It has been a long time since I posted my last Adopt-a-Deity entry. Inspiration for another entry came to me when I was listening to Bananarama’s Venus.

Venus (similar to the Greek Aphrodite), is the Roman goddess of love and beauty, although it is believed that She may have originally been a vegetation goddess. She is the daughter of Jupiter, and the lover or both Mars and Vulcan. Most of her Roman mythology matches that of Aphrodite—trysts with Mars (Ares), being given as a wife to Vulcan (Hephaestus), mother of Cupid (Eros), etc.

Another aspect of Venus, that of Venus Genetrix (goddess of motherhood) was introduced by Julius Caesar, who claimed Her as the originator of his family through Her son, the legendary hero Aeneas.

Venus is also the name of the second planet from the Sun. This is the only planet that is name after a goddess. (This is debatable now, since another planet may have been discovered beyond Pluto. It is being called Sedna, after an Inuit goddess.) Venus, the planet, is also known as the “morning star” and “evening star” because it is the brightest object in the sky, with the exception of the Sun, at these times.

In astrology, the planet of Venus is linked with love and money. It epitomizes feminine energy, and rules the astrological signs Taurus and Libra.