity and access we now have to clothing is also quite new. Fashion is, at its core, energetic alchemy and can be practiced in a plethora of ways including but not limited to, vintage, re-purposing, mood boards, the incorporation of color magic and more.
Color magic is probably the most accessible method of practicing fashion alchemy because we all have clothing items of different colors. Every color provokes emotional response whether obvious or subtle and each color holds energies that can be harnessed when worn with intention (see chart). Have you wondered why some many people are committed to an all-black aesthetic? Yes it’s edgy and sleek, but black actually invokes power, discipline, elegance and authority which definitely explains why it always feels bad-as*. Likewise, Goddess Venus’ color associations are of course, the colors of her symbolic roses and the colors of love; red and pink. If those aren’t colors you generally wear or connect with, don’t worry your self-love through fashion alchemy is still valid! But working with her colors in other forms like shades of make-up, socks, undergarments and of course candles and crystals, will amplify your intentions and function as worship.
Vintage is another fun way to practice fashion alchemy and Venus worship and as luck would have it, a lot of us are already pretty well versed in the art of thrifting. One of my favorite things to thrift for in the name of Venus, is lingerie as well as jewelry. Adorning myself with beautiful, sultry things that have history to them make me feel connected to Venus’ infinite reach. Vintage can also come in the form of family heirlooms and are incredibly powerful because they contain the energies of those before us and keep us grounded, reminding us of our figurative and familial roots. Vintage clothing and accessories really get into the alchemical work here because you are taking and item infused with someone else’s energy and transmuting your own into it to create and entirely new energy. Sometimes the alchemical work can also take place physically which bring me to my next practice…
Re-purposing! I love re-purposing because you get to be creative with some vintage you see potential in or something of your own that you haven’t worn in, like, forever, and really get down and dirty. It’s also fun because generally you already have the clothing’s “skeleton” so most of the time it doesn’t take great skill to vamp something up. This and shopping vintage are also mindful and sustainable practices that lessen that amount of clothes that end up in landfills and the demand for clothing by means of fast fashion, and being the Divine Feminine and all, any active fashion alchemy ritual that keeps the Divine in mind and heart, can also be considered worship.
This brings us to another practice I love, mood boards! These don’t involve actually putting anything on but rather serve as almost a roadmap to the energies and aesthetics you want to and plan on embodying. Personally, I make a new mood board on the first day of each new zodiac sign that focuses on looks that involve the current signs’ corresponding color(s) and then place that on top of my dresser to inspire me every time I get dressed during that season. I also always have pieces of rose quartz, seashells and roses on my dresser to really make it a fashion-based altar to Venus and subsequently, myself. Having that to look at every day reminds me to slow down the process of getting dressed and actually savor it. Whatever I then chose to wear comes from my heart in all its love and beauty and nothing is more sacred to Venus than that.
We’ve covered a lot of bases here but this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the power and potential of fashion alchemy. Venus worship in modern times encourages us witches and spiritual beings to be creative and adaptable in our methods of divine worship. Fashion alchemy’s essence is all about experimentation and intention and is honestly the best excuse for the prioritization of self-love so I highly encourage integrating a consistent practice of self-love into everyday life even if it’s just for a moment while you get dressed in the morning. Whether you’re dressing up or picking out which sweatpants you’re going to live in for the week, every fashion choice has power when being mindful and intentional with what you want to achieve. And calling in a little guidance from Venus, while devoting your fashion ritual to her is just the cherry on top.
